February 20, 2018May 6, 2018 by Helen Le

O.MY

For Davin’s birthday this year, as per the usual custom, I made a reservation at a fine dining restaurant. Any excuse to eat somewhere nice we always say! This year I chose O.MY, a two chef hat restaurant in Beaconsfield which looked really promising.

It’s their philosophy of respecting the earth, for what they grow, and their commitment to sustainability and minimal waste which drew me to them. They have established a large garden at a nearby farm to grow the produce for their restaurant and are passionate about growing and using fresh, seasonal produce as well as sourcing other ingredients required from local suppliers. Because Davin’s taken a real keen interest in growing his own vegetables and herbs lately, I thought this would be the perfect dinner place for him!

Once a butcher’s shop, it has been transformed into a 25 seat restaurant, another reason why I was drawn to it. With only 25 seats, you know that it’s going to be a real intimate experience. Right outside the restaurant there are herbs and vegetables being grown out front, and I picture the staff coming out throughout the day to pick what they require for their kitchen.

Upon reaching the entrance to the humble restaurant, the door instantly opened for us and a friendly staff member greeted us and promptly seated us at our reserved table. We started off with a couple glasses of proseccos which came out really quickly and then they checked in to see if we had any dietary requirements. The concept at this restaurant is that they offer a seasonal menu for $115 per person and the menu is determined by what their garden offers so don’t expect a menu that you can peruse. Perfectly fine for us because we eat everything and we love surprises!

To talk about every single dish will take all day and night because there were so many! However I’ll talk about some of the highlights. Each dish was presented carefully and lovingly on beautiful crockery made from either wood, ceramic or stone. Here were some of the dishes.

Diamond tomatoes, labna, zucchini seed tart shell

Corn barbecued in its husk

Beet leaf shell and fermented beetroot mousse

Beef fat butter, house made butter, garden salt and house made bread. The beef fat butter actually tasted like a steak! It was amazing.

Freshly sliced apple, verbena powder, almond milk sauce and onion top oil

Basted beetroots with cherry juice, meat jus, beet juice sauce, buttermilk gel and sheep sorrel

Steamed zucchini with ricotta, seeds, puree, grated salted egg yolk, pickled coriander berry and borage flowers. It came out looking like a pumpkin but it was zucchini!

Potato puree, chicken jus, black garlic sauce, egg yolk, chicken skin powder, beans and flowers. This was one of our favourites and was so full of flavour!

Dry aged scotch beef with jus and fresh tomato varieties. The steak was probably more well done than we would have preferred however the tomatoes were deliciously sweet

Cucumber granita, compressed mouse melons, honey labna, sunrose leaves, mint leaves and cucumber flowers. So refreshing!

Soil. This is their special dessert which represents their passion of growing their produce from their garden. It had farm honey icecream, a soil of spent grain from beer making, burnt citrus, balsamic powder, chocolate and mini nasturtium

Overall the dishes were beautifully presented and were very unique. The staff here are really trying to utilise their produce in the best possible way and they certainly push the boundaries with flavour combinations. Because they are mainly showcasing their garden produce however, the dishes are mainly vegetarian and the meat dishes were minimal. I think this would be great for vegetarians but for the people that love their meats, don’t expect that here.

The service was top notch and staff were very attentive, always ensuring our water was topped up and taking away our empty dishes almost instantly. What we also loved was that every staff member that came around to our table were really sociable and were happy to have a chat, whether it’s about the dishes or just about things in general. I think that’s really important in today’s day and age. Having such great customer service really makes a difference in terms of your experience. So if you’re ever looking to venture out and fine dine at a unique and intimate place, check out O.MY.

O.MY
Approx $115 AUD per person
Address: 23 Woods St, Beaconsfield VIC 3807
Phone: +61 3 9769 9000
Website: omyrestaurant.com.au

February 1, 2018May 6, 2018 by Helen Le

Woodland House

Davin and I will use any excuse to celebrate by eating out somewhere nice. So recently when it reached the mark of 13 years since we’ve been together we quickly agreed we needed to celebrate through some fine dining! Forget the presents, we just want to eat something amazing! We ended up making a reservation at Woodland House in Prahan.

For those that don’t know, this restaurant was formerly known as Jacques Reymond, one of our favourite 3 hat restaurants during its time. We were lucky to have dined there and met Jacques before he decided to step down in 2014. So of course we were super excited to return to a place we really enjoyed, even though it was under a new name and ownership. We knew that Woodland House had 2 chef hats and the reviews were very positive.

Upon entering we saw that they had kept the restaurant looking like the house that we remembered it a few years ago. We loved that about the restaurant, that it has this modern, homey and intimate feel to it. We really felt like we were dining in someone’s home. The staff were super attentive and friendly, opening doors, pulling out chairs and checking on us. They were also SO quick! They asked us if we preferred tap or still water, and as soon as we said that tap water was fine within a few seconds they were back pouring us our water. We ordered a couple of glasses of champagne to start off with and a bottle of red for dinner and within an instant the drinks were there! We barely had time to take a few snaps before they were back to serve us!

The menu offered a tasting menu or an a la carte. From Tuesday to Thursday they also offered from the a la carte of 4 courses for $90, 5 courses for $110 or 6 courses for $130. It allowed us to pick any of the dishes on the a la carte menu which was great because it meant if Davin and I got a few different dishes each we had more to try! Being as greedy as we are, we opted for the 6 courses. Now we don’t want to bore you with every single dish that came out so we’ll just talk about the highlights. But before we go into that, we have to say that hands down every dish was fantastic. Every single dish was cooked to perfection, flavoured and presented beautifully. We could not really fault any of the dishes and it is clear how meticulous and carefully thought out each of the dishes were.

The Murray Cod, spanner crab and smoked sour cream dish was an exceptional dish. We absolutely love cod and have had this fish a number of times especially when we were in Europe. It has such an interesting texture for a fish, almost like a scallop. And this is probably why Woodland House ingeniously presented the cod to look like a scallop! It was cooked to perfection and the lovely sauce poured over it was flavoured but not too intrusive. It complemented and ensured the cod was the hero of the dish.

The green peas, cured pork fat, abalone and sardine dressing dish was a truly balanced dish. The sardine dressing was like a silky smooth sauce and flavoured well. Again it didn’t overpower the star of the dish, the abalone which was paper thin and the softest we’ve ever had!

The Sancho kangaroo, pickled beetroot and currant reduction was also another highlight. The kangaroo was cooked perfectly, rare to medium rare, and they had these cute little mushrooms we’ve never had before which had a lovely bouncy texture to it.

The corn fed duck, grilled octopus and sweet pepper was also another amazing dish. The skin on the duck was so crispy and flavoured. The grilled octopus was an interesting combination with the duck but it worked.

The Cape Grim short rib, witlof, preserved plum and horseradish dish. The beef was cooked for 7 hours and it was melt in your mouth soft. The bitterness of the witlof gave it an interesting flavour.

We also had a number of desserts which included the chestnut with sesame, beetroot and yoghurt sorbet, and the pear souffle with salted liquorice icecream and star anise. Both desserts were delicious and presented beautifully.

We were also served some complimentary additional desserts. What stood out from this for us was the miso butter icecream which was SO good! It was light and buttery with a subtle strawberry jam which was not too sweet. To add to the delightful experience they allowed us to take home the remainder half bottle of our red wine.

We were thoroughly impressed with Woodland House. From the attentive service, to the top quality presentation and well balanced flavour of the dishes, it is truly an all out experience that we would highly recommend to anyone that wants to fine dine or celebrate something special.

Woodland House
Approx $130 AUD per person
Address: 78 Williams Rd, Prahran VIC 3181
Phone: +61 3 9525 2178
Website: woodlandhouse.com.au

January 6, 2018May 6, 2018 by Helen Le

The Perfect Drop

Happy New Year everyone! We hope you had an awesome holiday and celebrated it just like how you wanted it. For us, we took a road trip and spent our NYE in Daylesford dining at an amazing restaurant called The Perfect Drop in our true foodie style!

As soon as we parked outside we were awed by how lovely and quaint the restaurant looked from the outside. I loved it! Inside it maintained that homey and intimate feel with a fireplace and tables scattered across a number of the rooms. The ambience was perfect.

Staff were very efficient and attentive, seating us right away and providing us with the menu. Given it was NYE, it was a set menu of 7 courses and a glass of bubbly for $125 AUD per person. We started off with a zucchini veloute with almond foam. Basically it was like a soup in a small shot glass. It was a nice start to get our appetite going.

Then came the quinoa and tomato salad in a vegetable soup with goats cheese mousse. All the flavours of this dish just bursted in our mouth and our taste buds were hyped!

The scallop carpaccio dish came next, and this was certainly one of the highlight dishes for us. The fresh scallops sat on a bed of apple, celery and vanilla salad, with a scoop of oyster icecream on top. Yes you heard it! Oyster icecream! At this point we were thinking wow this place is brave. They were pushing the limits of ingredients and we loved it. The whole dish worked. The icecream really tasted like oyster and the sweetness of the apple salad balanced out the rest of the dish. It was a fantastic dish.

The next course was the scampi with confit tomato in a bisque with red berry granita. The scampi was cooked to perfection and the tomato was so deliciously sweet. Combined with the bisque each bite was heaven. We could of have a lot more of it!

The final main was the lamb loin and shoulder with ratatouille cannelloni and crispy mash. This was also a well thought out and delicious dish. Both the lamb loin and the shoulder was cooked beautifully medium rare. But I also really enjoyed the complements of the crispy mash and the ratatouille cannelloni which was so different but worked. They were both presented like little cigars with a surprise inside.

Finally with dessert we were served a raspberry sangria with rosewater foam. This was served in a little glass and it was a nice little taster to prepare us for the main dessert.

The final dish of the night was the chocolate sphere with salted caramel and passionfruit icecream. It was to die for and presented so beautifully. The sphere was made of lovely dark chocolate with delicious fresh cream inside. The passionfruit icecream also complemented it so well. We probably ate this dish too quickly because it was so good!

Well after the final dish, we both agreed that we really couldn’t fault this place at all. The food was spectacular and every dish amazed us. We thoroughly enjoyed our experience, from the food, to the ambience, to the service. So if you’re ever in Daylesford and you want to do some fine dining, check it out!

The Perfect Drop
Approx $125 AUD per person
Address: 5 Howe St, Daylesford VIC 3460
Phone: +61 3 5348 1100
Website: theperfectdrop.com

May 3, 2016May 6, 2018 by Helen Le

Shimbu

We were recently invited by the lovely Tenzin to dine at his restaurant Shimbu, a Tibetan restaurant which recently opened in Brunswick East. So before we go into the finer details, thank you heaps Tenzin for your very generous and warm hospitality!

Upon arrival we were warmly greeted by Tenzin and straight away loved the vibe of the place. It had a casual yet very modern feel. We loved the large ‘Shimbu’ feature sign on the wall and it was buzzing with people. Davin was also very interested in the cool stools. For me personally because I have a bad back I always prefer proper chairs with the backing support but I have to admit that they did suit the decor of the place.

The menu is very cool as it had a list of traditional dishes on one side and on the other side of the menu it had options with a modern twist. We settled on some of Tenzin’s recommendations plus some other dishes we found interesting. We found the prices very reasonable with entrees on the traditional menu averaging $5-$6 and mains about $15. Set menus are available on the modern menu if you are not sure what to order and are priced at $34.90 per person and $24.90 for the vegetarian option.

From the traditional menu we ordered the shoko khatsu which consisted of potatoes with fresh tomatoes, ginger and spices. This was a really nice dish and I loved that they left the skin on the potatoes. We also ordered the steamed beef dumplings. The outer dough of the dumplings was quite thick compared to the dumplings we were used to however the beef itself was full of flavour. We ordered the chicken bedhai curry with coconut milk and vege and the sarsha tema under the vegetarian section which had mushroom and snow peas with garlic and ginger. I loved the sarsha tema dish! It was full of flavour and the vegetables were not overcooked, the snow peas still had that lovely crunch to it.

From the modern menu we got the pork belly soft tacos with white radish, carrot, tomato and kewpie mayo served on pan fried roti. There was an option to add avocado which we did. Oh my gosh this dish was so tasty! The roti was so light and crispy, it was probably the best roti I’ve had to date. And the pork belly with the other ingredients and their special mayo was a match made in heaven. We scoffed them pretty quickly!

We also ordered their bao buns which were freshly steamed with soft shell crab, white radish, carrot, coriander and kewpie mayo. This too was also really nice, the soft shell crab had that crunch and the bun itself was light and fluffy. We ALSO got the shimbu fried chicken. By the time this came out I could only eat one piece because I was so full so Davin pretty much cleaned it up.

For dessert we ordered at Tenzin’s recommendation the deysee which was sweet rice with sultanas and nuts. It also came with some coconut ice cream which balanced out the sweet rice well. A really nice end to such a feast.

Overall, it was a great experience. The food was fantastic and great value, service was really good and we loved the vibe of the place. We would highly recommend you check it out. Thanks again to Tenzin and the staff at Shimbu for your hospitality!

Shimbu
Approx $30 AUD per person
Address: 58 Lygon St, Brunswick East VIC 3057
Phone: +61 3 9939 0224

February 21, 2016May 6, 2018 by Helen Le

Noir Restaurant

We recently discovered Noir in Richmond and was very impressed with the food and service so of course wanted to share our experience with you!

Noir is a cosy French restaurant so you do have to make sure that you make a booking if you’re planning to dine there! Although the space is small, the wooden tables and chairs are quite generously spaced from each other so you do get a sense of intimacy and personal space.

From the moment we walked in, the service was excellent and it remained that way throughout the night. From the waitress who talked us through the menu, to the sommelier – who had a thorough understanding of the wine list and made a great recommendation on the Chateau Turcaud, a lovely white wine that went well with the food – it was an impressive experience.

The food was also exceptional. We started off with the Royal Miyagi premium Tasmanian Pacific oysters. We got some with champagne granite and some with pickled watermelon, spanner crab and chilli. They were refreshingly delish!

We also ordered the eye fillet of beef tartare with Waldorf salad and pommes gaufrette. This was one of my favourite dishes and I absolutely loved the flavours of the beef tartare combined with the sweetness of the apple. It was a match made in heaven!

The cured kingfish with vichyssoise mousse, baby leeks, sugar snaps and samphire was our other entrée and was a beautifully presented dish with fresh flavours that complimented each other perfectly.

For mains, Davin ordered the seared fillet of bass groper with macadamia nut gnocchi, sorrell and Portarlington mussels. I ordered the crisp breast and confit leg of duck with black fig and pain d’epices puree. The duck was tender and definitely had that crispiness to the skin that you need for this kind of dish. With the fig and puree combined, each bite was a burst of yummy flavours. We also ordered the potato gratin and steamed yellow beans with confit shallots, walnuts and roquefort as sides.

Dessert was also a highlight! We shared the Cremeux d’ Anjou which had strawberries, blueberries, honeycomb and berry and basil sorbet. It was amazing! The fruit, the crunch and sweetness of the honeycomb and the refreshing sorbert, it was a beautiful dessert! And presented so prettily too!

I would highly recommend Noir for some beautifully presented and delicious food, excellent service and great ambiance!

Noir Restaurant
Approx $70 AUD per person
Website: www.noirrestaurant.com.au
Address: 175 Swan St, Melbourne VIC 3121
Phone: +61 3 9428 3585

February 7, 2016May 6, 2018 by Davin Lee

Rockpool Bar and Grill

A lot of the restaurants at Crown come with a lot of hype but not much substance. I’ve been stung many times before with various restaurants in the complex, so I actually avoided Rockpool Bar & Grill for a long time, thinking that they’d just be overpriced and underwhelming. I would never have thought that they would be one of my favourite and ‘go to’ restaurants!

Even though I have been here on numerous occasions, I have never ventured into the main dining room. The reason for this is because the ‘bar menu’ is just such good value, and you get full access to the proper menu also. So the rules are simple, you come and ask to sit in the bar area, the area is strictly for walk ins only and they don’t allow for booking. They will either ask if you want to sit at the bar for a drink or you can go and wait at Spice Temple. Spice Temple are owned by the Rockpool Group so either way they’re going to make some money off you. If you do choose this option, they will make a phone call to Spice Temple to grab you when a bar table is ready.

With the bar area you’re not actually sitting at the bar, but there’s another section with a little partition to seperate from the main dining room. You still get to sit on at a table with some comfy chairs, so you don’t need to stress that you’ll be sitting on bar stools! When it gets busy, you do have to wait a while… my longest wait was nearly an hour. However generally 15 to 30 mins, a table will be ready.

There’s an adequate amount of options on the bar menu. What’s my pick of the lot? The Mishima burger of course! Mishima is a special type of Japanese cattle which David Blackmore breeds. This burger is not available all the time, so it can be a bit of a gamble whether it’s available or not. Sometimes when I’m really craving for it, I would call them up first to ask if the Mishima burger is on the bar menu. Otherwise I just wing it and hope for the best! This is my favourite gourmet burger in Australia and it’s truly amazing. The meat patty is cooked medium rare – when the meat is freshly minced, you can have a medium rare patty no problems. The meat is not only juicy and succulent but also has that strong beef flavour. The pickled zucchini and onions just top it off as it adds some acidity to the taste. They even seperate the tomato and cos lettuce so you’re burger doesn’t get soggy, how’s that for consideration!

I’ve also had other dishes such as the Minute steak, fish stew, cured ocean trout on brioche and the steak tartare. Speaking of the steak tartare, this is another stand out dish which you must get! It’s served with fat cut chips which surprisingly goes really well with the tartare. These two dishes are my favourite but I cannot fault any of the other dishes here. They all taste great and you won’t be disappointed. I used to also get a quail entree but they’ve since taken that off the menu. I’m quite upset the quail is gone… Rockpool if you’re reading this, please bring the quail back!

Service here is proper and professional. They don’t seem to smile much and they do take their jobs very seriously. They don’t really get anything wrong and I find them to be on the ball at all times. I did get a warm and bubbly waitress last time I was there which was a nice surprise, but generally the service is not like that. Depends what you prefer really, I’m someone who likes to have a chat and have a joke around with the waiting staff. There’s no right or wrong I guess. If you’re someone who loves proper and professional service, then you’d like the way they go about their business at Rockpool Bar & Grill.

Rockpool Bar and Grill
Approx $50 AUD per person (bar menu)
Approx $100 AUD per person (full menu)
Website: www.rockpool.com/rockpoolbarandgrillmelbourne
Address: Crown Casino, 8 Whiteman St, Southbank VIC 3006
Phone: +61 3 8648 1900

September 28, 2015May 6, 2018 by Helen Le

Frogmore Creek Winery

Last September for my birthday we took a trip to Hobart over a long weekend to celebrate and just get away. I had never been to Tasmania before but instantly fell in love with the beauty and quietness of the city. I loved the crisp air, the slow pace and the picturesque views, laneways and buildings. What I especially loved about it was the amazing food it had to offer. As usual we had done a bit of research before we left and had a rough idea of the restaurants we were going to visit. Frogmore Creek Winery was one we were quite keen on as we discovered that it was a one hat restaurant and it actually ended up more than exceeding our expectations. I can’t stress this enough but It. Was. Amazing!

The winery is located in Cambridge which was less than a 20 minute drive from the city centre so we hopped into our rental car and got there in no time for our lunch reservation. On arrival the scenery was absolutely breathtaking. The winery was set upon beautiful lush greenery surroundings with an abundance of growing grape wines and a lake in the distance with houses dotted along the water. Inside, the restaurant was clean and modern with wooden furnishings and wide windows allowing natural light in. Wine barrels were used as decorations inside and outside, to hold plants and as tables in the outdoor seating area.

Pulled pork lollipop entree — Pulled pork lollipop with brocolli jelly

Now onto the most important part! An a la carte menu was available but we decided on the chef’s choice set menu which is $85 per head and was happy to be surprised by whatever they had to offer. You must allow a good few hours to enjoy this degustation experience. The presentation and quality of the food was spectacular. Each dish was assembled with such detail and care like a work of art, it was too pretty to eat so of course I had to snap lots of photos before I ate! When I finally got around to the food, I was blown away… all the ingredients were fresh based on its changing produce and combined in its complexity worked so well, it’s obvious that the chef has put so much thought into the creation of each dish. I could talk about how great the food was all day as every dish was so good but some of our highlights was the 42 degree ocean trout with potato salad, poached egg, mizuna lettuce, seaweed cracker and miso dressing, the pulled pork lollipop with brocolli jelly which came out looking like a dessert so it really surprised our palates! And the the lemon lego dessert with basil ice cream and lemon pana cotta, it was divine and I felt like I was in food heaven!

Ocean trout — 42 degree ocean trout with potato salad, poached egg, mizuna lettuce, seaweed cracker and miso dressing

Lego lemon dessert — Lemon lego dessert with basil ice cream and lemon pana cotta

The service was exceptional too and was as expected from a fine dining restaurant. They were friendly, efficient and very switched on. Overall it was the best winery restaurant we have been to so far and we were very impressed. I highly, highly recommended if you’re ever in Tassie to check it out!