THIS WEEK IN FOOD

HOP TO IT: We’re hurtling toward Easter, and here’s an excuse to get out of town and visit one of my favourite regional venues. Point Leo Estate have teamed up with Melbourne chocolatiers Koko Black for a huge Easter Egg hunt in their stunning Sculpture Park. There’ll be 3,000+ hidden eggs, and other activities for the kids like face-painting and colouring stations; live music for the adults; and Easter brunch items available for purchase on the Pt. Leo Wine Terrace. It’s all happening on Easter Sunday (April 21) from 9am, and will set you back $20 for each child (including an accompanying adult, $5 for each additional adult). Tix and more info: https://bit.ly/2UcYn6n

WHAT’S BREWING: Good Beer Week hits Melbourne again in May, and there are plenty of ways you can pretend you’re just there for the food. Queen Vic Market is hosting ‘A Fresh Hop Experience!’ with a a multi-course meal among the iconic sheds, and each course paired with Brick Lane Beers. Brunswick’s East Elevation and Blackhearts & Sparrows will host a “Seasonal Beer and Wine Feast” in the form of an autumnal three-course meal paired with sour mixed-fermentation beer from Wildflower, Molly Rose Brewing and Dollar Bill Brewing. And Fury and Son Brewery plan to celebrate halloumi, with three beers they say will perfectly match three different halloumi dishes. Details on these and more events: https://goodbeerweek.com.au/

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Fitzroy institution The Builders Arms is hosting a special lunch with “Free to Feed”, a social enterprise that champions refugees, people seeking asylum and new migrants. For this Sunday lunch (14th April) Free to Feed chef Shahid Syed Burney has been working from Andy Barkham of the Builder’s on an exciting menu. You’ll have drinks and canapes in the courtyard then head upstairs for a feast that includes a contemporary take on a karachi sakjji – a dish that involves colourful boiled eggs stuffed inside whole quail, stuffed inside whole chicken, stuffed inside a whole lamb and grilled over fire. Oh my! Tix via Eventbrite: https://bit.ly/2OupN2a

NO APOLOGIES: The roll call of restaurants jumping on board the much-anticipated development at 80Collins is growing, the latest announcement is Nick & Nora’s, a champagne & cocktail bar from award-winning boutique hospitality company The Speakeasy Group (think Eau de Vie, Mjølner, and Boilermaker House). They’re promising something “unapologetically indulgent and befitting of the prestigious 80 Collins address”; hints of art deco and the opulence and glamour of post-prohibition America. They’ll join Martin Benn & Vicki Wild’s as-yet-unnamed fine diner, and Alejandro Saravia’s “Farmer’s Daughter”, a farm-to-table concept showcasing the produce of Gippsland. You’ll have to wait though, the project won’t be complete until 2020.

SISTER SONGKRAN: Next Sunday April 7 sees the return of the Lucky 88 lunch to city fave Rice Paper Sister. Basically that means 8 special dishes with matching drinks for just $88 bucks. This one will set out to celebrate Thailand’s Songkran water festival, so think dishes like Smoked Duck Larb on Betel leaf, and Grilled Calamari, spiced Thai Sausage, with Squid Ink. Choose from a 12pm or 2.30pm sitting, it really is a fun and filling arvo! Tix: https://www.obee.com.au/rpshardware/e/2019-lucky-88