Queen Victoria Markets, Melbourne

The Vic markets have been in operation since 1878.   There are covered halls, open air stalls and old fashioned market alleys. Fast food and more can also be found in the series of shops adjacent to the markets proper.  It forms a unique suburban shopping town in its own right, although it is easily walkable to the site after alighting from one of the complimentary City Circle trams on the northern side of Melbourne CBD.

Open every day, except for Wednesdays, the stallholders are there mostly from 6am to 2pm, although there is a later start on lazy Sunday mornings from 9am.   The Dairy Hall is a particular attraction although I recommend walking around with an open mind and you never know what delights and surprises you may find in store.  For us on a March afternoon, we found delicious figs, touristy souvenirs like the trams and even the Sydney Harbour ferry plus a whole host of nutty produce at better prices than in Sydney.

There are the expected encounters with clothes, jewellery, breads, fruits, buskers, farm fresh eggs, China made stuff, Aussie originals, fast food and organic produce. The floors are relatively dry and  clean and not difficult to navigate.   You can also source gourmet and deli supplies apart from the well known tradition of trying jam donuts.

These are the largest markets of its kind south of the Equator.  Pirated goods used  to be the controversial profile of the Vic Markets in the first half of the nineties.  Solar panels were set up to provide renewable and cleaner energy arrangements for the markets in 2003.  There was even a significant attempt to close these markets in the seventies. The site of such markets overlapped with pre-existing burial grounds and  there had to be re-interment of buried human remains to accommodate the expansion of the markets.

For those who prefer more of agricultural produce and displays, there are farmers' markets in Echuca, Mytrleford, Mulgrave, Flemington, Torquay, Inverloch , Boorondara and Hume Murray outside Melbourne CBD.  Also worthy to check out in Melbourne city centre are the Prahran and South Melbourne markets.

York Lane Cafe, Wynyard - Sydney CBD

I first came upon York Lane as part of an exercise in a trial building fire drill. The literal lane was clean, quiet and unassuming, providing a break between high rises near the Sydney's Harbour Bridge and slotted neatly between York and Clarence Streets. I noticed Made In Italy along this lane then, with a counter facing the roadway and egg tray cubes making do as tables for lunchers. Tucked away slightly a few metres up north along York Lane is this cafe with an apparently simple entrance but with a much more colourful interior inside.

When you walk in, you cannot help but noticing the mirrors at the furthest end of the joint.  The square shaped tables are necessarily small and low, with stools offered for customers. The decor does set the tone, with a colourful mural on one wall and the bar on the other. There was a portable electric fan sitting inauspiciously during a sultry warm afternoon on the day of visit. I was told of the hanging bicycle before hand - and there it was placed snugly above, reminding me of the Clipper Cafe in Glebe, Sydney CBD. The cafe does not have a level floor but more interesting, it provides various platform and down step corners. You can have takeaway, but more delightful is to spend an hour or so soaking in the innovative interiors.

I am reminded of Melbourne lifestyles sitting inside the York Lane Cafe.  Coffee, carefully thought of snacks, wines, liquorsrs, juices and beers.  The menu comes on parched paper placed on small wooden clipboards. Service is fast despite being informal and friendly.  The house wine costs $6.50 when accompanied by a meal and there is happy hours between 2 and 4pm. Did I mention the bar? Yes, this unusual place is open till late on six out of the seven days (only closed on Sundays). Now there is at least a place to unwind after the late performance at the nearby Sydney Opera House or after a post work hours convention on a weeknight. Lamps look down at you from the ceiling.

I could not resist one of their signature menu items, the roast pork served with chili jam and a side serve of salad in creamy dressing. The crispy skin of the pork was well accompanied by the textured and juicy bite of the meat underneath.  The layer of fat was more than I expected but I thought it blended well.  Hey it was not that fat!  They did not have the Chinese styled duck slices with wraps that day. Later we topped up the visit with trying out the coffee - it was strong but had well chosen bean flavour and made with a creamy intensity, at least for my cuppacino!

Melbourne Revisited

Lane ways that surprise, delight and open our minds.

Waterways that exemplify the lifestyle and mindset of a metropolis.

Rows of sugar, spice and everything nice.

The way to a city's cosmopolitan heart can be through the diversity of its cuisine.

Sting like a bee, dance like a butterfly - fitness and tough guys match in Melbourne.

What at the same time separates and joins politics and the performing arts could truly be the level of creativity.

The passion for sports can be tribal, communal and intense.

Artistic, bohemian and innovative are the youngsters who seek outlets of expression.

The paparazzi on the move at Federation Square near the Flinders Street Station.

Towers of commerce, icons of growth and spirit of a capital city.

National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne

Straits of Malacca - Melbourne CBD

Hot tea latte on a wooden table.

Please note that this restaurant has since closed from time of writing of this blog post.


With a wall mural literally a photographic snapshot of a Malacca heritage institution and a location in busy Swanston Street, I reckoned this must be a mecca for university students form Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore.  It lies within the radius of the university precinct, also overlapping with tourist walkabouts and office workers looking for quick and easy snacks or meals.  It provides low sitting tables and easy, unassuming food presumably inspired by the cultural, trade and migration confluence that is, and was, Malacca.  Malacca, which once had an empire in South-east Asia and controlled the trade and shipping routes between East and West, has now been recognised as a UNESCO heritage site.

But that is just history.   The reality is that the Straits of Malacca restaurant offers their version of street food and strikingly simple lunch combination menus, with a food dish of your choice and a drink, usually the favourite teh tarik.  We chose the bee hoon siam and ayam masak merah (red coloured spice paste cooked chicken) to test out the place.  My Kuala Lumpur mate and I wondered if the food had been toned down to suit mainstream tastes or the increasing China market.  They were okay for a mid afternoon snack but we did indeed expect more. A Sydney mate later said, when listening of my encounters of Malaysian styled food in Melbourne CBD, that he heard that the good stuff in this cuisine had moved to the Melbourne suburbs, unlike not long ago.

Bee Hoon Siam, or at least the southern Malaysian Peninsular version of this dish. I did not find the vermicelli
chili hot but it was okay.

I noticed a particularly good serving of roti canai and curry on another table.  We heard much chatter in Mandarin and Cantonese. We sensed the presence of regular and repeat customers, people who need not even look into the menu and ordered their fav dish immediately upon sitting down. The customers want their food reliable, consistent and accessible.  The staff were friendly and the place, once opened, welcomes people any time until they close at night.  Sitting inside, you could look out at the goings-on on the main street, with trams, strollers and other traffic providing both the backdrop and activity that epitomises Melbourne itself.

The Ayam Masak Merah was obviously under, or maybe I hoped for more kick in the taste

When one badges a restaurant with associations of Malacca, I sort of half expected unique delicacies from this long established  port city.  The Straits Indians and Chinese of Malacca left indelible imprints, together with the Eurasian Portuguese community, the Dutch and the British.  I expected opportunities to savour Devil's Chicken,  satay celup and braised mutton, for example, but they were simply not there.  Haha, I reckon I was expecting too much.  Instead it was another outlet offering the usual street food menu from Malaysia - the Hainan chicken rice, the curry laksa, the fish curry and stir fried noodles.