Visiting the Queen Victoria Markets was something that we had been planning to do since before we left Brisbane (after all, it is on just about every touristy 'must do' list on the web), and on Saturday, we finally decided to check it out.
We arrived a bit later than planned after sleeping in (whoops!) and stopping for a coffee at Starbucks first, but we arrived nonetheless at around 11:00am.
We started by checking out the fresh fruit and veggies section, which looks seriously amazing in pictures (as evidenced above). Everything looked great, definitely fresh and of good quality, decent prices, however not really anything special - meaning that there was nothing you wouldn't be able to find at your local grocery store or market.
We then moved on to the outskirts of the plants and souvenirs section for a quick browse, however we didn't stay long as we had already spent a fair bit of time walking from one end of the city to the other and were starting to get tired. I will however take this chance to mention to any visitors to Melbourne that there's a massive variety of souvenirs you can pick up at decent prices to take home with you as a memory of your trip! So yeah, if you're visiting Melbourne then definitely come along to check out the souvenirs!
Next on our agenda was a stroll through the fresh meats and seafood section, which led us through to the delicatessen area. All I can say is, the cheeses! Oh, the cheeses! There were so many different varieties and they all looked equally delicious, the part of me with a mild case of lactose intolerance was screaming, haha! I'm a massive fan of a simple meal of cheeses, deli meats, antipasto and fresh bread (which paints a lovely picture of many of the meals I consumed in Paris and Italy, so simple yet so amazing)! Which brings me the bread (and some sneaky cakes).
There was some lovely freshly baked bread for sale, and again, so many different varieties! There was white, multigrain, wheat, sourdough, rye, sunflower seed, pumpkin seed, organic, even a small selection of gluten free breads! So A+ for variety! The bread itself looked quite nice, however in a similar sense to the fresh fruit and veggies on offer at the Queen Victoria Markets, it wasn't anything special. The only difference I found between the bread here and the bread nearer to home was the variety - and the price. I could save a couple of dollars purchasing from a slightly smaller variety closer to home, and most likely will.
The cakes are a similar story - lovely but nothing out of the ordinary. However being nothing out of the ordinary doesn't stop you from drooling over these lovely fresh treats! I almost caved in to my cravings for one of the lovely chocolate brownies I could see staring back at me. But before I had the chance to do that, I turned around and saw some even more delectable treats.
Yes, the chocolates. Possibly the only thing that could make you stop lusting after cake in favour of a much smaller piece of sweet goodness at a relatively larger price. There was a string on chocolate stalls with a huge selection of chocolately treats to choose from, but in the end we were drawn most to Koko Black. As we were trying to select only two little chocolates each (at $2.10 each, we weren't planning to go all out), a group doing one of those 'Melbourne Chocolate Walking Tours' arrived. Obviously, having a walking tour visit the shop you're about to purchase some treats from is generally a pretty good sign that you've made the right decision!
I ended up going for the Milk Chocolate Hazelnut Cluster and the Aurelia Champagne Truffle. Mum went for the Baileys and the Orange Cointreau Truffle. We also decided to grab the Milk Chocolate Hazelnut Trio (a Trio of three milk chocolate bunnies) in the name of having some Easter themed chocolate over the Easter long weekend!
As we were heading out of the market hall, mum tapped me on the shoulder and pointed over to a small store in the corner. I turned to see what she was pointing at and instantly knew we'd be making another purchase before leaving. McIver's had a gorgeous selection of beautiful whole roasted coffee beans in a range of different flavours and strengths - from dark and fruity to light, creamy and nutty. Being the coffee enthusiast I am, I had to try some. We decided on the East Timor - also one of the organic beans on offer - a sweet, hazelnut and chocolate flavoured roast. Perfect.
And with that final purchase, we were ready to leave the markets. We still had a bit of a walk to the train station, followed by a 30 minute train ride back home, so we decided to take in a coffee to refuel for the journey home. We were actually going to grab a coffee inside the market hall at a fancy looking coffee stall, but they only served their coffee with full-cream organic milk. I love organic, but my stomach just is not made for full-cream. So we ended up leaving the market hall and finding this cute cafe (Coffea Coffee) on Elizabeth Street, just outside of the markets and the tram stop. And thankfully, they had Soy milk!*happy dance* There was seating both inside and out, but the interior was really cute and kitsch so we pulled up our chairs and settled in for a seriously good coffee!
All in all, it was a lovely day out. Although I wouldn't go there every week, it's definitely an interesting way to spend the day every now and again, and worth sparing a couple of hours to check out if you're visiting Melbourne! The Queen Victoria Markets are located on the corner of Victoria Street and Elizabeth Street in the Melbourne CBD, and are open Tuesdays and Thursdays 6am-2pm, Fridays 6am-5pm, Saturdays 6am-3pm and Sundays 9am-4pm.
