Dinner @ Fenix

I know it was only Sunday when we last came here but we're eager to try the new dinner menu.

As we have read, the liquid nitrogen cleanser is back, this time there's a deeper lime flavour to the mix.



Spring/Summer: Cucumber essence, yoghurt mozzarella



The cucumber essence is served in this beaker and you add it yourself.



As a wine match we're given Gin and Tonics which should please Jon from Melbourne Foodie. I have to agree it works really well with the refreshing nature of this dish.





Pork Belly: Coconut noodles, fish coral, laksa

I've written about this dish many times before and I don't think I need to say that we just love it.



Lime Pith

After the pork you need your palette cleansed and this does that job very nicely - a mix of Daikon ribbons, grilled onions, lime juice and broad beans



Blue Eye: Chorizo dust, re-hydrated potato, citrus pith

As we've come to expect, the fish is done to perfection, a crisp skin atop moist flesh.



Lamb Rump with sweet breads, leek



Frozen Goat Cheese Sand with Cherries



Bubble Gum: Wild strawberry, ile flottante, mango



Violet Crumble: Chocolate, honeycomb, almond, bubbles



Petit Fours - beetroot jelly, salt and vinegar chocolate sticks and fudge.

The details:

Fenix can be found at
680 Victoria Street Richmond
(03) 9427 8500

Open:
Tuesday - Sunday for Lunch: 12pm-3pm
Tuesday - Saturday for Dinner: 6pm-11pm

web
www.fenix.com.au

Lunch @ Fenix

We've had a good sleep and decide to keep that holiday feeling going and go to Fenix for lunch. It's been 2 and a half months since we've last been here and there we know there has been changes.

For Sunday lunch, Fenix is offering something called a "new age yum cha" with the offerings divided into sea, land, earth and heaven (desserts). The dishes are smallish and are meant to be shared. With so many tasty sounding dishes you can't really go wrong with whatever you pick.




Slow cooked lamb, spring vegetables

If you've had the slow cooked lamb from Fenix before you'll know exactly what this is like - fork soft, the lamb just breaks apart with the slightest amounts of pressure, served with the smoothest of rich mashed potatoes, the jus is thick and utterly irresistible.



Cauliflower 'n' Cheese

The Fenix touch is applied to this dish, the cauliflower component comes in the form of dried slivers of cauliflower and the cheese are these cheesy balls that sit underneath



New season asparagus, melted Iberico ham




Milk-fed mussels, clams, tomato, almonds

It may look like couscous on the plate but it's roughly ground almonds.



Salted cod cream, roquette finanier, milk jam



Croquettes, chicken, ham, rouille



Yoghurt mozzarella, olive oil, bruschetta



Fenix Pimms and Lemonade - I can see this drink being very popular on those hot summer days

Having our fill of savoury dishes it was time to try some heaven



Strawberry soup, basil, oeuf a la neige

A great summer dessert, refreshing and light but still with definite flavours



Violet crumble, bubbles, Pedro Ximenez jelly

Underneath the toffee bubbles is a half-cylinder of chocolate mousse



This certainly was a good way to spend our first full day back in Melbourne and an excellent way to reacquaint ourselves with Fenix.

The details:

Fenix can be found at
680 Victoria Street Richmond
(03) 9427 8500

Open:
Tuesday - Sunday for Lunch: 12pm-3pm
Tuesday - Saturday for Dinner: 6pm-11pm

web: Fenix

QF427 - Sydney to Melbourne

With the plane arriving late and a bit of wait at customs it certainly justified Paalo's decision to catch a later flight to Melbourne.



In the Qantas lounge we were able to refresh ourselves and cool down with glasses of icy lemon squash.



Once again we wiled away the time watching the planes being loaded.

I had thought the Qantas plane out from Melbourne was a bit dodgy, this one was even worse. I think they dragged this one out of the eighties!

During the flight we were served a snack



we proved to be surprisingly good considering the absimal breakfast on JAL.



We were served an asparagus tart with assorted roasted vegetables



a tiny fruit salad



and an apricot danish.

It was a battle to finish the dish before they were taken away. It's the problem with the flight between Melbourne and Sydney, it seems as soon as they give you your plate, the plane starts its descent and they rush around trying to put everything away before they land.

As seems the norm, we arrived late into Melbourne. Luckily we booked a driver and he was patiently waiting for us. Unfortunately the baggage handlers were having a go slow so it took a good 15 minutes or more before our luggage finally arrived.

With that we were off and finally heading home.

JL771 - Tokyo Narita to Sydney

The one thing we did do when we checked in was to request a seat downstairs and one not in the first row. The reasoning behind this request was to try to ensure as much airflow as possible and enough legroom for Paalo, thus giving us a more cooler and comfortable trip.



Upon finding our seat our logic seemed to be paying off - it's considerably cooler and I certainly don't feel like I'm in a sauna and for Paalo, he is able to stretch out his legs.

We are feed a late dinner and you are given a choice of Western or Japanese Style. As always we choose one of each.

The Western Menu:



Bottom Left Hand Side: Terrine of Foie Gras and Fig Escoffier
Top Right Hand Side: Cold Chestnut Cream Soup


Main Dish: Fillet of Beef Steak with Parsley Mustard Butter, Red Wine Sauce


Fresh Salad

The Japanese Menu:




Zensai: Grilled Shrimp with Sea Urchin Paste, Marinated Trout Oshi Sushi, Salmon Roe in Citrus Cup, Fried Ginkgo Nut and Shimeji Mushroom, Egg Cake, Sweet Chestnut and Mariated Vegetables

Mukouzuke: Poached Top Shell with Miso Vinegar Sauce


Kobachi: Braised Garland Chrysanthemum & Enoki Mushroom in Light Soy


Dainomono: Baked Salmon with Egg Yolk Mousse


Steamed Rice, Japanese Pickles, Miso Soup.

Desserts:


Champagne Mousse


Paris Brest

Try as I might I wasn't really sleepy and after watching Ratatouille and No Reservations I tried watching Hairspray in the hope that it would put me to sleep. Unfortunately it didn't so it was time to bring out the Sigur Ros. Although my sleep wasn't really deep I did get some shut eye.



I gave up trying to sleep around about here



It's too light outside and we're almost near the end of our journey.

Breakfast was served less than 2 hours from Sydney and it is possible the worst example of airline food we're ever had



This bun was kinda warm and contained a slice of salami and tomato sauce and it was served with an evil ball of pasta salad.

The only edible component was the fruit salad



As it happens when trying to land in Sydney our flight was put in an holding pattern and we eventually got off the plane close to 45 minutes late.

Tokyo - Day 3

We're off early this morning to head back to the Outer Markets to stock up on some Japanese plates. Most of our packing has been done and we know how much space we have in our existing bags to absorb our shopping.

I won't go into detail about our haul but I did get a nice assortment of serving dishes, along with interesting bamboo skewers and various decorated paper place mats.

On the way back we spied this most interesting car!



On the way back we stopped for coffee and something sweet at one of the coffee shops





There wasn't a great rush at the hotel as we don't need to check out until 12pm and we can leave our bags in storage there until our bus leaves around 3pm

For lunch we headed to one of the large department stores nearby and although
Teppanyaki had been on our mind, we decided to try a tempura place. With no English menu, we ordered by pointing at the plastic display food in the window.



I can't say that what we ordered came out looking exactly like this.



pickles



part of Paalo's plate - the tempura batter incorporated the dipping sauce





this was part of my plate - on the left is a tempura oyster still in its shell, the oyster has been chopped up and mushrooms added to the mix. There is also lotus root and baby squid.






As time seemed to be moving really slowly (and our plane doesn't leave until 9pm) we decided to treat ourselves to an afternoon tea at the hotel.




savoury roll filled with lettuce, bacon, tomato and wasabi mayo


scones with jam and cream



green tea macaroons, redbean tart and scones



caramel and pear tarts, cheesecakes and chestnut cake


By the time the bus arrived at the hotel it was fairly full, luckily we did manage to find two seats next to each other.



It does look really dark but it's only just after 4.30pm - it does get really dark early.

I'm not going to bore you with the details of check-in as nothing unusual happened. We waiting out our flight in the JAL lounge which is most impressive. They have dedicated rooms where you can use massage chairs as well as an upstairs restaurant.

The smell of curry drifted down and we resisted as long as possible but the lure proved too strong.



Served with a good sticky rice it definitely proved most satisfying.

It was then time to head back downstairs with a couple of drinks and just relax



and watch our planes being prepared.