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Aru – Melbourne, City – Wednesday 23 March 2022 – Lunch

Walking into Aru we have the strange feeling we’ve been here before. Is it the old Review on Little Collins? If it was, it is remarkably changed, and we are happy to try it on, just the same way Catherine has tried on many a Review dress back in the day.

The long rectangular room has sleek furnishings, mainly wooden, with a metallic curtain divider giving a modern, clean feel, much like the forthcoming food, and smooth service. The bar looks inviting for another time, maybe an evening cocktail and snack.

Duck sausage sanga, leatherwood honey, onion, peanut; torched salmon sea succulents, horseradish, orange kosho

We are in the mood to celebrate and enjoy a big lunch out in the city. Bookings are not easy to get these days and we got this one a few weeks ago. We must admit it wasn’t the first we tried to make, checking sister restaurant Sunda (only open for dinner) as part of our efforts. Now we are here and we are ready!

We have a new floor person today about three weeks in. He’s keen and is ready to extend the hospitality of the restaurant with a smile on his face (under the mask). It’s okay to be nervous if you are caring and hospitable and he certainly is.

We begin with the duck sausage sanga. This is genuinely a snack not to be missed, and another time at the bar is in our not too distant future. I’ve heard it is a take on a Bunnings hotdog, but it is far prettier and much tastier, leaving no feeling of guilt.

Skull Island prawns, native curry, blistered tomato

Next, the scorched salmon is meltingly good, and we are getting on a roll. By this stage we are on to our next wine. We have a terrific sommelier who has already poured us a Reserve Gosset Champagne which is a rare offering, and a first for us at a restaurant. It sets us on a path with this very expensive wines by the glass list. The Chardonnay by Salem & Co (Oregon) is exceptional with elegance and complexity from low/no irrigation. The Fiano from Campania is also a beautiful expression, despite the price tag.

Skull Island Prawns hit the table, introducing some subtle heat and deep flavour, with generous prawn meat. Having negotiated hard on potential side options, we erred on the side of indulgence with the spanner crab fried rice and it was unmissable in hindsight. This is a beautifully executed rice dish.

Spanner crab fried rice, white kampot pepper, sweet corn; Hiramasa kingfish, buttermilk dashi, desert lime, lettuce

The side took the limelight, but the actual main was still delicious. The Hiramasa Kingfish may have been the lesser of the various savoury dishes, but it went to show the overall abundance of quality here. The buttermilk dashi lifted it, but perhaps it was on the pan for half a minute too long.

Tapioca pudding, butterscotch, banana, wattle honeycomb; scorched pavlova, coconut, passionfruit, cultured cream

Dessert arrived in the form of a tapioca pudding, and a pavlova, which we shared. Both have excellent attention to sweetness. The tapioca felt richer and deeper in flavour with the butterscotch and wattle honeycomb. The pavlova was beautifully presented, with the usual visual appeal of careful blowtorching.

It is starting to feel less unusual getting out and about, and we couldn’t be happier about that. We were ready for a great meal and it presented itself in an odd spot on Little Collins. Our experience at Aru was outstanding.

Aru Restaurant – www.aru.net.au
Tuesday to Saturday – 12pm to late
Phone +61399398113
Email info@aru.net.au
268 Little Collins Street, Melbourne

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Nomad Restaurant – Melbourne, City – Dinner – Tuesday 30 November 2021

As if travelling back in time ten years, Flinders Lane is yet again one of the coolest restaurant strips in the world. Multiple high profile openings, and the buzz to deafen the most serious hype.

Tonight I didn’t even realise until we booked our parking, that we were going to the old Ezard dining room. This basement oasis of turn of this century dining excellence is once again a hot ticket. It is Tuesday night and this illustrious, completely restyled venue, is very busy. We’ve waited 16 minutes after our 8pm booking, with no drink, so this Nomad place better be worth it. Having been recently pushed out of early restaurant bookings, we held our nerve, and our judgement.

I noticed the kitchen is now mainly at the back of the long rectangular room, with a larder at the front. It’s dark and minimalist, and seems a bit tight to walk along the pathways but staff are quick to step aside. Tonight we are thankful to have one of the experienced Sydney sister venue staff as our wairperson. While she leaves Melbourne to go back to Sydney soon, we certainly noticed all staff are well trained on the menu, waiting etiquette and have a friendly persona. The speed, and depth of explanation about the gluten free options on the menu, were very impressive.

We began with some rock oysters and the wood roasted plant escabeche. The oysters were delicious and the flavour profile in the escabeche was diverse, even if the nature of a marinated dish means a soft texture.

The combination of baked ricotta, Ortiz anchovies, and wood roasted peppers, worked so well I was imagining tapas in San Sebastian. Smoked mussels, piment d’espelette, and a pure garlic puree called toum were superb, only topped by the perfect accompanying hash brown. It may not be an exaggeration to say that pure garlic might be the toum-stone for your date, but here we felt it wore off reasonably quickly.

For our main dish, Murray cod is presented skin side up to keep the crispy texture, topped with saffron butter, and sided by spring vegetables and vine leaves. Cod is an outstanding fish, with its meatiness and depth of flavour, not to mention its versatility. On that front, my Gamay by Sentio in the King Valley was a decent red match, while Catherine’s Mulline Geelong Chardonnay was a natural winner. The Roman beans as a side were more of a hit with Catherine, but I did like trying a side that was a bit different, even if I got a few chewier ones.

Earlier I’d tried the versatile Sutton Grange Fiano and was not disappointed. Catherine had the “gin drink” to start as her cocktail, and it was terrific, but we almost went mad with staff trying to remember the song that talks about “the whisky drink”. It is Tub Thumping by Chubawumba!

This is the dessert split for gluten free diners. The actual presentation of this signature is much prettier normally.

The olive oil ice cream sandwich is already signature, and we got a separated gluten free version where I got most of the gluten part, and half of the creamy ice cream. Down the road at a restaurant where Coda now resides is where I tried my first olive oil ice cream 13 years ago, and maybe that is the best way to summarise the impact Flinders Lane dining has had on me.

In one triangle on Flinders Lane we had been to three venues in barely over a month. This has to be one of the great times to dine out between Swanston and Russell. Inventive, risky, but surefooted, and focussed, Nomad is making its mark.

Nomad
187 Flinders Lane, Melbourne
https://nomad.melbourne/
+02 9280 3395
eat@nomad.melbourne