26th November 2011
Having booked to go to this restaurant a few months ago with Em and Lyd, the date finally arrived when it got to finish off all of the three hat restaurants on my list. Compared to the other 3 hat restaurants this was more hip, experimental and new restaurant with a darker edgier feel.
Having previously heard service was once patchy and not up to the standard of the food or other high class restaurants, we were pleasantly surprised with the easy charm and quality of the service, even being offered for us to use the existing napkins to dry ourselves (after coming in on a pouring and dismal Melbourne Saturday night) and provided with fresh ones. They were involved and clearly cared about the restaurant, vision of the chef and the dining experience. (although some of the descriptions of various parts of the dining experience were overly elaborate).
We settled into our dark and moody dining room with dark walls and modern art and photos adorning the walls. A bar in the middle and a separate dining area just separated by glass windows and doors were the only features in a dining room that would be described a minimalist. The tables were close together but not cramped as i had heard from some people. The room and table setting were not the same quality as the other 3 hat restaurants but were a significant upgrade from reports from previous years.
We ordered a bottle of wine to share which was reasonably priced although slightly on the expensive side from the extensive but not encyclopedic wine list and moved straight onto the food. Not that you had much to choose from with an eight course tasting menu the only option on a Saturday night. Me and Lyd decided to have a look at the menu but Em decided to leave every dish a surprise until it was presented by the wait staff.
This was a menu that aspired to delight and push boundaries whereas Vue Du Monde and Jacques Reymond were relatively restrained and old school in terms of food. The menu provided little indication of the elaborate sophisticated and involved nature of every detail of the dish. Presented beautifully and with a specific purpose often the theatre and presentation of the dish was more a part of the dish than the taste and flavours.
We were offered some warm bread with an olive oil emulsion and house made rich creamy french butter. Very good quality.
Before the first of the 8 courses were presented, we were offered an appetiser. Crystal bay prawns with thin slices of radish with mustard seeds and an Jerusalem artichoke reduction. Fresh, light and amazing flavour it was a great way to start the meal and provide an insight into the culinary aspiration in store.
The first course was a long term signature of Attica, the snow crab. A dish of crab, salmon roe, puffed rice, barberry, verjuice and freeze dried coconut all covered in a horseradish snow that melted in the mouth (like a spoon full of icing sugar). Amazing presentation and a work of art and for the most part great flavours but at times the horseradish snow was a bit too much and threatened to overpower the other flavours.
Onto the second course we went and a dish of marron, leek and native pepper. Tiny circles of leek covered in a mustard oil and beautifully cooked tiny portions of marron tail (one of my and top restaurants favourite ingredients). Combined with a mussel and prosciutto stock poured at the table, he rich fat marron tail was perfectly cooked and the other flavours complemented it well.
The next dish was also one of the most well known and involves the transformation of the simple potato into a elegant dish. The 'simple potato cooked in the earth it was grown' has an elaborate name and equally elaborate cooking process (5+ hours) to make it deliciously creamy and soft. Combined with a bed of goat's cheese that had been sprinkled with a series of soils and ashs, it was an amazing complex dish that showed the masterful technique and willingness to experiment. However the flavours for us were a little bland and despite it being a well cooked and brought together dish, the dish was still just a potato.
The next dish however was a great triumph. Meat from the pearl oyster was a great dish. Exquisitely cooked meat that was neither too spongy or crunchy and had great flavour. Combined with a slab of dense rich and fatty pork with shaved radish, it was great combo of flavours and textures.
The next dish however was one of my favourites. A perfectly cooked vibrant egg yolk that was gooey and runny combined with almond and garlic burnt brown butter chips, baked celeriac, a cream of Pyengana cheese and globe artichokes. It was a bit of a mess at the end but the flavours were great and the chips were my favourite part (although not to Lyd's liking).
The final savoury dish was a beef tongue that looked more like rib eye covered in a mix of herbs and combined with a parsnip puree, parsnips and onions and flattened crunchy wagyu beef. The quality of the beef was amazing as well as the cooking and the combination with the vegetables were great.
The first desert was a dish called The Franz Josef named after the glacier in New Zealand and designed to look like it as well. A dish of coconut ash, caramelised mango, kiwi fruit ice, avocado and mint puree and eggless coconut meringue. Amazing quality of dish and the presentation and thought gone into it was outstanding and the taste of the dish was outrageously good. A dish that exemplifies everything that this restaurant is about.
The final dish was called the 'Native Fruits of Australia' a combination of a variety different berries and fruits with various flavour, tastes and textures combined with a sheep's milk yogurt, macadamia crumble and currant granita. The berries offered a wide variety and some were great and some were not to my taste and one had a very leathery texture but the yogurt and the granita were exemplary.
Lyd and Em decided to go for coffees to finish and whilst these were being prepared we were presented with a nest of edible Pukeko eggs. Wonderfully presented but the white chocolate eggs (painted to look like real birds eggs) and filled with salted caramel made us completely forget about any of the history and beautiful presentation and focus on the amazing flavours.
A meal that pushes the boundaries and senses whilst reaching amazing heights and quality with some dishes but falling short of the immense expectations both created by its reputation and the presentation of the meal. This was a dinner that delighted and strived for greatness whilst leaving some of the risk free perfection of Vue Du Monde and Jacques Reymond by the wayside. The service was first class and the quality of the evening was great. Definitely a top 5 restaurant, however with some further polish this place could reach the heights of number 1.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Bistro Guillaume
24th November 2011
On a reasonably sunny and pleasant Thursday afternoon, i headed into the city to complete number 55 off my list with dinner at Bistro Guillaume. Shown to my seat in the outside area by a genuine french waitress i received the menu and wine list promptly (I ordered a glass of Sancerre - reasonably priced) and the efficient and quickly service proceeded from there, although there was some friendly banter between wait staff and guests especially the main waitress in the area.
I decided to forgo the entree and went straight for the plat du jour which was on a Thursday the Duck Parmentier and also accompanied it with a side of Paris mash. Very quickly after it had been ordered the meal came out. Plated up on a tile slate with a copper pot holding the duck parmentier and a small salad on the side. The mash was also presented in a stylish but homely manner in a miniature casserole dish.
The confit duck was rich and beautifully dense and had great flavour covered with a little layer of potato and a good layer of breadcrumbs. Excellent flavours and combined with the smooth rich and creamy Paris mash it was a great and homely dish with a little touch of flair.
I moved on to desert and this came out even quicker after ordering than the main course (although it did not require any cooking). I went with the raspberry macaroon. 2 giant macaroon discs filled a raspberry sorbet, a whit chocolate creme filling and fresh raspberries and surrounded by a pool of raspberry coulis. It was substantial, perfectly executed and one of my favourite deserts so far.
Overall very satisfying and homely french comfort food with touches of flair, class and technique throw in. The service was good and reasonably friendly and personable but the express style meal (40 minutes from start to finish) made it seem like they wanted to turn around your table - even though the restaurant was only 3/4 full. The price was decent value if a tad on the expensive side but there was undoubted quality in the dishes.
On a reasonably sunny and pleasant Thursday afternoon, i headed into the city to complete number 55 off my list with dinner at Bistro Guillaume. Shown to my seat in the outside area by a genuine french waitress i received the menu and wine list promptly (I ordered a glass of Sancerre - reasonably priced) and the efficient and quickly service proceeded from there, although there was some friendly banter between wait staff and guests especially the main waitress in the area.
I decided to forgo the entree and went straight for the plat du jour which was on a Thursday the Duck Parmentier and also accompanied it with a side of Paris mash. Very quickly after it had been ordered the meal came out. Plated up on a tile slate with a copper pot holding the duck parmentier and a small salad on the side. The mash was also presented in a stylish but homely manner in a miniature casserole dish.
The confit duck was rich and beautifully dense and had great flavour covered with a little layer of potato and a good layer of breadcrumbs. Excellent flavours and combined with the smooth rich and creamy Paris mash it was a great and homely dish with a little touch of flair.
I moved on to desert and this came out even quicker after ordering than the main course (although it did not require any cooking). I went with the raspberry macaroon. 2 giant macaroon discs filled a raspberry sorbet, a whit chocolate creme filling and fresh raspberries and surrounded by a pool of raspberry coulis. It was substantial, perfectly executed and one of my favourite deserts so far.
Overall very satisfying and homely french comfort food with touches of flair, class and technique throw in. The service was good and reasonably friendly and personable but the express style meal (40 minutes from start to finish) made it seem like they wanted to turn around your table - even though the restaurant was only 3/4 full. The price was decent value if a tad on the expensive side but there was undoubted quality in the dishes.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Flower Drum
14th November 2011
On a Monday night i headed in to the city for dinner at one of the bigger names left on my list, Flower Drum. Heading in to the main foyer i was greeted by 2 staff and ushered to the lift which slowly took us up to the main dining room. A decadent and opulent dining room with plush red carpet, Chinese art and a big Chinese centre piece doorway in the middle of the dining room.
Very busy (especially for a Monday night) the meal took a while to get going. After being seated and having my chair pushed in (also happened after i returned from the bathroom), i ordered a Singapore Sling from their extensive drink list featuring wine, cocktails, spirits and beer.
The menu was then presented and explained well by the attentive staff including the 2 banquets and some additional specials. I went with the Chef's 6 course banquet (which actually featured 7 courses).
The first course was 3 delicately battered, amazingly flaky king George whiting fillets accompanied by fresh lemon juice and a 5 spice salt. Great texture and perfect execution, a great opening to the meal.
This was followed by a special of blue swimmer crab combined with an onion and turmeric sauce baked and served in a mud crab shell. Nice presentation inside the crab shell and served with a little salad, it was rich, creamy and flavoursome.
The next course was an old school signature of Cantonese cooking, the Quail Sang Choi Bao. A single large crunchy lettuce leaf filled with piping hot mix of quail meat, Chinese sausage, shiitake mushrooms, bamboo shoots and spring onion.
The fresh crunchy cold lettuce leaf was complemented with the soft, hot plentiful ingredients with great flavours even if it was rather messy and the filling spilled out the sides when eating (could just be that I'm a messy eater).
The first main course was a half crayfish, steamed and served in its own shell and covered with a delicate broth. Perfectly cooked crayfish and perfectly balanced with the broth that added some depth and quality of flavour to the dish.
Following this was another signature dish, Peking Duck. Satiny, smooth and rich duck with a crisp skin was rolled and served individually in paper thin pancakes, a smooth hoisin sauce and a crisp fresh cucumber. The equal of the Peking duck i had in Beijing and close to perfection.
The next dish i decided to upgrade from the regular grain fed eye fillet to the Wagyu strip loin (for an additional fee). Wagyu Strip loin served perfectly cooked with a very pink medium rare centre with a crisp, brown and lightly spiced outside served on a bed of Chinese vegetables with a szechuan sauce that offered a good chili hit.
Accompanied with a side of fried rice (not you average Chinese takeaway fried rice with plump proper prawns and real chunks of meat and perfectly cooked), it was magnificent end to the main courses.
For desert you were offered a choice of every desert except for the extremely expensive Bird's Nest Soup. I went for the seasonal special of Mango crepe. Fresh mangoes and mango pudding wrapped in a crepe and served with slices of fresh mango, mango sorbet and a mango passion fruit sauce, it was mango overload but not in a bad way. Beautiful fresh mangoes served up beautifully and the taste was amazing.
The final part of the meal was Jasmine tea and almond cookies. The cookies were beautiful and a million miles away from the stodgy cookies normally served at Chinese restaurants.
An exquisite mix of decadent food, surroundings and quality service (including the sometimes forgotten tradition of serving finger bowls with food eaten by hand) lead to a memorable dinner out and a worthy addition to my top 10 rankings.
On a Monday night i headed in to the city for dinner at one of the bigger names left on my list, Flower Drum. Heading in to the main foyer i was greeted by 2 staff and ushered to the lift which slowly took us up to the main dining room. A decadent and opulent dining room with plush red carpet, Chinese art and a big Chinese centre piece doorway in the middle of the dining room.
Very busy (especially for a Monday night) the meal took a while to get going. After being seated and having my chair pushed in (also happened after i returned from the bathroom), i ordered a Singapore Sling from their extensive drink list featuring wine, cocktails, spirits and beer.
The menu was then presented and explained well by the attentive staff including the 2 banquets and some additional specials. I went with the Chef's 6 course banquet (which actually featured 7 courses).
The first course was 3 delicately battered, amazingly flaky king George whiting fillets accompanied by fresh lemon juice and a 5 spice salt. Great texture and perfect execution, a great opening to the meal.
This was followed by a special of blue swimmer crab combined with an onion and turmeric sauce baked and served in a mud crab shell. Nice presentation inside the crab shell and served with a little salad, it was rich, creamy and flavoursome.
The next course was an old school signature of Cantonese cooking, the Quail Sang Choi Bao. A single large crunchy lettuce leaf filled with piping hot mix of quail meat, Chinese sausage, shiitake mushrooms, bamboo shoots and spring onion.
The fresh crunchy cold lettuce leaf was complemented with the soft, hot plentiful ingredients with great flavours even if it was rather messy and the filling spilled out the sides when eating (could just be that I'm a messy eater).
The first main course was a half crayfish, steamed and served in its own shell and covered with a delicate broth. Perfectly cooked crayfish and perfectly balanced with the broth that added some depth and quality of flavour to the dish.
Following this was another signature dish, Peking Duck. Satiny, smooth and rich duck with a crisp skin was rolled and served individually in paper thin pancakes, a smooth hoisin sauce and a crisp fresh cucumber. The equal of the Peking duck i had in Beijing and close to perfection.
The next dish i decided to upgrade from the regular grain fed eye fillet to the Wagyu strip loin (for an additional fee). Wagyu Strip loin served perfectly cooked with a very pink medium rare centre with a crisp, brown and lightly spiced outside served on a bed of Chinese vegetables with a szechuan sauce that offered a good chili hit.
Accompanied with a side of fried rice (not you average Chinese takeaway fried rice with plump proper prawns and real chunks of meat and perfectly cooked), it was magnificent end to the main courses.
For desert you were offered a choice of every desert except for the extremely expensive Bird's Nest Soup. I went for the seasonal special of Mango crepe. Fresh mangoes and mango pudding wrapped in a crepe and served with slices of fresh mango, mango sorbet and a mango passion fruit sauce, it was mango overload but not in a bad way. Beautiful fresh mangoes served up beautifully and the taste was amazing.
The final part of the meal was Jasmine tea and almond cookies. The cookies were beautiful and a million miles away from the stodgy cookies normally served at Chinese restaurants.
An exquisite mix of decadent food, surroundings and quality service (including the sometimes forgotten tradition of serving finger bowls with food eaten by hand) lead to a memorable dinner out and a worthy addition to my top 10 rankings.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Paladarr
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.
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.
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.
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