A Lively City Of Art & Dining – Melbourne

37.8141° S, 144.9633° E

Being the hub of art and dining, Melbourne is an exciting place to visit for a taste of the mouthwatering cuisine and fine wine, electrifying night life and growing art scene. Alternatively, if you are a city-dweller who seek tranquility, the amazing seasides and nature parks in this cosmopolitan country will be just right for you!

Going around town in search of fine food is my favourite past time and I am glad that the people whom I travelled with enjoy doing that too. For the 9 days in Melbourne, we spent a whooping sum on food.

Decadent Indulgence

The Hardware Societe

Situated at Melbourne Central, this highly raved-about cafe is always seen with a snaking queue formed outside before opening. Upon reaching ‘The Hardware Societe’ with our rumbling stomachs, we were served a cold notice that the last order must be placed at 2.30pm. Glancing at my watch to see the clock struck 2 and the long queue, I knew we were not going to make it. Fortunately, lady luck shone upon us that day and we managed to get a seat just before closing! It was worth the worrying wait.

Cooked perfectly to give a soft and smooth texture, their Baked Eggs are a hit among customers. Chock full of flavours, the union of chorizo and potato is a heaven made pair. With a little crunchiness from the pistou almonds, the dish is more than perfect.

My favourite is still the Lobster Benedict. The layering of succulent lobster meat, crunchy fresh cucumbers and egg benedict drizzled with citrusy hollandaise sauce on hot brioche bun is a genius combination that anyone has ever thought of. It is a 5/5 for me.

We left the place with happy tummies!

Gardiner and Field

Since we lived in the suburb which was around 30 minutes away from the city, we usually had brunch in our neighbourhood. ‘Gardiner and Field’ is an amazing breakfast/brunch cafe a stone’s throw away from our place. Situated between houses, right opposite the tennis courts, this hidden gem is everything you have imagined it to be.

With a good balance of pulled pork, fried eggs, avocados and beans topped with coriander, this hearty breakfast tacos on soft tortillas is a must try!

If you prefer less meat and more veggies, this pumpkin cooked three ways – pureed, toasted and crisped, topped with a poached egg, pine nuts and feta cheese, is the best that you could ask for. The flavours are brilliantly mixed together to give our taste buds a tantalising treat.

Top Paddock

A top favourite among the locals and tourists, ‘Top Paddock’ is usually packed from 7-4. We had to queue for around half an hour before we were let in. After reading many reviews on this place, we finally got to taste the real deal!

The aroma of the buttery soft pancake topped with sweet berries and crunchy seeds wafting through the air was enough to make us drool. This mouthwatering garden on a plate is really too good to be true. Take one bite into it and you will be hooked by the decadent sweetness of the berries and fluffiness of the pillow-like pancake.

This Top Paddock stellar dish has the most amazing combination of sweet and savoury! Honestly, I am very particular about how poached eggs are cooked as I can shamelessly say cooking eggs is my forte. Timing is very important in poaching the best eggs and Top Paddock has done it just right. The egg yolks are not too gooey but still flows smoothly to spread across the crispy baguette. The marriage of creamy bearnise sauce and the runny yolk is perfect for breakfast, brunch or dinner!

Pidapipo Gelateria

The queue at this “Pidapipo Gelateria” gelato galore is always long. At first we were quite turned off by the crowd but JW insisted that we must try as it is heavenly good. True to his words, the gelato, particularly the hazelnut flavour, is one of the best that I have eaten.

More Than Food

Andy Warhol X Ai Weiwei

Of course we did not just eat our way through Melbourne, we visited quite a few good places too. Since there was an Andy Warhol X Ai Weiwei  exhibition going on during our visit, we decided to take a look at these legendary people making art. I personally preferred Ai Weiwei art pieces, which were infused with extensive political agenda, to Andy Warhol’s ideas of the mass culture. Stood up against the government officials, AWW was determined in bringing his thought across to the people through art even when he was jailed for a few months due to his stir.

One of my favourite pieces is the “Fuck Off” exhibition which showcases many photographs of AWW flipping his middle fingers at important monuments around the world to display his displeasure against the lack of freedom in many societies.

The second exhibition that caught my attention is the “Letgo Room” filled with wise words of dissidents. The ingenuity of using Legos to build freedom is unexpected. When we think of Lego we think of children and creativity, not rebellion. Underwent a lot of troubles creating this room after Lego refused to supply him Lego pieces due to political reasons, Ai Weiwei turned to social media for help. The result was startling as many people around the world donated Lego blocks to help him build this wonderful piece of art. In this sense, “Letgo Room” is a community project that celebrates political activists fighting for human right. People for people.

There are a lot more interesting art works by Ai Weiwei that address very controversial issues in the society. If you are interested, check out his tour date here.

Moonlight Cinema

If you haven’t already tried watching movies outdoor, you have to experience it to know the joy! Before you set off to the Botanic Gardens, please bring blankets and wear extra clothing to brace yourself against the cold spring night. Totally ignorant about the Melbourne’s weather, we went and sat on the grass feeling naked as we were armed with nothing against the cold. I wondered what the others were thinking when they saw three Asian girls shivering under the moonlight…

Overall, we enjoyed the experience very much even though we fell sick the next day from the cold. Book your ‘Moonlight Cinema’ tickets online to save the hassle of purchasing on the spot as it can get crowded.

Brighton Beach

This is the place with a lot of colourful beach houses. Frankly to say, we went there just to take Instagram worthy pictures and post them online. The experience will probably be much better if it is in the Summer.

Yarra Valley

The journey to Yarra Valley was quite painful for me as I fell ill. It was a terrible feeling to be sick when travelling as I was torn between going sightseeing and staying in bed. Of course me being me, I chose the former. Immediately when I stepped into the car, I regretted. But looking back, I am glad that I went as it was beautiful looking at cows and horses grazing the endless meadows. The grass is definitely greener on the other side!

Yarra Valley is famous for its wineries. We went to one for some wine tasting which I did not try any and bought a few bottles of wine. It was really really cheap.

Visa Application

It is a must for everyone to apply visa to Australia, including Singaporeans. Being an Indonesian, the procedure of applying visa is always more complicated and for Australian Visa, we need to submit paper application at the Australia Embassy. The application costs SGD$186 and it lasts for a year. I suggest to go Australia more than once within the year to make the visa worth.

Visit VFSGLOBAL for more information.

Cost breakdown for 8 days 7 nights: