Winter Food on MELBZ

Best Ramen and Soup in Abbotsford for Cold Days

Fri, 08 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Abbotsford’s eastern edge runs into the Victoria Street Vietnamese strip, which means the suburb has access to some of Melbourne’s deepest pho and Vietnamese soup culture without the slightly more polished prices of Richmond or Fitzroy. The ramen options are smaller in number but include some of the better Japanese kitchens in the inner east. Here’s the cold-weather guide.

Pho — The Victoria Street Tradition

The pho along Victoria Street between Hoddle Street and Church Street is the broader Melbourne pho heartland. Pho prices here run $14–$18 for a large bowl with brisket and rare beef. The character of each shop varies — some are family-run with the same broth recipe for 30 years, others are newer and slightly more refined.

Best Ramen and Soup in Ascot Vale for Cold Days

Fri, 08 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Ascot Vale isn’t a destination ramen suburb but it has steady, value-driven Asian soup options — Vietnamese pho, a couple of Japanese kitchens, and easy access to Moonee Ponds Junction’s wider Asian dining scene. For a cold-day warm-up lunch, what’s available locally is more than enough; for serious ramen, the trip into the CBD or Box Hill is the alternative.

Pho on Mount Alexander Road and Union Road

The most reliable cold-day soup option in Ascot Vale is pho. The suburb has several Vietnamese restaurants running standard pho menus — pho tai chin (rare beef and brisket), pho bo vien (meatball pho), and bun bo Hue (the spicier lemongrass version) at most.

Best Ramen and Soup in Balwyn for Cold Days

Fri, 08 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Balwyn itself has a small Asian dining scene — a handful of Japanese, Chinese and pan-Asian kitchens — but the suburb’s geographic position next to Box Hill changes the picture entirely. Box Hill is one of the deepest Asian-cuisine concentrations outside the Melbourne CBD, with serious ramen, hand-pulled noodle soup, hot pot and Asian dumplings all within a 10-minute drive. For a Balwyn cold-day soup lunch, the local options work; for a destination soup experience, Box Hill is the move.

Best Ramen and Soup in Bentleigh for Cold Days

Fri, 08 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Bentleigh’s Asian dining scene is small but reliable — a handful of Vietnamese, Japanese and pan-Asian kitchens scattered along Centre Road and the cross-streets. For a casual cold-day soup lunch, what’s available locally is enough; for serious destination ramen or hot pot, the trip into Carnegie, Caulfield, or further into Box Hill or the CBD is the alternative.

Centre Road — The Local Options

Centre Road has several Asian restaurants running pho, ramen, and broader noodle soups. The dining is mostly local-trade — kitchens that run lunch and dinner sittings with consistent quality but not destination-grade.