Lunch @ Vue de Monde

It's been too long of a time between meals at Vue de Monde but with reports of waiting lists of over 400, we are more than happy to have been able to get in for Lunch.

As usual, we begin with champagne and this time it's one we've not had before - Larmandier-Bernier Terre de Vertus from the Côtes de Blancs region.

The meal itself started with the amuse bouche - a deconstructed Oyster Kilpatrick


A skewered panko crumbed oyster with bacon foam sitting atop Worchestire jelly.



Assiette de Jambon Espagnol
Slices of Grand Riserva Jamon with peeled grapes & walnuts and baby basil shoots
2004 Chidaine Montlouis Chenin Blanc (Loire Valley)

I wonder if the guy that has to peel the grapes has to also peel the walnuts. The Jamon is quite different to the real Spanish Jamon's that are are popping up in delis - this still has moisture in it's flesh and was sliced quite thicker than expected. The fat just melted beautifully in the mouth.


It's buzzing in the kitchen




Mille Feuille a la Truffle - Mille feuille with cep purée and tarragon sauce, finished with Perigold shavings and sprinkles of truffle dust
2004 Vinoptima Gewurztraminer (New Zealand)

We had said that we were in the mood for some truffle and this dish fulfilled those desires and then some. The plate arrived sans truffle but that soon changed as our waiter brought over the Perigold truffle and shaved it at the table directly onto the dish. More than deserving of two photos!



Marron Tail in Crustacean sauce with confit tomatoes, foie gras butter topped with sterling caviar and pastry crescent with a dollop of lemon curd to finish.
2005 Pilot et Fils Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru les Caille (France)

The sauce was intensely flavoured and wonderfully rich. This was just a dish of luxury and no words would be adequate to describe this dish.


Dhufish served in with clam & mushroom broth topped with crustacean mousse filled clams and basil foam
2005 Ata Rangi Pinot Noir (New Zealand)

Topping the Dhufish were two stuffed clams, slightly hidden in this photo by the basil foam.


Jus de Nectarine:
Fermented Nectarine Juice with dry ice and soda water pipette.


Sanglier Poche:
Wild boar with bay leaf mousse, on a Armangnac blueberry sauce with bay leaf dust and sautéed Brussels sprout leaves.

Just the other day I was wondering if we could get wild boar in Australia and there it is sitting in front of me. It comes from Gippsland. The blueberry sauce could not be beaten and was just the perfect flavour to match both the boar and the bay leaf.


36 hour Lamb Belly with Vindaloo Sauce, Pea Air, Pea dust and Mint Jelly

When this was first placed before us we both thought to ourselves, oh pork belly. Needless to say we were a little befuddled when told it was lamb, but one taste left us with no doubt, it was lamb. The skin has an almost crackling like consistency, colour wise it also resembled pork. We later found out it was lamb belly. It was served with an incredible vindaloo sauce along with vivid green mint jelly cubes, pea foam and pea dust. Another dish were the sauce just blew us away.


Fondue de Boeuf Wagyu - Grade 12 wagyu served into a beef consommé topped with a beer air, partnered with fried shallots, pomme mille feuille, spinach mousse and a beignet of bone marrow
2004 Le Vieux Donjon Chateauneuf-du-Pape (Burgundy,France)

Another special dish - Blackmore Wagyu that scores 12 on the marbling ratings. It's a product that doesn't ever see the local market as it's all shipped overseas but somehow Shannon has managed to secure a very special supply. The slices of beef are served separately and I just wish I had taken a photo to show just how marbled the beef was. The slices are placed into the heated broth and it's left to you to decide how long to "cook" it for.

The slice that Paalo is showing hadn't been in the broth very long and the marbling is no longer visible this is because it melts at just 7°C. We both found that the pieces we'd left a little longer were even more tender than those we plucked out of the broth first.

The broth even made the puy lentils that sat in it taste good! (Not that there is anything usually wrong with puy lentils).



To accompany the Wagyu, from top to bottom - deep fried marrow, which Paalo described as the best thing he's tasted, ever, potato stack, spinach mousse and fried shallots.


2004 Robert Weil KG Spatlese (Germany)

I'd call this a generous rectangle of Comté topped with sliced figs and crushed hazelnuts.




Kiwi fruit lollypop - frozen kiwi fruit slices coated in mint jelly


Gateau à la Pistache - Crumbled Pistachio cake placed under orange blossom and pistachio ice cream with biscotti

Our pre-dessert is the infamous dish that a certain Linen fancier described as being like kitty litter. We really don't know how you could actually describe anything as being like kitty litter unless you have had chance to eat the stuff at some point of your life. Now, we may well eat (almost) anything but we have drawn the line at kitty litter, but if it somehow managed to taste as sublime as this we may well have to draw a new line.

For those that want to know what the dish really was underneath the orange blossom ice cream which had a taste and texture that could be described as heavenly sat a warm concoction of cakey pistachios.




Unmoulded Valrhona Chocolate Souffle with molten dark chocolate core on creme anglaise
2001 Chateau La Tour-Blanche Sauternes (Sauternes,France)



Passionfruit Souffle with Strawberry Sorbet and Strawberry Dust
Chambers Old Vintage Tokay




Petit Fours - from left to right - blueberry skewer with candied corn and corn foam; cappuccino cups; choc coated ice-cream truffles; meringue with mango injection; beetroot macaroons