Melbourne weekend hit list August 8-9: Eat here, drink this, book now

Eat...

Lee Ho Fook 2.0

Victor Liong's bigger, bolder version of his Smith Street contemporary Chinese restaurant opens in Duckboard Place this Saturday. The menu will feature most of the classics, but expect some evolution.The mottled black-and-white look of the original has been replaced with bare brick walls, tan timber and black seats, with a swathe of purple carpet on the stairs. Try your luck walking in – there's a space for 16 downstairs which may act as a bookings-free zone, but you can book and I'd say you should.

11-15 Duckboard Place, Melbourne, leehofook.com.au

Drink...

Smalls

Jess Ho's South Melbourne wine bar is open, and it's mighty beyond its size. The space is next to St Ali and despite the toilets still being portaloos outside, the look is sharp – a mix of bar stools and booths, with freshly stained floors and porcelain tiles lining the bar. Ex-Rockpool sommelier Wiremu Andrews is pouring a progressive list of Old and New World wines, but you can also get a beer and a shot of Fernet Branca and a skillet of puffed pork skins or scotch eggs for ballast.

20-22 Yarra Place, South Melbourne, smallsbar.com.au

Brunch...

Maillard Toast & Espresso Bar

Yes, this is seriously Melbourne's second toast cafe. There's just enough room for an espresso machine, a pile of Cobb Lane pastries and a four-slice toaster in this St George's Road broom cupboard. It's not just Vegemite and house-made peanut butter. They're serving toppings such as orange and red onion marmalade with d'Affinois triple cream cheese; a pizza-like prosciutto, tomato and mozzarella on potato sourdough; and dulce de leche, mascarpone and Himalayan salt.

2/347 St George's Road, North Fitzroy

Watch...

City of Gold

The world's only food critic to ever bag a Pulitzer Prize is coming to Melbourne this week. Jonathan Gold – ex-punk rock writer, taco enthusiast, and critic for the LA Times – will be attending the screening of City of Gold, a documentary looking at Los Angeles though his eyes. The film will be screened twice during the Melbourne International Film Festival. Both sessions will involve a Q and A with Gold, moderated by Age food critic Dani Valent or Gemima Cody.

Bookings: miff.com.au/program/film/city-of-gold

Heading to MIFF this weekend? Matt Holden has your coffee breaks covered.

Rediscover...

Black Pearl

It's likely to be a big weekend for Fitzroy's internationally lauded cocktail hero, which (un)quietly reopened on Thursday after the venue's first renovation since it opened in 2002. The look has evolved from New York jazz club to streamlined steam punk – with plants. The Attic upstairs, meanwhile, will be transformed for the weekend into New York's legendary PDT (Please Don't Tell), with bartenders Jim Meehan and Jeff Bell on the cans. Tickets to the pop-up are sold out, but the party downstairs is likely to kick on until late.

304 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy, blackpearlbar.com.au

Cook...

Singapore chilli crab

This uniquely Singaporean delicacy is much easier to make at home than you might think. Try Adam Liaw's recipe.