A new market launched last weekend, but I’m sure you’ve already heard. Coburg is a growing hub of markets, already hosting the Trash and Treasure and Farmer’s Market. It has now launched Batman Market and promised to bring an abundance of food stalls as well as a multicultural atmosphere. Continue reading
It’s my third month experimenting with this theme/mission concept and I’m excited to announce the next one of ‘mobile food’. You might have noticed after my burst of blogs towards the end of September that I am now a little tired. I feel like this mission may be a bit laid back than the first two, so I hope my dear readers are OK with that! Continue reading
As you’ll remember that alongside eating, I also enjoy going on adventures! Here are my recent adventures in summer, as documented on Weekendnotes. In addition to that I also recommend an event for March – when summer will officially be gone. But it’s ok, there’s still plenty to do in Melbourne as always!
Squeaky Beach: article
A three hour drive to Wilson’s Promontory was well worth the beautiful views that this national park provides. We spent most of our time at Squeaky Beach where the sand truly squeaks with every step and the water was breathtakingly clear.
Yarra Valley Day Trip: Cherryhill Orchards & Healesville Sanctuary: article
Yarra Valley never ceases to amaze with its hilly and green scenery. During this adventure I got to pick cherries for the first time at the same time as admiring these famous views. In addition to this we squeezed in a trip to Healeseville Sanctuary, where I got to feed birds and come right up close to native Australian animals.
Moonraker Dolphin & Seal Swims in Sorrento: 
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An early morning was well worth my first time snorkelling. Did I mention I can’t swim? So you can imagine how nervous I was, but I’m so glad I got to step out of my comfort zone and come up close to animals such as the Australian Fur Seals. Unfortunately we didn’t get to see dolphins, but the seals were amazing.
Twelve Apostles along the Great Ocean Road: 
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I’ve been along the Great Ocean Road before but not as far as Victoria’s iconic Twelve Apostles. There’s a long viewing platform to walk on and take all sorts of photos, as you marvel at the impressive coastal formations. You also get to admire the views along the Great Ocean Road drive itself. A must-do for Victorians!
Round She Goes Market, Coburg: article
This isn’t your typical Sunday trash and treasure market. It’s indoors and it’s all about quality vintage products – nothing shabby here. There will be lots of preloved designer items as well as other items that are in fantastic condition. This market has a $2 entry but it’s well worth the goodies that will be available!
I stumbled upon this goodie whilst searching for the whereabouts of a Filipino food stall, and ended up finding a bunch of other food stalls too! Whilst everyone was at the fancy schmancy Taste Of Melbourne (I only kid, I look forward to trying it next year), I found a lovely warm, community event to enjoy on a Friday night.
Click here for more details on when and where for the Coburg Night Market. I’m not sure if all the stalls are permanent, but this is a review of what I managed to fit in my stomach that night!
Hoy Pinoy
The main reason I ended up here was because I was looking around Hoy Pinoy’s Facebook. Finding the hits from the hit and misses at Dahon Tea Lounge quite good, and enjoying some other BBQ meat, I was eager to continue trying Filipino food.
They only had a few options, but it still seemed enough. Above from left to right you will find longganisa, BBQ chicken and BBQ pork belly skewers. I think it all cost about $8. Unfortunately they didn’t have garlic rice as listed on their menu, which was disappointing.
Admittedly, it was very nicely presented on a banana leaf. However we found the longganisa quite dry. The pork belly wasn’t amazing either, no significant bursting BBQ flavour. The most flavoursome was the chicken skewers, which I didn’t mind, but overall it wasn’t amazing.
Hoy Pinoy is a roving food stall that serves Filipino BBQ and street food, so find their next location on their Facebook. They are also often at Queen Victoria Market.
Trailer Made
I’ve heard Trailer Made’s name here and there, mainly at the recent Trailer Park events. They’re not one specific cuisine, but rather inspired by their travels in places such as Europe, China and Korea. One glance at their menu and you can definitely see this broad influence.
Having only one dish I can’t comment on the entire outfit, but this steamed sticky beef bun made me feel like by spreading their influence in their menu that the specific flavours aren’t brought out successfully. The slaw was nothing special, lacking any exotic dressing or flavour. The bun itself, for $10, had little meat and thus felt like mainly bread. Considering their popularity, perhaps their European dishes are done better.
For more information on Trailer Made visit their website or check their Facebook for their next location.
Nepal Dining Room
Never having been sure what Nepalese food is, and often coming across it at food festivals, we thought it was about time that we give it a try.
Although the Chicken Sekuwa (above and $12 as a main with salad) looked tempting, we’d had our share our BBQ for the night. On a mission to try something different, we went with the chicken momo (dumplings, $5 entree size).
It may not look like anything special but I think this could have been my favourite for the night. I really enjoyed the sauce, which was Nepalese tomato and sesame chutney according to the menu. I felt like it had a similar taste to some Indian dishes, but still had its own twist, so I’ll be venturing for a proper Nepalese restaurant soon (up for some recommendations too)! I thought five dumplings for $5 was also fairly good value compared to most food stalls.
Vist Nepal Dining Room’s Facebook page for more information.
PS. The mandarin Jarrito drink was from the South American stall, where we didn’t enjoy the free taste-testers enough to buy their meals, but I wanted to try another flavour of the Mexican soft drink, as I enjoyed mango last time at another Mexican place!
The Meatball Company
So perhaps I lied before – you can never have enough meat. What really caught our eye at The Meatball Company wasn’t this delicious, simmering pan of meatballs but their comedic menu. Of course, you can have a lot of fun with “balls”.
All the menu items sounded tempting, and their little display made their bun look especially filling. But that’s not what we were after considering we wanted to try as much as we could from all the stalls. Thus, we went for the basic balls on a stick ($8).
Their two pans were simmering with chicken balls and beef balls with mozzarella cheese. We chose the classic beef balls, yet they tasted quite cheesy. I still enjoyed them and the sauce, but would not have them on their own next time, so I could probably balance out the taste if it was served in bread or with coleslaw.
Interested in tracking them down? You guessed it, check out The Meatball Company’s Facebook page.
Moo-Baa-Cluck Gourmet Burger Bar
Getting a little “infoodicated” by this time, (that’s a term we’ve coined that describes a drunk feeling caused by overeating), I was somehow still persuaded into trying a burger, merely because lots of other people were lining up. How easily fooled we are.
I went with a basic BBQ burger ($11) as I do enjoy my BBQ sauce and I didn’t want anything too heavy. My friend also asked for no lettuce or tomato. Consequently, I did not find the burger quite interesting or gourmet. The beef didn’t taste too different from the norm and was nothing special, the bun was soft but overall the burger just felt plain. I don’t like to be too quick to judge, so if others have tried their other burgers please do let me know your thoughts, but I wouldn’t go back for now.
Find more information on Moo-Baa-Cluck-Burger here on Facebook.
Bianco Latte
And of course there was room in my belly for dessert! I’ve heard of Bianco Latte from reading up on Taste of Melbourne, so felt lucky that they were at this little, local event too! I found the little cart very cute and enjoyed their old-school inspired outfits with bow-ties and all.
I felt it was decently priced as well. I got the kid’s flavour (one flavour) and that was $4 for the serving below. Besides salted caramel, the other flavours were quite normal, so salted caramel was a non-brainer, in line with the trend that is going around with Melbourne’s desserts.
I found the flavour not entirely strong, but subtle enough for me to enjoy the whole ice-cream without getting sick. I’m more eager to try some of their more adventurous flavours that I’ve seen on their Facebook, such as salted caramel with coffee/chocolate swirl or banana split, so I’m guessing their more exciting flavours must have been at Taste of Melbourne.
You can visit their website here or check out their Facebook. Like many of the aforementioned stalls, they even do private events.
Overall
It was a lovely night and I was glad to have stumbled upon this event. I’m not sure how I haven’t heard of it before and I find it much more enjoyable than Queen Vic Market as it’s not as crowded. It has more of a local atmosphere, even with music and songs for kiddies as the parents loll and talk on the grass.
Unfortunately, I had to rush off to see a movie so I didn’t get to try everything – I didn’t have time for The Creme Brulee Cart! But as you can see, I finished off the night quite content with my ice-cream (below).
Coburg Night Market is on every Friday until December 20th, so click here for more details!
Mon's Adventure 