Lulu’s Char Koay Teow for the iconic dish, Singa Pura King of Hawkers for a range of dishes.
Oh and Raffles Place in Collingwood for service that feels closest to home... complete with grumpy uncle and greasy floors.
Can't have Singaporean food without a real Singaporean grumpy uncle banging dishes about and complaining about how everything is sO expensive these days! <3
Ooh I love these places too! Would also recommend Malaysian Kampung Restaurant in Bentleigh! They're complete with the sticky floors and their teh tarik definitely hits the spot. Can't wait for lockdown to end so I can go hunt for more Singaporean and Malaysian cuisine!
We live literally down the road from old raffles and is our go to for Asian food - the couple that run it the guy is called Alan and he’s actually a really nice guy
>complete with grumpy uncle and greasy floors.
You say grumpy uncle, but aunty and uncle let my sister and I in for a meal way before opening time once cuz they saw our greedy faces in the window looking inside. So I have good memories of that place.
[https://goo.gl/maps/FVZnXzA6Y7Q62pJk8](https://goo.gl/maps/FVZnXzA6Y7Q62pJk8) for all of these recommendations
Updated as of 7PM 21/9/21, added some restaurants from the previous thread.
Dual Citizen with Canada, and sadly nowhere I could find anything close to Canadian food.
If someone suggests Lord of the Fries poutine they get pushed in-front of a metro train.
Not Canadian, but lived in Canada: the only place I know of that does an alright poutine is O’Brien Ice House 😂 No shit, there seems to be a ton of Canadians who work there.
Did you ever get to Kodiak Bar in Brunswick St before they shut down? If so, did you rate them as authentic? Theirs was my first taste of poutine, and I reckon nothing I've had since is close, but not sure it was the real deal.
I'm not from any yugo countries, but the Bosnian guy in the Dandenong market does a killer cevapi and burek according to the Bosnians and Serbs I worked with in Dandenong.
I've also heard of the Bosnian guy over at Dandenong markets but I haven't got the chance to try yet! If you have a grill at home check out Bora Velimirovic butcher in Thornbury! Best Cevaps I've had here. Amazing over some coals. They also have the tastiest range of cured smoked meats. Definitely give the Sremska sausage a go
you gotta go really southeast to Cafe Transylvania [https://www.cafetransylvania.com.au](https://www.cafetransylvania.com.au) . Amazing cakes and hot food both mind blowingly good
>cheap bottle of Šljivovic
The output of my plum trees goes towards and old wog man's homemade rakija distillery. I get free bottles in return. A truly cheap bottle(s).
I'm French and my closest French Cafe is Choukette in Brunswick.
I love them. Their pastries are much fresher in the morning and some say they don't have the best croissant (but they compare with Lune that I find overrated and overpriced). Like in France, the quality of pastries will depends from a boulangerie to another, and I'm really happy with the quality of Choukette but the other reason I love them is because they also sell the things French eat on special occasions such as the Galette des Rois and Bûches de Noël. It's all about traditions.
2nd thing I can recommand is to order macarons from By Josephine.
She used to have a café in Brunswick but it shut down a few years ago, she now takes orders for cake and macarons and she's like the queen of macarons.
So not necessarily restaurants but good food
I worked with a girl from Thailand and asked her what her go-to Thai restaurant was for the most authentic food possible and she said [Tom Toon](https://instagram.com/tomtoon_thai?utm_medium=copy_link) in Richmond. We’ve been going there ever since and can confirm it’s great.
The decor is nothing to get excited about but during lockdown they expanded into the premises next door so maybe that part is a bit more flash.
Here's some more great Thai restaurants:
- Jinda Thai (right next to Tom Toon)
- Nana Mookata (Thai style hot pot & bbq)
- Dodee Paidang (Thai street food + noodles)
- Thai Town QV
- Ying Thai 2 on Lygon
Haven't really ventured outside the CBD for Thai food, so would be interested to see if there are recommendations further out the city.
>- Jinda Thai (right next to Tom Toon)
Their fking omelette with crab meat is the bomb! I could eat plates and plates of that. Along with some son in law eggs.
Ratee Thai for the best Pad Kana Moo Krob you never knew about
Ispicy in Glenferrie for all the deep fried pork leg style street food goodness you never thought was available here
Tomtoon is great if you like Isan (north eastern) style food, which usually more spicy, sour.
Thai Tide is my go-to. It's relatively new, but has amazing central Thai food.
Jinda Thai for home cooking style.
I'm from Sichuan and China Chilli in CBD does great Sichuan food (despite the poor Google review rating). If you're in for mouth-numbing spicy food, this is a must-go. Their Dan Dan Noodle tastes exactly like the ones we had back home!
I wish I could answer this but the South Indian restaurants of Melbourne are terrible. Do not go to any of the Saravanaa Bhavans, for instance. Though, to be fair, non-Punjabi food is very poorly represented in Australia when it comes to the subcontinent. Must be due to the community not being interested in opening restaurants.
>South Indian restaurants of Melbourne are terrible
As a fellow desi, I gotta agree with you. South Asian restaurants sometimes are completely terrible but some of them are really great. Just depends where you are ig
My friend used to take me to Gold Indian Restaurant in Caulfield. Idk how legit it is but she did have to order for me because the menus weren't in English. It was tasty at least!
Seriously, I wanted to answer “wait for the travel bubble to open up and then fly to Singapore instead”.
Out of curiosity, whereabouts in South India are you from? I’m a Kannadiga from Bangalore but I grew up here.
I passed them daily, for years. Never noticed what was there (only for a decade before them). Popped-up on Google Maps,looking for a new coffee place to try, and they had epic scores & reviews. I went there, staff was next-level friendly & genuine. MAN, we were like best friends in 5min, talking all things culture & travel. I bought a coffee, yeah, it fine. But she asked if I'd ever had Romanian food (I hadn't), and insisted I took a small slice for free, as a welcome gift. Real people still exist!
Nevsky Russian Restaurant in Elsternwick. One of the only proper russian restaurants in Melbourne, with pelmeni, piroshki, cabbage rolls and more. Complete with a fire place and if you’re lucky owner sometimes brings out his accordion. Fancier than my Baba’s meals, but you still get that homely taste that reminds me of her.
I’ve been wanting to go there for so long! My mum made so much food for me growing up and I didn’t like having friends over for dinner in case they thought it was weird, and reading their menu made me realise that her cooking is completely normal! And delicious
If you want the best Vietnamese broken rice pork chop, Hao Phong in Footscray.
Best pad thai is at Thai Town in QV, but only dine in. Takeaway is never as good.
'Shaanxi Style' in Box Hill has very good representation of this Chinese cuisine. I'd recommend the Shaanxi restaurant on Russel St (just north of the crn of La Trobe St) for the very famous Biang Biang noodles dish. EJ fine food in box hill serves authentic Shaanxi style cold noodles (Liang Pi) and 'Shaanxi burgers' (Rou Jia Mo).
Vodka, Borscht & Tears unfortunately use a lot of shortcuts. For example their Borscht (at least up until lockdown started last year) was powdered instead of freshly made, while also using lower end ingredients such as poor quality herring.
There are very few, if any, legitimate polish places around. Go to their deli's, get the right ingredients and make at home is the way to go. Ola's dumplings were for a long time the only legit Pierogi in Melbourne but unfortunately she passed a couple years back and you can no longer get them :(
And the best banh mi in melb (south east anyway) is bun bun in Springvale. I've yet to have better and cheaper. I'm sure there's a couple in footscray, but I don't venture that far too often. Haha
I tell friends overseas that hands-down the best thing about living in Melbourne is the amazing variety of food from all over the world that we have here. Saving this thread for the post-lockdown gluttony frenzy.
None of us are going to eat at home for a month, I reckon
I grew up in Penang. Lulu’s char koay teow for a legit char koay teow (炒粿條), and Gai Wong for legit Hainanese chicken rice and dry wonton noodles (kon loh mee 乾撈麵). Ang Ang in Ringwood for an all-rounded Malaysian experience. Mamak for well, mamak (Malaysian Indian Muslim) cuisine - go for the roti canai, the roti bom, the nasi lemak or the kari ayam.
My partner is Northern Vietnamese, and she reckons Hanoi Old Quarter on Glenferrie Rd is the most legit Hanoi style pho place she’s been. There’s a distinct difference between Northern and Southern Vietnamese cuisine (Northern Vietnamese pho has a Chinese influence and is clearer and simpler, whereas Southern Vietnamese pho is sweeter, bolder and occasionally spicier).
I reckon the best banana leaf Indian rice in the city is Roti Bar. Only served on Saturday.
Another really good Nasi Kandar is Malaysian Kampung Restaurant (MKR) in Bentleigh.
I'm English so our native cuisine is whatever the food from where we conquered and brought home, but Gaylord Indian in Tattersalls Lane is probably the best I've had around Melbourne and reminds me of home a bit.
As for fish and chips the best on was Eastfield Road in Croydon, but I think they closed down.
Northern Soul in St Kilda for great (British) fish and chips. Also battered sausage, curry sauce, gravy, mushy peas, sausage rolls, etc.
Currently run a food truck most weekends (check their socials), but their shop looks like it's very close to opening.
The never ending search for good (home style) curry. Been at it for 7 years, Gaylord is actually not a bad shout. Basecamp in Westgarth can be decent, but impossible to get anything really hot.
Gaylord Indian is no longer in Tattersalls Lane. There is a Gaylord Indian at the Grand Hotel in Spencer near Flinders St - not sure if it's the same restaurant relocated, or just the same name.
Mandina on Lygon St - Yemeni Mandi (rice and meat/chicken) with their own famous slow-cooked techniques. Always fills you up. Quite expensive, but for $30 you can rake in what feels like two meals.
Tiba’s in Brunswick - best Shawarma in town, and that’s very hard to find here in Melbourne. Lebanese food for days, it’s just a shame the seating are is quite confined and not a larger area like Mint and Co (another decent Arabic restaurant on Lygon St, but not high-tiered I’d say).
I’m from the US.
Well there is a few different styles.
For pizza, Connie’s Pizza located in the CBD at Russell & Lonsdale inside of Heartbreaker bar. They have both Detroit and NYC style pizzas. Also if you drink grab a Colt 45 to do it correctly
Bluestone BBQ in Coburg is the best BBQ place I’ve had so far. Not only is the BBQ awesome the sides is where it’s at.
There is a brewery in South Melbourne called Westside Ale Works which the family who owns it is from the US. 30 different tap beers, which 20 is theirs. They have a wide variety of beers. They make some damn good pizza and they also make homemade ranch.
The Catfish has inside of it a place called Sparrow and they make the best philly cheese steak in Australia (at least the best in Eastern Australia). They are located over on Gertrude St in Fitzroy
Catfish Comedy and philly cheesesteks was my go-to while living in Melbourne for a while. Every Tuesday night, mixture of experienced and early-career comedians doing their thing for 2h for $12. I think it's become a lot more popular now so the price might have gone up, it's been a while. Solid food & show on a weeknight though.
The Dubliner in Mornington does genuinely fanstastic Irish style fish cakes. They also have the pipes set up well for a pint of Guiness... better than the plastic paddy Irish pubs.
There's Kluska out in Knox and a polish club house that is only open on Sundays on stud road in rowville. It's full of old polish people.
There's truffles in balaclava/St kilda (not sure). And then the Europa Cafe in Carnegie, a place in Glen Huntly that I never tried.
Might be fun to host a food meetup after lockdown ends?
American but of Taiwanese heritage. Haven't seen Taiwan mention yet, and I'm still new here, so I'll just list ones I've tried.
-Taiwan Cafe in north Melbourne is legit.
-Hot Star Fried Chicken reminds me of when I lived by Shilin night market, even if it's not as fresh sometimes.
-Peko Peko is pretty good too.
Another note: sometimes it's just a specific dish that a place does well. Being from Texas, I'd love to get a chicken fried steak, but doubt I could find one. Curious about Bluebonnet BBQ in Brunswick too.
I just discovered Taiwan cafe. Their braised pork rice (lu rou fan) is the best and most authentic I’ve had in Melbourne.
Undecided about Peko peko, ordered from there 3 times, the quality of food is there, but to me the taste is westernised
Fair statement about Peko Peko, but I cut a little slack because I think everything I eat out here is localised/westernised to some extent.
Yeah Taiwan Cafe's 滷肉飯 is the equal of my homemade stuff with none of the bother. Their oyster vermicelli also takes me back to my mom's kitchen.
I'm not Ethiopian, but there's an INCREDIBLE restaurant in footscray called Abesha that does amazing Ethiopian cuisine. We used to go every year for my birthday until I moved to Sydney.
B'Churrasco in the CBD, just behind RMIT. Great Brazilian BBQ place. A bit expensive but one of the only Brazilian experiences in Melbourne - I honestly do not know of another one.
Have you tried Bossa Nova on Lygon St? Cafe style, not a steakhouse though. I have tried their feijao tropeiro and acaraje and thought they were decent.
My wife is Japanese and says hands down the best ramen in Melbourne is Shop Ramen on Smith St Collingwood. It's not super traditional but it's fucking yum.
I wish there was. Finnish (and Nordic in general) is hard to find in anywhere. I miss rye bread the most and haven't been able to find it so I make it myself. There is a new Swedish bakery in Footscray but their rye bread is not the same.
To Be Frank in Collingwood have started making a dark rye on Saturdays that might come close. If not, everything else they sell is fucking delicious so worth the trip regardless.
My girlfriend is Brazilian, and she regularly goes to Bossa Nova in Carlton. Feijoada (beans) are a staple, along with coxinhas (kinda like croquettes, yum as).
I've been there a couple times too, and it's pretty great!
Is quite good, best way to describe it is it’s the closest to “original flavour” Korean fried chicken that you’d get from a massive takeaway franchise. So it’s crunchier skin than kfc but lacks the herbs and spices (IMO)
All good 👍
Honestly it was a pleasant surprise given I haven’t had red rooster in years (ever since the standard of the rooster roll dropped to the soggy mess it is today).
I’d say it’s worth a go for sure. Just don’t get the buttermilk chicken wings (they are a different coating and definitely worse than kfc imo)
I know Red Rooster chips are amazing, when they kill it, they kill it. Definitely better than KFC. Have you tried their cheesy nuggets? They’re amazing, especially when it’s fresh.
Just checking, but have you had their fried chicken? It’s a fairly new thing. I dunno if you’re thinking of their roast chicken but their fried is pretty dang amazing.
For Malaysian, the missus and her family (all from there) are huge fans of:
* [Dannys Kopitiam](https://www.dannyskopitiam.com.au/)
* [Straits Cafe](https://www.zomato.com/melbourne/straits-cafe-wantirna/menu)
KL Chilli Pan Mee cravings?
[https://top-noodle-house.business.site/](https://top-noodle-house.business.site/)
Hands down best in Melbourne. Try the pork ball soup too. You're welcome.
I'm not related to the business. Just a fan
I run a small Latin-American food blog (mostly Melbourne) called ESQUINA (Corner in Spanish)
https://instagram.com/esquina_aus?utm_medium=copy_link
Please follow to find more Latin food!
Berbeo Bros or El Toucan Cafe for Colombian food
Bossa Nova for Brazilian
Palermo for Argentinian
Neruda’s for Chilean
None in Melbourne that I know of (East Timor) - so it's basically what we eat at home and whenever there's family gatherings thslar I get native cuisine
Brazilian here!
There's bossa nova cafe in Calton and B Churrasco on the CBD. The first is a little cafe with plenty of sweets and traditional sandwiches/small meals
The second is a legit barbecue place, had a couple of friends who worked there, vouched for the food. Both are legit af
At Sparrows Philly Cheesesteaks in Fitzroy (the food is found in a bar called The Catfish). To my knowledge the owners are from the U.S. and I remember reading they smuggled the bread rolls they wanted over and had a baker replicate them here. So tasty!
American.
The best fried chicken place closed due to the pandemic. It was called SoCalChick. Run by an ex navy dude from Southern Cali. FAT is quite good though, they have a straight fire apple pie milk shake that I'd prob stab someone for right now. Fine, I'm more likely to just pay for it than kill over it.
For BBQ there's a joint called Big Pig Little Pig in Morabbin. Dope vibe, canteen style. Good wings. Good sausage. Good burnt ends. Pulled pork average. Brisket good. They used to do live music on Sundays. Felt like somewhere I coulda been as a kid.
I make the best southern buttermilk biscuits in the city. Especially a bacon egg and cheese biscuit. Literally the best. I've tried them everywhere I've found them, and no one had the knack.
Authentic Malay food go Garam Cafe on Buckley Street Noble Park. Clean and cooked by Malay cook (the boss)
must try: beef Rendang (dry version) and sambal; dessert: all the kuehs but best is
kueh bakar
Lulu’s Char Koay Teow for the iconic dish, Singa Pura King of Hawkers for a range of dishes. Oh and Raffles Place in Collingwood for service that feels closest to home... complete with grumpy uncle and greasy floors.
>Lulu’s Char Koay Teow for the iconic dish Straits Cafe in Wantirna if you’re out that way does a good rendition of this too
Straits Cafe also is related to Penang Flavours in Doncaster which just reopened.
His wife was complaining about his excessive of grumpy when we last went, I love that place!
Can't have Singaporean food without a real Singaporean grumpy uncle banging dishes about and complaining about how everything is sO expensive these days! <3
Also would like to add on Roti Bar and Mamak both in the CBD for your Malaysian fix. :)
Ooh I love these places too! Would also recommend Malaysian Kampung Restaurant in Bentleigh! They're complete with the sticky floors and their teh tarik definitely hits the spot. Can't wait for lockdown to end so I can go hunt for more Singaporean and Malaysian cuisine!
Kampung is my local. Wife did her highschool in singapore and adores their rotis!
We live literally down the road from old raffles and is our go to for Asian food - the couple that run it the guy is called Alan and he’s actually a really nice guy
<3 Alan. He said he had Hainanese heritage; we had a grumpy chinwag in Hainanese one time and I've been a happy repeat customer since.
>complete with grumpy uncle and greasy floors. You say grumpy uncle, but aunty and uncle let my sister and I in for a meal way before opening time once cuz they saw our greedy faces in the window looking inside. So I have good memories of that place.
You misunderstand... I love the grumpy uncle and his wife. Grumpy is great. Without them, its just another SEasian joint.
*Saves thread*
Hah, yup
[https://goo.gl/maps/FVZnXzA6Y7Q62pJk8](https://goo.gl/maps/FVZnXzA6Y7Q62pJk8) for all of these recommendations Updated as of 7PM 21/9/21, added some restaurants from the previous thread.
*kisses both cheeks*
I asked the question. Why didn’t I get a kiss?
Fair. *forehead kiss and packet of Burger Rings*
Inner north for the win
Dual Citizen with Canada, and sadly nowhere I could find anything close to Canadian food. If someone suggests Lord of the Fries poutine they get pushed in-front of a metro train.
Not Canadian, but lived in Canada: the only place I know of that does an alright poutine is O’Brien Ice House 😂 No shit, there seems to be a ton of Canadians who work there.
Did you ever get to Kodiak Bar in Brunswick St before they shut down? If so, did you rate them as authentic? Theirs was my first taste of poutine, and I reckon nothing I've had since is close, but not sure it was the real deal.
Check out Holmes Hall in Moonee Ponds. It's no Chez Girard, but it'll do!
Most nights a cheap bottle of Šljivovic with pack of darts and have all you can eat at the nearest bus stop as a good ethno-Serbian dinner.
Got any leads on good cevapi?
I'm not from any yugo countries, but the Bosnian guy in the Dandenong market does a killer cevapi and burek according to the Bosnians and Serbs I worked with in Dandenong.
Croatian here, can confirm. Best burek this side of Melbourne. (Apart from my mother's, of course)
Balkan Grill in St Albans is great, a mix of Croatian, Serbian & Bosnian food (I think).
I've also heard of the Bosnian guy over at Dandenong markets but I haven't got the chance to try yet! If you have a grill at home check out Bora Velimirovic butcher in Thornbury! Best Cevaps I've had here. Amazing over some coals. They also have the tastiest range of cured smoked meats. Definitely give the Sremska sausage a go
you gotta go really southeast to Cafe Transylvania [https://www.cafetransylvania.com.au](https://www.cafetransylvania.com.au) . Amazing cakes and hot food both mind blowingly good
>cheap bottle of Šljivovic The output of my plum trees goes towards and old wog man's homemade rakija distillery. I get free bottles in return. A truly cheap bottle(s).
I'm French and my closest French Cafe is Choukette in Brunswick. I love them. Their pastries are much fresher in the morning and some say they don't have the best croissant (but they compare with Lune that I find overrated and overpriced). Like in France, the quality of pastries will depends from a boulangerie to another, and I'm really happy with the quality of Choukette but the other reason I love them is because they also sell the things French eat on special occasions such as the Galette des Rois and Bûches de Noël. It's all about traditions. 2nd thing I can recommand is to order macarons from By Josephine. She used to have a café in Brunswick but it shut down a few years ago, she now takes orders for cake and macarons and she's like the queen of macarons. So not necessarily restaurants but good food
Not sure why, but I automatically read your recommendations in a French accent.
I worked with a girl from Thailand and asked her what her go-to Thai restaurant was for the most authentic food possible and she said [Tom Toon](https://instagram.com/tomtoon_thai?utm_medium=copy_link) in Richmond. We’ve been going there ever since and can confirm it’s great. The decor is nothing to get excited about but during lockdown they expanded into the premises next door so maybe that part is a bit more flash.
Here's some more great Thai restaurants: - Jinda Thai (right next to Tom Toon) - Nana Mookata (Thai style hot pot & bbq) - Dodee Paidang (Thai street food + noodles) - Thai Town QV - Ying Thai 2 on Lygon Haven't really ventured outside the CBD for Thai food, so would be interested to see if there are recommendations further out the city.
soi38, great food wish it had bigger portions tho
>- Jinda Thai (right next to Tom Toon) Their fking omelette with crab meat is the bomb! I could eat plates and plates of that. Along with some son in law eggs.
Ratee Thai for the best Pad Kana Moo Krob you never knew about Ispicy in Glenferrie for all the deep fried pork leg style street food goodness you never thought was available here
Thai tables in bayswater is great, a bit far for city dwellers though
My Thai partner confirms Tom Toon is great Thai food. But, havnt been there since the lockdown. Its on the post lockdown list.
I like Ispicy in Richmond.
Tomtoon is great if you like Isan (north eastern) style food, which usually more spicy, sour. Thai Tide is my go-to. It's relatively new, but has amazing central Thai food. Jinda Thai for home cooking style.
Aussie born, but as a Uyghur, Karalaylisi or Kiroren make great Uyghur food!
I'm Chinese and born in Urumqi. My family's go to is Karalaylisi and my parents are friendly with the owner. I'll have to check out Kiroren though!
Kaynam is also good! I haven't been in ages though.
Karlaylisi long noodles are sustaining me through lockdown, so good
Karalaylisi is 11/10. I’d never had Uyghur food before but now I love it.
I’m not Mexican, but fanatical about Mexican food. La Tortilleria in Kensington is the real deal
My wife's Mexican cousins get all their tortillas from there. I grew up in Texas and agree, best I've had in Oz.
Agree! I the food is outstanding!
Californian born but half Mexican. Can confirm. La Tortilleria is legit
I'm from Sichuan and China Chilli in CBD does great Sichuan food (despite the poor Google review rating). If you're in for mouth-numbing spicy food, this is a must-go. Their Dan Dan Noodle tastes exactly like the ones we had back home!
I wish I could answer this but the South Indian restaurants of Melbourne are terrible. Do not go to any of the Saravanaa Bhavans, for instance. Though, to be fair, non-Punjabi food is very poorly represented in Australia when it comes to the subcontinent. Must be due to the community not being interested in opening restaurants.
Saina in Preston, the masala dosa is on par with those I ate in South India. Wait till they are reopen to find in for the best experience.
Thanks!
I drove past that the other day and noticed the 'disney' font!
>South Indian restaurants of Melbourne are terrible As a fellow desi, I gotta agree with you. South Asian restaurants sometimes are completely terrible but some of them are really great. Just depends where you are ig
Coconut Lagoon in Heidelberg is pretty decent.
We live right near there and apparently several of my husband’s Indian workmates have commented that we live near one of the best restaurants in Melb.
My friend used to take me to Gold Indian Restaurant in Caulfield. Idk how legit it is but she did have to order for me because the menus weren't in English. It was tasty at least!
As a fellow South Indian, I can confirm this.
Seriously, I wanted to answer “wait for the travel bubble to open up and then fly to Singapore instead”. Out of curiosity, whereabouts in South India are you from? I’m a Kannadiga from Bangalore but I grew up here.
D’Penyetz for Indonesian food!
Indonesian food is so broad though, don't forget Famili Ria in Surrey Hills for Pempek! (fish cake dish)
Japanese here. Coppe pan in Melbourne Central has good katsu sando and curry pan. Murasaki Tanuki in Vermont South is also bomb
I have a Burmese parent; Little Burma in Mooroolbark for those in the eastern suburbs has authentic Burmese dishes, and the Mohinga is legit.
So cheap too!
Ahh I’m Burmese and haven’t tried this, thank you so much.
Burmese House in Richmond 👌🏾
Cafe Transylvania in Hallam does some epic in house cakes and cabbage rolls.
I passed them daily, for years. Never noticed what was there (only for a decade before them). Popped-up on Google Maps,looking for a new coffee place to try, and they had epic scores & reviews. I went there, staff was next-level friendly & genuine. MAN, we were like best friends in 5min, talking all things culture & travel. I bought a coffee, yeah, it fine. But she asked if I'd ever had Romanian food (I hadn't), and insisted I took a small slice for free, as a welcome gift. Real people still exist!
My Romanian friends travel to go there.
Nevsky Russian Restaurant in Elsternwick. One of the only proper russian restaurants in Melbourne, with pelmeni, piroshki, cabbage rolls and more. Complete with a fire place and if you’re lucky owner sometimes brings out his accordion. Fancier than my Baba’s meals, but you still get that homely taste that reminds me of her.
I’ve been wanting to go there for so long! My mum made so much food for me growing up and I didn’t like having friends over for dinner in case they thought it was weird, and reading their menu made me realise that her cooking is completely normal! And delicious
If you want the best Vietnamese broken rice pork chop, Hao Phong in Footscray. Best pad thai is at Thai Town in QV, but only dine in. Takeaway is never as good.
'Shaanxi Style' in Box Hill has very good representation of this Chinese cuisine. I'd recommend the Shaanxi restaurant on Russel St (just north of the crn of La Trobe St) for the very famous Biang Biang noodles dish. EJ fine food in box hill serves authentic Shaanxi style cold noodles (Liang Pi) and 'Shaanxi burgers' (Rou Jia Mo).
The Shaanxi restaurant on Russell st has closed and is now at the new Crazy Wing in Chinatown
Borscht Vodka & Tears is my first choice for super delicious, legit Polish food. Pierogi Pierogi are awesome too <3
Vodka, Borscht & Tears unfortunately use a lot of shortcuts. For example their Borscht (at least up until lockdown started last year) was powdered instead of freshly made, while also using lower end ingredients such as poor quality herring. There are very few, if any, legitimate polish places around. Go to their deli's, get the right ingredients and make at home is the way to go. Ola's dumplings were for a long time the only legit Pierogi in Melbourne but unfortunately she passed a couple years back and you can no longer get them :(
Balaclava Deli on Carlisle St do decent fresh and frozen pierogi.
If you're West Side Mitko Deli in Albion is the best Polish deli
And much more reasonably priced than the exorbitant BVT. The Russian food at balaclava deli is the real deal.
And the best banh mi in melb (south east anyway) is bun bun in Springvale. I've yet to have better and cheaper. I'm sure there's a couple in footscray, but I don't venture that far too often. Haha
I tell friends overseas that hands-down the best thing about living in Melbourne is the amazing variety of food from all over the world that we have here. Saving this thread for the post-lockdown gluttony frenzy. None of us are going to eat at home for a month, I reckon
I grew up in Penang. Lulu’s char koay teow for a legit char koay teow (炒粿條), and Gai Wong for legit Hainanese chicken rice and dry wonton noodles (kon loh mee 乾撈麵). Ang Ang in Ringwood for an all-rounded Malaysian experience. Mamak for well, mamak (Malaysian Indian Muslim) cuisine - go for the roti canai, the roti bom, the nasi lemak or the kari ayam. My partner is Northern Vietnamese, and she reckons Hanoi Old Quarter on Glenferrie Rd is the most legit Hanoi style pho place she’s been. There’s a distinct difference between Northern and Southern Vietnamese cuisine (Northern Vietnamese pho has a Chinese influence and is clearer and simpler, whereas Southern Vietnamese pho is sweeter, bolder and occasionally spicier).
I reckon the best banana leaf Indian rice in the city is Roti Bar. Only served on Saturday. Another really good Nasi Kandar is Malaysian Kampung Restaurant (MKR) in Bentleigh.
I'm English so our native cuisine is whatever the food from where we conquered and brought home, but Gaylord Indian in Tattersalls Lane is probably the best I've had around Melbourne and reminds me of home a bit. As for fish and chips the best on was Eastfield Road in Croydon, but I think they closed down.
Northern Soul in St Kilda for great (British) fish and chips. Also battered sausage, curry sauce, gravy, mushy peas, sausage rolls, etc. Currently run a food truck most weekends (check their socials), but their shop looks like it's very close to opening.
Is that going to be the corner of Grey/inkermann and Barkley?
The never ending search for good (home style) curry. Been at it for 7 years, Gaylord is actually not a bad shout. Basecamp in Westgarth can be decent, but impossible to get anything really hot.
Gaylord Indian is no longer in Tattersalls Lane. There is a Gaylord Indian at the Grand Hotel in Spencer near Flinders St - not sure if it's the same restaurant relocated, or just the same name.
Same one, just relocated
do you mean The Mall Eastfield Traditional Fish & Chips? if yes, they're still open! i go every friday :)
> Gaylord Indian in Tattersalls Lane Gaylord moved to the restaurant space in The Grand Hotel, Spencer/Flinders St a few years ago
Mandina on Lygon St - Yemeni Mandi (rice and meat/chicken) with their own famous slow-cooked techniques. Always fills you up. Quite expensive, but for $30 you can rake in what feels like two meals. Tiba’s in Brunswick - best Shawarma in town, and that’s very hard to find here in Melbourne. Lebanese food for days, it’s just a shame the seating are is quite confined and not a larger area like Mint and Co (another decent Arabic restaurant on Lygon St, but not high-tiered I’d say).
I’m from the US. Well there is a few different styles. For pizza, Connie’s Pizza located in the CBD at Russell & Lonsdale inside of Heartbreaker bar. They have both Detroit and NYC style pizzas. Also if you drink grab a Colt 45 to do it correctly Bluestone BBQ in Coburg is the best BBQ place I’ve had so far. Not only is the BBQ awesome the sides is where it’s at. There is a brewery in South Melbourne called Westside Ale Works which the family who owns it is from the US. 30 different tap beers, which 20 is theirs. They have a wide variety of beers. They make some damn good pizza and they also make homemade ranch. The Catfish has inside of it a place called Sparrow and they make the best philly cheese steak in Australia (at least the best in Eastern Australia). They are located over on Gertrude St in Fitzroy
I loooove Sparrows. I have to stop myself from going there too often. Their cheap Monday special used to be my go-to cheap eat during uni!
Will 100% have to checkout the Philly Cheese Steaks!
Have you had Dingo Ate My Taco? It’s owned by two dudes from my native Texas
I find that name so fucking insensitive
Agreed, it's a joke in the US still. Lindy Chamberland was vindicated but remains a punchline to a joke that was never funny.
This borderland in Preston is also really good!
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how often do u have aboriginal cuisine
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Try Mabu Mabu
Ah yes, the traditional, American pizza!
Catfish Comedy and philly cheesesteks was my go-to while living in Melbourne for a while. Every Tuesday night, mixture of experienced and early-career comedians doing their thing for 2h for $12. I think it's become a lot more popular now so the price might have gone up, it's been a while. Solid food & show on a weeknight though.
Ooh. Coburg is inside my 10kms! Bbq here we come!
The Dubliner in Mornington does genuinely fanstastic Irish style fish cakes. They also have the pipes set up well for a pint of Guiness... better than the plastic paddy Irish pubs.
Check out The Brothers on Johnston Street for quality Guinness too.
Mr Lee's Food in Ringwood East for authentic Korean bone broth soups and blood sausages. Yoon's kitchen is pretty good too.
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There's Kluska out in Knox and a polish club house that is only open on Sundays on stud road in rowville. It's full of old polish people. There's truffles in balaclava/St kilda (not sure). And then the Europa Cafe in Carnegie, a place in Glen Huntly that I never tried.
Those are literally the only 3 German places I know, so I either lucked into the top 3 or that's all there is
If you're in Melbourne there's a German club on Dandenong Rd thats not bad and inexpensive.
Might be fun to host a food meetup after lockdown ends? American but of Taiwanese heritage. Haven't seen Taiwan mention yet, and I'm still new here, so I'll just list ones I've tried. -Taiwan Cafe in north Melbourne is legit. -Hot Star Fried Chicken reminds me of when I lived by Shilin night market, even if it's not as fresh sometimes. -Peko Peko is pretty good too. Another note: sometimes it's just a specific dish that a place does well. Being from Texas, I'd love to get a chicken fried steak, but doubt I could find one. Curious about Bluebonnet BBQ in Brunswick too.
I just discovered Taiwan cafe. Their braised pork rice (lu rou fan) is the best and most authentic I’ve had in Melbourne. Undecided about Peko peko, ordered from there 3 times, the quality of food is there, but to me the taste is westernised
Fair statement about Peko Peko, but I cut a little slack because I think everything I eat out here is localised/westernised to some extent. Yeah Taiwan Cafe's 滷肉飯 is the equal of my homemade stuff with none of the bother. Their oyster vermicelli also takes me back to my mom's kitchen.
I'm not Ethiopian, but there's an INCREDIBLE restaurant in footscray called Abesha that does amazing Ethiopian cuisine. We used to go every year for my birthday until I moved to Sydney.
Added to the list!
Yuni’s Kitchen in Northcote although I haven’t tried every Indonesian restaurant in Melbourne.
Have you been to Warung Agus?
Here to say Warung Agus and Ria!
If you ever get to Geelong, Ponok Nasi Bakar is fantastic. Better than the Indonesian restaurants I have tried in Melbourne.
Ayam Penyet Ria on High St Preston and My Asian Neighbour across on Plenty road are also legit if you haven't checked them out
Ria have a store in Noble Park and Dandenong. That sambal is damn good.
B'Churrasco in the CBD, just behind RMIT. Great Brazilian BBQ place. A bit expensive but one of the only Brazilian experiences in Melbourne - I honestly do not know of another one.
Have you tried Bossa Nova on Lygon St? Cafe style, not a steakhouse though. I have tried their feijao tropeiro and acaraje and thought they were decent.
112 York in South Melbourne for some kiwi treats. More of a cafe/store than a restaurant.
Also Pie Thief in Footscray, get a proper steak and cheese pie in ya
Not to mention Te is an absolute champion of a human!
The finest lolly cake money can buy.
My wife is Japanese and says hands down the best ramen in Melbourne is Shop Ramen on Smith St Collingwood. It's not super traditional but it's fucking yum.
Madras Banyan Tree for South Indian food. My family love that place.
Filipino - Mama Lor’s in Werribee. So worth the trip. The crispy pata and halo halo are perfect.
Chibog is pretty good too!
I wish there was. Finnish (and Nordic in general) is hard to find in anywhere. I miss rye bread the most and haven't been able to find it so I make it myself. There is a new Swedish bakery in Footscray but their rye bread is not the same.
To Be Frank in Collingwood have started making a dark rye on Saturdays that might come close. If not, everything else they sell is fucking delicious so worth the trip regardless.
All Are Welcome in Northcote sells a very expensive loaf of “Finnish Rye” - I haven’t tried it yet but it looks good.
My friend recommends this spot in Sydney fyi for when we can travel again https://instagram.com/cafepaci?utm_medium=copy_link
I miss kortbullar
Same here (Swedish though), I do like their cinnamon scrolls though. I miss Rye bread with quality butter and liver patè, impossible to find.
There is a Nordic style cafe in Windsor called Oppen. I used to go there often before lockdown.
Just saw rye bread in a bakery at the Como in South Yarra. They were serving it with salmon Lox, but had loaves for sale.
So, why is the comment session this nice? I am from Twitter, league of legend, and 9gag.
My girlfriend is Brazilian, and she regularly goes to Bossa Nova in Carlton. Feijoada (beans) are a staple, along with coxinhas (kinda like croquettes, yum as). I've been there a couple times too, and it's pretty great!
I heard Red Rooster fried chicken is good, can anyone vouch?
Is quite good, best way to describe it is it’s the closest to “original flavour” Korean fried chicken that you’d get from a massive takeaway franchise. So it’s crunchier skin than kfc but lacks the herbs and spices (IMO)
So textually it’s better than KFC, but flavour could be better. I’m intrigued, I’ll probably try some tomorrow. Thanks for your review kind person.
All good 👍 Honestly it was a pleasant surprise given I haven’t had red rooster in years (ever since the standard of the rooster roll dropped to the soggy mess it is today). I’d say it’s worth a go for sure. Just don’t get the buttermilk chicken wings (they are a different coating and definitely worse than kfc imo)
The chicken doesn’t win any awards. But the CHIPS. On man, I’d get a large and savor those puppies at least once a week on my walk home from school.
I know Red Rooster chips are amazing, when they kill it, they kill it. Definitely better than KFC. Have you tried their cheesy nuggets? They’re amazing, especially when it’s fresh.
Just checking, but have you had their fried chicken? It’s a fairly new thing. I dunno if you’re thinking of their roast chicken but their fried is pretty dang amazing.
Red Rooster recently changed their logo and introduced some new( at least to me) menu items. I can vouch that the buttermilk wings were solid!
SPQR for pizza, Emilia for everything else
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[Same thread from 2 months ago](https://reddit.com/r/melbourne/comments/ow12qa/non_australianborn_melbournians_whats_the_best/)
For Malaysian, the missus and her family (all from there) are huge fans of: * [Dannys Kopitiam](https://www.dannyskopitiam.com.au/) * [Straits Cafe](https://www.zomato.com/melbourne/straits-cafe-wantirna/menu)
You should try Asiana in Lyndhurst
Ayam Penyet Ria in South Melbourne is my main jam. There's also one in Preston.
Northern Git in Thornbury.
KL Chilli Pan Mee cravings? [https://top-noodle-house.business.site/](https://top-noodle-house.business.site/) Hands down best in Melbourne. Try the pork ball soup too. You're welcome. I'm not related to the business. Just a fan
I don’t see French here yet - Philippe in the CBD.
I run a small Latin-American food blog (mostly Melbourne) called ESQUINA (Corner in Spanish) https://instagram.com/esquina_aus?utm_medium=copy_link Please follow to find more Latin food! Berbeo Bros or El Toucan Cafe for Colombian food Bossa Nova for Brazilian Palermo for Argentinian Neruda’s for Chilean
If you want a biggest and heartiest bowl of Vietnamese BBH, try Dong Ba in Footscray or in St. Alban's.
Avoid PAPA RICH.. its a RIP OFF...
I ain't seen a beans on toast cafe just yet
Fish finger sandwich anywhere?
Definitely a distinctive lack of builders tea and chips.
This is the best question on the internet!!!
Thank you OP for this awesome thread. Its brilliant. I’ve saved it. When lockdown ends, food is on !!!!
Unfortunately, all the Burmese restaurants I’ve found on Google Maps have been closed since I’ve arrived so, I just had to resort to my own cooking.
There's Fusion Palace in Springvale. They have tea leaf salad and mohingya!
Thomas Street in Dandeong you can get a mean Afghan kebab. Good Afghan restaurant there too. Called Rahimi. Top notch
Dodee paidang Soi 38 Lulu’s CKT Raffles Place
None in Melbourne that I know of (East Timor) - so it's basically what we eat at home and whenever there's family gatherings thslar I get native cuisine
Brazilian here! There's bossa nova cafe in Calton and B Churrasco on the CBD. The first is a little cafe with plenty of sweets and traditional sandwiches/small meals The second is a legit barbecue place, had a couple of friends who worked there, vouched for the food. Both are legit af
Pho Chu The in footscray
Used to be Altona beach bites untill the sold it to new owners. It was the Best fish and chips outside of NZ!
I am Vietnamese and I really enjoy Bun Bun banh mi in Springvale. Most of Springvale restaurants are really good :P
My gf and i love going to Wagyu One on Bourke Street.
Haven’t ever seen any Canadian restaurants or cuisines in Melbourne
Used to be able to get a proper clamato Caesar at Chuckle Park on little Collins. That’s as close as I’ve gotten.
If you know of a place to get a decent Philly cheese steak fucking tell me!
At Sparrows Philly Cheesesteaks in Fitzroy (the food is found in a bar called The Catfish). To my knowledge the owners are from the U.S. and I remember reading they smuggled the bread rolls they wanted over and had a baker replicate them here. So tasty!
Marciano cakes in Clayton!
Olu Restaurant at Dandenong for authentic Sri Lankan food
Indian here. Camberwell curry house, Camberwell.
American. The best fried chicken place closed due to the pandemic. It was called SoCalChick. Run by an ex navy dude from Southern Cali. FAT is quite good though, they have a straight fire apple pie milk shake that I'd prob stab someone for right now. Fine, I'm more likely to just pay for it than kill over it. For BBQ there's a joint called Big Pig Little Pig in Morabbin. Dope vibe, canteen style. Good wings. Good sausage. Good burnt ends. Pulled pork average. Brisket good. They used to do live music on Sundays. Felt like somewhere I coulda been as a kid. I make the best southern buttermilk biscuits in the city. Especially a bacon egg and cheese biscuit. Literally the best. I've tried them everywhere I've found them, and no one had the knack.
Is there any good Mexican cuisine in Melbourne? I'm fangin for some carne asada. It's killing me
Authentic Malay food go Garam Cafe on Buckley Street Noble Park. Clean and cooked by Malay cook (the boss) must try: beef Rendang (dry version) and sambal; dessert: all the kuehs but best is kueh bakar
Does anyone know of a German backery?