Post Last Modified – June 28, 2021
A Review Of Our Foodie Trails Melbourne Tour
On our recent visit to Melbourne, Australia, we had the distinct pleasure of taking part in Foodie Trails Melbourne; Unique Foodie Culture Tour. Taking a walking food tour when we travel is one of our favorite things to do, and this tour was outstanding!
A unique opportunity to explore the local culture and sample some of their traditional dishes at the same time, on this 4 hour cultural walking food tour.
Foodie Trails Mission Statement
I always prefer to select and support local small businesses when choosing tours of any kind. After reviewing the Foodie Trails website and the excellent selection of tours they offer, this independently owned small business seemed just perfect.
Combined with their repeated accolades for excellence on TripAdvisor and elsewhere over the years, their Foodie Culture Tour was just what we were looking for.
They are also a fully licensed boutique travel company, trading under the name of Beacon Holidays. As a travel operator, they can offer personalized and unique holiday experiences, together with a cultural and foodie aspect added.
Foodie Trails Melbourne Mission Statement for all their tours offered is
Bringing people together through stories, experiences and food to celebrate diversity.
A Closer Look At Our Cultural Food Tour Experience
With Melbourne known for being a vast multicultural city, it goes without saying, that this is a Foodie Lovers Paradise.
With a diverse number of immigrants now living in the city, with it comes unique opportunities for locals and visitors to experience their culture, customs and of course, their food!
Melbourne Immigration Museum
It is estimated that the State of Victoria in Australia is now made up of a vast number of immigrants having come from more than 200 countries from around the world.
So, starting our tour at the Melbourne Immigration Museum seemed ideal!
After meeting our tour guide (Dhwani) and fellow travelers, we began our tour with a visit to the museum, to view the many exhibits located inside. This was a very unique way to start our 4 hour cultural tour.
An opportunity to learn about and review some of the stories of early arrivals to Australia, arriving from all parts of the world and what they experienced and endured at that time.
After a brief visit, it was time to head outdoors and make our way to our first of the tour.
Caffe E Salumi
Just a short distance from the Museum, our first stop of the day was for a cup of freshly brewed coffee.
This tiny Italian cafe and Panino Bar is very popular among locals, offering freshly made Panini and more.
It was an unusually cool and windy day in the city, so starting off outdoors with a cup of java was excellent.
Historical Mitre Tavern
As we continued walking, we made a brief stop at the Historical Mitre Tavern, down a small side street downtown.
Established in 1837, this structure is now the oldest standing building in Melbourne!
Initially a residence, it is now a long standing tavern located in the business district of the city. Surrounded by and dwarfed by high rise buildings, it’s quite the unique site.
Just a small piece of history and great to see the building preserved over the years!
The Block Arcade
Continuing on our way, Dhwani led us into the Block Arcade. This is a very popular shopping arcade in the city, and the Block is also an historic part of Melbourne.
Filled with interesting shops, we got a chance to step into a very unique shop, selling exotic teas from around the world.
The interior and architecture of this arcade is just fabulous!
Continuing to walk through the arcade, we reached our second stop, and time to sample some food!
Brunetti Cafe
Entering an extremely popular and busy food fair, it was time to sample some delicious pastries from the Brunetti Cafe. This Italian cafe is a classic pasticceria institution in Melbourne.
They are known for serving the finest Italian cakes, desserts, pastries, pizzas, pastas and coffee.
The pastry samples Dhwani selected for us were absolutely delicious. No wonder this is a favorite establishment among locals in the city.
The cake selections also looked amazing!
China Red Restaurant
Time to carry on to the colorful Red Gates of Melbourne’s Chinatown in the cities CBD or Central Business District.
Today, Chinatown’s historic buildings offer some excellent Asian cuisine establishments, bars and fashion boutiques.
This is Australia’s oldest Chinatown, and our guide led us into a very popular eatery here called China Red.
This restaurant is very unique in that you can actually order your selections right from the table, on a computer screen mounted on the wall beside you.
Dhwani gave us the choice of what we would prefer to try, with some suggestions of course!
How about some honey garlic squid accompanied with tasty shrimp dumplings to start?
Followed by some Stir-fried Crocodile Meat in Ginger & Onion Sauce and spring rolls to wet your appetite?
The menu at this establishment is filled with fresh and authentic Chinese dishes. Our choices were unique and something that we would not normally have ordered on our own.
A great way to try something new and to experience!
Chams Yum Cha
Making our way through Chinatown, we made a quick stop to browse through a another and very unique International Convenience Store. Filled with goods that you would never see in your typical corner store.
It was neat to see and browse the isles looking at all the various food items, spices and much more!
Rice Paper Homestyle Vietnamese Food
From Chinatown to Vietnam, time to try some rice paper rolls from another local favorite establishment; Rice Paper.
These rolls were huge and filled with either vegetarian options or non vegetarian. We sampled both and they were excellent! One roll would be a meal by itself.
They were huge!!
Along with our rice paper rolls, we sampled some of their signature freshly squeezed Sugar Cane juice. Very sweet!
By this point, our stomachs definitely were at the breaking point.
On this tour, you have plenty to eat, so make sure you arrive hungry!
Melbourne is filled with interesting side lanes and alleyways, throughout the city. Many of them have excellent restaurants, bars and shops to browse the day away.
Really something unique and cool to see in this city, other than your typical dirty back alley in most other cities around the world.
Flora Indian Cuisine
With our bellies bursting, we made our way to Little India. Walking by the spice shops, retail outlets and more, I really started to have the feeling I was back in India.
Theres a very large Indian population in Melbourne and with that, some excellent restaurants as well!
To finish our tour, Dhawani led us into the Flora restaurant. Another hidden gem in the city, only the locals would know about. We tried to manage sampling traditional Dosa with a side of Masala as best we could.
Very tasty and a favorite traditional dish among the people of India.
Just when we thought we had enough, out comes dessert – sweets of course! Gulab Jamun and Jalebi. Gulab Jamun was my absolute favorite dessert throughout my travels in India a few seasons ago.
Small cake balls soaked in a delicious sweet sauce, and in most cases served hot.
I like sweets and they are delicious!
For those with a real sweet tooth, Jalebi is your ticket! A crispy, sweet treat that is a very popular street food in India. Great with Chai Tea.
This was a superb walking food tour throughout the CBD District of Melbourne. It was a great way to see, experience and taste some of the flavors of the city introduced by the varied ethnic communities.
The walk is leisurely and enjoyable, with many stops along the way. There’s plenty of time to enjoy the sites and take photos as you walk the streets of the city.
Recommendations
I always recommend experiencing a cultural food tour when traveling to new destinations. This tour will not disappoint and you will leave with full stomachs!
A “Must Do” while visiting Melbourne!
Included in your tour is:
A visit and introduction to the Immigration Museum, including admission;
5 Tastings with the history behind the foods and flavors of all establishments visited;
Visit local spice shops to learn about the spices and ingredients used by the different regions;
A Friendly & Informative Tour Guide.
We had a wonderful time with our very friendly guide Dhawani from Foodie Trails Melbourne, along with our fellow travelers on this tour.
Below, I have listed Foodie Trails Melbournes official website for your convenience, where you can access much more detailed information on their tours offered.
You can also check availability and make online reservations as well.
I’ve also listed the Official Victoria Australia Tourist Board’s link below to their website and page for Melbourne, for your convenience. It’s filled with excellent information to assist in your travel planning to the “Land Down Under!”
Safe and Healthy Travels!
Although our tour was in collaboration with Foodie Trails Melbourne, rest assured all content and opinions are that of the author and reflect my personal experience only.
✨ Did You Know
“Melbourne Australia Has The Largest Tram System In The World Outside Of Europe.”
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