Melbourne Donut Festival and Queen Victoria Market
Location: Queen Victoria Market, Melbourne, Australia
Dates: Melbourne Donut Festival, October 17 and 18, 2026
Featured Items: Demochi Matcha Mochi Donut ($5.50), Shortstop+ Australian Honey and Sea Salt Cruller ($7.50), Manny's Doughnuts Hot Jam Donut ($3.50), Gourmet Pies Traditional Plain Pie and Chunky Beef Pie ($19.50 for both)
Note: All prices are in AUD.
Verdict: The Shortstop+ cruller is the surprise winner, the demochi mochi donut is wonderfully chewy, and the chunky beef pie beats the traditional one.
We landed in Melbourne about 11 minutes earlier than expected. Yay! After some trouble with the passport machine, a second queue at another machine, and a very confusing line-up for customs and immigration, we grabbed an Uber straight to our hotel.
When I was planning this trip, I knew I wanted to visit Queen Victoria Market, and their website was promoting the Melbourne Donut Festival on October 17 and 18. I shared it with a few people in the office, and one colleague said he would check with his wife, but they would mostly go on the Saturday. I told him I couldn't be sure, because I didn't know if we could check in early and freshen up in time.
Thank God for early check-in and an available room. We were ready at exactly 9:00 AM and managed to meet them on the way to Queen Victoria Market.
Demochi Donut Bar: Matcha Mochi Donut
Our first donut was from demochi donut bar. Yes, our first bite of food in Australia was a chewy Japanese matcha mochi donut ($5.50), and it was so good. It's perfectly chewy, with a balance of sweet glaze (not a strong matcha flavour, though) and the savoury, fried mochi texture.
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| Demochi matcha mochi donut: chewy, glazed and our first bite in Australia. |
Shortstop+: Australian Honey and Sea Salt Cruller
Next stop was Shortstop+. I let hubby pick, and he went for the golden Australian Honey and Sea Salt cruller ($7.50). I have never had a donut this oily in a good way. It's not overly sweet, and it's super moist and delicious.
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| Shortstop+ Australian Honey and Sea Salt cruller: oily in the best way. |
Manny's Doughnuts: Hot Jam Donut
Our last donut stop was Manny's Doughnuts, because they had what looked like a hot jam donut ($3.50). It's a pillowy, sugar-coated donut filled with sweet jam, and it was good. I just don't think it's as good as the one I had two years ago, which you can read about in my hot jam donuts post.
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| Manny's hot jam donut: pillowy and sugar-coated, but not as good as two years ago. |
Gourmet Pies at Queen Victoria Market
We ended our day at Queen Victoria Market with Gourmet Pies. Of course, my husband's first day in Australia meant a bite of a classic Traditional Plain Aussie pie, while I went for the hearty Chunky Beef pie, as recommended by colleagues. They were right: the chunky beef is the better of the two. Both pies were $19.50 in total.
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| Traditional plain Aussie pie: a classic first bite for a first-timer. |
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| Chunky beef pie: tender beef in rich gravy, the clear winner. |
All prices are in AUD. It's so fun to be welcomed by colleagues turned friends. Thank you, Lord, for sending us angels today.
Have you been to the Melbourne Donut Festival or Queen Victoria Market? Which donut would you line up for first? Let me know in the comments!
So Far on This Trip:
- Joe & The Juice at YVR Airport (Terminal E)
- Pret A Manger at LAX (Tom Bradley Terminal)
- P.F. Chang's at LAX (Tom Bradley Terminal)
- Qantas Economy Inflight Meals, QF 94 LAX to Melbourne
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