Dandenong Market Tour

Dandenong Market Free Food Tour

By Amy

Dandenong MarketWe are so blessed to live in this city of Melbourne and be surrounded by people of all different cultures, races, colours and cuisines. My own mother spent some of her formative years in Malaysia and developed a love for delicious, spicy cuisine and regularly ventured outside the “meat and three veg” in her own cooking.  I love visiting the homes of my friends from other cultures, whether that be Malay, Indian, Polish, Ethiopian or Mexican, and feasting on homemade stir fries, curries and other Asian delicacies.

The city of Greater Dandenong is one city where this mixing bowl of flavours is most clearly seen. A walk along the main drag will take you pass Afghan bazaars, Polish delis, Vietnamese bakeries, Indian spice shops and Middle Eastern grocers. You can browse through shops selling swathes of beautiful fabrics for saris, nestled next to hair dressers dedicated to the needs of African women. The star of the show though is the famous Dandenong Market.

Today, my mum and I ventured out to experience one of the best kept secrets of the foodie world— the Free Food Discovery tour.

Dandenong Market

Yes. That’s right. Free.

There is a free, one hour tour of the incredible Dandenong Market. Honestly, if you’re not excited by this then I don’t know what will excite you.

Dandenong Market

The tours run every Tuesday and Friday at 10am and go for about an hour.

A guide (we had Russell, the resident chef) meets you at Market Management before giving each participant a gift bag with a $5 voucher, a tub of spices from Sam’s Spice and Grocery, recipes and some information about the market.

We were then told some facts about the market.

  • It’s the oldest in Melbourne!
  • There are around 167 different nationalities who call the city of Greater Dandenong home!
  • Dandenong Market underwent a major refurbishment done 6 years ago, ensuring that the market is now all undercover!

We were then taken to visit some of the long-standing stall holders. These visits included

  • incredible delis where we tried olives, kabana and cured beef
  • the “Why Not Wooden Bakery” where we were treated to some freshly baked zaatar
  • TC’s Asian butcher
  • Hellenic Seafood (the 3rd store- this one run by the grandkids of the original stockholder)
  • the various nut sellers and
  • the organic grocers.

We were shown how to get the best bargains, where we could haggle and which retailers sold what kind of produce. We were shown the difference in the produce sold between the Halal butchers and the Asian butchers; the Greek grocers and the Vietnamese grocers; the Polish deli and the Middle Eastern deli.

Dandenong Market

 

Despite all this educational goodness being fed to us it was slightly overshadowed by the excitement that was brought by the best taster of the day- a whole Hot Jam Doughnut from the famous Dandee Donut Van. Yep.

Dandenong Market

Say. No. More.

The tour finished with a few more testers from the Market Hall food court (a deliciously fresh cooked falafel and a refreshing shot of sugar cane juice) before Russell bid us farewell.

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Mum and I spent a few more hours at the market, checking out the produce, spending our vouchers, people watching and enjoying the cooking demonstration which is also on every Tuesday and Friday at 12. Make sure you hang around after the tour to watch this and grab a few recipes to try with the fresh produce surrounding you.

Dandenong Market

Dandenong Market is a fusion of flavours, cultures and cuisines and this tour is an amazing introduction to all the bargains, tastes and hidden secrets it has to offer. It’s every pasty white Aussie girl’s dream.

Dandenong Market

Plus, you get a free doughnut.

Go on, treat yo’self.

Check it out on the Dandenong Market website and call Market Management to book your spot on the next tour.

http://dandenongmarket.com.au/about/food-tours


 

Dandenong Market

http://dandenongmarket.com.au

Corner Clow and Cleeland Streets, Clow St, Dandenong VIC 3175
Phone:(03) 9701 3850

Thursday Closed
Friday 7am–5pm
Saturday 7am–4pm
Sunday 10am–3pm
Monday Closed
Tuesday 7am–4pm
Wednesday Closed


FullSizeRenderAmy’s love of food is only matched by her love of fitness and her fear of choosing the wrong dish on the menu. She loves to explore new places and old stalwarts, constantly torn between ticking a cafe off her “to try” list and revisiting the favourites. She owns way too many cookbooks but the pleasure she gets from experimenting with new flavours and serving them to her family and friends far outweighs any debt incurred.


selfie22Eat My Street is a website dedicated to “good food and the good life.” We are a group of passionate and enthusiastic foodies from Melbourne who care about living the good life. We post recipes, reviews of cafes, cooking schools & markets, interviews, a Wednesday wellness essay and more. We really appreciate you stopping by. Please sign up or join us on Facebook to keep up to date.

Polish Rye Crust Bakery

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Polish Rye Crust Bakery 

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Polish Rye Crust Bakery is a simple looking cafe/bakery in the heart of Dandenong selling pretzels. Babka, pierogi, baguette’s, cakes and more, most of which are made fresh on the premises. The bread is made with the kind of patience and attention that most foodies only dream of, using starter culture more than a century old.

Polish Rye Crust Bakery scores a whopping 4.6 out of 5 on the Zomato charts which is how I ended up popping in for a brunch date. A little photo montage on the wall shows that I am not alone in travelling across town for a visit. Previous visitors include Matt Preston and Maeve O’Meara from Food Safari and all with good reason.

We started with coffee.

We also ordered a breakfast bagel which was simply delicious. Or rather simple and delicious. Perfectly textured bagel filled with layers of sliced egg, salad, cream cheese and topped with a sprinkle on sesame seeds. The excellent bagel elevated a simple sandwich to the next level. There was fighting over who would get the last bite. 🙂

Bagel

A sweet little orange butter cake laced with marzipan and topped with orange icing packed a flavour punch that I was not expecting. The icing was pleasantly crumbly and the cake had a lovely texture and excellent, full flavour.

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There were so many things on that menu that I would have liked to try. House made pierogi for starters, Babka, Salt stick with pulled pork and coleslaw, plump, shiny donuts, a Reuben sandwich and sauerkraut soup.  The prices were very reasonable with bagels starting at 60 cents, Profiteroles for $2 and breakfast bagels from $3 to $8.50.

I am told this is excellent Polish food and I would have to agree.

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the details

Polish Rye Crust Bakery

Where 101 Foster Street, Dandenong, 9706 9194

Polish Rye Crust Bakery Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato


 

Dani B from Eat My StreetDani B is a blogger and foodie from the South Eastern Suburbs of Melbourne. Click on the link to take a look at her favourite restaurants and best recipes. Thanks for stopping by. xx