Hot off the press! Grab the scarf, the beanie and the gloves; the City of Melbourne is coming alive again with restaurants, bars and cafes opening up allowing local folk to do what they do best: eat. From sitting in your moody local bar, grabbing your fave breakfast at that cosy nook on the corner, dining out at the opulent bistro you love, or even feasting at home in front of the fire on an Asian banquet, Melbourne’s favourite pastime is being brought back to life.
Good Food Month presented by Citi, supported by the City of Melbourne and Victorian Government, is on now and here’s a selection of some of our favourite upcoming events and experiences that will warm the cockles of your food-loving heart. Winter? …Schminter!
Remember to get your hands on your Melbourne Money too – the City of Melbourne’s dining initiative in partnership with the Victorian Government where you can claim a 20% rebate on the total food and drink bill (when you spend between $50 and $500 inc. GST in Melbourne restaurants, cafes and bars).*
FROM GOOD FOOD MONTH’S FRIENDS OF GOOD FOOD MONTH
Farmer’s Daughters | Gippsland Truffle Degustation
When the temperature drops, there’s a collective happy sign from food lovers everywhere: it’s truffle season. Truffles are a rare delicacy so when it’s time to indulge in them, you want them prepared by the best chefs in the business. Enter: Farmer’s Daughters. The pedigree chefs behind the three-story restaurant are executive chef Alejandro Saravia (co-owner of Peruvian firecracker, Pastuso) and Michelin-starred head chef David Boyle (ex-The Lake House, Daylesford). They are set to create a five-course lunch degustation menu celebrating Gippsland-sourced truffles, seasonal produce and premium wines for Good Food Month. Chef Alejandro will present the menu and guests will hear from a local truffle expert. Each course will be served with matched selected by Farmer’s Daughters’ Sommelier, Matt Jensen.
12:30pm – 3:30pm, 19 June | 95 Exhibition Street, 80 Collins Precinct, Melbourne | $250 per person
Kisumé | Chablis Wine Dinner
Indulge in a five-course menu that pays homage to the crispness and minerality of Chablis wines, paired perfectly with Kisumé’s impeccably prepared seasonal produce. The Kisumé team boast two chefs hats at The Chef’s Table at Kisumé, offering balance and technique with every creative mouthful. Kisume’s Chablis Bar offers Australia’s largest selection of Chablis – and they are passionate advocates of pairing the wine with sashimi.
Embrace this incredible experience with wines such as 2018 Domaine Piuze, Terroir Magnum and 2018 Domaine Long-Depaquit Chablis Grand Cru Blanchots (paired perfectly with Red Emperor with Bamboo, Smoked Soy and Marron with Cha-zuke, Sea Urchin) and more.
7:00pm – 10:00pm, 29 July | 175 Flinders Ln, Melbourne | $350 per person
Spice Temple | Spice Solstice Feast
Spice Temple is dedicating a deliciously warming multi-course menu to the Winter Solstice, or Dōngzhì Festival, including the creation of some very special dishes. Each dish breathes with the fragrances of classic Chinese spices and is paired with equally beautiful beverages.
While it might be wintry outside, Spice Temple’s incredible menu will make you forget the chill this Good Food Month. Nurture yourself while delighting in the flavours of regional China and the aromas of seasonings and chillies (dried, fresh, salted, pickled, brined and fermented) over Spice Temple’s Spice Solstice Feast. Designed to excite, with balance and harmony at its core, this is truly an event not to be missed this winter.
6:30pm – 9:30pm, 1 July | Crown Towers Melbourne, 8 Whiteman Street, Southbank | $149 per person
Rosetta Ristorante | Red Wines & Winter Braises: The Mid-Winter Feast
Forget the chills of winter while you enjoy warming winter braises, stews and slow-poached dishes from different regions of Italy. Need some big, bold reds to quaff with that? No problem. That’s what Rosetta’s four-course, mid-winter feast is all about.
With a menu including Brodetto alla Sambenedettese, fish and seafood stew (paired with Abbazia Pecorino); Venison Osso Bucco, Brasato all’amarone served with polenta (paired with Tedeschi Valpolicella Ripasso); and Castagnaccio, chestnut cake with poached pear and mascarpone – and more – it’s your turn to sit back, get warm and cosy, and take in Rosetta’s stunning view of Melbourne’s city skyline.
6:30pm – 9:30pm, 30 June | Crown Towers Melbourne, 8 Whiteman Street, Southbank | $199 per person
FROM GOOD FOOD MONTH’S NIGHT NOODLE MARKETS AT HOME**
Keep Cosy with the Night Noodle Markets at Home – with Delivery Around the City!
Say the magic words “Night Noodle Markets” and you’re instantly transported to a world of intoxicating smokey aromas and streets filled with hawkers offering charred food on sticks, glazed and sticky meats, flame-licked vegetables, and rainbow-hued piquant fermented condiments. And while a trek around Asia might be delayed for a while, you can enjoy the same flavour experience with the Night Noodle Markets at Home.
Running until the last day of June, the Night Noodle Markets at Home delivers within a 5km radius around the Melbourne CBD and is available exclusively through DoorDash (5pm Sundays to Thursdays and from 4pm Fridays and Saturdays). Tuck into the delicious food of Everyday Bao, Hoy Pinoy, Flying Noodles/ Twistto, Thai Tide, Hokkaido Baked Cheese Tart and Kariton Sorbetes. There are even two set banquet options including the Date Night Banquet; the perfect date night feast for two, or the O.G. Banquet; the at-home party pack for four fortuitous peeps.
Move over, winter – we’re taking a trip to the sunny lands of Asia tonight for dinner!
Got the warm and fuzzies yet? We hope so. It’s time to get hot to trot and explore the incredible offerings for Good Food Month, supported by the City of Melbourne and Victorian Government. Want more? Check out everything that’s happening in Melbourne for Good Food Month, here.
Cast your net a little wider and discover more epic events happening throughout the City of Melbourne here.
*The City of Melbourne’s dining initiative in partnership with the Victorian Government called Melbourne Money. The goal is to bring foodies back into the city for Melbourne’s world-famous dining – and to support our beloved hospitality sector. When you spend between $50 and $500 (inc. GST) in Melbourne restaurants, cafes and bars, you can claim a 20% rebate on the total food and drink bill. But be quick – the offer will be on a first-in-first-served basis until the government’s allocated funds are exhausted. The rebate is available across the City of Melbourne municipality including Southbank, Chinatown, Lygon Street, Docklands, North Melbourne and Kensington and at hospitality venues within sporting, arts and theatre precincts.
**To find out if you’re in the delivery radius, just jump on the DoorDash app, enter your delivery address and search ‘Night Noodle Markets at Home’. If the Night Noodle Markets at Home stores appear for you, then you’re good to go. Some lucky customers will also be gifted with delicious bonus goodies in their order. Each night, the Night Noodle Markets at Home will be giving away hundreds of surprises packed into orders – including AYAM™ Hawker Market Sauces, Redbull, and Night Noodle Markets at Home fortune cookies. The Night Noodle Markets at Home co-presenting partner Citi is offering its cardholders $20 off their order while co-presenting partner DoorDash is offering 25% off and $0 delivery for first-time users of DoorDash. New users will also get $1 delivery for every other order placed on DoorDash from the Night Noodle Markets at Home, for a further 30 days.