As a sequel to my "what to do in melbourne, brisbane & gold coast" post, I now present the foodie version. It covers some of the food places I've tried, and most of them came highly recommended. Melbourne is a vast city to cover as there are just too much to see and eat there, but I've listed down some of those I managed to try.

Most of our food adventures are in Melbourne, because we have amazing hosts who cooked for us most nights in Brisbane. I have to say, some of the food cooked by our hosts are by far the most delicious things I had over there. I guess living away from home does improve one's cooking skills!

Anyways, without further ado, let's look at food! This is going to be a long post though and a lot of photos of food and some drinks. Pour yourself a drink, make it a strawberry daiquiri (because I say so) and fire up something warm to munch on before you get started. ;)

HURRICANE'S GRILL
Having only spent time for shopping and theme parks and the beach here; we actually hadn't been adventurous with food in Gold Coast. But we have tried one of the best ribs here! Hurricane's is famous for their HUGE and very delicious ribs. The ribs are so huge, one order can be shared among 3-4 people. We also tried their delicious garlic bread, and their calamari. Rest assured, everything tastes great here! (Soul, 4-14 The Esplanade, Level 1 Surfers Paradise, QLD 4217, Australia)













MAD TONG SAN (KOREAN)
A typical Korean restaurant, which serves all the usual Korean dishes, but locals say it is one of the best in the area. I had the bibimbap, which is a hot stone rice dish, served in a hot stone bowl. The bowl contains rice, and an assortment of vegetables, raw egg, meat and sauce. The main idea is to mix everything into the bowl as the hot bowl slowly cooks everything as you toss it about. (85 Elizabeth St Brisbane, QLD)







FREESTYLE TOUT
A restaurant located in the heart of Brisbane, this is one of the few places that opens till late (and by late I mean after 6pm). I didn't try the food here, but our generous hosts brought us here to have a taste of their desserts. I personally love their A Little Bit of Queensland dessert, which is a slice of cake in a puddle of yummy caramel sauce, topped with vanilla ice-cream. We also had the Warm Flourless Chocolate Cake, which tastes pretty good, topped with a scoop of raspberry sorbet; and also their Vanilla Panna Cotta. (50/1000 Ann St, Fortitude Valley QLD 4006, Australia)

















MAMASITA
If you love Mexican food, you have to try this! There's always a line to eat here after 6.30pm, so be sure to come here early! They will not seat you until everyone in your group arrives, so be early! As for the food, we has their nachos and a selection of their pork, tostaditas de carnitas; paired with their delicious sangria! Food is good, and the ambience is pretty dark; but overall a good experience. (Level 1, 11 Collins St,  Melbourne, VIC)









SUSHI BURGER
I don't know about you, but I squeal at the thought of eating a HUGE piece of sushi. Because that's what Sushi Burger is about. A huge sushi, that looks like a burger. I had the spicy salmon burger, which looks like a lot of salmon sandwiched between two round rice cakes, burger sized. If you want, you can also order it with a set that comes with gyoza and fried lotus. The taste is pretty great, and the size is enough to make it a meal. (167, Exhibition St, Melbourne 3000 VIC)






CAFÉ CAVALLINO
Along the streets of Lygon are the numerous Italian restaurants, too many to choose from honestly – but we decided to go with Cavallino's. The entire restaurant is F1-themed. We had a Marinara pasta and a meat pizza to share, but the food was quite mediocre. It was anise experience though, as the wait staff there are quite friendly. If it wasn't too cold, we would have sat outside. (181, Lygon St, Carlton VIC)






SNAG STAND
The traditional hot dog stand – made modern with a gourmet touch. Featuring hot dog flavors from various destinations around the world, there's something for everyone. We tried the Spicy Cheese Kransky, and the American Classic. Can't go wrong with a hot dog! As the place is on the corner of two streets, there's a lot of action going on – and a lot of interesting people passing by. (Corner of La Trobe & Swanston St, Melbourne VIC 3000)







HAN GUUK GUAN
The perfect Korean barbecue restaurant, with very yummy kimchi. We ordered the traditional pork and beef barbecue set, that comes with the traditional side dishes of potato, kimchi, shredded radish and fish cakes. We also ordered their fried chicken, which they are famous for, and it's so yummy! The price is quite alright as well, so it's worth a try if you like Korean.(13, Victoria St, Melbourne, VIC)







TRACK THREE ESPRESSO
I love this place! It's named as such because it is located right next to a still-working train station (Middle Brighton Station). It's mainly a breakfast and brunch place, and great for coffee and tea. They have quite a good selection of food as well. I ordered something called The Mexican, which is a nice serving of eggs, toast, pulled pork and jalapeños. The coffee is considered as one of the best in Brighton, but as I'm not a coffee person, I had the hot chocolate – and it was superb! (Middle Brighton Train Station, 1 Railway Walk Brighton, VIC)







HAMMER & TONG 412
One of the best brunch places I've been too. Again, this place gets crowded after 10am, so be there early. Plus they also do not seat incomplete parties, so ensure that everyone's on time. The place is very bright and airy, with really good food. I had their Buttermilk Lamb with Goats Cheese, and it was so delicious. Their Soft Shell Crab Burger is just as good. I love how they also have Babycinos, which are mini frappes for kids, served in a small kid-sized cup. They also have a unique House-made Turkish Delight soft drink that's a soft pink in color. (Rear 412, Brunswick St, Fitzroy, Vic 3065)









PHO DZUNG TAN DINH
Delicious pho! The usual servings of pho with either chicken, beef or pork – with the traditional basil leaves for you to dip into your soup. The one thing about this place is that servings are HUGE! I wanted to order the medium sized bowls, but my boyfriend urged me to just get a large. Turns out, the large was the equivalent amount of four packets of instant noodles! Way too generous of them, but the soup was delicious and the meat as well. Great experience, despite the wasted, unfinished food. (234B, Russell Street, Melbourne, Vic 3000)






MAX BRENNER
My favorite chocolate place! It's very famous all over the world for that reason alone – yummy chocolate drinks! They have some snack food as well, like waffles or crepes. I had their Coconut Chocolate drink, and it was super nice! They serve their drinks in a 'hug mug'; which is a mug specially shaped for your hands to hug and keep warm during cold weathers as you enjoy your hot choc. My boyfriend tried the Suckao – which is like a chocolate espresso. You have a sort of pot, that has flames beneath it. You add milk into that pot, and put in some chocolate drops into it and stir. The spoon also doubles as a straw, so you can stir and drink your choc immediately. They have a few branches in Melbourne, so it's not that hard to find. (The Glen Shopping Centre, 235 Springvale Road, Glen Waverley, VIC)








KOKO BLACK
Another good chocolate cafe, which is more famous for its chocolate desserts, rather than drinks. To start, we ordered the Dessert Degustation. This is perfect for two people, and you get to sample some of their best chocolate desserts, namely; the Chocolate Alchemy Cake, Opera Gâteau, Raspberry Chocolate Mousse, Belgian Mousse and Chocolate Ice-cream. It was delicious but my favorites are the Opera Gâteau and the Belgian Mousse. Then we ordered some Salted Caramel Brittles to bring home. It's a lovely experience for chocolate lovers. (52, Collins St, Melbourne VIC 3000)







BRUNETTI
Another dessert place that sells a whole lot of yummy cakes and pastries. Their coffees and chocolate drinks are also pretty good as well; really rich. I had their profiteroles, which they are famous for, and they are so delicious. The cream is light and fluffy, and it's coated by rich chocolate. It's the place for dessert lovers. (380, Lygon St, Carlton, VIC 03053)






Well, that sums up my food adventure in Australia. I hope to come back again to try some other things that we didn't get to try. For one, there's a famous Greek kebab place that my friend raved about, and there's also another Argentinean ice-cream parlor to try.

Australia, I will be back!