All posts filed under: Eat

Emerson Rooftop

Winter in Asia – Emerson Rooftop

This winter, escape to an Asian winter wonderland at  The Emerson Rooftop’s ‘Winter in Asia’ series. Strung with festive paper lanterns, blossoms, floral arrangements, fans and silk drapes, you’d be forgiven for thinking you’re in an Asian paradise, except without the jetlag. Collaborating with the beautiful Susie Wong, the Winter in Asia series will offer diners an array of delicious south-east Asian and Japanese bites in place of  the regular Emerson menu. Susie Wong owner and chef Peter Capurso have designed a menu of delectable dumplings, rice paper rolls, banh mi and teppanyaki skewers to warm heat-seekers up from the inside out. Standout dishes include soft shell crab banh mi with yuzu mayo or chicken, prawn and crispy five spice pork belly with caramel, apple and radish salad. If you’ve got more of sweet tooth, you won’t want to miss Susie’s bitter chocolate cardamon fondant with vanilla bean ice cream and mandarin dust. Up for a foodie challenge?  Take part in  ‘Dump DV Challenge’ every Thursday and see how many dumplings you can smash in 2 minutes. …

Supernormal Welcomes Chef Perry to the Kitchen

This month, Supernormal welcomed a new Head Chef to the kitchen,  Perry Schagen, bringing with him years of culinary experience. Formerly Executive Chef at the Graham in Port Melbourne, Schagen has a long-standing friendship with Andrew McConnell, having worked together at Circa the Prince. Perry has introduced some delicious new additions to the winter menu, which we can’t wait to try! We took a few minutes to chat with Perry about his background, inspiration and favourite winter foods. Can you tell us a bit about your background and your journey to becoming the new head chef at Supernormal? Originally from Perth, I moved to Melbourne in 2000 and since have worked at Circa, Taxi Dining Room and a stint at The Graham before taking a few months off to wait for the right job to come along.  Throughout the years has your inspiration and influences changed with your approach to food? Yes, 15 years ago fine dining consisted of overworked food and luxury ingredients. Now I prefer to work with simple, super fresh, seasonal, local produce as …

A Day Trip to Merrick’s Creek Winery

When it comes to wines regions in Victoria, we are certainly spoilt for choice. Drive an hour east and you’ll be in the heart of Healesville, drive an hour north and you’ll be in the Macedon Ranges or drive an hour south and reach the famous Mornington Peninsula. Last Sunday, we took a drive along the coast to Mornington. Our destination? The recently opened, Merrick’s Creek. Recognised for their award winning Mornington Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, Merrick’s Creek opened earlier this year, and is a family run affair with Peter Parker, a Clinical Psychologist who’s in charge of bottling the delicious grapes and his friendly son, Sam bringing his knowledgeable, attentive service to the table. The cellar door is beautifully set right next to the vineyard and the space feels intimate and cosy, almost like you’re walking into an old friend’s home, complete with an open air patio and fireplace. Perfect for a cooler winter’s day. There was no air of pretension at this winery,  just a humble and inviting cellar door with incredible views. Upon …

European Night Market

If you’ve ever travelled through Europe in winter, there’s no doubt that you’ll always tell your friends back home about the outdoor winter markets that they do so well! This year, you can save yourself the cost of the plane ticket as Madame Brussels Lane turns into an European Night Market for four Friday nights starting on July 18. Inspired by the markets in Germany and Switzerland, the European Night Market will be filled with  rich European spiced aromas of mulled wine, German sausages, freshly baked pretzels and live music. Treat yourself to delicious Polish dumplings, French crepes, scumptious Flammkuchen, melting fondue cheese plus so much more. There’ll also be a German Beer Garden with ales, Italian aperitivos and mulled wine to get you into the winter spirit. When: 5pm-10pm Fridays, July 2 – August 12. Where: Madame Brussels Lane Directions: Madame Brussels Lane is a 10 minute walk from The Swanston Hotel and Mercure Welcome Melbourne. Visit the European Night Market website.  Want to find out more about what’s happening in Melbourne? Sign up to the We Know Melbourne mailing …

A Breakfast with a Difference – Long St Coffee

We first discovered Long St Coffee through their Instagram feed, a beautifully curated feed of breakfast dishes mixed with smiley happy faces. Upon clicking on to the website we discovered that the cafe not only dished up delicious food and coffee but also did so to make a difference. “Long St Coffee is a social enterprise that provides 3-month hospitality traineeships to young people seeking asylum and refugees in order to improve their employment prospects.” The cafe first opened over a year ago now and was founded by husband and wife baristas Francois and Jane Marx. Housed in a converted garage space on a quiet residential street, Long Street Coffee is  just a short walk  from the North Richmond Station. The Saturday morning that we were there, we had no problems finding  a seat, but got busier as the morning progressed. The space feels like you have walked into a good friend’s living room  (with a great hip-hop soundtrack) where you are happy to catch up over coffee and breakfast without the need to rush …

Tromba Tequila Dinner at Red Spice Road

If your only memory of tequila is slamming it down with salt and lime, this July your thoughts about tequila are set to change. On July 24th, Red Spice Road are teaming up with Tequila Tromba  to bring you a Tequila Tromba Dinner. Sip on a delicious range of Tromba Tequilas cocktails perfectly married to the fresh south-east asian flavours cooked up by Head Chef Dylan McCormack. When: Thursday, July 21. Where: Red Spice Road. Visit the website here.

A Taste of Portugal

Coinciding with the Portugese National Day, A Taste of Portugal celebrates Portugese culture with a showcase of Portugese cuisine, music, dance, history, language and tourism. Savour a Portugese custard tart, purchase colourful ceramics, jewellery or handbags, dance to Brazillian rhythms, listen to traditional Fado singers and learn about the tourism spots of Portugal. When: June 12 Where: Queen Vic Markets Visit the website here. 

Good Food & Wine Show

Celebrate the best in food and beverage that Australia has to offer at Good Food & Wine Show. With hundreds of local and international exhibitors, your new favourite food and drinks are only a sample away. Whether you’re into sweet or savoury, beer or wine, there’s something for everyone. Enjoy a cooking show from high-profile chefs such as Colin Fassnidge, Matt Moran, Alastair McLeond plus more or see local and interstate chefs and restaurateurs cook three-course meals and provide hints and tips to recreate at home. There’ll be over 200 local and international exhibitors including 400 Gradi, Della Rosa Fresh Foods, Hawkers Beer, Maggie Beer and Melbourne Martini. When: 3- 5 June 2016 Where: Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre Visit the Good Food & Wine Show website.    

Melbourne Chilli Festival

Set your taste-buds on fire at The Melbourne Chilli Festival on Saturday 4 June and help raise funds for the Prahran Mission. Think you can handle the spice? Take part in the chilli eating competition with 5 competitions held with 5 contestants each. The winner will be determined by the fastest time out of all the winners in total. Contestants must eat 12 x chicken wings marinated in the world’s hottest chilli extract, in 5 minutes or less. The chilli extract has a scoville reading (unit for measurement of heat) of 9.1 million. To put that into perspective a fresh jalapeno has a scoville reading of just 2,000. The hottest Melbourne food trucks will be also there on the night including Dos Diablos, Billy Van Creamy, Soul Kitchen Pizza , Little Mushroom Co and Hobba . All trucks will have a chilli element in addition to their existing menu. Entry by gold coin donation When: Saturday 4 June Where: 424 Malvern Road, Prahran Visit the Melbourne Chilli Festival website.  

The Winter Night Markets are back!

Everyone’s favourite night markets are returning this June. Grab a group of friends and cosy up under the market sheds for The Winter Night Markets with Melbourne’s hottest foodies, artisans and performers. This winter there’ll be over 30 street vendors including the likes of 400 Gradi, The Brass Coq, MJR TOM plus more.  Enjoy the evening next with a mulled wine in hand next to the  crackling fires, plus a revolving line-up of entertainers and live music to make it the perfect mid-week winter night out. When: Wednesdays, June 1 – August 2016 Where: Queen Vic Markets Visit the Winter Night Markets website.