Thursday, April 11, 2013

Vue de Monde

My eating odyssey continued. The Vandepoons asked if I was up for the Vue de Monde degustation when I was back. My mind was a bit *phew, that'd be my third banquet in a fortnight...and it's not cheap*, but then it also went *Well, hell! When are you ever going to be back to eat there again?!* And so, BAM! I was in!!!

(As an aside, it's stuff like this that makes me understand how I gained a kilo/week when I was back in Jan-Feb.)

One thing I miss about Melbs is getting dolled up and walking into a fancy place like I own it. Not like I don't still walk into places like I own it in Munich, but I'm usually either not dolled up or the places I'm walking into aren't fancy. Or both. Also, there aren't many restaurants located on the 55th floor of skyscrapers in Munich. Taking that elevator up and walking through everyone to get there, grrr!
It doesn't stop me (and Omar) from acting like clowns though.

But here we all are, masters of the domain at the Chef's Table.

First appetiser - chips of some sort...

Second appetiser - emu jerky. Interesting flavour.

Unlike the bistro, cafe or previous restaurant incarnations, the restaurant is less classical French cuisine and more modern Australian and using largely local produce. And the kitchen are willing to accommodate dietary restrictions

such as this savoury marshmallow made just for me when I told them about my oyster allergy.

The other entree pieces were...
smoked caramelised eel with caviar. I could have eaten the entire plate of this. 

carrot marrow (as in, the centre part of a carrot) with mussel cheesy/cream thing. 

salt-cured wallaby. Too small!

These little morsels were great at whetting our appetites as we moved onto the various first course rounds.
First up, roasted marron with tarragon butter. Declared best of the night by many people on the table! It was pretty damn good, the marron, so tender and juicy, the butter, a perfect complement.

Melbourne Onion Soup featuring onions in different ways.

Duck yolk with green beans and mint.
Believe it or not, THIS was my favourite of the night. It was sweet,light, and breakfasty. I could eat this every day!

Baby sweetcorn with brown butter and truffles.
Damn, I could have eaten this everyday as well.

At this point, I was still feeling comfortable, and they set us off into the main course round.
But first! A palate cleanser - sorbet of cucumber, sage, and pineapple, on top of liquid nitrogen frozen spices.

Fish dish - barramundi with prawn, nettle, and lettuce.

Lamb dish - cooked two ways! Rare lamb and also lamb belly with crackling. This was with the duck and corn for me. I've got weird taste.

Beef dish - grilled and roasted wagyu beef with beetroot chips and bbq sauce.

Okay, at this point we were beginning to feel full...but when confronted with the choice of two or three desserts, I said to our waiter, "Surprise me!" and he skipped off happily!
Then returned with this epic cheese selection!

That is one happy smile on RachiePoo's face!

He cut a selection of cheeses for us, a variety of French, Italian, and Australian cheeses. I don't remember what they all were other than delicious. 

And they were served with a variety of breads, fruits, and preserves. Finishing the cheese and bread was a bit of a struggle, I was scared...


Dessert one - passionfruit/licorice 'beer' and iced coconut  

Dessert two - deconstructed anzac cookie! Despite my best intentions and the fullness of my stomach, I finished this. 

Dessert three - deconstructed strawberries and cream! Strawberry meringues, grated strawberry, ice cream..again, I also finished this while dying...

while still managing a smile!

Dessert four - chocolate souffle. I couldn't finish this. I wanted to cry.

OH GOD, HOW COULD THERE BE DESSERT ROUND FIVE?! Australian petit fours - cognac jelly pennies, lamingtons, musk gum leaves and eucaluptus balls. 

To my everlasting relief, that was the end. But it wasn't quite the end! Our waiter had had a pretty good time with us (I even spoke French! He complimented me on it!), and said not many groups make it over 10 course. We were pretty special. As he walked us out, handed over some showbags for us to have for breakfast. 
Tea, muesli, brioche, honey, and cookies. I couldn't eat them. Until a couple of days later. 

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