1. Track down the Taco Truck
There’s something magical about a moveable feast, particularly when it comes from Melbourne’s founding food truck-ist, Raph Rashid. Track down Raph’s Beatbox Kitchen, Taco Truck or All Day Donuts for exceptional street eats or prepare his famous fish tacos in the comfort of your home!
Source: Rachel Khoo's Kitchen Notebook Melbourne
2. Hit the spot with a shot
Coffee culture is the backbone of Melbourne’s café scene, but with a trendy espresso bar popping up every other day, where should one head for an exceptional caffeine hit? Stick with tradition, we say, and pop into Pellegrini's on Bourke Street. Seventy years old and still going strong, this Italian institution delivers on quality coffee and wallet-friendly pasta.
Home to boutique Aussie spirits and an inventive jaffle menu, Fitzroy’s Bad Frankie is your good-time go-to. Savoury fillers include corn beef, bangers and mash and homemade baked beans ‘n’ cheese. Our pick? The house specialty ‘lamington jaffle’ – a jam and chocolate-soaked sponge sandwich rolled in coconut then partnered with cream. Wowzas.
4. Hang out with chefs and chomp on fried chicken
A popular haunt among Melbourne’s hospitality crowd, Belle’s Hot Chicken is a mecca for Southern-style cuisine. Fish and lamb feature in the menu’s meat section, but chicken is where it’s at. Choose your meat, then your heat – ranging from ‘Medium’ to ‘Really F**kin’ Hot’ – and slather in ranch, blue cheese or ‘Mississippi Comeback’ sauce.
5. Reward patience with pastries
For some of the best pastries outside of Paris, get down to Elwood’s Lune Croissanterie. This hole-in-the-wall shop technically opens at 7.30am (Friday through to Sunday), but smart Melbournites start queuing from six – Lune’s croissants, cruffins and other handcrafted treats sell out every time.
Source: Rachel Khoo's Kitchen Notebook Melbourne
6. Get fresh with local produce
Head down to Collingwood Children’s Farm for some of the city’s affordable seasonal offerings. Held every second Saturday of the month, the community markets are plastic bag-free, so BYO shopping trolley and stock up on organic produce, handmade cheeses and organic free-range eggs.
7. Give back to the community
For a feel-good food experience, look no further than Lentil As Anything. Founded in 2005 by Sri Lankan refugee Shanaka Fernando, this not-for-profit restaurant specialises in seriously tasty vegetarian fare. Operating on a pay-as-you-feel basis, donations go toward food and labour costs refugee training and community initiatives.
8. Visit the UAE without leaving Victoria
A self-proclaimed ‘salad bar’, Northcote’s United Arab Eatery (UAE) is a melting pot of Turkish, Syrian, Moroccan and Lebanese flavours. At this bustling 20-seater, herbivores can indulge in house-made dips, flat bread, felafel and, of course, salad, while meat-eaters may opt for kibbeh or glazed quail. 
Source: Rachel Khoo's Kitchen Notebook Melbourne
9. Head to Footscray for Vietnamese eats
I Love Pho in Richmond might be one of Melbourne’s favourite pho locales, but if you’re into cooking your own Vietnamese, take a wander through Footscray. The inner western suburb is home to Little Saigon Market, a purveyor of freshly pressed sugar cane juice, cut-price produce and Queensland mud crabs.
Rachel Khoo's Kitchen Notebook Melbourne starts Thursday 23 July 2015 at 8pm on SBS. Catch-up on episodes online, scroll through recipes or find out more about the show.
