Food

            The food in Melbourne is quite nice.  Since many Italian and Greek immigrants came over after World War II, Australia has its share of excellent Italian and Greek food.  Food became excellent from the traditionally English cuisine (which is not that bad) with the addition of wine, pasta, coffee, olive oil, and eggplant from the influx of immigrants. The pizza is more of a thin crust, with multiple toppings.  Tazio is the perfect example of the excellent pizza.  I had the Porco Carne pizza; which included goat cheese with pork and veal meatballs.

Based on the easing of Asian immigration laws in the 1970s, Asian cuisine became a mainstay of what Australians eat.  Melbourne has a well-developed Chinatown that originally flourished with Chinese immigrants in search of gold in the 1852 Gold rush of Australia.  The Chinese immigrants were oppressed because of the increased jealousy and tension from the European immigrants.  Anyways, now one can experience all types of Asian food in Melbourne.  Chinese, Korean, Japanese, and Thai can all be eaten within the city.  I even tried a Korean all-you-can-eat buffet, which had a fair amount of seafood and soups.  A Chinese restaurant that I ate at was Pacific Seafood BBQ.   There, I tried (and liked) grilled cheese with seafood on rice.  The seafood included shrimp, mussels, fish, and other seafood.

           

            Another unique part about Melbourne is the marketplace nearby my hostel.  It is known as the Queen Victoria Market.  The Queen Victoria Market had fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, and seafood.  What made this market so special is that the produce was cheap.  For one kilogram (2.2 pounds), I was able to get apples for a dollar. The processed meat was more expensive compared to the meats that were not as processed.  That is why seafood and fish were quite popular in Australia.  Seafood was not as popular in Melbourne, since the city does not have an ocean close by to fish from.