The Ten Tastiest Events You Can Still Get Tickets for at Melbourne Good Food Month 2016
Fancy garden parties, fried chicken feasts and — of course — the noodle markets.
The Ten Tastiest Events You Can Still Get Tickets for at Melbourne Good Food Month 2016
Fancy garden parties, fried chicken feasts and — of course — the noodle markets.
A fried chicken feast, a cocktail lab and a garden party catered by some of the hottest chefs in town are among the highlights of this year's spectacular Good Food Month program. Taking over Melbourne for the whole month of November, this annual culinary cavalcade will once again see the city transformed into the foodie equivalent of Valhalla, with parties, sit-down dinners and everything in-between to satisfying your most extravagant cravings.
This year they're packing as much as they can into every one of the 30 days in November. And while some of the big ticket events have already sold out, there's still a heap you can sneak in to. Clear your calendar and start fasting now.
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Once again, Birrarung Marr will be transformed into a sprawling outdoor hawker market, as the Night Noodle Markets rock into town from November 10-27. As usual, visitors will be spoilt for choice, with stalls from culinary favourites like Wonderbao, Gelato Messina, and Chin Chin, joining debut offerings from some exciting newcomers. Folks of all ages will find themselves wrapped up in the festival buzz, with roaming performers, themed bars, and a broad live entertainment program backing up all that foodie fun.
The markets will run from Thursday, November 10 until Sunday, November 27. They’ll be open Monday and Tuesday 5-9pm, Wednesday and Thursday 5-10pm, Friday 5-11pm, Saturday 4-10pm, and Sunday 4-9pm. Entry is free but the place — if other years are anything to go by — will be packed.
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You don’t need to tell us twice that beer and barbecue are a match made in culinary heaven, so the ultimate partnership this Good Food Month is the one between Footscray’s Hop Nation Brewing and Up In Smoke. The American-inspired BBQ gurus have joined forces with their beer-brewing neighbours, curating a special food pairing that showcases some of the west’s best. Across 13 days of the festival, you can swing by Up In Smoke to enjoy four craft beer samples, matched to four smoky snacks from the kitchen for 30 bucks.
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While there are meat feasts aplenty on the Good Food Month program, nothing screams spring like a spread of lovingly prepared vegetables. So over in Brunswick East, Bar Idda is celebrating some of the season’s finest offerings with a completely vegetarian dinner. The meat-free extravaganza will see chefs tapping into the restaurant’s Sicilian roots, with four courses crafted around the freshest veggies, flowers and cheeses they can source. Meanwhile, the bar will be pouring a selection of crisp Sicilian vino that’ll sit beautifully alongside your feed.
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Yum cha takes a road trip to Southeast Asia for Rice Paper Scissors‘ Same Same But Different dinner. Harking to its Bangkok origins, the Fitzroy favourite will be plating up a twist on the usual yum cha concept — a drool-worthy prospect, as anyone who’s ever wrapped their mouth around the restaurant’s lively snacks will assure you. Diners will get to tuck into all the flavour-packed Thai fare their bellies can handle for $55, with plates delivered by tray service to the tables. Throw in a few of the bar’s signature cocktails, and you’ve got yourself a pretty unique yum cha experience.
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Good Food Month 2016 will wrap up with an uber-posh, Hamptons-inspired picnic at Rippon Lea Estate — so dig out your finest 1920s garden party dress and your mad croquet skills. Taking care of the catering will be Fergus Henderson of London’s St. John, who’ll be working alongside Pope Joan‘s Matt Wilkinson and cheesemonger Anthony Femia. Come dessert time, you’ll be lingering over Tivoli Road’s baked goods. And, needless to say, there’ll be all the Pimms cocktails you can handle.
Tickets at $95 and include entry as well as six food and drink tokens. Party kicks off at midday.
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If anything’s going to get you geared up for the balmy summer months to come, it’s a food-focused Sunday session, at Melbourne’s shiniest new rooftop bar. Sitting atop Fancy Hanks’ new Bourke Street digs, Good Heavens will launch with a baptism of fire, as Fancy Hanks’ Mike Patrick joins Duncan Welgemoed (Africola), and Morgane McGlone (Belles Hot Chicken) on the grill, for one flame-driven afternoon. On the day, you’ll get to sample a dish from each chef, with Melbourne Moonshine cocktails, Coopers brews, and laidback tunes on hand to help nudge you into rooftop season.
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Fried chicken fiends, this one’s for you. It’s no secret that Morgan McGlone does some dangerously good things with fried poultry, and he’s pulling out all the stops for this special five-course feast. The chef will be tapping into the creative energies of Belles Hot Chicken‘s famous late-night chicken parties, plating up dishes like chicken and waffles, Chongqing chicken wings (inspired by the ones at Mission Chinese Food), and of course, his own signature fried chook. Fork out a little extra to have each course matched with wine.
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If you missed out on a Brazil or Chile trip this year, fear not — the folks at Lady Carolina are serving up the next best thing. Over the course of one lively evening, the Brunswick East venue will take guests on a culinary trek across South America and Mexico, as executive chef Hugo Diaz puts his own spin on some iconic, Latin American dishes. Tickets to this one-off event include five vibrant courses, matched to Latin American wines and a surprise feature spirit.
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How about an evening of weird and wonderful liquid treats, to balance out all that eating and chewing you’ll be doing during the month? Smith Street’s Noble Experiment will be living up to its name and channelling a science lab for this one-off event, with bartenders delivering a lineup of creepy cocktails and creative canapés, the likes of which are sure to blow a few minds. Indulge your inner science nerd, or simply add a bit of mystery and excitement to your usual Thursday night cocktail session. The $75 per ticket includes three cocktails and seven snacks.
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Break out the bibs and put away those fine dining manners, because things are about to get messy in the tastiest way possible. The Church of Bang Bang Boogaloo will be the setting for an all-out Low Country Boil, just like the ones you’ll find in backyards across South Carolina and Georgia. Expect tables piled high with mountains of prawns, crayfish, potatoes, crab, sausage, and corn, just waiting for you to dig in and bliss out. There’ll be lots of refreshing brews to help wash it all down, and socialising options aplenty.
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