Our accommodation for the next two nights, the newly-refurbished Leo Pacific, was too far to walk at that hour, so we took the free Hotel Shuttle from Southern Cross, finding in the process that we were the first passengers our driver had delivered there.
Little Bourke Street a block and a half from Chinatown might be convenient in all sorts of ways but, as the driver pointed out as he pulled up on the doorstep, it isn’t the greatest option for shuttle buses, which explains the decision to hoof it to Southern Cross two mornings later.
Regardless of delayed arrivals, once we’d checked in proximity to Chinatown made it easy to find something to eat, though I’d have preferred it if Madam had chosen somewhere licensed.
Still, I thought, there was a bottle shop en route on the way back so I could drop in there if necessary.
Of course, when the time came, it was shut, prompting a decision that for the rest of the trip I wasn’t eating anywhere that didn’t have a wine list.
Which is not to suggest I was looking for wine with breakfast at the Cafe Segovia the next morning, or at Knife Fork Bottle & Cork on Wednesday morning, but the option was there.
I’d be more than happy to return to either establishment in the future, but there are plenty of other options to explore in Melbourne’s inner-city laneways.