Taste of Melbourne is on again in 2015, and I was excited to have been invited to the opening gala night this year. Almost immediately upon entering, guests gravitated towards the impressive cheese spread prepared by Milk the Cow. Amongst the many delicious varieties of cheese, my favourite was the espresso-soaked cheese by BellaVitano, hailing from the United States...
Flavour Exchange, the Spring edition, was held on Thursday 3rd and Friday the 4th of September. Held at the Atrium in Federation Square it offered the chance for the public to taste and buy some of Victoria’s best products such as wines, beer, ciders and other food products like cheese, spreads and chocolate. It was a good opportunity to meet and speak to the producers and ask questions. On entry, everyone was given 14 tasting tokens to use and purchase samples before you buy. I started the night with...
As part of the opening weekend of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival, Southgate held the Southgate Fiesta, involving live music performances, free movie screenings and $15 tasting platters from participating restaurants. I chose to try out the tasting platter offered by Bluetrain. Recently revamped with a modern colour scheme, it has high ceilings and an airy feel that create a relaxed and casual environment. Bluetrain has been a resident at Southgate for more than 20 years and has a menu covering pizzas, pastas, burgers, char-grilled dishes and...
The Festival Artisan Bakery & Bar was a pop-up set up specially for the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival. Over 17 days, famous bakers from both Australia and overseas came in to oversee the production of baked goods for us to devour, and enjoy a selection of salads, rolls and boards with wine and coffee. On the first day of the festival I dropped by hoping to grab one of Julian Gellatly's famous salted caramel cream-filled doughnuts, but sadly they'd already sold out by 8:30am. Justin Gellatly is from...
This year marks the debut of the Night Noodle Markets in Melbourne, after many years of being run in Hyde Park in Sydney. Following the Night Noodle Markets in Sydney last month, Melbourne's version will run for two weeks, featuring around 30 food stalls. Whilst not quite as expansive as the one in Sydney, it was probably a good number for testing the waters. Knowing that the crowds would eventually make lining up only for the tenacious, we planned to arrive at 5pm. It had been quite a nice,...