GREETINGS from Down Under! Although I have been here for almost five years, it feels like only yesterday that I left Singapore to pursue an undergraduate degree in commerce at the University of Melbourne.

When I first arrived, I was quite shocked to find that the cost of living was significantly higher than in Singapore - a decent meal cost me at least A$7. During my first year here, a three-room furnished apartment in the city cost about A$2,400 a month. And there is no such thing as a broadband connection with unlimited quota. Setting up an Internet connection here can be both cumbersome and expensive. And as the Australian currency strengthened, budgeting became all the more essential.

Melbourne, with its erratic weather conditions, provides four seasons in a day. "Dressing in layers" is thus quite the norm as one is constantly taking off or putting on bits of clothing to accommodate the daily weather changes.

The Australians are really passionate about sports, and for good reason too. Melbourne is host to some of the most popular sporting events in the world - the Australian Open, F1 Grand Prix and the Melbourne Cup. Even travellers from across the globe flock into the city to catch these major events.

Then there's Australia's renowned "footy" which is something of a religion - it's a game that combines American football, rugby, baseball and soccer all in one field. There aren't any nets behind the goal posts, so if that's where you happen to be sitting, you must be able to either catch or duck.

One unique feature of Melbourne roads is the dreaded hook turn - a traffic-control mechanism where cars that would normally have to turn across oncoming traffic are made to turn across all lanes of traffic instead. It can be extremely nerve-racking for non-Melbournenian drivers.

Friends from home who visit think I am crazy when I wait on the left lane of the junction to turn right. I used to find the hook turns intimidating, but am now quite comfortable with them and actually prefer making a hook turn instead of a "normal" turn.

Much like Singapore, Melbourne is a cultural melting pot for all sorts of cuisine at all budgets. Rice Bar sells Singaporean/Malaysian hawker fare and its Hainanese chicken rice provides new insights into what the dish is about. It also sells roasted pork fried rice with great wok hei.

In the heart of the city along Bourke Street, there is even a Singapore Chomp Chomp. And for the more adventurous, Laksa King is located on Flemington Road and has good fish head/sliced fish bee hoon, much like the one we have in Singapore. Bismi has nice briyani rice but you have to go early because the food runs out fast.

Melbourne is particularly well-known for its Cantonese fare, but good Chinese restaurants include Pacific House, Flower Drum, and the famous Quan Ju De Peking Duck restaurant franchise from China.

When you are in Melbourne, be prepared to put on some weight because it's hard to say no to all the delicious food. There are Thai, Mexican, Indian, Japanese, Nepalese, American, British, Chinese, Greek and Italian restaurants everywhere. Finances permitting, you're off on a grand gastronomical voyage.

The Krispy Kreme doughnut is a phenomenon of epic proportions in Australia. There's a store in the Melbourne airport and every time I fly back to Singapore, I am surrounded on the plane by people with boxes of these whoppers. Once you bite into one of these sinfully addictive doughnuts, you'll understand why.

Last but not least, Australia is known to be one of the best producers of wine in the world.

In Victoria, wine aficionados will definitely find the unique flavours of Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris particularly enticing. Price-wise, one can find wine from popular labels such as Wolf Bass, Taylors and Brown Brothers going at competitive prices. For instance, the sweet white wine Brown Brothers Moscato, which is well-known and loved among female wine drinkers, is a steal at a mere A$10 per bottle.

Despite what Melbourne has to offer, I still miss Singapore as that's where I grew up and where my loved ones are. And there is of course all the delicious cheap food that I am missing out on as well!

letter from melbourne
Eric Wong Liang Wei
Research analyst, Probity Investigation Consultants Pty Ltd

This article was first published in The Business Times on Nov 29, 2008.