I don’t wish to ignite the Sydney versus Melbourne debate. I think you know that as a Sydney born and bred gal I’d instinctively defend Sydney but that’s not to say that I don’t fully appreciate the beauty and splendour of Melbourne. And if the weather were warmer I would perhaps be living there right now. One thing that I don’t ever bother arguing with is the brilliance of Melbourne’s Queen Victoria Markets. We have nothing like this in the middle of Sydney. The Queen Victoria Markets are in the heart of the city of Melbourne and it is where you can find some of the most diverse, unusual and freshest ingredients in one place. And Mr NQN and I were about to embark on a guided tour!
Started 132 years ago, the 1000 plus stalls stretch across an eight hectare property. There is the closed building which we’re standing in front of and then the more outdoor area housing the fruit and vegetables. Four thousand people work here on a Saturday and every year 10.5 million visitors come here. It is one of the top Melbourne city attractions.
Offal and more offal!
We enter the meat area and there are three stands that sell all free range produce with most of the produce in Victoria (with some kangaroo from South Australia). We pass another stand where our guide Carmel tells us that they have expanded their offal section. There are dark red plucks (the sheep heart and lungs) which are popular around Greek Orthodox Easter where shopkeepers will stockpile a thousand of these. There’s lamb’s tongues, heart and mini marrows for $1, lamb’s brains for $1.50 each as well as beef tongues with the tastebuds still visible some with a black underside to them.
Female pork guarantee is prominent
The metal hook and rail system above shops
Most of the pork sold is from female pigs (meat from male pigs are said to have a distinct odour to it). Carmel tells us that at midnight to 2am they cool down the entire meat section and the meat luggers enter at 2am and hoist the meat up on the hook and rail system and deliver it to the various stalls. At 3am the butchers enter and do their work.
Gourmet sausages
We then move onto a gourmet sausage stand which are all gluten free using rice flour instead. “What’s your most popular flavour?” Carmel asks. “10 kgs of each!” the owner replies laughing. The most popular is the lamb and rosemary and the lamb and garlic along with pork & fennel and chorizo. In Summer, sales triple for the sausages.
Great deals (and this way of displaying mince-so different to the way we get it)
Prices for meats are quite amazingly good. At Quality Meats eye fillet is $24.99 a kilo and aged porterhouse steak is $20 a tray which has seven large steaks on it.
The best way to see things…
People glide by in their rented shopping trolleys and there is also an organic butcher where most of the meat comes from Victoria except for chickens which come from Queensland. Some butchers here specialise in one area of Victoria.
Coral Trout
Many of these stands are family run businesses and the Chitty family that run Happy Tuna originally dealt with rabbits but with the disease scare of 1970 they branched out to seafood. Carmel tells us that this is one of the most popular stands for Melbourne chefs. We stand below their custom ice chiping machine that constantly produces chips of ice to be rained down onto the fish.
Yanni from The Seafood and Oyster Spot
Coffin Bay oysters
We stop by the seafood and oyster spot where Yanni and George charm customers with their personalities and fresh seafood. We try a half dozen juicy, enormous freshly shucked before our eyes Coffin Bay oysters with lemon. They slide down the throat with a shimmer. Yanni is a personality and has been on tv many times-he’s effervescent and a natural. On a Saturday morning, they easily sell 300 dozen of these babies. I feel an arm around me and it’s Yanni “I’m making you jealous huh?” he says to Mr NQN. Carmel tells us that when she has school groups she asks him to run down the hall with an octopus to scare the kids. Funnily enough, the school kids have become much more enthusiastic with the proliferation of cooking shows on television and now show a clear interest in the profession.
The deli building
Herbert Adam’s original stall
We walk into the deli building which is now a National trust protected Art Deco design building. Originally built to sell butter and cheese the windows were built to face South to keep things cool. Back then there were fourteen butter and cheese stalls and today there remains one butter specialist. The rest are deli items. Interestingly some of the bigger brands started here such as Tibaldi smallgoods, Perfect cheese and Herbert Adams. And how do the stallholders get in and out? Why through this little door of course! And this is also where deliveries and garbage go in and out too.
Can you spot how they get in and out?
We pass by Andrews bakery where they access breads from 18 different bakeries and make New York style bagels.
We stop by Pavilion Select Produce where a provolone cheese bell proudly sits and has been maturing for the past 23 years-right now it’s worth about $500. Again it’s a family run business with the dad and sons manning the stand. We try a Warrnambool vintage cheddar, a King Island brie and a goat’s cheese feta from Tarago River with the vintage cheddar and goat’s feta being highlights.
Curds and Whey
We stop by Curds And Whey who specialise in unsalted, salter and mild butters from Warrnambool at $10 a kilo. You can even bring you own jars to fill up with Castlemaine honey.
The Pantry selling game and poultry
Kangaroo Tail
A sign catches my eye and we walk towards The Pantry where they sell game like rabbit, venison, kangaroo, crocodile and emu. Sure enough there are emu sausages, crocodile sausages, buffalo fillets, kangaroo tail (which can be used in a slow cooked stew where the tendons melt away), guinea fowl and pheasant. At Christmas and Easter they apparently have an excellent Barossa goose. And after Easter when they no longer have supply they shut down for a while until supplies are back instead of looking for other suppliers.
The mum
The daughter
Carmel shows us a true family business-or three in fact. At one end there is the mum who owns Tina’s gourmet cheese deli. Her son owns The Epicurean store and the daughter Faye owns the Queen Victoria Deli. Faye gives us a sample of an assortment of olives including kalamata, tiny Mount Zero ones, ligurian and sicilian olives. They also sell a fascinating range of syrupy mandarin, lemon, raspberry and orange balsamic vinegars ($16.90 each) as well as no nitrate salami and bacon.
Tofu Trek’s Sugar Bag honey
We head on over to the tofu trek stall where they sell tofu and honey (now that’s a stall that Mr NQN’s parents would own!). We try some of the Sugarbag honey which is a fascinating type of honey made from Australian native stingless bees (and was said to be a prize bush food for aborigines). The texture is like a liqueur syrup and is completely unlike any other honey you may have tried. This arrives only once a year and each hive produces less than 1 litre a year making it a fleeting and precious product.
We stop by Jim’s deli where they have completely dairy free cheese made with soy oil called Kolios Nisitsmo fasting cheese.
We stop by Dianne’s delights where she has created a triple layered dip and her best selling product. It’s a 3 in 1 dip with mascarpone, basil pesto and tomato pesto. We try it with some crackers and it’s frightfully, deliciously addictive.
The Polish Deli
The Polish deli stocks all sorts of cured sausages including the wedding sausage which is a pork, leg ham and garlic sausage said to be very lean. And why the wedding sausage? Well the story that Carmel was told was that people asked for it to be made for a wedding which was then called off but the sausages were too good to go to waste so they gave it out to guests. truth or legend? Who knows!
My credit card starts itching…
We stop by a place where my credit card itches. The Traditional Pasta Shop makes freshly pasta daily and sells such goodies as peking duck ravioli. I spy a pasta that has me excited. It’s a candy striped bow tie pasta. I know it’s $21.90 for a box but they’re absolutely eyecatching and before long others start noticing this product that only hit the floors two hours earlier. I snag a bag (and I am so excited I tweet about my exciting new discovery).
Our last stop in this building is the French Shop where we try some lovely provencale terrine with cornichons. During the Tour de France they hang up a bicycle above the display and there’s a red light indicating where in France the group is riding through and they feature items from that area.
We then head out in the fruit and vegetables section. The structure was originally intended to be temporary but now it is very permanent with solar panels on the roofs and the use of recycled water. We try some Mr Tran’s Murray Bridge tomatoes which are sweet and juicy. Mr Tran was a Vietnamese immigrant who lived in France and didn’t know whether they had these tomatoes in Australia so he brought them over.
We also see some black garlic whose smell reminds me of Chinese medicine. At $140 a kilo one head of garlic ends up being $4-$5.
Black Garlic
Carmel shows us a Buddha’s hand which is related to the lime family. Vietnamese women of various ages have told her what they use them for and it ranges from in a tea or grated and used in a humid room to deodorise a room or preserved in sugar. There is also an organic section and a mini mart.
Buddha’s Hand
We end off having a coffee at Coffea and a slice of castagnaccio cake. Breakfast of champions!
So tell me Dear Reader, what is your favourite city in the world?
NQN and Mr NQN travelled to Melbourne as guest of Tourism Victoria
Queen Victoria Markets
Corner of Queen and Elizabeth Streets, Melbourne, Victoria
Market tours are $35 each and include samplings
Markets are closed Mondays and Wednesdays
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79 Comments | Add your own
My husband was just saying 2 days ago he wanted to move to Melbourne, we used to go every couple of months for shopping/ eating trips pre kids and I always popped into the QV markets (husband loved the hot jam donuts outside in the van). I think they’re pretty special.
What an awesome day! I would be happily lost amongst all the yummy food. The coral trout looked so pretty, it would have gone well with your pasta bows. (although I loved what you made with the bows).
Just got back from a weekend in Melbourne. Would live there in a heartbeat. Fresh produce, great bars and restaurants, nice people. Love it. Oh and while we are on favorite cities Berlin and New York rate highly too!!
Ahhh, Lorraine, THIS is actually good timing. I was at the market on Sunday! It seems we have both been in Victoria lately
I haven’t been to Melbourne for a long time – and certainly not since I have developed more of a food instinct – but based on your story I would love to go to Melbourne now!! What an wonderful place those markets are! You had me at the 3 layered dips – then the pasta!!! I know I would not be able to carry (or afford) all that I wanted there!!
Until earlier this year I lived 2 blocks away from QVM (moved to the Gold Coast where there are NO permanent markets eek!).
All this has made me so homesick! So much good food, so many passionate people!
Oh NQN, your post made me so homesick for Melbourne. It makes me so sad that we have nothing like the markets in Melbourne and Adelaide in Sydney. How can we be a world class foodie destination without the fabulous markets?
PS: I have too many favourite cities – London, Paris, New York… They all have their special charm and delight!
I am seriously contemplating a move to Melbourne right now. I have never been to the Queen Vic Markets but now it is on my ‘must do’ list for next time. Can’t wait!
What a wonderful adventure! For the first time ever, I long to live in Melbourne…
Favourite city in the world is New York, hands down, no question.
I miss home! I remember shopping there with my family last time I was in Melbourne…you should not miss the fresh donut truck next time you are there…
So. Much. Fun!!! I love markets, though I stay away from the stink of the meat section. You’ll probably find me fawning over the cheese and bakery section though!
We went to markets in August, I was in heaven!!
Cape Town has to be my favorite city. It has amazing food, fantastic scenery, and wonderful people!!
Love markets like these. Sampling different foods while deciding what to buy.
The pasta is so cute, no wonder your credit card started to itch.
My fav city would prob be Melbourne because I was born there (but grew up in Sydney).
I’m a Melbourne gal and love living in this amazing city. I used to go to the Vic Market weekly when I worked in the city, and when I had cherub number 1 I used to take her every Thursday. Did you know that before it was the market it was Melbourne’s first cemetery? The big wall that runs through the middle is the original cemetery wall.
Visited the QVM for the first time three weeks ago. Why don’t we have anything like this in Sydney? Loved it.
How funny – after living in Melbourne for many years, I was only lamenting to my mother yesterday that Sydney has nothing like the QV markets! Don’t get me wrong, I live in Balmain and we have some wonderful foodie outlets but to have all that The Queen Vic offers, all under one roof is truly something to behold. Oh, and favourite city/ies – Venice and Hong Kong – there’s nothing like getting lost in the backstreets of either city, nibbling as you go on whatever culinary delight presents itself.
Melbourne has these wonderful Markets…
Why o why can’t sydney have the same. Why?
Melbourne has fashion and the markets… I would seriously consider a move… but the weather .. mmmmm I don’t like the cold cold…
Great post… Might just have to take a drive down to Melbourne and stock up!
I love the Queen Victoria Market. As part of my uni course we got to go on a tour there too!
I particularly enjoyed hearing about the French shop, and how they follow the Tour de France and feature items from what area they are in. How fantastic!
My favourite city (besides Melbourne) is Paris. But I also adore Rome, St Petersburg, Hong Kong, Athens (no-one likes Athens but I love it) and Marrakesh. Sorry, there are more but I’ll stop there.
Heidi xo
The queen victoria markets are one of my happy places in Melbourne, especially the Epicurean store! Im still a bit gutted that on my last trip we didnt have enough time for a visit! And the triple layer dip you mentioned will be on the agenda!
Like you, im a Sydney girl through and through however New York and Tokyo are equal second.
If only I had had more time in Melbourne in May. I didn’t get to this fabulously HUGE market. I guess I just need to book another trip asap to make up for that.
I love Melbourne and will probably live here always but I would love to live in Rome for 6 months or so. Food, drink and ancient ruins around every corner.
Thanks for featuring…I love this place.
I had gone to Dianne’s shop and bought a few treats for my afternoon tea which was going to be more of a mezze plate. Unfortunately, I was so excited about the deli hall, I left my package at one of the stalls and never found it!
I need to find access to that dairy free cheese online!! the supermarket stuff is disgusting. My favourite city is probably Honolulu – although I loved the insanity and history of Cairo too.
Love, love looove the Vic Markets!
When I was younger I lived in a share house in Carlton and a regular trip to the Vic Markets late on Saturdays to catch the closing down specials kept our large household very well fed!
Happy days!
It really is sad we don’t have anything like this in Sydney and never will. It isn’t just the incredible selection of fantastic produce, it is the history of the buildings they are housed in.
Adore that candy striped bow tie pasta!
Im a Sydney girl, but everytime I visit Melbourne there is something more to fall in love with….
We need to have markets like this in Sydney!
ohh how i wish i could be there!
I’ve only been to the Queen Vic Markets once, but I can’t wait to return to Melbourne and visit again! All that cheese, and now I have pretty pasta on the to-buy list too!
I went there almost twenty years ago… and I lugged back a purple cabbage among other things…(LOL) – do they have a similar place like this in Sydney?
And this is one of the main reasons why I can’t wait to move home to Melbourne! Sydney doesn’t have anything that compares to the Queen Vic.
Did you have some hot jam doughnuts from the van at the front? They make them fresh and you can watch them make them (right from kneading the dough to cutting them) as you wait. They are a brekky tradition for us at the market
Love the Queen Vic Markets! But be warned, we were very led astray by google maps when we were last in Melbourne. It has the markets located some blocks away from where it is.
The Deli hall was fantastic..we had a very happy lunchtime snacking away
Oooh…nice… I’m hopefully going to Melbourne after New Year, and I’ve made it a priority to go to the Queen Victoria markets!
My favourite city? Well, I’ve only been to 4 – Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane & Denpasar, Bali. Each has their own special qualities about it!
So I’m not going to choose…not until I get to do more travelling 
My Mum used to visit the Vic Market religeuosly and I asked her to pick me up some cheese from the French shop for a dinner party I was holding. The brief was “a selection of cheese for cheese lovers”.
She arrived back with packages of the indivually wrapped cheeses with tasting notes (incl region etc) lovingly written on the paper wrapping.
Unreal. I was so touched. Such a great market.
oh that is cruel to read about the vic market on a day that is just too wet to head there despite good intentions – I love the place but avoid the smelly meat market.
Intresting to hear about the delis where I love hanging out – Dianne’s is one of my favourites and I love the “herbert adams” bread shop.
You should do a ghost tour that goes there next time you are in melbourne for a different perspective on the markets!
I love roaming around markets like this so many things to find. Yay for GF sausages too
I love the Queen Vic market. It is too far away to visit regularly, but whenever we do we always stock up on lovely meats!
And while I am very happy living in Melbourne, if I had to live elsewhere it would be NY – love it!
Great round up for QVM. It is fine old lady that sits proudly right in the heart of the CBD. You captured it beautifully
Favourite city in the world is Paris. I totally agree with you about these markets in Melbourne. I’ll blow Sydney’s trumpet any day but when it comes to a market like this, Melbourne wins hands down. Love the shot of the coral trout!
I have only been to the Melbourne Markets once and they were so impressive – easy to spend a whole day there! Hmm my favourite city in OZ is too hard to call but overseas it would have to be Rome for the sheer number of amazing things (archeological, historical, artistic etc etc) to see in a relatively small space.
I love Melbourne’s Vic Markets. It’s a must every time I visit there, usually for breakfast, just tasting as I browse, and stocking up for lunch and/or nibblies later in the day. I always find it a bit overwhelming though – it is so busy, so noisy and there are so many people. A tour will be a brilliant idea to get to know it better.
Sigh!!! I love this market so very much and wish I could transplant it in Perth. Who cares about sheep cloning when there is market cloning to be done!
The markets are great but I can sacrifice them for our warmer weather.
Sydney is my favourite city but NY is pretty special too.
I think Paris is the most beautiful city, but I love New York, Rome, Helsinki – how can I have a favourite. The Queen Vic markets are great. My sister lives nearby and I went recently. I want this to be next door.
Full marks for getting such great photos at the market – it is soooo hectic and people are so impatient. My favourite cities are Melbourne (the only place I have moved to twice!), Salzburg (so pretty) and Wellington (quirky and fun and not full of itself).
When I was at uni years and years ago, I used to cheese tastings at the Vic Market for King Island Dairy when they were still new. It was an amazing place to be on a Saturday morning.
At least you have fish markets in Sydney, in Perth we have NOTHING!
It may sound wierd, but I love Canberra. We are a small city with a lovely feel to it. Not stuffed full of politicians either! We are nice and tidy, well laid out and clean. Great for families, getting a real food buzz going(finally), but nothing, nothing, nothing like these incredible markets -sigh- maybe one day…
Such an amazing array of offerings for a market! And it’s amazing how families in the food trade keep their traditions alive. (And I *heart* that candy-striped pasta!)
My heart belongs to Brussels, though. I went there as a kid and my grandfather just had to take me through this street that was lined with chocolate shops!
The candy striped bow tie pasta looks so amazing! I’ve never seen anything like it!
You’ve made me want to visit Melbourne again
Will definitely keep this place in mind when I go there. You know, it reminds me of the marketplace in San Francisco. Totally fabulous! Oh my gosh! The OYSTERS are killing me! I LOVEEEEEEEEEEEE Oysters–to death that is.
Favourite city is a hard one, but when I saw the candy-striped bow tie pasta, I was reminded how much I love the Amalfi Coast, Italy- where I bought a bag of that pasta for 4 euro and candy-striped pappardelle.
I want to visit Melbourne now!
….awwww….I feel so homesick now…the Netherlands is a long way from Melbourne…and Queen Vic. But around the corner from all good things European, which sort of makes me feel better.
Well…, I gotta say that I’ve never met a market I didn’t like…, specially ones with oysters that size & pinky stripey pasta…, I know, I know…, I’m still raving about them…. they are so…. um.. me
The food all looks amazing. I’ve never seen OX in a shop before.
I’ve just moved to Melbourne and have been miserable because of the cold cold cold weather! Your entry made me happy again hehe. Too bad it’s gonna rain tmr as well. I may go on Sunday then
Hope the bow tie pasta and that 3 sauce pesto thing will be in my kitchen soon 
This looks even better than London’s Borough Market!! I love the way the mince is displayed. And male pigs actually taste different too, it’s not just the smell.
Ok, now I’m officially homesick. I can’t even read about the Vic market without recalling the smell of hot jam cinnamon donuts – no mid-Winter visit to the market is complete without grabbing a bulging bag full on the way out!
Oooh.. we were just there last weekend to get our Pork Belly
I love this market cos it’s so diverse… and I never knew about all the things you mentioned until you mentioned it! Yayy!
Love the Queen Vic markets! Actually Melbourne would probably be my favourite city. I even love the weather
Wow, what a great market! Looks like it’s a one-stop shop will all the variety they have. I love supporting family owned businesses like that!
I’m in Melbourne right now.
Trying to make the time to get to the market.
SSG xxx
What an amazing place! You’re right, we have nothing here to compare with that – it made me think of shows I’d seen about Moroccan souks!
Definitely the capital city of my beautiful country: México! such a contrasting place, with lots of markets and stands to buy from!
Love the Vic Market. I used to work around the corner from it and spent almost every market day lunch break there buying lunch and dinner provisions. Now that I live on the Mornington Peninsula I don’t go that often. Melbourne is an amazing city – I especially love the gardens, coffee haunts and architecture. I completely recommend the market tours – I did one with a group of girlfriends for my birthday one year. We had so much fun. And don’t forget the bratwursts for lunch!
great write up! I love our market here in melbourne, even though I don’t get there often
HONG KONG!
Thanks Lorraine for this post. Off to Melbourne on Thursday for 4 days and the Queen Vic Markets is at the top of my list of places to visit!
Ah and on Saturday you could lunch in VICTORIA Street (we have other names though) But you missed Kranski for Brekky. Used to love taking the kids to the market, shopping for inspiration and making a decision on what to cook over a Kranski with sauerkraut
As a proud Melburnian who frequents the QVM, I must admit that there’s a lot that I don’t know about the market. A wonderful write-up as always.
P.S. I’m happy living in Melbourne, though Sydney is a beautiful city. Very excited to be making a few day trips up north once exams are over!
I saw some of those multicoloured bow tie pasta in Paris and took a pic! I was tempted to buy some but thought it was a tad extreme to buy pasta overseas
I haven’t travelled enough to decide on a favourite city I must say!
Lovely post. I love reading about food markets in other countries, I always make it a point to visit them if I’m around.
You covered it all so well, it’s like being there Lorraine. I haven’t yet,as the few times I’ve been to Melbourne it has been with daughter No 2 who loves to shop and not at all interested in food shopping. Guess I’ll have to organise to make a trip especially to take in a QV markets tour.
Favourite city Rome of course, it helps if you have a cousin who lives there and takes you on walking tours down ancient cobbled streets surrounded by ruins and history. The best way to see this amazing city but it would take years to work your way through everything!
Sydney just can’t compete.We have the coastline Melbourne has the Queen Victoria markets & shopping.I’d love to have something like this in Sydney,really we should have something like this here.
London’s Borough market is very good – and there are regular farmers’ markets all over the city at weekends, plus plain old markets on other days of the week. If you like your market in an attractive building, then Valencia is worth a look – fantastic art deco market hall
HI! I wandered over from BushBabe and I now know two things.
1. I HAVE to visit that market at some time in my life.
2. When I do, I will be broke very very quickly.
Love your blog, you have a new reader!
I love Melbourne and will try and go at least once every 1.5-2 years. I’m with you, if it was a little warmer, I’d have no hesitation moving there. I’m so jealous of Queen Victoria Markets, it makes our Paddy’s in Haymarket look like the poor cousin! But Sydney is really picking up it’s game – I’m really loving Marrickville Markets at the moment.
Favourite city: Paris
Coming from Adelaide,and having being subjected to years of introverted “brainwashing” about our wonderful Central Market,my wife and I were very pleasantly shocked by the Queen Vic. market.The range, display and overall prices were fantastic.Almost worth an occasional visit to Melbourne to stock up! Adelaide markets hang your heads in shame!nothing to compare whatsoever.
Can anyone help me find a 2-basket market trolley here in Perth? We have some quite good markets here, but lugging bags of heavy veg around is breaking my shoulders.
My favourite cities are Melbourne and Paris – I would live in either given half a chance. I worked in Melbourne for 3 months, about 7 years ago, and stayed in apartments diagonally opposite the Queen Vic markets. I loved it! Brisbane just isn’t the same since I returned…
Oh I love Queen Vic Markets, especially their Deli Department, every time I get back to Melbourne it is my first port of call. Miss the fabulous produce that is available there.
Great read thanks, bought back pleasant memories.
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