Author: We Know Melbourne

Are these Melbourne’s Best Dumplings?

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Tucked away down Market Lane lies one of Melbourne’s best dumpling restaurants, HuTong Dumpling Bar. With a cult following, HuTong Dumpling Bar first made it’s mark on the Melbourne dumpling scene back in 2008. Going from strength to strength, the dumpling bar still solidly books out on most nights which is a testament to just how delicious their dumplings are. With three levels of dining on offer, this restaurant offers everything from Shanghai street food to spicy Sichuan and northern China specialities. There’s an extensive menu with a range of dumplings, soups, seafood, local and seasonal dishes, including the fiery, red-hot oil dishes. The scalding Shao Long Bao meat and soup dumplings are a specialty and if you don’t already know the rules on how to eat this we suggest you follow this guide. We put our skills to the test last week following this guide and after a couple of failed attempts we think we nailed it. The textures of the dumpling itself was on point, slightly chewy but not tough. The pork inside was …

Australian Open 2017

Why we love the Australian Open

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Melbourne is known for being the sporting capital of Australia and with first the major sporting event of 2017 less than a couple of months away, we thought we’d share why the Australia Open is one of our favourite events on the sporting calendar. 1.   The Tennis It’s hard not to get wrapped up in the hype and electric atmosphere of the first grand slam of the year. Dating all the way back to 1905, the Australian Open was initially named the Australian Championship before changing it’s name to the Australian Open in 1905. Over the years we have seen so many tennis greats take to the courts including Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, the William Sisters, Pete Sampras Andy Murray and Martina Hingis. In the 2015 tournament, there was a record 14.3m unique visitors to the Australian Open grounds. 2. The Location When the Australian Open first started, the big players initially didn’t want to make the journey to the south side of the hemisphere due to the long travel times. However since the initial days, …

Royal Croquet Club

Royal Croquet Club Returns for Summer

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Melbourne’s favourite garden party returns to Birrarung Marr this December. Since it’s debut three years ago, the Royal Croquet Club has been summer favourite and has gone from strength to strength. This year there’ll be more of a focus on music with a killer lineup of musical acts including Dope Lemon (Angus Stone), Jarryd James, Hayden James, Aston Shuffle, KLP and Touch Sensitive. As usual, there’ll be plenty of croquet to be played, Pimm’s cups to be drunk and entertainment to keep you there well into the late hours of the evening. Adding to the festival fun, The Parlour a 70-seat pop-up theatre, will be set up to show acts from the Adelaide Fringe Festival, along with roving entertainment and street theatre. To keep you from going hungry, some of Melbourne’s most loved restaurants will be there including burgers from 8bit, barbequed skewers from Hoy Pinoy, smoked meats and sandwiches from Up In Smoke, and everyone’s favourite Gelato Messina will be returning  with their infamous soup tins filled with gelato. When: 8 December – 23 December Where: Birrarung Marr, …

Summer Menu at Nieuw Amsterdam

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Although Hardware Lane is a regular for many tourists to Melbourne, as locals our visits to this famous laneway in the recent years has been far and few between. However, it seems that just in the last couple of years, it has undergone a revival with the opening of many restaurants and cafes that we keep returning to. One such restaurant is Nieuw Amsterdam, located at the very top of Hardware Lane. A New York style bar and eatery, Nieuw Amsterdam is set over 2 levels with the light-filled restaurant on the top floor and the late night bar downstairs open till 5am. Having recently launched their new menu, the We Know Melbourne team went along to try it out.  We started off the evening with the Jammy Hendricks cocktail –  Hendrick’s Gin, Rose Liqueur, Lemon Cucumber Jam, with a splash of Prosecco – with perfect fresh summer flavours, this drink could easily be drunk on it’s own or complemented with some lighter dishes. For starters we had the Zucchini Flower Poppers, Chicken Nuggets and …

SEA LIFE Melbourne Aquarium – Win a Family Pass

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Located on the banks of the Yarra River, SEA LIFE Melbourne Aquarium is home to thousands of animals, including sharks, turtles, stingrays, sawfish, tropical fish and much, much more. Opening our eyes to the world underneath, from the depths of the ocean to the icy waters of Antarctica, the aquarium is a favourite for many, young and old. Walk underwater through the glass viewing tunnels and see Australia’s marine life like never before! Come within inches of huge sharks, rays and turtles and see some of the remarkable marine and freshwater animals that Australia is famous for. Children will have the opportunity to explore Finding Dory and Friends: The Experience, a world first aquarium exhibit, featuring magical moments from the box-office smash hit, Finding Dory.  Throughout the interactive journey, a Pipe Pals trail will guide and surprise with tales of amazing underwater animals, leading you into Dory’s Reef. Experience fun activities including, Ridin’ the EAC with Crush, Nemo’s Anemone Challenge, and using your own echo locator in Bailey’s Maze. If you’re more into sea birds, you’ll want to visit  the …

Juniperlooza 2016

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This year’s Juniperlooza was bigger and better than the 2015 festival, bringing together 20 different Australian and overseas boutique gins along the Yarra for two glorious sunshiny days dedicated to the love of lady gin. All of the regular favorites were there like Four Pillars, West Winds and Melbourne Gin Company, but this year they came with a few tricks up their sleeves to inspire and delight gin fans on the day, like Four Pillars and their recently released Christmas Gin (which tastes like Christmas) and the uniquely purple Ink Dry Gin by Husk Distillers which gets it colours from the delicate leaves of the Butterfly Pea flower and glows like a purple dream when mixed with tonic. Originally a rum distiller, Husk were just one of more than a few of the brands present that had their roots in rum, whiskey or otherwise, and had since decided to branch out into the world of gin. The absolute highlight for us was the Negroni Float from ever-popular favorites, Melbourne Gin Company. This drink proved to …

Big Design Market

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Australia’s much-loved and original design market, The  Big Design Market,  returns to Federation Square this December. The Melbourne Design Market The market will bring together the best of independent Australian and international design for 3 huge days of Christmas shopping! Discover a stellar line-up of over 230 stallholders across homewares, textiles, fashion, furniture, lighting, stationery, lifestyle & kids products. To keep you hydrated while shopping there’ll also be a cocktail bar with locally made drinks from Merricks General Wine Store, Sofi Spritz, Starward Whiskey plus specialty teas from Love Tea. As always, there’ll also be delicious food stalls from some of Melbourne’s finest including Earl Canteen, Misschu, Taco Truck and Beatbox Kitchen; craft beer from Moo Brew and Faire Ferments; coffee from Sensory Lab; and sweet treats from Gelato Messina, All Day Donuts and LuxBite. When: 2 December – 4 December Where: Royal Exhibition Building, 9 Nicholson St, Carlton Visit the website here.

Review: The Carnival of Lost Souls

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Sucked down a rabbit hole, into a dark, magical 19th century gothic circus, we attended the world premiere of The Carnival of Lost Souls last weekend in the perfect setting of the Melba Spiegeltent, Collingwood – and we loved it a little bit. The story itself was built around a tragic love triangle, a beautiful tortured soul gypsy lady, pined after by the unnoticed sad-faced clown, as she herself has already given her heart to a cold, philandering carnival ringmaster, but the real highlights here – were the detailed, Clockwork Butterfly designed Victorian costumes, the unbelievable balancing acts performed by dead-eyed hoodlums and lacey-panted ladies resurrected from a bygone era. The original score soundtrack was reminiscent of the sounds of Smashing Pumpkins as each act was broken up with songs performed by a mysterious guitar player in the wings and the two star crossed lovers in turn. If you are looking for a happy ending, you may not find it in this dark carnival of doomed deities, but if you like a ripping guitar riff, …