Shop. @ Emporium Melbourne

287 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne CBD 3000
Website for latest news : http://www.emporiummelbourne.com.au/

The long awaited opening of Emporium Melbourne is finally here.   I have fond memories of the majestic Myer Emporium building as a little girl.   It is a beautiful building and I was excited to see this grand old Dame of Melbourne transform into a world class shopping Mall, yet still maintain it's charm and class.

I've visited Emproium twice since it's opening last Wednesday (16th April), once on Thursday, with Mini Me and Macaron Monster, and again on Easter Saturday with Hubby and the whole gang.  My first thought as I walked through the entrance from Lonsdale Street was that it felt like Westfield Sydney, which I really like as a modern, city shopping mall.  It is spacious, modern, and well, interesting looking, and felt like one of the shiny malls from overseas. 

The first shop I headed to was Uniqlo.  The much anticipated arrival of this famous Japanese affordable casual wear giant has stirred up much excitement  as it opens its first Australian Flagship store which spans 4 floors of retail space!  Some of the staff have been flown in from overseas Uniqlo stores to assist the local staff who have been in training for months to deliver the service that Uniqlo customers are used to.  There were lots of customers on Thursday, but the cashier and changeroom queues both moved quickly, and I actually like their policy during opening of only letting you try on 3 items, before you have to line up again.  On Saturday there was a long queue to get in the store, but again it moved quickly and we lined up for less than 5 minutes.  Most of their items were under $100, with jeans under $60 and most tops and shirts under $50.  I got some really comfy stretchy jeans and a cute jacket for work and it didn't break the bank (or my husband!)  I also got a couple of cute UT t-shirts for the kids which were $9.90 on special (usually $12.9) but even at full price they are good quality t-shirts and cheaper than Target!  If you're not in Melbourne you can now shop online at the Uniqlo website.

Next up we headed to Muji.  It's no secret I love Muji!  Their philosophy of unbranded, simple but well designed and good quality products has always been a favourite of mine.  This is their second store (their first opened in Chadstone last year) and they carry similar lines of homewares, clothing, stationery, kitchenware and storage.  I do hope they start carrying the large range of food items that Muji sells in their overseas stores!

The kids had a blast personalising their B5 notebooks with the stamps available in store.  At $3.95 each these were a good little treat for their patience with all the lining up that we did.

Then off for a spot of lunch.  The "Cafe Court" is no ordinary food court, and boasts many well loved foodie eateries including Earl Canteen, Esteller, Top Juice Cha Time, South Melbourne Dim Sims, Rice Workshop and Bingboy amongst others which are still to open.  

We shared "The Pork Belly" ($13.5) from EARL, the third branch of the Original EARL Canteen at 500 Bourke.  The pork is comforting and delish with a great bit of crispy crackling.  We also had the "Meatballs" ($11.5) , with really tasty meatballs and melted Jarlsberg cheese, tomato sugo, zucchini pickles and basil.  

As a side we had the Crispy Fried Potatoes ($4) with tomoato relish ($1).   This was obviously a hit with the kids (and the adults too!)  We also had a giant chocolate chip cookie ($2.5), a Lime Coconut Biscuit ($2.5) and a beautiful strawberries-topped honey panna cotta ($6) for sweets.  (Sorry there's no photos I think Bubs deleted them whilst playing with my phone!)  In particular I loved the lime coconut biscuit and had to make some myself the next day!

The kids have never tried a South Melbourne Dim Sim so we got one whilst the line was short.  At $2 each they were selling like hot cakes.  They only had steamed ones on Thursday but by Saturday 2 giant woks full of fried dim sims were selling like the proverbial hot cakes.

A quick wander around the basement level revealed more shops like the first Zoo York store, a Mr Simple store and The Face Shop which is a Korean Beauty shop.  There are also a few more eateries including the newly relocated Ramen Ya and Botica, an espresso bar.

Many of the shops are still yet to open over the coming weeks and months including Victoria Secret.  Top Shop and Nespresso are opening in the next couple of weeks.  The Cafe Court will also have an official opening with Becasse Bakery and Charlie & Co. Burgers (yay for Parmesan and truffle fries!) and also Jimmy Grants setting up an outpost here in May.

The Emporium feels like a piece of the missing puzzle piece which is finally in place.  Its location conveniently links up the shopping precinct nicely, with bridge walkways through to Melbourne Central to the North and the Myer Store (and Bourke Street Mall) to the South.  I love that Melbourne comfortably boasts a mix of global brands and large shopping malls, as well as our charming lane ways and little hidden shops and cafes.  This is the Melbourne I love!