The Luna Winter night market

The Luna night market is on again this year and it is always exciting as their summer night market. We talk about our experiences at this night market.

This is at the Queen Victoria Market and it is on every Wednesday night from 5pm-10pm. There are huge lines everywhere for stuff. There are not as many stalls as the summer night market and everything is undercover. Whilst in the summer there is sangria, at the winter night market there is mulled wine.

Warming up by the fire

I came after 7pm and there were huge crowds of people and no parking available. For those that live in the country you should take the train to Southern Cross station and then just walk. It is about a 20 min walk and you will be burning about 50 calories. If you walk back then you'd burn about 100 calories. And if you're like me and can't stomach a lot for dinner then you should do two trips if you can or share. I did two trips.

The first one I had just vegetarian curry at Drums café. It was just before 7:30pm that I got there. I wasn't served until about 7:45pm. My vegetarian curry meal was $10 and they do stellar meals. Roti was an extra $3

Now compare that with the second time where there were not so many people. The curry was much better at Autorickshaw and it too was a mere $10. All the ingredients were really fresh.There were no lines this time and I got my meal in a flash. I had time to enjoy a few short films from Swinburne University students and support their work.

Which stall do you like the best? Do comment below.

The Coffee Club

The Coffee Club in Geelong is a small little kiosk. Here they are a franchise and that day I had just wanted a drink. I just happened to be there for the Tastes event wanting to relax.

The guy behind the counter was really nice to me, service was pretty slow. It was 4:30pm and not that many customers were in this store. Some of them wanted a late lunch and others just wanted a drink.

The green tea was alright but for $4.10 I expected my saucer to be clean and it wasn't. I told the guy this and he got me a clean one. And then I noticed all the dirt on the floor.

The ladies at the table next to me got slices. They looked alright but I didn't think they enjoyed it. They did not finish their slices.

Not returning. The Airport West store is much better in terms of cleaniless and they are in a Westfield too.

Your rights with the ticket inspectors

 International students have you had any recent encounters with a ticket inspector? Do you know what they are? Do you know your rights when dealing with them? If not then read on

At a tram stop. Image courtesy of University of Melbourne adventures

Many International students travel on public transport every day and sometimes they might not have a validated ticket. i.e: no money or forgot to validate their MYKI.

Most students try to do the right thing.

What do ticket inspectors look like?

They can be either in uniform or plain clothes and they will have a badge.

Your rights

They are there to do a job but they should give you an opportunity to validate your MYKI. They should also shout out "Checking MYKI!" at the front of the tram so that there is a warning.

The Public transport users association says that there should be better transport and cheaper MYKI.

The ticket inspectors are not the police. Like security guards in shops they are only just there to check tickets. You have the right to ask for their name and their badge and they have to produce that for you. I.e they cannot search your bags. They can only take certain stuff which is illegal.

Seeking help

Many International students don't understand their rights with the inspectors. Most will just jump and pay the $75 fine without considering their chances for an appeal. The system is such a bad system which is full of flaws. Many International students don't want to seek the help of their uni's legal service as they are not always confident in doing so.

Have you had an encounter with an Authorised officer latey? What sort of tips do you have for others in this sort of circumstance? Do tell us below.

Remember you can also seek advice from your University's legal service as it is free for all students.

Town Hall Hotel

The Town Hall Hotel is in Fitzroy near Brunswick st and they have changed hands. Hence a smaller menu. They now focus on steak, fish and pasta and other Italian goodies.

Loved the F for female sign

I was served by a lovely lady who did not know what the Instagram tags were for the hotel. I would have thought that they knew.

I came just before 8pm and wanted just tapas. But I did not know that they changed hands. If Zomato can update this for me that would be good.

The complimentary bread was really good and the butter was nice and soft and very creamy. But the gnocchi was overcooked and there was too much cheese sauce. I could not finish this. They should offer entrée sizes for those that have a small appetite.

The salad was good but it would have been even better on its own. I loved the crunch off the walnuts and the lovely pears. But I think the flavour was marred by all that cheese.

I saw another tables chips and looked darn good.

Rating: 12/20 not great pasta and no entrée sizes. Oh well I might just come back for drinks and maybe with Julia.

Chow Down

Chow Down is a fairly new Malaysian place in the city and its within close proximity to RMIT. It is about a five minute walk from RMIT. I never set discovered it until a Scoopon for this place came along and it was $6.

They cater a lot for the university students who study in the city.

They are a tiny little Malaysian joint in Mid City arcade and I have stumbled across their Facebook and Instagram photos of their Nasi Lemak and thought that I will give it a try. And so I did. They were really generous with the rice and nuts and anchovies. I have learned how to make this in Aunty Khoo's class and for the Good neighbourhood month last year where I helped a friend to make it and serve it to people.

Their vegetables however were a little bit odd. It was really salty and they used the frozen variety. I don't mind frozen vegetables in times of need but fresh ones are always better.

Rating: 15/20- go for the nasi lemak and not the vegetables. I would love to try their drinks and their other snacks since they looked amazing. I am glad that the real thing has come to the city.