Taste of Melbourne

We heard really good wraps about this event from our friends who have previously attended, so we were happy to be dragged along to taste all things Melbourne.
All I can say is thank god that we got free tickets to get in, as I would be fairly annoyed to pay for this debacle. The food was EXTREMELY overpriced and very small quantities. There was also a lack of vendors which I am sure would have annoyed the people that paid to get in like our friends. Like us, they said they would never return again.

Thanks to Unilocal Melbourne, we get to go to Taste of Melbourne 2015, we visited on thursday night. The weather was a bit cold and windy, not a massively huge crowd.
There was only 2 of us so the amount of food we could try was a bit limited. Here is what we had:
— New England lobster roll from Supernormal — I have had this at the restaurant, I think I remembered it being better
Pinchitos morunos (lamb marinated in moorish spices) & Moritz from Movida — The lamb was relish and so modish. The spices that was on this lamb was great and the meat was so tender
— Steamed Prawn Shumai Dumplings & Soy garlic chicken karage from Sake — The shumai was a bit too soft, I couldn’t bite into anything, it was all too soft. The Chicken was good but it wasn’t anything special
— Soft Shell Crab Souvlakakia from Gazi — This is very filling, I had one on my own and after this, I couldn’t have anything else. Wasn’t great
— Vanilla ice cream from Maggie Beer — This was free, how great was it. I don’t normally love vanilla ice cream but this was delicious and creamy. I will definitely be stocking my fridge with this
There are a few wines stalls that you could get tastings, but some wanted you to pay for tastings. There are also events and demonstration that you could attend.

Had a great time at Taste of Melbourne (thanks to Unilocal for the double pass tickets)! We went on a Thursday night so it was not overly crowded and the lines for food didn’t take as long as it did at other night markets we’ve been to. Loved the use of the crown currency which made everything so much more efficient! My favourite food from the night was the Soft Shell Crab Souvlakakia from Gazi, so so good! Only downside was that we were expecting a lot more food stalls than what was there but overall we enjoyed the night and I would definitely be back :)

Taste of Melbourne is a novel idea in my book being that it’s my first experience at such an event. To bring together some of the most well known restaurants scattered across Melbourne to one area is perfect for people like myself because I love (LOOOOVE) food but I can’t be bothered with the traveling time because I work an insane amount of hours.
There seemed to be a little bit of everything for everyone — beers, wines, mixed drinks, coffees, teas, cheeses, all different kinds of foods, jams, peanut butter, desserts, little bits of free tastings, and even live cooking demonstrations by some of Australia’s leading chefs.
For a Friday afternoon, the crowds were tame, lines were short, and employees should be commended for being able to pump out food so fast in such a cramped amount of space! Shout out to Mamasita today for the delicious Al Pastor taquitos ($ 10) that hit close to home (Los Angeles taco trucks FTW) and Elote ($ 6); pass on the horchata ($ 6) which was 50% ice and extremely watered down. Supernormal’s New England lobster roll ($ 14) was arguably the best dish that was delivered to me within 30 seconds of ordering! Fluffy bread and packed full of flavor with generous amounts of lobster… gone in 3 bites! YUMMY! Plenty of exciting dishes to sample, and the only disappointment was that I didn’t have enough stomach space.
The backdrop of the event was Pelican Lawn which is a beautiful venue in and of itself, however that left patrons exposed to the elements — Wind came and knocked over my dishes while I tried to sit down and enjoy my food, flies were aplenty when food was around, the sun was beating down on us in the afternoon, etc.
Remember to purchase your «Crowns» sold in the form of a Crown card (+$ 1 bond that is refunded once the card is returned). This system simplified paying and expedited lines as people weren’t fumbling with change, waiting for approvals with EFTPOS for every purchase, and printing receipts. And the best part was any unused crowns on the card could be fully refunded.
I thoroughly enjoyed my experience at Taste of Melbourne, and I can’t wait to visit these restaurants for their full menu.

Ever wanted to do a roaming dinner, sampling a different course at several restaurants but you can’t be bothered having to travel? Well visit Taste of Melbourne instead! Melbourne has the food goods and this is one event that highlights that.
The outdoor location at Albert Park provides a picture perfect location however you are at the mercy of the elements! Fortunately we visited on the last day when the weather was starting to clear so we only had to deal with the remaining wet patches.
There’s plenty to sample for free from micro breweries, wineries, cheese makers and the like and of course plenty of delicious food to buy.
This isn’t a particularly cheap way to eat however I think it is fun and certainly tasty. The standouts for me this year were the dishes at Gazi — all of them! The soft shell crab souva got my ‘dish of the day’, the grilled saganaki with honey and balsamic was the perfect mix of savory and sweet!
The queue at Huxtaburger was worth the wait and the Huxtable Icon dish — Sichuan duck leg with cashew butter — was divine!
Plenty to do and see so mark this one in your calander for next year!

This was my first Taste of Melbourne experience and I’m hoping it won’t be my last. From the serious food shoppers bringing their shopper carts early in the day to snap up some great locally made products to evening night owls coming to enjoy some equally great wines and menu items from Melbourne’s best restaurants — there’s a little for everyone at Taste of Melbourne.
Like a kid in a candy store, I wandered the grounds wide-​eyed. From Burch & Purchese were I tried their salted caramel chocolate bullions, to Mork Chocolate’s peanut butter and salted caramel hot chocolates, to the pork taco at Mamasita’s pop-​up restaurant. And how could I not mention the peanut butter and jelly donut from Matt Forbes’ Cobb Lane.
Taste of Melbourne isn’t a place to be diet conscious! Oh, and be sure to either bring cash for any purchases you wish to make from the vendors selling things like relishes, jams or cartons of coconut water or be ready to stalk the Crown Vendors to buy your on-​site currency for the day, Crowns.

I want you to know straight out that this is not my type of event. And being that I am me, I’m going to be reviewing this from my own viewpoint.
The best way I can describe Taste of Melbourne, is as an event that is for people who go to the races but don’t actually watch the races. People dressed inappropriately for the weather, a lot of expensive booze and a heap of different foods.
I am sure that if you’re into trying all these things it’d be great, so I’m not going to be too harsh. But at the moment I’m not drinking and I found there was less there for me than I expected. I think if you’re looking for a day out to sit around with friends trying cool different things and aren’t worried about money then you could have a great time. I however did a lap and left. I’m also sick though, so, you know, that could come into it.
Anyhoo, just try not to wear heels, okay? There’s a lot of grass, and a lot of people. This equals a lot of mud.

We decided to go to this because it was close to home and we were bored on a Friday night. It was easy enough to buy tickets at the door, but we still had to wait in line to purchase the currency of the event, «Crowns». In fact, we had to wait in lines for everything. Long lines. Regardless, it was worth attending and I’m really glad that we went. At first I was a little bit pissed off that we had to buy some kind of made up currency from them… but as the night went on I realised exactly how brilliant the idea was. Without crowns, the lines would have been MUCH longer as the servers would have had to fumble with change and ask for PIN numbers, etc.
Highlights of the night were definitely Mamasita and Uncle. Mamasita was probably the most crowded booth and had the longest line, but damn, it was worth the wait — I could honestly eat that cheese corn until my dying breath. Although Uncle was the youngest restaurant at the event it was one of the best. I look forward to visiting the actual restaurant later on this week.
It was also really awesome to see so many craft beers (including my boyfriend’s favourite, Stoke from New Zealand!), and such a variety of different wines. We were a little bit disappointed at the lack of free samples (I’m a bit of a lightweight, so I like being able to try little bits before I order a whole glass), but we managed to have a pretty good time.
The name for this event is very apt — it is really just a taste, nowhere close to a feast. I left hungry after spending $ 90 ($ 30 admission, $ 60 a drink and some food). Regardless of my complaints, I support this event and look forward to attending next year.

Food and booze festivals mean that I have to share my personal space with others and wait in lines. That being said, taste is definitely one of the more worthwhile festivals to make those sacrifices because of the ‘not quiet what they hoped for’ Friday night crowd numbers and the huge variety stalls to visit. The restaurant line up is very impressive and the booze participants are too. There are opportunities to taste samples of wine and a few places doing food samples but generally you need to buy your ‘tastes’. I ate at Albert st food and wine and whilst the line looked semi scary they had a great food assembly line and the little cones of goodness came out super quickly. It was a little expensive but the gazpacho, pulled lamb roll and corn and calamari cone were worth every last cent. And I’m glad I got all three offerings. I am now very inspired to visit their restaurant. Wine stall highlights are always for me wirra, o’leary walker and rob Dolan. Possibly the friendliest people behind desks! I didn’t make it into the tassie world but apparently that was a highlight (damnit). They were doing whiskey tastings in there and they had oyster. Try to win one of the hundreds of tickets getting thrown away on line by exhibitors!