Verge
1 Flinders Lane, Melbourne
(03) 9639 9500

I am always a bit wary of Asian fusion restaurants, so this European/Japanese contemporary restaurant was not my choice- perhaps it’s the plethora of Asian fusion restaurants I’ve tried in Brisbane that scared me, for it certainly made me hesitant for ever.  This being said, Verge is different.  Verge is happy to use fresh ingredients; Verge is happy to try new things.  Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, but hey, at least they tried, and most turned out very, very tasty indeed.

This is my entree- Japanese eel tortellini, cauliflower, rice senbei (crispy rice), melon & spring onion $19.  Beautifully presented, simple and appetising.  The cauliflower puree works beautifully with the tortellini, and the eel is surprisingly good in the pasta casing.  I felt that the pasta was slightly undercooked though.

Hubby had freshly shucked oyster ($3 each) with Buff Boy and it was so fresh that at one point we thought one of the oysters was moving.  I’ve tasted a little bit and for those who know me, I absolutely loathe the fishiness of crappy oysters, but this one is so fresh that there’s barely a hint of the fishy aftertaste.

The mains came, and Hubby had a Grade 5 Chargrilled Wagyu Scotch, Miso braised brisket, smoked potato, beer onion skins $45.  Hubby let me try a tiny little bit and the beef was so tender and full of flavour.  The miso paste goes really well with the beef also- wonder if I can try this in my cooking- probably not.  The potato is way too smoky for me, it just tasted weird.

My main is a Hapuka on a bed of eel risotto dusted with wasabi powder with a Japanese berry $38.00.  Hapuka is a fish from NZ- it’s really fresh and it was cooked to perfection.  All the flavours are delicately balanced, but I can’t really taste the wasabi… maybe it’s for decoration purposes only?

I decided to share a dessert with hubby and the staff has thoughtfully halved the dessert for us for our convenience.  Obviously that means no cheating- I can’t have a bigger portion of this dessert! Doh!  Anyway, evil musings aside, this is the chocolate ganache with chestnuts, chestnut puree and chestnut icecream, mini donut, popcorn bits and popcorn flavoured icecream $15.  The chocolate ganache is smooth and it’s not too sweet. I love the whole concept of having bits and pieces of dessert to try, but the flavours are a bit weird, perhaps it’s because of the chestnuts- it’s in season and everything but it doesn’t seem to gel with anything else. The problem is that a bit of chestnut puree is on everything- the popcorn, the donuts…

Overall the food is great-but- what’s with the size of the dish?  They are so tiny that everyone ended up still being hungry afterwards.  I know there’s this whole miniature movement going on, but honestly, I think I’d like it better if mains are actually a main.  7.5/10