There is a soup place on Degraves about halfway along, looks pretty good - big massive pots of the stuff!

er, if you're near degraves then you don't shouldn't really have a problem.

I go to Collins Place , 45 Collins St.
The Bourke st. Food court.
or this Japanise gaff on little collins.
All of em kick ass.

Have you got soup?

Why didn't I get any soup?

when I was working as a chef up until recently I could eat whatever the hell I wanted. resulting in me being a great big hambeast. thank fuck I have gone back to being a poor, starving student.

MMMMMMM Hambeast, might have that for lunch!

degraves is overpriced and ordinary.

china bar?

trust you to bring up fucking china bar, fuzz. however, I think it's more suitable for late night/early morning drunken rampages. which usually result in me passing out face down in my vegan dumplings.

yes, boots, i can't work out what's meant to be so good about it, either, but what are the other options?

besides sooking on the internet, like i'm doing now.

i thought degraves would be good, just looking for recommendations. i'm not really near there, but if i have to go up i will.

just heard about somewhere on centre place that's meant to be really good. might go there and see if its the same one you're talking about jp!

could be worse, you could be in mulgrave.

chinatown is probably best, if asian food is your cup of tea. so to speak. a lot of people I know swear by curry lobby (cnr of collins and swanston, in the arcade). the press club do lunch specials which are hard to beat if you have the time (and cash) to spare.

i usually buy a baguette and doughnut from next door to where toxic used to be, on degraves st. they're pretty alright

jungle juice usually has soup, or journal.. more of the western variety if that is what you're looking for.

Soup van, St Paul's Cathedral

poor anonymous :(

oh, i'm not in mulgrave now, but worked out there previously, the cbd's the promised land in comparison.

oh i didnt think so. im in sth melb. the walk over the bridge is going to kill me today.

Mangrove Jacks on Little Collins St.

veg tea house at the Buddist Gallery on Queen cnr Colin rocks!

Thanks for introducing me to Mint Chip chocolate, skits. I took a block to my jam last night and it was a hit!

you should try the dove mint choc, frankie. it's even better!

basekamp cafe on little bourke st between hardware lane and queen st. al and amanda are the best. dench bakery bread and good ingredients and everything.

I've quite recently started working in Bourke St, between Russell/Swanston Sts.
I need some extra-quick lunch suggestions, please. And yes, I have read (and made excruciatingly detailed notes on) all the above.

I work continuously, active and non-sedentry, and I get hungry. Lunch is my main meal of the day. BUT I only get an inhumane half hour lunch break (plus 2 x 10-min tea-breaks) and sometimes I work late meaning I may not get a break til 5-ish.
If I haven't brought anything with me (and believe me I've made do with very little) I have to rush out for something quick and very close and race back/scoff on the hoof so as not to overshoot my allocated time. I don't do KFC/Maccas/Subway (though I did stoop to a HJ burger the other day in desperation), I'm not filthy rich (to put it mildly), and unfortunately I tend to blow up if I get too many unbalanced carbs (darn you well-insulated cold-climate ancestor genes!), something I'd ideally like to avoid if possible.

Yes, I know one should prepare tofu-watercress mountainbread wraps the night before, but sometimes one just didn't, for whatever reason. The other day with $12 in my pocket I did a (quick) circuit of the block determined to get a decent feed; I settled for a deep-fried curry wrap - tasty, fairly cheap, but not terribly filling/nutritious. On another occasion I came back with just a Gloria Jean's muffin. Ditto. I haven't really had a chance to do much exploring further afield, but there must be other options.

Do any of you savvy city-travaillers have any suggestions for somewhere close/very quick - and moderately healthy/cheapish as a secondary consideration... that ISN'T BreadTop (or similar)? I'm sure there are scores of local hidden culinary gems waiting for my quick custom and hard-earned cash-ola. I'm getting desperate!

(bump: gotta buy lunch/dinner tomorrow)

Kimurakan in Chinatown it's on the corner where the gaylords/section 8 is. Go for the bento box. about 11 bucks but comes with a miso and a drink. however i'm not so sure how quick you are wanting.

the arcade next to Target has a cheap sandwich bar, alternatively there are a bunch of sushi places around there where you can get 2 rolls for $5.

Lady I R, 10 min get out of the building and walk there, 10 min get served & pay, 10 min walk back scoffing all the way = all my break.

I worked in town about a decade ago at a similar place in a similar location, and I remember actually SITTING down for lunches: Pellegrini's, Spaghetti Tree, that health food place underneath Nauru House (yummy chickpea salad)... all a happy memory now.

One of my co-workers would get those trying to woo her business to take her to Florentino's for lunch.

the asian bbq place in the target arcade is yummy and cheap. the first one, one the bourke st side of the arcade.

Didn't read most of the old posts but have you tried Estella 77 or Don Don on Swanston st near the library? They are both pretty tasty and cheap, probably couldn't eat there more than once a week though.

don don on little lonsdale is better. between queen and eliz i think.

cheapest sandwiches in melbourne. eatz & treatz on smith street. can get one for under $3.

Kez... ok 30 mins does suck i recall having 30 min lunches. definitely not much time when ordering out.
Kimurakan is perhaps not the place to go as sitting down is the funs at that place. Don Don is a go though. I'd second that but it's a further walk.

I'll have to get a razor scooter.

Shame we don't live in India.

Been seeing dudes on bikes riding round the CBD starting the tiffin trend in Melbourne recently

That's why I'm so annoyed that Herbie's went under:
http://www.messandnoise.com/discussions/342977

That thread read like a novel where you get to know and care about the characters you want to meet in person (7 veg salad... awwww....) only to have them all wiped out by a landslide on the last page.

I'll give the Tiffin dudes a try too (although I don't have a reception at my work and it's a pretty busy place, especially at 'lunch' time ie when other people have lunch).

I have reverted back to what I used to do at my old job, not only to save time but money.

Just take your one margarine into work then head down to wherever you can. Buy two rolls, some ham, some cheese and a small salad or something along those lines and you have a lunch meal for a few dollars. Alternatively you can just take it all to work in the morning.

Or make your lunch the night before.

Or just take a longer lunch break and tell them all to eat shit.

''Or just take a longer lunch break and tell them all to eat shit.''
(smiles at the thought...)

I am meant to have half an hour but I have been destroying the shit out time lately. No rules NO RULES

Today I bought

2 x round rolls from brumbies - $1.40

Pastrami - 88c

Cheddar cheese - 57c

Mixed salad - 37c

Can of coke - $1.40

Lunch for nothing.