Despite my Indian background, I only started enjoying chai (pho and pasta) when I moved to Melbourne.
Chai essential means black tea with milk (which makes it absurd to refer to it as Chai tea – tea tea). Indian chai is usually made with the addition of spices, sugar or honey.
Anyway, some years later, even with at least three different chai flavours constantly stocked in my pantry, I still call myself a chai newbie. Which I think is a great excuse to keep going on chai adventures around the city – Melbourne Chai Crawl – to discover the best chai in Melbourne. According to my taste buds, that is. So here are snippets from my Melbourne Chai Crawl session, which will make a perfect refuge during the winter months.
Chai Shai Fitzroy
The closest to chai experience in India
Chai Shai is located in a small lane in the Fitzroy neighbourhood. But don’t worry, as the green container entrance is easily spotted. Stepped inside, you would feel like you were being transported to a cafe in India (at least it reminded me of cafes I went to in Kerala). They offer more than 20 different tea flavours, including various chai flavours, along with savoury Indian street food.
We went there a couple of weeks ago. First, I ordered Kadak chai – a robust version of Indian chai, think double shots – and samosa. Meanwhile, Fafa opted for oat milk, iced chai and bread pakora. We entered the beautifully decorated courtyard and browsed the pots and succulents while waiting for our order.
My Kadak chai came with a Parle G biscuit. Despite not being a biscuit-to-tea dunker, I love eating biscuits accompanied by tea or, this time, vice versa. Though the kadak chai wasn’t as strong as the one I had on the street in Dubai before, it was good. And having a whole packet of Parle G (they gave us an entire pack when we asked for more) made the whole experience ten times better. My samosa was good, though I think If you can stomach tamarind sauce, it would taste better – I couldn’t. The bread pakora was delicious! A must-try, if I say so myself.
Chai Shai Fitzroy is ☕☕☕☕.5/5 stars, and I can’t wait to go back.
Elektra
Himalayan Chai
The thing that drew me into Elektra was the row and row of terracotta cups. I wanted to drink chai from those authentic-looking, super cute chai pots (though I had never seen it in Indian movies), so I went in. Elektra offered Himalayan food and drinks, including Himalayan stick chai. The chai is made of organic Nepalese black tea leaves and honey infused with seven Himalayan spices. It tasted as delicious and heart-warming as it sounds.
Though Elektra doesn’t sell the pots (you can find them on the artist’s Nicole Cocis, website directly), you can get a bag of sticky Himalayan chai blend, which I think is a neat souvenir for your chai-loving friends.
Elektra is ☕☕☕.5/5 stars. I plan a proper meal (and chai) in Elektra, Fitzroy, when Jik, my vegan-loving BFF, comes for a visit next time.
Plug Nickel
The Hipster Chai
We are now entering the Melbournised version of chai territory, or the hipster chai as I call it. The chai (loose leaves or powder) served by coffee shops all over Melbourne is one of the choices, where coffee is still the king. Don’t scoff at it just yet based on the earlier sentence because Plug Nickel does it so well. So well that before I discovered other close-to-authentic chai shops, Plug Nickel was my go-to coffee shop for post-soba lunch in Fitzroy (yeah, this one is also located in Fitzroy). In the corner, Plug Nickel is a cozy coffee shop that offers indoor and outdoor seating – my favourite spot is indoors by the window. I have sat there alone, with friends, with Fafa – sharing conversations, journaling to people watching with a big mug of chai.
Plug Nickel ☕☕☕.5/5 stars for being a constant refuge.
Dropout Chai Wala
Chai in The City
I have wanted to check out Dropout Chai Wala for months because it’s the only chai stall in the Melbourne CBD area, and their Instagram posts were promising. One day at work, I checked them out when my lunch buddies were on leave. I took the free tram, dropped out at the Elizabeth Street stop and walked for a minute. The store was much smaller than I expected, but it had more choices. After struggling for a few minutes, I ordered the mystery chai and vegetable pakora. When I asked the person behind the counter what was in the mystery chai, he said the ingredients were a secret but could be guessed by the pink colour of the chai. I was worried that it would be beetroot, but it was well… I shouldn’t reveal it here; you should try if interested.
All I can say is both the chai and the vegetable pakora (eaten with siracha sauce that was readily available) were A+. I look forward to try other items from the menu.
Ps. I also got the chai cup from here for $4. Worth it!
Dropout Chai Wala is ☕☕☕☕☕/5 stars – consider them a must-try in Melbourne.
This post is dedicated to Jik, who also moved to Australia and shared the chai journey with me. She keeps sending me Instagram reels of Melbourne chai spots, which inspired this Melbourne Chai Crawl post.
Super Chai Smoothie
Equivalent-to-a-meal Chai
One day, while walking down Chapel Street, Fafa pointed at a sign in a juice bar called Mr Squeeze that I always ignored when I passed by. It said “Super Chai Smoothie”. Intrigued, I decided to try it, if only for a well-rounded Melbourne chai crawl post.
From the look of it, I was prepared for it to be a name-sake hipster smoothie, but far from it; Super Chai Smoothie was actually really good. It was still smoothie-like, obvs! I could taste the banana and other usual smoothie ingredients, but the chai flavour was strong, creating a healthy-ish, delicious blend. The only caution I could give is not to have it post-meal like I did, as the smoothie was pretty filling; it could easily be a light lunch.
Super Chai Smoothie ☕☕☕/5 stars – 0.5 star dropped due to rude girl waiter.
Original Chai Co
The one in the Queen Victoria Market
We stumbled upon Original Chai while searching for the entrance to the Books for Cooks in Queen Victoria Market. Fafa mentioned he had heard about it before, and seeing all the brown people eating on the plastic chairs outside, I thought we should try it, too.
We both ordered iced chai—it was an unseasonably hot afternoon for a Melbourne autumn. The drink came a little less brown-coloured than I expected, but it was good, and as Fafa said, it’s not the watered-down version we usually get from an iced chai.
But something was missing. Was it the limited menu? The minimal decor? The lack of a fun vibe behind the counter? I couldn’t pinpoint it. Maybe I should come back and give both myself and the place another chance.
Original Chai Co ☕☕☕.5/5 stars – I might bump 0.5 star if their hot chai tastes better than the iced version.
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