I was in Melbourne for almost a week, and in that time my diet basically went to shit. But who cares? I’ll worry about it when I get home.

In Melbourne I stayed at my friend’s apartment, which meant access to a kitchen and therefore less eating out. Which is nice, because Melbourne is a bit expensive when it comes to, well, everything.

On my first night there we managed to find a place that served a steak dinner for only $20. The steak was cooked perfectly (I like it medium rare), and the unexpected cheese covering the steak and the unexpected shoestring fries (my fave) made the meal top notch. Well done, Ludlow bar.

The next day I went on a bus tour of the Great Ocean Road while my friend was at work. I know this is a food blog, but here are some pics from that day. It was sooooooo beautiful – definitely the highlight of the trip so far. (For more pictures, follow me on Instagram @therealroryo, or just click on the Instagram button to the right.)



It was a 12-hour tour, so along the way the bus stopped for breakfast and lunch. For breakfast I got a yummy bacon egg and cheese sandwich at some local cafe in Torquay (definitely nicer than the stuff I get from the Delish next door to my job), and for lunch I got a fish burger from Apollo Cafe in Apollo Bay. That fish burger was goooood. Just the thought of it is making me hungry!


After the tour I met up with my friend and we went to a Thai restaurant called Cookie that another friend recommended on Facebook when he saw I was in Melbourne. I don’t want to post a picture of my food though. I ordered the fried soft shell crab, and even though it tasted good, the photos look *really* unappetizing (like poop :-/).

On Thursday (Halloween), I met my friend and her coworkers for lunch. We went to a Chinese dumpling place, where I proceeded to GORGE on various types of dumplings and noodles. #heavenonaplate


On Saturday my friend and I went on a winetasting tour of the Yarra valley. Included in the tour was lunch at Rochford Winery. My choice: Moroccan Braised Wagyu Beef Cheek. The beef was tender and delicious, but I couldn’t decide if I liked the sauce that was covering the white stuff on the side. It was too citrusy/orangey. I ate all of it though, so…yeah.


The next day, Sunday, was a day of firsts for me: I had my first churro and my first pho noodles. Thumbs up on both accounts! And to add to all the crap I ate that afternoon, I decided to wash it all down with some bubble tea.



On Monday we went to the beach (just to look and walk around – Melbourne is pretty damn cold). We stopped at a bakery and sat down to have a Cappucino and try their famous Kugelhoupf – a German bundt cake that tastes like rugelach. It was sooo good.


As I’m writing about all of these foods I’m literally pausing, closing my eyes, and remembering the taste, texture, and smell of each meal. I had a great “food experience” during my first week in Australia. As the Aussies would say (but I would not say, not aloud at least). “Good on ya, Melbourne!”