Day out at Prahran Market

The beautiful Prahran Market building

Are you the sort of person that craves going to the market? Doesn't matter what kind of market, be it the farmers market, the vegie market, the fruit market, the crafts market... just pick a market, any market, cheap cheap ... (sorry that came out of no where!)

Are you the type that walks into a homewhere/kitchen store and just gasp in joy and happiness?

Will the sights of the utensils above make you swoon and wish that you could have each and every item in your home/kitchen?

Then Prahran Market is the market for you... located in the upmarket suburb of Prahran (oh so posh dah-link!)... Prahran Market is situated at a busy intersection and has been around since 1881 (that is a famous brand, no?) and is not, I repeat, NOT a tourist market... (hence it's much more authentic!)

The al fresco dining area that is shared by a few of the cafes located around the Market

We decided to give it a visit on Saturday as the Boy was on a mission to look for his vegetables... (someone said a bad word there.... anything green must be bad for you! Mold, fungus, vegetables!)... However, the Boy has gone out of the way to make me eat the horrid healthy things... he's gone for purple vegetables! Curses!! Now they look quite nice and edible!

Purple Carrots

According to the Carrot Museum (believe me, I was just as amazed as you are... that there exists a museum for carrots... imagine... mummified carrots and carrots learning to make fire! But I digress...), carrots originated from present day Afghanistan 5000 years ago and were either purple or yellow in colour and became the "natural" orange to us when a few Dutchmen took it upon themselves to cultivate them and "orange-nize" them as those were the wonderful Netherland colours... Kapish?

Purple Potatoes, namely Sapphire and Purple Congos

Purple potatoes are amazingly high in anti-oxidents and the increasing popularity in restaurants using them in dishes now even has a dedicated article in the Epicure, The Age! You can google the rest yourself.. any more and I might start to fall asleep... needless to say, purple vegies are very pretty (even if they are roots!)

Best Mango Lassi in Melbourne

We stopped for a drink and to get some sumac from the little Indian Grocery at the market (shamed, I was overly distracted by spices and free lassi tastings to take a picture of the shop!)

A pretty dog!

Whilst taking a walk upstairs (we were in exploring mode) to view the famous sexual health clinics (well, when I google Prahran Market, the sexual health clinics come up, so I'm assuming that they are famous :P ), someone's dog was giving me the evil eye! What a pretty dog it was too!... Hmmpphh...

Mr. Potato waves a hello from his perch (he flies!)... and beautiful fresh produce in the market (the Boy proudly declared, "Melbourne has the freshest produce!")

And to end this visit, I took a picture of the pretty flowers in season... the Boy never buys me any... , "They just wilt and die anyway, I'll buy you a pot plant, but you're too lazy to look after it!"

For some reason or other (I'll stick to other), I was really full by the time I got out of the market... first we had a heavy brunch at Mojito Cafe including tea and coffee, then my mango lassi, then walking through the meat and delicatessen section (barbecues were on and meat and sausages was 'a grilling!)

How do you like to spend your Saturdays? I can't wait to go back to the market this weekend!!!

Oh and if you're on Twitter, Prahran Market has a twitter account and they're very helpful in getting information back to you. I needed to know where to get edible flowers and they found them for me! Hence, the excitement of returning to the market this weekend!!

**Note** I have nothing against the likes of touristy markets such as Vic Market or Paddingtons (in Sydney), but sometimes you just want to visit the other local markets around...