Times reporter Nicki Gules, on assignment for the paper in Melbourne, makes a difficult decision.

“When Tourism Australia asked if I would prefer to go on a cycling tour around Melbourne or take a foodie tour instead, I asked them what they reckoned a podgy, 37-year-old mother-of-two might prefer.

“Annabel, bless her, said, “Oh I thought so! but I just had to be sure!”

“And so it was that I ate my way around the city today on a gastronomic extravaganza. This morning, I went to the Victoria Street Market, the Southern Hemisphere’s largest open market, and saw (and ate) everything from olives and cheese to obscure Asian vegetables and dried pomegranates.

“Then it was off to lunch at Stalactites, one of the city’s oldest Greek restaurants – a family owned establishment – for dips, pita bread and lightly battered and fried kefalograviera cheese. Stunning, indeed, and one wonders how owner Nicole Konstas stays so thin!

“Tonight was a feast of scampi, prawns, crab, lobster and mussels on linguine, with a glass (erm, more than a glass, really) of local Melburnian Stone Dwellers 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon at Italian restaurant Via Veneto, on Lagon Street in the heart of Melbourne’s Little Italy enclave.

“As if my main course wasn’t enough already, I followed it with a chocolate hazelnut pudding served with even more chocolate, ice cream and strawberries.

“Owners Sonia and Giovanni are maestros of food and hospitality. Oh, and they have a resident gangster to add to the Italian ambience.

“Surely, I am going to roll home.”

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