Lunch @ Cafe Vue at 401

We're after a leisurely start to the new year so we've decided to visit 401 for lunch. For a change, we've decided to have the menu du jour.

It begins with this:

Pumpkin Risoni with Goat Cheese mousse

Looks like a risotto but it's actually risoni. I really like the idea of the goat cheese mousse - it really lightens the texture of the cheese and stops it from overwhelming the sweetness of the pumpkin.

Braised Wagyu, Baby leeks, Pommes mousseline, pistachio crumbs

Surprisingly the wagyu was a little more chewy than we had expected - could well be the way it had been cooked, perhaps it needed a little more cooking. Flavourwise, it was an enjoyable dish.

Pistachio Mousse

I really needed a before shot for this dish - the hot chocolate-caramel sauce is poured at the table and it slowly melts through that fine chocolate lid. At the base of the glass is a pistachio sponge housing a raspberry core, hidden by the surrounding pistachio mousse.  Delicious and delightful, we both could have greedily eaten another!

Macarons

To finish, a quartet of macarons.

  The details:

  Cafe Vue at 401
  401 St Kilda Road
  Melbourne

  Phone: 9866 8055
  reservations for A la Carte Menu
  (including Menu du Jour) only

  Open:
  Monday-Friday: 7am to 11pm
  Saturday-Sunday: 8am to 11pm

  Web