Wood Fired Oven – BLK's Food Blog

Once a year it is tradition for the boys to go out for a fancy dinner following the races on the March long weekend, formerly known as Super Saturday. In fact, it is such a tradition that referring it to as “the boys” was once quite reasonable, but now it is better monikered as “the gents”. We’ve had some beauties! Memorable meals, and memorable moments; some even infamous.

When a group of men turn up to a restaurant for dinner there is a different mannerism that comes from the entire service experience, from the greeting, to the banter during dinner, to the ending, which has been fuzzy in our memory on occasion. Tonight it is almost all positive, with a nice pace and vibe to the evening. Marmelo is definitely a good place for a group.

We arrived early and went below to try the bar, Mr Mills. We already knew we were in for an expensive evening, and the drink prices at Mr Mills confirmed our expectation. Somehow, there is no cucumber downstairs or upstairs, so Chef immediately took off a point, but lime in a Hendricks is fine in any case. My Voyager Chenin Blanc was a nice cleansing start after several beers and champagnes at the races.

Once upstairs, by now we were technically a little late, but for some reason we still had to wait a bit longer for our table. Any minor complaints about the evening ended here, as the forthcoming food, drinks, and service were all terrific. We had some epic starters like the Murray cod croquette that is sure to be a continual feature, to the utterly divine spanner crab tart. The Portuguese offerings pack plenty of flavour given the star ingredient of the tart is known for its subtlety; the prominence of the spanner crab showing excellent technique in the kitchen.

Turning to one of the themes in this restaurant, fire takes centre stage upon the delicate skin of calamari, and elevating it to greatness as a result. Alongside, the Skull Island prawns are diced in an acorda (diced bread, coriander, garlic, and egg), with scallops, and pipies. It’s nice, and it’s different, but out of the dishes for the evening it is my least favourite.

Washing these dishes down to begin is a grape variety that I have not tried to my knowledge before. This Encruzado comes from the Dao region of Portugal, and is by Impecavel. It is vibrant and versatile with the starters and entrees, and thoroughly enjoyable. Next we turn towards an equally versatile Italian red for the mains, which is luscious, in the form of Centanni Rosso, consisting of Sangiovese and Montepulciano.

The mains were all impressive. The highlight was the O’Connor rib eye. Thoroughly seasoned, licked by the flame, and every bite was melting in my mouth. I could give or take the peppers with it, but they were nice enough. The Kurobuta pork promised to be just as tender, and it certainly was. This must be the best value offering on the menu. Throw in a delightfully cooked fig, and you have a wonderful pig and fig dish.

Last but not least, the wood roasted cockerel reminds us of the impact the Portuguese can have on perfectly cooked chicken, that in some people’s eyes is closely on the border line to undercooked. The result is juicy deliciousness. I had enjoyed so much food that sides were not a priority, but special mention to the chickpeas and spinach which Jarrod rated as one of his favourite dishes of the night. The potatoes, while perfectly cooked, didn’t need the sauce, making for a soft texture when some crunch would have been appreciated.

It was time for dessert, and even with a generous amount of food through the savoury courses, we were ready to get stuck in. Chef Simon and I shared the wood fired olive oil cheesecake. It was big and rich, and could easily satisfy four people having a taste of dessert. We also had a “pastels de nata” which was the most delicious and most overpriced Portuguese custard tart you can imagine at $16. I guess you need some give and take!

Guy loved his tiny chocolate cup with house made ginja berry liqueur and Amarena cherries, and Jarrod also enjoyed the “Textures of milk”. Some Malvasia Madiera hit the spot with dessert, as a further nod to Portuguese wine (this time one of its autonomous regions). Needless to say we were all pleased with a tremendous dinner, not least of all Simon who had picked the restaurant for this year’s edition of our traditional catch up.

Marmelo
https://www.marmelorestaurant.com.au
130 Russell Street, Melbourne
Open Tuesday to Sunday for lunch and dinner
03 7035 2999
@marmelorestaurant

Roasted Jerusalem artichokes za’atar harissa yoghurt

It is becoming more accepted for restaurateurs to completely change their restaurant at the same location as they, or their customers, become tired of the current offering. It is not to say that the product in these situations is average, in fact the opposite is often the case.

One example is David Coomer changing Pata Negra to Fuyu for no apparent reason other than he felt like a change. The other recent example is Ace Pizza becoming Highgate Drink and Dine. More or less the same staff, at the same location, doing food that is almost completely different, in a restaurant that even has a different entrance. The fitout has changed enough to be almost unrecognisable, with the wood fired oven still used to full effect, but the kitchen now being hidden by a funky old school wooden bar.

Ace Pizza was initially a place I really enjoyed, but each visit was not as good as the last, until I stopped going after three meals. So it is not unreasonable that a freshen up was undertaken. The only critique of the makeover is the continued very dark lighting which is really just unnecessary. We all like low light but this must be the darkest restaurant I have been to in many years. Anything visual is a struggle, but most importantly, you cannot see the colours in your meal, meaning both the subtle and vibrant identities of each dish are impossible to detect.

Hogget confit cabbage

Luckily, there is flavour and taste in the dishes that counteracts the loss of visual perception. The Jerusalem artichokes are beautifully roasted with za’atar, and work with the harissa yoghurt. The spiced carrots are just as well roasted, and work perfectly with the cooked-through dates, carrot leaf tops, and seeds, to form a delicious side or a meal in themselves.

The hogget (described as teenage lamb) has been smoked and roasted and is delicious. The belly in particular is the perfect balance of fatty flavour, and tender meat. The loin is still good, but the belly shines. The cabbage is a natural accompaniment, equally comforting as the hogget.

Serves are generous meaning that our reasonable attempt to completely finish the three dishes renders us unable to try dessert. Thanks to the helpful floorstaff we didn’t venture into the potatoes with ricotta and jamon, but I’m sure this dish would have been excellent too.

Spiced carrots tamarind dates

There are some weaknesses though. The glassware (stemless) is left over from Ace Pizza, and just doesn’t fit the new undertaking. The tables are not adept at sharing several plates, and feel like an afterthought. On the plus side, the wines are reasonably diversified, keeping interest to a broad palate. We try the Garagiste Chardonnay and the Tomfoolery Tempranillo which are both great with the food.

On the whole, Highgate Drink and Dine is a great place to share some quality food. The bar area is bigger than before, but the “Drink” part of the name seems a touch misleading given the venue really is more of a restaurant than a bar. Nonetheless the dining room is one of my favourites in Perth with the broad front windows holding your interest whether you are dining, or just passing-by.

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