All posts tagged: restaurants

Red Spice QV

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Recently our We Know Melbourne team got to sample the new season’s menu at Red Spice QV (only 5 minutes walk from the Swanston and Welcome Hotels). Red Spice combines influences from locations as diverse as Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, Malaysia and Burma and pairs them with the flair and expertise of head Chef John McLeay. A delicious tray of lamb bao John was present at this exclusive tasting and helped to explain how he arrived at many of the creative dishes on display. Highlights of the new menu include the pulled lamb bao with coriander and house made mayonnaise. However our personal favourites were the prawn fritters with chilli jam on deep fried betel leaf. Amazingly tasty and refreshing! Where: Red Spice QV

House of Crabs is coming to Melbourne!

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Sydney favourite, House of Crabs is coming to Melbourne this month opening up in St Kilda’s Newmarket Hotel. It is a bibs on, eat with your hands, share-between-friends affair that pays tribute to American-style crab joints. The menu will be a blend of American style seafood – think Coney Island mixed with Louisiana –  choose from crabs, prawns and mussels with Cajun, Creole, Spicy Malay, Singapore and Lemon Pepper sauces. To round off the menu there’ll also be snacks like  Lobster Fries, Buttermilk chicken bits, soft shell tacos and fried chilli squid. If you’re after something more sizeable, cruise over to the grill and sample Caroline style chicken, St Louis pork ribs, Balmain Bugs, Scotch Fillet or a Whole baby snapper with a side of Smoked sausage, Edamame, ‘Sizzler’ cheese bread or Smashed corn with Dorito crumbs. The drinks list will also be southern style with New Orleans classics likeHurricanes, Peach Cobblers, Alabama Slammas and Blackberry Mint Juleps alongside a tight selection of very sinkable beers and Jersey Shore-esque (extra, extra large) frozen Margaritas. The …

Meat Fish Wine Tasting

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A couple of weeks ago the We Know Melbourne team were invited to taste the new menu at Meat Fish Wine. Located right in the heart of QV, next to their sister restaurant Red Spice QV, the restaurant and wine bar are known for their extensive wine collection (featuring over 500 wines) and top tasting dishes. The tasting was an intimate setting, sitting down on an outside table with a couple of other well known Melbourne foodies, including @topfoodmelbourne. Each dish that was brought out was given the rundown by Chef David Schofield, explaining the detail that went into cooking it to perfection.  Some of the dishes we got to try include: Cheese damper with bush tomato jam Wagyu Rump Cap, Roasted Shallot Puree Normally not a huge carnivore, we found the wagyu so tender and we couldn’t help go back for seconds. Snapper, Smoked Cauliflower, “Noir Cracker” & Sea Foam Char Grilled Brussel Sprouts, Lardo and Mustard Crumbs If you are still scarred from the way your Mum used to boil your brussel sprouts and make you …

Good Food Month

Battle of the Pans

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This November, two of the top Melbourne Foodie giants will battle it out for the ultimate foodie showdown for The Age Good Food Month. The two chefs will fire up the stoves and prepare their pans for the ultimate cook off at Melbourne’s Ms Collins with  Daniel Wilson (Huxtable)  on the Pan Asian flavours and Daniel Poyner cooking up the modern Australian flavours. Who will be your vote for the top dog? Snap up a ticket before they’re all gone. Get your tickets for $125 per person which includes  6 plates (2 mains + 1 dessert from each chef) plus matching wines! When: Tuesday 10 November Where: Ms Collins. Visit the website (and buy tickets here). 

Toko Melbourne

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Toko Melbourne opened last month, bringing some of Sydney’s finest dining to Melbourne. The Japanese Izakaya style restaurant/bar is a sleek, contemporary space situated on Greville Street, in amongst other Japanese eateries,  Aka Tombo and Mizu. Having been long-term lovers of Toko Sydney, we couldn’t wait to see if the Melbourne location would compare. Toko Melbourne makes it the fourth venture for restaurant founder Matt Yazbek and the freshness of the space and delicious flavours it delivers reflects this. The restaurant features an open kitchen where you can watch the sushi masters at work, a cocktail bar, outdoor drinking area plus the choice of regular table seating or tradition ground level seating on tatami floor mats. The menu is filled with dishes to share including seafood, skewers on the Robata grill, the fresher flavours of sashimi or tempura dishes. Some of the dishes we tried were the crispy soft-shell crab with wasabi mayonaise; smoked miso king salmon, house pickled ginger; wagyu beef gyoza, white soy mustard, shiso; and the sliced kingfish, yuzu and chives (our favourite …

Taste Festival

Taste of Melbourne (+ Win a Double Pass)

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Prepare your stomachs. Taste of Melbourne returns to Albert Park this November for four days of foodie heaven. The festival will host over 10 of Melbourne’s latest, greatest and hottest restaurants serving up 50 bite sized dishes all in one unique location. Create your dream tasting menu from restaurants including Gazi, Movida, Supernomal, Royal Mail Hotel, Circa and the Prince. As well as all the delicious food and drinks there’ll also be live entertainment,  new interactive culinary masterclasses and shops from boutique producers. This is one garden party on the Melbourne foodie and social calendar you don’t want to miss. When: 12-15 November Where: Pelican Lawn, Albert ParkAlbert Park, Visit the website here.  WIN 1 OF 5 DOUBLE PASSES TO TASTE OF MELBOURNE. ENTER BELOW Terms and conditions here.  Competition ends midday, 2 November 2015. This competition is now closed.  Exclusive offer for We Know Melbourne readers: 2 x General Entry tickets for $45* (Save $15**). Book general entry tickets through Ticketek and enter FOODIE in the promotional code box to save OR 2 x Platinum Passes …

Shadow Thieves

A Sicilian Shindig

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Two of Melbourne’s finest (and yummiest) Italian restaurants, Bar Idda and Ombra Salumi Bar have joined forces this September for ‘A Sicilian Shindig.’ The evening will be a big feast to celebrate Sicilian food and wine, including dishes such as rabbit, agro dulce, verdura; arancini – pork ragu, peas, mozzarella; and cassata siciliana. ‘A Sicilian Shinding’ will be the first event in the monthly Shadow Thieves series. Stay tuned for the other collaborations they have up their sleeves. Where: Ombra Salumi Bar, 76 Bourke Street Melbourne When: 7 September, 6:30pm. Cost: $75 per person with wine. Visit the website here. 

A Taste of Korea

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Head Chef Justin Lush shares his love for Korean food with a special menu of 8-dishes and authentic Korean sides – for 1 night only at Red Spice QV. Enjoy the aroma, colour, texture, temperature and variety on offer in Korean food with a taste of “Hunguk”! When: August 27, 6:30pm Cost:  $69pp for banquet or $99 for banquet with beer, wine & soft drinks included. Visit the website here. 

Meat Fish Wine

Are you game?

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This September, Meat Fish Wine are teaming up with Hopkins River Beef and Fowles Wine for a one night only event. Embark on a culinary journey exploring the differences between wild game and farmed meat through 6 delicious course tasting menu accompanied by matched wines. To top of the night, Meat Fish Wine Head Chef, Malcolm Wright and hunter gatherer Matt Fowles, from Fowles Wine will provide the entertainment, battling it out as they present the qualities of meat from the wild and the farm. When: 7pm,Thursday, September 6. Where: Meat Fish Wine, 31 Artemis Lane Cost: $125 pp. Find out more here. 

Red Spice Road

Red Spice Road

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Recently some of our We Know Melbourne team got to visit well known South East Asian restaurant Red Spice Road in McKillop Street. The first thing that strikes you about this place is that it is a large venue but cleverly divided into separate zones each with it’s own feel and style. The obvious starting point ti at the McKillop street bar where we enjoyed a nice glass of wine and probably the standout dish of the night being an amazing appetizer of spiced duck ball on a wafer of fresh, chilled watermelon. The duck was quite spicy but combined with the watermelon it was just right! We toured the other sections of the restaurant which included the appropriately named Long Room which is home to a couple of very long communal tables which are a signature feature of Red Spice Road to encourage the feeling of shared eating that the owners feel is central to the Asian dining experience. There’s also a courtyard, function rooms and the very stylish Lantern Room which featured some …