Lunch @ Della Nonna

It's a cold and rainy day and a good time to check back in at Della Nonna.



We begin this time with Shaw River Buffalo Mozzarella served with a preserved artichoke half (that sits on a thick balsamic vinegar) and pieces of a simple chilli spiced focaccia.



and a platter of assorted cured meats - capicollo, prosciutto, salami served with grissini.





For mains:


I have the osso buco with risotto - a lovely cheesy creamy risotto that is topped with a deliciously tender piece of osso buco.




and Paalo has the pizza with spicy salami, sliced olives, roasted capsicum and bocconcini. A lovely thin base is easily one of the best you can find. If you can't fold your pizza it is not a pizza.

For dessert



I have the mini cannoli filled with limoncello cream - filled to order these are light and crisp.




Paalo has the kitchen's least favourite dish, zabaglione - and yes it is also whipped to order and poured at the table from its copper bowl.


The details:

Della Nonna
844 Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn

Phone: 9819 6444

Open:

Lunch:
Wednesday - Saturday Noon-2.30pm

Dinner:
Sunday - Thursday 6pm - 10pm
Friday - Saturday 6pm - 10.30pm

Breakfast @ Pearl Café

We've passed by Pearl Café but found it standing room only and we tend to avoid places where we have to queue but today, we've managed to snag ourselves a table. Truth be told, 5 minutes later and we'd have missed out again.

There are only 5 tables for 2 and 3 tables for four and two tall tables in the centre that seat another 12 people on some rather hard stools.

The crowd on this day wasn't quite what we had expected - instead of the beautiful people we had, as Paalo described, the "4wd BMW empty nesters from Toorak who only cross the river to eat at Pearl Restaurant." I dare say the weekday crowd would be different - there are a lot of offices around and those designer brown bag lunches must be popular.



The coffee is quite good, nice and creamy.

Menu wise, it is pretty straightforward and is divided into Breakfast (fruit salad, bircher museli, muffins etc, various toasted breads, waffles, 2 breakfast panini and a section of coddled eggs with 6 different "fillings"), Autumn Lunch (4 salads, 2 soups, 1 curry, 1 pie and macaroni cheese), Baguettes/Sandwiches/Toasties (5 options) and finally Something Sweet and "A little something sweet" for the tiny treats like hedgehogs and lamingtons.

The tables are set with chemistry beakers which are used to house the cutlery. Unfortunatly on our table, 2 of the 3 sets had caked on egg stuck on the fork twines. Not really something I would expect to find here.

Onto the food:


I have the Coddled Eggs served with Wild and Gathered mushrooms, double smoked bacon, sage and burnt butter, toasted multigrain.

Presentation is very cute served in those tiny casserole dishes - they come to the table lid on with the wait staff removing them. A predominance of pepper made it less enjoyable for me and I only tasted the sage in virtually the last mouthful, a pity as the sage really goes well with the mushrooms.



Paalo has: Coddled eggs with buttered english spinach, little lamb fennel seed sausages, spicy tomato jam on pearl bread toast.

2 little sausages sit in this offering and was enjoyable.



If you visit, be sure to count the number of padlocks on this!

The details:
Pearl Café
599 Church Street
Richmond

Telephone: 9427 1307

Open: 7 days
Breakfast: Weekdays - 7am to 11am; Weekend - 8am to 11am
Lunch: 11am - 4pm

web

Dinner @ Matteo's

We're joining Elle and Al for dinner and one of their (and our) favourite spots - Matteo's. As usual, we've gone the degustation route.



From left to right: Semi-cured Hiramasa Kingfish, prawn remoulade sauce, Oyster Shot with mirin & sake, Oyster Natural with Tom Yum Jelly, Soy glazed smoked Eel, rice crusted tofu, pickled plum and bonito mayonnaise
To drink: 2007 Ocean Eight Pinot Gris and instead of the listed 2001 Coldstream Hills Fizz, we enjoy our it with the champagne we'd ordered


As Elle isn't too found of oysters, her dish came with a fantastic Mushroom Chawanmushi

We've had elements of this dish in previous visits but I will never tire of eating that kingfish - it's just a knockout. We were also very impressed with the Oyster Shot, you could seriously enjoy a half dozen of these!




Left: Paillard of Petuna Ocean Trout with shiso breadcrumbs, fennel and avocado salad, ponzu dressing; Right: Pan-fried rice noodle "raviolo" filled with eggplant and miso bechamel, sweet soy and sesame dresssing
To drink: 2007 Pieropan Soave and 2005 Yarraloch Chardonnay

I especially enjoyed the consistency and texture of the rice noodle raviolo.




Left: "Osso Bucco" of braised lamb shank rolled in zucchini with bone marrow dumpling, parsnip puree, slow roasted cherry roma tomato; Right: Seared Wagyu beef rump, teriyaki glazed field mushroom, tempura okra, chilli and black bean sauce
To drink: 2005 Majella Merlot and 2004 Brini Estate Shiraz-Grenache

The "osso bucco" was made using meltingly soft lamb shank, moulded to form a circle and then wrapped with zucchini.



From left to right: Caramelised Apple Confit with Marsala Zabaglione, Coconut Milk Gelato, Warm, dark chocolate fondant pudding
To drink: 2006 Cookoothama Darling Point Botrytis Semillon

As usual, we're certainly very happy campers by the end of the meal - a perfect combination of excellent food and wine with friendly service.


The Details:
Matteo's
533 Brunswick Street, Nth Fitzroy
Phone: 9481 1177

Open:
Lunch: Sunday-Friday from noon
Dinner: 7 days from 6pm

web:
www.matteos.com.au

Spanish Wine Lunch @ Bistro Vue

When we found out that Vue de Monde's Sommelier Raúl Moreno Yagüe was hosting a Spanish Wine Lunch at Bistro Vue, we knew that it would be a perfect opportunity to learn a bit more about these wines.




The first wine is a NV Bodegas Argüeso Manzanilla Clasica San Leon San Lúcar de Barrameda - made from 100% Palomino grapes


It was matched to the canapé - Pumpkin Consommé with tomato confit spherical ball, goat's cheese croutons

More Vue de Monde than Bistro - it was a deceptively simple dish. A real surprise was the pumpkin consommé - served just warm, it was pure pumpkin flavour.



The second wine was a 2006 Marques Del Riscal Blanco Limousin Rueda - made from Verdejo Sauvignon Blanc grapes.



It was paired with the entrée of Polenta "sardines on toast"

4 perfect sardine fillets sat upon the crisp square of polenta - they were topped with a soffritto of sorts and served with the Bouillabaisse sauce (from Vue de Monde)




The next wine was the 2005 Coto de Hayas Garnacha Selecciíon Especial Fagus Campo de Borja - made with 100% Grenache



It was matched to our Plat Principal - Denver pepper leg Venison, sautéed cabbage and chocolate sauce.



As an extra treat, Raul shared with us his own bottles of the 2002.

Last wine is the 2006 Gandia Moscatel Fustanova Valencia



and it was matched with the stunning Crèpe Suzette Soufflée, served with Vanilla Bean Ice cream and cointreau sauce.

The details:

Bistro Vue
430 Little Collins Street
Entrance via New Chancery Laneway

Phone: 9691 3838

Open:
Monday-Saturday: 11am until Late

web

Dinner @ Felt

We've been meaning to go to Felt for a long time but as things happen, we just never got around to it - that is until tonight. Felt is located within the Hotel Lindrum, a building I've always admired and view as one of the prettier buildings in the city.

As we peruse the menu, we enjoy glasses of NV Charles Joubert.

Deciding on a wine to have with our meal proved to be a little difficult as our uncanny ability to pick the wines that aren't in stock struck again. We did eventually find a very pleasant Chianti Classico to have.

For starters:


My dish: Yarra Valley quail, caramelised walnuts, cauliflower puree, golden raisins

The walnuts were quite the eye-opening experience - I'd expected them to be fairly dense and crunchy but these were light and crisp, a texture that came as a complete surprise. The quail was flavoursome, served pink and topped with a lovely runny quail egg.


Paalo's dish: Seared scallops, crushed artichokes, green beans, truffle dressing

Slices of Italian truffle topped the scallops - cooked perfectly to retain that translucent interior.

For mains:


My main: Char grilled eye fillet with sauteed potatoes, onion rings, garlic butter

A lovely piece of eye fillet - cooked rare - it was extremely tender. The onions rings were light and crisp and are more than equal to Rockpool's version.



Paalo's main: Slow braised lamb, tarragon and caper jus with Potato Croquettes

Tender, with a rich lamb flavour - the meat just fell apart. An excellent dish for lamb lovers.

As we're not in a dessert mood, we forgo that option and indulge in a good platter of cheese.




The details:

Felt Restaurant at Hotel Lindrum
26 Flinders Street, Melbourne

Phone: 9668 1111

Open:
Lunch - Monday to Friday: 12pm to 3pm
Dinner - 7 days

web: Felt Restaurant

Event @ Chateau Yering

With Australian truffles in season, Yarra Valley’s Chateau Yering’s Executive Chef, Mathew Macartney, and Interlude’s Executive Chef, Robin Wickins, are preparing a Truffle Degustation Lunch at the Chateau Yering Historic House Hotel. Join Mathew and Robin for an exclusive six course unforgettable truffle taste sensation, each course matched with the prestigious Domaine Chandon Wines, on Sunday 3 August.

Source: Australian Truffle Grower's Association

We found out about this event at Interlude and it provided us with a great excuse to return to Chateau Yering and to enjoy more of this seasons truffles.



All the truffles for this meal have been sourced from Tasmania.



A wonderful truffle aroma filled the room - the source, the discs of truffle butter on every table



The meal began with a brief talk by a representative of the Truffle Growers Association. This year the Australian industry will produce 2 tonnes of truffles - half from WA, a quarter from Tasmania, with the remainder coming mostly from NSW. Victoria is only a small player at the moment with truffles coming from the Yarra Valley, Gippsland and the Otways. This year Victoria expects a yield of 5-6 kilograms.





To accompany our glasses of Chandon Vintage Brut 2005, an amuse



Jerusalem artichoke veloute topped with shaved truffle - a warm, creamy, earthy, light and fluffy mix - a perfect combination to begin the meal.


Black truffle pasta, cauliflower, parsley juice
Chandon Vintage Brut 2005



This was a dish by Robin. The black truffle pasta was actually a black truffle jelly formed from a black truffle puree and cut to resemble pasta - it was served on cauliflower puree, topped with julienne truffle. To the sides are orbs of warm truffle foam accompanied by dots of parsley oil.



Smoked Bluefin Tuna Belly, Japanese Egg Custard, truffle vinaigrette
Domaine Chandon Sauvignon Blanc 2008

This was a dish by Mathew.
The tuna belly was first cured and then smoked - very thinly sliced it is served on the base of the plate. It is topped with a cube of truffled Japanese egg custard onto which has been placed, tiny cubes of marinated tuna. Above this is a frisée salad dressed with a truffle vinaigrette and topped with slices of fresh truffle.



Blue eye cooked in truffle jelly, roasted pumpkin puree, quinoa, girolles
Domaine Chandon Barrel Selection Yarra Valley Chardonnay 2006

This was a dish by Robin.
Using low temperature, the blue eye is poached inside truffle jelly. It is served simply with a puree of roasted pumpkin, quinoa and seared girolles.

It was sad to see people scraping off the jelly to eat the fish!





Roasted Yarra Valley quail, foie gras farce, truffle linguini, sauce perigord
Domaine Chandon Barrel Selection Yarra Valley Pinot Noir 2006

This was a dish by Mathew.
A strip of beetroot paste runs the width of the plate. The quail was partially boned and stuffed with a maple syrup marinated foie gras and truffle farce, served alongside are fresh linguini in a truffle sauce, roasted beetroot and sauce perigord. A sprinkling of beetroot dust finishes the dish.




Black Beauties




This is what 500 grams of truffle looks like.





Rare-seared loin of Yarra Valley Venison, winter fruit, Jerusalem artichoke and truffle gallette, chocolate jus
Domaine Chandon Barrel Selection Yarra Valley Shiraz 2005


This is also a dish by Mathew.

The venison rests upon a celeriac puree and sautéed black cabbage. To the side roasted winter fruits and a thin slice of Jerusalem artichoke and truffle gallete. A chocolate jus is drizzled over the plate. The venison is topped with truffle slices.


In my case, a very large slice of truffle!




Chocolate ganache, hazelnut, truffle honey
Chandon Cuvée Riche

We end with a dish from Robin.

A ribbon of chocolate ganache is decorated with roasted hazelnuts, balsamic vinegar meringues, chocolate toffee, slivers of truffle, chocolate puffed rice, dots of white chocolate and a drizzle of truffled honey.

A seriously stunning way to end a remarkable meal.



With coffee to finish, plates of petit fours.

The details:

Eleonore's Restaurant at Chateau Yering
42 Melba Highway, Yering
Phone: +61 3 9237 3333

Open:
Dinner - every evening from 6.30pm
Lunch - Saturday and Sunday from 12pm - 3pm

Web
Eleonore's Restaurant


Interlude
211 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy
Phone: 9415 7300

Open:
Lunch: Tuesday to Friday 12-3pm
Dinner: Monday to Saturday 6.30pm to late

web:
www.interlude.com.au