Wonderful cheese selection in the cheese cave that is downstairs with a knowledgeable cheese…read moremonger. I went to cheese stores all through Melbourne and around Brisbane and this was where I found the greatest selection of cheese made in Australia. Upstairs has a variety of boutique products from granola to chocolate. Also, there is a gelato counter and espresso bar as you enter the store.

This place looks like nothing more than a gelato shop from the front, so you'd be forgiven for not…read morerealising there's a whole specialty grocery inside -- and they also do delicious made-to-order artisan sandwiches to take away. To get a sandwich, bypass the gelato out front and go inside, then bypass the groceries and head straight to the back. There's a cashier here who will take your order and bring your sandwich out to you after about a 10-15 minute wait. I love this place because of their four vegan sandwich options: a tofu salad open sandwich with sesame and lime dressing; a bagel sandwich with a tofu and corn fritter and curried cashews, cucumber, and coriander; a tempeh burger on focaccia with kimchi and ABC sauce; and an eggplant, pumpkin, spinach, white bean, and basil pesto on focaccia. If these descriptions don't have you drooling right now, I don't know what's wrong with you. All vegan sandwiches are $11.50 and come with potato chips. This is a fair price for a delicious and rather filling lunch. Their non-vegan sandwiches aren't much more expensive either. My favorite is the tempeh burger with ABC sauce -- it's like an Indonesian sweet soy sauce -- oh man. Just the right mix of unusual but awesome flavours. There's no seating here -- it's take-away only, unless you're out front having a gelato. While you wait for your sandwich, you can peruse the specialty grocery items. They have a small but impressive collection of hard-to-find and locally-made items, such as La Tortilleria tortillas, local hand-made chocolates, jars of refrigerated kimchi, and chips made from all manner of non-potato things -- kale chips, bean chips, turnip chips.... Just be prepared for some sticker shock. These specialty groceries don't come cheap. (One of the chocolate bars was $14!!! It better be chocolate CRACK, at that price.) All in all, a great place to come for an awesome take-away sandwich with fresh and often unusual ingredients at lunchtime, and a fun place to peruse if you like your exotic, organic, hand-made/hand-dipped/hand-chopped/hand-crafted/hand-tooled/hand-whatever fancy-pants specialty grocery items. You know who you are. (Note the sandwiches are a Monday-Friday lunchtime thing only. I came once on the weekend and they weren't making sandwiches. The gelato is available all the time, but I admit I haven't sampled it yet.)

This is one of those delis that I absolutely adore. None of those big named products happens to be…read moreon sale here. This is sort of one of those places where you visit to grab a spread for a party, or even for a small get together. The other thing is that, like a lot of places, they also do coffee and tea, and the tea they served was quite nice. It was a shame that they didn't have any loose leaf tea available for sale.

Provata is the absolute perfect add-on to a shopping village that contains Coles. They are so…read moreideally suited, you'd be forgiven for wondering why Coles hadn't yet bought them out. Provata is a delicatessen in the traditional sense of the word. Stocking your usual suspects like cheeses, dips and other moreish nibblies they also have a sensational range of 'that other ingredient in this recipe I want to try that I have no idea where to get' type stuff. Persian fairyfloss, vanilla icecream made fresh with actual vanilla beans, tomato paste with anchovies, blue corn chips... you get the idea. Whilst you'll find many other stores like it around, it's that it's perfectly placed next to an incredibly popular Coles supermarket that makes it just right.

I'm now a regular at this store where I stock up on my favourite spices, dried fruit & nuts and…read moresavoury snacks. This store has all your grains, pasta, flour (every type including banana?!), legumes, teas, coffee, spices, herbs, energy/health "balls" and so much more. The Source stocks a great majority of Australian and Organic produce. It's mainly self-serve - except for the spices in large jars on the top shelf - which you can weigh on the scales provided and put in brown paper bags provided. Staff are super friendly, knowledgeable and helpful. And prices are very, very reasonable. Why would you purchase expensive, mainstream foods, when you can buy Fresh, Organic, Cheap and Bulk? See you next week The Source Bulk Foods for my stock up of Organic Coconut Flakes (soooo goood) and oils.

Big variety & great food & you'll be sure to find what you want ... love the cake shop, deli &…read moreflowers...

OHHH I LOVE this place…read more I swear I could live here (at night.. when its quiet). It has EVERYTHING food wise you could imagine, and more. - Freshly (like right in front of your eyes) made orange and apple juice. - Meat, meat MEAT - every meat you can imagine and drool over - Baked goods... so many... try and avoid it! - Fresh ALL AUSTRALIAN produce.. yum! But the best part is the cafe inside. Open till 3pm every day - they serve all the traditional breakfast dishes like Eggs Benedict, Big Breakfast & Smashed Avo... but they also have adorable cakes, wraps and toasted sandwiches. Great service and price too... I want to go back right now :)

I'd be pretty damn happy if I lived in this village and this was my local store. Sure I might not…read moredo my full grocery shop here, but if I were looking for quality ingredients for a dinner party or some unique items for my pantry then I would be here all the time. There's a small fruit and veggie section as well as a nice range of wine, but what I loved most of all was the compact deli right down the back, complete with neon diner lights spelling out DELI. Like moths to the flame, charcuterie lovers will be drawn down here for fine cured delicious things.

Every good neighbourhood needs a gourmet grocery store and this is it for Yarraville. Whether…read moreyou've got dietary restrictions or just looking for products of higher quality or less jammed full of sugar and preservatives, this is where you'll find it. In addition to a good range of meat and everything you need to throw together a meal, they also sell wine and have a cute deli section. Being just a short stroll from Yarraville Gardens, this would be a wise pit-stop to stock up on cheese and charcuterie to prep a picnic.

The name says it all - Great Asian Food Store!…read more Clean, organized, well stocked with weird and unusual food delights. Looks a little less welcoming from the outside, but it is very modern inside. Its built into the first floor of a parking lot. Its fairly new, it appeared in mid 2017. You have to try their salted egg potato chips, they are amazing. If you are feeling even more game, give the salted egg fish skin a try, you won't regret it. They are awesome!

Five reasons why Little Saigon is the shizz nizzle…read more.... 1. Free samples of delicious tropical fruit in winter. There's nothing like biting into a creamy custard apple or juicy papaya in winter. Instant mental transportation to the fair and dreamy isles. 2. The cheapest avocados in the western world. Last week I bought 12 perfect avocados for 7 dollars. This should be enough to make you drop everything and run to Footscray but if it isn't, I give you number 3.... 3. Stuffed tofu (legendary) 4. Those little Vietnamese crepes with minced pork and fish sauce. I like to bring them to work and annoy all my sour puss co workers with their delicious stank. 5. Bags of limes for 2 dollars. It's constantly margaritaville at my house now.

This is one of the great market experiences of Melbourne. Vietnamese sellers yelling out "$1.99"…read moreand monotone sounds just to get attention. There are Fruit samples to try in abundance and the hustle and bustle of people pushing through the crowd. This is one of the best places in Melbourne to get super cheap fresh veggies and fruit, plus harder to find Asian ingredients (that are not stocked elsewhere). Go in the late afternoon on Saturday or Sunday for some bargains and the big push and shove of eager shoppers!

I was on my way home from the city on Wednesday and I remembered that I didn't have any munchies…read morefor games night with the guys. And right next the entrance of Melbourne Central Station there is this grocery store. " The Urban Asian Grocery" reads the slogan on the pillar out front. It had great range of chips with all kinds of Asian flavors, like masala. And the guys kind of compete to bring unusual chip flavors when they come over for our regular Wednesday night games night. This week I had the most novel flavor of chips. Otherwise it is a pretty regular grocery store - what more can I say?

Don't be confused by the name and go here thinking its a Woolies type grocery store. It is, as the…read moresign at the entrance suggests, an Asian specialty food market. Sure, they've got a good variety of Asian goods, yeah its in a central location in Melbourne Central conveniently near the train station, and it is clean and pretty. However, I can get the same, if not better, large range of Asian rices, noodles, sauces, herbs and spices from my favoured local markets around Glenroy, with friendlier and more helpful service and at prices that make me smile, not cringe.

Flemington Fresh Centre is an old fashioned greengrocer on Racecourse Road. The range of fruit and…read morevegetables here is so fresh you'll want to live on salads! Compared to the nearby supermarket, Flemington Fresh Centre offer far better value for money and service; you even have the option of phoning ahead to place an order for pick up, or having a standing weekly order with the store. Another advantage of shopping at this local grocer is that there's a greater emphasis on produce that is currently in season - you won't end up paying astronomical prices for fruit that's been flown in from the other side of the world because it's the wrong time of year for Australian growers.

The market has most things I want. There are many varieties of fresh vegetables and fruits. Items…read moreare properly displayed and prices are very reasonable. staff are very polite and helpful. The place is properly ventilated and is very clean.

Ohhh this market ROCKS!! I've finally manged to find a deli stocking the gourmet and Mediterranean…read morestyle goods and flavours I love - all in the one place! I came here for the fresh, cheaper than the supermarkets fruit and veg but I've stayed because of the biggest variety I've ever seen for gourmet goods, deli goods, continental, International and ethnic foods and spices. You can't go past the delectable range of olives here, in particular the kalamata olives and green stuffed olives with capsicum or mild chilli's. Bocconcini and feta cheese is to die for, and you have to try out the assortment of herbs and spices. So cheap, so plentiful, so wonderful - you just have to come here to experience true gourmet deli produce.