Dec 11, 20155 min read

#FELinMEL Day 5: Kit Kat Studio, Queen Victoria Market, Brighton Boxes

Had some time this morning, so I headed off to Kit Kat Studio. It is a Kit Kat pop-up store at Melbourne Central Shopping Centre that allows you to customize your very own Kit Kat. Originally launched in Sydney, Kit Kat Studio has arrived in Melbourne in celebration of its 80th birthday. The ‘Create Your Break’ is priced at AU$14 and comes in 3 steps: 1) select your chocolate chocolate – milk, white or dark; 2) select up to 3 ingredients – from a range of premium ingredients such as rose petals, pretzels, meringue, salted caramel, apricot and brownie crumbs; 3) personalized your packaging, with your name and desired design. Other than Create Your Break, limited editions Kit Kat flavours were also made available at the Studio, which includes Spiced Christmas Pudding and Cranberry, Pistachio and Coconut Macaroon.

KIT KAT STUDIO

Available Period: 24th Nov 2015 to 17th Jan 2016.

Opening hrs: 1000-1900hrs (Mon-Wed), 1000-2100hrs (Thu, Fri), 1000-1800hrs (Sat), 1000-1600hrs (Sun).

Address: Melbourne Central (opp. Tommy Hilfiger), 211 La Trobe Street, Melbourne VIC 3000.

http://www.nestle.com.au/media/newsandfeatures/make-your-own-kit-kat----in-melbourne

#1: Kit Kat Studio.

#2: Prices for all the various Kit Kats sold at the Studio.

#3: Create Your Break, AU$14.

#4: I chose dark chocolate with rose petals, brownie crumbs and hazelnuts.

#5: Kit Kat Studio workspace.

#6: 'Create Your Break' Kit Kat orders in the make!

#7: All the various ingredients available to add on to your customized Kit Kat.

#8: Interior of Kit Kat Studio.

#9: Interior of Kit Kat Studio.

#10: Free Kit Kats for grab!

Next, I moved on to Queen Victoria Market. Queen Victoria Market is a major landmark in Melbourne. The market is significant to Melbourne’s culture and heritage and is named after Queen Victoria who rules the British Empire from 1837 to 1901. The Queen Victoria Market is the only surviving 19th century market in the central business district (CBD) of Melbourne. It was one of the three major markets in Melbourne’s CBD, together with Eastern Market and Western Market. However, these two markets have closed in the 1960s. If you would like to get some cheap deals – fruits, vegetables, fresh seafood, pastries, meat produce, cold cuts, sausages, clothing, souvenirs, toys, and many more, this is the place to go! It is like Sydney’s Paddy’s Market! Shirts are like AU$4 each and flowers are like AU$5 per bunch.

QUEEN VICTORIA MARKET

Opening hrs: 0600-1400hrs (Tue, Thu), 0600-1500hrs (Fri, Sat), 0900-1600hrs (Sun).

Address: Corner of Victoria Street and Elizabeth Street, Melbourne VIC 3000.

http://www.qvm.com.au/

#11: Queen Victoria Market.

#12: Queen Victoria Market.

#13: Queen Victoria Market.

#14: Queen Victoria Market - wet area.

#15: Queen Victoria Market - meat produce.

#16: Queen Victoria Market - seafood.

#17: Queen Victoria Market - seafood.

#18: Queen Victoria Market - seafood.

#19: Queen Victoria Market - seafood.

#20: Queen Victoria Market - seafood.

#21: Queen Victoria Market - dry area.

#22: Queen Victoria Market - pre-marinated meat products.

#23: Queen Victoria Market - pre-marinated meat products.

#24: Queen Victoria Market - pastries.

#25: Queen Victoria Market - fruits.

#26: Queen Victoria Market - fruits.

#27: Queen Victoria Market - fruits.

#28: Queen Victoria Market - fruits.

#29: Queen Victoria Market - fruits.

#30: Queen Victoria Market - vegetables.

#31: Queen Victoria Market - vegetables.

#32: Queen Victoria Market - jams, curds, sauces?

#33: Queen Victoria Market.

#34: Queen Victoria Market.

#35: Queen Victoria Market.

#36: Queen Victoria Market.

#37: Queen Victoria Market - too pretty, I want to buy them all!!!

#38: Queen Victoria Market.

#39: Queen Victoria Market.

#40: Queen Victoria Market.

#41: Queen Victoria Market.

#42: Queen Victoria Market.

#43: Queen Victoria Market - flower soaps, I wouldn't bear to use them!

Around the corner is Market Lane Coffee, who serves pretty good coffee (AU$4.50). Market Lane Coffee is a boutique coffee roaster and retailer created and based in Melbourne. It is one of the best coffee places in Australia, dedicated to serve high quality coffee. Coffee beans are carefully sourced from all over the world, from the best coffee growers that provides superior coffee that are able to stand up on their own without blending.

MARKET LANE COFFEE

*There are two stores that are located around Queen Victoria Market, I went to the one at Therry Street. http://marketlane.com.au/

Queen Victoria Market Branch:

Opening hrs: 0700-1400hrs (Tue, Thu), 0700-1600hrs (Fri), 0700-1500hrs (Sat), 0800-1600hrs (Sun), Closed on Mondays and Wednesdays.

Address: Queen Victoria Market, Shop 73-76 Dairy Produce Hall, Corner of Victoria Street and Elizabeth Street, Melbourne VIC 3000.

Therry Street Branch:

Opening hrs: 0700-1600hrs (Mon-Thu), 0700-1700hrs (Fri, Sat), 0800-1700hrs (Sun).

Address: 109-111 Therry Street, Melbourne VIC 3000.

#44: Market Lane Coffee.

#45: Market Lane Coffee.

#46: Interior of Market Lane Coffee.

#47: Cashier and barista counter.

#48: Side station.

#49: Flat White, $4.50.

Next I moved on to N2 Extreme Gelato. N2 Extreme Gelato uses liquid nitrogen to create their gelato! Ice cream gelato is a cross breed of art and science creating a microstructure of ice crystals, air bubbles, fat droplets and a viscous solutions of sugars, polysaccharides and milk proteins. The use of liquid nitrogen helps to form a large number of microscopic ice crystals in seconds with exceptionally smooth textures! Simply put, it means N2 Extreme Gelato’s gelato transforms from liquid to ice cream in seconds! So is it safe? Yes, of course! Nitrogen itself is non-toxic and non-flammable. Liquid nitrogen boils off when it comes in contact with anything warmer than itself, so it is completely evaporated by the time it is served! (Boiling temperature of nitrogen -196degC. Serving temperature -6degC.) I had the Milo Mofo (AU$9), which consists of milo gelato, koko crunch (milo cereal), rolled in milo powder, topped with a chocolate dipped cream cracker and a chocolate ganache syringe. Taste wise meh~ I didn’t even finish half of it, but full marks for creativity!

N2 EXTREME GELATO

Opening hrs: 1300-2300hrs (Daily).

Address: 18 Sutherland Street, Melbourne VIC 3000.

http://n2extremegelato.com.au/

#50: N2 Extreme Gelato.

#51: Freezing-cold gelato whipped up in less than a minute!

#52: Toppings for the gelatos...

#53: Milo Mofo, AU$9.

Last but not least, I went to Brighton district to hunt for the bathing boxes. Brighton is a beach-side suburb of Melbourne, named after Brighton in England. A railway connection to Melbourne from Brighton was completed in 1859. Two years after the opening of the railway line to Brighton Beach, Captain Kenny’s Brighton Beach Baths were opened. Separate sections of the beach were designated for men and women, and the baths were built off shore, accessed by a wooden bridge so that bathers would not have to cross the sand clad in swimming costumes and could gain straight entry into the water instead. However, the baths have cease operations in 1979. They are now a popular bayside icon and can be found at Dendy Street Beach.