cheap eats melbourne…condensed!

punching this out as i wait to board qf 09 and head back home…skinny flat white and huge cookie in hand, this past week or so has been quite a good change. there was still of course a lot of eating (think I gained 2 kgs!) but as always, no regrets because who knows when this girl will next be in melbourne so i was really keen to give most things a go...

with morning tea and lunch provided at the conference venue, i only managed to venture out for a proper dinner on the second evening i was there. headed to the crown, my colleague and i decided on pub grub. it was nothing to shout about so we ate light and headed over to greco en route home to treat ourselves to something sweet. the vanilla slice looked way better than it tasted but the hazelnut meringue was awesome. Not overly sweet, the meringue was crisp, cream custard fresh and they were really generous with the hazelnuts. it was really good and even though i woke up the next day with a sore throat, the discomfort was worth it!

cafe greco
shop 18
the crown casino
(61) 9686 9733

friday, saturday and sunday saw this girl travelling out of the city and getting a glimpse of life in the suburbs. it was like somewhat getting an insider's guide of the must try places in melbourne, something that most people i think wouldn't get a chance to do so here's my food filled tour of melbourne!

brekkie

melbourne is filled with quaint little cafes, serving up some kick ass coffee and huge round the clock breakfast, so one really won't need to look very far for a nice cafe or bakery. there are a few in the city, tip here is not to look along the main streets but to venture off to the side lanes like little collins street. out in the eastern suburbs where my cousin was, saturday brekkie was at the abbotsford convent bakery. this bakery is housed in what was originally a convent back in the 1900s or something. a truly cosy outfit, with a huge variety of breads, rolls, sandwiches and pastries, all baked in historic fire ovens on site, one could easily ponder for a good ten minutes deciding what to have! food was good, but the coffee was even better, with beans roasted on site as well and baristas skilled at making the almost perfect cuppa.

abbortsford convent bakery
1 saint heliers street
(61) 9419 9426

brunch and lunch

with melbourne touted as the fashion capital of australia, this girl pretty much scheduled the weekend around the two must-go places in melbourne - brunswick and chapel street, with good friends carrie and nathan in tow. lined with shops carrying the work of local designers, vintage wear and curio shops, one can literally spend a full day exploring each street. the best part of course is that both areas have cafes at every other corner, allowing shoppers to rest their feet and get a good caffeine shot before hitting the shops again!

we tried to get a table at bustling babka along brunswick but even at two in the afternoon, the queue was still only inching forward. with a mental note to come back next time, we headed over to the legendary marios cafe, where the likes of hollywood have been sighted! marios was busy with locals and tourists alike, enjoying simple all day classic brekkies and italian pastas. our table was filled with rich vegetable minestrone soup, an antipasto platter and one serving of spaghetti bolognaise. all were good but i think we made a good choice with the antipasto platter. think fresh mozzarella cheese, pickled carrots, frittas, olives and spicy italian sausages nestled within balsamic vinegar drizzled rocket salad....yum! we were so stuffed that we had to commit the fundamental crime of skipping coffee... so, for anyone headed over to marios, do leave space for the coffee....because all the reviews say it is a must have at marios!

mario's cafe
303 brunswick street
(61) 9417 3343

babka
358 brunswick street
(61) 9416 0091

over at chapel, we stumbled across a nice italian hole in the wall serving good coffees and fantastic cupcakes. i apologise for not getting the name or addy, but i know it is off chapel street and is close to the coles supermarket *blush* a very humble establishment, fully run by italians, it was a nice place just to kick back and enjoy the sunshine on a sunday afternoon.

italian cafe
off chapel street (near coles)

dinner

this girl wasn't quite aware of the big population of greeks and jews in melbourne, so it was kinda cool that both saturday and sunday evening meals were of middle eastern and mediterranean influence. again, we were all excited and game to try out the highly recommended bedouin kitchen near st kildas but they had a full house so we headed over to pause instead for some spicy middle eastern cuisine. with dimmed lights, pause was outfitted with turkish rugs and plush cushions allowing patrons to either lounge in a corner for drinks or tuck into dinner. between the three of us, we started off with the great divide, which was a huge selection of cured meats, marinated veggies, dips, cheeses and other little surprises served with toasted pide. a fantastic appetizer, really giving us a good variety of everything spicy, salty, sweet and sour! for mains, we had the lamb meatballs marrakesh and the 1001 nights chicken tagine. the meatballs were tender with a pine nutty crunch, and extremely rich with a myriad of spices leaving one wondering how on earth did they get it that tender and what spices they used! highly recommended and don't forget to dip up the rich tomato sauce with the pide! the chicken tagine was like the indian butter chicken except that it wasn't as rich and was served with herbed cous cous and preserved lime yoghurt and papadums. apparently moroccan inspired, the dish added another dimension to the meal being less spice-y but more lemak!

pause
268 carlisle street
(61) 9537 0511
www.pausebar.com.au

bedouin kitchen
103 grey street
(61) 9534 0888


with it being out last night in melbourne together, we headed to la paella and truly indulged by having their andulucian banquet. we had the full works...from mixed dips with hot home-made bread to fried cheese, chicken shasliks, spanish omelettes, garlic mushrooms, salad and seafood paella... we had it all! very good value for money for a big group but do come prepared with an empty tummy! as much as we all enjoyed the food, we really could not finish the meal, which by the way was cooked by just one chef! amazing how the entire outfit was just run by one chef and one waiter....they even showed us their morrocan tent dining area behind which was really cool! we would really have felt like morrocan royalty if we had the banquet in the tent *grin* but it was all good. a fantastic way to end the short getaway. good food, great coffee and awesome company!

la paella
217 sydney road
(61) 9380 6955
www.lapaella.com.au

other must go places?

brunetti off lygon street for a dose of italian hot chocolate and pre dinner drinks at the brunswick green. head all the way to the back of the pub (yes pass the slightly sleazy front) to the garden for live music!

brunetti
194-204 faraday street
(61) 9347 2801
www.brunetti.com.au

brunswick green
313 sydney road
(61) 9381 2413