One of my favourite things to do in your own city is something most of us only ever do on holiday. Sign up for a food tour. We happily book them in Tokyo or Bangkok, then come home and eat at the same five places on rotation. I am guilty of this too (my Melbourne order history is embarrassingly predictable).
A food tour in your own city changes that. You get to see, taste and experience places you possibly didn’t know existed, often just a tram ride from home. The best part is that you leave knowing you’ll be back again soon, because these places are right on your doorstep. No flights, no luggage, no jet lag. Just a new favourite lunch spot.
I learnt this on a food tour at Queen Victoria Market, a place I thought I already knew. I walked out having eaten Portarlington mussels, cotechino from Alec Watson and Son, a $5 white Japanese strawberry (worth it, don’t judge) and a hot jam doughnut from the American Doughnut Kitchen. I had walked past half of those stalls for years without stopping.
Food tours also give you more than food. You get to sample culture alongside cuisine. A good guide tells you who runs the shop, where the recipe came from, and why a dish matters to the community that makes it. Suddenly your neighbourhood has layers you never noticed.
And then there are the people. You’ll meet fellow food lovers in the process, the kind who ask the guide five follow up questions and take photos of every plate. My people, basically.
If you are looking for things to do in your own city this weekend, start here. Look up a food tour in a suburb you rarely visit, or one built around a cuisine you have never tried. Go hungry, go curious, and go with an open mind.
We spend so much energy chasing adventures overseas that we forget our own cities are full of stories waiting to be eaten. Being a tourist at home is humbling and delicious in equal measure. You might discover that the best meal you have had all year was fifteen minutes from your front door, and that is a very good reason to keep exploring.
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