Colorful life

Returning to Melbourne after more than 10 years, in the middle of summer, still drowsy after the long flight, the hot wind and the bright sunlight hitting me woke me up. Taking advantage of the time between meetings during the trip, I stopped by Queen Victoria Market. For me, going to the local market is an indispensable experience when going anywhere. The markets full of products are places that reflect the culture, cuisine, and characteristics of life in each land. So when coming to Melbourne, you cannot miss Queen Victoria Market - or simply "Queen Market".

Melbourne is known as the city of culinary paradise.

Breath of Melbourne

Melbourne is known as a foodie’s paradise: fresh seafood, famous Australian beef and an abundance of fresh fruit. In addition to the large supermarket chains, many people still prefer to visit traditional farmers’ markets, where they can buy fresh, homemade products. Prices may vary slightly, but you get to choose your goods, bargain and chat with the familiar vendors.

Opened in 1878, Queen Market is a “living witness” to the development history of Melbourne. Originally a wholesale market for fresh products, the city has grown and gradually changed the market’s function. Today, Queen Market welcomes 10 million visitors each year. People come here to buy food for family meals, tourists buy gifts for relatives or simply enjoy a bag of hot donuts, grilled sausage sandwiches and stroll around to see the fruits, vegetables, seafood, crafts, clothes... displayed everywhere.

Queen Market is so big that it is hard to know where to start. Wandering aimlessly, enjoying the bustling atmosphere of shopping, looking at the prosperous stalls is also a way to enjoy the market. Around, street artists perform on the square, young office workers in smart suits have lunch right on the street, the urgent invitations of merchants...

Opened in 1878, Queen Market is a "living witness" to the development history of Melbourne.

Abundant goods

According to the official website, Queen's Market is divided into several areas. However, it can be easily divided into two main areas: the food area including fresh fruits and vegetables, meat and fish to cheese and the merchandise area selling clothes, toys, souvenirs.

Fresh foods such as beef, chicken, lamb, pork and seafood such as fish, shrimp, crab, octopus, etc., brought fresh from the sea, are displayed in full glass cabinets. All kinds of fruits harvested from farms near Melbourne are brought here: ripe cherries, plump peaches with rosy cheeks, delicious strawberries. I chose to buy some cherries, a fruit that is not available in Vietnam. Biting lightly into the thin skin, feeling the sweetness and sourness on the tongue, we seem to feel the sunshine, the wind and the saltiness of this land crystallized in it.

One can find good coffee, bread, pastries, and cheese in the food court, along with a variety of affordable lunch options. Sandwiches, fried rice, shrimp, clams, etc. are all prepared to look delicious. If you plan to have lunch here, you will have to find a seat quickly because there are few tables and there are many customers, so you will most likely have to eat standing up.

Around 2 or 3 pm, when the market is about to close, meat, fish, and vegetable stalls can reduce prices by up to 50%. That is when Queen Market becomes lively with the loud, bustling cries of vendors holding agricultural products and food in their hands.

Around 2 or 3 pm, that is when Queen market becomes bustling with the loud, bustling cries of vendors holding agricultural products and food in their hands.

A place to preserve tradition

Despite the passage of time, Queen Market still retains its bustling atmosphere and traditional market-style shopping. If Queen Market were a person, the stalls would be its organs, and the flow of people moving non-stop through the aisles would be the blood carrying nutrients to nourish the body.

More than just a century-old architectural landmark, Queen’s Market reflects the social and cultural fabric of Melbourne. Not only is it an important place for locals and tourists to shop and socialise, it is also a symbol of generations of Melbourne. Some stallholders are second or third generation traders, or family-owned and operated, with their own stories to tell.

This is not a place you come and go. The bustling atmosphere, the hawking of goods, the bargaining and the side stories, the abundance of fresh goods and the variety of cuisines will make you want to come back again and again. “Life is more colorful at Queen Market”. Indeed, life is more colorful thanks to Queen Market!

Source: https://heritagevietnamairlines.com/ruc-ro-sac-mau-cuoc-song/