Queen Victoria Night Market

Luke and I spend a lot of time commuting from our home south east of the city centre, to Brunswick, which is north of the city.  Why, you might ask?  Well, for tacos, of course!  A lot of times I conveniently forget to make dinner while he's at work, so off for tacos we go.  And it just so happens that the most direct way home with full bellies is to pass by the Queen Victoria Market.

We've spent many a weekend morning at QVM browsing kitschy Australian goods - it's a great place to get corny souvenirs and t-shirts for family back home - but two weeks ago, I forgot to make dinner on a Wednesday, and well, shoot...guess we'd have tacos! (seriously, if you're in Melbourne...go.  It's so good.)  On this particular evening, the QVM was bustling!  Packed to the gills! A jamboree!  ...You get the point.  A quick exchange with my beloved revealed that I was witnessing an appearance of the annual-summer-weekly-night market, in the flesh!  Whaaaaa?  How had he not told me about this before? In fact, why hasn't he told me a lot of things?  I wish I knew what he hasn't told me!

I think it goes without saying, then, where I found myself this past Wednesday evening.  And no, it wasn't at The Taco Truck, but excellent guess!

Good heavens...It was as if I had tumbled through a wardrobe and landed smack dab in The Land of Excess.  But oh, it was delightful!  How very American of me, no? Excess people, excess food, excess lines, excess sushi.  That last one I could have done without, though.  And a mile-long line for Sangria.  I only wish we had tackled that beast, but alas, there's always next time.  So just to recap: Sangria, yes.  Sushi, no.

For those of you not in the know, i.e., people like me whose husbands withhold decidedly important information from them, the Suzuki Night Market features over 200 stalls and showcases some of Melbourne's best local artists (clothing, jewellery, prints, etc.), live music, and tons of international "hawker" style food.  Arrive hungry, there's TONS to try!

All in all, we had a fantastic evening, and it's just a shame that we didn't bring excess cash...but I can't wait to go back this week.

Clockwise from top left: Monster American Pancakes (what?); said "American Pancake" (again, what?!); giant paella...smelled amazing; self-described "extreme sushi"--For those of you unfamiliar with the hand-roll phenomenon, this is a foot long sushi roll.  That you eat with one hand.  Like a vertical hot dog.

Don't be like this.

Recommendations:

Get there early if you want to find parking and try and beat the lines

Practice eating standing up!

Try the Caribbean BBQ chicken from the Trinidad/Tobago stand. Skip the rice.

Sangria stand.  Do it.

Don't try the extreme sushi.  Just don't.

Incredibly public foot rub? Maybe not so much.

QVM Suzuki Night Market
Wednesdays until 29th February
5:30-10pm
Free Admission
Map