Taka is an indigenous-owned and native ingredient inspired gin that is fast gaining popularity. Native ingredients are a welcome infusion to gin alongside the normal gin botanicals, for a unique and exciting gin. Taka means “taste” in the Gunditjmara language.
Taka is unique in that not only does the gin feature native ingredients but the company is also indigenous-owned. We were sent a copy of the gin to experience, and we are highly impressed.
Red Pepper Indian restaurant is known for its authentic and affordable Indian dining, and it now offers a fabulous upstairs space for your next function, birthday, special occasion or dinner with a large group. Set in the desirable Parliament end of Bourke St, Red Pepper is a Melbourne institution.
With Modern Australian cuisine, a fusion of international flavours and a focus on fresh local produce, Industry Beans Chadstone is more than a coffee shop, it is a space for fine dining. We attended a fabulous degustation with paired wines at Industry Beans Chadstone, located in a desirable up market precinct of the shopping centre.
Finally, 22 July celebrates the opening of SOCIETY, restaurateur Chris Lucas' game-changing new restaurant with creative culinary partners Chef Martin Benn and Vicki Wild. Located at the prestigious landmark 80 Collins precinct in Melbourne, SOCIETY is three years in the making. The fated 2020 opening is finally realised and marks a new dawn in Melbourne. SOCIETY marks a shift in temperature for the city as we step into a future of reconnection and possibility.
The Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Awards will return in 2021 after a hiatus last year, with award winners - including the prestigious Restaurant of the Year - to be revealed at a glittering awards dinner on October 27 at Gimlet at Cavendish House in Melbourne.
Applications for the next Masterchef Australia series are open. Are you a budding amateur cook who would like to take your dream further? Are you indeed the next Masterchef? Masterchef Australia are looking for great amateur home cooks and foodies, who may want to learn more about food or take their life in a food-driven direction! Hope you’ve been enjoying this season!
Red Pepper Indian Restaurant in Bourke St Melbourne CBD is popular for its Indian street food Starters and snacks, as well as it's more expansive Thali lunches and Dinner Set Menu. We have highlighted the amazing Thali lunches and Dinner Set Menu at Red Pepper, and the Indian street food Starters and snacks also deserve special mention. Taste and texture, as well as aromas are to the fore, with Red Pepper bringing a truly sensory experience. Red Pepper offers a stunning range of both vegetarian and non-vegetarian Starter dishes.
Melbourne Good Food Month presented by Citi, supported by the City of Melbourne and Victorian Government, will safely continue this Winter, celebrating the very best of the capital’s dining for the eighth sensational year.
Due to recent Covid-19 restrictions, there have been some changes to this year’s programme which will no longer see Featured Events taking place. Good Food Month is committed to supporting the Melbourne dining scene and has worked with some of Melbourne’s best restaurants for Friends of Good Food Month.
Now in its 8th consecutive year, Truffle Melbourne, a seasonal festival that seeks to educate and celebrate all things truffle kicks off the truffle season with a two day free-to-enter festival at Queen Victoria Market on Saturday 10 (9am- 5pm) and Sunday 11 July (9am - 4pm).
Due to popular demand, this year’s festival, the largest truffle celebration outside of Europe, will be held in an expanded space in the J and K sheds of the market at the corner of Queen Street and Peel Street. Plus, the festival is held under cover to mitigate Melbourne’s variable weather and attendees can relax in the knowledge that strict Covid 19 safety measures are in place.
Chefgood is a healthy chef-made meal service delivered straight to your door! We have experienced several weeks of gifted hand crafted, calorie & portion controlled meals, containing no hidden sugars and that use only natural, fresh and seasonal local ingredients. Chefgood in-house nutritionists create the menus that change weekly offering 35+ new menu items every single week. Michelin trained Head Chef Tim leads the kitchen ensuring all our meals are extremely delicious and at the highest level of quality. Take advantage of our special code MELB50 for our readers to get $50 off (total) with Chefgood, $30 on their first box, and $20 off second box valid until 31 July.
Dumplings are a feature of the Melbourne dining scene, and there is no better exponent of the Xiao Long Bao (or XLB's for the dumpling educated) than newcomer Yulongfu on Bourke St. We were invited to experience this new dumpling and Chinese restaurant sensation.
QT Hotels has launched its own exclusive branded gin, Ordered Chaos Gin, in partnership with iconic Four Pillars Gin. We were invited to the launch dinner at QT Melbourne where "Ordered Chaos" was in play at every turn, featuring top notch entertainment, sensational gin cocktails, riotous flavour combinations, deconstructed dishes and highly smashable desserts. It was a case of “expect the unexpected” and having fun after lockdown.
Sometimes you just crave Butter Chicken, the ultimate creamy comfort food with a hit of spice. Ostensibly Butter Chicken is a curry of chicken in a spiced tomato, butter and cream sauce, and originates in India. Butter Chicken should be mild not too hot, and feature quality pieces of chicken cooked perfectly (not over or under cooked) in the tandoor, as well as compelling sauce. We have been searching for the Best Butter Chicken in Melbourne.
Vamos has hit the ground running as a fabulous Latin American restaurant and bar in Fitzroy. Vamos was born from the innate desire of four friends Iliana Hernandez (Mexican), Marcela Rodriguez (Colombian), Juan Ignacio Angel (Colombian) and Thomas Norwood (Australian) with diverse backgrounds in hospitality, music, and education, to showcase the best that Latin America and Spain have to offer in terms of food, drinks, live music and fun. After six successful years in the CBD the team has found a new home in the heart of Melbourne’s Latin quarter, Brunswick Street, Fitzroy. We were invited to sample the menu.
Bonny is a modern, moody, minimalist, and even mind-blowing bar of discovery that inspires locals and showcases cutting edge beer, natural wine and cocktails from around Melbourne and beyond. With regular exciting additions to the drinks menu, and a rotating kitchen featuring top chefs every 3 months, Bonny is always evolving and expressing itself in new ways. We were invited along to experience what is surely one of Melbourne's finest bars, and one of the most interesting. How about a Garage Project Fairy Bread White? Or an Architects of Wine Barbera (extraordinary)? Or Momokawa Junmai Sake? This is a bar that blows up beige, and releases the colour and nuance of fabulous drinking.
A Melbourne favourite The grand Dining Room is re-opening after lockdown. In more good news on Melbourne’s revival, The Grand Dining Room in Richmond will re-open on 12th May after closing last March for the first lockdown. One of the city’s favourite dining venues, the restaurant is known for its consistent quality, modern Italian cuisine and impeccable service. A restaurant that evokes many a fond memory with more chapters to be written.
Old Beijing is set to be the new home of Peking Duck, following a stunning launch in Artemis Lane QV Melbourne. The much anticipated Chinese restaurant opens in May, with proud owners declaring they will honour the best of local produce in bringing the largest Chinese restaurant to Melbourne. We were invited to the massive launch party at this stylish new Melbourne restaurant, “One Night in Beijing”, where we were able to sample the authentic Beijing food menu, enjoy delicious cocktails and lively entertainment, with many celebrities in attendance and a fun dress code of black and gold.
Gukbab Korean is a modern family-friendly Korean restaurant in the Melbourne CBD that has been impressing lovers of Korean food since 2011, and has now relaunched with Gukbab 2.0. Korean soul food at its finest in the Melbourne CBD. The relaunched Gukbab features a newly renovated restaurant with neon signage and stunning mural art, exciting new dishes, plus some of the classic signature dishes of the last 10 years. We were invited to lunch with media to experience Gukbab 2.0, hosted by Roslyn Foo and her team from Glamorazzi.
Prince Alfred Hotel in Church St Richmond is a local hero pub with a loyal following and plenty to offer, including top notch steaks and pub classics. We were invited along to experience the menu on a weeknight and were super impressed with the offering.
Julia Busuttil Nishimura (aka. Julia Ostro) is one of Australia’s most loved cooks, with her work celebrating simple ingredients, seasonal produce and the joys of coming together at the table. Providoor is giving you and your loved ones an opportunity to bring some of that joy to your own kitchen table, with Julia hosting an online masterclass on Sunday 23 May, alongside Chef Shane Delia.
Collingwood's latest neighbourhood bar and restaurant - Sixty Smith, is proving popular with locals with its relaxed modern dining. The restaurant is not just a smart foodie destination but something of a hub for locals with its community emphasis. We were invited to sample the menu and see what Sixty Smith is all about, and we were highly impressed. A personal and approachable experience with excellent service and interesting menu items divided between "graze" (sometimes that's what you feel like) and "gorge" featuring more substantial dishes.
Date night? Catch up with friends or family? Red Pepper Indian Restaurant in Bourke St Melbourne is serving up some serious Dinner Set menu options, elevating the authentic dishes of India. Since 2006 Jagjeet Kaur has been delighting Melbourne diners with her "take" on classic authentic dishes, mainly from North India, but also bringing diners a culinary journey across the whole nation. Red Pepper has also extended its opening hours on Fridays and Saturdays to 11pm. And the restaurant is open for both lunch and dinner on Mother's Day.
Overlooking the Fitzroy Gardens in East Melbourne, Italian all-day eatery Roccella has a commanding presence amongst locals. Initially opening in January 2020, not long before the world came to a halt, the restaurant credits its survival on this fiercely loyal community. We were invited to the Sicily themed Italian regional dinner at this modern Italian eatery in East Melbourne.