11th November 2011
Number 53 on the list is now complete with dinner at Paladarr with Clare. A Thai restaurant located in Alphington on a residential street and opposite an industrial shed was an unassuming place for a hat restaurant.
A decent wine list and a reasonably small but diverse menu broken down into various sections including a monthly special dish. I went with a beer and Clare went with a great frangelico and pear cocktail.
We started with an appetiser called Miang Karm a self serve mix of chapoo leaf filled with dried shrimp, diced ginger, chili, toasted coconut, lime and a palm sugar topping sauce. Good flavours but the leaf was slightly too thick for me but the flavours worked well together and the palm sugar sauce was good.
I then went for a starter of deep fried ribbons of kangaroo fillet marinated in an oyster, fish and soy sauces with a little fresh salad and toasted macadamias. The kangaroo was rich and had good flavour but was slightly overcooked and slightly chewy. The macadamias worked well the kangaroo.
For main Clare and I shared one curry and one stir fry - the stir fry being a blue eye fillet, plump prawns, pear and mango in a red curry sauce. The blue eye fish and plump prawns were cooked perfectly and the sauce and red curry flavours were good. The curry was beef and peanut mussaman curry with fall apart beef and great flavours. Combined with some black sticky rice, rich butter fried roti, it was a good combinations of flavours.
Even though the portion sizes seemed small we were both reasonably full when we finished but decided that the coconut cream panna cotta infused with kaffir lime and lemon grass. Complemented with a tamarind sorbet, it was a great dish.
Good dishes, good service (although near the end when we wanted to pay the bill they seemed to disappear) and a good night out but it lacked some wow factor and something that elevated it to the next level. This will probably be in the bottom third of the restaurants visited.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Mercer's
6th November 2011
On a Sunday afternoon i decided to head out to Eltham for lunch at Mercer's to complete number 52 from my list. A converted weatherboard home in Eltham with polite welcoming staff and a relaxed service pace. A nice touch was Steven Mercer the head chef coming out at the end of the meal to enquire how the lunch was.
A very decent wine list and a reasonable selection by the glass was offered and offered at very reasonable prices.
After having a look at the menu, i decided to go all out and choose the 5 course degustation menu which consisted of 2 entree courses, a choice of 1 main course, a cheese course and a desert course. However before any of the courses arrived we had an appetiser of Yabi laksa bisque. Rich, velvety smooth and luxurious the yabi flavour was powerful without being too fishy and had a great flavour and smell.
The first course was a salmon and crab roll. Delicious crab stuffed inside a salmon cylinder and accompanied by 2 goat's cheese dumplings, cubed beetroot and a beetroot emulsion. Served on a slate, the presentation was amazing and the food was pretty great too. The goat's cheese dumpling was soft on the inside and had a slightly crisp outside.
The next course was the second main and was the 'Malaysian Dancing Prawns'. Prawns perfectly cooked and juicy covered in a slight chili hint sitting on a bed of fried eggplant salad and a crisp circular ring. The chili was more subtle but noticeable rather than a big hint but the flavours worked well together.
The main course was a herb crusted beef tenderloin cooked to perfection with a very pink inside and a brown outside hidden slightly by the delicious herb crust. Accompanied by mini thinly sliced vegetables and a wondrous and homely ox cheek and fennel sausage and a red wine glaze it was a winning combo and a superb display of quality produce and amazing technique.
The next course, the cheese course, was the least favourite course for me. Cheese always seems like a disappointment at a great restaurant as very little is done to it rather than presentation and doesn't show off any of the technique. However the alpine cheese was good and presented well on a slate tile with candied walnuts (very good), walnut and quince paste (good) and walnut bread.
The final course was the desert course. Referred to as ' Le Grande Desert' it featured mini versions of all the al a carte desert served on a big plate. Featuring an apple and sultana terrine, red delicious sorbet served on a apple and cinnamon crumble, a rhubarb cheesecake, burnt butter and berry friand and a chocolate souffle. Great flavours and different elements that were all perfectly executed and had great flavour. Some of them were different and a great show of imagination whilst others were simple dishes done well.
Overall the meal was great, quality service, presentation and most importantly food made it a worthwhile trip out to Eltham. Some great courses and flavours and dishes and a menu that had been thought out and matched extremely well and then executed perfectly. It was easy why this restaurant was bestowed with a Hat.
On a Sunday afternoon i decided to head out to Eltham for lunch at Mercer's to complete number 52 from my list. A converted weatherboard home in Eltham with polite welcoming staff and a relaxed service pace. A nice touch was Steven Mercer the head chef coming out at the end of the meal to enquire how the lunch was.
A very decent wine list and a reasonable selection by the glass was offered and offered at very reasonable prices.
After having a look at the menu, i decided to go all out and choose the 5 course degustation menu which consisted of 2 entree courses, a choice of 1 main course, a cheese course and a desert course. However before any of the courses arrived we had an appetiser of Yabi laksa bisque. Rich, velvety smooth and luxurious the yabi flavour was powerful without being too fishy and had a great flavour and smell.
The first course was a salmon and crab roll. Delicious crab stuffed inside a salmon cylinder and accompanied by 2 goat's cheese dumplings, cubed beetroot and a beetroot emulsion. Served on a slate, the presentation was amazing and the food was pretty great too. The goat's cheese dumpling was soft on the inside and had a slightly crisp outside.
The next course was the second main and was the 'Malaysian Dancing Prawns'. Prawns perfectly cooked and juicy covered in a slight chili hint sitting on a bed of fried eggplant salad and a crisp circular ring. The chili was more subtle but noticeable rather than a big hint but the flavours worked well together.
The main course was a herb crusted beef tenderloin cooked to perfection with a very pink inside and a brown outside hidden slightly by the delicious herb crust. Accompanied by mini thinly sliced vegetables and a wondrous and homely ox cheek and fennel sausage and a red wine glaze it was a winning combo and a superb display of quality produce and amazing technique.
The next course, the cheese course, was the least favourite course for me. Cheese always seems like a disappointment at a great restaurant as very little is done to it rather than presentation and doesn't show off any of the technique. However the alpine cheese was good and presented well on a slate tile with candied walnuts (very good), walnut and quince paste (good) and walnut bread.
The final course was the desert course. Referred to as ' Le Grande Desert' it featured mini versions of all the al a carte desert served on a big plate. Featuring an apple and sultana terrine, red delicious sorbet served on a apple and cinnamon crumble, a rhubarb cheesecake, burnt butter and berry friand and a chocolate souffle. Great flavours and different elements that were all perfectly executed and had great flavour. Some of them were different and a great show of imagination whilst others were simple dishes done well.
Overall the meal was great, quality service, presentation and most importantly food made it a worthwhile trip out to Eltham. Some great courses and flavours and dishes and a menu that had been thought out and matched extremely well and then executed perfectly. It was easy why this restaurant was bestowed with a Hat.
Monday, November 7, 2011
Bonus Item - Bombay by Night
3rd November 2011
After a Thursday of work i decided to forgo cooking and decided against going to a Hat restaurant (with only 9 to go they are mostly set) and went for take away Indian at a place just down the road from work that just falls short of 1 hat and is considered one of the best Indian restaurants in Melbourne called Bombay by Night.
Given i just went for take away food i can not give a full and accurate assessment of the service but the restaurant itself was relatively bland (especially for an Indian restaurant) with white walls and some subtle Indian art on the walls.
The food however was anything but bland. Good quality meats and flavours in the tandoori chicken to start, chicken tikka Marsala and rice that was fluffy and not sticky or dry even after a while sitting in the car on the way home.
Accompanied with a side of keema nam with plenty of meat stuffed inside.
Good food and a cut above the normal quality of meat found in Indian restaurants but it still is just Indian food - very nice but very difficult to make extraordinary.
After a Thursday of work i decided to forgo cooking and decided against going to a Hat restaurant (with only 9 to go they are mostly set) and went for take away Indian at a place just down the road from work that just falls short of 1 hat and is considered one of the best Indian restaurants in Melbourne called Bombay by Night.
Given i just went for take away food i can not give a full and accurate assessment of the service but the restaurant itself was relatively bland (especially for an Indian restaurant) with white walls and some subtle Indian art on the walls.
The food however was anything but bland. Good quality meats and flavours in the tandoori chicken to start, chicken tikka Marsala and rice that was fluffy and not sticky or dry even after a while sitting in the car on the way home.
Accompanied with a side of keema nam with plenty of meat stuffed inside.
Good food and a cut above the normal quality of meat found in Indian restaurants but it still is just Indian food - very nice but very difficult to make extraordinary.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Sarti
1st November 2011
Less than 10 to go as i took the lovely Jess out to Sarti for dinner on Cup day (number 51). Located in a back street off Bourke street it was secluded despite being in the middle of the busiest part of the city. (I am blaming the hidden part on why we couldn't find it rather than me thinking it was off Lonsdale street). Located upstairs and with dim lighting and efficient and friendly service who were always willing to offer an opinion or a helpful comment.
The entrees rather than being proper entrees were served as the equivalent of Tapas called stuzzichini. I decided to have 2 of the stuzzichini - the wild duck and provolone polpette with a pistachio crumb (Jess also had this) and the wallaby carpaccio, roasted macadamia nuts and wattleseed oil.
The wild duck polpette was rich dark and had good flavour and was well complemented by the pistachio crumb . The Wallaby carpaccio was very thinly sliced and the rich meat was very lean with a healthy sprinkling of toasted, delicious macadamia nuts.
For main course i went for the braised veal cheeks sitting on a bed of purple cauliflower cous cous and black rice with a prosciutto consomme poured over the top. The veal cheeks were perfectly cooked and fell apart with the slightest touch and the consomme was rich and delicious. The only down point being that the cous cous and rice were not very substantial and were drowned out slightly by the consomme.
Jess went for the calabrian pasta e fagioli - short spaghetti covered with beans and served with a side of chili. Rich warm and very tasty without a reasonable hit of chili it worked well and was a decent size.
For desert i went with the pistachio panna cotta with a generous side of salted caramel popcorn. The panna cotta was very nice and had a strong pistachio flavour and the crunchy popcorn was a good complement and a worthy addition on its own.
Jess, choose the torta al cioccolato which came out slightly different from a regular chocolate tarte. Served with a big ball of orange ice cream and broken off chocolate pieces and a crumbs of both chocolate and orange it looked a good dish and the combo of the orange ice cream and chocolate bits were great. The limited description on the menu was an unfortunate mistake given certain allergies.
Overall however the food was very good and reasonably priced. Service was good, helpful and involved without being over the top. Also given we came at a relatively late booking, we were one of the last tables to leave the restaurant but didn't feel pressured into leaving.
Less than 10 to go as i took the lovely Jess out to Sarti for dinner on Cup day (number 51). Located in a back street off Bourke street it was secluded despite being in the middle of the busiest part of the city. (I am blaming the hidden part on why we couldn't find it rather than me thinking it was off Lonsdale street). Located upstairs and with dim lighting and efficient and friendly service who were always willing to offer an opinion or a helpful comment.
The entrees rather than being proper entrees were served as the equivalent of Tapas called stuzzichini. I decided to have 2 of the stuzzichini - the wild duck and provolone polpette with a pistachio crumb (Jess also had this) and the wallaby carpaccio, roasted macadamia nuts and wattleseed oil.
The wild duck polpette was rich dark and had good flavour and was well complemented by the pistachio crumb . The Wallaby carpaccio was very thinly sliced and the rich meat was very lean with a healthy sprinkling of toasted, delicious macadamia nuts.
For main course i went for the braised veal cheeks sitting on a bed of purple cauliflower cous cous and black rice with a prosciutto consomme poured over the top. The veal cheeks were perfectly cooked and fell apart with the slightest touch and the consomme was rich and delicious. The only down point being that the cous cous and rice were not very substantial and were drowned out slightly by the consomme.
Jess went for the calabrian pasta e fagioli - short spaghetti covered with beans and served with a side of chili. Rich warm and very tasty without a reasonable hit of chili it worked well and was a decent size.
For desert i went with the pistachio panna cotta with a generous side of salted caramel popcorn. The panna cotta was very nice and had a strong pistachio flavour and the crunchy popcorn was a good complement and a worthy addition on its own.
Jess, choose the torta al cioccolato which came out slightly different from a regular chocolate tarte. Served with a big ball of orange ice cream and broken off chocolate pieces and a crumbs of both chocolate and orange it looked a good dish and the combo of the orange ice cream and chocolate bits were great. The limited description on the menu was an unfortunate mistake given certain allergies.
Overall however the food was very good and reasonably priced. Service was good, helpful and involved without being over the top. Also given we came at a relatively late booking, we were one of the last tables to leave the restaurant but didn't feel pressured into leaving.
Embrasse
30th October 2011
Number 50 off the list!! On a Sunday night i decided to head out with a friend on a spur of the moment decision to Embrasse to complete the 50th restaurant of my list. Located in Carlton slightly away from the main shopping and restaurant areas was a old converted house with a plain black and white fit out but with some elegant touches - chandeliers and draped curtains.
I was offered a decent wine list that broke the wines down into Old World or Australian and had a small selection of wines by the glass with a decent range of prices that flirted with a slightly higher range than similar restaurants. After selecting a beer to start (from 3 choices) and a pinot gris with the main course, i was offered the menus by the attentive polite but restrained wait staff and explained the different choices.
I went for the 5 course degustation which offered no options and was at the discretion of the chef but with your option to discuss like or dislikes. There was also an a la carte menu. Before any of the courses were served i was offered a choice of olive bread or smoked wheat bread. I went with the smoked wheat bread which was served warm with a slightly smoked flavour and accompanied with french butter and served served on their own tiles.
Also before the main courses came out a pre dinner appetiser was served. Served on a wooden tray were two spoons, one containing a artichoke puree with hazelnut and small cubes of beetroot and the other an asparagus puree with pickled wombok and black sesame. Fresh and delicious flavours and a good start and great way to build towards the actual courses.
All the dishes were beautifully presented with a variety of different techniques on display especially desert.
The first course was a dish of onion and green and white asparagus cooked in a variety of way including an onion jus and complemented by a Camembert foam. Surprisingly with a dish with so much onion it did not overpower the other flavours and it was well balanced with a variety of different textures and flavours.
The second course was a seafood dish with a yabi tail, crystal bay prawns and a razor clam sitting on a cauliflower puree with a heart of cucumber, carrot jus and a single large circular potato. Quality seafood and a perfectly balanced dish with subtle and complementary flavours that worked well together.
After the seafood dish came a palate cleanser. A rhubarb granita which had a rhubarb tea poured over the top at the table. Sweet, fresh and delicious and cleansed the palate well for the next course.
The next course was a thick square piece of pork belly with maple syrup glace combined with a series of purees and gels of pumpkin, burnt carrot and square pieces of melon covered in a horseradish and bamboo ash soot. The pork belly was dense and chewy with a crisp glazed top and mixed well with the fresh purees. The melon was an addition that the dish could have done without and it was a mismatch with the other flavours.
The final savoury course was a Wagyu rump cap marinaded in a squid ink so the outside was completely black and covered with a crush bread crumbs. It was matched with a crisp outside and soft inside of potato croquette, an asparagus puree, spear and gel and a rice gel. Well cooked meat that was still very pink on the inside and the potato croquette was magnificent.
The desert course was named 'Forest Scene' and if you ever have it you could tell why. Chocolate leaves, a white chocolate branch, mint and wood sorrel granita soil, chocolate gateau crumbs and to finish it off a mushroom consisting of a chocolate and hazelnut parfait for the cup and a french hard meringue stalk. Amazing presentation, a little bit of fun and some great flavours and textures throw in.
I also went for a salted dark caramel petit fours that was presented in a elaborate 'Embrasse' box mounted on a serviette. The soft caramel was decadent and tasty and a great way to finish.
The use of gels, purees and foam bought a level of sophistication and quality to the meals and boosted already quality ingredients. The presentation of the dishes was amazing and the food was nearly as good and was exemplified by the desert dish that was definitely a winner. Service was decent if a little impersonal and the value was fairly good even if the wines were marked up a little more than usual. Overall a great night out.
Number 50 off the list!! On a Sunday night i decided to head out with a friend on a spur of the moment decision to Embrasse to complete the 50th restaurant of my list. Located in Carlton slightly away from the main shopping and restaurant areas was a old converted house with a plain black and white fit out but with some elegant touches - chandeliers and draped curtains.
I was offered a decent wine list that broke the wines down into Old World or Australian and had a small selection of wines by the glass with a decent range of prices that flirted with a slightly higher range than similar restaurants. After selecting a beer to start (from 3 choices) and a pinot gris with the main course, i was offered the menus by the attentive polite but restrained wait staff and explained the different choices.
I went for the 5 course degustation which offered no options and was at the discretion of the chef but with your option to discuss like or dislikes. There was also an a la carte menu. Before any of the courses were served i was offered a choice of olive bread or smoked wheat bread. I went with the smoked wheat bread which was served warm with a slightly smoked flavour and accompanied with french butter and served served on their own tiles.
Also before the main courses came out a pre dinner appetiser was served. Served on a wooden tray were two spoons, one containing a artichoke puree with hazelnut and small cubes of beetroot and the other an asparagus puree with pickled wombok and black sesame. Fresh and delicious flavours and a good start and great way to build towards the actual courses.
All the dishes were beautifully presented with a variety of different techniques on display especially desert.
The first course was a dish of onion and green and white asparagus cooked in a variety of way including an onion jus and complemented by a Camembert foam. Surprisingly with a dish with so much onion it did not overpower the other flavours and it was well balanced with a variety of different textures and flavours.
The second course was a seafood dish with a yabi tail, crystal bay prawns and a razor clam sitting on a cauliflower puree with a heart of cucumber, carrot jus and a single large circular potato. Quality seafood and a perfectly balanced dish with subtle and complementary flavours that worked well together.
After the seafood dish came a palate cleanser. A rhubarb granita which had a rhubarb tea poured over the top at the table. Sweet, fresh and delicious and cleansed the palate well for the next course.
The next course was a thick square piece of pork belly with maple syrup glace combined with a series of purees and gels of pumpkin, burnt carrot and square pieces of melon covered in a horseradish and bamboo ash soot. The pork belly was dense and chewy with a crisp glazed top and mixed well with the fresh purees. The melon was an addition that the dish could have done without and it was a mismatch with the other flavours.
The final savoury course was a Wagyu rump cap marinaded in a squid ink so the outside was completely black and covered with a crush bread crumbs. It was matched with a crisp outside and soft inside of potato croquette, an asparagus puree, spear and gel and a rice gel. Well cooked meat that was still very pink on the inside and the potato croquette was magnificent.
The desert course was named 'Forest Scene' and if you ever have it you could tell why. Chocolate leaves, a white chocolate branch, mint and wood sorrel granita soil, chocolate gateau crumbs and to finish it off a mushroom consisting of a chocolate and hazelnut parfait for the cup and a french hard meringue stalk. Amazing presentation, a little bit of fun and some great flavours and textures throw in.
I also went for a salted dark caramel petit fours that was presented in a elaborate 'Embrasse' box mounted on a serviette. The soft caramel was decadent and tasty and a great way to finish.
The use of gels, purees and foam bought a level of sophistication and quality to the meals and boosted already quality ingredients. The presentation of the dishes was amazing and the food was nearly as good and was exemplified by the desert dish that was definitely a winner. Service was decent if a little impersonal and the value was fairly good even if the wines were marked up a little more than usual. Overall a great night out.
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