Melbourne Part 1: CBD

Melbourne was so much fun.



















breakfast that i made for the fam (out of left overs from spaghetti the night before) and it was delicious. sorry no proper recipe (i forgot) but it was basically-

• sauteed veges - i used mushrooms + tomatoes + spinach
• add roughly 2 cups of left-over pasta sauce to sauteed veges and heat up - add spices if needed
• make 4 pockets to crack in the eggs
•  put on low-medium heat until eggs are cooked 
• top with freshly chopped herbs, and serve with crunchy toast, tea/coffee

chinatown - little bourke st |




brothl |


pana chocolate |




our first four days in melbourne's cbd were indeed well spent (wish we could've stayed longer), there were so many places to visit...and so many places to sit down and eat - our food bellies kept down by the copious amount of walking we did. 

everyday was spent exploring (and getting lost) through the entire city (mind you the cbd is way bigger than the one in brisbane). we were also freezing our butts off in the much colder weather which was pretty much the same temperature as the winter in here brisbane, yet we managed to survive by sipping on glorious hot melbourne coffee (gah it tasted so good). 

our wallets kept fighting with our stomachs and i loved seeing all the historical buildings as we walked around. it kind of made me wish brisbane still kept some of theirs... 

we visited an old gail and walked past loads of melbourne universities, libraries and art galleries that were hosted inside cool, old vintage-styled buildings.

it was also extremely strange that the sun set at 8:30pm-9pm, so most of the time we ended up getting home really late and slept really late.  

all the lanes, roads and alleyways were always filled with interesting and exciting things (and places to eat) and we also rode on the free cbd circuit tram. one thing i also noticed - was there no busses? 

boredom was never a choice, and nor did it ever cross my mind. i wished we could've stayed longer to explore more lanes and streets in the city but off we went and packed off to the country/seaside...

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some places (that i remember) we visited-

• on our first day we stumbled upon little collins st and there were so many little cute cafes and shops there! (reference to the first photo) 
• when it started raining on the 2nd day, and while looking for cover, we happened to stumble upon the big design market that sold heaps of home-made vintage and indie goods. although lots of them were super expensive :(
• we vouched and seeked for places with FREE wifi (a little sad that we put in so much effort) and mostly ended in federation square. we also discovered the melbourne suitcase rummage there too. 
• on the same day we also seeked to have lunch at the vegie bar on brunswick st. it took so long to get there that we ended up having lunch at 2:30pm but it was so worth it. brunswick st also had heaps of beautiful little vintage stores that we stayed there for the rest of the day.
• market food at the queen victoria market was also excellent
• having asian parents, one had to eat in china town (classic) in little bourke st  - i cant remember the places exactly but we had steamed pork + vegetable buns and got heaps of asian sweet goodies (sesame balls for dad, green-tea soft serve for the sister and cake for the mother, not to mention the black sesame/green tea mochi balls)
• hosier lane - had amazing street art. im not exaggerating, it's definitely a MUST visit tourist place - you can also get awesome pics there too haha 
• FOOD - must visit manchester press if you love bagels, top paddock in Richmond was great too (i also met lauren from esamee store!), brothl in hardware st - their soups are perfect, esp. on cold days, and one cannot forget the vegan pana chocolate store (on lauren's recommendation - thanks lauren!) - also in Richmond that sold heart-melting desserts and chocolate. oh. my. cannot. even. yes it was that delicious. 

mind you, these are just a few of the places we visited and i wanted to explore more but you can only do so much in 4 days. i didn't get to visit all the places i wanted to go but nevertheless i shall return.

until then.