There’s plenty of news to digest in Melbourne’s food and drink scene; so much so that keeping up with the goings on might sometimes feel overwhelming. But we’ve got the cure for what ails you – or at least your attention span – with Melbourne and Victoria’s latest served up hot, fresh and fast.
Chapel Street’s $59 all-you-can-eat yum cha challenge will send you into dim sum delirium
Would you like some prawn har gow with your pork siu mai? Xiao long bao along with your prawn toast? Or would you prefer a table full of succulent barbecue pork buns? It’s a great time for an even better price at Prahran’s good-times Chinese diner Suzie Q, where $59 gets you 90 minutes of unlimited yum cha every Saturday and Sunday. Regulars will know the Suzie Q signature, the truffle mushroom fried rice, and then there are those salt and pepper chicken wings – both of which are included in one of the city’s best-value bottomless deals.
Bottomless yum cha at Suzie Q, 247 Chapel St, Prahran, 12pm and 1.45pm sittings every Saturday and Sunday, 10 per cent Sunday surcharge applies, bookings recommended
Spring Fox: a delicious new concept for Residence at the Potter
Residence at the Potter is opening its doors to bright young chefs wanting to stress-test their dining concepts through a series of pop-ups in the Residence restaurant. First up? Chef Sam Tomaszyk presenting an unpretentious spring feast abundant in fresh produce, at a very reasonable $75 per person, loosely inspired by the communal dining scene in Fantastic Mr Fox. We’re looking at a generous spread of peak-season produce here: sweet peas, spring lamb, fresh mussels, strawberries, asparagus, plus house-made bread, plenty of butter and conversations lasting late into the evening.
Spring Fox at Residence at the Potter, 7pm Monday 12 October, bookings essential
A doughnut festival for Melbourne’s doughnut die-hards
Queen Victoria Market’s annual doughnut festival is back for its sixth year of doughnut domination, this year taking over two entire sheds at the North Melbourne market. Your favourites are all on board, with Raph Rashid’s All Day Doughnuts, industry stalwarts Shortstop, loukoumades masters St Gerry’s and Walker’s Doughnuts all setting up shop in the sheds.
There are plenty of variations on the theme up for grabs, too. Demochi Doughnuts are bringing all there is to love about chewy mochi and all there is to love about doughnuts together, Gippsland Giant Donuts are serving them up hot, fresh and extra-large, and pasta joint Pasta Face is throwing its hat in the ring with a limited run of savoury doughnuts – with the hot ticket surely being its chicken parma–doughnut hybrid.
Queen Victoria Market doughnut festival, 9am-4pm Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 October, free entry, qvm.com.au
The magic of Maha, served straight out of a vending machine, and in a customised Frank Green vessel
In a collab that no one saw coming, Shane Delia and Frank Green are teaming up to bring people with a big appetite and not much time a portion of his sujuk sausage bolognese in a bespoke Frank Green vessel, direct from a vending machine stationed outside Delia’s CBD venues Maha and Jayda. All for $30. And there’s a charitable side to the unlikely collaboration, too, with Frank Green and Delia working with My Room Children’s Cancer Charity and Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre on the project, providing free meals to families and carers at the Peter Mac Youth Cancer Centre.
Maha’s Bowl of Goodness initiative, 12 noon-2pm Mon-Fri until Friday 16 October, 19 Bond St, Melbourne, more via barjayda.com.au
If you like durian and fancy the food at Ho Liao, you’re going to love what they’re up to this spring
Are you the type of person who believes your delicious Malaysian meal could do with a little durian? May we direct you to Junda Khoo’s Ho Liao. Right now, the team are serving up some of their most in-demand dishes remixed with fresh Musang King durian. We’re talking Musang King cream mud crab, we’re talking Musang King dry-aged Peking duck, and we’re talking a series of shaved-ice desserts putting durian front and centre.
Ho Liao Musang King durian menu, on now for a limited time, Level 2, Rainbow Alley, Melbourne, bookings recommended