Saturday is too lovely to spend at home so we've sneaked out for a quite spot of lunch at Verge.
There's a great view across the park and looking up towards the Treasury buildings and Parliament, there's the never-ending stream of wedding groups posing for their photos.
The dining room is quite simple - bare concrete bones visible in the ceiling, it is a mix of wood, glass and concrete.
You can order a la carte but we opt for the 5 course degustation with matching wines - we also select the $5 premium for a wagyu course to be included. You can choose to have 4 savoury and 1 sweet but we decided to go for the 5 savoury and if we feel like it we will then order dessert.
Rice paper ravioli of raw tuna, tomato and basil consomme, daikon, tonburi
Rice paper rounds replace pasta in these ravioli which are filled with a raw tuna mix. Atop each is a sliver of daikon toped with tonburi.
The almost clear broth is poured at the table - it is a wonderful essence of tomato and basil. The broth works to soften the rice paper infusing the whole dish with its flavour.
A very elegant dish.
Smoked trout, mussel and soy bean, sorrel and bonito tagliatelle
The smoked trout and bonito tagliatelle work in harmony - the soy beans are a burst of freshness.
This was one of the days special dishes - rolled pig cheek, served with radish, confit tomato and marinated and deep fried pigs ears.
Paalo especially asked for this dish to be included as you don't often see cheek and ear on the menu. Those slivers of pigs ears were a knockout, crisp but moist and spiked with flavour from their marinade. The pig check was a little on the tough side in regard to its skin - it was more rubbery than gelatinous in parts but the flesh itself was well done.
Wild mushroom tart, confit potato, braised baby eggplants, watercress foam
Well executed - an excellent dish.
Chargrilled Beef (grade 8 Wagyu Porterhouse), Beef Tongue, Pickled daikon cannelloni, mustard miso
On the left: slices of rare wagyu
On the right:
The skin of the cannelloni is made using pickled daikon and it is filled with enoki mushrooms. Slivers of beef tongue lay across the top and it is accompanied by a mustard miso sauce, which tastes almost gravy like.
As it happens we did decide to order dessert...
Baked pear and ricotta tart, smoked raisin syrup, port foam, honey nougatine ice-cream
Do I really have to say that it was very good?
Warm quince cake, Pedro Ximenez "cloud", honey pearls, granny smith sorbet
The pedro ximenez cloud is that marshmallow like rectangle balanced on one end of the cake.
For our first visit we are suitably impressed - service, wine and food all of a high standard. This will definitely be marked as must visit again.
The details:
Verge Restaurant
1 Flinders Lane
Melbourne
Phone: 9639 9500
Open:
Restaurant:
Lunch - 12 to 3pm
Dinner - 6pm to 10:30pm
Bar - Monday to Saturday - 10am til Late
web: www.vergerestaurant.com.au
Saturday, September 06, 2008
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