Best places to eat and drink around Melbourne this weekend
Whether it’s glorious Gippsland goods cooked on a campfire by the Yarra, wonderful world fare at a global food bazaar or a decadent dessert that’s a slice of heaven, here are Dan Stock’s top picks for where to eat and drink this weekend.
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Whether glorious Gippsland goods cooked on a campfire by the Yarra, wonderful world fare at a global food bazaar or a decadent dessert that’s a slice of heaven, here are Dan Stock’s top picks for where to eat and drink this weekend.
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FOR ALFRESCO FEASTING
He’s the Peruvian chef who has become Gippsland’s biggest fan — now Alejandro Saravia (Pastuso) is set to bring the best of the region to the city when he opens Farmer’s Daughters in the 80 Collins development next year. Shining a spotlight on Gippsland’s incredible produce, from grass-fed beef through freshly caught seafood, its first-class dairy and vegetables across a three-level farm-to-table restaurant in the same building that will also house the yet-to-be-named Chris Lucas/Martin Benn/Vicki Wild restaurant.
And while 80 Collins is set to be 2020s hottest dining address, get a sneak peek of what Saravia has in store on Friday when he kicks off the opening night of this weekend’s Melbourne Food and Wine Festival River Graze.
The chef will host a Victorian campfire-style barbecue on the Yarra where over the course of the evening he’ll cook a whole cow using various fire-based cooking methods.
Originally planned to form part of the Village Feast in Jindivick (which has been rescheduled to March 30 due to bushfires in the area), Saravia’s barbecue will from part of the festival’s fundraising efforts for the Gippsland Emergency Relief Fund, with a portion of all proceeds from the campfire cookout donated to the fund. Ten per cent of all new ticket sales to The Village Feast will also be donated to the fund.
The popular festival River Graze transforms the banks of the Yarra into a food and wine lover’s playground for three days from Friday to Sunday. Five Southgate restaurants will hit the pavement serving up their signature dishes at Southgate’s Boardwalk Bites, the Food Truck park will host a dozen of Melbourne’s best while kids can get their hands dirty at the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden — where Stephanie and good mate Maggie Beer will be on site on Saturday.
The Crown Riverwalk will come alive with Thai-style party vibes and South East Asian fare at the Full Moon Party, taste wines from more than 20 Victorian wineries at City Cellar, sip artisan whisky at the Starward cocktail lawn or pull up a pew and relax with a brew a the Stomping Ground Beer Garden. River Graze runs Friday 4pm-9pm and Sat-Sun from noon. Entry is free.
Full program at MFWF.com.au
FOR EXCITING INDONESIAN
Makan is a restaurant so polished, professional and completely unique that’s serving such delicious food it’s hard to believe it was born out of reality TV.
But here are My Kitchen Rules’ 2016 champs, sisters Tasia and Gracia Seger, in the kitchen of their first restaurant that opened in the CBD last July.
The space looks great. A bit tricky to find — look for the laneway entrance off Lt Collins when dining at night — during the day you find Makan at the back of the lobby of a posh Collins St office high rise.
Growing up in Indonesia, India and Australia, the sisters’ mother and grandmother inform much of their cooking and Makan — which means “to eat” in Indo — is their attempt to elevate Indonesian food here above cheap and cheerful uni-student fare.
Mum’s beef rendang, for instance, takes pride of place on the menu. It’s a must.
Brisket cooked until perfectly soft and sunburn pink comes in a deeply rich, dark slick of gravy that, along with coconut cream, has the added heft of toasted desiccated coconut folded through the lemongrass fragrant paste. It’s terrifically satisfying and, at $26, it’s a big serve that’s generous to a fault.
Sambal matah is a simple Balinese condiment of shallots and bird’s eye chillies usually served alongside chicken or fish but here accompanies a crisp-skinned pork hock that also comes with a bright, tangy broth (bembu genep) that adds saucy cut through to the pull apart meat covered in cracking crackling. It’s a great dish.
Other hits include a fried crepe roll filled with chicken and veg that’s a traditional street snack but sort of like a really posh Chicko roll, spicy soft shell crabs nestled in fluffy bao and a classily executed classic — nasi goreng.
Add an ice-cold Bintang beer and you have a Balinese feast here in the heart of the city.
360 Collins St, city. makaninmelbourne.com.au
FOR A SWEET SURPRISE
What do you get when Melbourne’s Mr Restaurant crosses paths with our world-renowned croissant Queen? Nothing short of a plate of pastry perfection, that’s what. To celebrate the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival, Supernormal’s Andrew McConnell and Lune’s Kate Reid have collaborated on a dessert that’s one part French tradition, two parts Melbourne magic.
Their version of Kougin Amann — a Breton pastry that literally translates as “butter” and “cake”, two words sure to make any heart sing … before it stops — puts Reid’s preternatural pastry skills to work to create a spiced disc at once flaky and chewy, sweet and savoury, baked glossy and crisp. It comes nestled next to caramel parfait (a take on McConnell’s famous peanut butter parfait that usually graces the menu) dusted with hazelnut and a silken quenelle of white chocolate cream.
Decadent, dreamy and devilishly delicious, it’s a very Melbourne full stop to a meal at Supernormal, which remains one of the city’s best sure bets.
But don’t dilly dally. The Supernormal x Lune collab is only on the menu until the end of March. Sweet dreams are made of this.
180 Flinders Lane, city. supernormal.net.au
FOR WORLD FARE
Ever tasted Afghan ashak? How about Sri Lankan lamprais, or Creole octopus curry or, indeed, the famous Filipino dish called champorado? This Sunday all roads lead to Dandenong Market for the eight annual World Fare for these dishes and many more from traders that represent some of the market’s 156 nationalities.
With a fair of world fare to try, a full day of entertainment will include flamenco and Brazilian dancers, a Bollywood extravaganza, a full Chinese lion dance, an Eastern European gypsy band and West African drumming. Promising a kaleidoscope of culture, colour and cuisine, more than 40,000 people are expected on Sunday to this glorious global food bazaar that’s part of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival.
From 10am-4pm Sunday, corner Clow and Cleeland Streets, Dandenong.
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