Lunch @ Bistro Vue

It's been a while since we've done Saturday lunch in the city and there's no better choice than Bistro Vue.



We begin with a couple of glasses of Gardet Brut Spécial and when it comes to ordering our main bottle, our first choice of the Highbank is not available. It seems that our talent of picking wines that have run out knows no bounds. We eventually decide on the Mt Langi Ghiran Shiraz.





For starters:



Paalo's Choice: Two hour poached egg with wild mushroom purée and Shimeji mushrooms

I had this last time we dined here so I know how good it was - this one was thoroughly enjoyed by Paalo, he especially loved the consistency of the egg.



My Choice: Jamon with Salt Cod Beignets and Confit Cherry tomatoes

The Jamon (Serrano) wasn't quite as nice as the one I had at Church Street Enoteca - this one lacked any of those delightful acorn flavours. However I really enjoyed the beignets and overall this was a very nice dish.


For mains:


We choose the Cote de Boeuf which is a dish for two - the char-grilled Wagyu Sirloin is served on a wooden platter with an assortment of sauces - béarnaise, pepper and diane



We are each given a plate with those famous goose fat fried Pommes Frites and a roasted onion



and we order a side dish of Creamed garlic Spinach.


Cheese:



There's a large selection available but we chose a soft blue, a spanish goat washed rind and Pont l'Eveque



and to eat with the cheese, we both get this plate of pear slices, oatmeal biscuits and crackers.

Dessert:

Yes, we just couldn't go past it.



Tarte tartin aux Poires - this is a dish for 2 but it could easily satisfy 4.








The details:
Bistro Vue
430 Little Collins Street
Entrance via New Chancery Laneway

Phone: 9691 3838

Open:
Monday-Saturday: 11am until Late

web:
http://www.vuedemonde.com.au/bistro-vue.aspx

Dinner @ Matteo's

It's Easter Saturday and we've joined Al and Elle for dinner at Matteo's. It's no surprise but we opt for the Tasting Menu.

First course:



From Left to Right:
Teriyaki glazed smoked eel, rice crusted tofu, pickled plum and bonito mayonnaise
Petuna ocean trout tataki, yuzu miso sauce with yarra valley salmon roe
Semi-cured hiramasa kingfish, prawn remoulade, shiso japanese basil sauce

To drink:
2005 Christmont Riesling and 2007 Hoddles Creek Pinot Gris



We're told to eat this from right to left and the general consensus was that the semi-cured harimasa kingfish was a stand out - that's not to diminish the quality of the other two.

Good sized pieces of prawn are found in the remoulade that sits under the kingfish slices.



The smoked eel is soft and juicy with an enticing smoky aroma and flavour.


Second Course:



From Left to Right:
Scallop Tortelone and Seared Scallop, sweet ginger and carrot sauce
Tempura Zucchini Flower filled with fetta, watermelon, radish and coriander salad, tamarind vinaigrette

To drink:
2005 Chatto Semillon and 2007 Dog Point Sauvignon Blanc



The watermelon works really well here and is a great partner to the fetta filled zucchini flower - it makes a most refreshing change to the more typical tomato pairing.



Quite a densely filled tortelone but it is surprisingly light.


Third Course:



From Left to Right:
Seared peppered venison loin, peking cabbage and bamboo shoot okonomiyaki, teriyaki glazed field mushroom, pickled red radish
Pork Kakuni master stock braised pork belly, zucchini, crushed soya bean and shiso paper cannelloni

To Drink:
2002 Brini Estate Grenache Shiraz and 2001 Summerfield Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon



It's good to see venison on the menu and here it is presented beautifully pink - tender and juicy. The Okonomiyaki more than pulls it's weight and is an equal in the dish.



Paalo described this as "liquid fat"- he was referring to the way the layer of fat under the skin had turned jelly-like. The meat itself was meltingly tender - this is truly decadent.


Dessert:



From Left to Right:
Traditional Tiramisu with chocolate coated coffee bean
cinnamon ice cream
warm crepe roulade with pistachio nougat ricotta

To drink:
2004 Serrat Late Harvest Viognier



Underneath the pistachio fairy floss is a rolled crepe filled with a pistachio flavoured ricotta.
The tiramisu and the ice-cream were both excellent.

By the end of the meal we're all completely satisfied - excellent food and wine with service to match and I must add, it is excellent value considering the quality.

The tasting menu is $98 a head or $145 with wine matches.

Details:
Matteo's
533 Brunswick Street, Nth Fitzroy
Phone: 9281 1177

Open:
Lunch: Sunday-Friday from noon
Dinner: 7 days from 6pm

web:
www.matteos.com.au

Dinner @ Church Street Enoteca

We're continuing with our Italianish theme and have headed to Church Street Enoteca for dinner.



It's a very pleasant surprise to see a familiar face here - restaurant manager, Alastair. Now Alistair used to work at Fenix but left about 8 or so months ago - now we know where he went!



Since we're in an Italian mood, we began with Prosecco rather than Champagne. It's not offered by the glass, instead you get those cute little 200ml bottles. Unfortunately the Prosecco wasn't quite to our liking - next time we'll try the champagne.

To enjoy with our meal we eventually select the Cerasuolo di Vittoria 2004 from Sicily - it's a 60/40 blend of Nero d'Avola and Frappato - it's quite the interesting wine.

For starters (be aware the photos aren't that great as Paalo took them ;) and the lighting is more suited to dining rather than photo taking)


Paalo's choice: Tortellini of Parmigiano Reggianno, Ricotta and Pecorino, served with a sage butter, pine nuts, goat cheese, raisins and 30 year old balsamic

We were forewarned that this was a rich dish but the description was way to enticing to skip. It is a luscious dish and Paalo found it very hard to resist soaking up those juices welling at the bottom of his bowl withh bread. There's acid, sweetness, creaminess and tartness - a wonderful balancing act.


My Choice: Sliced Figs with Gorgonzola and Iberico Jamon drizzled with lavender honey and a scattering of micro herbs.

This is the type of dish I love - uncomplicated yet offering a variety of tastes and textures. The soft shards of Jamon were perfect examples of the best of Jamon - a strong nutty taste perfuming the flesh. The Gorgonzola adds a salty creamy character while the figs and honey bring a sweet perfume to the dish.


As a little treat we were given a plate of the Tomato Salad - Vine ripened Heirloom tomatoes, white anchovies, fiore di latte and basil

A timeless combination made with excellent quality ingredients.


Onto Mains:


Paalo's Choice: Abbachio alla Romana - wet roasted Meredith suckling lamb with soft Polenta, parmigiano reggiano and breadcrumbs

This comes to the table in two parts - the bowl of soft polenta is placed before you and the lamb comes out in it's fry-pan, topped with browned parmesan breadcrumbs where it is then served onto the polenta.

A good rustic dish - the polenta was soft but with an appealing grainess to the texture. The lamb was flavoursome, tender and well-cooked.



My choice: Bistecca Fiorentina - salt crusted King Island Black Angus t-bone served with nicola potato mash, spinach and lemon.

The menu tells us that this is dry aged for 45 days before it's boned and then aged another 7 days before it's portioned. The restaurant then dries the steaks in their cool room for at least 48 hours before they can be served.


Choice of condiments served with the steak - various mustards, creamed horseradish

The last time I had Bistecca Fioretina was in Florence and this was made with a similar feel. Once again, it's excellent produce that has been well cooked.



We also ordered a side dish of Steamed green beans with toasted almonds and marinated Persian Fetta.


Onto desserts:


My choice: Textures of Chocolate - milk, white and dark, honeycomb, puffed rice, pistachio ice cream


Paalo's Choice: Coconut Pannacotta - mango, lime, mango sorbetto

Both desserts were impressive - certainly not what you'd expect and far removed from your typical traditional Italian dessert.

The details:
Church Street Enoteca
527 Church Street, Richmond

Phone: 9428 7898

Restaurant Open:
Lunch: Monday-Friday 12-3pm
Dinner: Monday-Saturday 6pm to late

Web:
www.churchstenoteca.com.au

Lunch @ Pearl

We've taken advantage of a break in the hot spell to head off to Pearl for a leisurely lunch



and by the look of the restaurant, everyone else is staying indoors.

We mull over the menu with glasses of champagne and once again start with oysters


Moulting Bay Oysters served with mint and green chilli nam jim



yes, I think we enjoyed them. I must add that just like Bacash these oysters were served still attached to the shell however they were a little easier to pry free. I understand that serving them attached to the shell is a way of showing they are super fresh but with the cutlery usually supplied, detaching them isn't an easy thing to do and I'd be more than willing to forgo that perception of "ultra freshness" for a little convenience.


Onto starters


Paalo's choice: Saltwater char cooked in palm sugar and nam pla, wallis lakes rock oysters, sashimi of gould's squid with iberico ham and honey dew melon, shaved lime ice

In the center, the sashimi of squid with shaved lime ice.
Around the rim are 3 pieces of the iberico ham topped palm sugar cured saltwater char interspersed with 3 wallis lakes oysters that sat on slivered cucumber.

A wonderful study of differing textures and tastes all beautifully balanced.



My Choice: Half shell hervey bay scallops with yellow curry sauce, crispy fried shallots, coriander and lime

At first look you might think that there's just too much curry paste over the scallops but the yellow curry sauce provided such a wonderful foil for the just cooked scallops. It was perfectly spiced so as to accentuate the sweetness of the scallops.





For our mains:





Paalo's Choice: Sukiyaki of Moondara beef with tofu, shitake, enoki and daikon, shiso and chyrsanthemum shoots, dashi broth added at the table. On the side, udon noodle, ponzu and sesame dipping sauces.

It was both amusing and sad that when Paalo ordered it, the waiter had to tell him that it's not served as a steak! Unfortunately people tend to see waygu or beef and don't click that it's Sukiyaki (or worse, they don't know what sukiyaki is) and as they have had some upset customers in the past they now have to make sure people understand what the dish is.

The dashi broth is poured at the table and then it's up to you to decide how long the beef slices "cook" in the broth.




My choice: Soy braised baby chicken, roast pumpkin, red date and ginger flower dumpling, spring onion relish, star anise master stock sauce

The pumpkin, red date and ginger flower dumpling looked a little more like a spherical ravioli and it sat between the beans and chicken. A simple dish but with complex flavours.

A break with cheese:



Cromwell Bishop Organic Stilton, Queso Iberico, Pont L'Eveque






Finally dessert


Paalo's Choice: Frozen white chocolate and black cherry mousse with coconut biscuit, ruby grapefruit, papaya, rambutan fruit salad and lychee sorbet

I don't think I need to say that this was a gorgeous dessert.


My Choice: Golden dumplings "the redux" - crisp fried taro dumplings with dark, milk and white valrhona chocolate, vanilla custard and gold leaf



A close up of one of the taro balls - there are three in the serving, each filled with a different molten chocolate



Filled with dark chocolate..



filled with milk chocolate...



and filled with white chocolate.

Hard to believe, these were even tastier than they looked.


The details:

The details:

Pearl Restaurant
631-633 Church Street, Richmond

Dinner:
Monday-Sunday: 6.30pm-11pm

Lunch:
Monday-Sunday: 12pm-3pm

Bar:
Monday-Friday: 9am-Midnight
Weekends/Public Holidays: 11am-Midnight

Phone: 03 9421 4599

web: www.pearlrestaurant.com.au

At least they have editors!

From last week's (garb)Age

Chef Tanya Connellan — head of the kitchen at Port Fairy's Portofino on Bank — called last week to put the record straight: she is indeed still the restaurant's head chef, in contrast to our item here in Espresso.

Recent arrival Andy Hall is, in fact, the restaurant's new pastry chef. The mistake was made by a reporter, with a bit of help from the restaurateur.

Obviously we have no idea since we have don't have degrees in journalism and are but merely part of the great unwashed, but surely if you were writing about Tanya's position you might actually have given Tanya a call?

Stranger still considering the most flattering review given today on Portofino's main competition, The Merrijig Inn.

Lunch @ Enoteca Sileno

We had intended to lunch at La Luna - unfortunately it was filled to the brim with people taking advantage of the last day of the melbourne food and wine festival's lunch express deal - so we headed up the road to the Enoteca.

We mull over the menu with glasses of 'Zeta" Brut di Conegliano Prosecco and these, Olive Regionali



Taggiasche and Cerignola olives warmed with garlic, extra virgin olive oil, rosemary and chilli.

We decide to share a few of the assaggini and to drink, a bottle of 2000 Adanti Sagrantino di Montefalco



At the top is the Tasting Plate of Bruschetta - from left to right; tomato and basil, caramelised onions and tapenade, white bean puree with capers and lastly, anchovies

On the bottom is a special of the day: Seared Scallop on Pea Puree, Fresh Crab on toasted brioche, Deep fried bacala on caramelised onions



Grilled Eggplant filled with buffalo and smoked mozzarella

All the assaggini are delicious - simple flavours but superbly executed with top quality ingredients.

Onto mains:



Paalo has the Lamb Sirlion, served on orzo with lardo topped mushrooms



The lamb is perfectly cooked - tender and full flavoured.



I have the special ravioli - filled with cabbage, parmesan and ricotta and served with a ragu of wild boar. It may not look the greatest but the ragu was fabulously rich as it should be, the pasta was light and cooked correctly.



Side: broccolini with garlic and toasted crumbs

Since we have a bit of red wine left we order cheese - imported Italian Toma



As this has become one of those lazy day long lunches we do order dessert:


Panettone semifreddo with candied fruit and orange vincotto - it tastes exactly like a panettone, delicious and not too heavy.


Tiramisu - excellent ratio of marscarpone to savoiardi.

We were quite impressed with the quality of dishes offered - they aren't trying to do anything too fancy but relying on the produce and the solid traditional cooking to speak for themselves. 

The Details:

Enoteca Sileno

920 Lygon Street, Carlton
corner of Lygon and Richardson Streets
Phone: 03 9389 7070

Open:
Monday: 8am - 4pm
Tuesday - Saturday: 8am - Late
Sunday: 9am - 5pm

closed Good Friday & Easter Monday

web:
http://www.enoteca.com.au

Dinner @ Bacash

We've been on a bit of an Italian bent of late so I thought it was time to try something a bit different and decided to give Bacash a go.

My first lesson of the night was take a taxi - parking around here was nigh on impossible and just by chance we finally found a spot after searching for 15 minutes.

After being seated and having ordered champagne to start with, I was bit put off by the rather slapdash manner of our blonde waitress, who just sloshed the champagne into our glasses, splashing it on the table. There was zero care in the way she poured, no waiting for the bubbles to subside to check the real volume in our glasses. Not a good first impression.

We decided to start with a half dozen Moulting Bay Oysters - served with a dressing of red onion, chives and sweet vinegar



The presentation was good but the oysters hadn't been fully shucked, they were still attached to the shell. With our little spoon and fork, the job of detaching them wasn't easy.

I think that our ordering of these oysters might have confused the kitchen as our next course came out within 5 minutes of finishing the oysters.

For our starters:


Paalo has the Garfish and Prawn Nori Rolls.
This is the type of dish we expect - fresh, excellent execution and extremely tasty. The boned garfish has been filled with salmon and prawn and then reformed into a cylinder. After cooking it is rolled in nori and sliced - served with a spicy soy based sauce.


I have the Sea Scallops Seared and served on Cauliflower Cream with crisped pancetta and a fine herb salad.

This was scallop perfection.

After those two great dishes unfortunately service let them down again with an inexplicably long wait for our mains.


Paalo has the Crispy Skinned Ocean Trout served with a puree of nicola potatoes with black tiger prawns and a lemon beurre blanc

Once again the fish is perfectly cooked - besides the two grilled tiger prawns served on either side of the trout, large pieces of prawn studded the creamy mash.


I have the Garfish served with herbed garlic crumbs and a mixed leaf salad.

This dish really shows why garfish is such a fabulous fish - moist and tasty it is beautifully flavoured. One negative was the overly acidic oven-dried cherry tomatoes in the salad.

We decide to share the cheese platter - once again the service is a bit questionable, when our brunette waitress plops the plate on the table with a "here's your cheese"



After spying our various neighbours desserts we tempt fate and decide to indulge our sweet tooth. Once again we had our plate plonking waitress plonk the desserts in front of us with a "here's your desserts"


Paalo has the Pannacotta Melba - buttermilk pannacotta with raspberry jelly, vanilla poached peaches and fresh raspberries

The peaches were lovely but the pannacotta was set with too much gelatine and the flavour just missed somewhat.


I have the Three tastes of Lemon Verbena - Jelly, Granita and Syllabub

I really wanted to try this as I just love Lemon Verbena however this dish was a great disappointment. Overly sour and missing those typical refreshing characters of lemon verbena.

Generally, you can't complain about the fish, it's perfectly cooked and of excellent quality, however there are aspects of the service that is questionable.

The details:

Bacash
175 Domain Road, South Yarra
Phone: 9866 3566

Open:
Lunch: Monday to Friday from noon
Dinner: Monday to Saturday from 6pm

Event @ Vue de Monde

3,2,1 Dinner!

Three continents, two great minds, one astounding dinner. The countdown begins to one of the most anticipated events of the Festival when Oriol Balaguer, whose sweet creations are prized from Barcelona to Tokyo, joins forces with Shannon Bennett at Australia's Restaurant of the Year, Vue de monde. The menu may be totally cutting edge but, as they're still sticklers for tradition, Shannon will do the savoury courses and Oriol will look after the desserts in this six-course degustation dinner with matched Spanish wines, each paired with a Victorian wine of the same style or varietal.

For us, this event was easily the highlight of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival - a festival in general that seems to have lost the lustre of earlier years. Perhaps it is trying too hard, perhaps it is too big and trying to serve too many masters, whatever it is, the events have become repetitive and staid. But this post won't dissolve into what is wrong with the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival, it's about this special dinner.

We had quite the surprise on Friday when Vue called to confirm the booking, they also informed us that Audi would be picking us up and taking us home as well!

Come Sunday night, right on time, the car arrived - a very lovely Audi A8. On the trip in we found out that Penny, our driver, would be waiting outside the restaurant along with the other 7 drivers, so she'd be ready to go whenever we were.


The calm before the storm

why you shouldn't drink when making glasses

One of the most pleasant aspects of the night was that we had private tables - none of that having to make awkward conversation. It was good just to be able to enjoy the evening - it's a pity though, that people can't work out how to turn their flash off.


Now onto the menu:



Amuse Bouche: A Spanish Tasting Plate
Drink: NV B Argueso Manzanilla Classica San Leon Sanlucar de Barrameda



The amuse consisted of 3 dishes:
toasted cubes of brioche, brandade, salmon pastrami and gazpacho jelly



Left: Jamon tartare with quail egg and brioche toast
Right: Crystal Bay Prawn





CRABE SAUTE:
King Crab, sautéed with a crab emulsion and potato tuile

Under the potato tuile sat the shredded crabmeat and on the other end of the plate sat a large piece of crab claw, in between sat a cluster of white grapes in jelly

To drink: 2006 Valminor Albarino, Rias Baixas and 2002 Pizzini Verduzzo, King Valley









GNOCCHI AU FROMAGE DE CHEVRE:
Goat's cheese gnocchi, 'pulled' chicken, burnet shoots, golden beetroot and perigold truffle

To drink: 2005 Senorio de Otuza Pezas de Portela, Valdeorras and 2002 Tallarook Marsanne, Central Victoria

Usually gnocchi made in this style are made to mimic the shape and size of a traditional gnocchi, in this case it's been served up as a long coil. I do enjoy the texture that comes with spherification, the way they just rupture to the bite and release their luxurious interior leaves you with such an intense flavour. I wasn't sold on the 'pulled chicken' - I don't think it really added anything to the dish. I should also note that in all the years of dining at Vue, it's the first time they actually forgot an ingredient - alas, the truffle went missing.


SALADE: Jicama

A light break before our main - a citrus dressing combined with jicama and diced apple.









ROTI DE PORC ET JAMON:
Pork roasted with Jamon

To drink: 1985 Vina Tondonia Gran Reserva, Rioja Alta and 2006 Quartier Barbera, Mornington Peninsula



The warm jus is poured over by the waiter - topping the pork is a Gruyere crust and Brussels sprout leaves



The jus just disappeared into the meat - a very rich course.



It was served with these shots of warmed herb broth - they were to be drunk after finishing the pork.



SOUPE DE MELON: Oriol's Melon Soup with Watermelon and Basil

To drink: 2003 Telmo Rodriguez Moscatel Molino Real, Malaga and 2006 Crawford River Nektar, Henry

Simple and refreshing and a welcome course after the richness of the pork.




LES QUATRES SAVEURS DE LA TERRE:
Flavours of Chocolate inspired by the corners of the earth - A dessert collaboration by Oriol Balaguer and Shannon Bennet

To drink: NV ALvear Pedro Ximenez Solera 1927, Montilla Moriles and NV Chambers Old Vine Muscadelle Classic, Rutherglen



The dish we've all been waiting for - part work of art, part dessert. Chocolate represented in various forms, from a sauce to a frozen chocolate sand



Shannon's input came in the form of that spun sugar globe - inside was a mix of chocolate and lemon "crumbs"



The lemon was the pivotal ingredient here as after going through all that chocolate, the lemon provided that contrast and cleansing note.


PETIT FOURS:
Salted Caramel Truffles with Silver Leaf; Coconut Jellies, Meringues, Torrone with Candied Carrot, Toffee Kiwiberries



Left: Toffee Kiwiberry
Right: Meringue injected with Mango Puree



To finish off we were presented with a menu signed by Oriole and boxes of his chocolates.



We felt sorry about Penny having to stay outside all this time so we decided to give her one our chocolate boxes.

The details:
Vue de Monde
Normanby Chambers
430 Little Collins Street
Melbourne
Phone: 03 9691 3888

Open:
Lunch: Tuesday - Friday Bookings:12.00pm-2.00pm
Dinner: Tuesday - Saturday Bookings:6.30pm-9.30pm

Lunch @ Centonove

To celebrate the start of Autumn, we've returned to Centonove for a leisurely Saturday lunch. As it's a lovely sunny day we order a bottle of Prosecco to see us through the meal.



For starters



Paalo tries the pizza again - this time it's fontina, Prosciutto and rocket. It's a toss up for Paalo as to which pizza he preferred - perhaps a half and half would be perfect.



I try out the Antipasto plate - a rather delicious choice. There is a feta stuffed fig wrapped in
Prosciutto, bruschetta with goat cheese and beetroot, stuffed quail roulade, smoked salmon lasagna, porcini mushroom arancini, duck confit pie served with lentils, crunchy grissini and a rocket and parmesan salad

For mains:



Paalo has the Penne with Black Angus Beef, aged balsamic and radicchio



I have the Parmesan, Lemon and thyme crumbed Veal Scaloppini with Buffalo Mozarella, tomato and basil salad

We also ordered a side:



Sautéed brocollini with garlic and wood-fired honey roasted pumpkin with almonds.


The details:

Centonove
109 Cotham Road, Kew
Phone: 9817 6468

Open:
Tuesday - Friday: 10am - 10pm
Saturday: 11am - 10pm