Why Melbourne?
Melbourne, the most livable city in the world!
Melbourne achieved a perfect score of 100/100 for education, healthcare and infrastructure, along with impressive ratings for culture and environment (95.8/100) and stability (95/100). Yet, it is not just our exceptional lifestyle that sets Melbourne apart; it's also the genuine warmth of our local residents.
Melbourne is more affordable than many other cities like Hong Kong, Singapore and Sydney. From kindergarten through to university, Melbourne is home to some of the region’s best educational institutions. Melburnians have a life expectancy that is amongst the highest in the world, buoyed by Australia’s world-renowned healthcare system, which includes high quality public and private hospitals, as well as community health services, ambulance and dental services.
CAFÈS
My favourite cafès in Melbourne
Café Higher Ground
Housed in a heritage-listed powerhouse, Higher Ground is an all-day dining destination located in the heart of Melbourne’s CBD. Six connected levels wrap around the perimeter of the original brick building to create a suite of intimate tiered platforms. An evocative, inventive, and highly curated menu offers guests the very best that Melbourne has to offer.
Address:
650 Little Bourke Street
Melbourne VIC 3000
What I like about it
Higher Ground is an all-day dining destination welcoming guests from morning through to late afternoon and offers a unique and refined blend of a café and restaurant. The dining room ceilings are 15 metres high and the space floods with natural light during the day. The upstairs level, which comes with its own barista station, is an unhurried lounge to read, work or eat a meal in.
Emil's Café
Brunch shouldn't just be an affair for the morning, and thanks to the likes of Emil's Café, it doesn't have to be. Once their childhood home, brothers John and George El-Khoury have refurbished their family's corner milk bar into Emil's Café, a licensed all-day brunch spot with a nostalgic, homely feel. Chef Sam Pinzone sits at the helm of the kitchen, serving up an Australian-Arabic menu alongside Code Black Coffee and a selection of cocktails, juices and smoothies.
Address:
347 Reynard Street
Pascoe Vale South 3044
What I like about it
Highlights on the menu include Turkish eggs with sujuk and lime yoghurt, hummus shakshuka with spinach pesto, benny eggs with slow-cooked beef ribs and tahini hollandaise, and knafeh spun pastry with pistachio crumb and rose syrup. The 80-seat space is laden with natural light and features a fireplace and brickwork to make you feel right at home.
First Love Coffee
First Love Coffee is a specialty venture by the founders of artisanal bakery Rustica. It's a slick coffee bar at the base of Collins Arch that pours locally roasted blends you can pair with flaky Rustica pastries and grab-and-go salads and sangas. Floor-to-ceiling windows allow you to take in the busy streetscape, if you can draw your gaze from the cafe's interior, that is.
Address:
Show 4/443 Collins Street
Melbourne VIC 3000
What I like about it
While Rustica is best known for its sourdoughs and pastries, First Love makes locally-roasted coffee the star. All white coffees are made with Polaroid Espresso, a Brazilian, Colombian and Ethiopian specialty blend that has notes of strawberry and maple syrup and a light floral finish. You can also choose from a variety of single-origin roasts. All the beans for First Love blends are sourced green and roasted at Port Melbourne's Criteria Coffee.