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| Chin Chin 125 Flinders Lane (South-East Asian) |
Last month I completed my first visit to Australia. Even though it's taken me long enough to write about it, I still feel compelled to so -- Melbourne was a wonderful place and experience. The trip was work-related, but my friend I managed to steal away enough time to explore the city in good time, and every evening we made a point of eating well.
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| Mamasita 11 Collins Street (Mexican) |
We didn't have to go far to find good ones. Excellent ones, in fact. There wasn't a single evening that we left a restaurant unsatisfied. Each one served fantastic, creative, down-to-earth food that respected the natural flavours of good-quality raw ingredients. Though choice was sometimes a little limited, all the vegetarian options that I enjoyed were impressive and didn't leave me wanting In fact, given the variety at some places, it was almost a relief to be a vegetarian since it cuts down the amount of choice... I also noticed that a few places make a point of offering gluten free dishes (like Chin Chin and Sonido), which was rare elsewhere.
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| Meatball & Wine Bar 135 Flinders Lane (Italian Artisan Meatball Restaurant) |
I also learned that Melbourners eat out early. Restaurants (at least in the CDB) are packed from 5:30 onwards. Most of the places don't take reservations and work on a first-come-first-serve basis. Most places also felt quite noisy - you often had to shout. For some reason my companion and I were dismayed at the poor quality of the Australian red wine served in many places (Cumulus Inc, Movida and Meatball were notable exceptions) - best keep to white to be safe unless certain. I was also surprised that Australian prices are a bit higher than Finland. Still, the food was so fantastic that it was worth the culinary experience. This feeling is merely heightened by the buzzing and abundant café culture that sweeps right through the entire city, but that's another story. In sum, rest assured, Melbourne is up there with the great cities of the world and in my book easily competes with the likes of New York when it come to eating out.
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| Sonido 69 Gertrude Street (South American café-restaurant-bar) |
See also these fab spots:
Culumus Inc - 45 Flinders Lane
(Mixed cuisine with French emphasis)
Movida - 1 Hosier Lane
Tapas restaurant
NB: I do not take credit for any of the photos posted here. All credits belongs to the authors of the pages the link leads to.
