Expensive

Society – Melbourne, City – Sunday 7 November 2021 – Lunch
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Society – Melbourne, City – Sunday 7 November 2021 – Lunch

A bold venture; drama on the floor, and in the kitchen; the lashing of a pandemic. There have been some big storms in Melbourne recently, but the perfect storm feels like Society. Imagine spending literally millions on the bones of a three star restaurant, and no longer having the star chef, or star maitre’d?

There is a postscript here about what fine dining means (and more specifically how sommeliers should interact with their guests), but I don’t want to take anything away from a tremendous lunch. The imagination behind Society, and the ability to pull it off, during a pandemic, is mind boggling. You feel like it is a big day out.

We dressed for the occasion, incredibly excited for our 2pm lunch sitting. At a new precinct, 80 Collins, Society sits as the flagship, a beautiful brooding dining room, with three grand, but modern, chandeliers taking centre stage, stage right, and stage left, with lengthy shadow curtains creating the backdrop. There is grandeur and refinement.

I do not know if the menu has changed since the sudden departure of Martin Benn, who back in July (before three pandemic driven cancellations) was the reason for our booking, having loved our time at Sepia in Sydney. Either way, it reminds me of Gimlet, which is just down the road, with a broad sheet of great dishes, allowing you to choose your own adventure. We had our usual negotiation, but I was pleased to find Catherine was also interested in the entree “Society Seafood”, especially given the lobster ravioli had run out (which gladly we were told before we set our hearts on it).

It’s not dainty, but for a big eater, I’m glad it is not called a “platter”. For Catherine and I the portions on this plate are perfect. Starting with the delicate crab tart, mixed with yuba (dried tofu skin), and some spice, which had me reminiscing about curried egg sandwiches, each bite was memorable. Next the soft scallops, on the most divine cornbread like vessel, topped with caviar, were rich and delicate, as only scallops can be. The smoked trout took me back to one of my favourite dishes at Farmer’s Daughters only months ago, and the scarlet prawn with tiny cubes of ginger, was an equally delicious finish to the plate.

After such an extraordinary seafood extravaganza we needed some equally incredible mains, and we got what we asked for! First we need to mention the 2014 Montrachet we were drinking was about as elegant (and expensive) wine as we’ve tried, perfect with the entree, and even better with Catherine’s Murray Cod. I tried some and was swept away by the intense beauty of this fish. Richer, but no less beautiful, was my duck breast with the amount of jus that you dream of, engulfing the plate, and a generous disc of black pudding with juniper and blackberry further showcasing the technique of the kitchen. The nebbiolo I tried with the duck was a match, but the chardonnay with the Cod far outshone it.

To say we were excited by dessert by this stage is an understatement. The options, all four of them, all were so difficult to make that we found ourselves talking to nearby tables about them. My choice, “Metropolis”, is stunning and to perfect script with the restaurant. Behind the dark chocolate crack of the literal facade copy of the building, you have utterly delicious cherry and biscuit, and the playfulness doesn’t get old to the last bite. Catherine was equally stunned with the delicate feel of her tart, but the strength of the technique, and more importantly, the flavour spectrum, to create something that is unique in her blueberry and white chocolate tart.

While there had been times where service was not as precise as Chris Lucas’ script from day one; the effort, and mostly the experience of the staff was there to be seen. You have to give praise to the fact that a very expensive restaurant opened for five weeks, then copped a three month lockdown, and lost a head chef that had been in the world’s 50 best restaurants with Sepia. If we didn’t know we couldn’t have told.

In particular, the help of staff at the end of our meal when we had lost a $600 voucher we’d purchased a month prior, was terrific. They could have quite easily have made us pay, but they could see we had made the purchase and honoured it.

I do have to say that it wasn’t quite the same feel as my social media had filled my imagination with though. It is certainly beautiful, and a big day out feel, but there were quite a few diners (gents especially) that didn’t get the memo and dressed like they were off to a nice lunch at Young & Jackson’s. Each to their own, and all power to those less discerning dressers, because what they got to enjoy on the plate would have made them feel amazing anyway.

Society is very close to what it was intended to be and I hope they strive to get there. We’ll be back once we save our deposit again!

Postscript: is fine dining supposed to be comfortable?

Fine dining is supposed to be the height of hospitality where exceptional food, service, and setting, come together in perfect harmony. In my personal opinion, whilst there are a lot of intimidating factors (especially the cost of exceptional dining), if you put aside expense, to many, fine dining should be about comfort. Not comfort in the sense of tracksuit pants, rustic food (though there is nothing wrong with rustic food), and sloppy manners, but comfort within the bounds of fine dining society. Do you see what I did there?

Well, I have dined in some very intimidating places and have been schooled fairly well. I love restaurants, and I am experienced, but certainly not expert. The best restaurants I’ve been to have a manner of putting you at ease to allow you to enjoy the experience, even though you know you could be walking out poor! The reason for my lengthy introduction to this topic is one interaction with the sommelier on Sunday at lunch.

I’ve put this at the bottom of the review because it shouldn’t take away from the meal itself, but it, like other negative experiences, does stand out. I feel I need a little explanation to begin. Catherine doesn’t drink a huge amount, and favours white wine, especially chardonnay. I love chardonnay, but normally need at least one glass of red to enjoy with any heavier meat dishes. Many years ago while in Biarritz we had our first (and only) premier cru Montrachet, and it still vividly lives in my memory.

Today, I wanted to recreate some of that experience, so I perused the menu and realised that there are many areas of Montrachet, and I wouldn’t know one from the other. I noticed that for up to around $250 I could get a special bottle for our 12 years of knowing each other anniversary (yes, we celebrate that!) It is the most I’ve ever spent on a bottle of wine with Catherine, except for Dom Perignon on other special occasions. I asked for the sommelier and said that we would like a bottle of premier cru Montrachet, for up to $250. I thought the request was more than reasonable.

The sommelier said they have something off-list that sounded like it would be perfect for us, and that she would go and try to find it. In the meantime Catherine said something like “I bet she comes back with something more expensive” and I said something, as I normally do because I am optimistic like “no, she heard what we asked for”. When the sommelier came back she said she found the bottle and it is a 2014, giving a great description, which we were excited about, before saying “it’s $290”. I thought I misheard so I did say “did you say two-ninety” and she replied “is that alright? I know you said $250.”

This is a situation that a tax professional of over 20 years, who has got through school and uni and post-grad, and 20 years of work, still cannot handle. I wanted to say “what the” but what came out was “sure, it sounds great”. Think of the scratchy voiced kid in the Simpsons. I think she realised we were unhappy with the underhandedness of the gesture and came back with an offer of two glasses of Margaret River blanc de blancs by Vasse Felix, but only I could properly take her up on the offer because Catherine wanted to just have a couple of glasses. Given they knew this was an anniversary I’m a bit skeptical, and it may have been on the house anyway.

The whole situation was uncomfortable because Catherine and I would not even normally look at bottles that far over $100 in the first place and we had been upsold on the most expensive bottle we’ve ever bought at a restaurant. To come back to the initial question, what the sommelier did, whether intentional or not, is not my definition of hospitality, and not the service you should expect in fine dining.

Twenty-one years ago I ate at Rockpool in Circular Quay and could barely afford the Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc, but no one in that fine establishment made me feel uncomfortable about that. That is service. Oh, and Neil Perry was dining on the table next-door (for some reason in his own restaurant) which I realised as I flew home the next day to Perth, given he featured as the new executive chef for Qantas!

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Farmer’s Daughters – Melbourne, City – Friday 30 July 2021 – Dinner

At the age of 43 it is both exciting and terrifying to think I have hopefully at least this much longer to live. Somehow destiny has led to my work being at its busiest at the same time as my birthday each year. Coupled with long nights in a regional role, reporting to global leaders, by the time it comes around I feel twice my age. Instead of “queue the violins” I take solace that it is also a time of excessive celebration.

Tonight, Catherine has us booked into Farmer’s Daughters, where we have been trying to go for months, surviving two lockdowns in between. The only thing I want consistent tonight to the last time we indulged in the city is the pre-drinks at Bouvardia, and indeed this fine cocktail bar living up to the last time we were there. It is absolutely superb. Our fingers are crossed that this dinner that follows is superb too.

While it did take five minutes for us to be seated for our 9pm booking, we did have one of the great tables in the room on the restaurant level. You get a feeling about a place fairly quickly, in this case we were excited, with great initial interactions with the staff.

As it turns out, those initial interactions chartered a course for the rest of the evening, and it showed that service can still be terrific in Melbourne. Despite having wanted to visit Farmer’s Daughters for some time, I actually don’t know a great deal about the restaurant. What was quite obvious, looking at the wine list is that this is a restaurant that celebrates local.

Naturally this extends to the food. Farmer’s Daughters on the restaurant level has a tasting menu consisting of five courses. Whilst you get the menu at the end, the kitchen takes you on a journey of their choosing, subject to dietaries. At the moment, that journey is centred on Gippsland. Our starters, skewers of O’Connor beef, locally grown broccoli, romanesco and cauliflower, and beautifully untouched Lakes Entrance kingfish, were all tremendous and diverse examples of the wealth of local produce in this bountiful region of Victoria.

As Catherine enjoys her Frankland Estate Riesling (Great Southern), and I, my Purple Hen Fume Blanc (Phillip Island), we are served with a dish I’ve since heard is a consistent favourite, and for good reason. The baked Baw Baw Alpine trout, sitting in a shallow pool of mountain pepper cream, with trout caviar, is superb from the first taste to the last. The subtle balance of the flavours, and the soft textures, broken by bursts of caviar, is an outstanding dish. We saw it on the pass as we were guided to our table, and really couldn’t wait to try what we saw, as it is also visually appealing.

Showcasing the fresh produce of Gippsland, sugarloaf cabbage is served bathed in clam butter, with Snowy River Station seagrass. It is a thoughtful vegetable based course. By now we’ve moved on to two new white wines, with mine an Arneis by Adelina (Clare Valley) and Catherine the Cannibal Creek Chardonnay. The latter is another wine from Gippsland, and while not exclusively choosing local wines, the sommelier / wine service has done a terrific job of mixing interesting producers and varieties, and doing their best to also showcase the region where the food is centred.

Our next course of garfish from “Campfire Corner Inlet” is a bit chewy and not to everyone’s taste. Crusted in a Japanese spice mixture called shichimi, which adds great flavour, and served with Wattle Bank oyster mushrooms, replacing the fish with many others would make for a more pleasurable dish.

On the back of a lowlight, but not bad dish, the venison course again hit the high notes. From Terramirra Park, this venison almost melts in the mouth. Beetroot, smoked parsnip, and black garlic accompany to lift the dish even further, but honestly the venison could be served by itself and it would still be terrific. By this stage I’m drinking the Xavier Goodridge ‘Pa Pa’ Pinot Noir, another find from the riches of Gippsland, and life is very good indeed. The attentive wine service also pours me a half glass of the Sagratino/Mourvèdre that I was keen to try by Aphelion.

Service all round had been excellent, and there were few times we were looking around for want of anything. While our table made a big difference to our comfort, I felt that everywhere in the restaurant seemed equally well served. Add to the quality food and service, the whole setting from the expansive glass frontage to Exhibition Street, to the sleek beige interiors, is signalling a new sophistication coming to Melbourne dining.

Dessert is served and looks like a cross between a decadent creme biscuit and a macaron. This take on a pavlova with carob, macadamia and mandarin, has that post-crack give I like in a merengue, and enough sweetness to keep us happy. It’s clever, local, Australian themed, and a nice way to end a high quality and focussed offering from the kitchen.

Good looking spaces are sometimes easier to create from scratch than sketch out of the past. Farmer’s Daughters is a great demonstration of a purpose built restaurant with a local focus that doesn’t remove ingenuity but enhances the experience.

Farmer’s Daughters
95 Exhibition Street, Melbourne
https://www.farmersdaughters.com.au/
info@farmersdaughters.com.au
+61 3 9116 8682

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Chancery Lane – Melbourne, City – Friday 2 July 2021 – Dinner

If there was ever a sign that the hospitality industry is struggling for staff, we saw it tonight. It is really unfortunate that one of the global powerhouses of restaurant service has taken a step backwards, but it is certainly not unexpected. It will get better, though it could be slow progress.

By no means did we have a terrible meal. Any opportunity for Catherine and I to enjoy a long dinner together is incredibly valuable to us. As much as we enjoy flawless, and seamless service, we are not so stuffy to truly care enough to let it impact our enjoyment of a dining experience. That doesn’t mean we don’t notice the misses, especially when they add up.

Twice the floorstaff came to our table with a bottle of wine to pour our glass, only to realise there was no glass on the table. Earlier, our glass for champagne was left unfilled for a long enough period that we got an apology. After almost being awarded someone else’s entree, our mains also took a lengthy amount of time (again, we didn’t mind) and we got an apology for that. There was no need for one of the staff to apologise for it being their first night – you need to work a first night at some stage! They actually handled it well. At one stage I asked for the pinot noir from Burgundy and they said they were new and not familiar with the wines by the glass, so could they bring the menu for me to point to it. Absolutely no problem.

While none of this is concerning in isolation, you could tell Chancery Lane was not running like a well oiled machine on this Friday night. For a Scott Pickett restaurant, where there has clearly been some impressive amounts spent on the luxurious fitout, you expect more. It has a beautiful, big-night-out feel to it, with generally well dressed clientele, and seemingly no expense spared on the surfaces, whether at the bar, or underfoot, and in-between.

Usually the food of Scott Pickett would make up for many of the oversights. We start off with some delicious Mooloolaba prawns accompanied by a “Marie Rose” sauce with a spicy accent, which is better known as cocktail sauce. Wanting to keep plenty of room for main and dessert, Catherine orders the whole flounder with Cafe de Paris, I order the Cape Grim porterhouse, and we also select the gratin dauphinoise, and red oak lettuce salad with pancetta vinaigrette, as sides.

A highlight for both of us is the warm baguette which keeps us going while our mains are delayed. Sublime bread and butter is one of life’s charms, and this has me thinking back to some of the great meals I’ve had, where the attention to detail extends all the way to the simple things in life. On the other hand, while my Cape Grim porterhouse is not bad, for such a nice piece of steak, it lacks a bit. There isn’t the heavy char I’d expect from Scott Pickett having been a regular at Matilda, and the seasoning could be stronger. The truffle jus, and the Dijon helps, but it’s not as good as I’d expect. The sides are beautiful though. The dauphinoise epitomises comfort food, and the red oak lettuce salad cuts through the other elements perfectly.

Personally I’m confused about Catherine’s whole flounder. As the sole fish dish on offer, it is always tough to navigate a whole fish in any setting. It is often delicious and the white flesh of the flounder is very nice. The roe however is not something I was overly aware of. It is not to Catherine’s taste (or texture) and I can sympathise. While I’m sure some love the roe, I think the fish offering could be more diverse here.

We had come this far in our meal, and dessert is a reason in itself to remain, so we hoped our desserts would markedly improve the meal. Catherine’s apple and rhubarb baba, and my Pedro Ximenez, saltana, and chocolate tart, were good, but didn’t elevate to the level we hoped for, and it wasn’t as if we were surprised. Perhaps part of the reason was Catherine’s baba the month prior at Carlton Wine Room was just better, and perhaps it was because the meal couldn’t be properly saved. I should mention the pastry on my tart was first class and showed some signs of the excellence that could be achieved here.

It hurts me to say this, but besides our champagne, and Catherine’s Jean Defaix Chablis, the wines were uninspiring. I was really excited and keen to try a few reds, with some higher priced French offerings by the glass tugging at me. Choosing between Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Pinot Noir, and Syrah, all with a few years of age, I thought I might be in heaven. The Clos de Gamot Cahors Malbec was better than solid, but the far more expensive Bruno Colin Bourgogne Pinot Noir was ill-found for mine. Those who think I’m critical need only look at my other couple of hundred reviews to know that if I’m paying $28 for a glass of wine I am generally going to absolutely love it. I would have preferred a local, and given the depth available, I was surprised to be let down.

There’s a lot of depth also in Melbourne’s restaurant offerings. While it is desperately difficult with staff at the moment, there are still many places that are performing terrifically, and more specifically, there are better Scott Pickett restaurants to try. From Vue de Monde, to Bistro Vue, to Chancery Lane, the fortunes of this address seem to have declined.

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Paringa Estate – Red Hill, Mornington Peninsula – Saturday 28 December 2019 – Lunch

Looking across a vineyard. This is my type of view as the backdrop to a wonderful meal. Like the ocean, or any large body of water, rolling greenery will never get tired.

It just isn’t possible to have a meal like this in the city. So while the prices are not cheap by any means, they are not inflated by the beauty of the vines, which came along far earlier. Today the logistics are in our favour because we are staying in an Airbnb close by, which also happens to be close to Nonna’s place for our little boy to be taken care of. It’s time to relax over a five course tasting menu at Paringa Estate.

Paringa has been one of the best wineries in the Mornington Peninsula region for many years, and the restaurant has gone from strength to strength. Catherine dined here with family a few years ago, and I’ve wanted to give it a try for myself ever since. With restaurants like Laura, Port Phillip and Kooyong Estate, Doot Doot Doot and sibling Rare Hare in the area, you need to be very good to figure. There are several others too, not to mention Ten Minutes By Tractor whose return is eagerly awaited.

Vegemite scrolls, and pigs in blanket

The city boy novelty of dining at a winery is only maintained when the food (and wine) are matched or bettered by the view. Delicious snacks act as reminders of not taking dining here too seriously, with a vegemite scroll, a pig in blanket (prosciutto with a fig filling), and “green eggs and ham”, also hinting at the strength of the food to come.

Green eggs and ham

Simon Tarlington’s version of Surf & Turf presents mussels topped with thinly cut corned wagyu. It is unexpectedly subtle, allowing the mussels to share the limelight with the wagyu.

Paringa ‘Surf & Turf’

Next we have a dish presented where the components are bursting from the plate. It could be an Olympic dish for the Australian’s with its green and gold flourishing from the use of asparagus and nasturtiums on the one hand; and lemon and egg on the other. While lemon hollandaise is a classic combination, the sweetness here was a little too much for me by the end, but Catherine was a big fan of the almost lemon curd like sauce.

Local Asparagus, Egg, Lemon, Almonds

By now we were finishing our initial glasses of white, having begun with a lesser known, but gorgeous champagne called ‘Esprit Nature’ by Giraud. Catherine’s flagship Paringa Single Vineyard Chardonnay is an excellent expression of the variety, and of what Mornington can produce. My Viognier is not one of the main Mornington varietals, but does have plenty of polish itself, and works well with its versatility. Next we tried the flagship Paringa Single Vineyard Pinot Noir. With both the lamb and duck courses to come we were enjoying a wine to behold, again a tradition of the region, and one which has been slowly coming closer to the top echelon with each year that passes.

Otway Ranges Lamb, Peas, Beans, Native Leaves

The lamb I’m speaking of is from the Otway Ranges, and is served with peas, beans and native leaves. The broth again shows subtlety, siding with the nicely cooked lamb well, and is added to by the fresh large peas that are a delight. It is delicate. The kind of dish that you want to go hand in hand with a great wine.

Mount Macedon Duck, Tomato, Cherry, Native Pepper

Another step in the flavour profile is added with the duck from Mount Macedon, which has skin to die for with the native pepper put to good effect. I can give or take the acidity in the tomato (which has been peeled!), but the sweetness in the cherry is the right stuff, and the sauce brings it together wonderfully. Again, not overdoing the number of components allows the wine to become an important element. It is impressive.

Meredith Sheep Yoghurt, Verjuice, Honeycomb, Plum

Being a fan of sweeter and/or chocolate desserts, seeing the description of our sweet course didn’t fill me with excitement, but honeycomb is something I love so all was not lost. I am glad I was wrong. At the end of a tasting menu, with a lot of great and complex dishes, having a soft dessert with flavoursome elements was a great way to finish. The verjuice used as a broth a nice touch, bringing grapes back into the picture. The restaurant should, however, consider some petit fours to finish, that could give sweeter-tooths a bit more sugar.

All along service had the usual semi-country charm. It was not perfectly attentive, but it was friendly and professional enough to meet the mark. The sommelier today (Nick) was particularly helpful and fun, enjoying a chat about the wines and the history of Paringa, which always adds something to a winery visit. He works the cellar door tastings too, and would be an excellent host.

While the expense doesn’t make Paringa accessible frequently, it is an exceptional place to spend an afternoon overlooking the vines, and eating and drinking some of the best quality there is on offer on the Peninsula.

Paringa Estate Winery & Restaurant Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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Ides – Collingwood – Sunday 3 November 2019 – Lunch

The annual Derby recovery lunch has always been an event in itself. Usually restricted to the boys from the previous day, those still willing (and able) after a late night and a marathon session, dust themselves off, and gather for a lunch that only has a prerequisite to be rather expensive. As if for no other reason, it is almost essential to have at least broken even the day before at Flemington.

Pumpkin Flowers

This year it was “Chef” who chose the restaurant. There is a rotation policy where I personally ensure I either pick, or have an insider hand in picking the venue, with deft personal messages of applause with good choices, and blatant ribbing for choices that are ill-informed! Chef is a quiet achiever in these Choosy Stakes. You are probably thinking this guy knows his restaurants and works in an up market Bib Gourmand, but he actually is not into that type of thing and specialises in basic cafe fare. So, choosing Ides, a restaurant with Peter Gunn at the helm, known for his experience at places like Attica, is not as great a fit as it sounds.

Fried chicken, cos lettuce, bacon broth, spiced cashew nuts

You don’t need to be a Rhode Scholar to comfortably say that every year we get older. The warm up for elderly men is difficult, but precisely half way through our first beverage of choice (today mainly gin and tonics, and pink vermouth spritzers) we start to acclimatise. On the menu (that we never actually saw) are several snacks to begin, an avocado dish, a broth, a snapper dish, a beef cheek dish, and two desserts with one on the fruitier side and the other chocolate.

Scarlett Prawn

By the time the snacks are being presented we are on to the Hochkirch riesling from Henty in the west of Victoria. It’s a good choice because versatility with the assortment of tastes is the key. There’s a good spicy punch to the cos lettuce, the scallop is gorgeous, the fried chicken is glorious, and the sourdough with peanut butter is a dish of its own. The only miss for me is the prawn which having tried several uncooked prawns I’ve decided they are just better cooked. I can respect the freshness of the produce though.

Burnt Avocado

Sitting at a fine dining restaurant with a real sense of modern Australian cuisine, it should not be a surprise to find a quarter avocado presented as the first course, but it is. How did we start to associate avocado with breakfast? Just as the French will crack an egg on anything from a Lyonnaise salad to beef tartare, why can’t we have an avocado as one of our dishes? If fine dining and nouveau cuisine are supposed to present the utmost flavour profiles and combinations possible, this avocado is close to perfection. It is firm but has the subtle, yet consistent, flavour of an avocado at its peak, and it is enhanced by trout roe that doesn’t overpower, and a spice that also is in beautiful balance. I am intrigued if I came back tomorrow whether it would taste the same, and be just as wonderful.

Snapper

On to a Trutta marsanne from Harcourt North in the Central Victorian region, and the pumpkin flowers in ox tail broth, with chewily addictive ox tail meat presented separately. We all leave our bowls dry so the broth is good, but it is the meat that is king. This is followed by my favourite dish of the day. Snapper is topped with a broccoli crumb, and a snapper butter is poured at the table that surrounds the white fish. That white fish is skilfully cooked, just enough, to demonstrate its best, but it is the butter that steals the show, and the salty crumb that almost makes you feel like you are having the best fried fish shop meal of your life (without the old frying oil!)

Beef Cheek

A delicious shriraz viognier from Yarra Yarra is chosen by Guy and we are on to the beef cheek which comes out looking more like fillet steak. What the chefs have done is freeze dry the slowly cooked cheek to form a disk, rather than present in the usual rustic way. It works, but it does lose some of the magic in my humble opinion. The Congo potato is raved about, which is probably not what the chefs had in mind (when you compare to the cheek), but it is definitely a generous and enjoyable way to end the savoury courses.

Madenii Mousse

The first dessert, on the fruitier side with strawberries and macadamias, comes adorned with a translucent shard separating those elements. By this stage, after what seems like over twenty-four hours of drinking, I cannot be sure of exactly what I was eating, but it was very good. Somewhat simpler looking, but anything but, is “The Black Box” of chocolate and peanut. Break it open and you have plenty of sweet goodness inside. As a final tip of the Akubra to our cuisine we are presented with a peach cheek drizzled with honey.

The Black Box

As we all reflected on this experience later in the day, and in the days to come, it became apparent that everyone enjoyed the experience as a whole, but there wasn’t the same high you can get with some of the other top restaurants in Australia. It might be the familiarity of some of the dishes, even though they are much more sophisticated than the norm, but more likely it was the seriously expensive tasting menu of $180 a person. Normally I wouldn’t even mention it, but this is in the top echelon of tasting menu prices so it is fair game.

Things tend to go a bit sideways!

The focus on Australian produce includes the spirits on offer, which does narrow the options when it comes to things like Campari and Aperol (which were innocently asked for more than once as my group got to the restaurant for an aperitif). What I did find is professional and confident floorstaff who could quickly provide another option, who spoke well through the various courses and what we were eating, and who answered questions without any flicker of snobbery. It does feel as if the whole outfit are sharing the vision of the chefs, and are confident in the product across the board. And that means a lot in any organisation.

IDES Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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Kazuki’s – Carlton – Friday 6 September 2019 – Lunch

Dark chocolate, hazelnut, miso

There is no one template for a wonderful dining experience. The beauty of eating out is the variety, especially when it comes to the scene in Melbourne. Restaurants like Kazuki’s are a study in themselves.

Originally located in Daylesford, this nod to Japanese cuisine, has found its way to Lygon Street in Carlton of all places. The room is purpose fitted, and both downstairs and upstairs have that restrained beauty that fits with the cuisine in a sense, though there is a bit more going on than meets the eye in that regard.

Moreton Bay bug, ponzu, sake

When you see “Moreton bay bug, ponzu, sake” on a menu you might think of simply the protein in a sauce given it is one of seven courses. Here that is not even half the story. The generous subtle bug meat is encased in a dumpling skin that you can only make when you are not churning them out by the dozen. It is quite simply stunning. Served with some pizazz in the form of foam, the hidden treasure meets a sauce that has you weighing up how impolite it would be to bring the bowl to your mouth. We opt to mop with some of the delightful brioche style buns being served liberally throughout the meal.

Salmon caviar, cod roe, nori
Chicken liver, Paris-brest
Ama ebi, corn
Octopus teriyaki

Then there is the unusual mix of customers today, all being served by the more than capable restaurant manager, who is terrific to chat to throughout the meal. When someone has a background at Pier in Sydney, Pei Modern, Lee Ho Fook and many others, you don’t need to worry about a thing. It is quiet with only three tables including ours. One other table is a group of six that appear to be family, but their main conversation is with their phone. The other table is having photos taken because one is a writer and the other is from The Age. It is fine.

Coconut, mandarin, Geraldton wax

There are some very generous allowances given to us by the restaurant. Firstly we are allowed to bring a special bottle of champagne to celebrate Catherine’s birthday. Then we are allowed to substitute the cheese course for a second dessert. We are even more grateful when we taste those desserts. The first (originally the main dessert) is a perfectly bouncy panna cotta of coconut looking very pretty with its slithered almonds, rosemary and mandarin adornments. This is a carefully balanced dessert, that has enough sweetness for us, but the savoury elements are equally attractive as a combination.

Naturally far richer, the dark chocolate, hazelnut and miso dessert is just as beautifully presented. The texture of the crisps works well with the softness of the other components; put together it is simply gorgeous to end this wonderful meal. Back to the start, the snacks were equally delicious but on the other side of the spectrum. Here we embraced each bite of the chicken liver parfait in Paris-brest, and delighted in the depth of the cod roe on nori. The amaebi (sweet shrimp) in the corn cone, and teriyaki octopus were right on the mark too.

Tuna, scallop, beetroot

During the various tasting courses we were struck by the wonderful combinations of flavours, often subtle like the beautiful firm beetroot covered tuna and scallop tartare, or deep and gamey like the duck with carrot puree, and some of the most delicious roasted witlof imaginable. The latter was the last savoury course and when you add my favourite bitter leaf in radicchio you have a stunning dish. The former was bound by a mirim based sauce that instantly identifies with this cuisine.

Duck, carrot, witlof

The other savoury dish might be the last I write about, but it is by no means one to bypass. The hapuka is perfectly cooked with abalone thrown in to enhance the subtle flavours, with slithers of serrano to add some saltiness. The winter melon doesn’t win me over, but the char on the spring onions does. Next time I think I’ve cooked fish perfectly I’ll remember how much better this was!

Hapuka, abalone, serrano

It is difficult to judge how busier evenings would translate to our long lunch in a quieter restaurant, but I’m confident the service would be just as good at any time. Everything about Kazuki has a feeling of complete comfort. This is a very well thought out restaurant and one that excites me about Melbourne’s dining scene. What a superb meal.

Kazuki's Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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Laura – Pt Leo Estate – Mornington Peninsula – Sunday 28 July 2019 – Lunch

Hawkes Farm potato duchess, cauliflower, shiitake

Inventiveness is in the eye of the beholder. As we experience an incredible lunch, I cannot help but think aspects of Pt Leo Estate, and it’s flagship restaurant, Laura, have been done before, but feel completely new.

It might be the combination of the winery, restaurant, and sculpture garden, but it’s not. As I walk in, I have a Port Phillip Estate feeling; the sculpture garden and outlook has a McClelland Gallery and Jackalope vibe; and the winery with its long rectangular shape, featuring floor to ceiling windows, has been done before. The view is magnificent by the way. Whatever it is, this place feels special. It feels different.

 

Nori tart, creme fraiche, bottarga; Rice bun, The Fruit Forest medlar relish

It has the persona of a country restaurant that is run by experienced heads who have seen it all and decided they would rather the countryside ocean views, instead of the cityscape. We got a sense of the journey and ethos of Laura during our several courses of the tasting menu, but it was barely scratching the surface.

Cochranes celery, pear, oyster, Brazilian starfish tabasco

Laura is versatile. With so many sensory delights you have enough going on around you to be comfortable to not have any awkward pauses on a first date; or in our case, parents who’ve left their infant for the first time catching up, and getting caught up in the amazement of it all. You could make a long day of it too, with the cellar door doing extensive wine tasting, the sculpture garden providing plenty of distraction, and a nice long lunch rounding out the adventure.

We make a start on proceedings with some brioche buns that we double up on through the meal. It’s a nice touch and we did notice sourdough being offered to those who don’t subscribe to the beauty that is brioche. Like much of the produce, the olive oil here is local to the region from nearby Cape Schanck.

Starters consist of a spoonful of potato and Main Ridge Daily dumpling with radish, scattered with cheese; a nori tart filled with homemade crème fraiche and sprinkled with bottarga is absolutely gorgeous and salty; and a rice cake with unusual fruit called medlar produced into a relish, again shows off the local small producers.

Roast Great Ocean Road duck, Port Phillip scallop frill, Mossy Willow lenticchie

Western Port Bay Wagyu beef, almonds, polenta

For our first entrée we are presented with a nice combination of thinly sliced pear, oyster, mushrooms, celery stalk and leaves, in a creamy sauce with a touch of tabasco. It is an intriguing combination which I tried with, and without, the pear, and settled on the pear being a key component. Equally a fruit perhaps a touch less sweet would be good too.

Thoughtful sides of sliced pumpkin, and eggplant

Incredibly well thought through Hawkes Farm potato is presented duchess style with beurre blanc sauce surrounding. Salmon roe, and sturgeon caviar (as a supplement option) top the potato, which is filled with shiitake mushrooms and cauliflower.  This is a beautiful combination and appears to be a signature of this menu. It brings back memories of the famous Attica potato dish, but is presented more like Attica would today, as opposed to yesteryear.

As we struggled to decide between four main courses that all had their enticing qualities, we asked for help and got the response we didn’t expect, but hugely appreciated. “Why don’t you choose two and split them between you?” These mains both came out as separate courses, plated for each of us. It was a tremendous way to do it, both with half glasses of wine which they also accommodate.

Custard fondant, last season’s berries, liquorice

The Great Ocean Road duck is roasted and classically presented, with a less classical Mossy Willow “lenticchie” which is described (and tastes) like a minestrone broth. Next door, the Port Philip scallop frill is a Swiss chard leaf filled with lentils and chickpeas. It is beauty on a plate.

The secondary cut of Western Port Bay Wagyu blade is corned and thinly sliced, oozing with flavour and enveloping a perfect polenta. A delightful veal jus is used as the sauce, with slithered almonds scattered on top. Nothing is out of place and the flavours work seamlessly together. Even the sides are thoughtful with some extra depth of flavour and inventiveness.

Following a superb refresher, our beautiful dessert consisting of a custard fondant and foam of liquorice with last season’s berries and some tiny meringues has the sweetness we love, and the technique only great pastry chefs can achieve. That technique is further proven with a superb white opera cake, which is presented as a birthday bonus!

Wines we chose included the 2011 Chardonnay and 2016 Pinot by Pt Leo Estate, as well as a Bordeaux Cabernet blend which were all fantastic. Aperitifs consisted of Four Pillars G&T and the house mocktail which is also beautiful.

As we enjoyed quality dish after quality dish, we had begun to question whether the service was the perfect match to the food. There were some clear misses. While the sommerlier, Andrew, was personable and polite, he did go missing after we had ordered our aperitif. In fact, we didn’t actually get asked whether we wanted the matching wines, or if we needed help selecting glasses for our various courses.

What made up for some of the time trying to catch the floorstaff’s glance on more than a couple of occasions, was the overall professionalism and balanced demeanour shown, which showed a good amount of broad experience. Our best waitperson had a background at Attica, Cutler and Pei Modern, for example.

While there are some improvements that could be made, this is a class act at Laura. Strolling around the sculpture garden following lunch (complimentary for those dining at Laura) is a fabulous way to reflect on a top meal. These are views that you could never tire of and a restaurant that is equally as attractive.

Laura Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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Lume – South Melbourne – Wednesday 7 November 2018 – Dinner

I’m reading about the Australians who fought for, and defended, Villers-Bretonneux in France, at the end of World War I, as I write on this Day of Remembrance*. These important moments in our early history have an impact on Australian culture today, and there are elements that equally impact the way we dine.

The whole idea of describing something as “modern Australian” is often used for restaurants that don’t fit into a particular genre. It has replaced the concept of “fusion”, which once was a popular term. If combining cuisines and using local ingredients is the backbone of modern Australian dining, there are a handful of restaurants that can make a case for being the trend setters.

Pearl on the ocean floor

My opinion is that Lume is what modern Australian has become, or at least, what the expression should mean. Intelligent use of native and locally produced ingredients, seemingly no cultural restraint (though I would say Japanese was more pronounced in certain dishes), and beautiful presentation, are the themes you see. Sure, there are not many everyday restaurants doing this, but just wait a few years. Cafes are going to have pig face on every dish requiring something green, seasoned macadamias will cover the bar, and salt bush with mountain pepper will be a snack you pick up at the local store. I’m not completely joking.

Olive oil and mandarin peel ice cream, fennel and absinthe

The cultural characteristics I read of those incredible and brave Aussies in WWI still resonate in how we carry ourselves today. Our collective pride in farmer’s battling the conditions to grow quality produce; the quiet confidence of astute waitstaff that can do their job extremely well, but relax and make a joke at the same time; and the willingness to go that extra yard to improve an experience without any notion of it being for a tip. When you think about it, modern Australian dining has as much to do with our inclusive and laid back (but hard working) culture as it does with the food. It is something refreshing when you are not used to it, or comforting when you travel back home.

Darwinian egg

My wife Catherine is pregnant (very exciting!) and naturally careful about what she eats. We had made the usual early warning call, and the chefs had constructed her menu to be very similar to mine, with some changes to ensure the usual suspects were not there. The waitstaff were easily approachable when Catherine wanted some further comfort. More than that, there are some great friendly people working at Lume and the whole experience from that service aspect was almost perfect.

There is an experimental nature to the food. We were doing the Incitation tasting menu of around seven courses, with some extras thrown in. After the seasoned macadamias we had two snack sized courses. The first was “sea corn taco” which had a good amount of crab, but a textural trick with the baby corn being in a custard form. While I enjoyed it, the second snack of “Darwinian egg” was the tastier dish. The egg shell was actually crispy chicken skin, and the filling was another beautiful custard-like concoction, this time of potato puree.

Sea corn taco

One of the signatures of Lume came next with “Pearl on the ocean floor”. This is an immaculately presented collection of raw seafood, with textures, and foams, that you mix together once you’ve enjoyed a good look. I appreciated the dish, but it wasn’t my favourite of the night, with some of the more subtle seafood a little lost for me.

Nukazuke broccoli and lemon myrtle, calamari gravy and finger lime

Shortly after a favourite dish arrived. The nukazuke (pickled) broccoli and lemon myrtle, calamari gravy and finger lime is a revelation. I’m a broccoli lover, and thought the dish was outstanding with the diversity of techniques, combination with the texture of calamari, and the pop from the finger lime, all making their mark. From here we were presented with the artichoke sourdough, served with smoked eel butter and sour corn honey, that was very enjoyable as we prepared for the main.

The last savoury dish had the impact that often is missing in the main protein. The pork has one of the most gorgeous crispy skins I’ve tasted and is cooked perfectly, with berries (they may have been quandongs), beetroot and an exquisite sauce. Even the radicchio with togarashi pepper and blood lime is sensational!

Radicchio, togarashi pepper and blood lime

Moving on to dessert, the first is more of a refresher. Playfully presented, the ice cold fermented passionfruit atop rhubarb formed into musk sticks, with Geraldton wax, is delightful. More seriously, the second dessert provides some more sweetness, though in balance, with an olive oil and mandarin peel ice cream, fennel and absinthe. I’ve always been a fan of olive oil based ice cream and this one is no exception to the rule.

Throughout, the sommelier had helped match a couple of glasses of wine (and a dessert wine) to adjacent courses in the tasting menu, without doing a full matching. Don’t tell Catherine, but they were all terrific, with the Leirana Albarino my favourite in the early courses. I find this Spanish variety is one of the most versatile wines for subtle seafood dishes, with enough backbone to foil more pronounced flavours, but not necessarily the meatier dishes.

Ice cold fermented passionfruit, rhubarb and Geraldton wax

Lume is going to change markedly in the new year. All trends take time to set, and there is little doubting why there is a serious following of this restaurant, the way Lume has been over the past few years. In an awkward location of South Melbourne it will need to stay special and relevant to keep up, let alone continue to set the agenda. I’m glad we had a chance to dine here as one door closed, and another opened. Good luck in the next chapter.

* Note this was written some time ago! There has been significant change at Lume and in 2019 there will be a new more casual chapter, as the executive chef (Shaun Quade) travels to L.A. to open up a new restaurant. I had such a good meal I had to write about it, even if there will only be themes of the old restaurant in the new format.

Lume Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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Daniel – Upper East Side – Thursday 14 June 2018 – Dinner

We have come from Brandy’s Piano Bar in the Upper East Side and life is incredible. There are certain times you have a meal and the first thing you think about as you go to bed is how you could ever do justice to describing it to your friends and family. Well tonight I’ll try before bed.

As I drink a sour beer from the craft beer shop down the road I am thinking of how to put the experience at Daniel into words. Firstly, it was not perfect, thank goodness. If there was not one small error made I would have nothing to strive for in dining terms. The imperfections were incidental and minor, so this is an absolutely huge night out.

Carotte – chilled carrot veloute with Peekytoe crab, chemoula cream, confit ginger and lovage oil

I’m thinking about the carrot veloute with Peekytoe crab. A cold carrot soup that is indescribably deep in flavour, showing off reasonably generous portions of crab, and slithers of carrot that are heavenly. Combining with the Premier Cru Beaune chardonnay (we got a half bottle), I am in my own little heaven.

Pigeonneau – roasted squab breast with oats, confit legs, barley risotto, fava bean savoury coulis, “Sauce Forestiere”

There is the second ten out of ten course in a row for me with the squab (pigeon) cooked medium rare, crusted in oats, with the most astonishing barley risotto I have ever tasted. The first thing I tasted was that barley, and then the mushrooms, layer on layer of perfectly seasoned flavour making me metaphorically blush for my own attempts at risotto. Then there are the several types of mushrooms accompanying the pigeon, and the chicken jus that is drizzled by the waitperson in a seemingly frivolous manner, but is as important as any other element. The burgundy chosen by the charismatic sommelier tops off the combination but in reality the wine is a bonus.

Saint Jacques – ceviche of Maine sea scallops, finger lime-wasabi vinaigrette, cilantro, avocado mousseline, white sturgeon caviar

At this stage Catherine is pretty much twenty out of twenty too. Her scallop ceviche melts in her mouth. This is not ordinary seafood. Again the seas have swept something special up, and Daniel Bould has elevated it with avocado, finger lime and white sturgeon caviar. The follow up is a fish that is new to us, Arctic Char, that is covered in avocado, and married with asparagus, fennel and sorrel cream to provide another intriguingly familiar but different experience.

Omble Chevalier – Arctic Char poached in a star anise “Court-Bouillon”, fennel, wild asparagus and sorrel cream

As we enjoy our third course, it is childish for me to say that I had a slight envy for Catherine’s wagyu even though I was enjoying the most beautiful medium rare veal tenderloin enveloped in gorgonzola that I’ve ever had. Along with the fregola and veal jus amongst other elements I was not in a position to be jealous. The Nebbiolo dominant wine from Northern Italy was a perfect match too.

Veau – roasted veal tenderloin with chalkidiki olives, toasted fregola, spinach subric, Gorgonzola emulsion with oregano

Catherine’s wagyu was simply outstanding. Looking at the menu it sounds like beef, potatoes and mushrooms. It is and it isn’t. The mushrooms are provided on thin strips of beautifully crisp potatoes and in the form of a “mushroom quiche” that looks more like a mushroom mille-feuille. They are all quite extraordinary. And she got the Graves’ Bordeaux that is Merlot dominant too. A serious winning combination that could rival the pinot-duck and fish-chardonnay match if it was more prevalent.

Wagyu – Scharbauer Ranch Wagyu strip loin, morels, pomme “Pont-Neuf”, green peppercorn sauce

Like interval at a performance, we were talking about where this particular meal stacked up. It is always difficult to determine at the time. All we can say is that dessert met (or was close) to its savoury counterparts. Catherine’s rhubarb dessert was superb from my one taste.

Rhubarbe – Benedictine poached rhubarb, aloe vera, iyokan confit, and rhubarb ice cream

My dessert was more like a work of chocolate art. The first one I finished, but the last that I tasted, was the peppery chocolate ice cream such was its addictiveness. In between the mousse was gorgeous, and the Equadorian grand cru fondant was my start and end with the cream in the middle, and gold leaf, providing the extra edge. A Hungary tokjii was also beautiful to combine, in my humble opinion.

 

As the petit fours of chocolates (pineapple, bergamot, blueberry and raspberry), and house signature Madeleines came out, we were not daunted. We had gone toe to toe with the bread basket too – the baguette, brioche, three grain, and parmesan, all doing their bid for supremacy and the salted butter showing off the beauty of simplicity.

Arriba – Ecuadorian grand cru fondant, timiz pepper cacao ice cream, sage chocolate mousse

Our waitstaff were superb. To fault them would be nitpicking. There was care and attention; professionalism and attention; delicacy and humour. We simply had a wonderful time. It is crazy to imagine there are people out there who get to enjoy this on regular occasions. Unlike that wagyu dish that I want more of, there is no jealousy. We’ve just had an experience that feels like it is once in a lifetime.

Daniel Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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Flower Drum – Melbourne, City – Friday 23 March 2018 – Dinner


Most people have a Flower Drum story, and a view on its merits as a big night out. Back when I first ventured there in my mid-twenties it was a three star restaurant still at the height of reverence from most dining circles.

It was described to me at the time as a destination restaurant even for people living in China. Naturally, I took that statement with a degree of skepticism, but when your waitperson has been at the same restaurant for 25 years, there is an instant knowing that something is going particularly well, in a world where a year is a milestone in hospitality.

Fast forward almost one and a half decades and the knowing is of a different kind. These days I know that you should expect flawless service, and that the tasting menu will include Peking Duck and beautifully cooked beef. In the lead up, the reception when I mentioned Flower Drum was anywhere between excitement and a feeling the place is now passé.

It’s almost as if, in this dynamic world of constant change, that doing something well, over and over again, might be overrated. In a sense I can be guilty of this too, but an understanding of why focus and precision is beautiful in cooking terms was strengthened from my trip to Tokyo last year, and a few other instances here and there (often in relation to Asian food).

To my surprise, there was one change to the “four course” tasting menu tonight, which was no san choi bao, replaced by a crayfish omelette. This was the first course and a delicious introduction into the meal to come. The dish is perfectly seasoned (salt and pepper is provided, but not needed), with large chunks of juicy crayfish smothered by a fluffed egg white omelette. For a long and generous tasting menu, the richness of this first course is felt later in the meal, but I wouldn’t be offering a spoonful of that crayfish back.

Skipping over the service at Flower Drum would be like going to the Taj Mahal, taking a photo, and walking back out. It is intrinsic to the atmosphere in the room, almost prompting a sense of Zen. Like many things of beauty, it is hard to put your finger on exactly why the service here is spoken about like it won an Olympic gold medal. While tonight there is little chance our waitperson, Vincent, has been working at Flower Drum for 25 years like one of my first experiences, he is thoroughly trained.

Saute crayfish omelette

The dedication and commitment to excellence here is astounding, but it doesn’t lead to a loss of personality. A good example is towards the end of the evening when we complimented Vincent on how well he handled our AGT Vouchers (I get a discount through work which is great, but the paper voucher has caused some issues!) Rather than accept the compliment with the same humility he had shown throughout the evening, he humorously said “thank my Manager” with a grin that he would have had no idea what to do.

Wok fried wild barramundi fillet

The next course we enjoyed was the barramundi, with a glutinous shiitake mushroom sauce, and asparagus. I could see Catherine looking at the whole fillet of fish, and back at her chopsticks, and I was instantly brought back to the first time I ate fish here. “Don’t worry, it falls apart easily” I assured her, and sure enough, the fish parts in bite sized pieces perfectly held together for less sophisticated chopstick enthusiasts like myself. Besides the perfect fillet of lightly battered barra, the sauce shares the limelight with a huge lift that doesn’t mask the fish, but does add some punch.

At this stage we were finishing our Moorooduc Estate Chardonnay, displaying a good level of oak and some old school malolactic fermentation that we quite like. Next we switched to a half bottle of the Paringa Estate Pinot Noir from 2013. The Pinot is glorious, especially with the upcoming dish.

That dish is the famous Peking duck which these days is presented with some hoisin art. It’s a bit gimmicky, but delightful at the same time. Once you taste the Peking duck your mind shifts to how succulent the duck is, and how perfect the pancake packaging is. One day I would like to be able to be a regular here just to have the Peking duck. For now my two tastes, matched with the Pinot, are just gorgeous, leaving me to hunger for the next time I’m here, which will be sooner than 13 years.

Peking duck

Next comes the beef, and I really don’t remember it being this large? You are basically presented with a small steak, Asian greens, and a side of unforgettable fried rice. I like this fried rice better than both Lung King Heen and RyuGin, both owning three Michelin stars in Asia. There is a choice to upgrade the beef from local Black Angus to Wagyu which at $40 per head we didn’t do this time, and we were not regretting our choice because it is hard to imagine how the beef could be that much better. Using chopsticks, each piece melts in your mouth, the technique better than most steakhouses, and practiced for a considerable period of time with this 43 year old restaurant.

Grain-fed eye fillet with black pepper sauce, and fried rice

For dessert we are given a choice, which is never a great idea because the negotiation is intense. From the beginning I wanted to have the mango crepes and something a bit more on the edge. Serious contemplation followed as we tried to let our savoury courses digest. Vincent became involved in the conversation and incredibly swayed us to try the fried ice cream! According to wiki the origin of this dessert is America, but to my mind it has become something of a suburban Chinese restaurant cringe dessert.

Vincent was right. Not only did he realise we were going to share dessert (so organised for it to be split between our plates) but he was spot on that fried ice cream can be elevated to an adult dessert. This one is surrounded by sponge cake that has been compressed and then surrounded by breadcrumbs. It is complimented by a berry sauce and I will never say anything bad about fried ice cream again! The crepes are very nice, just as I remember them. Plenty of sweet mango filling, even though the season in Queensland has apparently come to an end.

Mango crepe; and fried ice cream

The hours had passed and all of a sudden the buzz in the restaurant had dissipated as one-by-one the guests had made their way back on to Market Lane. As I finished my Grandfather Port (yes, a traditional meal needs a traditional port!) and Catherine her Jasmine tea, we knew we’d had a night to remember. There is something comforting about Flower Drum, and there’s no need to feel guilty about it.

Flower Drum Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato