Molly Adventures Part 8 (Melbourne)

While Molly and co were off at the beach, I went back into the city to hide out in some air conditioned buildings. I went to the Immigration Museum, which I had never been to but had been recommended to me. I definitely would also recommend it, it is very interesting, though often confronting. I learned a lot of things that I never knew, some of which were very disturbing, but very important to recognise. When I got about half way through, there was a great influx of school students, which disturbed my peace somewhat. But I think it is good that kids are being taken to places like this. On a lighter note, they had a room with a recreation of a ship so that you could see what different conditions were like traveling to Australia. On the outside, they had some windows that talked about introduced animals. Including this cat, which says 'Reason for immigration: Job opportunities as pet and hunter'. They also had one for rats which said 'Reason for immigration: We go where we please.'



I was getting hungry, but also not wanting anything too heavy. I thought I might try a place called Divine Realm that I had seen talked about on blogs, but although the internet said they were open, they were not when I got there. I decided to go to my old faithful Supercharger, but as I was walking noticed a place called Nosh that had poke bowls and sushi burritos. And while I hated the name of the restaurant, I was definitely keen on trying the Tempeh Teri-san bowl (teriyaki glazed soybean cakes, lotus and tofu, with quinoa and beetroot, kale, walnut and goji berry greens, topped with seaweed, pickled ginger and fried onions).



After lunch, I wandered around the city a bit before heading back to the room. It was HOT, so I spent a few hours lying around in the air conditioning and preparing myself for dinner. We had a few options for where we might go for dinner on our last night in Melbourne, but ultimately decided to try out the Tramway Hotel, a pub where a lot of the food has a vegan version. Molly ordered the vegan chicken burger, which had an Old Bay-spiced tofu cutlet, lettuce, tomatoes, ranch, pickles and slaw.



There were two things on the menu that I really wanted to try, both from the 'share' section. So I got them both, though my eyes were definitely bigger than my stomach! I got the vegan mac and cheese (which was very creamy and comforting, though I could have done with a bit more cheesy flavour) and the vegan mushroom poutine (excellent gravy!). This perfect comfort food combination was nevertheless a little too much for me, but thankfully I had Molly to help. We were able to finish off all the poutine, and took a bit of the mac and cheese home to stick in the fridge. The next morning for a pre-brunch snack I mixed the cold leftovers with some of the leftover creamy pesto potato salad and it was such a great combination.



Despite it now being well after sundown, it was still very hot. We got sweaty during the walk there, the Tramway was not airconditioned, and we needed something to help us cool down. So luckily Girls & Boys was on our way back to the hotel. Happily for Molly, their soft serve was working and she got to enjoy a choc top. I went for a scoop of Orange Blossom Pistachio, which was lovely and light.



On our final morning in Melbourne, we were super excited to go and check out Handsome Her and it did not disappoint. Even though it was hot, I couldn't say not to a Taro Latte (think warm and delicious purple cookie drink), while Molly had a more weather appropriate Iced Chocolate.





All the food is named after women. I knew that I had to get the Rosa Parks, a beetroot brioche bun filled with mushroom, pumpkin, bechamel, and mozzarella, with pea puree, salad, five spice crumble and almond feta. It was divine! Though it looks like has been removed from the new summer menu that they just released.



Molly went with the Kelis off the specials menu, a pulled jackfruit burger with smoky BBQ sauce, rainbow slaw, mayo, avocado, onion rings and pineapple on a charcoal bun.



Handsome Her also has a fun range of baked goods, though we didn't get any.



That is because we were on our way back to...Smith & Deli for the fifth and final time, to get lunch and some snacks for the plane.





For treats for later, I picked up an Iced Vovo and an Apricot, Raspberry, & Thyme Shortbread. Both were amazing. They must be using aquafaba for the icing and filling of the Vovo, and for the swirl on the shortbread, because they both had a wonderful marshmallow feel.



Of course I had to try a final flavour of my beloved Sugar & Spice fermented tea.



For my final sandwich choice, I got The Better Bundy, which is a BLT with Avocado (because why would you not put avocado on a BLT?). It was simple, as BLTs tend to be, but I love them and I enjoyed it a lot.



I also got another one of their savoury scrolls, this time a cheese, bacon and gherkin one. This ended up in my freezer in Brisbane when we got home, but thawed and heated up beautifully for a very tasty lunch.



Then it was time to fly home. We were flying with QANTAS, and if you mark that you are vegan when you book your ticket they will provide food on some flights. Our flight down was a 'snack' flight, so vegans get nothing. But our flight home was a 'meal' flight, so we each got a box of rice with curry. One of the curries was a bit too coconutty, and the other was a bit too spicy, but a decent enough meal. Much better than some of the other plane food I have been given in the past!



Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



On our walk down Brunswick St to get to the Tramway Hotel, we walked by a closed shop that had this cute kitty making smooches through the window.