Lunch @ Les Boucheries Parisiennes

We're back at Les Boucheries for a leisurely Saturday lunch.


We begin with the plate of 6 appetisers - going clockwise, from top left, seared scallops on carrot puree, truffled pasta, Escargots de Bourgogne, pork terrine with poached shiitake, oysters with grapefruit and salmon roe and Gruyere Souffle.

Our next course is a treat from the kitchen:



Sesame seed crusted tuna loin and cucumber & orange spaghetti with red pepper coulis - a lovely dish for summer

For mains we order the rib eye for two -



it is served with pommes frites, roasted shallots, and a choice of sauces, Béarnaise or red wine - we ended up with a bit both sauces. As usual, the rib eye was cooked perfectly - well flavoured tender beef.


The details:

Les Boucheries Parisiennes
268 Toorak Road, South Yarra

Phone: (03) 8256 1636

Open:
Lunch - Tuesday to Sunday: 12pm to 2.30pm
Dinner - Tuesday to Saturday: 6pm to late

Web:
www.lesboucheries.com.au

Dinner @ Matteo's

It may be the birthday of The King but it's also the birthday of frequent dinner companion Al and we've come out to celebrate and his favourite spot Matteo's.

As usual we've opt for the Tasting Menu with matched wines:

First Course:



Miso caramelised black cod filled, pan-fried eggplant and sambal roasted cherry tomato, Indonesian yellow curry dressing;
Seared sea scallop, rice noodle raviolo with roasted fennel and almond crustacean butter sauce
Wine:
08 Leo Buring Leonay Watervale Riesling
07 Quealy 'Independance' Pinot Gris



the miso caramelised cod fillet sits on a thick slice of eggplant, the eggplant acting like a sponge to capture all the flavours, the yellow curry is delicately spiced and a perfect companion to the cod. The cod itself was cooked to perfection, the fish coming apart in lush flakes.




Scallop cooked as I love them, seared on one side, the interior gorgeously translucent. Behind it sits a spring roll shaped raviolo made from rice noodle - the rice noodle has such an interesting texture and its filling of roasted fennel brings a delicate aniseed flavour to the dish.

Second course:



Chinese style duck breast, creamed leeks and soya bean spring roll, salted cucumber coriander and peanut pesto, hoisin duck sauce;
Minced Chicken & mushroom pithivier, asparagus spears pan-fried with oyster sauce
Wine:
08 Tscharke Girl Talk Albarino
02 Del Rios of Mt Anakie Reserve Pinot Noir




The duck breast as you can see is lovely and pink - tender, its skin is nicely spiced, bringing in those scents of star anise, cloves, cinnamon and ginger. Behind it is a creamed leek and soya bean spring roll that is topped with a coriander and peanut pesto.




Encased in buttery and flaky puff pastry is a mixture of minced chicken and it sits on seared asparagus spears, lightly flavoured with oyster sauce

Third Course:



Crumbed Kurobuta pork terrine with cheek, trotter and spicy black pudding, shredded apple and ginko nut salad, green apple and wasabi sauce
Milk-fed veal loin rolled in porcini dust, spinach, feta & leek cannelloni, taro and root vegetable rosti
Wine:
03 Summerfield Reserve Merlot
04 Brini Estate Grenache Shiraz



Inside this crumbed cube is a mix of pork cheek, trotter and black pudding. For a small cube it packs a lot of flavour. The shredded apple and apple and wasabi sauce help to soften the rich flavours of the cube.



Behind the veal loin is the cannelloni - instead of pasta, leek is used to wrap the filling of spinach and feta.


For our final course, Al's plate came with an extra surprise


a little birdie must have whispered something.

The wine match is 2006 De Bortoli Noble One Semillon



Silvan Estate Monbulk raspberries between almond shortcake biscuits with framboise mascarpone with macerated berries.




Mango carpaccio with lime syrup, pistachio halva, watermelon sorbet



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

Dinner @ Vue de Monde

It's a long overdue re-visit to Vue de Monde



and we've managed to snare the chef's table for the night!



You can't get much closer to the action without actually doing the work!


AMUSE BOUCHE:
Petit Clair-de-Lune oyster served with seaweed consummé, caviar and grapefruit air

I'm not a huge oyster eater but I really do love these clair de lune and topped with a generous dollop of Osetra Caviar, it's just sublime.



various breads


olive bread roll




COQUILLE ST-JACQUES A LA SAUCE XO
NV Tatyama Ginrei Amaharashi Junmai Daiginjo-Shu
Spring Bay Scallop, marinated in XO sauce with apple, avocado and wasabi purée

slivers of scallop have been marinated in xo sauce (made in house) and are served atop a pure of apple, avocado and wasabi - extra xo sauce is daubbed around the plate.

the wine match is a wonderfully clean and fresh sake - fresh fruit notes on the nose, a touch of sweetness in the mouth


GNOCCHI AUX TRUFFLES D'ALBA
Liquid Cep gnocchi with mushrooms, tarragon emulsion and shaved white truffle
2000 Dom Perignon Champagne


A dish you want to eat slowly so you can really savour every mouthful. The gnocchi are formed using spherification techniques so as soon as you bite into them, the liquid cep oozes out.

You wouldn't automatically match champagne to this but they share those earthy characteristics and it really compliments the whole dish.



BOUILLON DE KINGFISH INFUSE EN CINQ MINUTES
Five minute infusion: tarragon and ginger infused broth with seared kingfish
2007 Castello di Luzzano Malvasia Colli Piacentini Tasto di Seta

Five minute infusion; tarragon and ginger infused broth with seared kingfish

This is a modification of Shannon's boullabaise - this time the stock has been made with kingfish and ginger and it's then put through the Kona and infused with more herbs



At the base of the dish are seared kingfish slices and a potato jelly tortellini filled with broad bean puree. The flavour of ginger really comes through beautifully. You'll also find that those tortellini will dissolve in the heat of your mouth realeasing their fresh broad bean flavour.

Our wine match was an all too easy to drink white from Emilia-Romagna.






TOMATE A LA RICOTTA
Thyme studded buffalo ricotta with buffalo milk skin and confit tomato
2007 Evesham Wood Blancs de Puits Sec Gewurztraminer Pinot Gris

At the base of the plate, covered with buffalo milk skin is in-house made buffalo ricotta. Confit tomatoes and candied olives are scattered around while olive brioche sticks protrude from the plate.







Carpaccio de Foie Gras
Carpaccio of Foie gras with fennel. pear and verjus sauce
1999 Tokaji Royal Aszu 6 Puttonyos Betsek

A marvellously criss-crossed piece of foie gras is served simply on top of roasted pear slices. Peeled grapes and walnuts, 6 spice powder and verjus sauce finish the dish.



FILLET DE SAINT-PIERRE AUX DOUZE EPICES
Fillet of John Dory crusted with potato scales served with vegetable carpaccio and twelve spice sauce
1989 Tyrell's Vat 1 Semillon

A gorgeously juicy piece of john dory is coated in scales made from tiny circles of potato and served with an assortement of slivered vegetables and a smoky babaganoush (the eggplants are cooked on the grill at Bistro Vue giving them such a fantastic smoky flavour) - the 12 spice sauce is served at the table


Jus au Hibiscus
Liquid Hibiscus at -8°C

This is superchilled so arrives at your table like a slushie.


CANARD A LA CANNELLE
Roast duck breast and confit leg with cinnamon
2004 Domaine Gervassiliou Avaton

The cherries are actually stuffed with duck confit and sit on a disc of dried apple puree - underneath that are gravy filled and crumbed duck croquettes. On the other side of the plate is the duck breast.


ASSIETTE DE VEAU
Veal assiette with black bean sauce and a bread and almond puree
1997 Santa Rita Cabernet Sauvignon

From left to right, veal belly, veal sweetbread, veal loin. The belly has been slow cooked for a day leaving it with a most amazing texture - similiar to slow cooked pork belly but without that level of fattiness.



Pre-dessert:
Berry zabalione with mint jelly coated kiwi fruit



CHEESECAKE AUX FRUITS DE LA PASSION
Passionfruit cream with frangipane sand and passionfruit souffle
2007 Yves Cuilleron La Rousselliere

This is a deconstructed offering - the pile on the right arrives on the table encased in a glass tube. The tube is removed and the mixture gently oozes out to form the blob you see. It's cheesecake, topped with frangipane sand. To the left is passionfruit souffle cooked in its case.



Almond Parfait a la Pierre
1986 Quinta Do Noval Colheita

This last dessert heralds some absolutely fantastic news. You just might be able to tell what it is by looking at this dish, there is a certain style to its presentation. There's a new addition to the Vue de Monde team and it has us grinning like cheshire cats.

It's only his second day on the job but Pierre Roelofs has thankfully not left the country nor moved to another state but will be working at Vue. Exciting times indeed!


Petit-fours - a rather civilised way to end the night


blood orange jelly


salted caramel truffles with silver


pineapple lollypop wrapped in mint jelly


mini pavlova with passionfruit syringe


There's not much else to add - we found the meal as a whole really well-balanced and left us feeling quite comfortable - no pains of over-indulgence. As always the wine matches were fascinating but we expect nothing less from Raúl.


The details:

Vue de Monde
Normanby Chambers
430 Little Collins Street
Melbourne
Phone: 03 9691 3888

Open:
Lunch: Tuesday - Friday Bookings:12.00pm-2.00pm
Dinner: Tuesday - Saturday Bookings:6.30pm-9.30pm

Lunch @ Hellenic Republic

Our first official dining out experience for 2009 is at Hellenic Republic, George Calombaris' month-old Greek Taverna in Brunswick.



The dining area is dominated by the open kitchen



and this ironbark powered grill.



There's a courtyard out the back - I especially like the touch of the used olive oil tins being used a.s plant pots, reminds me so much of what I'd see growing up in Richmond



Oil and Vinegar as well as salt are set on all the tables and once you've ordered, your bread and cutlery comes.

We start with the meze platter for two - the components you get do vary but the quantity and quality doesn't.


mixed olives, pickled vegetables, white cod taramosalata, coriander salad - we especially loved that white cod tarama - yes taramosalata is not pink!


dolmades and lamb ham - the lamb ham has a particularly interesting mouth feel

We also order


saganaki with peppered figs - this was deliriously good and by the constant stream of these coming out of the kitchen, they are extremely popular for very good reason.

To drink, we did ask for advice on a Greek wine to go with our dishes since we have no idea when it comes to Greek Wine and based on the recommendations we ordered the 2003 Raspani Reserve - a very smooth and easy to drink red.

For mains:


Moussaka - this is George's yia yia's recipe - underneath that molten crust is a mix of eggplant and potato slices coupled with a meat based ragu.



Lamb souvlaki - somewhat larger than the teaser from Taste of Melbourne but just as good. The fluffy pita sees a little time on the grill to warm and crisp its edges, it's then filled with a mustard based sauce, copious slices of lamb, a little onion and herb salad and finally fries.

It was probably neck and neck in the popularity stakes between this and the saganaki while we were there but the funniest and groan-worthy occurrence was when one souvlaki was returned to the kitchen - the table wanted it cut into 5, so they could share it! Good grief, when it arrived on their table they ate the slices with knives and forks!



With our mains we also order the Village Salad - a mix of cucumber, tomato, olive, onion and feta. Lovely and fresh and very cleansing.

To finish, we made sure we left room for these



Loukoumades - greek donuts, hand made and cooked to order, come tossed through honey and walnuts.

The details:

Hellenic Republic
434 Lygon Street
Brunswick

Phone: 9381 1222

Open:
Dinner - Tuesday to Sunday
Lunch - Friday to Sunday
Breakfast - Saturday - Sunday