Monthly Archives: January 2013

To celebrate my half century treat I am sharing one of my best dining experiences. What can I say about Vue de Monde…for once in my life I am speechless. Fancy posh restaurants normally scare me. I don’t carry a designer handbag, my clothes are usually bargain buys and my credit card limit can be maxed out quite quickly. So what am I doing on the 51st floor of the Rialto building? Instead of feeling inadequate, I feel like I belong. From the beginning where the hostess takes you to the lift and introduces you to a waiter who takes you up to the 51st floor you know this is going to be a special afternoon. My friends Kirsty, Neha and I caught the red-eye to Melbourne and after wandering the streets we were excited to feast on the unknown. I had heard about Vue de Monde from Masterchef when Shane Bennett showed us how to make clear ravioli in a masterclass (he probably won’t like me calling it that). I did not think much of it but the more I read about the Melbourne eating scene, Vue de Monde kept popping up. So here we were on this beautiful sunny day in Melbourne, walking through a magnificent wine cellar and being seated in these funky fur chairs. I decided to test the wait staff straight away by asking to move near the window and they kindly obliged. They moved our bag stools (yes a stool designed specifically for our bags to rest) and again placed the napkins down on our laps. It was off to a great start. Our host for the day Julien introduced us to the menu and in my booking I mentioned we had a vegetarian so he discussed her options and even said he could change items on the menu for her. She looked up at us with a big smile on her face, she’s had experiences where wait staff give her the evils but not today. Julien was firstly French so the accent had us swooning and also he was generally accommodating, answering all our questions (and there were quite a few) and charming us throughout the 3 hour dining experience. I promise I will get to the food slowly but surely. Julien introduced us to our sommelier for the day, Clemente. We gave him our budget and asked him to recommend something red that would suit the menu. Off he went to the wine cellar and returned with three choices, the perfect amount that would not confuse us. He spoke about the characters of the wine, describing one with feminine notes which I actually understood. We settled on a 2009 Massolino Barbera, Italy (yes the one with feminine notes), which was a delicate red with raspberry fruit, oak and a touch of liquorice. So I may have had to google that but it was a lovely drop of wine. Now to the food, here is the menu for you. How do I know the menu word for word because Vue de Monde email it you after you have dined there. Very handy for the bloggers out there.

AMUSE BOUCHE
Oyster
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Salt cured venison
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Celeriac, Sunflower seed
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Smoked eel, white chocolate, caviar
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Dandelion, apple, cashew
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Kangaroo, beetroot, chocolate
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CLEANSER
Cucumber sorbet, crushed herbs
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Smoked eggplant, onion, thyme
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Flathead, tarragon, swede
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Duck, yabbie, kale, raspberry
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Assortment of cheeses, bread, jams
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BEER & NUTS
Passionfruit, licorice, coconut
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Lemon meringue ice cream, white chocolate, lemon curd, parsley
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Beetroot, grass, raspberries
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Chocolate soufflé, chocolate mousse, crème anglaise
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A selection of coffee, teas, infusions & petit-fours

The amuse bouche was a delight for the eyes, the food delicious and delicate. The salt cured venison was cleverly rolled up by our waiter, the meat was so soft it melted in your mouth. The oyster was in the clear ravioli that I saw on Masterchef, the taste so clean that the oyster bursted in your mouth with flavour. The entree also did not disappoint with the clever combination of kangaroo and chocolate. Why should chocolate be reserved for dessert, I had it for breakfast the other day. I am so glad Vue de Monde agrees with me. The kangaroo was cooked to perfection, medium rare without the fearful chewiness. Here comes my favourite part of the meal, the palate cleanser. Three chefs come out of the kitchen, one in safety glasses with the liquid nitrogen pouring it over microherbs in a morter and pestal. The chef then instructs us to get our pestal and start mashing up the microherbs. Then the third chef scoops in cucmber sorbet and we are told to mix the two together. What an experience! The cucumber so refreshing and the microherbs take what would be an ordinary palate cleanser to a theatrical experience adding crunch to the smooth sorbet. The theatrics continue onto the mains with Neha’s smoked eggplants arriving literally with smoke as the Chef removed the lid we saw the smoke waft away. For mains I had the duck, which was in one word delicious. I have fond memories of the yabbie, cooked to perfection and adding another dimension to what could have been a simple duck dish. But this is Vue De Monde, nothing is simple here. I have it on good authority that Kirsty’s flathead main and Neha’s smoked eggplant dish were also amazing (I had a sneaky taste of both). My love affair with France continues, it’s evident everytime I order a cheese board or eat a croissant or palmier for breakfast. So when Julien wheels over their cheese display (yes a display) he asks us what different cheeses we would like to eat. By this stage we were in food comas and also transfixed by his accent so we let Julien choose the cheeses. Never underestimate the amazingness of the cheese course, it’s like getting a bonus at work or a free gift with purchase. So you would think by this point dessert would be on the radar. You are wrong. The next course is affectionately known as ‘Beer and Nuts’ but given it’s own Vue de Monde spin. The passionatefruit beer was another palate cleanser and the nuts were these tasty morsels of delight. After that enjoyable detour we were now ready for dessert. We each ordered a different dessert and they were all amazing. My deconstructed lemon meringue was a taste sensation, as I carefully put all the different components on my spoon. I have become more accepting of herbs in my dessert (exhibit a – basil sorbet for dessert at Marque) and the parsely was a friendly addition to the lemon dessert. Parsley is a great mate of lemon especially in tabouli so it was an eye opener to take this friendship to the other level. Kirsty took a risk with beetroot and grass for dessert. We have been getting our heads around vegetables and savory items transformed into dessert but grass really? I mean I don’t go to Boost Juice and order a wheatgrass shot let alone except it on a fine dining menu. This is no ordinary grass though so don’t start mowing your front lawn and bringing it into the kitchen. This grass puree if I can call it that was a mixture of herbs that sung in tune with the beetroot. I leave the best dessert for last, Neha cleverly ordered the chocolate souffle. It was spellbounding, the creme anglais cut through the chocolate’s depth and by the end Neha was scraping the bottom of the ramekin. This souffle also had it’s opening act as the Chef elegantly put a hole in the middle and poured the creme anglais into the middle of the souffe causing a chocolate eruption. That wasn’t the end, this show is not over yet. The encore of petite fours and coffee was the icing on the cake. We couldn’t move from our seats and we didn’t for another half an hour. We bantered with Julien and Clemente, I disappointed them with my Star Wars ignorance. We shocked them when we told them we weren’t going to the Australian Open though we were in Melbourne during it. Funnily enough, I think it swayed us into going the next day to watch Rafael Nadal battle it out with Roger Federer on the big screen at the Australian Open grounds. It was time to go as we had planned to meet up with a friend and it was bordering 4pm. Before we left we did need a rest at the Lui Bar, taking all the opulence in. Then through the maze of mirrors we found the lifts. The hostess stopped us before we headed into the lift giving us ‘Morning after’ bags filled with brioche, toasted muesli and jam. So that’s breakfast for the next day ticked off the list. All in all Vue de Monde blew me away. It was a culinary experience, I am brave enough to say the best one so far in Australia. The food was creative, mind blowing, imaginative and no I’m not copying words out of a thesauras. From start to finish you are made to feel so special and I think that’s what sets Vue de Monde a part. The service is exceptional and as Julien explained to us they learn the menu through tasting sessions where they brainstorm describing words to help diners like us with our million questions. Do yourself a favour, if you want escape to a new foundland where you are king/queen of the castle then you must take the lift to the 51st floor of the Rialto Tower. You truly feel like you are on top of the world.

THE FOOD JOURNEY

How awesome is the table setting!

THE DESTINATION