Dandenong Market

I travel here twice a week to buy all my fresh produce and visit my fish monger (Schwarze Seafoods). They have the freshest seafood in VIC that I have found. It is cash only, so make sure you go prepared. If you forgot to get cash out prior, there are three ATMs on site.
The food at the market boasts; Sri Lankan, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, and Turkish cuisine, just to name a few. My favorite on the go lunch is the Turkish falafel, individually sold for .70c each.
If you are a fan of hot jam donuts, the ones at this market are outstanding and highly addictive. You can’t stop at one!
If you are looking for value AND freshness, nothing beats the markets. Aldi is great for value, but food from the growers is next none. Also, you can grab some great deals like an entire box of mangos for $ 20 or fresh herbs for half the price of Coles and Woolworths.
Parking is plentiful, and as of 2016 we haven’t had to pay for parking, you just mind the time restrictions posted at the entrance.
Open: TUES/​FRI/​SAT/​SUN

I absolutely love shopping here. A few booths sell items at very low prices. I bought some greeting cards for $ 1.50 each, and I got scarves and gloves for very cheap. For some booths, the prices aren’t as low here as they are at nearby thrift stores, but there are many friendly and helpful vendors here. I bought some of the cutest and warmest jumpers (sweaters) for $ 25 each. Currently the outfit I’m wearing is 75% compiled from clothes I bought from this market.
Come during lunch hour and watch a cooking demonstration. At the end, you walk away with delicious fresh free food. They also have a wonderful variety of cuisine from around the world to buy here. On my first trip, I bought Mauritian food, which cost less than $ 5 for two items.
Other than clothes and food, you can find electronic accessories, jewelry, toys, movies, and various other items. I bought my auntie some lovely natural soaps from here.
Just make sure you have enough cash before hitting the shopping stalls. Some places will accept cards, but not all. There are a few ATM’s in the market if you need to withdraw cash.

Love the wide range of choices here and the attractive prices. Best of all, it isn’t hip (yet?), so you can get a cheap park (easily) and not get ripped off. Today they had a new taco stand in the food court area that blew me away. Authentic hand made soft tortilla shells, cooked onsite, with beautifully fresh avocado and salsa that just exploded in the mouth with flavour without burning your lips off. I’m going back for more. My other favourite food here in the food court is the gozleme: lamb and fetta, sliced and dripping in lemon juice. Mmmm. And yes, the maymax donuts, made fresh and dripping in jam are great — if you don’t have to count your sugar intake that is. I miss those days!

There’s a lot to like about markets and this one is no exception. That said, it’s not all that different to any other. It’s got the same fruit and veg, bric-​à-​brac, and other stalls that they all have.
I wouldn’t go out of my way to go here but if you’re a local it’s worth it.

Lets just face it, we have all been confused by the names and kinds of spices those curry recipe’s demand from us. Luckily Dandenong market has a lot of merchants who knows and have all the spices any recipe could ever want.
There are products in this marketplace representing continents and country’s from all over the world such as the Indian subcontinent, Afghan, Russian, Europeans, Asian and African, which is reflective of the environment in which it is located as people from all over the world lives here in this part of Melbourne.
There are also the usual, dairy, delicatessen, fresh locally and foreign imported vegetables, and who can have a market without the Gozleme, Kebabs, hot jam donuts and all those other fast foods.

It was only a quick trip this morning on my way into work after my team requested Hot Jam donuts for breakfast.
I haven’t been to the Dandenon Market in a very long time and definetly never at 8am, it looked great, stands opening up and the fresh fruit and veg was so tempting but, I was on a mission.
I had been given strict instructions, and they’d even drawn a little map for me. I was heading in and on the lookout for a purple van with yellow writing that was selling donuts. I spotted it right away (between the souvas and the bureks) and made my way over. Well, there was already a queue at 8am, for donuts?
I now understand why. This is not an ordinary donut van that orders in boxes of pre-​made donuts from some giant supplier, these donuts are hand made and the jam is pumped in while you watch, and they are delicious.
Next time, I plan to order DOUBLE jam!

After many trips to Queen Vic Market I finally made it out to Dandenong market. I felt like I was in a different country or on holiday. I was surprised I had never been to this hustling and bustling complex.
As far as ambiance and selection, it’s no QVM however the prices are quite a bit cheaper.
Filled with locals doing their weekly shop it is quite hectic. I probably won’t go there each week but would consider going again for some cheap meat.

For a market that’s only open a few days a week, Dandenong Market sure gathers a lot of consumer attention.
It’s probably because they’re cheap, great value for money, and sell some of the biggest oranges you’ve ever seen in your entire life. Seriously, one orange was the size of my face. Ridiculous.
It’s very crowded, but good for a cheap and cheerful weekly food shop. If you’re uncomfortable with Dandenong, take a friend (yes, it is a bit of a rough area, and here is no exception). While you’re there, try the doughnuts from the doughnut van. There’s just something about them — once I was there and overheard someone saying he’d made the trip down especially for them.
Be careful in summer, it’s a warehouse with no air-​conditioning.