We live in a golden snacking age. Small plates dot menus at wine bars and fancy restaurants, but this list is about no-holds-barred snacking destinations. Sweet, savoury, hand-held or otherwise, if it brightens the time between meals in Melbourne, you’ll find it here.

Banh mi (from $9), Bun Bun Bakery

If a long queue signals good food, the line outside this modest shop is promising. It also allows time to gaze at the well-crusted hunks of pork in the cabinet, and wonder if it’s those or the lemongrass chicken calling you. In fact, it’s the woman behind the counter: you’re next. Thankfully, there are no bad choices to make.

Shop 1, 288 Springvale Road, Springvale, instagram.com/ bunbunbakery_springvale

Beef burger with the lot ($19), Andrew’s Hamburgers

The Aussie burger is as synonymous with summer as sand in your bathers. Packed to the max, the Andrew’s version is legendary. Is it the caramelised onion smooshed into charred beef? The toasted sesame roll? The dad-like commitment to making them the same way for 85 years? It’s the lot.

144 Bridport Street, Albert Park, andrewshamburgers.com

Butter vada pav ($7.50), Gopi Ka Chatka

This modest Indian street-food franchise puts bread rolls on the map. The fist-sized snack is grilled, buttered and filled with spiced potato patties. Dunk it in tamarind chutney, then a green chilli sauce for the kind of flavour fireworks you won’t find at other sandwich joints.

421 Clayton Road, Clayton South, gopikachatka.com.au

Cannoli ($5.50), T. Cavallaro & Sons

These golden batons of Sicilian goodness have been made to the same recipe for nearly 70 years. They come in three flavours, piped to order: vanilla custard, chocolate custard, or the traditional ricotta (the ratio of two different cheeses is a family secret). Each crunchy bite is the perfect soundtrack to a mid-morning espresso.

98 Hopkins Street, Footscray, tcavallaroandsons.com.au

Charcoal chicken ($7.50 for a quarter), Sunshine Charcoal Chicken

A staple of the Australian main street, some chicken shops hold nostalgic pull while others are a cut above the rest. This long-running outfit ticks both boxes. Birds are spatchcocked and doused in a sticky soy marinade that caramelises into burnished bark as it roasts. Dab on minced chilli sauce for a piquant finish.

80 Harvester Road, Sunshine, 03 9312 5588

Chicken patty ($1.80), Alamdar Bakery

Meat pies come with their fair share of thrills and spills. The pie warmer of this blink-and-you’ll-miss-it suburban bakery contains the far more manageable Pakistani patty: three bites of puff pastry filled with peppery shredded chicken in white sauce. Get a bagful and enjoy them piping hot standing in the street.

14 Glynda Street, Dandenong, instagram.com/alamdarbakeryone

Classic adana wrap ($17), Adana Co

Why are you standing in the car park of a windscreen repair shop on an industrial stretch of road? You’re in pursuit of lamb skewers, heavily spiced and grilled over coals in a tiny food truck. Each adana is wrapped in chewy flatbread with exciting side acts including charred eggplant and sumac-laced onions.

850 Sydney Road, Coburg North, instagram.com/ adanacomelbourne

Creme brulee kakigori ($35), Sebastian Kakigori

A kakigori shop that ships in both its head chef and its water from the mountains of Japan is clearly serious. Beyond the towering mounds of traditional shaved ice desserts, there’s a creme brulee version that looks as smooth as the OG but hides strawberry coulis, brittle caramel and milky shaved ice.

203 Queen Street, Melbourne, sebastiankakigori.com.au

Fermented chilli and cheese twist ($8), Small Batch Roasting Co

It’s not the prettiest thing in the cabinet but this craggy pastry braid marked with blobs of melted Tilsit cheese hides some surprises. Its buttery folds tingle with soft chilli heat, and oregano, saltbush and parsley enhance the magic of the cheese. Never judge on appearances.

3-9 Little Howard Street, North Melbourne, smallbatch.com.au

Gimbap (from $16), Jang Go Mama

Over the past few decades, Australians have probably eaten enough sushi rolls to fill the MCG. But don’t sleep on gimbap, Korea’s seaweed-wrapped rice roll. There are 20 variations at this hole-in-the-wall, from kimchi to spicy shredded beef. All come wrapped with pickles and veg, and are sliced for easy sharing.

147 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne, instagram.com/jang_go_mama

Glenferrie nuggets ($26.99 a kg), Glenferrie Gourmet Meats

This humble butcher has been selling nuggets for almost 20 years, but a brush with TikTok fame has attracted a whole new crowd. Chicken thighs are double-coated in fine breadcrumbs, and end up closer to the texture of a schnitzel. Guess the weight of your order and get it for free.

720 Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn, 03 9819 5100

Hot jam doughnut ($2.20), American Doughnut Kitchen

The aroma of freshly cooked doughnuts awakens something primal in grown adults. The throngs outside this iconic white van at Queen Victoria Market are proof. Some use children as a decoy, but no one of any age is walking away empty-handed.

Queen Victoria Market, Melbourne (also Prahran Market), adk1950.com.au

Jian bing you tiao ($8.50), Pancake Village

Standing out in a sea of excellence – the food court at Box Hill Central – is hard. But this dish, popular for breakfast in China, does just that. Thin egg crepes are wrapped around salty pork floss, sweet hoisin, pickled mustard greens and chubby you tiao sticks for a high-impact hand-held snack.

Box Hill Central, Box Hill, 0434 168 880

Matcha cornflake cookie ($7), Matcha Mate

Japan’s famous green tea is championed in these chewy cookies. Dough made with Kyoto-sourced matcha is mixed with white chocolate chunks, then topped with caramelised cornflakes and flaky salt. With about 12 grams of matcha – roughly the equivalent of two lattes – in each one, who needs coffee?

119 Hardware Street, Melbourne, instagram.com/ atmatmatchamate

Nikuman ($7), Hareruya Pantry

This laneway nook is from the brains behind onigiri cafe 279 and shokupan sandwich shop Le Bajo. Plenty come for the gelato, but there are riches hiding in the bun warmer. Nikuman, the steamed Japanese bun, is filled with glass noodles and pork braised in soy and mirin. It’s a proven five-bite cure for the midafternoon slump.

27 Somerset Place, Melbourne, hareruya.com.au

Onigiri (from $4.50), Tochi Deli

Food this exceptional has no business being in an arcade this run-down. Most people flock here for ultra-fresh nigiri. But for on-the-go snacking – whether you’re on foot, bike or four wheels – the onigiri can’t be beat. Choose from cooked salmon with scorched miso; bonito and kelp; or sweet-salty shiitake mushroom.

Brunswick Market, 655-661 Sydney Road, Brunswick, instagram.com/tochideli

Sisig tacos ($22), St Burgs

St Burgs smashes out American burgers, but excels at Filipino-inspired fast food. A take on sisig – the popular dish of pork, onion and chilli traditionally served on a sizzling hotplate – is mixed with cheddar cheese in a deep-fried corn tortilla, with calamansi for squeezing over.

1042 Western Highway, Caroline Springs, st-burgs.square.site

Spice bag ($24), Northern Soul

We can thank homesickness for this fusion dish, which originated in Ireland’s Chinese restaurants. Ultra-crunchy chicken pieces, hand-cut chips and wok-charred onion and capsicum are blanketed in a mild curry sauce. Northern Soul’s version comes in a box, not a bag, but the quintessential crispy-gone-soggy texture is not compromised.

6 Inkerman Street, St Kilda, northernsoulchipshop.com

Strawberry panna cotta ($12), Joy Jaune

This hypnotically jiggly sweet treat is worthy of a dedicated trip to PrestonMarket. Equal parts strawberry jelly and vanilla-spiked milk, the heart-shaped textural delight is constructed with just enough gelatin to hold the whole thing together. Think of fresh summer berries suspended in midair – delightful.

Preston Market, Preston, instagram.com/joyjaune

Taho sundae ($8), Kariton Sorbetes

In the Philippines, taho is a sweet treat of silken tofu pudding and sago. At Kariton, it’s transformed into a sundae. Each bite is a treasure trove: chewy tapioca pearls steeped in brown sugar and dark oolong syrup, plus delicate crescents of soy milk pudding and folds of ice-cold soft serve. It’s elevated nostalgia at its best.

50 Leeds Street, Footscray, karitonsorbetes.com

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