Mövenpick Hotel Melbourne

Stayed: Wednesday 14th December- Thursday 15th December

This blog post is in partnership with Mövenpick Hotel Melbourne and ALL- Accor Live Limitless

I finally had the chance to do a short stay-cay at Mövenpick Hotel Melbourne and loved it, so I thought I’d share my experience and all the things I did and loved whilst I was there in case you’re looking for a hotel to book in Melbourne.

About the Hotel: Mövenpick has a Swiss heritage dating back to the 1940’s and they’ve recently launched hotels in Australia, one in Hobart and this one in Melbourne. The hotel is premium, contemporary and funky with a strong focus on food and beverage. There's an award winning restaurant as well as quirky moments like a complementary chocolate hour everyday. Foodies would love this hotel but it’s also a good one for business travellers too with plenty of areas in the lobby and rooms to work from.

Location: 160 Spencer St, Melbourne VIC 3000. Mövenpick Melbourne is located on the corner of Spencer and Bourke Street in the CBD, right opposite Southern Cross Station. It’s in a great location if you don’t have a car, however there is underground parking onsite too at the back of the hotel if you’re coming in by car. It’s situated within the free tram zone with a stop right outside the hotel. This was the perfect base for me to run some errands in the city with everything in walking and tram distance.

Restaurant: Mövenpick has Miss Mi, an award winning Asian restaurant located on the ground floor of its hotel. With chef, Christian Corpus at the helm, the menu is a true journey through Asia highlighting dishes across different countries with authentic flavours but reimagined with modern techniques. I dined there for both lunch and dinner whilst I was there because the menu looked so good. 

Whilst the chilli crab and prawn dumplings and the kangaroo skewers are some of their signature and most popular dishes, here are some of the other dishes I tried that I loved:

Food

• The Roti-  I love roti and any form of bread for that matter and whilst this is a side dish, THIS for me was the absolute highlight dish. Why? Because it was a roti like no other that I have ever had. The roti at Miss Mi is this puffy pillow of flaky, crunchy and layered roti. It’s a deep fried unleavened bread very similar to Indian poori, but then it has the same flaky, soft and layered croissant-like texture of a roti canai, when you go to rip it open. For those who know Totti's in Sydney, it basically looks like their bread, but the Asian version, that is so much better in my opinion. I'll be back and just come here to order the roti with a cocktail as the perfect snack.

 

• Hiramasa Kingfish Sambal Matah, Davidson Plum, Seaweed- This is a very beautifully plated dish, but it is not just a pretty plate. A whole kingfish is cut into several pieces and then rolled with nori like a big sushi roll before being cross sectionally sliced, so what you get is a beautiful kingfish sushi roll sans the rice. Served with a fresh but fermented sambal and a Davidson plum sorbet which perfectly balances the fish. You have to toss it all up together first to coat the fish like a salad and then enjoy every bite.

• Yellow Fin Tuna, Tom Yum, Shiso- This was a beautiful starter. Chopped pieces of tuna are dressed in a tom yum sauce and then served on top of a fried shiso leaf as one bite. The texture is like a nori taco but with South East Asian flavours.

• Ikan Bakar- If you love fish, order the Ikan Bakar which is an Indonesian/Malay whole char grilled fish. At Miss Mi, a whole barramundi is grilled and served with a spicy sauce and plenty of fresh herbs. If you happen to be someone who is weary l of ordering a whole fish in fear of having to de-bone it etc, here the whole fish is already deboned for you to enjoy straight away.

• Chili Crab & Prawn Dumplings, Sea Vegetables, Yarra Valley Caviar- This is a signature dish of Miss Mi and a great way to start. A mix of crab and prawn is filled into wonton wrappers, steamed and then served with a silky and slightly spicy chilli sauce, and topped with Yarra Valley caviar and other pops of salty sour like warrigal greens.

• Mang Larry's Style Kangaroo Skewers, Mango Ensalada, Bagoong- There were delicious, flavourful and charry. These skewers are inspired by ones you’d get from Mang Larry, a famous street food skewer stall found inside a Manilla University, but for Christian's version he uses kangaroo and serves it with bangoong, a Filipino fermented fish sauce, and a salad of green mango, tomatoes and fresh herbs. I loved pulling the skewers off and tossing everything together like it’s a salad so that you get a bit of everything in each bite.

There is also an onsite bar right next to the restaurant where you can order drinks and snacks there or to the restaurant. Here are some of my highlight drinks:

Drinks

 

• Calamansi Smash- This would be my pick to order if you want to try a unique and refreshing cocktail. Calamansi is a sour small citrus that is used integral to Filipino cooking, it looks like a lime on the inside but an orange on the inside and taste similar to a kumquat. The cocktail is blended with white rum and palm sugar and tastes like a refreshing boozy juice.

• Miss Mi Martini- This is not a traditional martini by any means. The gin is a bespoke gin made for Miss Mi made by Little Lon Distillery Co with savoury and spicy Asian flavours, the martini itself more citrusy and diluted more like a gimlet and served with a theatrical smoke bubble of rosemary. A good one to start the meal with to kick things off.

• Want to order a wine? I went for the 2020 Gruner Veltliner by the glass which goes really nicely with all of the bold and spicy flavours in the food.

Chocolate Hour: What’s this you say? So, every afternoon between 4:30-5:30pm, the hotel puts on a little chocolate hour for guests, where they have an assortment of chocolate treats in the lobby for guests to enjoy. They also have a signature parfait on offer that you can order during this time for $20. I ordered it and currently it’s Christmas themed complete with gold reindeer, little gingerbread people and candy canes, it’s definitely one for the chocolate lovers. A very decadent and indulgent afternoon treat, ideally shared between two.

Facilities: There’s an outdoor pool, hot tub and sauna (open from 6am-10pm daily and a gym (24 hours) and located on the 3rd floor. I headed there in the afternoon to do some emails as they have some lounges next to the pool and I also popped into the spa in the morning before breakfast. A must do whilst you’re staying there.

Loyalty Program: Mövenpick Hotels are part of ALL- Accor Live Limitless, so if you’re a member you can earn points for your stay to go towards your next stay within the group. For the uninitiated.  ALL – Accor Live Limitless is a free lifestyle loyalty programme and booking platform that allows you to live limitless with spectacular destinations and rewards all in one place. As a member of ALL, you can experience the Mövenpick brand and many others with exclusive privileges, spanning entertainment, dining, and other premium rewards.