Last month we were back in Melbourne for a flying visit. I was attending a conference and added a couple of days so that Hubby and I could have a mini-break. And of course, that meant discovering new eats and visiting old favourites.
We stayed at the same serviced apartments that we did on our previous visits except this time we booked a studio apartment. Unlike the one-bedroom apartment, the only cooking facilities were a microwave, a toaster and a kettle! Thoughts of cooked breakfasts in the apartment quickly disappeared.
Following are the places we enjoyed—all of them (except one) old favourites:
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Dragon Boat Restaurant, Little Bourke Street
As mentioned in my Away from Home - Melbourne 2015 post, we'd been visiting the Dragon Boat Restaurant for years. Being late-risers, a restaurant offering yum cha until 5:00pm was always going to be attractive.
What we didn't know was that the Dragon Boat yum cha starts at 8:00am whereas most of the other restaurants don't open until 11:30am. Registration for the conference opened at 12 noon making an 11:30am start a little late, so Dragon Boat was again, a perfect option for us.
Dim sum, like dumplings and rice noodle rolls, are served from 8:00am but dishes like roast meats, fried rice and noodles, and steamed vegetables weren't available because the kitchen didn't open until 11:30am.
» View the yum cha dishes on Instagram
The food is good, and we can still find some dishes that seem to be unique to Melbourne.
Of course, I can't forget the Dragon Boat storefront in the adjoining arcade. The first afternoon I stopped off to buy a couple of sticky rice balls, which we enjoyed over the next couple of days.
And on our last morning I bought some more to bring back to Sydney for gifts. The boxes in which they were packed were pretty battered but the sticky rice balls retained their shape and were much appreciated. 👍
I really need to find a sales outlet in Sydney or learn to make these myself!
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Nirankar, Queen Street
The last time we were in Melbourne we suspected the Nepalese restaurant we frequented was closed and this trip, we found confirmation online that it had.
So we were pleasantly surprised to find Nirankar served Indian and Nepalese cuisine, and was close to the apartment.
This was the only new place we visited on this trip.
We were told that the momos (steamed chicken dumplings) would take 15 minutes to cook so we ordered them while we perused the rest of the menu and enjoyed the complimentary pappadums.
The dipping sauce for the pappadums and the roasted tomato chutney for the momos both had a bit of bite.
For mains we ordered Tenzin de Sherpa (a chicken and mushroom curry) and Lamb Rogan Josh. The dishes were aromatic and delicious; and the servings generous and filling.
Definitely a restaurant we'll visit again.
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Queen Street Rescue, Queen Street
The Queen Street Rescue is fast becoming our ‘local’ restaurant when we stay in Melbourne, especially as it is part of the apartment hotel.
Hubby met a Twitter friend for coffee the afternoon we arrived and breakfasted there the day I attended the conference. We had dinner there the first night and breakfast there the last morning.
Queen Street Rescue was surprisingly busy for a Wednesday evening and we found it a little noisy.
I opted for the mushroom risotto, which was served piping hot. The roasted mushrooms and dill smelt divine and it was delicious!
Hubby chose the Catch of the Day Fish and Chips. It looked delicious and Hubby confirmed it was so. It wasn't greasy (which was one of the reasons I'd avoided it) and I did manage to sample some of the chips. 😁
» View our dinner at Queen Street Rescue
The following morning we breakfasted at another cafe and we weren't impressed with our meals, including Hubby's Eggs Benedict. So when Hubby went to Queen Street Rescue for breakfast while I was at the conference, he ordered Eggs Benedict and sent me a photo with the caption: “Now that's an Eggs Bennie”.
On our last morning in Melbourne Hubby had “Queen's Eggs” (a Smoked Salmon Benedict) and I satisfied a craving for scrambled eggs and added a serve of grilled tomato. Yum!
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Sukhothai, High Street, Northcote
What is a trip to Melbourne without us visiting Sukhothai, the Thai restaurant that we frequented when we lived in Melbourne? And this trip we had the chance to introduce this ‘gem’ to a local resident, one of Hubby's Twitter pals.
In the 15-odd years since we left Melbourne, little has changed at Sukhothai. The owners are the same, favourite dishes remain, and the decor has been subtly modernised.
It was an enjoyable meal: good food, good company.
We started with the Angel Prawns, prawns coated in coconut with delicious mayo and moved onto the Ginger Barramundi with melt-in-your-mouth flesh, Yum Banana Flower salad (a dish we've only ever seen at Sukhothai), and Red Curry Chicken.
There was no way any of us could fit in dessert, especially not my favourite Hot and Cold Delight, a dessert so filling that it requires meticulous planning of entrees and mains!
Stuffed mushrooms
Sticky rice ball
Chicken momos with roasted tomato chutney
Mushroom risotto
Eggs Benedict
Yum Banana FlowerNot every place we visit is ‘blogworthy’ but on this trip, one restaurant stood out for the wrong reasons.
The decor was lovely and the people friendly but service was slow.
Eggs BenedictTo me, the coffee tasted a little funny—I think the milk was starting to sour. And given the simplistic presentation of our meals, it seemed to take a long time to prepare and cook.
The dishes were edible and cheap. The Eggs Benedict, costing $8, comprised smoked ham, poached eggs and hollandaise sauce on a toasted muffin.
The Eggs Benedict at Queen Street Rescue cost almost $10 more but with gypsy ham, spinach, and sour dough it looked more appetising.
Maybe this is a case of ‘what-you-pay-is-what-you-get’ but I feel that even my homemade Eggs Benedict look better.
This restaurant seems to be rated highly online and has many favourable reviews regarding their lunch and dinner menu. This leads me to think that the breakfast menu is fairly new and the cook isn't used to cooking these breakfast dishes.
We definitely won't be returning to this restaurant for breakfast.
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