In A Nutshell: -You…read morenormally won't find places like Springvale Central market unless you are told by locals. -Fortunately, my new Australian-Vietnamese friends who live close by showed us. -This is one of Vietnamese areas in/around Melbourne. -There are many produce, meat & seafood businesses within the area. -I found the Australian beef to be a prized-possession in addition to... -Pippies, which are succulent clams from this part of the world. -Red Frog Crabs, which look alien-like, but tasted sweet, just wish they had more meat. -Sea Bugs, which after you get past the looks actually are very tasty w/ lot's of meat. Overall, this is a great market to check out, especially now after the unfortunate fire destroyed the Asian market in Footscray.

Fresh, delectable seafood at a good price, served with a smile. It's what you get at Moonee Ponds…read moreSeafood - everytime!! Not only is the seafood fresh, it's great quality; no yucky brown bits, big juicy prawns and great calamari. For not much more than you'd pay at Coles for god-knows-how-old and god-knows-where-it-came-from seafood, MPS is the best value seafood I've found in the area. The guys that work here are so helpful and full of info on what's come in that day, new produce and even ways on how to cook your seafood as well as some great recipes. I love this place!!

MAGGOTS IN FISH! I…read morepurchased fish from here due to convenience and the hopes that as the business sole product is seafood that they would care about factors such as quality and freshness as opposed to supermarket giants where quality can at times be lacking; I WAS WRONG. After purchasing multiple types of fish, including Salmon and Cod Fillets, and whole mackerel, I went home to begin the preparation of my meals. I sat the whole mackerel in a bowl of water and began cleaning and de- boning them. After approx. 5 minutes I look int the bowl to find an insect of some sort crawling out of the mouth of the fish and laying eggs. Obviously, this completely put me off my purchase. I went back to this establishment to alert the management, only to be told that the fish is fresh and It is not their problem. They also refused to give me a refund as they could not resell the fish, only for the owner to dump the fish back into the window after I refused to take it back as the fish was CLEARLY NOT FRESH. On top of all of this as we were leaving a woman stopped us to ask what was going on, and then informed us that the fish (salmon) here had also given her food poisoning. So, in conclusion, if you do decide to purchase products from here do it at your own risk!

When I'm at Coburg Market I buy my seafood from the only seafood stand in the market, Just Caught…read moreSeafoods. There is a good selection of fresh fish and seafood here behind the long curved glass display unit. And it is such a bright clean shop with friendly staff. Often I'm just buying a couple of fillets of fish or 300g of their marina mix but today I'm buying half a kilo of their mussels for a dinner party. The mussels will require a bit of preparation, scrubbing and cutting off their beards but it will be worth it.

This joint gets unconditional praise via social media so naturally I wanted to judge for myself…read more The play by play of my impromptu visit to the Crab Shack is as follows: 1. Parking right out front - any Melburnian would know that this is a first world win considering it's Fitzroy! 2. Restaurant dining area all to ourselves (even though it was peak time) - thanking Stakes Day for this. 3. Servers always greeted you with a smile and also accommodated our request for a candle on our banana split (celebrating a b-day). 4. Ambience is very chilled, no loud music polluting your conversations and the distance between tables is considerate so you don't have strangers invading your personal space. 5. Food was plated quickly and it was a beautiful looking spread. Ironically I'm allergic to shellfish so I had their signature fried chicken with mash and waffles. Final verdict: I gotta say after all the publicity the chicken gets on Broadsheet, Instagram and general word of mouth, I felt that it didn't live up to the hype and I was underwhelmed. Overall I still rate my Miss Katie's Crab Shack experience very close to top marks because I really enjoyed the side dishes like the watermelon salad, fries + blue cheese sauce, cornbread (with actual kernels inside) and the dessert specials! I'm definitely not going to penalise them for my inability to eat crustaceans. My mates raved about the soft shell crab sliders and the seafood broils which was a visual feast itself. Extra points for the trendy bibs!

Bit noisy win the 'comedian' on stage on a Friday night. Friendly staff and really good all around…read morevibe. I love the real hole in the wall joint that the spot has too, very different from most spots here in Australia. Prices are reasonable for servings, bar prices even more so. Flavour wise, the base is alright, a little watered down from the real thing and not as hearty as the original but still a decent copy as you're able to spice it up with the green or red Tabasco that's provided. I ordered the single crab boil with no chorizo. Staff are great about substitutions as they have a varied menu including vegetarian and vegan options. I'll be back to try more of what's on offer.

Great array of Japanese groceries with very helpful staff. Easy to find products. Relaxing place to…read moreshop.

Fans of Sushi will love this place. Suzuran has a broad range of sushi platters to suit all tastes…read more The ingredients are also fresh and they generally prepare the platter on order so the food has not been sitting there for long, thus adding to the freshness. It is a bit more highly priced than other sushi shops but it is worth paying a bit more for something that will leave you fully satisfied. I have tried No.26 - the Nigri & California Roll platter and No.31 - the Deluxe Inari & California Roll platter and so far haven't been disappointed. There is also a grocery store in the same place where you can find a broad range of Japanese products to take home.

Calia is a modern Asian-fusion restaurant in Melbourne CBD, and we absolutely love this place -…read moreit's a regular go-to for us. It's part of a unique homeware and food retail shop that gives off a more relaxed and casual atmosphere. We often come here whenever we feel like it and is also the perfect place to enjoy and refresh yourself after a long day of shopping in the CBD! They offer some unique dishes and excellent produce at the same time. We would usually order several options to share, our favourites being their signature dish, the Wagyu Sukiyaki bowl with a 63 degree boiled egg. On top of that, their sushi is fresh, the crispy roast pork bowl is delicious and their unagi bowl is a must try as well. Overall, the food is excellent and creative, however having a wider range would be amazing. The menu hasn't changed and it would be great to see more options and creativity - we just want more! Calia is definitely worth trying at least once, for their aesthetically-pleasing and scrumptious food.

Calia was one of my favorite restaurants when I lived in Melbourne. Interior was really nice too. I…read moredo find foods in Melbourne to be aesthetically pleasing more than California. I always get the same thing though. I like the ochazuke with unagi, but it's good that I always go with people that order different things, because then I get to try it too. I recommend coming here, I sure hope it doesn't disappoint you, because I'm always disappointed, and this did not disappoint me.

A tradition almost ... we seem to order the same things. We've been coming here as bachelors and…read moreyears have past ... the same grp of mates still come here but with our GFs / wives and/or own family. We have noticed that the portions have shrunk a bit over the yrs but that's ok. The food is still pretty darn good! without fail our standard order .. a must are the salted egg chicken (2 portions)!.. sizzling tofu also 2 portions!! yep they are that good!! Butter prawns, kangkong... Staff here can be a bit overworked so don't expect service to come with a smile :) but generally it's ok. We're here for the food and the company. Happy eating folks!!

Love love love eating crab at Red Hot Wok. I don't know why but everytime I come to this joint we…read moreare always treated like family. I am sure there are better places to eat crab in Glen Waverley, Box Hill and such but living in CBD meant that this is closest for me to get to. Their steamed barramundi is fresh and delicious too. And for cheaper eats their beef brisket noodles are fantastic.

Tom Yum soup at a Japanese eatery?…read more Yes folks, it's possible, and today I start two things; a homage to tom yum soup and the hunt for the best in Melboure. There's not much free space when the soup arrives, it's filled to the brim, with plenty of udon noodles. Just the way a tom yum soup should be; spicy, hot and sour with a slight sweet undertone. And a generous serving. It's a very small place with limited seating, across the road from the 7-11 at southern cross station. Gzoya dumplings, sushi rolls and sushi packs are available but limited. Once the clock hits 12pm, this place packs out. You have been warned. Essentially what you would find in any Sushi place. They have a menu with about 20 food items on offer, most of these are hot dishes- four udon noodle based, and meat and rice Don options are available too. A hot food section is available for take-away too. Hainese chicken rice is a special dish on Wednesday only.

We tried to get into Higher Ground but the queue was too long. Nearby Itoya is a tiny place on…read moreSpencer Street. Six seats only. Good takeaway trade. We were fortunate enough to grab the only table. The business ran out of fresh fish by our arrival time of 12.15pm. That put paid to any thoughts of sashimi. It didn't matter. This is a basic cheap and cheerful place where you take what you can get. We both had the box with sukiyaki beef and terryaki chicken with coleslaw and capsicum with rice. Miso soup as well. The chicken was nice as was the capsicum and rice. The rest was average. This is a basic place with a fairly routine meal at a low price. Not an issue for us. We liked our server who was lovely and the food met our modest expectations. Average overall but enjoyable average. It's a 3 for me.