Taste of Melbourne 2010

Arriving extra early (5pm) to meet Thanh (so he can pass me some of his free tickets), meant extra time spent in the dreaded chilly weather, and it almost started pouring.

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Then before the opening ... a firetruck pulled up after what seemed like a "fire" accident inside, and all the staff inside were evacuated - - what a great start to the day LOL, ah wellz time for some CHEF CELEBRITY spotting!!! After the long wait, with much shivering, the doors finally opened to let us in - - ah, the warmth and wonderful aromas wafting from the kitchens really stimulated my appetite, not that I wasn't hungry already. And Agnes joined me just in time to go in. Poor thing had a "thin" soup for lunch, clearly starving in preparation for this over-eating session!

Apparently there was a "smaller crowd" typical of weekday opening night for Taste of Melbourne, but still created a handful of queues and swarms of people around the more popular stalls.

Restaurants:

The European

Being hungry and all we went for the first thing that caught our eyes :

Duck tortellini with pea puree and truffle oil (The european) - I was so eager (ie hungry) to eat, that I totally forgot to take a photo. To our horrid surprise, it was a PAINFUL experience. The tortellini had a hard/undercooked skin and dry stringy duck meat. And it was cold... GAH...

Rating: ??/20 (gah... painful start to night, but must soldier on!)

Stokehouse

Next we went for something that looked "steamy" still (given this bad experience). So, something fried - surely can't go wrong.

*Wagyu beef cigars, artichoke tampenade and horseradish (Stokehouse restaurant)

Rating: 14/20

They managed to pull out warm/hot (yay) and still crispy cigar of minced wagyu which was indeed soft & juicy. Though seems like a waste to mince wagyu, but that's just me wanting to eat a whole steak of wagyu. Artichoke tampenade was a delightful accompaniment. Then later in the night we came back for their dessert...

* The Bomb, in the making ... oo blow torch

* The Bombe, ooo i want the whole roll from the freezer HAHA

*The Bombe : strawberry sorbet, white chcolate parfait and toasted meringue

Rating: 17/20

Just watching them take out the whole roll of "the Bombe" and then BLOWTORCHING it - we were salivating (well i presume Agnes was too, haha, since this dish ranked very highly). The sourness of the strawberry sorbet, sweetness of fresh strawberries & white chocolate icecream, slight butter goodness of the base, soft textural amusement and warm temperature from the torched meringue - - was a wonderful stimulation of the senses when you get a bit of all 4 layers. Favourite dish of the night! =)

Will definitely be going to StokeHouse when i can!

Parisian Patisserie – indulging my butter senses!

Croissants d'amande (almond) – had a slightly crispy shell with a divine light texture. It is a little different from your average flaky croissant, err-ing slightly on cake-like, just heavy enough to keep the almonds from sagging in like a biscuit. The subtle aromas of unsalted butter (sourced locally of course) and beloved custard filling were marvellous – tis heaven!!!

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Brioches d'abricot et d'amande (apricot) – had an almost airy bouyancy about it. Made with heaps of butter & eggs, with a little apricot tart'ness – I had one bite after the next, all the while Neil & Thanh were conversing away. I just couldn't help myself: Eat first, talk later!

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Brioche savoury pizza - a savoury brioche, to my surprise a delight on the tastebuds. The base had the fluffy brioche texture, contrasted by an explosion of flavours from the savoury pesto and prosciutto.

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Macarons (lemon, pistachio, rose water, hazelnut) – fantastic flavours, slightly chewy middle with a delicately crunchy shell.

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It was a pleasure speaking with Neil, Majella & Octavia - they were incredibly welcoming. My only regret was not being able to sink my teeth into every piece of pastry, and bathing my tastebuds in its awesome'ness (great English, haha).

P.S. Many thanks to my cousin Thanh: ieatthereforeiam.blogspot.com, for inviting me to indulge my senses here!

Food: 17.5/20 will definitely be back for more!!
Service: super welcoming & unpretentious.