All posts filed under: Eat

Win: Tickets to the Italian Food Festival

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Thank you for your entries! This competition is now closed. More wine! More food! More Italians! More Fun! Everything that’s good about eating and drinking in Italy comes together under one roof in June with the second Melbourne Italian Wine + Food Festival. Just as the appeal of Italian food runs from street-style pizza-fun for the whole family to fresh-pasta finery for the connoisseur, the festival has food and drink, entertainment and information to suit everyone from spaghetti-loving kids to the most engaged Italian-speaking wine lover. Melbourne’s top Italian chefs are turning out in force to make it a day to remember, with much-loved locals Rosa Mitchell (Rosa’s Canteen) and Johnny di Francesco (400 Gradi) leading the charge. The teams from Melbourne’s favourite Italian restaurants (400 Gradi, Caterina’s Cucina e Bar, Trattoria Emilia, Bar Idda, Pasta Classica, La Bonta, Small Axe and Pasta Adagio among them) will be cooking up a storm in our pop-up restaurants, and there’ll be cooking demonstrations with chefs and providores on the Main Stage. Guests can taste over 200 Italian …

Good Beer Week is upon us

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Gather your steins, boots, and Granddad’s best mug, Good Beer Week is upon us again for another year from the 12th to the 21st of May. Filled with a brimming cornucopia of events, this year brings with it a variety of themed moments spread across Melbourne City, such as Beer School, Pint of Origin, Foodie and Good Times. Beer DeLuxe once again remains the heartbeat of the festival, with their prime location in Fed Square. Should you miss the festival’s opening party on the 12th, fear not: Beer DeLuxe are here to feed and water you in the best possible way. A six course-six beer night with a kiwi flavour (The country, of course – Liberty and Epic brewing from NZ fill your glasses), Palate to Plate menu offerings and Granddad’s Supper – The Boilermaker edition degustation on Saturday night are sure to tantalise. Should you be the discerning type and seek education with your ale, Good Beer Festival has you covered. Meet the founder of Sierra Nevada beer baron Ken Grossman on the Wednesday to chat about becoming …

Delight your Mum this Mother’s Day

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Your mum deserves a solid gold statue in her honour, and a thousand roses delivered fresh every day. Since that’s not usually in the budget, we’ve gathered some ideas in advance to treat Mum this Mother’s Day (Sunday 14th of May if you really need help) Let her pick her own present @ The Queen Victoria Markets Spend the morning strolling through the abundance of the Queen Vic, sampling some of Melbourne’s most delightful handmade skincare and homewares. Finish it off by picking up a fresh bouquet of mum’s favourite flowers. Where: The QVM can be found between Queen, Peel, Victoria and Franklin Street Discover more: Here Treat her to a lush lunch  @ The Swanston Hotel Enjoy a three hour buffet in the stylish surrounds of the Swanston Hotel, choosing from over 20 options including a seafood bar, carvery, cold and salad options and, of course, dessert. All mothers enjoy a glass of sparkling and a box of chocolates to make their day even more special. Where: 195 Swanston Street, CBD 3000 Discover more: …

Craft & Co pasta making workshop melbourne

Be a Pasta Master

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Where can you find a place to learn, eat and drink? At The Craft & Co workshop! We attended their pasta making class, and gosh did we love it. Don, the head chef of the restaurant teaches you step by step how to make the perfect pasta at home. This informative class also provides you a booklet which you can take home. On top of everything, the décor of the restaurant is rustic and earthy. The class is held just in front of a room where they brew beer. The class begins with Don explaining how to perfect your pasta from making the dough. He gives you time to ask as many questions as you desire. (Here is a small tip from Don if you are unsure how much flour you need for just two people – 300 grams will be plenty!) Don then shows you how to make different types of pasta – spaghetti, tortellini, ravioli and more. The best part of the class is that you get a hands-on session and actually make …

Soko – Abbotsford

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Soko is a high-end Japanese restaurant hide-out in Abbotsford where you can dine and be inspired by their beautiful, delicate plating and their Scandinavian-style décor. Spoil your taste buds with traditional Japanese dishes and delicious Malaysian fusion rice bowls. Soko is owned by two talented businessmen from Japan and Malaysia (hence the Malaysian fusion), which serves up mainly cold dishes like sashimi and sushi, plus Sinzuku ramen & craft beer. The chefs at Soko are all trained in Japan. Their sushi chef worked in Japan for 8 years and their ramen master has worked in Japan for 10, so the quality and taste is of the highest, traditional level. We recently visited Soko to check out their fabulous menu and fell in love with the intricate, artistic plating and relaxed, minimalist ambiance. Our favourite item of the menu was Soko’s Kingfish Carpaccio, which comes with kingfish sashimi, radish, cucumber, and a cucumber and wasabi sorbet. It was extremely refreshing and every mouthful was full of flavour, their inclusion of the cucumber and wasabi sorbet definitely …

Proud to Be a Chef Awards

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Do you love cheese as much as we do? Is dairy THE diet you can’t go without? Fonterra, a global co-operatively owned company which sources high-quality milk products recently hosted the annual Proud To Be A Chef Awards, and we were lucky to be invited to their gala dinner this year. The program has been running for 18 years and this year, with no surprise, was an amazing success for both Fonterra and the contestants. Each year, Fonterra Foodservice provide a not-to-be-missed opportunity for 30+ young and ambitious apprentice chefs to go on an incredible culinary experience. Giles Gabutina, the winner of Proud To Be A Chef 2017 is a young inspiring pastry chef based in Sydney. He got his first job in the kitchen when he was 16 and is keen to work hard to achieve his culinary dreams. In his own words “I hope to “bake” the world a better place by inspiring people to follow their dreams in the same way my inspirations have done for me.” And here he is today, not only the winner of Proud To Be A Chef …

Eat, drink, make & learn

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Are you passionate about coffee making? Is it pasta you crave at the end of your long day? Ever wanted to master your home made coffee brewing skills? Or is indulging in cheese one of your daily routines? The Craft & Co, a collective leaning centre in Collingwood offers classes in all of these areas and more for those with an interest in the culinary and arts. The Craft & Co works with local producers in Melbourne and offers classes ranging from salami making, pasta making, coffee cupping, brewing for beginners, cheese making,  learning why bees matter so much or exploring the magic behind craft distillation. All classes are $75, 3-hours long and including a tasting, one in-house brewing beverage, questionnaires and hands-on experience. If you are unsure what class you should take, you can even try out their free pasta or wine making demo class on Sundays to get a feel for the courses. Here is a sneak peak of what you get from the classes: Pasta Making: All attendees enjoy freshly made pasta, …

Free Asia Pop Courtyard

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Be a part of Asia TOPA (Asia-Pacific Triennial of Performing Arts) this February at the Immigration Museum. Every Friday evenings this February from 5pm – 9pm, the courtyard area will come to life with free Asia Pop, food, drinks and general fun. The event will feature DJ Japandaman and Sihouette d’Amore, The Pink Tiles, K-pop Melbourne dancers, a karaoke lounge and Kung Fu motion installation. The bonus, you can enter all of these exhibitions for free! Definitely a fun way to explore cultures from over 200 countries and be inspired by their stories at the Immigration Museum, and a great alternative to the usual Friday night drinks.             Where: 400 Flinders St, Melbourne VIC 3000 When: Friday evenings, this February from 5pm – 9pm More information: Check their website.

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 …

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 …