What\u2019s on around town<\/p>\n
\u2022 Earlier this month a devastating 7.4-magnitude earthquake claimed the lives of at least 290 people in Colombia, with about 4000 injured. La Esquina<\/a>, a new Latin American food truck park in Footscray, aims to raise $50,000 for disaster relief. Visit from midday to 9pm on August 22<\/a> to take part. La Esquina is working with the Colombian embassy to determine how and where the funds will be donated; 100 per cent of donations will be sent to Colombia, with La Esquina absorbing staffing and other operating costs on the day.<\/p>\n \u2022 Pincho Disco is usually closed on Sundays. On August 23, it will open for a special fundraiser for Colombia. From midday to 6pm or until sold out, Colombian head chef Diego Cardenas will ladle out bowls of sancocho, a hearty traditional stew made from various meats and root veggies (takeaway is available). The usual menu won\u2019t be available, but the bar will be open for beers and soft drinks, and live music will play throughout the day. All profits will go to Manos Visibles, a Colombian social innovation and cultural non-profit.<\/p>\n \u2022 Iberian restaurant Bar Lourinh\u00e3 just turned 20. To celebrate, it will pop up at Prahran Market and relaunch its 2018 cookbook Eat at the Bar, updated and republished this year as Lourinh\u00e3. Head to the Harvest Hall, just behind Maker & Monger, to buy signed books; snack on gildas, tostadas, croquetas and paella; and enjoy a few drinks from a rustic barrel bar pouring Spanish wine, sherry, beer and the sangria-like tinto de verano. 11am\u20134pm, August 22.<\/p>\n \u2022 Naga Dining<\/a> is one of a few hot Thai pop-ups doing the rounds in Melbourne, including a recent dinner at Geralds for our second Dine Out festival. From midday till 8pm on August 30, it heads to Mitcham for an exciting collab at the Hot Listed<\/a> Dutch Rules Distilling<\/a>, exploring the boundaries between Thai and Sri Lankan cuisines. Some highlights include smoked Port Arlington mussels with tomato vinegar, oxtongue curry with hazelnuts, and spanner crab doughnuts. The menu also includes house ferments and one-off cocktails featuring Dutch Rules liqueurs. Book here<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u2022 Community radio station Triple R is celebrating 50 years of broadcasting. For an incredible 39 of those years, Cam Smith has been hosting weekly food show Eat It. From midday to 1pm on August 30, he\u2019ll host a special live taping at Triple R\u2019s subscriber-only Performance Space<\/a>, interviewing chefs Karen Martini (Bar Carolina), Victor Liong (Lee Ho Fook) and Joseph Abboud (Rumi) about migration, culture and changing palates. Tune in on 102.7FM or online<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u2022 Umami, or savouriness, is sometimes referred to as the fifth taste after sweet, salty, sour and bitter. It\u2019s a crucial pillar of Japanese cuisine and the theme of Sachi<\/a> x Bar Kaeru\u2019<\/a>s collab dinner, The Fifth Taste, on August 30. Sushi and sak\u00e9 is what you\u2019re in for as Sachi owner Reki Reinantha and his head chef Shinwoo Hong invite friend Sean Then of Bar Kaeru for a three-course dinner with matched drinks from the 300-year-old Nakashima Brewery in Gifu Prefecture. $120 per person. Bookings essential<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u2022 Melburnian Karl Henkell is the founder of Record<\/a>. The print mag covers the intersection of music, art and fashion being produced between Melbourne, Berlin and New York, where it was founded. Issue 11 launches at Skydiver Records from 6pm on August 27, with drinks from Minimum Wines and sets by Mill\u00fa, Nice Girl and Skydiver\u2019s own DJs.<\/p>\n \u2022 Paul Farag, who until recently was running the show at Sydney\u2019s Aalia, is one of Australia\u2019s most accomplished Middle Eastern chefs. On August 28, he flies south to join Shane Delia in the kitchen at Maha for an \u201cunrestricted\u201d Middle Eastern feast. Their $198, five-course menu will explore their shared philosophy of traditional food cooked with Australian produce and presented in a contemporary way. Book here<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u2022 Argentinean restaurant San Telmo is firing up the parilla barbie for Australiana, a five-course Sunday lunch on August 30 featuring native ingredients and a hint of Waltzing Matilda mythology. Dishes include charcoal-baked damper with native bush honey, fried cheese and Vegemite empanadas, wallaby tartare with bush tomato spice, O\u2019Connor scotch fillet with pepperberry chimichurri, and strawberry gum meringue with Davidson\u2019s plum for dessert. $149 per person, including a welcome cocktail. Book here<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u2022 Fresh off his Dine Out collab at Mesa Verde<\/a>, ex-Yardbird chef Geoff Marett is bringing his Nama pop-up to Collingwood diner Jollygood from 6pm on August 31. The menu is yet to be revealed, but creative Asian with a penchant for Japanese is usually in order when he\u2019s in the kitchen. Bookings are essential<\/a>. <\/p>\n What we covered this week<\/p>\n \u2022 First Look: a beloved Singaporean chicken rice shop opens in Melbourne<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u2022 Turkish wine bar Lokanta pops up in Fitzroy<\/a> with an ex-Nomad chef in the kitchen.<\/p>\n \u2022 Gluten is blacklisted at new Collingwood beer hall The Freehouse<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u2022 Coming Soon: Macgregor\u2019s Original smash burgers are heading west<\/a><\/p>\n \u2022 Solve the mystery to leave your table at Australia\u2019s first escape room restaurant, Frida Crouton\u2019s Final Course<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u2022 Melbourne bakers won\u2019t stop opening scroll shops. Try these five brand-new ones<\/a>.<\/p>\n