Halaya — Restaurant in Melbourne

Loving the new vibe and refreshed branding—modern yet still true to its roots. The Pork Adobo Rice Bowl was a standout: tender, juicy, and full of flavor. The pickled vegetables on the side added a refreshing balance, and the marinated soft-boiled egg tied the dish together beautifully.

The Corn and Squash Okoy is a fantastic vegetarian option (with poached egg). It’s a Filipino classic reimagined in a way that will appeal to a broader audience, especially local Aussies curious about Filipino cuisine.

As always, the drinks were top-notch—crafted by Kuya Elbert who is not only an amazing barista who but also a genuinely warm and welcoming host.

We also indulged in the Mocha Cake, which was incredibly moist, fluffy, and decadent. The flavor was spot on. There were several other cake options featuring Filipino flavors like ube and calamansi, each with a creative twist.

The venue offers both indoor and outdoor seating, and it's pet-friendly too—perfect for any kind of outing.

Highly recommended. A must-visit for anyone looking for a taste of the Philippines with a...

Lunch @Halaya.Melbourne for some Filipinio fare in a very relaxed and tranquil location on the edge of the city. There's casual outdoor seating as well as plenty of seating inside. I chose the Beef tapa rice bowl - pan fried soy garlic beef slices, pickled vegetables, garlic rice, adobo soft boiled egg. The beef takes on a delicious flavour with the way it has been marinated. Super tender with a hint of soy and a hint of crispy edges, this is really delicious. Along with the garlic rice, soft boiled egg, and pickled veggies, this makes for a satisfying meal.

I also eyed the display cabinet and couldn't help selecting the ube Basque cheesecake for takeaway. It stared at me at my desk back at work so when the munchies came, I was into it. Super super light, smooth, has the creamy center, an excellent representation of a Basque Cheesecake without being too cheesy. I thoroughly enjoyed it obtaining the lovely ube flavour.

#FilipinoFood #lunch #garlicrice #beeftapa #adobosoftboiledegg #ubeBasqueCheesecake #dessert #sweettooth #Foodie #melbournecbd...

This was only the second time that I gave a Filipino restaurant in Melbourne a go since I came here over 2 years ago. I was looking forward to all things ube so I went with a Vietnamese friend in tow. Loved the ube glaze/sauce on the scroll! This was the winner for me :) Ube flan roll (not sure what it’s called) was pretty nice too but flavor was overwhelmed by the ube sauce on the scroll. These were pretty much the good points, sadly. The scroll itself was not fluffy as I expected. Reminded me of neighborhood bakery bread quality back in PH so maybe that was what they were going for. We had the beef tapa and adobo bowl and they were underwhelming! Flavor was good but not enough to make me want to come back. Rice was wet and mushy, too. Ube latte was milky and laced with a very mild ube flavor. Friend’s dirty ube latte was a bit better. I was pretty much ube’d out after I finished, and not in a great way. I come from Pampanga in the Philippines and have high expectations on Filipino food, and this sadly was...