Fri 3 Oct
Our first meal in Melbourne - dinner at Steakhouse Grill 66, a restaurant right downstairs of our serviced apartment. I haven't eaten a lamb cutlet in ages and this restaurant cooks them really well.
herb & garlic lamb cutlets, roasted seasonal vegetables = AUD 68.00
Sat 4 Oct
Breakfast at Brick Lane Cafe before heading off to The Tesselaar Tulip Festival.
Breakfast for two (including two black coffees) = AUD 68.75
Sun 5 Oct
Charina bought asparagus from the South Melbourne Market.
Mon 6 Oct
No holiday is complete without a serving of pancakes so here we are!
Pancake Parlour, Melbourne Central
2-stack pancakes + tea = AUD 21.94
Country Breakfast + Peppermint Tea = AUD 33.46
Mon 6 Oct. Back at Steakhouse Grill 66 for dinner. Those grilled prawns! Possibly my best meal in Melbourne!
grilled tiger king prawns, roasted seaonsal veggies = AUD 64.48
Tue 7 Oct
We spent a morning at Queen Vic Market. While I dived into retail therapy, Charina happily lost herself in the poulty-meat-seafood sections.
Breakfast: avocado smash + a very tasty pork sausage
Charina said the grilled prawns that we had the previous night were super good and it set off her craving (and her desire to cook). So she bought fresh prawns from Queen Victoria Market and cooked lunch! She even rendered her own pork fat! #effort
Tue 7 Oct. We had dinner at Max On Hardware in Hardware Lane. Many restaurants flank both sides of Hardware Lane but this one seems to be the most popular. When I told Chester I had dinner in Hardware Lane, his immediate question was, "Did you go to Max?"
pizza, and mussels (entree) = AUD 48.72
Wed 8 Oct
We've returned to Steakhouse Grill 66 for the third time. The calamari was super tender.
beer battered fish & chips, lemon pepper calamari = AUD 49.04
Thu 9 Oct
Today we had breakfast in the historical Hopetoun Tea Rooms 1892. It's really a High Tea Menu but we had opted for a 9:00AM slot. Thus High Tea for Breakfast! #indulgence
High Tea is served on a 3-tier stand: Quiche Lorraine, Roast Beef Sandwiches, Chicken Sandwiches, Tea Room Pinwheels, Chicken Liver Pate, Vegetarian Quiche, an assortment of petits fours, a selection of fresh seasonal fruits.
Each person gets to order a pot of freshly brewed tea of her choice.
That's not all! Freshly baked scones came next. Followed by another pot of tea. This means that we get four different choice of teas between us. You can also opt for coffee or cold pressed juices.
Hopetoun Tea Rooms 1892
Hopetoun Tea Rooms 1892
Hopetoun Tea Rooms 1892 is inside The Block Arcade. I find these Victorian shopping arcades very charming. Could not resist picking up a few home and pillow perfumes from Essensorie. They'll make lovely Christmas presents for my pals back home.
Hopetoun Tea Rooms 1892
Hopetoun Tea Rooms 1892
Hopetoun Tea Rooms 1892
Hopetoun Tea Rooms 1892
High Tea for Two = AUD 150.00
After the enormous but satisfiying breakfast, I ditched Charina for the rest of the day. It was her turn for retail therapy - she'll be travelling to Finland next month (I'm so envious!) and will need to buy coldwear.
I took my time in my kind of Wonderland a.k.a. Coles Supermarket, and had Chicken McCrispy(er) for lunch. I like to eat in McD's in different parts of the world and try out items that isn't on the Singapore menu. For instance, the McD's in Bangkok offers pork burgers, and McPatongko (a sweet donut-youtiao). In Taiwan, you can have Pork Sausage McMuffin for breakfast.
Later, I met Chester for dinner after his work ended. I suggested udon because I had been eating only Western food since I arrived.
Udon Izakaya Maedaya, Bourke St
Udon Izakaya Maedaya, Bourke St
Fri 10 Oct
The last morning: crumpets for breakfast. I had bought a pack of crumpets from Coles supermarket the day before. Charina warmed them up over a frying pan. She also quickly scrambled some eggs.
We managed to check-in early at the Melbourne airport. Had plates of piping hot Char Kway Teow at BAXA Noodles & Dumplings just before we boarded our flight home. A plate of noodles + a cup of cappuccino = AUD26.88.
