N Lee Bakery
62 Little collins street
Melbourne 3000
Cinnamon’s
530 Collins Street, Exchange Tower (Food Court)
Melbourne 3000
The thing that I miss about working in Melbourne CBD is the variety and quality of good lunch food. Now that I am in South Melbourne, I hardly venture around the area. It is like what @jettingjoyce said, a black hole of good food and I totally agree. Don’t get me wrong. There are nice places for food in South Melbourne but few are affordable to lunch everyday.
After the trip from Hobart and not much food in the refrigerator, it was an excuse to travel to the CBD for some good and affordable lunch. First stop was N Lee Bakery. This is one of the only places in the city that serves Banh Mi or Vietnamese roll. It is definitely a meal in a bun. Carbohydrates, protein and fresh salad! Banh Mi starts with a short Vietnamese style baguette or roll. It has a thin layer of butter and pate. And then followed by the cold meats. You can choose to have cold cuts pork (original) or chicken breasts slices. It is then topped with shredded carrots, thinly sliced onions, fresh coriander, freshly sliced red chillies (optional) and then drizzled lightly with light soy sauce. $5 for a roll in the city is very affordable. But you will be able to get it at $3.80 in the suburbs.
Banh mi
@s_s_and_s tweeted about Cinnamon’s and I have not had Sri Lankan food for a very long time. I did have a craving for curries so I made another trip down to the CBD for a quick lunch. Cinnamon’s is located in the food court of the Exchange Tower on Collins street. You can’t miss it. It is the stall with the longest queue! I was about to give up but after purposely making a trip, I was quite determine to make sure that I tried it.But despite the long queue, I was still served pretty quickly. I am glad that I made the decision to stay.
Cinnamon's
They ran out of hoppers which is a rather authentic Sri Lankan dish. So I settled for a 1 meat and 2 vegetables curry combo that costs $9.90. I had a choice of lamb, beef or chicken. I chose lamb with sides of potato and carrot curries. The dish was accompanied by a spicy tomato chutney. I love the chutney. It has a nice heat and a good tang. The rice was very well cooked. Not lumpy nor dry. The meat was very tender and loaded with strong spices. I will definitely be back here to try the hopper. I guess I need to be here very early!
Curry rice combo
After these 2 trips in one week, I made the decision to make more regular trips into the city for more quick and yummy lunches. And if you aren’t aware, Earl Canteen is now opened. It is located on 500 Bourke Street (Little Bourke courtyard) and it serves beautiful packed lunchboxes. Will check it out and stay tune for my next city lunch trip 
Packed lunch vs take away lunch. What are you?
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
Penny, thanks for the info of quick yummy lunch dining in Melbourne CBD. My husband just asked me to open a new folder to keep all in one place when I read your post. He seems to be very into it, haha…
Christine@Christine's Recipes´s last blog ..Baked Pork Chops with Caramelized Onion
Great lunch, the lamb sounds very tender and flavorful!
5 Star Foodie´s last blog ..Braised Wild Boar Belly
The curries look like a tasty backup plan. Such a shame there were no hoppers left. I only just discovered hoppers and fell head over heels for them
Thanks for kicking me up the arse to finish my post about them!
Conor @ HoldtheBeef´s last blog ..Gently rapping at the pantry door
I love Vietnamese Pork Rolls, so tasty.
Mark @ Cafe Campana´s last blog ..The Ten Commandments of the Grill – Cafe de Paris Butter
The last picture reminds me of Nasi Kandar!! Yum
Ellie (Almost Bourdain)´s last blog ..Vanilla Crème Brûlée
The curry combo looks good! Almost an Indian biryani?
A Vietnamese friend made these for us and it was really good. She used pickled carrots which made it really tasty. The curry looks good too!
Roti n Rice´s last blog ..Guest Post: Mother's Day Happy Healthy Brunch
Hmm that's a hard question. I like to bring my own if I am unsure about the choices but if I am faced with a good choice then I just have to get that!
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella´s last blog ..Alice In Wonderland Cupcakes & 10 Tips for Cupcake Decorating from Planet Cake!
If ever I come to Melbourne I'll know where to lunch. I loved your post and those that appeared below it. I'll be back often. I hope you are having a wonderful day. Blessings…Mary
Mary´s last blog ..Grilled Asian Eggplant with Soy-Ginger Glaze
I am salivating over that banh mi, you know I love them so much!
Trix´s last blog ..Rustic, But Not Humble: Caramelized Onion & Emmental Galette
I would love try the banh mi. The Sri Lankan curry dish looks wonderful!
Hummingbird Appetite´s last blog ..I'm going to culinary school
Ahh very informative, can you believe I didn't know what Banh Mi consisted of before this? And was always too ashamed to ask…
Vee @ Munching (in) Melbourne´s last blog ..May Baby, Maybe maze
Christine@Christine's Recipes – that is awesome. does he come down to melb for work often?
5 Star Foodie – Yes. it was very tender.
Conor @ HoldtheBeef – Must head back for hoppers
Mark @ Cafe Campana – Must make some soon
Ellie (Almost Bourdain) – yes it does actually. good pick up.
tigerfish – Yes. it does too. But more flavour it seems.
Roti n Rice – yeap. some places do that as well
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella – Same here. But south melbourne… meh
Mary – You will have me to bring you around.
Trix – Have you made some yourself?
Hummingbird Appetite – Good luck on culinary school
Vee @ Munching (in) Melbourne – Don't be silly!
Yummo! I love these viet rolls. My recently discover a new gem hidden in Prahran Market. This viet cart (Bunme I think the name is) sells rice paper roll and Bahn Mi. For a dollar more, I get generous amount of corrianders, pickled carrots is crunchy and so fresh! I asked the lady who runs the stall, she makes her own pate using chicken liver, much smoother and richer in texture as she claims. I reckon it goes so well with the lots. GOtta try the lemongrass chicken bahn mi!
Lemongrass? On interesting
And stay tune for a banh mi blind tasting post! You will find out the best banh mi we had 
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