Wrapping up 2017 with my last overseas trip of the year - Melbourne. It was my first visit to Melbourne and it was nothing short of amazing. Even though it was supposed to be summer in Australia, the weather was rather chilly while we were there. Apart from Melbourne city, we spent half a day at St. Kilda, embarked on a road trip along the Great Ocean Road, headed to Grampians and visited the vineyards at Yarra Valley.Melbourne is a city full of cafes and amazing restaurants. Like Singapore, it is definitely a food heaven! What not to love? Here's a quick 3 mins video of my trip!

In a nutshell, my favourite coffee and the most innovative brunch I had in Melbourne were from Higher Ground. I really like my Ricotta Hotcakes from Top Paddock (personal favourite). In fact, the two aforementioned cafes are managed by the same team of people. Best asian food was from Ying Thai 2. Can't get a reservation at Chin Chin? No problem, try Coda!

Here are the four restaurants that I really enjoyed during my trip to Melbourne. 

1. Coda

Stumbled upon this place mainly because it was a 2.5h wait at Chin Chin. Coda is just around the corner of the alley beside Chin Chin, It was definitely a good find that I'll add to my list. We were seated at the bar of the basement restaurant. The trendy and industrial-chic restaurant serves Vietnamese fusion dishes.

First order of business - oysters and wine.  They were extremely fresh and juicy. Yummy.

Next, the appetizers. The waiter told us serving is pretty small for side dishes so we ended up ordering three of them. Unfortunately, they turned out to be bigger than what we expected and hence, we couldn't finish them.

Sardine, crab and mango salad. Very refreshing and it wasn't on their menu.

Stir fried egg plant. It was too heavy for the both of us. More suitable to share and goes well with white rice. 

Stir fried morning glory. It was delicious but not fantastic.

For mains, we got the chicken to share. Well seasoned, roasted, baked and glazed.

Well seasoned and very yummy!

Sorbet and souffle. 

Total damage was about AUD170 (inclusive of drinks) for both of us but it was pretty reasonable considering we ordered a hell lot of food for the both of us. 

Address:

141 Flinders Ln

Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia

2. Top Paddock

Top Paddock is located outside the city center but it is certainly worth the effort (at least to me)! And I really really love their Ricotta Hotcakes. 

Popular for its gorgeous looking hotcakes, I was immediately swayed just by looking at them. 

I love love love this hot cakes! One thing I really like about Top Paddock is that they offer two sizes for their hotcakes (mini and regular). The mini size was perfect for one serving.

YH had their burger. Even though the meat was slightly overcooked, he liked it too.

Address: 

658 Church St, Richmond VIC 3121, Australia

3. Higher Ground

Higher Ground was strongly recommended by my friend and we decided to head there on a Sunday morning. When we arrived, we were welcome with a huge crowd at the entrance and we had to wait 50 mins for our table. Fortunately, there is a mall nearby for you to kill time if you decide to go for it. You can also have a cup of coffee from their outdoor coffee bar while waiting for your turn.

After a good 50 mins later, it was finally our turn. I was starving!! The restaurant/cafe was huge. As compared to the other cafes, Higher Ground offers an innovative fare for their brunch menu. I ordered their Eggs Benedict while YH had their Minced Lamb Fry Up.

This is one of my favourite brunch items in Melbourne. Unlike the other eggs benedict I had, their hollandaise sauce was extremely light, which doesn't make the dish too heavy. The parma ham was sandwiched in between the two slices of sourdough.

This was the most unconventional brunch we had in Melbourne - Minced lamb and eggs. I found the lamb flavour slightly overpowering. But if you don't mind that, this is indeed a creative twist to your day to day brunch.

Address:

650 Little Bourke St

Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia

4. Ying Thai 2 

This thai restaurant is located along Melbourne's "Italian quarter", Lygon Street. Really love their thai food and we visited the restaurant twice during our trip. Their coconut rice is a MUST TRY. Even a "non-rice" eater like me ate at least half a bowl of rice. It was very fragrant. Among the dishes we ordered, our favourites were Green Curry and Sweet, Stir fried vegetables and Sour Fried Fish.

Address: 

110 Lygon St

Carlton VIC 3053, Australia