Roving Marrow

10th October 2015

For my 32nd birthday i organised for me and friends and family to head out to a new restaurant that i had heard good reviews of and had been awarded a Hat in the latest 2016 Good Food Guide. Located in the back of the recently renovated Astor hotel in the northern part of Lygon street on the corner of Elgin Street, the restaurant was a small section located past the bar in the back corner. Simple and sleek decor, furniture and plates, glasses and cutlery.

After an initial drink in the bar, we headed through to our table in the restaurant. Whilst trying to decide on our approach for our meal, we decided to go with some snacks of Oysters with condiments (which i didn't have) and a Cigars of chicken liver parfait, date and salted peanut. A crisp shell filled with rich chicken parfait and topped with date puree and crushed peanuts, it was a great start to the meal (although my brother Joe would not agree).

After much debate and helpful advice from our waiter, we settled on four different shared dishes with sufficient to share between the 8 of us. We ended up with half of the dish each.

The first dish was Mozzarella 'pasta',  peas, chevre & basil. Mozzarella fashioned into fettuccini style pasta with excellent flavour and complemented by the flavours of the peas and peas and basil puree.

The next dish was my personal favourite, expertly cooked pieces of roast duck, roasted brussel spouts and crisp nuts. Warm, rich and decadent with excellent flavours and perfect balance.

The next dish was the Chinese roasted pork belly, perfectly cooked and crispy and covered in a layer of red peppers and red cabbage. It was an excellent dish with perfectly cooked individual components and worked well together.

The final main course was chunks of Cape Grim beef and mixed with slices of sweet onion, turnips and radishes. The beef was cooked perfectly and the dish was homely warm and delicious.

For dessert i choose the Passionfruit dessert with a bowl made of white chocolate and coconut filled with passionfruit puree, liquorice sorbet and shaved white chocolate over the top. Excellent flavours and textures

I also finished with a dark chocolate truffle cover with black sea salt. Was very rich and a great mix of sweet and salty and a great way to finish the meal.

All the dishes were a perfect mix of quality ingredients, great cooking with a mix of precise modern techniques and homely warm feeling dishes.Also at $15 for main course they came in at a bargain for such high quality food even if you do need a few mains to fill you up. Combined with a diverse and long drinks list with our bottle of wine coming in at $50 and quality and helpful service this was a rare treat of a night out with the meal all up for my appertisers, mains, desserts and wine coming in at $65.

Mr Wolf

5/9/2014

With having to work late to finish some work on a Friday night I decided to offset that by treating myself to some takeaway food from a Good Food Guide restaurant. As I was having a craving for Pizza and with Mr Wolf (14.5 out of 20) within a 10 minute walk from the office I decided to order a take away pizza and a dessert.

After ordering on the phone, i headed over to Mr. Wolf. Located on Inkerman Street on a busy corner in St Kilda with a dark but clean dining room with a long bar along the back wall in front of the kitchen.

For the Pizza i went with the Calabrese pizza (tomato, mozzarella, parmigiano, salami, peppers & chilli - no olives). Thin crisp slightly charred base with sparse but flavourful toppings, it was a slight cut above regular pizza. However it was also at a higher price point than most restaurants.

Whilst the pizza was good, the best part of the food was dessert. An amazing mix of Chocolate semifreddo, smothered in salted caramel sauce and a scattering of pistachio toffee popcorn. Rich smooth decadent chocolate with an amazing caramel sauce and offset in texture by the crunchy popcorn, it was a great mix of tastes and textures. Also whilst the pizza was on the pricey side, the desert was a bargain at less than $10.

Overall the pizza was a cut above but the main star was dessert. Worth a visit with helpful staff, quality food and a quality location and dining room.

The Grand

25th July 2014

For Oli's bday I headed back to The Grand for my first dinner out at a Hat Restaurant in Melbourne for a while. The Grand has retained its 1 Hat status each year since I last went in May 2011. Still located in an old pub on quiet residential street in Richmond, the main bar had seen an update since i was last their with new tables and a smarter less daggy interior. The Restaurant was still located through a small side entry door through the main bar which lead to a mix of old school dining with new school touches.

After being seated at a long table for 15 we were told that our host had organised a selection of entrees for us. On the selection was a sizable antipasto plate with a selection of excellent cured meats, buffalo mozzarella, pickled vegetables and bread sticks, whole char grilled calamari with parsley, capers and a wedge of lemon to drizzle over the top and finally the favourite of Potato gnocchi with brown butter and sage.

For my main course i went with the pan seared loin of venison with truffled honey & vincotto served with miniature king oyster mushrooms. Soft delicious perfectly cooked meat with the rich gamey meats offset with the sweeter accompaniments. The main course was accompanied by 2 sides generously provided by the host including oven roasted garlic and rosemary potatoes and a Rocket, pear, walnut and Parmesan salad. Excellent side dishes with the main and in their own right especially the salad.

I was a little disappointed that one of the desert i had eyed from the menu on the Internet was not on the menu in the restaurant but not too disappointed as the alternative was Bombolini - Italian doughnuts filled with crema pasticcera and served with honeycomb and caramel ice cream. Delicious!

Again service was good and dining room was nice. Wine list (which i didn't participate in) was extensive and varied and as with last time it was well worth the trip out of the way in Richmond.

Rosetta

5th December 2013

After discussing going to Rosetta with Em for at least 6 months and one cancellation we finally headed for dinner with Matt as well. Located at Crown it is the latest of Neil Perry's 3 restaurants at Crown with all three having a distinct different cuisine (Rockpool being the first with contemporary produce based cuisine, Spice Temple as a modern Chinese cuisine and Rosetta an old school Italian restaurant).

An old school classical restaurant located in a square box outside the front of Crown towers that has been decked out with no expense spared with a elegant foyer and entryway through to the main dining . (there was also a private dining area around the other side past stairs down to the bathrooms). The main dining room featured old school photos, old school chandeliers, drapes and comfy old chairs and banquettes. Also a old school new York style bar (but with some new school gadgets including a machine to melt block of ice and shape them into perfect circles of ice) and an extensive list of cocktails.

Old school dressed, confident and knowledgeable waiting staff that were maybe a bit too involved in the dinner at times but provided opinions and knowledge about wines drinks and food. After taking a seat ( i choose the really comfy banquette) and after much talking and not much looking at the menu we finally decided on drinks and dinner.

I decided on just a main course with a side and desert whereas Matt and Em went for a couple of antipasti items along with a main course each and after Em complained she was full she still finished off a desert as well.

Before the ordered courses came out we were offered some very good bread and excellent olive oil and there was plenty of refills of bread as we devoured it.

Em and Matt started with 2 antipasti that i tried a piece of each. The first was a dish of 3 decent sized meatballs along with a rich tomato sauce and a generous helping of shaved Parmesan. Very decent rich and flavoursome meatballs with good sauce and cheese.

The other antipasti was 2 thick triangular chunks of black pudding (blood sausage) which has been pan fried, maybe a little too much, with an excellent salsa Verde. The salsa Verde was excellent and cut through the richness of the blood sausage. However the blood sausage was a little too dry and a bit bland in flavour but a decent dish overall.

My main course was a dish of wood fired roasted lam loin served with a deliberate decent amount of fat and served slightly more cooked than usual as a result. This was an amazing cut of meat and combined well with a mixture of fregola, almond and preserved lemon. Great mix of flavours and a delicious dish.

This was accompanied by a side of extremely crispy potatoes with garlic and rosemary salt which were excellent. Didn't really match with the dish I choose but were delicious not the less.

For desert i went with a dish i have identified for a while and hoped they hadn't changed before i got to go to Rosetta. Described as Frozen chocolate, peanut and coconut semi freddo it was even better than described and expected. A peanut and coconut semi freddo covered in toasted coconut with a disk of frozen chocolate on the bottom surrounded by a pool of  coconut custard. All the elements of the dish were amazing and perfectly measured both individually and as a whole. A good mix of wonderful technique, quality ingredients and a well thought out dish.

Overall the restaurant lived up to most of the top billing it receives. Quality produce and ingredients cooked simply but expertly and with some imagination, perfect technique and with good presentation. Dishes were on the pricey side and definitely a restaurant for the grand occasion rather than a weekly experience but it was certainly special when combined with the service, extensive drinks list and a dining room that meets its mark. Very worth a visit and the wait.

Long Apron

19th October 2013

As a birthday celebration for my 30th and my dad's bday (whilst i was up to visit my parents), we went to The Long Apron (2 Hats in Queensland Good Food Guide) for lunch. Located up the top of part of the Blackall Range it was part of a hotel with superb surroundings and views albeit a bit of a queasy ride up.

The restaurant was set facing out onto the gardens and our table was located on the terrace with uninterrupted views but under the shade.

After being seated we were offered a wine and drinks list and the food options. The drinks list was decent with a good mix of prices and wine by the glass if not thoroughly extensive. The food was offered in 5 sections with 3 choice in each. This was offered in a variety of ways though - as a tasting menu (7 courses selected by the kitchen $125), or 2 ($75), 3 ($85) or 5 ($105) courses (selected by the diner).

We all wanted the choice but were still hungry and all decided on 5 courses. Despite the menu being broken up into 5 sections leading you to believe that it was a requirement to select one from each section, they were quite flexible with this (although they did specify only 1 main and 1 desert). As such i skipped the vegetarian second section and added a second meat entree.

Before any of the actual courses arrived we were served a selection of amuse bouche. The first was a watermelon sashimi, wafer thin and folded into delicate parcels, and accompanied by soft delicate cheesy Gougeres.

In addition was delicious bread with a crisp crust and soft moist inside. To top off the initial dish was a strange but delicious flourish of creativity and flavour. Made to look like a garden served in a clear dish was a Lemon and Eucalyptus mouse topped with an olive and Gribache soil with grisini made to look like branches sticking out the top. Excellent presentation, imagination and amazing flavours.

The first of the courses was a dish the initial fish course with Hervey bay scallops, sea greens, bone marrow and grilled leaks with a roasted celeriac jus. Wonderfully presented and full of contrasting flavours.

The first of the two meat entree courses was a Wagyu tartare with a charred bell pepper with a quail egg. Good meaty flavour and quality ingredients and combined with an interesting and pepper that was soft on the inside but with a chary covering.

The next dish was the one everyone agreed on and all had together and was the last entree course and my second meat entree. It was a roasted duck breast combined with pear, honey, fennel, duck ham and grilled shallot. Perfectly cooked duck and well matched with the pear. The duck ham was also excellent and a dish that came together well.

For the final savoury course and the designated main course, I decided to double up on Wagyu beef with this course being a Rump cap served with aligot (smooth potato puree mixed with cheese), confit vegetables and a mild horseradish cream. Pink medium rare beef with a slightly charred outside and combined with an impossibly smooth and cheesy potato puree made for an excellent dish.

The desert course reminded me of the Forest floor I had previously at the now closed Embrasse (now available at Brooks where the chef has gone). Light fluffy mint sponge with 3 delicious chocolate truffles, crisp sheets of meringue and a ball of mousse with a glaze. Mint and chocolate flavours matched well together and different textures and tastes blended well together. Impressive technique and quality cooking created a magic dish.

A wonderful location and setting for a destination dining experience. The quality didn't stop with the location as the food was well thought out, wonderfully presented and full of flavour. Service was good and food was great value and with a great wine list everything comes together for a excellent meal. Well worth a visit and an excellent place to celebrate a special birthday and well worthy of the 2 hat bestowed on it.