Melbourne Cup 2016: What they're eating inside the Birdcage

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Ah the Birdcage, a mini city of themed marquees each more outrageous than the last.

Just check out Mumm's swimming pool and its synchronised swimmers. Gold.

So what's hot? The top floor of Lexus Design Pavilion, sporting Ben Shewry's eight-seater chef's table with six chefs cooking for those eight seats, Shewry behind the bar, and a rooftop terrace. He's doing four courses, including a preview Attica dish called "imperfect history of Ripponlea as told by tarts" and "our version of the Mint Slice" with fresh mint icing and Daintree dark chocolate.

On level two is David Moyle, offering a four-course snapshot of Franklin, Tasmania's best restaurant. A hero dish is the pork neck poached in sweet Tassie cider to make a glaze, then roasted in kombu butter, with a sprinkle of crunchy toasted buckwheat. "It's a umami bomb," says Moyle. At ground level, is Mr Miyagi's signature Mexican-Japanese taco and umbrella-shaded cocktails. "We do a crazy amount of tacos," says Kristian Klein who, with Andy Restein, sells over 1000 a week. Nori seaweed is tempura fried into a taco shell. Inside that is sushi rice, Kewpie mayo, chilli oil, and grilled salmon belly.

Over yonder at Boags, strands of seaweed hang from the ceiling of James Viles' rugged yet refined dining room, a sneak peek into Bowral fine-diner Biota, but with a Tassie vibe. Diners are encouraged to pick the seaweed and pop it in their dish. He's dishing up fresh wasabi (leaf, flower and stem) and oysters from Freycinet Peninsula with samphire.

Down the way at Lavazza, chef Adam D'Sylva is rustling up scrummy poached cheese and mushroom tortellini with a truffle sauce. "Truffle just makes everything taste good," says D'Sylva. He's also doing herb and parmesan-crusted lamb chop with spicy chimichurri because, "anything crumbed tastes amazing, especially after a few drinks".

Around the corner at Tabcorp, bedecked with fragrant jasmine, is where you'll find Jacques Reymond and Darren Purchese. Reymond is running with 26 dishes, from prawn dumplings to Peking duck crepes to lacquered pork belly sliders with pickled wombok. Purchese has his signature lemon tart and a handmade chocolate flower garden.

Emirates will host a fully serviced, sit-down menu by chef Nancy Kinchella from Wolgan Valley in the Blue Mountains, while Wolf Blass has gone arty with David Bromley finishing off his mural backed by Brian Cadd singing and playing piano, and, over at Myer, is all velvet salon, a plush affair with great cocktails.

Nina Rousseau is editor of Good Food, The Age.