Category: Food Reviews

Review: Degustation at Bluestone Restaurant, Melbourne.

On my final night in Melbourne, I decided to treat myself to a degustation menu. I did my research and booked Bluestone for its proximity to my hotel (walking distance), the price, and the reviews – generally good.

# – The entrance.

I reached at 7pm sharp and was their very first diner. A very pleasant middle-aged man whose name has now escaped me showed me my table, and asked if I would like some wines. I asked for tap water instead and it was served to me with a smile.

# – Bluestone Restaurant.

I was also served some freshly made bread with extra virgin olive oil and this curious thing that was beetroot infused salt.

# – Bread dipped in evoo and beetroot infused salt. Unusual but tasty.

My first course soon came. I was slightly disappointed with the portion but then I remembered I had 7 more dishes to come. Haih, asians!

# – Hiramasa kingfish sashimi with wasabi emulsion, finger lime and pickled radish.

I wasn’t particularly wowed. To me, there were too many tart ingredients (even the wasabi emulsion was sour) for such a small of amount of fish. I could hardly enjoy the natural taste of the fish, and to my untrained palate, it might as well be chicken. I was looking forward to the next dish…also fish.

# – Pan seared ocean trout with blood orange sorbet.

What a winner! Flaky, fatty fish with still crispy skin. Absolutely delicious with the mild blood orange sorbet. I love hot & cold dishes and this was one of my favourites of the night.

Then, it was poultry time!

# – Smoked duck breast with sprouts and berries.

Look at how pink the duck breast was – loved it. This was also a favourite of mine, the duck was neither over nor underdone. The sweet berries complimented the savoury duck while the sprouts sneaked in now and then to keep flavours from getting too overwhelming. GORGEOUS!

# – Brocollini sorbet.

I had to look up “brocollini”. Apparently it’s a cross between brocolli and kailan. And it did taste like a mixture of both vegetables! Very refreshing and made a wonderful palate cleanser.

Next up, the crustacean.

# – Grilled Morton Bay Bug with buddha’s hand sabayon.

I was looking forward to this dish the entire night. Unfortunately, it turned out to be the least favourite of mine. I think it had something to do with the restaurant having a really busy night. The lobster was ghastly overcooked and the sabayon was so salty it no longer held any citrus flavour of buddha’s hand :(

I did tell the staff what I thought. He later came back and told me that they’ve tasted it and agreed it was too salty even for a savoury sabayon.

Well, 1 out of 8 isn’t bad at all. I prefer to focus on the good dishes.

# – Flinders Island Wallaby with bush pepper & capsicum paint and chard parcel.

Loved every single element on its own and together. It was my first time eating wallaby and I could only describe it as buttery, melt-in-your-mouth beef like meat without the beef odour. Someone showed me a picture of a wallaby which is like a small kangaroo…so cute. But it’s so delicious!!!

The next dish was gazpacho, made with strawberries instead of tomatoes. Hmmm.

# – Strawberry gazpacho laced with balsamic reduction.

I wasn’t expecting so much sweetness it being a gazpacho and all but who am I kidding, it is strawberries we’re talking about! The sweetness from the fruit was cleverly calmed down by the balsamic reduction though. I enjoyed it very much and thought it’s a wonderful prelude to the next dish – DESSERT!

# – Rosella cheesecake with baby wild limes and macademias.

HOLEEEEEEEEEEE MOLEEEE! The highlight of my night! I thought the deconstruction of the cheesecake was brilliant, especially great for people like me who dig cheese more than the base. The cheesecake was so smooth and luxurious, the crushed macademias a perfect companion with sweet & fragrant roselle syrup and tart baby wild limes. What a combination. I was eating this so slowly trying to maximise my enjoyment. Later, I regretted not ordering an extra plate.

Finished my fantastic dinner with a cup of hot Earl Grey tea, which should be drank with everything. I love earl grey tea, I drink it everyday but Gareth thinks it tastes like dishwashing liquid. Different strokes for different folks.

# – Like an Earl.

At AUD$99 for 8 courses without wines ($160 with matching wines), I thought it was very reasonably priced. The other restaurants I looked at all mostly started from AUD$110 without wines.

Overall, I had a very enjoyable time. Although I was alone and it was full house, I was never short of attention. Yes, service was a little slow due to the crowd and they had only 3 frontliners that night but my glass was never empty and that says a lot I think.

Bluestone Restaurant,
349, Flinders Lane,
Melbourne 3000
Tel: +61396204060
https://www.bluestonerestaurant.com.au/

Eating Hot Vit Lon (Vietnamese Fetal Duck Egg) in Hanoi.

When I was in Hanoi earlier this year, there were 3 things that I was determined to eat; Bahn My (Vietnamese sandwich), Bahn My Pate Thit (Vietnamese sandwich with pate) and Hot Vit Lon (Vietnamese fetal duck eggs).

I am glad to say I managed to eat all 3 of them and more. The most interesting experience was of course eating the barely formed duck still encased in its egg.

The eggs are quite easy to find on the streets of Hanoi, especially where food is common. I spotted the stall I bought my egg from not long after walking down a road near my hotel.

After I ate my egg and continued walking, I spotted many more stalls selling Hot Vit Lon.

# – Lady boss cracking the egg.

# – Dropped it into a bowl.

# – Then served it to me along with fresh herbs and seasonings.

# – The partially formed baby duck.

# – Then I ate it.

The best way to describe the taste…it was like eating a large egg-yolk with bits of marrow and bits of gelatinous parts. The partially formed beaks, bones and hair were very mildly crunchy, kind of like eating really soft cartilage.

It was quite tasty really with seasonings and fresh herbs. Like eating an enhanced egg. I would eat it again.

In fact, they should do the same thing to chicken eggs here to be honest.

Our romantic Valentine’s Day dinner at Aria, Plaza Damansara.

Last year, we celebrated Valentine’s Day at home. I had just started learning to bake, so I made G a bunch of heart-shaped chocolate biscuits…that were better used as a murder weapon.

This year, we decided to eat out at Aria, an Italian restaurant in Plaza Damansara. While waiting for G to come home to pick me, I gave Charlie a bath, washed his bed & vacuumed the house, all in the name of working up an appetite.

Traffic was horrendous, so instead of 7pm, we only reached about 8pm. Luckily for us, there were still ample parking space outside the restaurant.

# – Candle, rose petals and heart-shaped confetti.

# – Chocolates too, of course.

We were promptly seated and introduced to our server for the evening. He assured us he would take care of us, which was a nice thing to hear in a restaurant. Champagnes were poured.

# – Happy Valentine’s Day boobs.

# – Posing with the bubblies. Emphasis on the word “posing” :P

# – Our appetizer – a mixture of salmon & beef carpaccios, arancinis, battered artichoke hearts, battered eggplant strips, calamari rings, mushroom & tomato brushettas and many more. An absolutely delicious platter.

# – G’s Lamb Roulade. Nice flavours but lamb could be more tender.

# – My black tonnarelli with crab meat & olives. Generous portion. Slightly under-seasoned with strong tomato flavours. I needed more salt but some may find it just nice.

We had two desserts.

# – Poached pears. Great for those who like intense flavours.

# – Chocolate fondant. Absolutely crazy delicious. The exterior of the cake was crisp, with a fluffly cake that oozes decadent, luxurious chocolate sauce. Perfect Valentine’s dessert :)

Service at Aria was truly excellent! In fact, I’d say it’s one of the best service I’ve ever encountered.

Food took a while to arrive naturally on such a busy day but the staff constantly checked on us, making sure our glasses weren’t empty and chatting to G about single malt whiskeys.

# – The single malts in Aria.

They’ve got a massive collection, by the way. G said they’ve even got the rarer ones like Balvenie 15. Not like I could register anything as all single malts taste like disinfectant to me. But G’s a happy camper and when he’s happy I’m happy too :)

Aria Restaurant
44G, Plaza Damansara, Jalan Medan Setia 2, Bukit Damansara
50490 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-2095-0016