517 Flinders Lane 

Melbourne, VIC 3000

http://www.grainstore.com.au/

This is another late post but I've been busy! Over the holidays when I went to catch up with my Vietnamese School friends, we decided to go to the Grain Store. There was much hype over this place both through friends and on Urbanspoon so I had to check it out. It has a nice vibe to it - a lot of hardwood in the restaurant and a very simplistic design. It reminds me of those modern urban designed houses in Magazines. I ordered Gnocchi from the Lunch Menu but I could have ordered from the Breakfast Menu too. Usually I refrain myself from ordering Gnocchi out because it's hard to get it right but this place was one of the few places that got the texture right! It melts in your mouth! I would definitely go back here to have it. P.S. sorry the pictures are blurry!



Price: $15 - $25
Rating: 5/5

Let's do a bit of a memory flashback

When I was in Year 8, my family went to America at the end of the year for a holiday. At that time I didn't really know much about the brands in America nor did I have an idea of fashion. All I knew was that clothes in America were cheaper than Australia. Since I didn't know much about fashion and brands in general, I didn't buy much while I was over there. The few things I did buy were from H&M.

Fast forward a few years later, I started to watch YouTube videos. That's when I started to know more about brands like Forever21, H&M, Sephora etc... All of these stores suits my style a lot and can be relatively cheap. That was when I started to regret not buying a lot while I was over there!

When I heard about H&M opening in Melbourne I was super excited. Not only will I be getting fashionable clothes but it was close too! The store opened up at the GPO which practically in the centre of the Melbourne city (how convenient!)

I had only been in the GPO once a few months earlier while they were doing renovations. At the time I assumed that a whole bunch of new stores were opening in the place but I was wrong! H&M took up the whole of GPO.

I was thoroughly impressed with the interior of the H&M store - it reminded me a lot of the one I went into while I was in New York. There were two levels for women's and the third level was a mix of kid's, men's and homeware.

346 Little Bourke St 
Melbourne, VIC 3000

http://www.littleramenbar.com.au/

The night before checked out H&M with one of my best friends, we were looking at places to have lunch at. Originally I just said let's have Jap Food but then it slowly lead to having ramen since it's starting to become cold in Melbourne. So I Urbanspoon-ed a place that had good ramen close in the city. Luckily we found this place which was close to H&M as well! We both ordered Seafood Ramen which was delicious! Certainly satisfied our craving.

8-10 Centre Place

Melbourne VIC 3000

(Opposite Degraves Street, Perpendicular to Flinders Lane)

For a while now I've been wanting to go to Laneways around Melbourne to eat. I've heard that the food on these Laneways are of top quality. Sometimes the best places are the small cafes/restaurants that are hidden. One of my friends showed me Degraves Street when we caught up for lunch. We walked down the street and found a nice Italian  Spanish Restaurant. I don't exactly remember it's name but if it helps the place had a blackboard on the left side with it's specials menu on it. It is relatively small place but very nice a cosy. 

What one of my friends ordered: Spinach, Prawns and Mushrooms Pizza

What one of my other friends ordered: Cured Salmon with Bread

Price: $10 - $20

Tenancy 1, RMIT Building 80

445 Swanston Street,

Melbourne VIC 3000

http://herosubs.com.au/

A while back, my best friend and I heard about this place but didn't get the chance to go to it yet. On one of my errand days I went to Hero to check out what the hype is about. It's a nice little place behind Building 80 (the tram stop is outside Building 80). After looking at the menu I decided to choose Kid Royal - Smoked Hickory Rub Slow Roasted Beef with Onion Jam, Honey Dijion, Baby Spinach, Finished with Crispy Onion Rings.

Kid Royal, Chips and Drink (Lemon Lime and Bitter)

I decided to go for an Everyday Hero which is basically a meal. I loved that they had more options than standard fast food place for the drinks. I chose Lemon Lime and Bitter - a flavour that usually isn't offered at fast food places. The sub was perfect! I had to take out the fried onions because it was too hard to eat on top of the sub. The beef was cooked perfectly - it was so soft that you almost don't realised you're eating beef. The chips were also good - enough seasoning and it wasn't the typical salt seasoning. I liked that they put their own flavour on fast food, it's almost a 'better' fast food option.

Price: $8-$12

Rating: 4/5

Korean/Japanese

398 Lonsdale Street

Melbourne 3000

So on the first day of the holidays, I decided to catch up with my old time best friend. We decided that we would find a nice place to have lunch to celebrate her birthday. We were originally going to Mook Ji Bar, but when we got there, it was closed even though there was a sign saying that it opens at 11:30am. Instead, we walked along Lonsdale Street to find another place to eat and this place happened to catch our eye! It was still early when we sat down, but by the time we started eating, more people came.

This was the dish that my friend ordered. There were different flavours for the Yaki Udon such as chicken and seafood, but she chose beef. I tried a bit of it...and it tasted so good! They definitely got the sauce right for it - enough flavour, but not too salty.  There was plenty of sauce and the noodles and beef had a chewy texture that left you wanting more.  

I felt like trying a Bibimap so I ordered one of course! There was a special name for this one, but I forgot. It was nice, but the Yaki Udon was better. The beef was well marinated but I wish they would add some sauce to the rice so that it didn't taste so plain. The miso soup that came with it was nice but it was cold by the time I drank it. Lesson learned...have the soup first!

They also had complimentary side dishes. I don't know the exact names, but there were bean shoots, potatoes in a sweet sauce and kimchi flavoured cabbage. I absolutely loved the potatoes and the bean shoots (my personal favourite Korean dishes). I think that anyone who can stand spicy food would like the cabbage as well (I can't deal with spiciness, but I did like it).

It was a good find for sure. We just walked in since it looked like a nice place. Definitely going back to try some of their other dishes since there were gas stoves incorporated into the tables (covered by a metal plate). I assume they are for the hot soups on their menu which I need to try! I think it’s a good price for the quality and proportions - both my friend and I were full for a good 3-4 hours afterwards.

Price: $10-$15 standard dishes, $30-$40 for hot soups (for two people)

Rating: 3/5

Love

   Victoria