Smooch Food: Love Letters to Every Bite

Laoliuzhou Location: 327 Elizabeth St, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia Featured Items: Pork & Chive Steamed Dumplings, 10 pieces ($15.90 AUD); Chicken & Shrimp Dumplings, 10 pieces ($15.90 AUD) Note: Open late (we arrived after 9:30 PM), but service is slow and not particularly friendly. Prices are in AUD. Verdict: Worth it for the juicy pork and chive dumplings if you bring patience. Skip it if you are hangry. It was Thursday, and we were hunting for a late dinner. After 9:30 PM, we walked along Elizabeth Street to see what was still open, and that is how we spotted Laoliuzhou. We were hungry and the lights were on, so we decided to give them a try. A Quick Heads-Up Before You Go First, don't expect friendly service. Don't come here with zero patience, or when you're hangry, either. They are slow, so settle in and plan to wait for your food. If you can go in with relaxed expectations, the dumplings make it worthwhile. Pork & Chive ...

The Sherlock Holmes Bar Location: 417 Collins St, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia Featured Items: Margherita Pizza ($24.50 AUD) Note: English and Irish pub menu. Prices are in AUD. Verdict: A fun spot for a group dinner, but skip the pizza and stick to the classic pub options. It's Wednesday evening, and I'm having dinner with some folks from the tech team. After a long day, we ended up at The Sherlock Holmes Bar on Collins St, a cozy pub with a fascinating menu of English and Irish cuisine. It is exactly the kind of place where a group can settle in, share stories and take their time over dinner. Margherita Pizza ($24.50) I went for the reasonably priced Margherita Pizza ($24.50 AUD). It looked lovely when it arrived: a thin, nicely charred crust, bubbly melted mozzarella and a handful of fresh, fragrant basil leaves on top. Unfortunately, it was a bit too sweet for me. I think the tomato sauce is the culprit, because it leaned much sweeter than I lik...

Meetbowl Location: 30 Church Ln, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia Featured Items: Smashed Chicken on Rice ($17.50 AUD) Note: Recently opened, casual and reasonably priced, with a bit of a queue at busy times. Prices are in AUD. Verdict: Crispy fried chicken covered in a spicy sambal that is well worth the wait. Highly recommended. Our Melbourne food adventure has been a tour of Southeast Asia so far. We have had Malaysian at Roti Bar and Vietnamese at Luke's Banh Mi, so next on the list was Indonesian. That brought us to the recently opened Meetbowl in the CBD, tucked along Church Lane. The Vibe and the Queue There was a bit of a queue when we arrived, which tells me this is a popular, reasonably priced casual spot. In my experience, a line for a brand-new restaurant is usually a good sign, and the line moved along nicely. Smashed Chicken on Rice ($17.50) I ordered the Smashed Chicken on Rice, and it was so good. The crispy, golden fried chicken is ...

Paper Tiger Espresso Location: 10 Queen St, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia Featured Items: Mocha ($6.00 AUD), Flat White ($4.80 AUD), Bacon and Egg Wrap ($12.19 AUD), Ham & Cheese Toastie ($8.50 AUD) Note: Prices are in AUD. Verdict: A friendly early-morning find in the CBD with a reliable toastie and a wrap that is good but a touch sweet. Happy Wednesday! This is our third café in Melbourne, and we spotted it completely at random while walking around the CBD before 7:00 AM. When the city is that quiet and you can smell fresh espresso from half a block away, you just follow your nose. That is how we ended up at Paper Tiger Espresso on Queen St. The Coffee We stuck with the same drink set as our previous Melbourne stops. I went for my usual smooth, chocolatey mocha ($6.00), and it arrived with a pretty heart on top. Hubby ordered a creamy, silky flat white ($4.80). My smooth mocha with a heart on top ($6.00) Hubby's silky flat white ($4.80) The...

Betty's Burgers, Melbourne Location: 97 Elizabeth St, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia Featured Items: Betty's Classic Burger ($14.50 AUD), Regular Fries ($6.50 AUD), Caramel Shake ($6.80 AUD) Note: Prices are in AUD. Verdict: A simple, really good burger made with quality Australian beef and fresh lettuce and tomatoes. I think it beats Grill'd, and the bare, no-bun version works great too. For Tuesday dinner, we decided to try Betty's Burgers on Elizabeth Street, and we both ordered Betty's Classic. The only difference? I got mine bare, with no bun, wrapped in crisp lettuce instead. It's so good. The Betty's Classic ($14.50) is a simple burger done well: a juicy, well-seared patty of high quality Australian beef, melty cheese, fresh crisp lettuce and juicy tomato. I think it's better than the Simply Grill'd I had at Grill'd, the office's go-to for burger team lunches , when I was here in 2024. ...