Great Eats in Greater Melbourne

Hello weekend!  it is a bit grey and cold here today, but I am not going to let that put a dampener on my happiness at making it to the end of a long, stressful and crazy week, and NOT having to travel this weekend - hooray!

I know that Kayte likes my out and about posts, and I have been collecting photos of random food that I have eaten for a while, so I thought that today, just for fun, I would post about some of the  gastronomic delights that I have enjoyed recently in and around Melbourne.

First up and most recent, a branch of the Vietnamese street food chain, Roll'd, sprung up near my office in Flinders Lane.  I originally thought I'd be keen to try the traditional pork banh mi, but then when I realised it contained cold meat, I went instead for the BBQ chicken "bun mee" (as Roll'd dubs it):

This is pure deliciousness - hot BBQ chicken, coriander, cucumber, carrot and shallot in the softest baguette I have ever had., for the bargain price of $6.60  I hate hard chewy bread, so this baguette was a revelation.  The only downside to this roll was the shallot, which stayed with me for the rest of the afternoon.  Next time, I think I will cut up the shallot and halve its size so I am not eating shallot for the rest of the day.

Next up are some gorgeous chocolates from Koko Black in the City: 

This particular selection, given to me by Tim, is the Picnic Box especially for Valentines Day, but they sell these chocolate separately all year round.  Devine - my favourite was the heart filled with raspberry flavoured cream.

Staying on a sugar high, isn't this box of cupcakes from The Cupcake Queens in Kings Arcade, Armadale adorable:

Their base cupcakes (apart from the chocolate and red velvet ones) are all vanilla, with the flavours coming from the icing on top.  For dinner with some friends, I bought  one each of chocolate oreo, red velvet and musk:

The musk one was for me - I am a huge fan of musk lifesavers and musk sticks, so this cupcake just ramps up the musk to another level - yum.

Veering way off left of field, here is the tasty lunch I ate at Crossways, the Hare Krishna restaurant, in Swanston St, the City:

For the tiny price of $7.50, I got a huge serve of curry of the day, the pudding of the day (spotted dick and custard, I think) and a drink.  It is all vegetarian.  Sure, it isn't the fanciest food you will ever have,  but it is tasty and filling.

Revisiting my bent for Asian food, below are the cheapest and tastiest prawn rice paper rolls I have ever had: 

They are from a little shop just off the Little Collins Street side of Equitable Place, heading towards Elizabeth Street, but the name of the establishment unfortunately escapes me.  These rice paper rolls cost $5.90 for 3, and come with your choice of sweet chilli or teriyaki dipping sauce.  It's sweet chilli all the way for me!

Turning to a weekend excursion venue, Tim and I took the train to Spotswood one weekend, where we dined at the Spotiswoode Hotel for Sunday lunch:

It's right across from the train station, so you can't miss it.  For a mere $10, we got all of this food with the Sunday roast special: 

On the day we were there, it was turkey, complete with a dollop of cranberry sauce, and a mix of roasted and steamed veges.  It was really, really, good, but there was so much food that Tim had to help me out with mine.  I recommend booking, as this place is pumping at lunch time.

Before lunch, we stopped off at Candied Bakery in Spotswood:

It is just a short stroll up the road from the railway station.  Tim ordered Candied's famed lamington, filled with raspberry jam:

It was a massive lamington, and Tim highly recommends it.

I went for the crème brulee tartlet:

It was OK, but I think I would have liked Tim's lamington more.

Outside, these two little dogs waited patiently for their owners to emerge with some treats:

Aren't they gorgeous?

I hope you have enjoyed this gastronomic trip through Melbourne with me.  Have a great weekend!