Another travel video that I got up on my channel! This one covering the Great Ocean Road Trip with Han in December 2016. :)

Do give it a like and share! Or subscribe if you'd like to see more travel content in the future hehe.

These couple of weeks have been pretty busy. Just went to I Light on Thursday with the childhood pals, and I was experimenting a couple of night light photos. I'm almost done with the editing so I'll probably update this space with those visuals soon.

Meanwhile, I've been planning my 21st and I'm spending so much money on decor... Omg. But it's okay I think I can actually organise everything under $500? Can't wait to blog about the preparations and the set up that I'll be working on!!

Also, more helpful travel articles on Japan will be coming your way. Stay tuned onto TripZilla for updates!

Check out my other posts on Melbourne:

▶ 7 Things you need to know if you're planning a Melbourne Roadtrip
▶ Melbourne Roadtrip (part 1) - Melbourne City
▶ Melbourne Roadtrip (part 2) - Great Ocean Road
▶ Melbourne Roadtrip (part 3) - Yaara & Healesville Sanctuary
▶ 5 Cafes in Melbourne to feed your camera and tastebuds
▶ Melbourne Roadtrip - Great Ocean Road (Video)

The food scene in Melbourne is incredible, and in my short trip to Melbourne, every speciality coffee that I had left me craving for more. It's no wonder why many gush about how remarkable the cafe scene in Melbourne is.

Personally, as a visual person, I thought that food styling and the cafe interiors also play a role in making or breaking your cafe dining experience. Let's just say that Melbourne has left me in awe in that aspect, and I can't wait to head back to cover more of their cafes!!

Fragrant cuppas, aesthetic interiors and delectable brunchs - here's a list I've complied (together with chef Han's feedback hehe) featuring 5 cafes in Melbourne that you have to visit, for your morning hunger pangs and Instagram!

1. Long Story Short Cafe

Our first cafe stop was located in Port Melbourne, which isn't too long a drive away from the heart of the city. Long Story Short Cafe sports a very minimalist and clean interior, with glass panels all around to ensure there's ample natural lighting for your food photos!






We ordered: Mocha ($5), Latte ($4), Braised Lamb Shoulder ($20) and Buttermilk Tim Tam Pancakes ($17)

Coffee was good, one of the better few we had in Melbourne.




The Braised Lamb Shoulder ($20) serving was huge, and it came with a lot components such as purple cauliflower, sunflower seeds, pecans and quinoa. The cherries also gave a sweet note to the meat which made the meal a little lighter. It's an almost guilt-free plate, but that being said, it's not that flavourful. Also, the lamb was little dry and tough.

When the Buttermilk Tim Tam Pancakes ($17) came to our table, I was stunned for a moment because it was really huge. They had about four thick and fluffy buttermilk layers, with copious amounts of chocolate and crispies. Chocolate fans will love this.
I loved the pancakes, and so did Han. But it starts to get too sweet after a while, which made it hard for us to finish it.

They had other noteworthy items on the menu, such as their Fairy Floss Dessert Burger (looks super good!!) and their Fruit Salad! I think we didn't exactly their best items, but from their Instagram, it really looks like there's much more we should've tried (like their eclairs). It's a pity we didn't have much stomach space.

Long Story Short Cafe
40 Crockford St, Port Melbourne VIC 3207 
Opening Hours: 7am to 3pm (weekdays), 8am to 4pm (weekends)

2. Legacy Camberwell

Hands down, the best coffee we've had! Milk was well incorporated, with the perfect balance of bitterness and acidity.

Their brunch queue was also the longest, and I think it's one of the few local hotspots cause we didn't see many travellers while we were there. We had to wait about 35 minutes before we were seated, but it's well worth the wait, and lucky for us we got window seats for better lighting!




We ordered: Latte ($3.90), Mocha ($4.40), Acai Power Bowl ($16), Legacy Buttermilk Fried Chicken ($19) and Sushi Bowl ($21)




I loved the Acai bowl, although honestly these vegan bowls aren't hard to make as long as you have the right superfoods and fresh fruits. But their granola was nicely roasted and flavourful, with creamy greek yogurt to compliment! Acai puree had the perfect acidity and sweetness.

Their Buttermilk Fried Chicken ($19) was good, well seasoned and not overly fried. Brioche bun was toasted to perfection, and they had this mustard/sriracha mayo slaw that was refreshing yet spicy on the palette. Han agreed it was good too, but would've preferred if the chicken was less dry.



Lightly torched salmon, a perfect onsen egg and fresh beansprouts! Their Sushi Bowl ($21) was photogenic almost at every angle, and tasted super healthy too. I can see why it's one of their top-sellers. But as typical Asians, Han and I thought that the sushi rice could've been more sushi-like, with more vinegar and sweetness.

Still, Legacy Camberwell was one of our favs!

Legacy Camberwell
347 Camberwell Rd, Camberwell VIC 3124
Opening Hours: 7am to 4pm

3. Higher Ground Melbourne

Higher Ground Melbourne works like this - it's a cafe serving brunch/lunch in the day, and it becomes a very classy dinner service on some nights. Initially I was thinking of visiting Higher Ground Melbourne in the morning, but after having a look at the night menu, I was pretty convinced that Han would love their dinner service, so we went ahead with that!

Impeccable service, stunning interior and delectable meals!




We ordered:
Almond Hummus & Seed Cracker ($9.50), Beef Tartare ($21), Charcuterie Selection ($23.50) and Swordfish Collar ($30+)



It was definitely our most expensive meal in Melbourne, but it's well worth the price because every component of each dish is impressive and worthy of praise.

My favourite from all of dishes we had was the Almond Hummus & Seed Cracker ($9.50), simply because the healthy dip was really light, yet super tasty when paired with the seed cracker. As a fan of almonds and seed crackers, this starter perfectly hits the spot!

For the seafood lovers, I think you'll love what Higher Ground has to offer because their fishes are super fresh. There were also many tables ordering their oyster platters, so I'm sure they must have been pretty good.
Although the serving was on a small side, their Swordfish Collar ($30+) was prepared to delicate perfection, with a subtle sweetness and the right amount of acidity.
Han was telling me it's the use of vinaigrette in an advanced cookbook language that I tried to understand, but failed. But anyway, it's great.



I never tried a Charcuterie Selection or even heard of it before, so this was my first. But it's basically a board of dressed meats in a variety of cuts, cures and flavours. Higher Ground's Charcuterie Selection ($23) was a grand sight, and a platter that was tantalising on our tastebuds.

Han's review of the Beef Tartare ($21): Meat was tender, with complimentary Asian inspired components like fried you tiao and dried orange peel. The orange peel gave a subtle yet favourable tinge of fruitiness to the dish. Anchovy emulsion also gave the dish a nice unami flavour and acidity.

I guess Han should write the food reviews instead cause he's so familiar with all the terms... I'm only good at adding flowery words LOL.

After adding in the serivce charge, our dinner turned out to be kinda pricey but, no regrets. It was a worthwhile experience trying out a dinner service in Melbourne. The waiters/waitresses were also super patient and would gladly give you recommendations if you needed or asked for their input.

Higher Ground Melbourne
650 Little Bourke St, Melbourne VIC 3000

4. White Mojo Speciality Coffee

We decided on visiting White Mojo after seeing their specialty coffee blends, one of it being their Black Latte.

The first thing that I loved about the cafe was their ambience and interior - Marble tiles, tables and wooden textures!! Cafes that pay attention to making their decor and food styling visually impactful tend to always win my heart over.





We ordered: Black Latte ($6.50), Latte ($4), French Brioche ($19.50) and Chili Cheese Scrambled Eggs ($20)

Coffee was noteworthy, Han loved their Black Latte ($6.50) which which was their special house blend consisting of peanuts, almonds and black sesame. I don't really fancy black sesame, but I think those who are fans would appreciate this creative mix.



I got their French Brioche ($19.50) after one of their friendly waitresses recommended them to me, and I wasn't disappointed!! Honestly, I expected all that honeycomb, chocolate ganache and caramel to make this overly sweet but it wasn't. The brioche was well toasted, and everything was plated to make this dish a pretty mess!



White Mojo Speciality Coffee
182-184 Whitehorse Rd, Balwyn VIC 3103
Opening hours: 7am to 4pm

5. 5 Lire

Our final cafe stop before we headed back to Singapore, and we're glad we picked 5 lire to be the last.

5 lire makes a really rustic, homely and cozy place, perfect for grabbing a cuppa for your quiet brunch mornings. The coffee was good too.





We ordered:
Latte ($3.80), Ricotta Hotcakes ($17.50) and Baked Eggs ($18)





I went into 5 lire already knowing what I wanted to order - their top selling Ricotta Hotcakes ($17.50) that came with just the right amount of nutella and crumble to go with it. They also had this fairy floss to top it off, which has this super peculiar yet amazing texture (it's definitely not candyfloss). I thought it would get overly sweet but this was just sugar in the right dosages!!

Baked Eggs ($18) also immediately appealed to Han the moment we took a glance at the menu. And it definitely didn't disappoint! Just look at the colour of the Tomato Sugo with cheese!! I really liked the wholesome flavour it had, although Han found it to be too acidic after a while.




5 Lire
116 Errol St, North Melbourne VIC 3051
Opening hours: 7am to 4pm


If I had the chance and money, we would've ordered more dishes. We're already missing the cafe scene there...
I would urge anyone to spend a little more just to try out their cafes or coffee joints. I mean, after all, are you really experiencing Aussie if you don't have some of their coffee for your morning fix?

My Melbourne travellogue series is almost complete, with the exception of two travel videos that I'm still working on. I'll try to get up the first one covering the food and city sights soon!

Till then, I guess I should take a break from the bombardment of these travel posts. I'll update this space on more of my personal shenanigans in the next few posts.

Meanwhile, if you're keen on reading more of my travel stories, you can check out some of my articles on Tripzilla! I've only got my NZ adventure up thus far, but I'll be working on more of it soon. After years of dreaming and some setbacks since my poly mass comm days, I have finally found my headstart into travel journalism!! It's nothing big, but I'm happy knowing I'm taking baby steps towards my goals :')

Check out my other posts on Melbourne:

▶ 7 Things you need to know if you're planning a Melbourne Roadtrip
▶ Melbourne Roadtrip (part 1) - Melbourne City
▶ Melbourne Roadtrip (part 2) - Great Ocean Road
▶ Melbourne Roadtrip (part 3) - Yaara & Healesville Sanctuary
▶ 5 Cafes in Melbourne to feed your camera and tastebuds
▶ Melbourne Roadtrip - Great Ocean Road (Video)

Hope that everyone has been enjoying their Lunar New Year thus far! It's Day 5 on the Chinese Calender, and I can't wait for all the annual gatherings to come heheh. More about that next time when I got more pictures. For now, Melbourne!


After spending the first four days in the city and covering the Great Ocean Road, we planned for a short day trip on Day 5 to the Yarra Valley and the Dandedong ranges.

The Yarra region is most popular for its wineries and farm produce, simply because Yarra is Melbourne's main agricultural berry and fruit production spot. Their natural picturesque ranges, villages and backroads comes second to becoming another reason to visit the rustic place.
Most tourists come to Yarra to eat and drink, especially since there are many food trails and tours around the region. What mainly attracted me to Yarra though was the earthy sights it has to offer.



Initially, we planned to visit the Sherbrooke Forest, the Dandedong ranges and visit Healesville Sanctuary. But as usual, time constraints limited us to only one of the following ):
But of course, we still covered some other parts of Yarra that we chanced upon! It's a pity most places in Yarra close at about 4-5PM, so we didn't have that much time to cover the other attractions.

Check out my other posts on Melbourne:

▶ 7 Things you need to know if you're planning a Melbourne Roadtrip
▶ Melbourne Roadtrip (part 1) - Melbourne City
▶ Melbourne Roadtrip (part 2) - Great Ocean Road
▶ Melbourne Roadtrip (part 3) - Yaara & Healesville Sanctuary
▶ 5 Cafes in Melbourne to feed your camera and tastebuds
▶ Melbourne Roadtrip - Great Ocean Road (Video)

As the name suggests, the Great Ocean Road drive is one of the most beautiful coastal roadtrips, with many mini stops of attractions such as the Twelve Apostles, beaches and waterfalls that are more than just picture-worthy!!

Before we decided on visiting Melbourne, we were Googling the best roadtrips that could be completed within a couple of days, and GOR came up as the top few on many lists.
Since Han prefers western countries and I wanted to experience Melbourne's cafe scene that is so often enthused about, we narrowed down to a few choices and eventually decided on the GOR for our first roadtrip together!



The GOR took us two full days to complete. In that two days, we spent a night camping out (in our car) in a nature reserve park. The whole GOR drive was 600km thereabouts, but we made some detours and went Canola field hunting (LOL yes it was my idea) so the whole distance we covered on our roadtrip was about 700km.
The GOR is breathtaking. If you're a beginner to roadtrips, I think GOR is quite friendly. You won't really find yourself getting lost while on the road cause the highways are pretty straightforward. As newbies to roadtripping, we did make a few wrong turns sometimes and chanced upon quaint towns or interesting rest stops. And we got back on the main road just as easily. So, get yourself off the beaten track if you can. It'll be rewarding.

We started our road trip after a 9am breakfast in a cafe in the city. We also got a couple of snacks and drinks to keep us filled for the first part of the ride!

Bells Beach

The first stop to our Great Ocean Road trip! We went on a relatively cold day so we didn't get to see any surfers, but I heard that you could get tours or have a go at surfing here.








Not too far from Bells Beach, there should've been the pretty Split Point Lighthouse too, but I think we missed it or decided to give it a pass...
There was also the famous Memorial Arch that basically welcomes you to the start of your GOR trip, but we didn't stop to take a picture of that.

Anglesea

Before stoppping at Lorne (the next main stopover for the GOR) we stopped by Anglesea for a break and found ourselves in a quaint little surf town. They are known for their water activities, golf clubs and wildlife and fauna. But since we stopped at the heart of the town, we only took a couple of photos at their lake!




I think we might have drove pass the Anglesea beaches too.

Urquhart Bluff

It's another mini stop along the GOR, not the main few attractions but we got a pretty good view. And being as excited as we were for the start of the trip, we went on and ventured deeper a little to get some pictures.

Devil's Elbow

And right before we reached Lorne town, we were karaoking (probably to Guns n Roses) when we chanced upon this stunning coast!!! It's actually blocked off the highways, so I suppose it's not a spot for tourists or anyone to linger but we pulled our car to the side of the road, grabbed our phones, camera and gopro and went ahead anyways.

It was a steep slope down but when you have an infantry trained boyfriend... I guess it wasn't too bad LOL. I suffered a few ugly cuts from the thorns and bushes while traipsing down. But it was super worth it cause the pictures and the view was amazing!!!






While it may seem easy to get all the way to the end of the coastal rocks, it wasn't. I believe what we were on was known as a fringing reef, so it was kind of slippery with holes of water which our shoes can misstep into.
We spent about an hour or so here just taking pictures, taking videos and exploring the coast. I believe this is also the spot I got ridiculously sunburnt. You could feel the warm sun rays despite the cooling 16 degree celcius weather.




Initially, I wasn't too sure where this place was cause we didn't have phone service, and neither were there any boards around other than the Devil's Elbow a few kilometres behind. But looking at Google Maps now, I'm think it's along the Lorne - Queenscliff Coastal Reserve.

Lorne

We made a stop at Lorne to stock up on groceries and whatever we needed that night since we were going to be camping out in our car.
Initially we had plans to get a tent and camp out in the wilds, but since we were spending the rest of our nights in the city, the costs of getting the relevant equipment wasn't exactly worth it. But still, Han was pretty enthusiastic about it. He was telling me how he was going to bring his SAF issued mass tin to prepare our meals if we camp out. Or that if we can't find a shower, we can always use soap sponge or powder bath. I guess all the NS outfields prepared him well...






En route to Lorne Waterfalls.

Phantom Waterfalls

By the time we were done, it was about 6pm. Luckily for us, the sun only began to set at 9pm since we were there in summer so their days were considerably long.

We made a stop at the Lorne Waterfalls but only visited one of the three - Phantom Falls.





We also missed Apollo Bay, one of the main stops with Cape Otway Light Station. If you have more time to spare, you shouldn't miss them. Especially not Apollo Bay ):

Princetown Recreational Reserve

We settled down at Port Campbell for the night, with plans to cover the remaining of the GOR the next morning! There were actually many other places we could've stayed for the night, such as Apollo Bay itself (then we could have explored it the next morning), but we had already made a reservation at the Princetown Recreational Reserve since it was during the holiday season.

Princetown Recreational Reserve has BBQ, shower and laundry facilities and they basically provide you an empty space for you to park your car, set up your tent and what not.
For two people, we paid $25 for our space including power supply. If you do not need to charge up your devices, then it would be $20 for two people, and an additional $5 per person thereafter.

I think the best part about the reserve was that we got to be really close with kangaroos!! As night fell, while Han and I was chilling outside our car, the wild and gentle kangeroos would just hang around our car haha.




As we drank hot seafood stew and sipped on some fine moscato in the boot of our car, the cool wind and quiet night sky were all that surrounded us. It was also that tranquil night that we had this moment of epiphany as we pondered about how we made this roadtrip happen.

That night was one of the most revitalising nights ever.

Gibson Steps

The next morning, we got up a little later since Han needed more rest after the long drive from the day before. But it took us less than an hour to arrive at our next stop!

This was one of the prettiest spots throughout the whole GOR ever!! And luckily for us, Twelve Apostles and the rest of the sights weren't too far away so we had more time to capture pictures and footages.

Twelve Apostles

The Twelve Apostles really lived up to its name. Intitally, I thought it was going to be somewhat similar to Kalbarri, from the Perth roadtrip I went to in July but nope. Though there's a resemblance, it is still a breathtaking sight.



Living life on the edge :')

Loch Ard Gorge

I wanted to Photoshop this dude out from this otherwise perfect shot, but because he tried so hard to stay in my shot (I believe it was a few minutes), I shall give him the liberty to show off his body :')
That and because I had enough of Photoshop from work lol.

Port Campbell

After a morning of exploring the most scenic sights of the GOR, we made a stop at Port Campbell to top up on petrol, stock up on some light snacks and to have lunch! Port Campbell is another peaceful little coastal village that's famous for its fishing shores.
It's a nice place for you to just slow down after the jam packed drive.



Their fish and chips was amazing!!

Fake Lalang Field (lol)

As we failed on our hunt to find the Canola fields, we settled for this lalang field lookalike, only to realise it's actually ripened rice fields upon closer inspection LOL.

I think we missed the Canola fields by a month? I knew that they were in full bloom sometime in late October, but I guess by the time we arrived in mid December, they must have already withered or something... ):




Anyhow, I'm not complaining. Han still took super pretty photos!! Thank you for willingly driving a little off course and for including field hunting into our itinerary :')


So yes, that's pretty much it for our Great Ocean Road trip! A summary of our initial itinerary, and what we missed or happened to chance upon:

1. Bells Beach
2. Split Point Lighthouse
3. Memorial Arch
4. Anglesea (added)
5. Urquhart Bluff (added)
6. Devil's Elbow (added)
7. Lorne
8. Phantom Waterfall
9. Lake Elizabeth
10. Apollo Bay
11. Cape Otway Light Station
12. Princetown Recreational Reserve
13. Gibson Steps
14. Twelve Apostles
15. Loch ard Gorge
16. Port Campbell
17. Canola Fields Rice Fields

A total of approximately 700km covered on the road. I'm sure we visited a few other small stops along the way, but it's been two months since so I can't quite remember what were their names without pictures backing my memory up...



Petrol was kind of expensive. So was food. To save costs, cook your own meals! Shops generally close about 5pm - 7pm, so make your purchases early.
Since we wanted to try Melbourne's cafes, we did put aside some sum of money for them. The cafes outside and in Melbourne city all generally close about 4pm, so we (or rather Han) would usually make our own $10 budget dinner heh.

Hopefully our Great Ocean Road trip itinerary and its visuals were helpful! I haven't even started on editing my travel video for Melbourne yet, but I can't wait!! There were quite a number of scenic footages we caught on the gopro.

Anyway, I'll be covering on our day trip to Yarra in my next post! Melbourne is really full of beautiful places to share.



So till then, here's wishing everyone an advanced happy Lunar New Year!! I just got a beautiful lace maxi from Ohvola and I can't wait to wear it LOL ok bimbo moment over bye.

Check out my other posts on Melbourne:

▶ 7 Things you need to know if you're planning a Melbourne Roadtrip
▶ Melbourne Roadtrip (part 1) - Melbourne City
▶ Melbourne Roadtrip (part 2) - Great Ocean Road
▶ Melbourne Roadtrip (part 3) - Yaara & Healesville Sanctuary
▶ 5 Cafes in Melbourne to feed your camera and tastebuds
▶ Melbourne Roadtrip - Great Ocean Road (Video)