Queen Victoria Market, Melbourne

One of my favorite places in Melbourne is the Queen Victoria Market. These are black oranges by the way.

Luckily the apartment we stayed at was less than 5 minutes walk from Queen Vic as the locals call the century old market in the heart of the city. The market occupies two whole blocks. We went there 5 times out of the 10 days I was in Melbourne and still I haven’t seen everything.

We always enter the market through Therry st. which takes us to the deli hall where they sell an assortment of cooked food, pastries, cheese, bread, chocolates and many more. You can have a complete meal from appetizers to dessert just walking around this hall.

My most favorite thing to eat in Queen Vic is the borek, a Turkish bread with fillings.

Boreks

They also sell other kinds of bread and rolls but it’s the borek that people line up for.

There were three kinds of fillings to choose from – cheese & spinach, spicy lamb & veggies or spicy potato. The borek was a relatively long piece of bread filled with delicious ingredients. We usually split one borek into 3 pieces which was just perfect for a snack. All three times I ate borek it was served piping hot from the oven. The exterior was crunchy and the interior was soft and chewy. I also loved the spicy lamb filling. I really wanted to take some home back to Manila but I wasn’t sure if it will spoil during the long flight.

Does anyone know if there’s borek in Manila?

cheese & spinach borek A$3

Right next to the Borek shop was Drago’s that sold bratwurst sausages.

We had this delicious sandwich for lunch one day. What made it so good asides from the well flavored sausage was the crusty roll, sauerkraut, mustard and yummy cheese.

bratwurst sausage sandwich A$6

This picture was taken on a week day when there wasn’t much people. We went back on a weekend and you can hardly move. The bread shops run out of bread before noon so go there early if you want to choose from a full line-up of tempting breads.

I wonder if this butter is any good?

blocks of butter sold by kg.

Just outside the deli hall was the Vic Market Place Food Court. This was where we ate our sausage sandwich.

These are just some of the food restaurants there.

Ripe @ The Market

Canton fast food

Cafe Verona

baklava

Our next stop was the fruit and vegetable sheds. You can also buy organic food items and manuka honey here. But don’t forget to canvass prices since each stall has different prices for the same produce.

vegetables

mangoes

nuts

apples

Across was an even bigger shed with more fruits and vegetables.

nuts

herbs & spices

What beautiful colors!

green & purple cauliflower, beetroot

I wish I bought some black oranges to try.

black oranges, capsicum & squash

fresh pistachios

Most of the shoppers brought their own shopping carts or baskets.

There was a long line at the American Doughnut truck. I wouldn’t fall in line for doughnuts but Deb was curious so she patiently waited for freshly cooked hot doughnuts. Her patience paid off. 6 small round doughnuts filled with jam cost A$6 and they were really, really good. Not too sweet and it had a chewy texture I really liked.

Nearby was the meat hall were you can buy fresh meat and seafood. No frozen food here.

meat

king crab and clams

fish

The kids had fun petting the gigantic fish.

We actually bought racks of spring lamb to take home to Manila. Fantastic!!!

I’ve never seen pork specifically labeled and sold by gender. I guess it’s tastier?

As you can see from the picture below the female pork fillets cost more than the steaks and lamb. I wonder if the pork we buy in Manila are male or female. I bet it’s male.

female pork meat

We bought unique blends of sausages from this stall. Some were good others were not.

On Therry street right across the deli hall is the store called Soapbox where we bought Australian soaps.

Soapbox

My favorite soaps are the lemongrass for it’s scent and texture perfect for mild exfoliation and the shea butter for it’s super moisturizing properties. Each large bar cost A$2.70 and it lasts a long time. If not for the weight limit of my luggage I would have bought more.

lemongrass, shea, olive oil soaps

For tourists I suggest you go to Queen Vic or Vic Market on a weekday. Go early because you have a lot of area to cover. Also go hungry and don’t forget to try the borek and have a good cuppa coffee while you’re there. Don’t forget to bring your shopping bags too.

Shopping tips:
I wasn’t able to go to the retail area but my friends did and they were able to buy souvenirs, shirts, magnets and the like at lower prices than at tourist areas.

From Queen Vic look for Queen Street and go to QVM Vitamins there you will find the cheapest vitamins, supplements and manuka honey. Even the famous Lucas Papaw ointment is cheapest there.

Wellbeeing manuka honey 25+

picture from http://www.qvm.com.au

Download the Market Map

Queen Victoria Market
The Market is on the corner of Elizabeth and Victoria Streets in Melbourne’s CBD. Enter the Market from Elizabeth Street, Victoria Street, Peel Street or Therry Street.

Opening Hours:
Tuesday & Thursday – 6am-2pm
Friday – 6am-5pm (General Merchandise to 4pm)
Saturday – 6am-3pm
Sunday – 9am-4pm
Closed Mondays, Wednesdays & Public Holidays

website

Victoria Market Soapbox
149 Therry St, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia
telephone: +61 3 9329 9913
Hours: Sunday hours 10:00 am–5:00 pm

QVM Vitamins
462 Queen St, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia
telephone: +61 3 9077 0085