Oh Melbourne, there are so many things I miss about you and your selection of great cafes is one of them.
A rough google search will tell you there are countless coffee places in this vibrant city to choose from. While I certainly can't go to all of them in the short few days I was there, Vincent and I picked a few and they all didn't disappoint. Melbourne, you are truly a hipster coffee city!
Here are the few that we visited:
#1 White Mojo
White Mojo was recommended to us by a friend studying there. We met up with her and had a good time catching up while sipping some good coffee the place has to offer. I had one of their deconstructed waffles and it was so pretty to look at I almost didn't want to eat it (sigh, pretty food). But I had to or I will be staring at it the whole time. The ingredients that they used to decorate the deconstructed waffles were pretty (did I say it already?) and also tasty. The berries are dried which added some crunchiness to the taste. But the portion was really small and I wish they won't be so stingy in giving me the good stuff!
Vincent had a pulled pork burger and the look of it already won me over (I had to have a bite of his food of course).
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| Left: Matcha Latte and Coffee Art; Right: Pulled Pork Burger |
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| Deconstructed Waffles with Dried Berries |
#2 Seven Seeds
Seven Seeds was recommended to me by one of my good friends, grace! She is an ultimate foodie and I know I can trust her when it comes to food recommendation. Seven Seed is located in an industrial area, quite close to the University of Melbourne. It's a little difficult to spot at first but you just have to look for a wall painted in a deep blue colour (below). Vincent had Eggs and Waffle Benedict and I had a toast with avo, cheese, carrots and beetroot cured salmon by the side. The beetroot cured salmon was so good!
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| Left: Toast with Avo, Cheese, Carrots and Beetroot Cured Salmon; Right: Eggs and Waffle Benedict |
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| Latte |
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| The deep blue colour wall to look out for (and their van if it's there!) |
#3 Industry Beans
Industry Beans is located quite a distance outside of the free tram zone (read about it here) but it is worth a trip there if you are an avid coffee drinker. The place is a warehouse turned cafe so expect some high ceiling with a good amount of natural lighting. As their name says it, they focus on bringing the best coffee beans from around the world to their tables. You know they are really serious about their coffee when they have a menu dedicated to explaining the origins, taste of different beans and ways to go about drinking it - pour over, aeropress, gold mesh, cold drip or cold brew. Not to let coffee takes away all the limelight, they also offer some great food to go with it.
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| Unhealthy vs healthy (ha) Left: Karaage Chicken Burger (add cheese and bacon); Right: Crispy Beans and Quinoa (add cured salmon) |
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| Well stocked up! |
Bonus #4 Monarch Cakes
Besides walking through cafe doors every single day, we also visited St Kilda Beach as the right thing to do during the Winter season. Hell no, I was shivering so much when the cold wind came. So to either stay out for the cold or to satisfy our never-ending quest for good food, Vincent brought me to this Eastern European cake shop. The place even retains the Eastern European vibe with its vintage furniture and the oldest cash machine I have ever seen. For food, we tried the 100 Years Old Polish Baked Cheese Cake (the recipe is 100 years old not the cake) and one of their dark chocolate pastry. They were a little sweet for me but someone with a sweet tooth won't mind a few more bites.
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| The oldest cash machine! |
