Queen Victoria Market An Immigrant Melting Pot in Melbourne

Last Saturday I went to the Queen Victoria Market Foodie Tour by myself. I booked it months ago and yesterday, when I woke up with a massive hangover, I almost cancelled it. But, I am glad I didn’t give in to my laziness and poor planning because the food did help to tone down the constant ringing I heard inside my head.

Queen Victoria Market Ultimate Foodie Tour

I took this tour mainly because I had never been to Queen Victoria Market in my three years living in Melbourne and I thought something with food would definitely motivate me to turn up.

The tour was led by the enthusiastic Sarah who has worked there for more than 3 years. The day was sunny and a little after 11 AM we started.

The first stop was my favourite part of any kind of travel tour: the fish market. We were served a plate of freshly suckled oysters. Most of my tour mates declined to try it. Great! I got to finish at least half of a dozen by myself. It was by far the best-tasting oysters I have ever eaten in Melbourne, better than the ones served in South Melbourne Market.

On to the meat section, we met Sarah’s favourite butcher, Matt who has set up his meat business in Queen Victoria Market for decades. Matt has a section for not so desired parts of meat including hearts, lungs, and tongues which he excitedly flaunted in front of us.

We continued our Queen Victoria Market journey to the deli areas where we nibbled on Dolmades, dips, and kangaroo. We were also served delicious Moroccan tea and dukkha from a spice shop on the same area. It’s followed by a short cheese presentation by Hakim. He is one of the three owners of Bill’s Farm, the no.1 Cheese shop in Melbourne. He talked passionately about cheese and his mission is to serve the best cheese from around the world.

When I was just about to get full, Sarah directed us to the back part of the deli area before reappearing with a huge bowl of freshly made pasta. We stood in the circle and enjoyed the simply beautiful pasta.

We continued the tour with desserts

There was raspberry chocolate from Koko Black, fresh fruits from local fruit sellers, gelato and my absolute from the American Donut Kitchen.

Normally I avoid eating doughnuts with jam, as jam doughnut is not my jam ━ but boy was I glad I was too hungover to refuse to try the doughnut. It’s the BEST doughnut I have ever eaten in my life and from the length of the queue waiting beside the truck, it’s obvious I am not the only one who thinks so.

Other than the delicious local produce and Sarah, the highlight of the tour for me was seeing crocodile meat up and close. I almost bought it, but I wasn’t sure how would Fafa feel about coming home to deep-fried crocodile meat, so I left it for next time.

During the whole tour, the food attracted other market-goers too. Sarah politely told them that it’s just reserved for the paying tour attendance. Again and again. There even was a lady who circled back to sample the food even though she has been informed that it was not for the public. I want to be her when I am older.

A random but would be much-appreciated observation: the toilet in Queen Victoria Market is clean and dry.

When you visit Queen Victoria Market as a tourist, start with this foodie tour and continue your market exploration to other parts. You can easily spend half a day here feasting and finding random trinkets.

The massive size of the market, combined with other seasonal events, such as Winter Night Market and Hawker 88 Night Market, makes Queen Victoria Market an undeniable cultural spot in Melbourne that’s worth visiting.

I for one would definitely come back just for a plate of oysters and a bag of doughnuts.

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