10 May 2019
What is the best way to spend some time in Melbourne on a rainy day?
Melbourne has some very beautiful buildings, shopping malls and arcades that is worth at least a walk-through, even though we don’t usually shop or buy stuff when travelling.
After a morning at the Queen Victoria Market, we took Tram No. 57 down to the shopping area in Melbourne’s CBD along Elizabeth Street and Bourke Street.
We actually stood at the uncovered tram stop outside the QVM in intermittent light showers to wait for the tram.
Queen Victoria Market and the Melbourne CBD
What was supposed to be a 5-minutes wait according to Google map, turned out to be a wait of about 30 minutes! The tram was very late. We heard that there was a flood somewhere along the tram’s route outside Melbourne.
We finally made it to Melbourne Central without getting too wet, thanks to our weather proof jackets.
Melbourne Central Mall
Walking into the enormous mall, we were awed by the sight of the Shot Tower. A building within a building.
A shot tower is designed for the production of small shot balls by freefall of molten lead, which is then caught in a water basin below the tower. The shots are primarily used to fill the cartridges (ammunition) to be fired from shotguns.
Another interesting thing to see in Melbourne Central Mall is the large stopwatch/clock that comes to life every hour, on the hour. A marionette display drops down from the bottom of the stopwatch, with native Australian birds and two gold plated figures moving to the music of Waltzing Matilda.
The Marionette Watch at Melbourne Central Mall.
State Library of Victoria
Next to Melbourne Central Mall is the State Library of Victoria. I would not normally visit a library while travelling. But this library is definitely worth a visit since we were in the vicinity.
We went to the Dome Reading Room which offers some of the best views of the interior.
The dome roof above the Dome Reading Room.
Another view of the Dome Reading Room as we climbed the stairs up to the top floor.
Emporium Melbourne
After seeing the library, it was back to the shopping malls. The Emporium was linked to Melbourne Central Mall via a covered pedestrian bridge which was great on a rainy day.
Flinders Street Station made up of Lego bricks at Emporium Melbourne store.
Level 4 of Emporium Melbourne is the kids department. There was a large diorama of the Flinders Street Station made up of Lego bricks that is quite impressive.
An animatronic life-size T-Rex could be found at this area too. This dinosaur has sensors to detect our presence and would roar and move when we walked by.
Korean BBQ Dinner at ChangGo Restaurant
There were a few Korean BBQ restaurants in Melbourne that were recommended by friends. We decided to go to the ChangGo, located at 70 Little La Trobe Street, since it is very close to Melbourne Central.
This is a popular restaurant so we were advised to arrive just before it opened at 5.30 PM. Else it would be a long wait for the next sitting.
A queue outside the ChangGo Restaurant just before its opening time.
There was already a queue when we arrived. The restaurant opened promptly at 5.30 PM and all those in the queue managed to get a table.
The menu offered a la carte as well as value for money set dinners. We like beef so we ordered the beef dinner set for 2 persons. It included 2 bowls of steamed rice, fresh lettuce, 3 different cuts of thinly sliced marinated beef and a classic kimchi jjigae (kimchi stew). Like almost all Korean restaurants, there is free flow of banchan (side dishes) and mild barley tea.
The circular BBQ stove at the table with a large bronze air suction device above the stove.
The waitress came to help us load the BBQ hotplate with the first plate of beef. Thereafter, we did the grilling of the meat ourselves. Service was pretty attentive. The waitress came to change our BBQ hotplate after we finished cooking each type of marinated beef.
Overall, I find the quality of the meat provided with the beef set to be average. There are better quality meats in the menu but these are not available in the set dinner.
We noted that some diners ordered the pork belly set. It came with pork belly seasoned with 8 different types of marinades. This may be worth a try if I visit again.
Royal Arcade
On Friday, many shops in the CBD and suburban shopping centres remain open until 9:00 PM. We had time to check out the famous Melbourne arcades after dinner.
Our first stop was at the Royal Arcade.
Royal Arcade in Melbourne.
The architecture of this historic arcade is very interesting, with beautiful ceilings and black checked floor tiles.
A big clock and two large figures called "Gog" and "Magog" could be seen at the end of covered walkway.
7 feet tall carved mythic figures of Gog and Magog in the Royal Arcade.
Block Arcade
Exiting from the Royal Arcade and crossing Little Bourke Street, we entered into the Block Arcade.
This is another beautiful arcade that rivals the Royal Arcade. We did not come here to shop. Instead we came to admire the beautifully crafted ceilings and floor.
Block Arcade in Melbourne.
Beautiful mosaic floor tiles in the Block Arcade.
Melbourne’s GPO and the Public Purse
Another interesting building in Melbourne’s CBD is the General Post Office or GPO. We actually walked past it on our way to the Royal Arcade and did not pay much attention to it.
What used to be the GPO is now repurposed into a large clothing store. Like many heritage buildings in our own country, what can’t be torn down for redevelopment is converted into restaurants or shopping malls.
What caught our attention was a giant clamshell purse sitting in the middle of the street.
A large purse in front of the GPO Building, at the junction of Elizabeth Street and Bourke Street Mall.
It was when we were waiting for our tram along Bourke Street that I noticed how beautiful the GPO building is.
I had time to snap a photo of the nicely lit building before our tram came. This was our last day in Melbourne city. We started our Melbourne road trip the next day, with Phillip Island as our first stop.
Next post: Start of our Melbourne Road Trip.
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