Melbourne Spring Itinerary - Food Lovers Weekend
Spring foodie Weekend in Melbourne
Friday night
Drop your bags at your hotel and head straight to Chinatown! On a dry evening there will be a buzz of people walking up and down Little Bourke St which is one of the oldest Chinatowns in the world. If you’d like cheap and cheerful, head to Shanghai Street (the name of the restaurant, not the street) for xiao long bao or Juicy Bao for sheng jian bao. Both are right on Little Bourke St, either side of Russell St. You’ll need to queue at both, but the line typically moves quickly. If you want to splash out, try the Flower Drum, but make sure you’ve booked weeks in advance. For somewhere in the middle, try Mr. Bo.
Chinese restaurants are not typically known for their excellent drinks list, but there are some great laneway bars in Chinatown if you’d like to indulge after dinner. Try One or Two or the Union Electric.
China Town | © Visit Victoria
Saturday
Melbourne has literally a thousand places to get a morning coffee, so why not explore a few on our Coffee Lovers Walk. You’ll leave with a new found respect for your flat white!
After the tour concludes, jump on a tram and head to the Royal Botanic Gardens for lunch at The Terrace and enjoy a sunny spring afternoon wandering around and relaxing. For those more interested in a bit of culture, spend your time at the NGV. You’ve got two venues to choose from either on St Kilda Road for international art or at Federation Square for Australian Art.
Speaking of Federation Square, this is your dinner venue. Grab one of the outdoor tables at Big Esso and enjoy Australian indigenous flavours. After that you might like a wander along the river and have a drink with a view at Ponyfish Island (under the Evan Walker Bridge) or Yarra Botanica (a pontoon floating in the river). Both have lovely night time view of the city lights.
Royal Botanic Gardens | © Visit Victoria
Royal Botanic Gardens | © Visit Victoria
Sunday
Head just out of the city to South Melbourne Market (which is an easy walk from Crown) and join the locals doing their Sunday morning grocery shopping and enjoying breakfast. There’s a lot of options to choose from here from pastries and coffee to freshly shucked oysters and crayfish!
For your final Spring meal in Melbourne, head to the renowned Hardware Lane for the best Malaysian flavours in the town at Lulu’s, followed by a coffee at Maker and a gelato at Piccolina, all within a few steps of each other.
South Melbourne Market | © Visit Victoria
South Melbourne Market | © Visit Victoria