Taste of Melbourne 2014 | Taste of Melbourne Giveaway - 2 x Double Passes

Wow, has another year passed already ? 

You know what that means though - Taste of Melbourne is back again, enriching the lakeside lawns of Albert Park this November 13th-16th with food, food and more food. Hang out with Melbourne's leading culinary masterminds, rub shoulders with like minded food lovers, immerse yourself in cooking classes, check out the latest food trends or simply enjoy the atmosphere. Taste of Melbourne. Be there.

This year, Taste of Melbourne have over 60 bite-sized dishes on offer from the likes of Brooks Restaurant & Bar, Lucy Liu, Mamasita, Gazi, Nieuw Amsterdam, MoVida and more.

You can imagine how excited I was to fly #TasteAir and embark on a culinary flight around Melbourne to preview some of Taste of Melbourne’s 2014 restaurants. 

FIRST STOP: BROOKS RESTAURANT & BAR

Sher Wagyu Rib

We kicked off the night at Brooks Restaurant & Bar, lodged beneath the streets of Melbourne, secluded in the basement of the heritage-listed Austral House on Collins Street. I was instantly wooed by their Sher Wagyu Rib - juicy, tender and of slightly gelatinous texture, the boneless rib was glazed in a sticky charcoal vegetable puree and crowned with fried vinegar infused shallots. What blew me away though was the Roasted Cauliflower Ice-cream - the roasting of the cauliflower brought out the most amazing depth of flavour and together with a drizzle of toffee caramel sauce, my tastebuds were in heaven.

SECOND STOP: LUCY LIU

Freshly Shucked Oysters

Green Papaya Salad with Beans

Lucy Liu Wagyu Beef F1 7+ & Lucy Liu Spiced Green Apple Coleslaw

Our next destination was Lucy Liu, the newest and trendiest multicultural Asian eating and drinking space. Here we started with Freshly Shucked Oysters with tangy nam jim and an authentic Green Papaya Salad with Beans that even Mama Piggy would have to agree with. We then sunk our teeth into a premium grade 7 Porterhouse Wagyu Steak with exceptional marbling and flavour which was lifted even higher with yakiniku dipping sauce and a hot mustard horseradish crème fraîche.

FINAL STOP: MAMASITA

Elote Callejero

Braised Zucchini Molotes

Tamal de Camarones

Taco de Pescado and Taco de Puerco

The third and final stop was Mamasita, arguably one of Melbourne's favourites. Our tastebuds were further tempted by their famous street style chargrilled corn (my all time favourite!), alluring and tasty Tamal de Camarones and earthy Braised Zucchini Molotes. The star of the show went to the tacos though, both the Taco de Pescado and Taco de Puerco were explosive in flavour and freshness. You can't miss these.

Taste of Melbourne Giveaway - 2 x Double Passes

So how do I win ? 

1. Like Confessions of a Little Piggy on Facebook

2. Follow Confessions of a Little Piggy on Instagram

3. Send me an email answering "Which restaurant are you most excited to visit at The Taste of Melbourne?" to confessionsofalittlepiggy@gmail.com


Giveaway Terms and Conditions: 

- Entries are open until Sunday, November 2nd at midnight AEST. 

 
- Winners will be notified via email by Monday, November 3rd, and winners’ postal address will need to be provided to confessionsofalittlepiggy@gmail.com within 48 hours. 

 
- Each winner will receive a Double Pass (valued at $60.00) which entitles them and a friend entrance to one session at The Taste of Melbourne. 

- Tickets cannot be resold for commercial gain.

confessions of a little piggy was invited to dine as a guest of Hot House Media & Events, Brooks Restaurant & Bar, Lucy Liu and Mamasita 

What: Taste of Melbourne 2014 

Where: Pelican Lawn, Albert Park Lake
When: Thursday November 13 - Sunday November 16, 2014 

http://www.tasteofmelbourne.com.au 

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Fonda Mexican

I love the heat, fire, spice and livelihood that Mexican food brings to the table. Dangerously craving Mexican one night, I somehow miraculously managed to persuade A to have Mexican with me that night. Next thing you know, we were at Fonda Mexican on Swan Street.

Fish Taco

From where I was sitting, I could see these tortillas being freshly pressed. With skill and speed, the tortilla guy was churning out around 4 tortillas per minute ! Fresh tortillas was a big tick in my book and only further urged me to order their famous Fish Taco. Wrapped in a freshly made six inch tortilla came a crispy crumbed piece of rockling fish, chopped white onion, pickled strands of carrot, avocado crema and a drizzle of chipotle aioli. Flavours were refreshing and extremely satisfying.

Chopped Beef Burrito

For the burritos, I could not go past the Chopped Beef. Jam packed inside was tender pieces of beef, smokey black beans, fresh cabbage, fluffy quinoa, salsa roja and a dash of chipotle aioli. I happily dug into this bundle of goodness and could not put it down - because it was so damn good and also the fear of the whole burrito collapsing into a huge mess if I did dare to put it down. A little messy to eat, but what burrito isn't? 

Chicken Quesadilla

The last dish of the night was the Chicken Quesadilla, and a dish neither A or I were quite fond of. Encased in a large twelve inch corn tortilla encased Bannockburn roast chicken, queso fresco, wild rocket, celery root and avocado crema. The dish looked exceptionally tasty, however the taste was not as we had expected. Bite after bite, all I could taste was cheese - not the creamy, mild queso fresco I had in mind, but the typical melted Tasty Cheese you would have in a toastie. But hey, that could work for some people, just not me.

In a very relaxed and chilled atmosphere, Fonda made an excellent spot for a quick bite to eat - order and pay first, then eat and be merry. Somewhere, I would definietly return for that Chopped Beef Burrito for sure.

Fonda Mexican

248 Swan Street 
Richmond

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Mamasita

In celebration of finishing exams, my friend, E and I decided to have lunch at the one and only, Mamasita. As Melbournians, we all know Mamasita as the restaurant on Collins street that serves Mexican cuisine. But restaurant aside, 'mamasita' in Latin-American sling translates to 'hot mama', 'hot babe', or 'hottie'. Go ahead and try it on Google images. And after 142 blog posts on Urbanspoon later, here's my two cents.

Elotes Callejeros

Out first were our piping hot street style chargrilled corn. Beautifully charred, the corn was generously covered in chipotle mayo with queso melted over. A generous squeeze of lime added a dash of citrus to the juicy sweet bursts of corn and spicy smokey chipotle. The smell, taste and appearance was all mouth-watering. These were absolutely demolished.  

Just as we finished munching on our corn, a waitress popped over to place down some toothpicks. This was exactly what we need to wrestle out the corn bits that were unattractively stuck in our teeth. 

de Cabra a la Tinga

Piled high and full of flavour was the braised goat on fried tortillas. Having soaked in tomato chipotle juices, the goat went nicely with the salsa roja, white onion and coriander. Again, with a generous spritz of lime, these tostaditas made a tasty mouthful.

de Arrachera

Taco number uno consisted of a six inch soft shell tortilla with grilled flank steak, tomato frijole salsa & queso fresco. Even E, someone who doesn't usually like red meat agreed that the steak was cooked perfectly.

de Lengua y Cachete

The star of the show certainly went to taco number dos. Filled with braised ox tongue & cheek, pickled veg & ghost chilli mayo, this taco was hands down the favourite dish of the day. Both ox tongue and cheek was soft, tender and melted in our mouths - so good I was tempted to lick my plate clean.

In such a bustling and fun atmosphere, with fast and prompt service, and zestful food, Mamasita was an easy place to love.


Mamasita
Level 1, 11 Collins Street
Melbourne

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Vegie Bar

Vegie Bar really needs no introduction. For a very long time, Vegie Bar has been a hot topic on Urbanspoon. And finally, here I am ! 

Braving the cold night, we made our way there. Stepping inside, the space was open, coat racks on the right side of the wall and an isolated counter/bar in the middle. The environment was buzzing and filled with happy chitter chatter. It was warm and toasty, and had a great feeling about it. As we waited in line to be served, I couldn't help but let my eyes wander off to what people were eating and the specials board. We added out names to the waiting list, and were told the wait would be approximately 25-30 minutes. The wait sounded a little deterring, but we were keen. Keen beans ! And so we were told we could wait at the bar while waiting for a table on this busy night.

After only 15 minutes, our names were called. Taken to a smaller sized table at first, we kindly requested a larger table as we planned to share and wanted a little bit more room. Moving quickly, the waiter happily led us to a much roomier table located upstairs. 

Food wise, there were a range of dishes inspired from all over the globe. Indian, Mexican, Vietnamese, Italian, Malaysian... You name it ! With so many yummy options and cuisines on offer, we were spoilt for choice.

Stuffed mushrooms

For starters, we went for the stuffed mushrooms. Oozing out of these piping hot mushrooms were tofu and herbed ricotta, which we generally lapped up with their special chutney.

Duo

Onto our mains, we ordered The Duo - roti bread, steamed brown rice with a duo of chickpea dahl, lentil curry, plus a side of minted yogurt. This was a great dish to share. Using our hands, we tore up the roti and lathered it in as much curry as we could. Both curries were very tasty, however I found it a could have done with a little more spice.

Mexican Burrito

Having heard that Vegie Bar does burritos extremely well, we had to have it. On a bed of crunchy corn chips laid the burrito- stuffed with refried kidney beans, spinach, onion, capsicum and mushroom. Top this off with topped with chilli, melted cheese and spring onions. Add brown rice, salad, sour cream and guacamole and we have a ridiculously large meal. Thank God we were sharing. 

Lentil Burger

A Lentil patty, lettuce, beetroot, cucumber, tomato and carrot layered within the seitan buns. With no sauce, it was a little on the dry side, and lacked flavour. Looking back at the menu, it isn't only until now that I realise that it was probably because we mention which sauce we wanted. However, nor did our waitress ask. I guess she assumed it was the safer option to just serve our burger sauceless...

Overall, sharing punny jokes and reminiscing weird childhood stories with great company made a fantastic night. Service was either a hit or miss depending on the each individual staff, but no major problems. Serving contemporary vegetarian cooking, I would recommend Vegie Bar as a great option for the health conscious and the hungry. 

Vegie Bar

380 Brunswick Street

Fitzroy, VIC

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