All You Can Eat, Only in Australia!

First of all, if you’re planning a visit to Australia, head to australia.com right now! It is the single most comprehensive site for travelers heading Down Under, in there you can find heaps of information on pretty much everywhere and everything Australia.

Here are some of the things you can find on the site:

• travel by destination – cities
• accommodation – with links to hotels, ratings, etc
• transportation
• restaurants and where to eat
• shopping
• adventures

The information is laid out well, with photos, guides, videos, tips, and even special offers. It is the single most amazing tourism site I’ve seen.

australia.com website, everything you need to plan a trip

Personally, I’ve been to Australia twice, both times to Melbourne and I really enjoyed my visits. There’s plenty to do, I went skiing at Mt. Buller, visited Chinatown, ate at little Italy, traveled to St. Kilda by tram, walked around Melbourne University, and shopped at Queen Victoria Village.

And since this blog is primarily known for food, lets explore a little bit on what you can expect to find while in Australia. These are just some of the places I went to in Melbourne, but you can find many a variety of dining choices in pretty much every city in Australia.

Food lovers will never be disappointed.

MART 130, excellent breakfast place

There are many awesome breakfast places in Australia, and MART 130 would be one of the excellent examples if you’re traveling to Melbourne. The place used to be a TRAM stop, but it is now serving one of the best breakfasts you’d find anywhere. Yes, you can get there on Melbourne’s well known tram system.

MART 130
07A Canterbury Road,
Middle Park 3206,
Melbourne, Australia

coffee at Brother Baba Budan

For those who love coffee, the caffeinated culture is mature and sophisticated. Coffee houses are among the hot spots where people hang out, and one of the places you should check out would be Brother Baba Budan, the coffee here is one of the best you could get anywhere and consistently praised by critics. I certainly loved it.

Alternatively, chocolate lovers should check out Max Brenners chocolate bar at QV, they serve pretty awesome chocolate drinks, and rather decent coffee too.

Brother Baba Budan
359 Little Bourke Street
Melbourne 3000

real hearty burgers at Grill’d

There are fast food joints all over Australia, but if you’re into hearty, thick-pattied burgers, Grill’d would be one of those places you want to stop by. Australia produces premium quality beef, which you can enjoy in their burgers.

Grill’d is available at more than 30 locations.

Grill’d (opposite Max Brenners)
Level 2
210 Lonsdale Street
Melbourne VIC 3000

authentic as you can get Vietnamese pho, even has coagulated blood

Since Australia is a melting pot with various cultures and immigrants from different parts of the world, you get many authentic ethnic cuisines.

One of my favorite Asian dishes is Vietnamese pho (soup noodle), so we went all the way to Richmond, the “little Vietnam” near Melbourne for a meal. Pho Dzung did not disappoint, they even have coagulated blood on the menu, something I haven’t seen from anywhere else outside Vietnam!

Pho Dzung Tan Dinh
208 Victoria St
Richmond 3121 VIC

Korean food? you’re covered at Oriental Spoon

If Korean food is your choice, there are plenty to choose from as well. We went to Oriental Spoon while I was in Melbourne, the bulgogi was huge and yummy, the only small problem over there is that you might end up waiting for a bit to get a vacant table.

Oriental Spoon
254 La Trobe St,
Melbourne VIC 3000,
Australia‎

Japanese food? No problem, Shoya is more than satisfactory

Shoya is an established high end Japanese restaurant that calls Melbourne home. If you’re on a bit of a budget,a great way to try high end restaurants would be to go for their set lunches. The photos above are some of the dishes we had for the two sets ordered. The meals ended up with two satisfied customers.

Shoya
25 Market Lane, Melbourne.
Victoria, Australia, 3000

Ying Thai 2 offers one of the best Thai foods around

Fancy some spicy food that’ll leave a burning sensation in your very own down under? Ying Thai 2 is one of the many Thai restaurants in every major Australian city. Tomyam, green curry, minced meat with basil, and even chicken in pandan leaves, they have it all. Prices are very reasonable as well, a very popular place among students and working adults alike.

Ying Thai 2
110 Lygon St,
Carlton VIC 3053,
Australia

Italian cuisine? Plenty of those at Lygon street, pics above from Tiamo 2

There are plenty of Italian restaurants in Australia, and the popular place to go if you find yourself at Melbourne would be Lygon Street. We’ve been to Cafe Italia for authentic Italian food, Il Dolce Freddo for some of the best gelati, and Tiamo 2 Cucina E Pizzeria for hearty pizzas.

Tiamo 2
305 Lygon St
Carlton 3053, Victoria

seafood at Claypots, St. Kilda

For seafood lovers, most of the major cities in Australia are along the vast coastline of the country. When I was in Melbourne we traveled to St. Kilda for this purpose. Here you find quite a few restaurants that serve fresh seafood, and we had a great dinner at Claypots. The fish was fresh, and prawns were scrumptious. It was indeed very yummy. I remembered ordering a fish that I’ve never tasted before, though the name of said fish escapes my mind right now.

Claypots
213 Barkly St,
St Kilda
Victoria 3182

These are some of the places I personally visited from the two trips in Melbourne. There are plenty of great food experiences to enjoy in Australia, and you don’t even need to limit yourself to restaurants as there are also fresh produce markets, fruit picking, cheese farms, and many other delicious places to visit for a complete gastronomic journey Down Under.