Route 72
The Melbourne Food and Wine Festival is an excuse for hospitality businesses to put on audacious events to celebrate the things they love. The owners of three inner-eastern wine businesses have a passion for RN74, or Route Nationale 74, the French highway that runs from the Moselle department through the heart of Burgundy. On Saturday, April 8, food and wine lovers are asked to join RN 72, a bar crawl that uses the No. 72 tram to travel between bars. It starts at Milton Wine Shop in Malvern for champagne and oysters. Guests will then take the tram to Toorak Cellars, where they will be served pork and duck sausages and burgundy. Then it's on to Prahran to The Alps Wine Shop and Bar for drops from high-altitude French wineries in Jura and Savoie, served with French and Swiss Alpine cheeses. Each $153 ticket includes a Myki. Noon to 5pm.
Book at melbournefoodandwine.com.au
Stay with the CWA
This is your chance to have a Toorak address for a night or two. The Country Women's Association of Victoria operates a B&B; in the stately mansion Umina in one of Toorak's most sought-after streets. It is affordable, from $80 a night with breakfast included, and down to earth. It's a bit like staying with a maiden aunt in the country. There are secret passages and butler's bells, letters from the Queen Mother on display, hand-stitched wall hangings, an Edna Walling garden, old paintings of rural idylls and ice-green paint throughout. On the first Sunday of the month the dining room opens to the public for a CWA High Tea with ribbon sandwiches, warm savouries, sweet treats, scones and cream and lashings of hot tea for $45 a person.
3 Lansell Road, 9827 8971, cwaofvic.org.au
Lunch at Franque
This is a rare opportunity to dine in a room surrounded by fine art and exquisite antiques while enjoying food prepared by some of Melbourne's best chefs. Leesa O'Reilly has styled cookbooks for Australia's best chefs and now they are joining her in cooking intimate two-course twice-weekly lunches in the rear of Franque, one of Melbourne's best art and antique galleries. On Thursday, March 30, renowned chef Roger Fowler pays tribute to Gloria Staley of Glo Glo's and Fanny's fame.
Franque, 597 Malvern Road, Lunches Tue and Thu, (Gallery open Mon-Sat) Book through dining@franque.com.au or call 0407 696 372
Toorak Op Shop
This is the place for pre-loved designer clothes by labels such as Scanlan and Theodore, Hugo Boss and Max Mara at bargain basements. An Armani suit goes for $100, a Phillip Lim little black dress for $80. It was $600 new. "Sometimes we have clothes come in with their swing tags still on," manager Wendy Ritchie says. The store raises tens of thousands of dollars each year for charity. "But a lot of the times people want to come in for a chat," Ritchie says. "We have a special chair just for them."
1A Carters Avenue, Mon-Sat 10am-4pm, 9827 3172
Beautiful Mansion
Architect Charles Webb designed the Toorak mansion Mandeville Hall for Joseph Clarke in 1878. Its interiors were designed and furnished by London firm Gillow & Co. Mandeville Hall is now owned by Catholic girls school Loreto. A special tour with the National Trust is being held on May 17. Tours can be arranged through historian and local councillor Steve Stefanopoulos at steve.stefanopoulos@loretotoorak.vic.edu.au.
Best Pho in Town
Seam Taing is of Chinese descent, was born in Cambodian and came to Australia via Vietnam and Thailand. In each place she learnt to cook the local cuisine. Her pho is not traditional. Made with roasted chicken and beef bones and spices, such as clove and liquorice root, it is golden in colour and includes scotch fillet steak. It is seriously good. Her tiny cafe, Nom Nom's, has a pleasant view of the trees and historic signal box by Kooyong Station. 487 Glenferrie Road, Kooyong, Mon-Fri 6.30am-2pm, Sat 7.30am-2pm
Next Week: Moyhu
6reasons@richardcornish.com.au. Twitter and Insta @Foodcornish