Dishes & Dialogue

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Dishes & Dialogue A blend of cultural conversations, community connections, and plenty of laughter.

Some cuisines are celebrated. Others are asked to prove their worth.At Dishes & Dialogue, our mission is to give underap...
13/08/2026

Some cuisines are celebrated. Others are asked to prove their worth.

At Dishes & Dialogue, our mission is to give underappreciated cuisines and dishes the attention they deserve - by exploring the culture, craft and stories carried within them.

We’re beginning with Filipino food because it is the food we know, love and can speak about honestly. It’s our starting place, not where our curiosity ends.

This Buwan ng Wika, join Chef Fhred Batalona at Palay for a one-night Filipino degustation, featuring an exclusive dessert by Chef Miko Aspiras.

Saturday, 15 August
Two seatings: 4pm and 7pm
$100 per guest
135 Greeves Street, Fitzroy

Limited seats. Book via Palay - link in their bio.

What cuisine or dish do you think deserves more love?

You can grow up Filipino without growing up fluent in Filipino.Maybe you know the food better than the words. Maybe your...
12/08/2026

You can grow up Filipino without growing up fluent in Filipino.

Maybe you know the food better than the words. Maybe your grandparents spoke a language you only partly understood. Maybe Buwan ng Wika was something celebrated in the Philippines, but never properly explained to you.

That does not make you any less Filipino.

Buwan ng Wika can be a chance to begin: ask what your family calls a favourite dish, learn one word from home, or listen to the story behind a recipe.

This weekend, we’re bringing those stories to the table at Palay with a one-night Filipino degustation by Chef Fhred Batalona and an exclusive dessert by Chef Miko Aspiras.

Saturday, 15 August 2026
Two seatings: 4pm and 7pm
$100 per guest
135 Greeves Street, Fitzroy
Limited seats. Book via Palay - link in bio.

What Filipino word, phrase or dish makes you feel closest to home?

There was no fresh ube Fhred wanted to use in Melbourne’s inner north.So he adapted - building a “fake ube halaya” with ...
09/08/2026

There was no fresh ube Fhred wanted to use in Melbourne’s inner north.

So he adapted - building a “fake ube halaya” with sweet potato for body, ube essence for that familiar note, and caramel for sweetness with more depth than condensed milk alone.

It’s not about pretending a substitute is the original. It’s about understanding what each ingredient does, then making a considered choice with what you have.

That’s the permission: recipes are a base. Taste, adjust, and make the dish yours.

What’s one substitution you make without thinking twice?
Recipes are on the Dishes & Dialogue website. Watch Fhred and Liem make the full ube champorado on YouTube - link in bio.

Ube champorado, made in honour of Tita Veronica. 💜This is a story about care - for family, friendship, the food that hol...
06/08/2026

Ube champorado, made in honour of Tita Veronica. 💜

This is a story about care - for family, friendship, the food that holds memory, and the people carrying things we may never see.

Tita Veronica loved anything ube. This bowl was made to honour her: warm, colourful and full of care.

No frozen ube meant finding another way. Sweet potato, ube extract and a little honesty became our version of halaya - not pretending to be something else, but adapting with care.

Read Chef Fhred’s full blog on our website - link in bio.

Watch the full Ube Champorado episode on YouTube - link in bio.

Ube is truly Filipino.This one isn’t technically real ube. We couldn’t find any in time, so we made it the Dishes way wi...
04/08/2026

Ube is truly Filipino.

This one isn’t technically real ube. We couldn’t find any in time, so we made it the Dishes way with sweet potato, ube extract, coconut milk and a bit of chaos.

But the essence is there.

Sweet, warm, purple, and made with love.

This episode was for Jasper and his mum, Tita Veronica. A reminder that sometimes you make things pretty simply because someone you love deserves it.

Full episode is on YouTube.

The recipes we keep are often really people in disguise.Sometimes it is one ingredient. Sometimes it is the exact way so...
02/08/2026

The recipes we keep are often really people in disguise.

Sometimes it is one ingredient. Sometimes it is the exact way someone says to stir, serve or make a bowl look nice. This episode begins with a dedication, but it kept opening up into a bigger question: who are we cooking for when we want something to feel like home?

Who comes to mind when you think of a dish you love?

Watch the full episode with Fhred and Liem on YouTube. Link in bio.

Every family has a food combination that sounds wrong until somebody you trust puts it in front of you.For Fhred, champo...
31/07/2026

Every family has a food combination that sounds wrong until somebody you trust puts it in front of you.

For Fhred, champorado and dried fish is one of those combinations. The point is not to convince everyone - it is to remember that comfort food is allowed to have contrast.

What is your most defendable sweet-and-salty pairing?

The full ube champorado episode is live on YouTube. Link in bio.

Who’s bowl would you take?Fhred Erick Batalona or Liem Nguyen Comment whose team you’re on.
28/07/2026

Who’s bowl would you take?

Fhred Erick Batalona or Liem Nguyen

Comment whose team you’re on.

28/07/2026

Now Champiscasdo is born!

All thanks to Liem Nguyen

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Level 10 257 Collins Street
Melbourne, VIC
3000

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