Prahran Market Melbourne’s Longest Operating Market

I live a stone’s throw away from Prahran Market, the centuries-old market in Melbourne. It has been my market ever since I moved to Australia. I know the market like the back of my hand. Heavy hipster vibes, cute dogs tied outside, friendly sellers, and plenty of food tasting, there is so much to explore and enjoy in Prahran Market.

The Multicultural Stalls in Phraran Market

I had my first Argentian empanadas here in the market and realized that it was just an Indonesian pastel with another name.   It’s at Market Lane that I regularly get Fafa his single-origin coffee. The same place that pushed him to be adventurous about his coffee.

Fafa’s experiments haven’t stopped just with coffee. He started buying different kinds of hot sauce from Cloe’s Deli. This is where he usually stocks up on slices of spicy salami and cheese for my drunken night sagas. Then there is also the Blackhearts and Sparrow bottle shop, where he lets his curiosity run wild with different flavours of beer from all around the world.

  Around the same area of the market, there is Naheda’s Choice which features Turkish delight with a gold leaf in front of their Deli. “Go to Naheda and ask for the bomb!” has been my go-to advice to anyone who is visiting Prahran Market. The bomb is the store’s homemade dips mixed together to create the dips of the dips, the ultimate dips. Hence the name. I usually eat it together with the kale crackers I got from the opposite store from it.

On one of the corners of the inner part of the market, right behind the meat shops wall, there is an Asian grocery store. It’s where I stock up on ready-to-make food boxes whenever I miss my Singapore life like Nasi Lemak and Chicken Rice. Right in front of it, there is a cute tea shop with an extensive collection of teas from loose leaves to herbal flower tea.

Eating at the Prahran Market

In the middle of the market, there is a small Turkish stall called Anatolia Gozleme. By now, they know Fafa well enough to give him extra rice (for his wife) whenever he gets us food from there, which is almost every Sunday.

Every weekend, there is a long queue in front of the mushroom burger stall whose location keeps moving around the market. A true testament to Melbourne’s hipster culture.

Then there is Atlas Dining. Attached to the market, facing Commercial Road, it used to be one of my favourite restaurants in Melbourne. If you are looking for a semi-fine-dining restaurant to try in Melbourne, check them out. Based on experience, it’s best to try a cuisine (they change their cuisine every 3 months once) that’s not usual for you, otherwise, it could be a bit underwhelming.

Prahran Outer Market

Fuji Mart is hands down my favourite shop at Prahran’s outer market. It’s a Japanese Supermarket that stock all things I love and miss about Japan. From hot milk tea, mochi, miso, and Dars chocolate to sake, umeshu, and hard to find Japanese food ingredients like dashi, furikake, and lotus root. I always leave with at least one full grocery bag every time I visit this place.

 There is also a specialty store called The Essential Ingredients that will delight the cook in your house. Here, you can find anything from cookware to rare cooking ingredients like squid ink and duck fat.   My other frequented stop in the market is the Prahran Garden Center. A nursery is attached to the outer side of the market. It’s where I (a self-proclaimed to be a serial plant killer) bought the oldest living plant in my apartment. “You can’t kill this even If you try“, I remember Christina, the owner told me as parting words the day I took it home. Well, she is right. The plant has been sitting happily in front of our bedroom balcony for years now.

Separated from the main market by Commercial road, Prahran Convenience is a provision shop. Here you can score food items from India, Mexico, China, and other countries. They also stock various kinds of skincare and other household items. It’s an interesting shop to visit and you will find at least one thing you want to buy from here. If you don’t know what to get from here, may I suggest Mother’s brand mango pickle stocked in the back of the shop?

Prahran Market Memories

My life in Melbourne is deeply intertwined with Prahran Market. It’s where my best friend and I hatched our Scandinavia trip plan the last year. When Amma was visiting Melbourne, I took her to the Phraran market to buy Asian groceries so she could cook my favourite Indonesian food. She was amazed by all kinds of fresh ingredients that were different from the ones back home. Since then, she visited the market daily, examining everything, and making friends with everyone in the market. All during her short stay here.

The Prahran Market has been the go-to place whenever I feel low or ungrounded. The buzz of the market, mixed with the smell of spices, fresh flowers, and cheese, always manages to centre me.

The woo-woo side believes the market manifested into my Universe when I dreamt about my ideal life years ago while standing in the middle of the Zurich market. It has been the meet-up spot with friends. Not counting all the hours I spent here tagging along with Fafa, who visits the market as a part of his Sunday morning rituals.

I shared many memories, laughs, and a few arguments here. When we move out of South Yarra, I will miss the Prahran Market the most.

Follow me on Instagram @KultureKween for more recent updates.