Melbourne

Melbourne 2016 Itinerary

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We finally made it to Australia!

This was our mostly unplanned itinerary for our recent trip to Melbourne and Sydney, as our main aim was to visit our friends in the 2 cities.

Each day, we would google for what looked interesting. Some days, a spur-of-the-moment thought or a sudden craving might make us decide to walk 30 minutes to go in search of it.

We were blessed with nice weather in Melbourne throughout our stay and there wasn’t any raining while we were there, save for the slight drizzle while we were on the Great Ocean Road.

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Categories: Australia, Melbourne, Sydney, Travel | Tags: | 2 Comments

Cherry and Twigs @Flinders Lane, Melbourne

2016-08-16-10-08-29We chose Cherry and Twigs as our final breakfast place in Melbourne because of its close vicinity to the SkyBus terminal to board the shuttle bus to the airport (same reason as yesterday, haha).

Despite the steady flow of customers, it was a relatively quiet cafe, with people just chilling with their morning cuppa, or having relaxed conversations with their friends.

We had Breakfast Roll (A$12) with lstra bacon, fried egg, avocado, and homemade tomato relish, Avocado Breakfast Pudding (A$9) with honey, homemade granola and fresh cut fruits, as well as Scrambled Eggs on Toast (A$9.50). The food was pretty decent; pity about the egg shells in the otherwise lovely scrambled eggs.

For drinks, it was regular Latte (A$4), Mocha (A$4.20), and Chai Tea by Prana Chai (A$4.20). I liked the Chai, which had a lovely hint of spices, and the coffees were all pretty standard.

Overall not bad, if you want an unrushed brunch before making your way to the airport.

Contact:

  • Location: 1b/555 Flinders Lane, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia (Google Map)
  • Websitewww.facebook.com/cherryandtwigs
  • Directions: Take the (free) tram to Melbourne Aquarium (Stop 2) and walk along King Street before turning left into Flinders Lane.
  • Hrs: 6:30am – 4:30pm (Mon–Wed), 6:30am – 9:30pm (Thu-Fri), 7:30am – 2pm, 5pm – 9:30pm (Sat), 7:30am – 2pm (Sun)
Categories: Australia, Breakfast, Melbourne, Travel | Tags: , , | 1 Comment

San Churro Chocolateria @QV Centre, Melbourne

Our final supper for the day was at San Churro Chocolateria, which as the name suggested, is a place for chocolate and churros. On a Monday night, it was very crowded! The Melburnians (or perhaps the Australians in general) really like chocolate stuff.

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​Hakata Gensuke Ramen @Little Burke Street, Melbourne

2016-08-15-18-13-49Hakata Gensuke Ramen Professionals were celebrating their 2nd year anniversary today! A pity we were not in time to be the first 50 customers to get the free ramen as part of the celebrations.

Nonetheless, we joined the relatively short queue and got our seats within 10 minutes.

The tiny restaurant was like a typical Japanese ramen place, with staff shouting out greetings in unison, and tiny tables and seats.

We had already pre-selected the Signature Tonkotsu Ramen and Shio Tonkotsu Ramen, both with additional toppings of cha-shu, seaweed, and flavoured egg (base price A$13 each, with additional toppings at A$8).

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Categories: Australia, Dinner, Melbourne, Travel | Tags: , , , | 1 Comment

​Patricia Coffee Brewers @Little William Street, Melbourne

2016-08-15-14-38-39It was a little difficult to find this tiny cafe, for the shop front was not visible from the alley. In fact, there is only a door and no signboard whatsoever. But you know you have reached when you spot people sitting around on orange crates randomly placed along both sides of the alley.

The cafe was tiny and standing-room-only. However, the baristas do come out regularly to clear the cups in the alley, so you do not need to order takeaway if you wish to sit in the alley.

The menu was simple; White (A$4.30), Black (A$4), or Filter (A$4). The Flat White was definitely one of the better coffee we had so far. In fact, it reminded us of Market Lane Coffee that we had in QVM.

It was actually very lovely to sit at the crates near the cafe window, for you will be inhaling the aromatic coffee fragrance!

Service was warm and friendly and the baristas were all smiley and nice. While we were waiting for our coffee, we were served sparkling water. We were so impressed!

Contact:

  • Location: Corner of Little Bourke & Little William Street, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia (Google Map)
  • Websitepatriciacoffee.com.au
  • Directions: Take the (free) tram to Lonsdale Street (Stop 6) and walk along William Street before turning left into Little Bourke Street.
  • Hrs: 7am – 4pm (Mon-Fri)
Categories: Australia, Coffee/Tea Break, Melbourne, Travel | Tags: , , | 1 Comment

​Paperboy Kitchen @Little Lonsdale Street, Melbourne

We have heard that Vietnamese food in Melbourne is pretty good, and the nearby Paperboy Kitchen seemed to have pretty good reviews!

A little shop that has around 20 high chair seats, it is also very popular for takeaways. Despite being lunch hour, the crowd cleared very quickly.

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Categories: Australia, Lunch, Melbourne, Travel | Tags: , , , | 1 Comment

​Grain Store @Flinders Lane, Melbourne

2016-08-15-07-03-59It’s Ms. V’s last day in Melbourne and she had a plane to catch at noon so we entrusted the decision of her final breakfast to her!

She decided that we should try out Grain Store which was quite near Southern Cross Station, where she would be taking the SkyBus to the airport.

Apparently, many people who were also going to the airport thought that coming here was a good idea too, for there were many customers with pieces of luggage!

After seated comfortably in the beautifully-decorated cafe, we combed through the menu and ordered:

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Universal Italian Restaurant @Lygon Street, Melbourne

2016-08-14-13-33-37We were back to Lygon Street for a late lunch after visiting the Queen Victoria Market, and saw this very popular restaurant with queues still forming despite being close to 2pm already.

But we were mostly attracted to the humongous pieces of schnitzels that we saw as we walked past the diners seated in the al fresco area that we eventually decided to try it.

We also had to wait quite a while after ordering (approximately 30 minutes), because it was so packed with customers who ordered schnitzels after schnitzels!

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Categories: Australia, Lunch, Melbourne, Travel | Tags: , | 1 Comment

Queen Victoria Market @Melbourne

2016-08-11-06-12-31At every city that I travelled to, I would make it a point to visit their local markets. Be it Taipei, Hong Kong, London, these are the places that fascinate me and get me excited all the time, where you can witness how the locals go about their daily living and mingle yourself in the buzzing vibes of the market.

On every trip I made to Melbourne, Queen Victoria Market or QVM is the must-go place. And during the winter months, QVM also host the Winter Night Market every Wed night for 14 weeks.

We were lucky to detour to the Winter Night Market before our expensive Japanese dinner the other day. There were fireplaces strategically located throughout the shed area and over 30 street vendors and some of Melbourne’s best designer and artisan stalls made up the lively place where people just gathered, had fun and enjoyed great food and company!

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Categories: Australia, Melbourne, Travel | Tags: | 4 Comments

Shortstop Coffee & Donuts @Sutherland Street, Melbourne

After a satisfying coffee, we continue to walk along Elizabeth Street in the direction of Queen Victoria Market in search of yummy breakfast on Google. That’s when we stumbled upon this description Artisanal donuts and organic coffee in a snug space with chic, minimalist decor, plus takeaway. How can we not be moved by such a description?

And so we strolled into the small Sutherland Street and found this quaint little cafe with only 2 small tables inside, and many customers standing outside sipping hot coffee and munching on deliciously-looking donuts! Kinda reminded us of Ah Zong Mee Sua (阿宗麵線) in Ximending, Taipei.

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Categories: Australia, Coffee/Tea Break, Melbourne, Travel | Tags: , , | 2 Comments

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