THANK YOU, MELBOURNE

A year has flown by so quickly.  We have left Melbourne and are going back to our lives in the States.

I thought I’d finish out this year by sharing some photos that are very illustrative of Melbourne and our experience there.

We had the best time and absolutely loved the city.

Enjoy!

Thank you, Australia.

Thank you, Melbourne.

Until next time.

 

Thank you all for following this blog and our Australian adventure!!

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A Final Meals in Melbourne

It has been a wonderful year of delicious food!  We’ve tried tons on various ethnic foods and lots of traditional Australian cuisine, as well as enjoyed the fantastic cafe culture in Melbourne.

Without further ado, the (lengthy) final meals in Melbourne post!

Brunetti

Brunetti is an iconic Melbourne location.  The displays are just jaw-dropping when you walk in– metres upon metres of counters displaying every type of pastry you can imagine.  Every single thing we tried from there was delicious (which is not something the can be said of every Melbourne bakery).

Raspberry Pastry Twist

Pain au chocolat

Custard Croissant

White coffee, hot chocolate, chai latte, and mocha (clockwise)

Glazed/sugared Donut + hot chocolate = heaven

And to take home…

Cannoli & Lemon Tarts

Grey and Bliss

Chai Latte-Vanilla

Flat White

English Breakfast Tea

Breakfast Burrito

w/ bacon, fried egg, avocado, cheese, spicy tomato salsa, hot sauce

 

Ricotta hotcakes w/ whipped mascarpone, molasses poached pear, fresh berries, mint & crushed hazelnut 

 

Free range eggs anyway on toast

Poached, which they do fantastically here

 

Bliss benedict w/ toasted brioche, smashed avo, pomegranate, poached eggs, hollandaise & smoked salmon

New York Minute

Chocolate Ripple Milkshake

Coney Island Schnitzel Burger

A NYC carnival classic! Free range and hand-crumbed juicy chicken breast, smoked bacon, premium grade Swiss cheese, fresh tomato and spinach topped off with sweet chilli and mayo.

Plus fries, duh.

The Exchange Hotel

The Exchange Parmigiana

chicken schnitzel, ham, Napoli, mozzarella, chips & house salad

Seriously the best parma in Melbourne, if not Victoria, if not Australia.  We love the Exchange Hotel!

Fish and Chips

Beer battered fish, beef fat potatoes, pea puree, beer pickled onions, grilled lemon & tartare

The Lux Foundry

Chamellia Chai Latte

Flat White

Toasted Fruit Loaf

w/ citrus ricotta

Brioche French Toast

w/ espresso mascarpone, dark chocolate crumb, poached spiced pear, fresh berries, salted toffee

Muharam Cafe

Golden Gaytime Milkshake

A Golden Gaytime is an ice cream bar of vanilla, toffee, honeycomb, and chocolate.  This milkshake based off of that incorporated all off those flavours, plus delicious golden syrup.

Another Freakshake cafe checked off of my list!  This one rates pretty highly: a thin milkshake, inventive toppings, and a wow factor (an entire ice-cream cone!).

Mocha

Beef Vindaloo

w/ Basmati rice, roti, and mint yoghurt

One of the best curries to be had in Melbourne!  Even though it was from a non-Indian restaurant…

Sidewinder Beer Battered Chips

w/ honey mustard mayo

Stalactites

This is a go-to restaurant for many in the Greek Precinct of Melbourne.  With a memorable stalactite ceiling, it is known for it’s souvlaki and home-style Greek cooking.

Home Baked Bread

Pastitio

Baked layers of macaroni, beef, and cheese, topped with béchamel cream sauce

Yiouvetsi

oven baked lamb pieces and kritharaki (rice-shaped pasta) in a light tomato sauce

Homemade Moussaka

Greek traditional dish of baked layers of potatoes, minced beef & eggplant topped
with bechamel cream sauce

Mixed Giro

marinated boneless chicken and lamb from the spit, served with Greek salad & chips

Dessert Platter: (clockwise) galaktoboureko, vanilla ice cream, baklava, creme caramel

The galaktoboureko was interesting.  A thick, almost gelatinous, custard between flaky sheets of filo.  I, personally, didn’t love the textures.

However, everything else was simply amazing.  One of the best baklavas I’ve eaten.

Grey and Bliss

Mocha

Bliss benedict w/ toasted brioche, smashed avo, pomegranate, poached eggs & hollandaise

Wasabi crusted calamari w/ Vietnamese style slaw salad & lemon/parsley mayo

100% Wagyu beef burger w/ fresh tomato, cos lettuce, pickle, panko onion ring, cheddar, & secret sauce

Cauliflower soup w/ a hint of pernod, Italian style breadcrumbs, lemon, parsley, & a side of bread

Sweet corn, zucchini & sweet potato fritters w/ pear chutney, lemon goat curd, smash avocado, apple glaze, poached eggs & smoked salmon

Queen Victoria Market

Spicy Lamb Borek

Boreks are a traditional Turkish food.  The ones at the market are completely authentic, steaming hot, and the right price.

Spinach and Cheese Borek

Rock Salt Caramel and Old English Toffee Gelato

Brown Sugar

Espresso Martini

These are always referred to as “cheeky” in Australia.

Chicken and Mushroom Risotto

Penne Bolognese 

Ham and Cheese Toastie

Field Mushrooms w/ Toast and Egg

Brownie

Sticky Date Pudding

Cafe Lafayette

Chocolate and Pretzel Milkshake

Black Sesame Milkshake

Fried eggs with mushrooms, potatoes, bacon, and vegetables

Berry and Yakult Milkshake

Rock, Paper, Scissors

Chai Latte

Mocha

Rosti Breakfast with Smoked Salmon and Bacon

Corn Fritters

Toast with Avo and Bacon

Pancakes with Grilled Banana, Hazelnuts, and Cream

Open House Melbourne

Open House Melbourne is a city-wide event that allows access into buildings not regularly accessible for a weekend.  This year was the tenth anniversary of the event.

We hadn’t really heard of it until soon before the weekend, but some people plan their weekend way in advance.  It was a great chance for us to enter some buildings we had seen the outside of countless times!!

First up was the Melbourne City Baths.  This building is magnificent from the outside, but since it operates as a regular gym now, you normally can’t get in without a membership.

The main pool room features an Olympic-length pool with a track running around the top of the room for spectators.  There are tons of historical documents relating to the pool hanging on display around the balcony.  The baths were opened in 1860 for hygienic purposes, but soon turned recreational.  Mixed bathing was first allowed in 1947 and bikinis in 1955 (scandalous!).

17 Casselden Place was an address I’d never heard of before until browsing the open houses.  It is the only remaining house from a terrace of six brick two-roomed cottages on a laneway off of Little Londsdale Street.

“Little Lon,” as the area was known, was famous for being the underbelly of the city in the days of Marvellous Melbourne.  This cottage was home to some of the ladies working for nearby Madame Brussels Brothel.

Nowadays it is surrounded by modern glass and metal skyscrapers and is situated next to Madame Brussels Cafe.

Next up: Gordon Place.  This lodging house provided public housing accommodation for struggling families until 1904.  Then, it became YMCA-type housing for single men.

The weathering on the original floors here is amazing.  You can just imagine clotheslines strung back and forth across the courtyard…

Today, Gordon Place is a Quest Hotel, a great use of the layout of this historical building.

The Athenaeum Theatre was added to the already existing Athenaeum Library building in 1872.

Performers such as Dame Nellie Melba, Sir Laurence Olivier, and Barry Humphries have graced the Athenaeum stage as well as lecturers like Mark Twain and Sir Redmond Barry.

And, then, in the movie era, the very first feature film, The History of the Kelly Gang, was premiered here.  In addition, the first “talkie,” The Jazz Singer was played early on here.

Along Collins Street we popped into two churches that happened to be open.

The first was the Scots’ Church.  It had a beautiful aqua and purple stained glass window and a famous stained glass interpretation of the Last Supper.  My favourite thing about this Open House was the ongoing concert given by the organ player there!

The second church along Collins St. was St. Michael’s Church.  It was completed in 1867 starting its life out as a Congregationalist church.  Today, it is part of the Uniting Church in Australia.

This church is interesting in the circular interior designed based on theatrical architecture.  It also has some modern stained glass panels installed in 1988 which celebrate the 150th anniversary of the church.

South Melbourne Town Hall was built in 1880 on top of Emerald Hill.  The building is a true representation of the wealth in the area at the time.  The main hall is amazing–lined with windows, with tall, airy ceilings, and lots of wall sconces and moulding.  The council chamber seen here was done in 1930.  All the famous architecture/design features of Melbourne are rolled into one building here.

Today it houses the Australian National Academy of Music and mainly serves as a performance space.

The Portable Iron Houses along Coventry St. in South Melbourne are some of the only ones left in the world.  Patterson House (facing the road) is the only one in its original location.  There are two more (Abercrombie House and Bell House) in the lot behind it that were moved from the inner city so that they could all be displayed together.

During the Gold Rush, lots of housing was needed quickly for all the migrants.  These houses were prefabricated in Britain and then shipped in pieces to Australia, where you could buy one and assemble it quite easily.  The lining/insulation of the house came from the crates the pieces were shipped in.

We were surprised at how spacious the houses actually were.  Patterson House had four good-sized rooms on the ground floor and two smaller, loft-like rooms on the first floor.  One of the other houses on the lot even had a verandah!

The High Court of Australia is the top level for any judiciary matter and serves as the interpreter of the Australian Constitution.  This building housed the High Court from 1928 and 1982.  The main feature in the building is the Art Deco stylings.

This building is now used for settling commercial disputes at the Supreme Court level (one level below the High Court).

The Mission to Seamen building is one we’ve seen often when traversing the city.  They have been up and running in Victoria since 1857.  Inside there is a gorgeous little chapel with maritime-themed stained glass on one half and a clubhouse/entertainment area on the other half.

Finally, our curiosity could be stemmed about what was inside some of these iconic Melbourne buildings, thanks to Open House Melbourne!

Hosier Lane

Melbourne is known for its laneways, usually filled with cute cafes, delicious bakeries, and local shops.  However, one of Melbourne’s most popular laneways doesn’t have any shopping at all.

Hosier Lane is known for its street art.

We saw some people tagging and adding to the art, as well as lots and lots of other onlookers exploring the area.

There are other even smaller laneways off of Hosier Lane and tons of nooks and crannies that are all decorated (including the dumpsters for local restaurants!).

There are countless layers of paint on these walls, but that’s the best thing about it: it’s always changing and evolving and is never the same!

 

 

Footy at the ‘G

The Melbourne Cricket Ground was originally built in 1853.  It has obviously had some expansion and remodelling since then, but is still a history piece in Melbourne (it’s on the Victorian Heritage Register!).  The G (as it is colloquially known) has hosted the 1956 summer Olympics, 2006 Commonwealth Games, and countless Australian cricket matches (including the ever-popular Boxing Day Test).  It also houses the National Sports Museum which tells the great history of Australian sport.

The MCG is privately owned by the Melbourne Cricket Club, which was founded in 1838.  Various sections of the stadium (about 20% in total) are reserved for MCC members during any sporting event held there.

Cricket is a summer sport, so during the winter, the MCG turns into the main Australian Rules Football stadium.

Australians are absolutely crazy about footy.  The national organisation is the AFL (Australian Football League) and everyone has a team they go for (usually based on geography).  There is a team for each major city in Australia, but because the AFL was created from the VFL (Victorian Football League) half of the teams are from Melbourne and surrounds.  So in Melbourne, especially, it is important who you barrack for.

The totally capacity of the stadium is 100,024.  At the game we attended, however, it was only 63,537—minuscule, right?

The stadium regularly sells out for the AFL Grand Final.

The classic meal at a footy game is a pie and chips.  Both help keep you warm in the chilly temperatures.

One of my favourite traditions regarding footy are the team songs.  Most of them were written in the 1800’s, so they have a very vintage vibe to them.  Also, most are to the tune of famous songs written around that time, such as “You’re a Grand Old Flag,” “The Marine’s Hymn,” “Keep Your Sunny Side Up,” “The Yankee Doodle Boy,” and “When the Saints Go Marching In.”

As each team is running in through their banner, their song plays and, of course, the fans sing along.  And then, which ever team wins, their song is played on repeat after the game throughout the stadium and the guys sing it in a huddle back in the locker room.  After a long losing streak, teams are so excited to finally be able to sing their song again after a win!

There are 18 guys on each team on the field at a time, so we wanted to have a large-scope view of the game (which we don’t get watching it on TV).  So, we elected to get seats on the top-most level of the MCG, but near the front of the railings.

Heading up the escalators to the fourth level in the MCG, the surrounding walls are painted with the manuscript of the original rules of footy, written in 1859.  There were only ten rules; pretty much anything else was allowed, which is still somewhat true.  Footy was one of the first sports to be officially codified (even before soccer or rugby).

The game we attended was Collingwood Magpies vs. Essendon Bombers.  Both are suburbs of Melbourne; Essendon is near the airport, hence ‘Bombers.’  The captain of Collingwood actually lives in our suburb and we’ve seen him shopping at our supermarket (!).  Collingwood has classic black and white vertical striped jerseys and Essendon has black with a red sash.  Football jerseys were originally made from wool, but are now regular sports fabric.  However, they have maintained the integrity of the design.

There is no in-stadium commentary during play.  This silence seems to invite more people to add their own take on the game more vigorously.  Also, as not diehard fans, it was difficult to tell who had the ball or who was kicking the goal.

At halftime, kids in the AusKick program (AFL for kids) get to come out onto the field and play on the MCG!  They are dressed in miniature versions of the teams jumpers and then they get to meet the team they are dressed to represent.  They’re so adorable!

After the game, the lawn outside is covered with families playing kick-to-kick and the train/tram stations are absolutely packed with people trying to get home…

Footy is all in the history, the allegiances, and the athleticism.  We’ve really enjoyed adopting footy as our go-to sport!!

St. Kilda Pier Penguins

The St. Kilda fairy penguins are like a preview to the Phillip Island fairy penguin population, but St. Kilda is much, much closer and more easily accessible.

After being out in the water all day, the penguins come home at dusk to their nests within the rocks on the St. Kilda Pier breakwater.

In the summer, apparently, there are tons of penguins, but the sunsets can be as late as 9 pm, where complete darkness won’t fall until 10 pm.  We wanted to see the penguins earlier, so we waited until winter.  However, fewer penguins live here/make the daily trek in winter, so it wasn’t the event we thought it might be.

While we were sitting on an (uncomfrotably pointy) rock waiting for the action to begin, I noticed some movement in the rocks behind us.  Lo and behold, it was a penguin!

This one must not have travelled out that day and was cozied up in his little nest underneath rocks.  The fairy penguins are almost blue in tone and have a small yellow patch on the front of their neck.

At first, we were the only people who knew he was there because we were sitting with him.  However, once someone else saw, word got out quickly and the penguin (and us) were instantly surrounded by tons of people and cameras.

Finally, another tiny penguin emerged on the rocks above the water a bit later.

The people in fluorescent yellow jackets were the penguin patrol.  They controlled the crowds, reminded people not to use flash, and created a safe radius around the penguins.  Their job wasn’t too hard this night, but I’m sure it could get frantic in the summer.

Probably most beautiful of all were the amazing views of the sunset; the gradient looked like a rainbow!

EVEN MORE Meals in Melbourne

Flower Drum

This restaurant is a Melbourne classic located in Chinatown.  It is a large restaurant located on the second floor of a warehouse-looking building on a small laneway in the midst of Chinatown.  Inside it is bigger than expected, separated by carved wooden screens.  The service is impeccable and the classic Chinese dishes are excellent.

Saute Chicken with Pine Nuts

Chicken with shiitake mushrooms, carrots, bamboo shoots, and pine nuts

Eggplant in Spicy Salt

Fried eggplant in spicy salt stuffed with carrots, yam, pine nuts, and served with crispy enoki mushrooms

Gai Lan in Shaoxing Wine

Chinese broccoli stir-fried in rice wine and ginger

Singapore Noodles

Stir-fried Vermicelli noodles with prawns, BBQ pork, snow peas, shiitake mushrooms, onion, and chili

‘Typhoon Shelter” Lamb Cutlets

Flinders Island saltbush lamb cutlets stir-fried with fried crispy garlic, chili, and scallions

Great Ocean Road Brewhouse

Roast Lamb Dinner

Sliced roast lamb with roasted potatoes and seasonal steamed vegetables all covered in a rich gravy, served with a dollop of mint jelly

Fish and Chips

Mexican Chicken Parma

Basically nachos on top of a parma–an interesting idea…

Chocolate Mousse in a Chocolate Shell with cream

Chocolate Mud Cake with vanilla ice cream

Sticky Date Pudding with vanilla ice cream

One of the best desserts I’ve had here!  So full of caramel and rich pudding–delectable!

Shamrock Hotel

Eggs Benedict

Another day, another Eggs Benedict.  Almost too much bacon on this one, but nevertheless still delicious.

Brekky Burger

Very Australian and super good– the bun was almost Brioche-y.

Eggs and Bacon

Queen Victoria Market

Hedgehog Slice

A super rich chocolate-y, fudge-y slice with pieces of shortbread biscuit interspersed throughout and with a layer of coconut shavings on top–absolutely amazing!

Red Ochre Grill

Cripsy Onion Rings with Citrus Aioli

Pulled Pork Burger

The pulled pork was not our favourite kind (we love the vinegar-y Carolina kind!) and it was also too sweet.  But the bun, fries, and salad were all great!

Aussie Burger

This included the two most common Aussie items put on a burger: an egg and beetroot.  Even Macca’s serves burger with these items.

Veal Schnitzel with Killpatrick Sauce

Killpatrick sauce is Worcestershire sauce with bacon and cheese.  The first bites were very good, but as is usually the case with Worchestershire sauce, it gets a bit much eventually.

Chicken Parma

A solid parma with a sizable amount of ham; the chips and salad were good, as usual.

Kulata Training Academy

This is a hands-on trade school for Indigenous youths.  It’s a great group and the food was very delicious.

Bacon and Egg Panini

With onion jam (the unusual, and most delicious, aspect)

Desert Lime Melting Moment

Two shortbread cookies with a very generous swirl of buttercream–so rich!  The desert lime flavour was really good, definitely lime-y but with a hint of something else a little herb-like.