Cafe-hunting in Melbourne, Aug 2013!

Been a long time since i last went to Melbourne,and this time, Melbourne was a short stopover en route to Tasmania.

On the surface, the city seems very much like singapore,

but dig a little deeper, and you'll find that melbourne is filled with surprises :)

Nestled in between the gaps of the buildings are creatively-drawn graffitis and quaint cafes.

Melbourne is also said to be more refined than Sydney.

A stroll along the CBD and you'll see beautiful old english style buildings 

that reminded me very much of those encountered in europe :)

I read that true Melburnians dodge cafes that do not have baristas, and stress if decent coffee is not found within 3km distance away. 
I'm never much of a coffee connoisseur,
I prefer to stick to my flavoured lattes & homemade nespresso coffee.
Nor do i claim to be a foodie,
i like my food to be light and in small portions.

But who says you need to be an expert of both to enjoy them? :D
I love the cafe culture and its ability to bond people, over a cup of coffee :)
And like many singaporeans,
i enjoy cafe-hunting in different obscure locations around Singapore,
and spending a good weekend in caffeine goodness.

With only 2 days to spend in Melbourne, 

we got some recommendations from friends, tips from the trusty app UrbanSpoon, 

and found our way to some great laneway cafes! 

The Hardware Societe. 

120 Hardware Street

Hardware Societe is apparently rated number 1 on urban spoon, 

scoring 90% and had crazy reviews on its lunch menu :) 

We saw a queue and took it as an indication of good food!

Finally sat down after a good 15mins wait, 

and went straight for the hot pick - Baked Eggs with Chorizo.

True enough, when dish was served i was blown away by its presentation, then taste!! 

Warm and fuzzy to have a hot pot of baked eggs chorizo on a cold winter day. 

 Fried eggs, mushroom and basil. YUM :)

Wouldn't miss out on ordering a latte :) 

Coffee was decent but not mind-blowing.

With my sis and cuzzie! 

Manchester Press

8 Rankins Lane 

Make sure you don't miss the turn into this laneway,

cos Manchester Press is as obscure as it can get. 

Opening Hours written on the brick walls using chalk! 

And so is the wait list! 

Such creativity :D

I love how all these cafes all look so unassuming from the outside, 

and bustling with life inside :) 

Mixed berries in mascarpone and pistachio 

Seven Seeds
106-114 Berkeley Street

I had high hopes for this one 

cos it was recommended by some of my coffee connoisseur friend.

Seven Seeds is located a short walk's distance away from Queen Victoria Market.

I just had to take a shot of it with the trash bins. 

Bizarre location with no other shops in sight opened on the Sunday.

I felt like i've stepped into a narnia of coffee world.

The contrast of colours from the outside, the smell of freshly brewed coffee, 

buzzing sound of people chatting and coffee machine, 

a reception with a display of cakes and croissants! 

Seven Seeds is bike friendly!

The menu only has food items, no coffee choices! 

I was guessing that this place is not for amateurs like us,

of which asking waitresses for coffee recommendations is coffeeworld blasphemy

and warrants a dirty look from her.

Waitress: "What would you like today?"

Us: "What do you recommend?"

Waitress: "What do you usually drink?" *irritated

Us: "eh.. latte?"

Waitress: "Then Latte it is!"

So Latte it was, and was it a good latte :D

I've never had latte so light to the stomach yet strong enough to give the kick.

Mushroom and Cheese Muffin was also awesome, 

never thought i would say that of a normal-looking muffin.

My cousins ordered black coffee and went ahead with the waitress' recommendation.

It came with an explanation card.

The same coffee is also sold at Brother Baba Budan located at Little Bourke St.
You can drop by to grab a cuppa if you're not gna have brunch :) 

That pretty much sums up my 2 days in melbourne..

Can't wait to share about Tassie in my next blog post!