I have been growing to Frederick since I moved to Richmond about eight months ago. They have tons…read moreof healthy produce in products that will never make you feel guilty about eating them. On top of that they are huge supporters of local businesses and small businesses which have a special place in my heart and to be honest is the main reason why I keep going back to this place. The workers are also very genuine and I always have a lovely chat with them when I come in to buy something.

So frenchy, so chic, so many delicious little pieces of French goodness…read more Fantastic selection of cheeses, pate, pork pies, French sausages and a whole range of other French delicacies that I can neither spell nor pronounce. The staff here are delightful and helpful. Rather unParisian. You can buy a little or a lot here and they are happy to slice it dice and wrap it up to go. Price wise they are reasonable. Not the cheapest in the market cheese wise but certainly the best quality pate.

My favourite cheese shop. They specialise in French cheese, though they do stock other European…read morecheeses...don't think they sell Australian cheese, though I could be wrong. The woman who runs it is friendly, loves her cheese and always happy to provide a taste before you buy! They have some good specials as well. I love food shops like this that really knowledgable and enthusiastic about their produce. They also sell other deli stuff but it's the cheese (and service) that makes it so special!

I love the Fruit Pedallers. It is a little bit like a little rabbit warren with lots of nooks and…read morecrannies to find yummy tidbits of organic produce. It can be hard to find exactly what you need if you are after something specific, as the shop is not laid out in a methodical manner, but for me this makes the shopping experience all the more enjoyable. Sometimes I think the staff at the Fruit Pedallers must think I'm a little fruity myself, when I spend hours browsing the shop only to come up to the counter with a bottle of milk and a cucumber, for example. Up until recently their fresh fruit and veg have been very very expensive. But with a recent change to their buying strategy, they have dropped prices significantly. Yay! Now we can all eat more organic food. Who knows I may even come up to the counter with a cucumber and a head of brocolli. They also have naturopaths on staff - where you can get some free advice (as long as you buy their awful tasting herbal mixtures of course) on your lingering cold etc.

The Fruit Pedallers is a ditty little health food shop on Westgarth's High Street selling all…read moremanner of organic whole foods alongside natural therapies such as naturopathy, homeopathy, massage, reflexology, aromatherapy, kinesiology, art therapy, acupuncture and more besides. In foodie slash health conscious Melbourne, where organic food stores are ostensibly a dime a dozen, The Fruit Pedallers is notable for its friendliness and excellent range of herbs and vitamins alongside fresh organic fruit and vegetables and a ruddy good selection of organic and fair trade chocolate. Its staff are helpful and extremely knowledgeable and although The Fruit Pedallers can be a little dearer than its competitors, this little Westgarth health food haunt is a local favourite, and with good reason. The Fruit Pedallers is a particularly good health food store to visit if you're in the market for vitamins or supplements and don't quite know what you're looking for. Excellent all round.

These guys have a veritable treasure trove of Libby's canned pumpkin on the bottom shelf in the…read moreback. This discovery saved my toosh for Thanksgiving this year because USA Foods in Moorabbin screwed up my order and shorted me my canned pumpkin and I didn't realize it until the last minute. So, hooray for these guys! They made it possible for us to have traditional American pumpkin pie at our Aussie thanksgiving :) And now I have another can for Christmas, too! As for the other stuff they offer here, seemed like a bunch of junky sugary American cereals, sodas, and candies. And uniquely American things too, like graham crackers. I want to go back and peruse their sauces and stuff more closely and see if they have any Cajun stuff too, but what I saw briefly in my quick frenzied quest for canned pumpkin led me to believe it's mostly junk food here. Which is totally acceptable -- I just hope Australians don't judge us Americans based on the stuff they sell here, ha! We don't all eat like we're one snack away from diabetes, I swear. Price-wise, this place seemed comparable to or cheaper than USA Foods. It's a lot smaller, though -- really just a hole-in-the-wall. Honestly, I prefer Prahran Convenience for cheap imported foods from the U.S. and elsewhere, but this place is a bit more U.S.-focused than Prahran Convenience so if you're looking for a distinctly American product, you might want to try here first.

My boss and I randomly found this place in Chinatown on the second floor- we were just gonna walk…read morearound and see anything in Melbourne Chinatown and see what we'd get. I believe this place serves AYCE hot pot but for two people, we decided to just get the dishes. The prices are about 20-30AUD for the most part. Kung Pao prawns with red pepper and peanuts- the prawns here are so fresh. And if you think they prawns here aren't spicy, you gonna be incorrect, sir/madam! The prawns here are gonna be juicy and spicy. The peanuts are gonna be on the bottom of your dish and you gonna love it. Stir fry beef with vegetables on iron plate. OMG. Why does Melbourne food taste so delicious ._. The beef is so fresh and so spicy ;_; I even ate the bell peppers. That's how good this dish was for me. If you're not a fan of the Szechuan style, then you're probably not gonna find too much here at China Chilli. Love the food. Would probably come again hehe. Also, you get the check and then pay at the front!

After a long day of driving and very little food, we were hungry and tired. Hot pot sounded great…read moreand we headed to China Chilli. On a Saturday night, the restaurant was buzzing and there was a 20-30 minute wait. I was so excited when they finally called to let me know the table was ready. It was my friend's first time eating hotpot and I'm glad he lost his hotpot virginity here. This is a very authentic experience. We got the double pot with fish/chicken broth in the middle and spicy broth outside. If I were to do it again, I'd switch the order because they spicy broth ended up being a bit too much. The sauce bar was great and there were tons of options to make the best sauce you can imagine. We tried many of the menu items- sliced beef, pork, lamb, tender beef, fried pork, fish fillets, fish balls with pork inside, shiitake mushroom, soft tofu, sweet potato noodles, rice cakes, pea sprouts, and bok choy. The tender beef was one of my favorites but I was already stuffed by the time we got to it. I should've paced myself better. In the end, all I could eat was not that much but we had a great time nonetheless.

Every time I go to Glenferrie (Hawthorn), I do not leave the area empty handed without taking home…read morea few of their gourmet sausages: we are talking about flavours such as rosemary, cheese and chives. See and appreciate for yourself. There is (every Saturday) this budding cook cooking delicious sausages for you to smell, taste and appreciate: like a mini appetiser/snack: there is no limit to the number of little sausage pieces you can try. This staff member (the same guy every weekend) is always so cheerful and friendly. It gets interesting once you come inside. You would almost feel guilty if you walked away depending on how many sausages you have tried. Their cooked gourmet sausages is a great hook to come inside. Truly divine. More like a deli instead of a butchery of gourmet meats. The staff are so energetic (full of protein literally) and I always (without fail) order two parmas that just need to be whacked into the microwave for a few minutes, and they are just a meal in itself for me on those respective two nights a week I am not in the mood to cook. Great value for gourmet meat. My Amex doesn't always think so.

I recently started buying there as I once tried a sample of chicken steak they were giving outside…read morethe store. I loved that bite so much I had to buy it and I continue on doing so whenever I feel like eating meat. They offer quite a good range of produce and staff is really friendly. Prices are affordable even for me as a student. Highly recommended!:)

Cosmos is a little organic and health food hideaway in the inner city laneways. Packed with nuts,…read moreorganic chips, bars, juices and a sandwich bar it is a great location to get some power food before you continue on your shopping spree or heading back to the office. I walked in the other day and was surprised by the variety of the produce they stocked there and also the friendliness of the staff behind the counter. It has a really pleasant atmosphere and its great if you need to have a drink and avoid the crowds along the arcade and laneway. The only problem I have is that the store is tiny. It gets very cramped during the lunch rush and you may not be able to get a seat, or indeed see anything. While it may not be as large as some of the other organic and health food stores around, Cosmos has an odd charm to it and its well worth checking out when you're next walking past.

Most people are a bit put off by the holier than thou attitudes on display at health food stores…read more Most people are also put off by the food. Conjuring up unappetising images of mung beans and alfafa sprouts, these places have a pretty bad rep. Besides who's looking to dine on sugar/gluten/dairy/fun free muffins? I know I'm not. All I'm looking for is quality healthy food that doesn't taste like cardboard. This is where Cosmos Health comes in. Here, they serves beautiful health food without the preaching on the side. Sandwiches are served on rye bread and made fresh to order if you so desire, along with a range of gourmet cakes, tarts and salads. Juices come freshly squeezed and there are a range of muffins and slices that acter to every dietary requirement under the sun. but best of all, everything is lovingly home made and tastes great.

Raw Materials is a fantastic one stop shop for groceries of any kind for countless food lovers…read moreAustralia wide. This place is undoubtedly full flavored traditional food made the way it used to be. It sells the stuff that helps you think outside the square when cooking. Make all you culinary creations come true with a wide selection of the freshest and the most sort after dairy, seafood, condiments, sweets and new products which are constantly being outsourced from family owned and grown business. Raw materials distributes to many merchants but also allows you to shop online and create your own shopping adventure.

If you're into gourmet foodie items like wagyu salami and spanish olives, you need to know about…read moreRaw Materials. The bummer is that it's not generally open to the public. The trick is to get yourself on their mailing list and eagerly await notification of one of their open days. With tastings of everything, huge communal paella pans on the go and things like those olives available by the palette, it's my kind of happy. PS. They supply to Vue De Monde. Just saying.

I am into soft drinks but not the standard range - I am so familiar with how they taste I can't be…read morebothered drinking them any more. When I saw the Grape Fanta in the window of Sweet & Co. I knew what I wanted. I'd only had Grape Fanta once or maybe twice before. I'd never been in the shop before. It is not packed with stock but Sweet & Co. has a strange assortment of sweets and other treats mostly imported like the Grape Fanta. There is stuff her from the Europe, Asia and the USA.

Are you an ex pat that is craving sweets from your home country, or an Aussie thats spent plenty of…read moretime overseas and fell in love with local treats? Or are you just curious to try something new? Sweet & Co stocks confectionary, soft drinks, and basically any type of junk food from all over the world. I stop in frequently to pick up my favourite snacks from the U.S, albeit at an inflated pice than what I wouldve paid in America, but hey, thats expected. Also try some southern style pralines...... they'll melt in your mouth!

Jonathan's sausages have quite a reputation with foodie types. They're about the finest sausages…read moreMelbourne has to offer, and what a fine selection of flavours - pork and fennel, lamb and rosemary, bratwurst, beef and chive, toulouse, lamb and basil. Or something more fancy or unusual perhaps - chicken, rocket and goat's cheese, boudin blanc. I haven't had the opportunity nor good luck to try Jonathan's other products but I'm extremely keen on the beautifully flowered beef wellington or the leg of lamb a la Grecque. My mouth is watering already.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, so everyone loves Jonathan's sausages right? They're pretty good but I've had way…read morebetter. And now they've supposedly got this rep of being the best in town, everyone wants to be a fuckin' gourmet and bring their fancy arsed Jonathan's sausages to my barbecues. Message for y'all: it will not impress me. This place is pretty dramatically overpriced and I feel like their attitude now is: 'fuck you, go somewhere else if you can't afford it, we're the best'. That shit gets up my nose and now I won't shop there out of principle. What I want in a sausage is great flavour, without too much gristle, and value for money. These dudes tick two of those boxes, and for my money that just ain't good enough. When did sausages become a luxury item? I'm not sure, but I reckon these folk played a part in it.