Vue de Monde - Part 4 Rialto Towers, Sensational

I love Vue de Monde. If you've ever spoken to me about food before, chances are you've heard me rave about how Vue de Monde is my favourite restaurant in Melbourne and that I *loveeeeee* Shannon Bennett, in a manly sort of way of course. As with my previous reviews, this review was really hard to write, not because my dining experience was bad, but because it was so good I just didn't know how to describe it all. As it is, this review just sat in my draft folder half written for the longest time until I actually forgot about it. It wasn't only when I was sorting out my photos that I saw the Vue de Monde photos, which reminded me of this review. So, here I present my review of my degustation meal at Vue de Monde, almost 16 months ago. Oops. I'm sure the menu itself has changed but I'm definite the quality will remain and that you can draw a good sense of how the restaurant is from my review still.

I've been to Vue de Monde a few times before, at the old Little Collins street location and you can read about the experiences via the links for my first, second and third visit.

As you will know, there's not much choice in the menu at Vue de Monde. You go in knowing that you will have the small or large degustation and leave it up to the chefs to create a meal and experience for you. Obviously, if you have allergies, they will tailor your meal. Below is a sample of the menu, in abbreviated form of what we had that night. There are so many ingredients in Shannon's menu that I couldn't recall them all, even when I wrote it down.

Vue de Monde Menu

* Appetisers
- Smoked eel with caviar
- Celeriac parcels
- Apple gel
- Venison rolls

* Savouries
- Crab salad with strawberry sauce and green strawberry meringue
- Mushrooms with walnut puree broth
- Marron with khalrahbi and caviar
- Duck egg with lamb sweetbreads, white truffle, onion rings and celeriac puree
- Stewed rabbit with asparagus, burnt butter tarragon sauce
- Snapper with prawn, bone marrow, chicken glaze and beet tuile
- Wagyu tenderloin with turnips done two ways

* Palette cleanser
- Liquid nitrogen cucumber sorbet with herbs and flowers

* Desserts
- Cheese platter served with fig jam, peach jam, onion jam, pear gel, rhubarb gel
- Lemon meringue with ice cream and white chocolate pastry
- Tonka bean chocolate souffle

* Petit fours
- Golden gay time
- Mousses lamingtons
- Eucalyptus jellies
- Mint marshmallows

Firstly, let me start with the setting. Level 55 on the Rialto building is sensational. The view, as expected, would be the premium view of all Melbourne restaurants. Depending on the time of year that you dine in, you will either see the skies change from light to dark and witness an amazing sunset, or be given the amazing Melbourne night lights. I was fortunate enough to watch the heavens transition through the full gamut of colour and light. It was indeed an awesome sight through the floor to ceiling glass windows. The room is very light and bright as you would expect and tables set fairly far apart so you feel like you're dining privately, but yet still part of the whole space. This is something that Vue de Monde has always done well, even at their previous location which I've remarked on in my previous posts. We were seated near the kitchen in a semi enclosed space as there were 5 of us. We had an excellent view of the kitchen team at work and also of the full dining room. I felt the restaurant had a great ambiance that was quite boisterous actually, but still you could hear your dining companions.

The much talked about table settings are spectacular, from the kangaroo leather tables to the comfortable chairs and place settings. Even small touches like the stones on the table or the beautiful water glasses just exude elegance and opulence. If you're going to say that it's not "value for money" and "excessive and over the top", I don't think this place is for you. Yes, it is definitely never going to be "value for money" in the sense of getting lots of food, but we all have different definitions of value. For me, I think it's a great indulgence to occasionally be able to enjoy such meals, as they leave an everlasting memory that 25 burgers just won't do. I personally loved the whole rich feel of the restaurant, and for one night at least, I felt like I was king of the world up there.

The food is immaculate in technique and execution and plating. Nothing about any dish could be faulted from those perspective. Yes, you probably won't love every dish, but I doubt that would happen at any restaurant. However, the whole meal works together and provides more than the sum of it's parts. I liked every dish and absolutely loved some. I don't think there was anything that I didn't like.

Right from the beginning, the appetisers were a delight that really tickled the senses. Brought out on an assortment of rocks and plates, they were playful yet tasted amazing. I loved the smoked eel, so smooth and with a hit of salty caviar. The venison was another highlight for me, so rich in flavour.

With the savouries, there were some surprises that really got me. I absolutely loved the mushroom dish. The walnut puree was heavenly and made that dish really pop. Something seemingly so simple but the flavours were so clear and I loved it. The marron dish, one I've loved before, was still amazing. A perfectly cooked marron, this time served with khalrahbi just oozed the flavours of the sea and was one of three stand out dishes of the night for me. I really liked the rabbit and snapper dishes and again so many complex flavours on those items. The next stand out dish was the wagyu tenderloin. The beef was so soft and had such great flavours, served with turnips done in such amazing ways. I couldn't get over how good the turnips tasted.

After all the savouries, there was some theatre as the liquid nitrogen came out. We each got given a mortar with some herbs and flavours in it. The liquid nitrogen was poured on them and we crushed up the herbs, which wafted their aromas straight to you. Next up, one single scoop of cucumber sorbet was placed into the dish. OH. MY. GOODNESS. It was like an awakening of your senses. Every single flavour just popped in my mouth and I loved it so much.

With the desserts, again there was some more theatre. A massive cheese cart was wheeled to the table and the waiter helped you choose a selection of cheeses depending on what you like. There were so many amazing cheeses that we tried and they tasted so good with the different jams and gels. The two actual desserts served were excellent and faultless, with the tonka bean souffle so rich and beautiful.

Just when you think the night is over, out comes the petit fours that would knock the socks off anyone. Re-invented old skool desserts in miniature form are a pure delight. The Golden Gay Time and Lamington re-invention are pure genius.

To the service, well in my own personal opinion, it is perfect. The staff are warm, knowledgeable and still maintain some humour. We had a great laugh with some of the waiters, with any request fulfilled quickly and the most professionalism anywhere in Melbourne. The chefs also came around to explain some dishes and even Shannon himself came around twice to serve us. Of course I got a photo, and may have also been speechless and uttered the words "I love you Shannon". Never imagined myself to be star struck and such a groupie, but there you go. The man is one of my food idols.

The night was totally enjoyable and I loved almost every aspect of it. My one small complaint, and it's just a small one as I had come from work and was rather tired, was that the meal went on a bit too long. We started at 7pm and it didn't finish till 1am. I love long meals but I think even this one went about 1 hour too long. By that time we were all starting to yawn and having a hard time to stay awake. Apart from that, it was an utterly amazing meal that I still rate as the best in Melbourne.

Eat Street May 28th 2013 - Best Food Event of the Year, Go Go Go

So I hear you want to attend the best food event of the year as well as help out children's charities. Look no further, Eat Street is that event. In it's 13th year, the annual event has helped raised over $1 million dollars to so many different children's charities. This year, the charity is again Red Kite, a charity aimed at providing support to children with cancer. All proceeds from Eat Street will be going to Red Kite.

The details of this year's Eat Street are below.
What: Eat Street
When: Tuesday, 28th May, 2013 at 6pm.
Where: Sofitel Melbourne On Collins, 25 Collins Street, Melbourne
Tickets: $160 per person
Bookings: Ph (03) 9653 0000, or email: h1902-co01@sofitel.com

I've been fortunate enough to be invited to attend in both 2012 and 2011 and it's my favourite and best food event of the year. Think of the best buffet you've ever had, then multiply that by 50. Because 50 of Melbourne's top restaurants are there to serve you food and it's a culinary feast. Also, if you're a bit of a chef groupie like me, you'll be able to talk to and get pics with all the chefs. Lastly, while you feast on amazing food, you know that you've also helped a really good cause. So what's not to like. I highly recommend you attend and I'll be seeing you there. I'm the one holding a camera and glass of wine in one hand and a dish of food in the other. Come and say hi, I'd love to meet anyone who reads this blog.

Ayatana - Modern Thai Food

Ayatana, which means the senses, is what the restaurant tries to create and present to the customer according to their menu. The restaurant is modern Thai food, which means it can encompass many things. I'm not someone who insists foods need to stick to the traditional flavours and I like when people re-invent things and it works. So I went to Ayatana excited to try out something different yet grounded in Thai flavours.

The restaurant is located on Chapel Street, but in Windsor, so not at the busy end where people cruise their cars up and down the streets. The restaurant is a very cosy place, seating about 30-40 people. The room is setup nicely and looks very elegant with fairly dim lighting. As usual, I'll say that I'm not a fan of dimly lit restaurants, but this place was on the borderline ok for me as I could still see people's faces. The ambiance was rather boisterous, which was unexpected. The noise levels got quite high and we were all happily chatting away.

I went along with my friends and we decided to sample a selection of dishes as we all enjoy trying new things. For entrees, we sampled Roast Pork Belly, Beef Tacos, Crispy Soft Shell Crab and Tempure Prawns. As you can see, the styles are quite diverse, but all the dishes have flavours grounded in Thai flavours. The roast pork belly was good, with a tender belly, crispy skin and a nice sweet/salty sauce. The beef tacos did not work for me. The star anise flavours were far too dominant and the dish was too salty. The crispy soft shell crab had a good flavour and the batter was crispy, but we all felt that we couldn't quite taste the crab flavour anymore. Lastly, the tempura prawns are really good. A crispy batter covers some juicy prawns in again a sweet and salty sauce.

For the mains, the Crispy Barramundi again had great flavours, but the fish was a bit lost in the dish. The slices of fish could have been thicker so that the middle parts were not touched by the sauce and could be tasted more. A lighter pad thai with vegetables was very good and a papaya salad was really refreshing and zingy.

The two best dishes were the Red Curry Duck and the Seafood Tom Yum. The curry was nice and rich and smooth, with spicy hits and flavoursome duck. It went beautifully over rice. The highlight dish was the seafood tom yum. It wasn't a soup but more some seafood with a sauce. The seafood tasted great and the sauce was excellent. Again I loved the sauce over steamed rice.

For desserts, we tried the Boiled Banana, Sticky Rice, Ice Cream and Tapioca Pearls. The boiled banana was surprisingly not very good. I think it may be that the bananas weren't ripe as the flavour was quite strange. The sticky rice was really good, with a sweet egg custard and coconut. The ice cream consisted of two flavours. The vanilla was rich and creamy and the fig, pistachio and honey was good too. Lastly, the tapioca pearls with corn and coconut was excellent with the flavours combining well.

Overall, the food was mostly good. I wouldn't say the food was that Modern as in most of the flavours were quite traditional and I've tasted before. Some items need some tweaking so that they can be improved but mostly the flavours were good. The service was efficient and friendly and I good overall. On the cost side, I think the meal would be slightly on the expensive side, but if you feel like eating in South Yarra, this is an option worth considering.

My guests and I dined courtesy of Ayatana.

Pinocchio's South Yarra

In the children's novel about Pinocchio, when he lies, his nose starts to grow. Well, my nose is not growing when I tell that Pinocchio's is a very vibrant place to have a meal at. I dined at the South Yarra location on a Friday night and it was bustling. A very boisterous ambiance with all different types of clientele. There were many large families drinking soft drinks, groups of younger people with their cocktails and assorted tables of older clientele drinking wine. People were chatting happily and it was a very comfortable environment for me. I like crowded restaurants with lots of noise as opposed to dead quiet rooms where you can hear a pin drop. It must be my Asian background but the noise doesn't bother me much at all.

The restaurant has been refurbished last year and definitely looks nice and contemporary. Semi industrial elements are scattered around the room, with the walls dominated by large drawings of Pinocchio in silhouette form, very nice.

The menu is split into a number of sections, from small appetisers to large main meals. A huge variety of pizzas freshly made from the wood fired oven cover one side of the menu. We decided to sample a bit of everything, so started with some Pulled Lamb Panini, Mussels in White Wine and Seared Scallops with Apple Puree. The mini panini were quite tasty. I liked the pulled lamb itself but found the bread a bit crunchy. You can't go wrong with a classics mussels dish and this one was really tasty. I loved the fresh mussels and the sauce was really delicious. Lastly, the scallops were pretty good but could have been seared more to get more caramelisation.

The Salami and Goat's Cheese Pizza had really great flavours for the toppings and the base was quite good. It tasted slightly doughy still for me so unsure if that's the recipe or the base could have been cooked a tad longer.

I was told that all the pastas were made in house, so I had to try some. We ordered the Agnolotti, which were stuffed with Moreton Bay bugs. The pasta was indeed very good and perfectly cooked. The filling wasn't too bad but I'd have loved to have some whole pieces of the bugs inside it for that textural change rather than just a paste alone. Presentation wise, this dish was an utter mess. It had this brown/green sauce over it, which while delicious, looked like you know what. And it was splashed across the black agnolotti pasta, so was not a good look. I didn't want to post that photo in case it put you off.

My favourite dish of the night was this really delicious 12 hour braised goat. It was so tender and the flavours were delicious with the peppers, olives and potatoes. I would definitely order this again. Not many places in Melbourne serves goat so if you want some good one, try this dish.

Lastly for dessert, I was really excited as the three items on the dessert platters were some of my all time favourites. However, the pannacotta and cannoli were rather disappointing. The pannacotta had savoury notes which I didn't like. Also, the presentation on this wooden board wasn't working for me. The white sauce splashed all over the board just looks awful. The cannoli was a chocolate one and I found it far too bitter and a bit overcooked for my liking. The tiramisu was the saving grace, and whilst it wasn't fantastic, was pretty good.

If you're after a casual meal in a very vibrant environment in South Yarra to catch up with friends, this would be a great place as the way the menu is structured gives you a lot of options for ordering and sharing. The food is on the whole pretty good, with the goat that I tried a real highlight. For me, none of the desserts excited me and I'd probably skip them and have some ice cream instead. Pricing wise, I think it's on the expensive side. The prices are probably representative of restaurants in that area but for similar prices in other suburbs, you'd get more for your money. If you need to eat in the area, it would be a place I'd go to, otherwise I personally wouldn't make a special trip for it.

My guest and I dined courtesy of Pinocchio's.

King Oscar Brand Brisling Sardines

I have been saying for a while how sardines are such an underrated fish. Here in Australia, sardines are seen as cat food, and most people tend to not want to eat it. Me, I've grown up eating sardines and I love them. Most Asian countries and many European ones treat sardines as a beautiful source of food. As it's hard to buy fresh sardines here, all my sardine consumption is from the canned variety. I like to add things to the sardines to make it even tastier sometimes.

I was approached by King Oscars to review their new range of sardines. I had never tried their brand before as I usually get the Asian brands from the Asian grocers. I was definitely willing to try out some different sardines to see how they all compared. I noticed on the King Oscar sardine cans that their sardines were labeled as brisling. I had no idea what this meant, so it was off to Google to learn some more. As it turns out, sardines ain't sardines. I had always assumed that sardines were synonymous with herring. That basically it was a canned herring. However, it turns out that 11 different species of fish can be classified as sardines. They include herring, sild, pilchard, and brisling, also known as sprats. As I've noticed personally, the fish range in sizes and I now know they're from all over the world. Nordic brisling are fished from the Norwegian fjords and are rather small when fully mature. They're caught when the fish are mature, which is claimed to give them a better more delicate taste. The fish are also high in Omega-3 I read.

With all this new knowledge, it was time to put these brisling to the ultimate test, my mouth and stomach. Firstly, I noticed that the packaging was really beautiful, but that it also had this year on it. It turns out the actual vintage of the sardines is captured. That was something I had never seen before. I think it's a great idea. If wines have vintages so people can gauge which year's was better, why not other things. Surely the weather conditions causes changes in taste from year to year, so it's good to know if you liked a particular year's produce.

Upon opening the can, I found the sardines were packed beautifully. They were all so uniform in size. When I buy the Asian style sardines, they usually all different sizes and broken into many pieces inside the can. The smell from the sardines was very nice, a slightly smokey smell.

I took each sardine carefully out of the can as I didn't want to break these little beauties. To start off with, I wanted to taste them as they were to get a feel for the flavour. So I put some sardines onto my homemade wholemeal bread with some capsicum. The sardine flavour was really delicious. The flavour was quite delicate and the texture really nice, a slight firmness that gave away as you started to bite into them.

Next up, I decided to try them in a dish that I normally use tuna for. I made a simple spaghetti where I mixed the oil from the sardine can into the spaghetti, added some sliced Spanish onion, coriander and the sardine pieces. It was absolutely delicious. The olive oil the sardine had been marinated in had such a wonderful flavour. The fish paired beautifully with the onion and coriander. It was such a simple lunch made in well under 30 minutes, Jamie Oliver eat your heart out. I really loved this dish, even more than when using tuna. I love the texture of the sardines way more than tuna, which I find a bit more "chunky" and dry sometimes. Flavour wise, again I really enjoy the sardines flavour. Maybe it's because I've grown up eating sardines and only started eating tuna not too long ago or maybe sardines are just the poor cousin to tuna and not respected enough. Either way, I really loved this dish more with sardines than tuna.

From my own personal experience, I highly recommend you try out sardines, especially these beautiful King Oscars sardines. These King Oscar sardines are like the "high-end" of sardines, yet are still extremely affordable. The sardines can be eaten in so many ways, but are also great just out of the can. Be adventurous and try them in place of other fish. They work great in salads, with pasta, anything to do with eggs, and in a multitude of sandwich combinations. I will definitely be buying and eating these King Oscar sardines again as I really loved the taste. An added benefit is that they're a healthy food source as well. Winning.

This is a sponsored post.

Ganache Chocolate Macaron Class - Recipe and Tips For Successful Macarons

As with most modern love affairs, it started with a tweet. After trying EatPlayShop's amazing macarons, I tweeted how I wish I could make macarons too. My wish was answered when Ganache Chocolate saw my tweet and invited me to attend their Macaron Class. I was jumping for joy because unlike EatPlayShop, I've had more failed macaron attempts than successes. The worst effort was when I met up with some fellow food bloggers and attempted to make macarons in a professional kitchen no less. You can see the results here. Those macarons were seriously hard enough to throw at burglars.

Look how perfect and pretty EatPlayShop's macarons are. I hoped to replicate these after I attended the macaron class.

And the result...equally impressive macarons if I say so myself.

Here's another shot of the macarons I made as they're super pretty and I'm so proud of them.

The macaron class at Ganache Chocolate is taught by owner and pastry chef Arno Backes. Arno actually has a masters degree in pastry, which is taken very seriously in Europe. You actually need to get a regular teaching degree first even. He's worked through Europe and even cooked for the Queen of England. Throughout the class, you'll get to hear Arno's wonderful story of how he motorcycled around the world for 2 years before settling in Sydney to work. He also helped kick off the Koko Black franchise in Australia.

During the class Arno takes you through each step of making a basic macaron shell and ganache with hands on learning. Obviously you can become more inventive and use the basic recipe and add different flavours.

The macaron recipe uses an Italian method, which uses a sugar syrup poured into stiff egg whites. This forms a more stable shell, which results in shiny smooth macaron shells.

Look how beautiful the shells are. So smooth and with perfect little feet. I must say I'm rather pleased with my own piping as the shells were all fairly equal in size and shape.

We piped a simple raspberry ganache into the shells to form the finished product. The ganache utilised good chocolate and raspberry liqueur and puree and is super fragrant. I loved the taste of the final product.

So, here are the tips I learned at the class that will help you to achieve macaron success.

* Arno leaves his egg whites to age in the fridge for 5 days. He says this gives a stronger batter. He also mixes his almond meal and icing sugar together, sieves it and leaves to age for 5 days as well. There is some prep work involved but he says this gives a better outcome.

* Start whipping the egg whites super slowly before increasing the speed to get stiff peaks. Seriously, this process took way longer than I usually do it. Add a pinch of salt to the whites to help stabilise them further. When the sugar syrup is at 120C, pour the syrup into the whites at a slow speed, slowing increasing the speed to beat the whites until they are cool. You can feel the side of the bowl and it should be near room temperature before you stop whipping. This again takes longer than I expected.

* Use a template to pipe the shells the perfect size. Don't freestyle it unless you're a pro.

* Let the piped shells sit for 20 minutes or so until you can touch them and your finger doesn't stick to the shell. The shell sort of bounces back to the original shape after your touch.

* Bake for 8 minutes and then open the oven door slightly to let the humidity out. You can use a thin stick or something to keep the oven door ajar. Keep baking until the shells don't stick to the baking paper anymore.

If you want more detailed instructions and to see each step of the process in action, I highly recommend you attend a class at Ganache Chocolate. There's nothing that can compare to hands on training.

Ganache Chocolate's Macaron Recipe

INGREDIENTS
240g almond meal (mixed with icing sugar and aged for 5 days)
240g icing sugar (mixed with almond meal and aged for 5 days)
15g corn flour (optional, helps to stabilise it further)
190g caster sugar
50g water
110 egg white (aged for 5 days)
50g egg white (aged for 5 days)
6 drops food colouring (optional for colouring the shells)

METHOD
1. Age egg whites in fridge covered in plastic wrap for 5 days. Sieve icing sugar and almond meal together and leave in pantry to age for 5 days.

2. Make a sugar syrup to 120C.

3. Whisk 110g of egg whites to a stiff peak, starting slowly and increasing speed.

4. Pour in boiling sugar syrup at a low speed and slowly increase mixing speed. Beat until the bowl is cool to the touch.

5. Mix 50g of egg whites with almond meal/icing sugar mixture.

6. Mix egg white/sugar syrup mixture into almond meal mixture.

7. Add food colouring (if you want) and use spatula to mix the mixture until it is a smooth consistency and flows off spatula.

8. Pipe the batter onto baking paper. Use a template to obtain regular sized shells. Leave plenty of room between shells.

9. Tap the underside of the tray to remove air bubbles and flatten the macaron shells slightly. Leave the shells for a while until they form a skin. When touched, your finger should not stick to the shell and it should bounce back.

10. Bake in preheated oven at 150C for 6-8 minutes. Turn the tray 180 degrees around and leave door ajar slightly. Bake at 140C until macarons are easily removed from baking paper. This may take another 8 minutes or more depending on your oven.

11. Remove macaron shells from the hot tray and leave them to cool on a bench.

12. Fill shells with a ganache once they've cooled.

I attended the macaron class courtesy of Ganache Chocolate.

Bluestone Restaurant

I like to write lists. They make me feel like I have control over things. The best part of writing a list is when you can cross an item off the list. It gives me a real sense of joy. One list that gives me pain is my "Melbourne Restaurants To Dine At" list. It just gets forever larger as Melbourne is such a food loving town and there's always new and exciting places to go to. It means that the old stalwarts tend to get forgotten. One such place that has been on my list for forever is Bluestone Restaurant. Many years ago I had heard about how good it is from a friend. Finally, I visited the restaurant when I received an invitation to try out their new Autumn menu designed by head chef Cody Cunningham.

My first impressions of the restaurant is that it's a very classy looking dining area. The furnishings are very nice and everything has a feel of class and quality to it. It's definitely a restaurant to go to if you like a more restrained and quiet environment. There's something about certain rooms that make you feel like you need to talk in a quieter voice. I'll say that my personal preference is for loud and bustling ambiance generally but it's nice to be able to carry a conversation comfortably without having to shout the whole time.

We start the meal with a mixture of natural oysters for our appetizers. The oysters were fresh and didn't need the accompanying vinaigrette, which was rather heavy and oily than sharp and bright. Entrees of Parmesan and Dill Crusted Scallops and Calamari Stuffed with Chorizo were both good without creating any amazement. While both dishes were well cooked, I think they seemed a bit dated in terms of the flavour profiles and especially the way they were presented. The plating and the plates themselves all play a part in how your brain reacts to the dish and to me the dishes felt more suited to a cafe than a high end restaurant.

For the mains, the Roast Duck with quinoa spiced with quandong was quite a good dish. The duck was cooked quite well, although I felt the fat could have been rendered a bit more so the skin was crispier and the duck less fatty. I didn't care for the quandong in the well cooked quinoa. Lastly, I was quite surprised when I tasted the quail egg which was filled with a cream of some sort. It felt a bit old skool, which I like, but may not be to everyone's liking.

The Seared Barramundi with caramelised popcorn and a red wine butter reduction was again quite a nice dish. The barramundi was excellent and so sweet and perfectly cooked. I really liked the corn puree and the red wine butter reduction. The salsa on the dish was also quite nice. The shocking element was the caramelised popcorn. It wasn't shocking to me in terms of the chef deciding to put it there. I'm happy to try anything in food and my favourite chef is Hestong Blumenthal, and everyone knows all the crazy flavours he puts together. While the popcorn didn't taste awful with the fish, I'd say it didn't enhance it either. And if that's the case, I think it's best not to put it there than to have it for the shock factor.

Finally, to the desserts. The White Chocolate Fondant with chili cream did not manage to excite me. The waiter and chef both apologised for the fondant being overcooked, which happens sometimes. I didn't find the flavour profiles of the fondant very exciting, and I didn't like it matched with the chili cream at all. I did like the caramelised white chocolate pieces on the plate, although maybe they could be presented in a different way as the look of them was quite off putting. The second dessert of a Chocolate Mousse with a mixed nut bar also failed to excite. One quenelle of mousse was presented on the plate with a simple nut bar placed separately. If that is to be the extent of the dessert, each element needs to be exceptional for the $14 that the dessert commands. Unfortunately, the mousse was rather heavy and the nut bar was a nut bar.

The service at the restaurant was friendly and efficient. I would say it was verging on trying too hard, which can make it uncomfortable for the diners as opposed to helpful. I did like how the waitress helped to explain the menu and also gave recommendations for various items.

Overall, as a dining experience, I would rate it in the mid range of Melbourne restaurants. The food was solid, without really exciting. I would say the flavours were quite simple and felt a bit outdated in parts. The restaurant setting is definitely classy and I can see that it would cater to some clientele. If you enjoy a quieter meal in a beautiful restaurant, this would be a good place for you.

My guest and I dined courtesy of Bluestone Restaurant.

Bourke Street Bakery Sour Cream Pear & Raspberry Cake - Fantastic Cake

Thanh: What cake is this, it's amazing.
Michelle: It's a sour cream pear and raspberry cake from Bourke Street Bakery.
Thanh: So this cake is from the Burch and Purchese book?
Michelle: Yep. I've got the book and this was the first recipe I tried.
Thanh: Wow, it's an amazing cake and I must go get the book.

Above is roughly how the conversation went between Michelle and myself at a food bloggers picnic at Albert Park. When I tasted the cake she had brought, I was hooked on how delicious it was. But due to the loud noise, we misheard each other and I thought that Burch and Purchese had started to make these simple desserts. Not only until later did we clear up that it was a Bourke Street Bakery Sour Cream Pear and Raspberry Cake which Michelle had made previously. That made far more sense as this cake is definitely in the style of Bourke Street Bakery.

This cake is a simple butter style cake but with a great texture and an amazing flavour. What got me was this recurring fragrant hint, and then a punch of tartness. I tried to guess the fruits in it, and the raspberry part was easy. But the other element, I just couldn't pick. When Michelle told me it was pear, I was quite surprised. I didn't know pear would taste so good in a cake. So, obviously I got the recipe and have made the cake many times since to great appreciation by everyone that's tried it.

Here are some tips to help you make the best cake possible.
*This recipe makes a huge cake. Even in the 28cm tin, it rises out of tin. You could put into two smaller tins even.

*The cake is quite sweet but I like it that way. I think any other berries besides raspberries won't work as well as the raspberry really punch through with a tartness that enhances this cake greatly.

*Michelle said the recipe required you to make your own stewed pears. She was lazy and just used canned pear and so did I. It tasted great with the canned pear and I would put even more than the recipe suggested. Lay out the pear neatly and evenly so that every piece of cake has some pear.

*I don't sift my flour and it doesn't seem to affect the cake.

Sour Cream Butter Cake with Pears and Raspberry
Recipe adapted from The Bakeanista

INGREDIENTS
250g unsalted butter
355g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 eggs
200g sour cream
300g self-raising flour
1 can (approx 400g) of sliced pears
1 cup of raspberries

METHOD
1. Preheat oven to 200°C. Line baking paper in a 28cm cake tin.

2. Cream butter, sugar, and vanilla extract until pale and creamy.

3. Add eggs, one at a time, making sure each one is completely incorporated before adding more.

4. Add the sour cream in two batches, then add the flour in two batches, until well combined.

5. Add mixture to cake tin. Arrange the pear wedges in an even circle around the tin. Sprinkle raspberries evenly.

6. Bake for 55 - 75 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.

7. Remove from the oven to cool for about 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Melbourne Food and Wine Festival 2013 - Cider, BBQ, High Tea, Fine Dining and an Italian Feast

For us food lovers, the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival (MFWF) is definitely the largest collective food festival on our yearly calendar. The festival has been reduced back to two weeks but there are still hundreds of events to go to, ranging from free events to very expensive events. The events are extremely varied in both content and location, spread across the whole of Melbourne and Victoria. This year, I was starting to look at some events that I wanted to go to, but as luck would have it, I got invited to a number of events as I happen to write a food blog. When I started my food blog nearly 7 years ago, I never imagined that I would get to attend events just because I happen to catalog what I eat. I'm so happy that food has become something that is popular amongst the general public such that I can experience things that even money can't buy sometimes.

Below is my summary of the events that I attended. All were very different and definitely all were enjoyable. Whilst I went for free at all the events, I've tried to assess the value for money aspect as part of my overall judgement of the event.

Napoleone Cider at Prahran Market

The first event on my MFWF calendar was a Napoleone Cider tasting event, with matching food from Trupp Cooking School held at the Prahran Market. I went to the event unsure what would happen as I couldn't even picture where the event would be held even in the Prahran Market. Hence I went in without any big expectations. The event turned out to be a great fun, informative and most definitely delicious.

As it turned out, a beautiful long table in the fruit & veg are was the setting for the event. Hay bale seats and rustic fruits, nuts and ales strewn across the table helped to give a comfy feel. We tried out four Napoleone ciders matched with food cooked by Walter Trupp. Here is the menu we had

-Apple Cider with Squash vichyssoise with hazelnut oil
-Pear Cider with Mould raclette on nutty sour dough
-Oak Cloudy Apple Cider with Berkshire pork belly with apple mash
-Methode Traditional Pear Cider with Brittany buckwheat pancakes with chestnut jam and cider honey

All the ciders were excellent and really tasted of fruit. I don't like ciders that are sickly sweet and taste more like alco-pop than a good cider. The apple and pear cider both had a good sharpness to them with just the right amount of sweetness. The taste was really clear and I tasted the fresh fruit. The Oak Cloudy Apple Cider had lots of complexity and the Traditional Pear Cider was more like a sparkling wine. It wasn't to everyone's liking but I really liked the fairly dry flavour.

On the food side, the dishes by Walter were all simple but brilliant. I was really surprised how good the squash vichyssoise was. So smooth and comforting and the hazelnuts worked so well in it. The raclette with pear chutney was again a great dish that matched the cider so well. You can't go wrong with pork belly so that was a good dish. Lastly the buckwheat pancakes were so good with the chestnut jam and honey. All the dishes had sweet elements that really highlighted the ciders, showing that you can match food with ciders.

I was so full by the end of this event after the ales and matching dishes. The setting was really nice amongst the fruit and veg stalls and the food and drinks excellent. The event was $25 and I would rate it as one of the best value for money event I've ever been to as part of the MFWF. I'd highly recommend this event if it comes back next year. Also, I definitely recommend trying some Napoleone ciders and going to Walter Trupp's cooking school.

My guest and I attended this event courtesy of Prahran Market.

BBQ Masterclass at BBQ Fest

The next event I attended was a BBQ Masterclass as part of the BBQ Fest. The event was on at 9am, super early for me. I hate mornings so I wasn't in the best mood getting there. I wasn't sure what was going to happen and was expecting a boring lecture on BBQ, which I already thought I knew about. How wrong I was to be. The event turned out to be very hands on, super informative and I got to eat some of the best BBQ meats I've ever had. My BBQ knowledge has increased greatly and I can't wait to put everything I learned into practice.

BBQ expert Chris Brown took us through the many facets of BBQ-ing. We learned many things, and at each step, of course we got to put our lessons into action and taste test what we made.

Here are some lessons that I learned:

-Brining is key. A salt solution of 1 tbsp of salt to 1 litre water is used to soak the meat overnight before BBQ-ing. The brine really keeps the meat so moist during cooking and works far better than a marinate, which doesn't work at all. In fact, if your marinate has sugar, the meat tends to burn. You can infuse flavours into the brine and it really seeps into the meat. If you then want more flavour on the skin, you brush on a marinate or rub in the last 10-15 minutes of cooking.

-A meat injector works really well to inject liquids deep into the meat so again the flavour seeps in.

-Knowing the temperature of the BBQ and the meat is essential. If you can control the temperature of your BBQ, and know the temperature of the inside of your meat, you will always get the perfect result and cook your meat exactly as you want it.

-To give flavour to the meat, you can either cook it on high heat at the start, or at the end. Both will give the meat a good caramelisation and great flavour.

-Learn to use the hood of your BBQ as it really helps to retain heat. Avoid opening the hood too often as you lose a lot of heat each time and increase the cooking time by about 10 minutes with each opening.

With all those lessons, we made chicken wings, pork fillet, chicken fillet, lamb racks, shoulder of lamb, chicken coconut curry, rib-eye steaks and grilled pineapple. The chicken wings were so moist and not like what I normally make. Even the pork and chicken fillets were fairly moist. The lamb racks were stunning and the 12 hour lamb shoulder was seriously amazing. The curry was really good and the steaks were cooked perfectly and so tender. Lastly, the pineapple covered in palm sugar and chili was super addictive.

As I mentioned, I learned so much from the event and ate so much delicious food. I was so full afterwards. This event was $200, and I would say it's borderline whether I would recommend it due to the cost. Normally the event runs for 6-8 hours instead of the 2 we had so you learn even more. If you really love BBQ-ing, then I think it's great value and a must. Your BBQ food will never be the same again. For everyone else, I'd say if you wanted to go for fun, it's worth it. If you want to go to get your "money's worth" in food, I'd suggest you skip it.

I attended this event courtesy of GRAM Magazine

Bursaria Fine Foods at Abbotsford Convent

The Bursaria Fine Foods event at Abbotsford Convent showcased both the catering abilities of Bursaria, and the lovely Abbotsford Convent. I've never been to the convent before and only wished I lived closer now. It's such a wonderful space with so much going on. If I was closer, I'd definitely go there a lot to eat at the many cafes, buy things from the bakery, and just lounge in the beautiful garden areas.

The event started with some sparkling wine and canapes in the convent courtyard. The beautiful sunny day was such a perfect backdrop to the canapes of salmon egg blinis, roast beef on toast and chicken liver parfait on toast. All the canapes were excellent and I may have eaten 3-4 of each.

The main meal started with a variety of bread. There were so many types but I found they tasted rather similar. Next up was the Warialda belted galloway beef with a gnocchi and asparagus. We were told to guess what cut the beef was and it would be revealed at the end of the meal. I never got to find out which cut it was as I had to leave a bit early. However, I found the beef a bit dry and hard to eat. It needed more of a sauce to go with it. The meal ended with a pannacotta with rose water and pistachio. People generally have mixed views about pannacotta. When they're too set, it tends to put a lot of people off. This one was just perfectly set and I loved it. The rose was light so tasted great with the pistachio.

This event cost $45 from memory and I think it's great value. The atmosphere was so good and I like the idea of the canapes and sparkling wine in the beautiful courtyard before the meal. One slight complaint would be that the event should give a more realistic estimate of the duration or else try to keep more to the time. It ran way over time and if you had another event right after, you'd be struggling to get to the next one.

I attended this event courtesy of Bursaria Fine Foods.

Jazz High Tea at Spiegeltent

I've driven past The Famous Spiegeltent a number of times and have wanted to attend an event. I was about to book an event when the pretty and generous Agnes happened to say that she got an invite, and could bring a guest. Such was her generosity, she took me (after I pleaded and begged endlessly).

So we turned up to the event to have high tea while listening to jazz music from the Janet Seidel Trio, Australia's first lady of jazz. The jazz component was really enjoyable as Janet and her trio doo wop and diddly dee their way through a variety of songs. The Spiegeltent itself is beautiful and the acoustics really nice. Surprisingly, it was well air-conditioned too and really comfortable too.

The high tea component of the jazz high tea were simple sandwiches, tarts and scones. The elements themselves were ok, nothing special. However, it was nice to be able to nibble on some food while watching Janet. The staff were also wonderful in constantly refilling water, tea and coffee.

Overall I had a great time and really enjoyed my first experience in The Famous Spiegeltent. I'll definitely go back to other events held there. I believe this event was $65, which I think is great value for a 90 minute set by Janet and her trio and some small nibbles. This was more focused on the experience rather than the food so don't go expecting an amazing high tea.

I attended this event courtesy of Agnes.

Celebrating the Savoury at Jacques Reymond

I've never been to Jacques Reymond *gasp*. Yes, how can I call myself a food lover and not been to one of Melbourne's most consistent high end restaurant. As usual, there's always some new restaurant opening and inevitably I find myself going to those. Also, as the price is quite high for a meal at Jacques, I always think I need a special occasion to go and never plan far enough ahead for it to work. Anyway, I'm so happy that I got invited to go to the Jacques Reymond "Celebrating the Savoury" meal, which showcased Dalwhinnie Wines and Clonakilla Wines.

The meal was five courses with matched wines from Dalwhinnie and Clonakilla for each course. After bread and some wonderful cheese gourges, the first course was the most amazing fish I've tasted. I had such high expectations for this meal and was expecting for it to not be met as I thought the meal may be old skool French food which can be too rich. However, the hapuka and ocean trout en croute instantly set me at ease. The flavours and textures was so amazing and made me love fish.

The next dishes of a seven hour braised lamb and a Western Plains pork with shiraz poached egg were also really good. I loved the lamb, so soft and paired so well with a goats cheese ravioli, pickled beetroot and a tamarind sauce. Jacques does use classical techniques but the flavours are definitely modern. The pork was similarly cooked perfectly and tasted great with the lentils and verjus. I'm not sure I like the shiraz poached egg though as it was quite a punch.

The next two dishes of hanger steak cooked two ways and a Peking duck confit were impeccable. The beef was so tender and flavoursome and matched wonderfully with so many flavours. The duck was tender and smooth but still had great flavour.

For desserts, we were served this amazing looking stone fruit dessert with meringue, almond soil and green tea popping ball. All the elements provided a different taste and texture and the stone fruits worked so well with the chocolate marquis. The only element I didn't really like was actually the beautiful looking merinuge. It was a bit undercooked so tasted quite eggy.

The wines served with each course were all really different and some really worked with the food while others tasted better by themselves. For me, while the Dalwhinnie wines were really good, it was the Clonakilla wines which really excited me. For me the clear standouts in terms of the wines were the 2005 Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier and as a special treat a Botrytis Semillion, which unfortunately is in such small supply it's not for sale. These two wines really made me go wow and I'd drink them again any day.

The whole event was really enjoyable. Both winemakers explained their wines that accompanied each course and talked about both the science but also the history behind their wines. It's so good to hear the story behind each wine and how they came to be. The food side was also excellent. I love every dish from Jacques as they were all cooked perfectly and had excellent interesting flavours. I'd go back for sure.

This event was $265, and whilst that is very expensive, I would recommend it if a similar event happens next year. It's not often you get to hear winemakers talk through their whole range of wines and get to sample the wines back to back for comparison. The food from Jacques is also stunning and would alone carry that price so it's almost like you get to try the wines for free. See how my logic works. I'm Asian so I'm good at maths you see. ;-)

I attended this event courtesy of Jacques Reymond restaurant.

Italian Feast at Heronswood Gardens

I've been to Heronswood Gardens a number of times and I absolutely love the place. It's got both a beautiful garden with views of the port, a nursery with loads of heirloom plants and also a beautiful cafe serving fresh food. Hence, I was delighted to be invited to the Italian Feast event held in the backyard of the house, where I've always looked on in envy at the infinity pool. The backyard is only open a few times a year for special events so it's not every day you can walk through it.

The event was an Italian feast where there would be lots of shared food. And shared food there was. The meal started with lots of ciabatta that we all took turns to tear a piece off and then eat with the most amazing home made prosciutto and salami. One of the salami was made from venison and I had never tasted before. It wasn't very gamey but did have a distinct flavours. Some home pickled vegetables and a bean puree made for great accompaniments.

The next courses were some simple marinated Flinders mussels and a bread salad. Of course I loved the mussels, but I also loved the bread salad. I can't believe it but I enjoyed not only the bread, but the heirloom tomatoes too. Who am I? They tasted so sweet and vibrant. I hate raw tomatoes but these were great.

For the mains, it was a Florentina Bistecca with salsa verde, pumpkin semolina gnocchi and roasted garden vegetables. Talk about simple food tasting good. The whole course was mind blowingly amazing. The pumpkin gnocchi was so soft and had such a rich flavour. The roasted vegetables were done perfectly. And the beef, oh wow wow wow. The Angus steaks were cooked over charcoal and it shows. The meat had the most amazing charcoal flavour and was so juicy, tender and flavoursome. One of the best steaks I've ever eaten.

Just when I thought the meal couldn't get any better, it finishes off with a baked pear, fresh figs, mascapone, pistachio crumble and honey. Oh man, this dish made my day. I love fresh figs and found that it works wonderfully with pistachio. The pear was poached beautifully and all elements came together so well. I'd happily eat this at any hatted restaurant.

That wrapped up a most amazing meal in the Heronswood Garden. The setting is fantastic and the food matched the view. The meal was matched with five wines from Crittenden Estate. Each wine helped to bring out more flavours in the food and I liked them. The event cost $110 but I think it's great value for an amazing experience. From the setting, to the food, to the atmosphere, it was a wonderful event and I would highly recommend it if it is on next year.

My guest and I attended this event courtesy of Heronswood Gardens.