Clarissa Alma, our foodie niece who is studying in Melbourne raved about Melbourne brunches. “Brunch is very popular here. You just have to try one or two of the in places. You wouldn’t regret it.”

She kept talking about Melbourne brunch until we relented and headed to Mart 130. It is a quaint eatery, 6 tram stops from Swanston St/Bourke St on Tram 96 heading to St Kilda Beach.

Mart 130 was a stationmaster small structure converted into a compact indoor and outdoor cafeteria that for many years has been on the list of top places to go for brunch.

Clarissa warned us since it’s Saturday, the place is going to be packed and it is a cash only establishment that does not take reservations.

Winter in Australia starts in June, so Melbourne in May is usually cold. We were extremely lucky that on the second weekend in May it was sunny with 20 degrees Celsius.

Our heart sank when stepping out of the tram at 12.30 we saw about 30 people waiting for their tables with more coming in groups.

Surprisingly it was not a long wait, 15 minutes later we were escorted to the back porch and seated on a wooden bench with plush colorful pillows, overlooking green Albert Park.

We imagined brunch would be like Sunday Brunch that we wrote on our earlier post, with tables full of foods and drinks. It was not, but the ambience and the food matched an elaborate brunch that we envisaged.

The wooden structure of Mart 130 is cozy on the inside with a fireplace, books, magazines and flags as a decoration and comfortable on the outside with views to the park.

Its menus offer toast and preserves, oats and grains, savory, mart eggs, sweet, mart toasted pides and sandwiches, and mart salads.

As a group of 4 we decided to have different orders to see the selections. Mart 130 does not have fancy names on its menu. They generously spelled what ingredients used in each menu choice.

The most talked about dish is mart corn fritter stack. We opted for the one with Harris smoked salmon, goat’s curd, beetroot relish, and dill-caper salsa.

Scrumptious was not enough to explain the food as the ingredients still carry their freshness, including the corn and the salmon. Harris Smoke House where the salmon came from has been in the same family for 4 generations. Their products are filleted, cured, oak-smoked and packed daily on the premises.

Most of the foods  we ordered have many ingredients perfectly combined for all the basic tastes: sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami.

The real savory dish in our opinion was the mart eggs. The chef perfectly cooked a combination of thyme roasted mushrooms, rosemary polenta, spinach, poached eggs, and truffle hollandaise.

This one was a gradation of color, texture and taste. We almost missed the difference of each part and thought that the polenta was an omelet below the poached eggs.

Although it is famous for its Australian fare, Mart 130 has international cuisines on its menu with Japanese and Mediterranean elements.

We had open zaatar spiced Turkish flat bread topped with tabouleh, rocket leaves, tzatziki, hommus and warm falafel patties. All have authentic Mediterranean tastes.

The most innovative cuisine among our choices was one of the mart salads. Hot smoked ocean trout, roasted beetroot, orange segments, feta tossed with watercress, dried cranberries, asparagus, spiced quinoa, and pomegranate vinaigrette.

The biggest portion of all the ingredients in the dish was the spiced quinoa. It was really heartening to see the grains served here. The year 2013 is the International Year of Quinoa. As the only food that has all the essential amino acids, trace elements and vitamins while being gluten free, quinoa is highly promoted for eradicating hunger, malnutrition and poverty in different parts of the world.

All the foods at Mart 130 came in white plates that make the foods look appealing due to their hues. We observed a slightly different appearance for their beverages and desserts presented in eclectic flowery cups and plates.

A brunch would not be complete without desserts. On the menu we saw chocolate balls and yoyos, but the server encouraged us to come inside and see what cakes they have for the day.

We just had to restrain from ordering al the pies displayed: flourless orange cake, lemon curd tart, apple and rhubarb pie and cherry pie. We settled with cherry pie. The piecrust was slightly sweet mixed with sour cherry, sweet cream and strawberry. It was the best cherry pie we ever tasted.

Clarissa was right; we did not regret our Melbourne brunch and are now looking for our next spot. Brunch is indeed popular in Melbourne. The Urbanspoon listed 200-brunch spots in the central business district alone. There are even blogs dedicated to brunch reviews such as Brunchalot Brunch Blog and Brunch Addict.

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Images: Omar Niode Foundation