The grand staircase leading to the Melba Room.

On this cold, bleak, winter Friday the dining room was almost full.  Proving what I have always thought; a cold bleak day is an ideal day to spend eating.

This trip empathized just how great and varied the food is at the Melba Room buffet.

The Melba Room opens at noon and steadily fills up.

To me the lunch time buffet in the Melba Room is all about eating.  The light, bright and elegant dining area is heavy with food and it needs to be eaten.

As we had been before and knew what was available we decided to plan our meal.  That is, put some order into our eating and treat it like traditional feast with numerous courses.

I decided to pass on the soup – it was vichyssoise (leek and potato) which I make myself.

I began with hors d’oeuvres and headed for the cold meats and salads – delicious.

Then on to the fish course – prawns and crab and I added sushi to this course as a sort of sub course.

The sushi is made to your own personal order.  The more knowledgeable about sushi you are the more you can vary what ends up on your plate.

I liked the idea of a stir fry for the next course, it was light with rice noodles available and scallops.  The scallops were for use only by the stir-fry cook, not to be confused with the fish course– again we chose the ingredients.

You may think by now enough food has been consumed but think on those long Italian Lunches; course after course comes from the kitchen to the table and into continually munching and talking mouths.

It was now time for roast beef and the wonderful roasted vegetables – a sort of heavy main course.  It  lacked  Yorkshire pudding. I wonder if the cooks can cook Yorkshire pudding.  Has it gone out fashion?  My mother always cooked it with roast beef.

By this time a good two hours had gone by and it was time for deserts.

Each desert is a perfect miniature

This slice was a work of art – as nice to look at as it was to eat.

Finally coffee and cheese.

We will be back and then I’ll try the curries.  What course in a great English feast would include curry?  And I missed the Chinese dumplings on this visit…………there is still more food to sample.

Times:
The Melba Room starts serving luncheon at noon, the hot food is removed at 2.30 and the restaurant closes at 4.00 to prepare for dinner.
Costs:
Monday to Friday  $49.00.
Prices in the weekend are higher
Saturday $75.00
Sunday $84.00
It is suggested you book especially on Saturday and Sunday when it can be very busy.

Getting there:
The Melba Room, The Langham Hotel, 1 Southgate Avenue, Southgate  8696 8888.
You can enter from The Southbank Promenade along the river or it is just off St Kilda Road, in Southgate Avenue

Trams:
Any tram that goes to Federation Square or Flinders Street Station will get you there.

Cars:-
There is parking underneath – remember to get your parking ticket validated when you pay for your meal.

Related posts:

1. Opulence and Food, the Melba Room at The Langham Hotel,CBD
2. The Wayside Inn Hotel South Melbourne – good eating – with a new cook and new management.
3. Cricket Club Hotel South Melbourne – ideal eating on a cold night

The Oriental Tea house in Chapel Street was once a pub

Yum Cha on Sunday is something I enjoy – watching the trolleys come past, studying the food and deciding ‘yes’ or ‘no’.  The frustrating part is that when I have eaten enough I see something new appear from the kitchen, glide past me and I am temped all over again.

At the Oriental Tea House there is none of this.   You order your Yum Cha from the menu.  It is rather like a ‘Chinese Tapas’.

You can pop in at any time during the day order a tea and a Yum Cha snack.

I ate at the Oriental Tea House on Chapel Street for the first time before we attended a gold class session of ‘Sex and the City 2’ at the Jam Factory.

We went early to give us time to talk, relax and to get into the mood for the glamour and style we were to see on the screen. It was a good choice.

The good thing about the Oriental Tea House is that it severs the same food all the time so we could create our own stylish early dinner.

The name ‘ The Oriental Tea House’ appeals to me.  Just the sound is relaxing.  The clean white open space when you enter, with the store of interesting teas and other merchandise including Chinese herbs in the front and then the restaurant at the rear, is welcoming and soothing.

I like the emphasis on tea but as we were preparing to watch over-the-top glamour on the screen we decided bubbles were appropriate.

This is what we ordered:-

Spinach Seafood Soup

Won Ton Soup

Vegetarian Buckweat Dumplings with Chilli

Delux Basket (nine different pieces of dumplings steamed in a large basket).

Calamari in Spicy Salt

The dishes appeared haphazardly with the squid coming a distant last.  It occurs to me now that each dish may travel from the kitchen as soon as it is cooked – something to think about when you order.  If you order soup it is nice to both get your soup at the same time.

The dumplings are delicious. The best I have had recently.  As I write this I am still thinking about them and plan to pop in for one of their teas and a ‘variety basket’ of dumplings.  At $6.90 it is excellent value

We didn’t try the Tea-Tails – cocktails made with tea blends.  The idea of a tea based cocktail served in a teapot is a whimsy that brings a smile to the face – it has to be worth a try.
Here is an example of some that are available:-

Campari Treasure 8.5
Bitter sweet with a hint of orange Campari.
+ Calm & Concentration TEA served on ice

Russian Spy in Shanghai 8.5
This one really packs a punch with Vodka
+ Gun Powder TEA served with fresh lime

Baileys Kiss 8.5
Spicy with a tasty kick of Baileys & milk
+ Chai TEA served over ice

Luck of the Irish 8.5
One to really help you unwind with a warm blend of Irish Whisky
+ Relaxing TEA

Where:-
The Oriental Tea House
455 Chapel Street
South Yarra (opposite Bridie O’Reilly’s)

Phone:-Restaurant 9826 0168

Web site:-

http://www.orientalteahouse.com.au/chapel-street/w1/i1001202/

Opening Hours:-
10am until late – every day.

Getting there:-
No 8 Tram to Toorak. Get off at the corner of Toorak Road and Chapel Street.
No 78  Tram – this tram runs along Chapel Street from St Kilda to Richmond.

Related posts:

1. Cricket Club Hotel South Melbourne – ideal eating on a cold night
2. Trash, Treasure or vintage? It is hard to decide in Womango, 47 Chapel Street, Windsor/Prahran.
3. Eating Korean at Dae Jang Geum Korean BBQ – Korean Food, Melbourne’s CBD

The people with me have been to Cafe Saigon several times and knew exactly what they were going to eat. I was new to the cafe and I expected Vietnamese.

I have seen the restaurant many times before.  I used to work not far away and I have admired the building – all that bluestone makes for an attractive facade.  It was nice to get a chance to eat there.

Walk through the entrance and there is a small shrine to Buddha that creates an immediate ease to the day’s tensions.

On your left is the bar and to your right the large dining room.  It has a decor that  is cool and minimal with bricks and concrete.  It represents no particular style and somehow this makes it easy to feel comfortable and at home.

As I said I was surprised to find the menu covered dishes from other Asian countries including Grilled Teriyaki Chicken and Pad Thai Rice Noodles.

We ordered a serving of Vietnamese spring rolls and also Vietnamese vegetarian rice paper rolls.

Spring rolls

Vegetarian rice paper roll

Of the two dishes the rice paper rolls were far the superior and had a sauce that owed a lot to Hoi Sin Sauce.  The waiter told us that the sauces were all made on the premises.

Two of us travelled south from Vietnam and ordered Singapore noodles.  Good choice.  The dish had just the right amount of heat for me and I got the other diner’s serving of prawns.

Singapore noodles with extra prawns

The sizzling beef and vegetables was a tried and true favourite for my other table companion.  She suggested the restaurant so she could eat this dish.  It came to the table really sizzling and smelling delicious.

Sizzling beef and vegetables

The service was wonderful, friendly, efficient and careful.  That sounds a silly word to use but we felt  we were cared for and our pleasure was their priority.

The restaurant has been there for a long time and appears to have built up a following with the locals.

The food was good but not exceptional and the prices on the high side for Asian food but then we are in Albert Park just up from the beach so it is unfair to compare prices with prices in Victoria Street, Richmond.

I’d eat there again.  It’s a Melbourne Place that is worth going to.

There is a take away menu here. I can’t see that it is very different from the cafe Menu.

Cafe Saigon:-
159 161 Victoria Avenue
Albert Park
Phone 9696 3388

Opening Hours:-
Lunch 11.30 to 3.00 every day except Saturday
Dinner 5.30 to 10.00pm every day except Thursday Friday and Saturday when it stays open until 11.00pm

Getting there:-
It is just up from the South Melbourne Beach.
Tram No 1 to South Melbourne Beach it terminates at the beach at the end of Victoria Avenue
Get off at the second to last stop.

Related posts:

1. Lunch at Hotel Nest – Albert Park
2. Asia on Victoria Street in Richmond
3. Antarctica on display in the Foyer of Gasworks Park Theatre – Albert Park

Recently,  I scrolled through some of the blogs  I follow and read a review of the  Dae Jang Geum Korean BBQ.  We decided to try the restaurant. 
When I mentioned at work  that I would be lunching at a Korean Restaurant everyone said,

“What’s Korean food like?”

It is a good question.  We know so much about other Asian cuisines but what do we know of Korean?  We eat regularly Thai, Chinese, Indian and Japanese.  We grab them as take-aways, we read about them on the food pages of magazines and newspapers.   But Korean food?  When did you last discuss Korean food with a mate?

The Dae Jang Geum Korean Barbecue restaurant is  a great place to get acquainted with the cuisine.

Dae Jang Geum Korean BBQ is upstairs in Little Bourke Street, just around the corner from Swanston Street.  You can’t miss it.  There are large garish pictures of some of the dishes severed on either side of the wide entrance stair case.

As we know so little about Korean food I think this is a good idea.  It shows us what we can expect to eat before we climb the stairs.  The menu also has a picture of each dish.  I found all  these pictures helpful.

I have been to Korea and I had a couple of dishes in my mind that I remembered I liked and haven’t eaten since.  I also remember the blistering heat of ‘kimchi’ that was added to everything, including soups.

Upstairs

The room is large and feels like any Asian cafe that is about the food and conversation not the decor.   One feature wall is interesting.  It is covered in Korean writing.  When you look at it closely you can see how it differs from Chinese or Japanese.  We wondered what it was saying.  Dae Jang Geum over and over again??

We ordered a glass of white wine to sip while we made food decisions.  White wine is the only wine by the glass and it is what it says, white wine.  For $4.00 you get a full glass of drinkable dry white.   I have photographed it because I wanted to prove the value!

The tables are set up for a tradition Korean BBQ, with a gas ring in the centre.

We ordered a plate of dumplings to share

They came with mild flavoured dipping sauce and the spring onions that gave them  a fresh taste.  We enjoyed them.

The seafood noodle soup  with a couple of side dishes was very good.  It was large and had plenty of  seafood.

I ordered a seafood pancake.  I remember eating these rather starchy pancakes when I was in Korea.  They were often pleasant and mild without too much heat in the mixture.   This one came with two side dishes neither very hot but added to the overall flavour.

Side dishes are part of the Korean cuisine and each order came with its own side dishes.

We plan to return for an evening meal and to have the traditional barbecue. We want the fun of our own gas ring and the chance to cook our own food  Another dish we want to try is a soup that is served in a stone bowl with a raw egg on top that you mix in and it sort of cooks with the hot soup.

I am puzzled about the lack of chilli in the food.  No one discussed heat with us.  We were the only westerners in the restaurant that lunch time and I wondered if the cooks made a decision on our behalf and cut the heat or have we struck a regional fare of Korea that is not hot?

Another question that was asked at my office is why Korean food hasn’t taken off like other Asian foods?  I have no answer to that question. Perhaps you have.

Where:-
Dae Jang Geum Korean BBQ,
Level 1, 235 Little Bourke Street, Melbourne CBD
Phone 9662 9445

Opening Hours:-
Open 7 days a week
Sunday to Thursday – 11.30am to 10.00pm
Friday and Saturday 11.30am to 11.00pm

Getting there:
Any tram that goes along Swanston Street and get off at Bourke Street.  It’s about 20 metres  along Little Bourke Street towards Russell Street.

Related posts:

1. Cafe Saigon, Victoria Avenue, Albert Park
2. The Oriental Tea House on Chapel Street, South Yarra – good eating
3. Cricket Club Hotel South Melbourne – ideal eating on a cold night

I think it is best on Saturday.  The produce seems to be fresher as if it was whisked from the soil or picked from the tree that very morning.   It is also the day when the market is flooded with locals doing their weekly shopping – a great ambiance that is unique to this market.

Shopping  before the Saturday crowds.

It’s good to be there early on Saturday and miss some of the crowd but on the other hand from about 10.30 onwards the place is full of free nibbles – you can lunch your way around the stalls eating a bit here and there.  If you watch the shoppers you can see them sampling and snacking as they weave from stall to stall.

This is a produce market.    There is a hardware stall but it is about food: fruit and veg, meat fish and poultry, delicatessens, coffee, flowers and a very popular organic stall (Ripe the Organic Grocer), selling everything including wine and cakes made with organic ingredients. It is not a market for clothes and bric-a-brac.

A good place to start is Cleo’s.  It has an entrance off Commercial Road and a window full of bread.  You can wander through the delicatessen and straight into the market.

From Cleo’s I head to stall 108,  MJ Mow Gourmet Potatoes.  Every variety of potato is available including the increasingly popular kipfler and one I had never heard of before,  Purple Congo.  This is good to mash and because of its colour good to use as a decoration.    There is a flier available that  lists 17 varieties of potatoes and  their different uses.  It is fun to experiment and I do but I love my old favourite the King Edward.

Stall 116 is Damian Pike the Wild Mushroom Specialist.  Wild mushrooms are those that come up in  a field after rain and have the best taste ever.  There not always available – it doesn’t always rain.  The stall is interesting not only because of the selection of mushrooms but for unusual seasonal items like flat peaches from China which they say they stock.  I have never seen them but I believe they exist!

You can grab good coffee or dine on something more substantial in the Market Square which is partly covered and has a play ground for the kids.

Coffee in the Market Square.

Information:-

Damian Pike Wild Mushroom specialist Phone 0411 438 465

MJ Mow Gourmet Potatoes  Phone 0417 382 354

Market Web site

Address:-

163 Commercial Road, South Yarra

Opening Hours:-
Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday – dawn to 5pm
Friday Dawn to 6pm
Sunday 10am to 3.00pm

Closed:-

Monday and Wednesday

Getting there:-

Tram:- 72 and get off at Stop 30

Train:- Take the Sandringham Line to Prahran Station and walk to Commercial Road.  It’s about 2 minutes walk

Related posts:

1. Red Star Cafe right opposite The South Melbourne Market, Clarendon Street
2. Cakes and coffee at the Special Cake Shop – Chapel Street, Prahran
3. Explore the Books @ the Fed Square Book Market CBD

I’d been shopping and enjoying the vibes of Victoria Street for some time before I found it.  That sounds silly because now I know where it is,  I can’t understand how I missed it.  But I did.   There’s an empty lot next door so perhaps that helps to hide it from view.

Visiting Minh Phat is fun and stimulating.  There are things like dried and preserved Persimmon,  jars of Korean Kim Chi and lotus seeds, fried and preserved parsnip.   There is a whole isle of teas.  Packets of teas and teas you can buy by the scoop – dried flowers, tiny rose buds and chrysanthemum.

Fresh vegetables too.   Everything you would expect in a green grocery section and then there are things you wouldn’t expect – bunches of Chives in flower and garlic shoots.

It is impossible to know what some of the things are as there is not a word of English on the packaging.   It is a bit like a game of chance.  Try to work out what it is, buy it and find out if you were right when you get it home.

You can buy cooking utensils and crockery.

I have experimented, successfully, with a Thai Dessert – rather like an instant pudding but more delicious and everything is written in English – Thai Tapioca Pearl and Black Bean in Coconut Milk.  Classy and the flavours grow on you and you need to go back for more.

Minh Phat Supermarket, 178 -180 Victoria Street, or alternatively 2 – 8 Nicholson Street, Richmond.  It is just around the corner from Victoria Street, next to a vacant lot.

Getting there:

The 109 Tram from Port Melbourne goes along Collins Street – through the CBD and then along Victoria Street in Richmond.
The 78 Tram runs the full length of Chapel Street from St Kilda East, through Prahran into Church Street and terminates at the corner of Church Street and Victoria Street, Richmond. This is a great tram if you live along the route.

There’s one hour meter parking in Victoria Street.

Related posts:

1. Asia on Victoria Street in Richmond
2. Asian ambience and bargains for the stay-at-home traveller
3. The best place to buy a fresh (that is dead) duck in Melbourne

Take the 109 Tram and head to Victoria Street in Richmond. The moment you cross Hoddle Street the atmosphere changes. You are entering a different world.

Many people call this area little Saigon.  I’ve been to Saigon but it’s not Saigon to me.   To me it is Asia – crowds, shops packed with merchandise, no interesting window displays,  the inside chaotic, pavements congested with people and market style stalls.   On a busy Saturday at lunch time there is a high noise level, cafes bulging with eaters and everyone talking, trams rattling by and cars everywhere.  Noise! Just like Asia.

Have a look at ‘Tatsing Food Store’, 250 Victoria Street and smell inside –it has  one of the smells of Asia.  Dried fish?  It is hard to know.

The vegetables are as fresh as any you would get anywhere and I like the way they are grouped in colours.

If you get off the tram at the Church Street corner you can wander back towards the city while you browse, window shop, crowd-watch and grab a bowl of Pho ( rice noodle soup with beef and chicken).  It is said to be the best in Melbourne along this street.  Try Banh Cuon Thanh Ha at 172 Victoria Street. It specializes in Vietnamese Hawker Foods’.

It is also said that while Bill Clinton was in Melbourne he had two bowls of Pho in the CBD.  Time restraints I guess, otherwise he would have headed for Victoria Street, Richmond.   Perhaps he had a home delivery to his hotel suite.

This lady is always there.  I wonder if she grows the vegetables she sells.

Asia is about food and there is an enormous variety of fresh fish on Victoria Street.

Latish on Saturday morning is a good time to go if you want the full sensation of a crowded downtown Asian Street. The crowd is very mixed and everyone is shopping for food.  I shop there for ducks and the ingredients for Peking Duck.  It is the only place I know to buy the wrappers.

The best way to get there is by tram.  The 109 Tram from Port Melbourne goes along Collins Street – through the CBD.

If you drive parking can be stressful with only 1 hour parking along the Victoria Street – that is if you can find a park. Weekdays are quieter.

Related posts:

1. Cafe Saigon, Victoria Avenue, Albert Park
2. Have fun at the Minh Phat Asian Supermarket, Richmond -
3. Asian ambience and bargains for the stay-at-home traveller