The article is written by Paola Bianchi
5 essential things to be on the right track
1. Feeling like toast for breakfast? Better be Sourdough!
You can find Sourdough bread (fermented dough) in any respectable bakery, cafe and supermarket. If it is wholemeal, organic, mixed with Rye or with seeds, you are closer to eat like a Melburnian. Give a try to the classic buttered bread with Vegemite and avocado. Yummy!
For Melburnians, it’s all about gut health.
Bonus: our fav spots in Melbourne are Baker D. Chirico and Tivoli Road Bakery. You won’t be disappointed!
2. When ordering eggs, the waitress will ask ‘how do you want your eggs’
and it is expected to be a specific answer. Most menus show an ‘eggs your way’ option. What does that mean? It means you can choose between a lot of possibilities! We definitely haven’t seen this in my hometown.
Boiled eggs (soft or hard); scramble eggs (soft and fluffy); fried eggs (sunny side up or over); poached eggs (hard or runny) and baked eggs.
Bonus: for eggs made like in heaven, head to The Kettle Black or Hardware Société. These places have been delivering awesome eggs for a long time.
3. Have you been invited to a Christmas meal?
Fabulous! Make sure to bring wine or dessert. Any good quality red wine will be happily accepted. If you want to please sweet tooths, get a lovely dense fruit cake, plum pudding or the old fashion gingerbread.
According to a survey made by Woolworths (a big chain of supermarkets), over half a million pavlovas are usually sold on the week previous to Christmas. Get a pavlova; you can’t go wrong!
4. Did you think that ordering a coffee is easy peasy?
Think again! The coffee culture in Melbourne is a serious thing, and the competition between cafes, roasters and coffee suppliers is a hot subject.
To cover the basics, we have the espresso coffee which can be black (think long black or double ristretto) or white (with your choice of milk, think lattes or cappuccinos).
There are also other alternatives that are becoming incredibly popular like filtered coffee (served hot and black) and cold drip/ cold brew (served cold, black or white)
If unsure of which coffee to get, we suggest to talk to the barista and ask for a recommendation. Usually, they are happy to go quickly through their options to help you determine which drink suits you better.
Bonus: our top-notch places for coffee fans are St Ali in South Melbourne (sit in one of the communal tables) and Patricia Coffee Brewers in the CBD (no sitting here, it’s a standing room!).
5. Keep the politeness.
We know it can be exciting to try new things and you may want to do it ASAP. But always say this two magic words: ‘please’ and ‘thank you’. We found that Melburnians are so polite that even when they didn’t do anything wrong, they will say sorry first.
