Queen Victoria Market – Wednesday Night Market
We were in Melbourne for three nights in the week before Christmas, and on the first evening, we went to the Night Market at Queen Victoria Market. With over 60 stalls, it was an international street food feast, with pierogis, Argentinean BBQ, Filipino BBQ, paella, Nepalese momo, Taiwanese popcorn chicken, pizza, souvlaki, crepes, Philly cheese steak, soft shell crab sliders from Hammer & Tong, chargrilled satay by Mamak and lots more. The air was smokey and smelled delicious.
Maybe it’s just me being the country cousin from little old Perth, but the crowd was intense, especially in the pavilion – a slow-moving wall of people and queues at every stall. We got chicken wings with blue cheese dip from Wing Man (finger-sucking awesome!) but soon needed to break free from the stuffy, sweaty, packed pavilion. The stalls outside were just as busy, but we fought our way through for a salted caramel gelato cone from the Bianco Latte cart (absolutely fantastic!). We could’ve stayed for more market grub but decided to grab dinner elsewhere. MoVida beckoned… stay tuned!
- Corner of Elizabeth and Victoria Streets, Melbourne CBD
- The regular Queen Victoria Market is open 5 days a week: Tuesday, and Thursday to Sunday – see opening hours
- We didn’t get a chance to see the market in action at daytime i.e. deli hall, produce market and specialty shopping – will do so on another trip!
- The Wednesday Night Market will be on every Wednesday 5-10pm until 26 March, 2014
The bar
Spot the photographer?
Pork rolls carved off a whole roasted pig 
Hoy Pinoy filipino food
Taiwan popcorn chicken
A creme brulee cart, and nearby, hotdogs
I had to laugh – looks like tornado potatoes are as popular in Melbourne as they are in Perth. The queue at this stall seemed perpetually long, and I almost got poked in the eye by many a tornado potato in the crowd
Wing Man chicken wings with traditional buffalo sauce and blue cheese dip
Salted caramel gelato by Bianco Latte
Live music added to the atmosphere
About this series
In December 2013, my partner Jac and I went on holiday – Melbourne (3 nights), then 3 nights in Launceston (Jac, to stay with a friend) and King Island (me, for a photographic safari with a couple of friends), and finally, Hobart, where we spent Christmas (6 nights). This trip was not sponsored in any way.
The complete set of Melbourne posts
Not bad for three nights’ ‘work’, eh? Hope you’ve enjoyed the series.
- Cumulus Inc, Melbourne
- Queen Victoria Wednesday Night Market, Melbourne – this post
- MoVida, Melbourne
- Orient East, Melbourne
- LuxBite, South Yarra
- China Red, Chinatown
- N2 Extreme Gelato, Fitzroy
- Cafe Gaia, South Yarra
- Burch & Purchese Sweet Studio, South Yarra
- Steer Bar & Grill, South Yarra
- Brunetti at Myer Melbourne and Lygon Street, Carlton
For a preview of some of the stories to come, see Holiday sneak peek. There’s a lot more to come.