Victoria Street, Richmond
Some of the best value eating in Melbourne has to be at two Vietnamese restaurants, both recommended to me by cooking teacher Meera Freeman. Five years ago I was introduced to Pho Dzung (196 Victoria Street, Richmond), a place where you can get a hearty bowl of noodle soup for around A$6.50 for a large serving. It was so good that each time I'm in Melbourne it is on my priority list to return. I have had many cravings for the "special beef" noodle soup (Pho) which comes with beef tendon, tripe, brisket, liver sausage and rice noodles. The soups are served traditionally with fresh mung bean sprouts, coriander, Vietnamese mint and basil. There are small bowls of roasted peanut and chilli sauce to add if you wish. As the herbs hit the hot broth, you can't help but be seduced by the fragrance!

Footscray
The second Vietnamese eatery worthy of mention is the Mai Thi (Shop 2, Bi-Lo Centre, Footscray). Meera introduced me to Hot & Sour Fish Soup with taro stem; spicy beef wrapped in betel leaves which were then skewered and fried and minced prawns wrapped around peeled sugar cane, also fried. Both of these items were delicious wrapped in lettuce leaves with fresh herbs, rice vermicelli noodles and dipped in nouc nam sauce - yum!

During one Melbourne Wine & Food festival I joined a fascinating walking tour of Footscray retail markets with restaurateur John Dunham owner of Melbourne's Shaka Hari, The Isthmus of Kra (Nonya/Thai) and Madame Fang. We started with breakfast on the roof top of the markets - Vietnamese filled breads with fresh cucumber, carrot pickle, thinly sliced pork, julienned pork rind sprinkled with toasted rice powder, and paté. The tour took us to seafood, Asian greens, Vietnamese ingredients stores, to a herbalist, a cake shop specialising in four to ten-tiered wedding cakes, to watch glazed ducks being loaded into a huge roasting oven, and finally to the Mai Thi for lunch!

Little Bourke Street
I shared a memorable Sichuan meal with foodie friends at Pepper Chilli in Melbourne's Chinatown. If you are not squeamish about seeing your poultry arrive still with it's beak on, then the Tea smoked Pigeon served with butterfly shaped steamed breads was heaven sent. We also enjoyed a generous helping of wokked crab in a spicy Sichuan sauce. Apparently Pepper Chilli is also the only place to go to for Yum Cha!

South Melbourne
Still hot in Melbourne is est, est, est. This restaurant has had rave reviews since it opened in February 1997, and it has continued to maintain it's high standard of service, wine selection and food prepared by husband and wife team Donovan Cooke and Philippa Sibley-Cooke. Donovan excels in his preparation of seafood and Philippa's forte as a talented pastry chef allows est, est, est to continually please. They has since produced a cook book.

My very first meal at est, est, est is still memorable. A lobster entrée, exquisite in presentation and composition - lobster meat and medallions drizzled with truffle oil and garnished with roasted red capsicum, a tangle of green beans and slices of black truffle. We also chose a superb fig tart - two small, individual whole fig tarts served with creme anglais, a splash of tokay and fresh roasted, toffeed walnuts.

Sydney Road, Brunswick
On another occasion, I was fortunate enough to spend time with Greg Malouf, author of Arabesque and a chef of Lebanese origin, who has made his mark on the Melbourne culinary scene through his superb cooking at O'Connells. Greg's style of food utilises a rich blend of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean flavours with fresh Australian produce. His menu includes dishes such as "Cous cous from Fes with a tagine of seven vegetables and seven spices served with green harissa broth" and Salmon shish kebabs wrapped in pancetta with smoked eggplant, parsley, Lebanese pinenut salad and gaufrette potatoes".

Greg shops for ingredients in Sydney Road, Brunswick. This street is a melting pot of the Middle East and Mediterranean - Greek, Lebanese, Turkish sweet shops, pastry shops, bakeries and Halal butcheries. The mini-markets sell a myriad of spices, sauces, rose and orange blossom water. One food store also serves delicious hot savoury pastries called Jhibnie with a haloumi cheese filling and Fatayar, filled with onions and meat or a lemony, silverbeet, onion, allspice and garlic mixture. Go to Sydney Road and feel like you are across the other side of the world.