Get Taiwanese Tapas and a British Chinese Feast at Sleepy’s Christmas in July Pop-Ups

Steve Chan, owner of Fitzroy North cafe and wine bar Sleepy’s, will take any excuse to celebrate. So this month he’s hosting a series of 10 Christmas in July pop-ups.

The 10 nights of pop-ups, taking place from Wednesday July 9 to Sunday July 13 and Wednesday July 23 to Sunday July 27, will each centre different cuisines.

Chan enlisted some top-tier chefs including Mark Hannell of Hot-Listed Reed House, who will be cooking British Chinese food; former Masterchef contestant David Tan; and Gaea’s Charles Duan.

Chan says he’s particularly excited about Piging, a Filipino pop-up collective that will prepare a Filo Christmas meal on Wednesday July 23. As well as a Taiwanese tapas-style dinner on Saturday July 26 from Denny Baring, who spent a year working at fine-dining restaurant Hosu in Taiwan.

On Thursday July 10, there’s a pop-up by Hot Luck Club, a Sydney hot sauce stall, that will put its spin on Cantonese cuisine with dishes including Swiss cheese-stuffed chicken wings. And on Sunday July 13, chefs Viveik Venoharan and Duan will pop up as S&M (Sri Lankan and Mongolian) Club. They’ll serve dishes including kangaroo tartare, curry leaf macarons and beef fat dukkah.

Each night will also feature specifically catered drinks to match the evening’s theme. And Chan says the pop-ups will all have “dinner party vibes”. Book here.

Sleepy’s Christmas in July Pop-Ups

Wednesday July 9: Mark Harnell of Reed House
Thursday July 10: Hot Luck Club
Friday July 11: Ekram Rai of Pearl Diver
Saturday July 12: Malaysian and Indonesian pop-up Supper Hour
Sunday July 13: S&M Club with Viveik Venoharan and Charles Duan
Wednesday July 23: Filipino pop-up Piging
Thursday July 24: Sleepy’s team takeover
Friday July 25: Former Masterchef contestant David Tan and Alexandra Weymouth of Boujee to Basic Bites
Saturday July 26: Denny Baring
Sunday July 27: Joshua Gleeson of Bar Bellamy and Cinn Benavides of Marquis of Lorne