Asia TOPA: Spend a weekend in Melbourne with House of Silky’s Mirasia
Save the dates.
You can live in Melbourne your whole life and still find new and undiscovered spots. From restaurants and wine bars to music and nightlife, there’s always something exciting happening.
Someone who’s always tapped into what’s new in Naarm is local music producer and DJ, Mirasia. As the co-founder of House of Silky, a pioneering house in ballroom and Dutty, a QTBIPOC party combining community through music and dance floors, few people know Melbourne’s underground scene like she does.
Having grown up in Perth, Mirasia lived in Sydney before moving to Naarm five years ago. “Melbourne feels like an energetic medium between [Perth and Sydney]… there’s a lot more happening here for nightlife, culture, art, music and hospitality than any other city,” she says.
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In celebration of Asia TOPA, a city-wide event running from February 20 to March 10, Mirasia has teamed up with Kianna Oricci, of House of Oricci, to curate the INAMO Kiki Ball as part of the new Nightlife program. Held at Club 8 in the Arts Centre, Mirasia will be on the decks and joined by ballroom stars from the Philippines and Thailand.
Considering she’ll already be in the CBD, Mirasia has planned a long weekend to make the most of the program, with stops at Soi 38 for Thai food in a carpark and a plan to take in the art, dance and music performances from Tin Drum, Mindy Meng Wang and more. If Mirasia were to craft the perfect itinerary for Asia TOPA, here’s what it would look like.
Thursday, February 20
10am: Breakfast at the Queen Vic Markets
Grab a tray of oysters and sugar cane juice with your bestie, try on some wigs and stockings and pick up some fresh seasonal fruit and veg to snack on for the weekend.
12pm: Lunch at Udom House
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Udom House is a Queer-owned Thai cafe. A spicy summer flavour explosion for lunch, it’s walking distance from QVM. You can’t go wrong with the menu, but since you asked, I’m ordering the young coconut espresso, yum eggplant and pandan kaya to finish.
3pm: KAGAMI
An ode to the late Ryuichi Sakamoto, one of my all-time favourite composers introduced to me by my music-loving parents, this collaboration with Tin Drum is a 3D mixed-reality performance experience. I can’t wait to see it.
5:30pm: Dinner at Manze
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For dinner, bring that special someone and let your palette be transported to the islands of Mauritius for their set menu. Grab a chilled red or a refreshing Phoenix Mauritian beer to start the night correctly. It’s sexy food in an intimate casual fine dining setting. My hat goes off to Chef Nagesh.
7:30pm: Milestone
Milestone is a celebration of the artist and photographer, William Yang’s, 80th birthday. Yang first documented the birth of Australia’s LGBTQI+ movement, from the early days of Mardi Gras. Held in collaboration with composer Elena Kats-Chernin and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, it will reflect on five decades of social change.
Friday, Feb 21
11am: Brunch at Raya Melbourne
Order kaya toast with soft-boiled eggs and a sardine pastry with a pandan iced long black for brunch.
12pm: Shop
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I’ll be mincing around the city picking up last-minute pieces to elevate my look for the ball. I stop in at my favourites, including Incu, Ji Studio, Acne, Subtype and W Cosmetics for any skin supplements and Mecca for some lipliner and lipgloss.
2pm: Tiny, Fluffy, Sweet
Beijing and Utrecht-based theatre maker and artist, Ran Chen, brings her fascination with cute animal videos to Tiny, Fluffy, Sweet for a limited season. It’s full of heart, humour and biting cultural insight.
3pm: Elizabeth Nails
A quick stop to Elizabeth Street to get my nails did before the ball. I’ll probably be getting extensions with a coffin shape and for colour, I’m thinking a gradient, like a tequila sunrise.
5pm: Dinner at Soi 38
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Soi 38 is one of Naarm’s most iconic Thai restaurants, hidden in a carpark. I’ll be ordering the yum salmon zap (a spicy raw salmon salad), the mixed seafood tom yum hot pot and maybe some fried chicken grilled squid and mango sticky rice to enjoy with my chosen family.
9pm: INAMO Kiki Ball
If you are a trans or queer person of colour take a seat to the front. If you are straight (respectfully), then the INAMO Kiki Ball might not be the space for you. If this is your first ball, please respect the customs and cultural practices of this sacred space and stand at the back. You don’t want to be hurt by the dramatics of the performance battles about to ensue.
Ballroom was created by and for Black and Brown Trans Women and is one of the few spaces that celebrates this marginalised group. We will be joined by ballroom stars from the Philippines and Thailand to bridge the gap of the Australasian ballroom community.
2am: Late night drinks at Her Music Room
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If, by some crazy turn of events the ball is running on time, I’ll be having last drinks with the girls to debrief at Her Music Room. Hopefully one of the homies will be on the decks to enjoy our nightcap.
Saturday, Feb 22
3pm: Late lunch at Paramount Food Court
A late lunch link-up and recovery post-ball. I’ll be ordering the fried tilapia with jeow som, sticky rice and som tum (papaya salad).
5pm: Bubble tea at Gong Cha
Post-food coma I’ll be making my next tram stop for some bubble tea before the show. I’m ordering the oolong milk tea with soy and black pearls.
6:30pm: Opera for the Dead
In my previous life, I was a coloratura soprano singing arias in my sleep. I really cannot miss connecting with my Chinese roots and flair for the opulence and drama of this show. 祭歌 is created by award-winning composer and guzheng artist. Mindy Meng Wang, and sound technologist and composer, Monica Lim.
8pm: Cocktails at Cathedral Coffee
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You’ll have time for a quick drink between shows at this hidden natural wine bar by night and cafe by day.
9pm: Pulau (Island)
Pulau (Island) is a “site-specific response to Yayoi Kusama’s iconic body of work” by Australian and Javanese choreographer and performer, Melanie Lane. The dance piece centres on the themes of ‘obliteration’ versus ‘transformation’, held at the NGV after hours.
10pm: Late-night dinner at Supper Inn
For a late-night, authentic feed I’m going back to my Cantonese roots. I’ll be ordering the congee with fish and Chinese doughnuts, pipis in XO sauce and salt and pepper squid to feast on.
Sunday, Feb 23
11am: Brunch at Warkop CBD
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This is a delicious Indo cafe. I’ll get the filet-o-fish with an Indo twist and a calamansi fizz.
1pm: Bunyi Bunyi Bumi
Legendary choreographer Raymond D. Blanco and celebrated performance maker Dr Priya Srinivasan join forces with the celebrated visual artist Vernon Ah Kee in a dance piece that celebrates Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander, Tamil and Indonesian cultures.
3pm: House of Silky’s Summer Heat INAMO aftermath
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Time for more ballroom competition for the girls. We’ll be battling it out at Melbourne’s iconic rooftop, where Silky threw Naarm’s first-ever Vogue night almost four years ago. Joined by a special guest ballroom DJ from the Netherlands, the country’s finest fem queens and our ballroom guests from South East Asia, we’ll be there to show up and show out.
10pm: Dinner at Dragon Hot Pot
To finish off the long weekend’s antics, I’ll be getting everything I can fit into my bowl at Dragon Hot Pot. A classic end to a night out in Naarm.
Find the full program here.
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