Melbourne’s markets are open all year long!

Not only are the open all year, but there are markets across the city. Many people go to the touristy and very popular Queen Victoria Market, but have you gone somewhere more convenient to you? White Hat is a great website that gives details, addresses, etc. for all Markets in Melbourne and across Australia.

Stop going to the Grocery Store (Supermarket) in Australia!

As teachers in Australia, we are always looking to save money. Stop shopping at the expensive grocery stores and go to the market. Not only are you buying local produce and supporting small businesses, but it is cheaper! My favourite is Footscray Market. The fish, seafood, and meat are by far the cheapest I have found. Also it is surrounded by Vietnamese stores and restaurants so if you want a good feed, this is the place for you!

But how about Dandenong Market, South Melbourne Market, Prahran, St.Andrew’s etc… The list is never ending so there’s nothing stopping you from getting fresh produce for a fraction of the price.

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Eating out is incredibly popular, but so is cooking from home.

Although I was eventually Kitchen Manager at my summer camp in Ontario, my largely-known secret is that I have never been that knowledgable about food.  (Admittedly, I was most famous at Camp for seasoning all food with hundreds of cloves of garlic…good times!!!) :p

But soon wow’ed by the dinner parties of my Aussie friends, I know own 13 food magazines, a recipe scrapbook, and one fully-bound recipe book.

I still can’t cook. But here’s hoping you might fare better!

The Best Part of Grocery Shopping in Melbourne–Buying Fresh!

Although you can get Fruit and Veggies at the grocery stores, the most wonderful part of really realising you live in Australia (and the most environmental) is to shop for your produce at the markets.

This is one of my favourite weekend morning or afternoon events in Melbouren as everyone loads up their wheelie carts and heads off to patronise their regular Fruit shop.

Not only does it create a community feel, of knowing who you are buying your produce from (our Aussie fish man, Dr. Phil and the vegie spot we go to at Footscray Market greet us regularly and have even remembered to bring DVDs to lend to me!)

Which Market Where:

• South Melbourne Market: famous for it’s ‘dim-sims’ (just try them!) it’s a lovely market to stroll around and get a 10-minute neck and shoulder massage for $10 in.  Wonderful produce.
• Victoria Market: here’s where to get all of your touristy treats–but I really caution you against buying electronics from here…what a nasty experience that was. Awesome deli section.
• Richmond Market: people from Richmond are absolutely in love with their market! You can get a massive tray of mangoes for dirt cheap, and I recently had a grape from there that took me 2 bites to eat!!
• Footscray Market: this little gem has a coffee man whose the ‘real deal’, a fantastic community feel and while not the largest selection (surely not for deli products) it’s my fav. Incredible fish selection.

Shelf Life: Where to Buy Groceries in Melbourne:

Hopefully you are as amazed by the hospitality and friendliness of Australians when you arrive as I was. We couldn’t find our nearest grocery store in Southbank, but at every shop we stopped to ask, they were opening address books and walking outside to try to point us in the right direction.

1. Like Ontario, IGAs exist in Melbourne, but they are usually much smaller than Canada’s super stores. They are often “IGA Expresses” (and nearly like a 7-Eleven).
2. Coles these are larger stores with a variation of Coles Expresses too. They carry their own product line that makes them quite affordable.
3. Safeway (Woolworths) – these are great for their free magazine and 2 hours of free parking in South Melbourne! They are a larger store with most products.
4. ALDI: lacking in the usual gloss of modern grocery stores this is by far the cheapest store to shop for groceries off the shelf. They are frequently in NSW, and we are starting to get them in Victoria more and more.

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The tricky thing about Melbourne is that everyone eats out! Sure, this doesn’t seem so tricky, except when you see the prices and the frequency and your bank account…and you start to wonder, how the heck does everyone afford it?!

However, the trickiness doesn’t end there. Groceries will seem expensive to the “fresh off” Canadian (as in “fresh off the boat”–an Aussie term for “just arrived”). While this change in pricing is something to get used to, it is not impossible to survive.

The Canadians who best enjoy their meals in Australia stop making economic conversions, and just accept that this is how it is and dig in.

First, I’ll look at the economical aspects of dining out and secondly, buying Groceries in Melbourne [More…]

Tipping:

Minimum wage is about double the minimum wage in Canada – or at least Ontario. It is around $15 in Melbourne and last I checked around $8 in Ontario.

Generally, diners do not tip their servers, but in a more fancy dining experience it is becoming more popular to tip.

What I don’t like about tipping in Canada is that it is expected. So even if you get crappy service you still feel like you have to tip.

That isn’t the case in Australia: the land where nobody gets told what to do.  Whether or not you tip in Melbourne is “your call”.

Melbourne Restaurants:

Melbournians are pretty “chuffed” (Aussie for “excitedly proud”) about the quality of their cuisine. They are constantly being compared to Sydney’s fame (and a wonderfully unique feature of Australia is its serious state competition!).

While much of the food is really great, it is quite expensive to eat in the more popular places.  In the CBD there are a few of these, but the less flash places can be awesome.

Southgate is expensive…but:

The cafeteria which has cheap and yummy sushi if you are on the run.

Because Southgate is along the Yarra, you are paying for the atmosphere, not the food necessarily. Although, I quite like The World and I have heard really good things about the Meat and Wine Company—that’s technically Freshwater Place, I guess it’s kind of the same thing. 

Of course you should dine along the River when you have one night out in Melbourne—it’s in the Lonely Planet!!!

Melbourne Atmosphere:

One thing Melbourne restaurants do really well (that makes you really want to try a place) is to create an appealing dining atmosphere.

It’s true that climbing through alleyways to find a hole in the wall—literally—place to dine is part of the fun. Also, being in Federation Square or along the River, in the CBD, or along Lygon Street, live entertainers and a variety of post-dinner activities creates a sense of fun-about-to-begin, which lengthens the joy of the evening.

So where to eat out?

Those who want to be assured of quality, and not to be ripped off in the price, need to follow the general rule of eating out when travelling: “eat where the locals eat”!!

Follow the crowd of casually dressed, shabby haired young folk who are likely to be students in the know and follow them to dinner. You might not want to eat with them, but try the restaurants they dine. Chinatown (Lt.Bourke) has line-ups coming out of every favourite establishment every Friday and Saturday night after 7 pm. Go for a stroll and choose that place next time by getting there at 6 pm.

BYO: Bringing Your Own alcohol is one of the better aspects of Melbourne dining. As I tend to tour wineries and breweries for a unique tastings, I am a big fan of BYO restaurants in Melbourne.

I’ve previously posted on two of such favourites: Kake de Hatti’s and Shanghai Dumplings for instance.

Post to Come: Part B: Buying Groceries in Melbourne

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