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MELBOURNE | Food and entertainment are the heart and blood of this city. It’s what we do. Sunday morning? Let’s brunch. Tuesday evening? Music at the corner pub. Any free moment of any day of the week, there’s a happy hour for it. While emerging from the dark corners of our Netflix lairs and confronting the vibrancy of this city is undeniably healthy for our social lives, it isn’t easy on the wallet. But alas, there is a solution to this problem. An expert team of good-time-seekers have compiled a book with all the best deals around the city. The popular Entertainment Book invited us to celebrate their 2017-2018 edition at Gertrude Street’s Ricky & Pinky. The Hong Kong-style Chinese restaurant recently launched a lunchtime yum cha menu, so we received a tasting of the new additions alongside Head Chef ArChan Chan’s favourite dishes.
The Entertainment Book offers over $20,000 in savings. While majority of the content is dedicated to dining, you can also find deals on arts and sporting events, shopping, airlines and accommodation. However, in a city where dining occurs more frequently than grocery shopping, I see the culinary savings as invaluable. Easy to navigate, the index is broken up by city region, so you can simply choose what direction you’re headed and find the deals in that area. Majority of the fine dining options offer 25% off the total bill (a large chunk when indulging in fancy wine and cheese) and the more casual cafes and bistros tend to offer two meals for the price of one. Outside of saving money, I reckon this is as an amazing way to simplify your restaurant options. We’re spoiled for choice here, often times paralysing us with a fear-of-missing-out, but how can we question our choices when we know we’ve just saved half of our pay check?
In regard to entertainment, you can get nearly half off a ticket to the movies, a complimentary ticket to the Chamber Orchestra, and 25% off a full day Yarra Valley Wine Tour. If that last point doesn’t have you sold, maybe 25% off any beauty treatment at the spa or a ticket to the Peninsula Hot Springs will. A handful of airlines offer discounts throughout the year as well as numerous hotels and resorts offering up to 50% off the nightly rate. After perusing the book, I can confidently say that everyone will find savings that appeal to them, from roller skating junkies to opera connoisseurs.
All Entertainment books are sold through fundraisers by community groups, meaning 20% of each purchase goes back to the group. It’s a win-win-win: you spend less money, local businesses receive support, and community groups get fundraising. Don’t know of an organization selling the book? Check out Entertainment’s website to nominate the charity, school, or club where you’d like to donate your money.
Amongst all the buzz about savings, there was a noteworthy meal being enjoyed. The concept behind Ricky & Pinky is a bit of a historical satire: during the 60s and 70s, Australian tradition was to attach a Chinese restaurant to a public house. History has been reincarnated at the corner of Gertrude and Gore Street, attached to the Builders Arms Hotel. A fish tank greets you upon arrival, this time hosting one lonely crab. Look a bit further and you’ll find marble lazy Susans in a blue carpeted room and gold pipes framing the doorways—all reminiscent of a small town Chinese diner. The designers even went so far as to dedicate a wall to three framed images of folded table napkins.
However, for a place that doesn’t take itself too seriously, Ricky & Pinky serves up incredible food. Dishes are designed to share, putting to good use those lazy Susans. Inspired by Chan’s upbringing in Hong Kong, you’ll find options ranging from marinated black fungus to Sichuan pork dumplings to shredded cumin lamb with crispy chili, cucumber pickle and steamed bao. And the new lunchtime yum cha menu means nibbling on fried wontons, steamed beef bao, and fried sesame balls, just became the new must try addition to your midday wanderings. With all the money you’ll be saving from your Entertainment Book, yum cha might just become a weekly tradition.
Find out where to get yours at https://www.entertainmentbook.com.au/melbourne.