Lunch @ Maze

There's been quite a few changes in the personnel at Maze and Maze Grill - the question in these cases is how is the food fairing? Only way to tell, is to go out and try it.

We're opted for the degustation which begins as always with this:

Lunch @ Maze

We're back for another tasting menu and while there's some new and different dishes on show, it always begins with this

Dinner @ Maze Grill

Our Maze experience continues with a late dinner booking at Maze Grill and we've got a prime position, right at the front to get a perfect view of the Kitchen.

Lunch @ Maze

You'd have to be in a cave somewhere not to know that Maze has opened in Melbourne and it's certainly been at the centre of some rather dubious reporting.

I've been a bit bewildered at the attitude of the professional reviewers. I don't know how professional it is to go to review a place with a mind set that you want to rip it apart. Worse still, all this angst isn't based on the food being served, or the people in the kitchen, or the people on the floor, it's directed at a person that isn't ever there. It was then disappointing to see that this attitude had seeped into the blogisphere, along with other mainstream vices, though that might be best left for another time.

Maze has been thoroughly scrutinised by many of our fellow EAT-ors - lunch and dinner, a la carte and set menu, I think between our crew we've tasted every dish. Some went during the first week, and felt while the food was excellent they had a hard time enjoying themselves due to the amount of flashes going off from neighbouring tables of food bloggers. It's a dimly lit restaurant at night, you can't take good photos, so give your fellow diners a break, your flashes are annoying and that is putting it politely.

This particular outing to Maze is in lieu of my failed birthday dinner. In fact we're even staying in the hotel and making a little holiday out of it.

Dinner @ The Brasserie by Philippe Mouchel

To celebrate my sister's birthday we've headed off to the evil empire for dinner at The Brasserie.






To fit the occassion we've ordered a magnum of Bollinger Special Cuvée to go with our appetizers and starters


Ocean trout and smoked salmon rillettes


and a selection of freshly shucked oysters - served with shallot, vinegar and lemon sauce - lime, chilli and coriander sauce - and panko crusted with spicy tomato condiment


For starters:


Yellowfin tuna and leek tartare, cucumber gaspacho, cream and condiments



Tasmanian salmon gravlax, spelt blini, vegetable salad and rocket sorbet



Left: Scampi carpaccio, citrus and ginger vinaigrette
Right: the Brasserie’s assorted duck charcuteries sur planche


For mains:


Beef tenderloin and braised Wagyu ox cheek in red wine, confit of Kipfler potatoes

Both Elle and Al ordered this dish - the braised ox cheek was particularly tender, it just fell apart with a fork


Traditional steak tartare – hand diced raw beef wagyu with fries and condiments

A very generous serving that proved too much for Paalo to finish


Rabbit degustation; braised leg, shoulder rillette, confit belly and sautéed saddle

Another very generous sized dish - a sophisticated study of rabbit.


Selection of sides: Creamed and crusted potato gratin (front) and Cauliflower gratin (rear) - the fries are served with the tartare


Desserts:


The Brasserie‘s dessert tasting plate - pistachio and raspberry sorbets, financier, caramelised rice pudding, coffee and strawberry panna cotta, rhum baba and


French crêpe filled with lemon custard, sorbet and jus

The details:

The Brasserie by Philippe Mouchel
Riverside at Crown

Open:
7 days - Lunch and Dinner

web:
The Brasserie

Lunch @ The Brasserie by Philippe Mouchel

Having emerged from the Cheese Show around 12 we headed downstairs to check out the dining options at Crown. It boiled down to two - The Brasserie or Bistro Guilliame and obviously, The Brasserie won out.

It's a large, light and airy space located at a suitably far enough distance that you aren't distracted by the constant tinkling of the poker machines.

good, chewy, crusty rolls, warm from the oil is served alongside



olive oil and a house-made dukkah.

The menu is quite large with an abundance of interesting dishes we finally settle on the following:

For starters


Carpaccio of Wagyu tenderloin, porcini and walnut vinaigrette, celeriac and fruits julienne

A pleasure from the first bite to the last - the wagyu is so soft it falls apart, the flavour works well with the earthy porcini.

The Brasserie's assorted duck charcuterie with duck foie gras
Drink: 2005 Six Acres Pinot Noir, Yarra Valley

This dish can be ordered with or without the foie gras but that wasn't an option for Paalo - going clockwise from the glass which contains duck rillettes we have, duck sausage, duck prosciutto, duck liver pate, duck tartare, slice of foie gras and in the centre duck ravioli.

Paalo very generously offered me tastings of each and I would have to agree with his assessment, it's very hard to actually pick a favourite.

Onto mains:

Duet of roasted duck breast and braised leg with beetroot
Drink: 2005 Louis Jadot Bourgogne Rouge, Burgundy

It's my turn  for some duck - pink roasted duck breast sitting atop a braised leg and served with a rich lacquer like jus.

Pork hock stuffed with pork sausage on braised lentils

Paalo ordered one of the specials - the most amazing dish of pork hock - you could almost eat it with a spoon it was just that gelatinous. 

For sides we order:

Well crusted Potato Gratin


Sautéed mushrooms with Parisienne gnocchi

Because it has been such an enjoyable afternoon, we finish off with


The Brasserie's Dessert Tasting Plate - there's pistachio ice-cream, raspberry sorbet, chocolate cake, rum baba, apple tart, coffee pannacotta and brioche.

I think we can safely say that there is one very good reason to visit the Crown complex and it's The Brasserie.

The details:

The Brasserie by Philippe Mouchel
Riverside at Crown

Open:
7 days - Lunch and Dinner

web: The Brasserie

Dinner @ Nobu

To celebrate Al's birthday we're off to visit Nobu.

Things didn't start off too well during booking when Al was informed he could only book at 6.30pm (and be out by 8.30) or 8.30pm - no other times were allowed. So not to be rushed out the door, the booking was made was 8.30pm.

When we arrived at the allotted time, the hostess manning the door informed us that our table wasn't ready so we'd have to wait upstairs at the bar. So much for the strict booking times. As an aside, I don't know what the hostess was thinking wearing white shoes with black stockings, eeck!



The situation didn't improve as we were basically left to our own devices - no menus offered. It wasn't until White shoes returned a good 15 minutes later to let us know the table still wasn't ready that we finally were offered a wine list.

Champagne was ordered, warm glasses arrived but no bottle. It was a good 30 minutes after our booking that we finally got to sit at our table, sans champagne. No unison chant of "irasshaimase" greeted our arrival. Our perky waitress knew nothing about our champagne order but eventually the bottle arrived - warm glasses used down here as well!

After scanning the pages and pages of menu offerings we all settled on having the 8 course degustation (the Omakase Menu).


It began with this chilled offering of yuzu infused lobster on shiso leaf with salmon roe. Perhaps a little too much yuzu was used but it was a nice refreshing way to start the evening.




Next up was a threesome of fish - the centre offering we were told was a "Nobu signature dish" - yellowtail with jalapeño.


More fish - torched tuna slices served with an excellent onion and citrus sauce




The signature Black Cod with Miso served with hajikami, sweet pickled ginger root. No complaints about this dish, it truly deserves to be a classic.




Sizzling hot, it's presented with a flourish as the domes come off the incredibly hot dishes. It is seared beef fillet straight from the wood-fired oven.


This bowl of Clam Miso comes out with the plate of nigiri - The clams are quite tough so I don't think they are supposed to be eaten (at least I hope they aren't!)


A good plate of nigiri, though having just come back from Japan, it really does fade in comparison.


Dessert is the Chocolate Bento Box - a dense round of warm flourless chocolate cake served with green tea ice cream.

While there wasn't anything particularly wrong with any of the dishes they also weren't very inspirational, perhaps a bit too much repetition of ingredients, especially yuzu. On the service side, Elle thought it a bit too "pancake parlour". While it is a nice space all those bare surfaces mean the noise just ricochets to a loud roar making conversation difficult - you certainly wouldn't go here for a quiet dinner for two. The noise also made it very hard to hear the waiters when they described the dishes we were having. The banquettes while comfortable make service very difficult with the poor waiting staff having to lean over people to top up glasses and pick up/deliver plates.

Having now dined here, Paalo understand where AA Gill was coming from, the food is a bit twee, a bit dated. We all agreed that we probably wouldn't return but that shouldn't matter to Nobu as they seem to be doing a roaring trade.

It's a restaurant in a casino and part of a chain of restaurants, and that sums up its place in the gastronomic world.

The details:
Nobu Melbourne
Crown Casino
8 Whiteman Street
Southbank

Hours:
Sunday - Thursday (Dinner) 6:00 - 10:45
Friday - Saturday (Dinner) 6:00 - 11:15
Sunday - Thursday (Bar) 5:00 - 1:00
Friday - Saturday (Bar) 5:00 - 2:00
Bar Menu daily from 5:30


Tel. +613 9696 6566

Lunch @ Rockpool

Since we were in Crown we decided to take the opportunity and finally visit Rockpool.

On the way to the dining room you are greeted with this lovely sight, makes a change from those live fish tanks.



Settled, we start with a bottle of 2003 Chandon ZD.

The menu is quite extensive and after a lot of thought we decide to share our entrees


Ham and Salami Tasting Plate ($35)
From top to bottom, Joselito Iberico, Jamondul Gran Reserva Serrano, San Daniele Proscuitto, Chorizo (from Sydney)

I must say the Joselito Iberico was amazing, the fat actually tasted like nuts, it's the first time I've experienced that and now I understand the fuss people make over the Iberico.


Soft Shell Crab Salad with Cos Lettuce ($26)

I think the crab could have been a little more crisp, perhaps we should have eaten it first.


Four Raw Tastes of the Sea ($26)
From bottom to top, kingfish with cos and tea smoked oyster dressing, ocean trout with harissa and lemon, tuna with coriander and ginger dressing and scampi with ceviche dressing

I'll have to agree with the consensus this is a fantastic dish, we'd gladly have one of these to ourselves.



As Paalo, Al and I are having steaks we get these quite lethal looking knives. We also choose a Ripasso to have with our mains.


Elle's Main: Lobster, Avocado and Zucchini Salad with Hazelnut and Lime Foam ($38 entree)



Al's Main: Dry Aged Grass Fed Beef - Rump 400g/41 days ($39)


Dry Aged 36 Month Old Grass Fed Beef - Rib-eye on the Bone 750g/43 days ($90 for two) - Paalo and I shared this dish - this is just my portion of the dish, lucky me got the bone!

The steaks are served with sauces to share - Horseradish Cream and an ultra-light fluffy Béarnaise.


Side dish: Onion Rings ($6)

Who knew Onion Rings could taste this good?


Sauces to Share: Horseradish Cream and Béarnaise and Side dish: Sautéed Brussels Sprouts with Bacon Onion and Burnt butter ($8)


Side dish: "Mac and Cheese" ($7)

It tastes even better than it looks.

With our desserts we order a half bottle of Vietti Moscato d'Asti ($45)



Al's Choice: Bittersweet Chocolate Cake with Pedro Jimenez Cream ($16)



Elle's Choice: Passionfruit Pavlova ($16)



Paalo's Choice: Apple Tarte Tatin ($16)



My Choice: Praline Millefeuille ($16)



Served with coffee - a glass of fantastic caramelised puffed wheat.


The details

Rockpool Bar and Grill
Crown Complex
Southbank
Phone: +613 8648 1900

Open:
Lunch: Sunday-Friday: 12pm -3pm
Dinner: Every night: 6pm-11pm

web
www.rockpoolmelbourne.com