French
August 19, 2011 | 
Author France Soir
11 Toorak Road, South Yarra
(03) 9866 8569
France Soir is one of Melbourne’s “institutions”- open since 1986, it apparently has fans from all round the world, from rock stars to politicans. The problem with “institutions” are that patrons seemed to be a bit more forgiving if something doesn’t quite hit the mark.
Stepping into this bustling Brasserie, we were immediately directed to the bar- the waiter did not even bother asking whether we have a booking and we had to fight out way through the narrow corridor only to be waved back down the aisle where our table near the door is. In saying that the service is not too bad, just a little too brisk for my liking.
Food is a little less consistent. The entree of onion soup $14.50 was to die for, served piping hot and rich with cheesy goodness. The dumpling of sea perch with prawn sauce ($20) is equally fantastic, 2 pillows of cannelloni like “dumplings” sitting prettily on a intensely creamy prawn sauce full of flavours of the sea. The boys couldn’t help but mop the plates clean with the fresh baguettes provided.
The duck confit pate $15.5 got us a little bit confused- now we are not saying we are expert in french cuisine but we expected duck pate to be quite smooth, yet this has a texture of a rillette. On further inspection of the menu, the french name of this dish was indeed rillettes de canard. Either way the duck rillette/confit is very bland and I don’t think anyone would order it again. Oysters open to order ($17/6, $31/12) was very disappointing- it wasn’t very fresh at all. Thank god we only ordered 6.
The mains rated better amoungst our group- the fish of the day (market price) was John Dory, simply grilled and served with a wedge of lemon and a bunch of dill was very fresh and cooked to perfection. The rabbit of the day ($37) stewed in a creamy mushroom sauce manages to remain tender and succulent, although I must say the meat was not as flavoursome as I would like.
Saute scallops with King Brown Mushrooms (this is a mains size) is huge. The scallops are perfectly cooked however I found that the mushrooms are a bit bland- it just made the whole dish a bit boring. It would have been great if it was wrapped in a bit of speck (OK, once again NOT a French food connoisseur) or the mushroom cooked with a bit more cream and herbs perhaps.
The highlight of the mains would be the half roasted duckling with orange sauce ($36). The flavours of this dish really pops and balance each other out, there’s an intense orange flavour and yet it never masks the flavours of the duck. The duck is also surprisingly tender-I would definitely order this dish next time I visit.
Dessert, in my opinion is one of the most important part of the meal- it should provide a perfect finish to a dinner. Sadly, dessert (all $13.50) in France Soir was nothing to go nuts about. If LuxBite is open, which on this occassion it was not, I would highly recommend you to simply cross the road and enjoy some desserts there.
Why don’t they make their dessert fresh in France Soir? Is it really that hard? Our tarte tartin and crepe suzette was luke warm… one suspects that they microwaved it. I have the pleasure of trying freshly made tarte tartin and crepe suzette before and it’s simply world’s apart from what I am tasting here. Disappointment and empty calories does not make me a happy piggy.
If you must have dessert, creme brulee and the icecream/sorbets are a better choice. But once again, why not just cross the road? Luxbite is open till 9.
Overall, you just gotta be really selective in what you order in France Soir and you will probably have a good meal. As for whether it’s value for money… well, $98 including wine for an inconsistent meal is quite an expensive experience I must say. Will I go back? Probably only if I really have to. 6/10
P.S. Thank you Esky for all the wonderful food porn pics 
Posted in 
Comme
7 Alfred Place, Melbourne
03 9631 4000
PMummy and PDiddy (as in Piggyeatalot’s mum and dad) came over for a visit recently and it is of course my duty to introduce them to the foodie haven named Melbourne. I’ve never been to Comme before but heard fantastic reviews so we went on a very busy Friday night. A bubbly waitress served us, giving us some of their fabulous baguette and butter while we decide what to eat.
Hubby and I had the seared scallops with braised leeks and sterling caviar $25. The scallops are perfectly seared, a little bit rare in the middle. The braised leek is slightly salty but it complements well with the scallops. Not too sure whether $25 for 3 scallops is all that value for money though. 
PDiddy had the snails braised in Chardonnay and Butter. Sorry about the photo but I really hated snails… EEEEKKKKKSSSS! PDiddy is very happy with his dish though and wish there’s something like this in Brisbane.
PMummy had a cream of white onion soup. It’s not the conventional onion soup we normally drink. PMummy loved it, although I still like the brown coloured onion soup better. It’s just a bit too rich and creamy for me.
Time for mains! PDiddy’s confit duck legs ($36) tasted a little bit dry, but he claimed that it was perfect- not too sure whether it was just the bit that I tasted or not… hrmmmm
PMummy and I had the slow cooked beef ribs ($35). Beautifully presented and dotted with colourful bits of broad beans, tiny mushrooms and baby onions, with a side of buttery mash potatoes. 
The beef ribs are truly sensational- the beef ribs are tender and melt in your mouth, it is slightly fatty but that’s where all the flavours come from. I wish there was more of the beef but to be honest if we did get more I won’t be able to have the fabulous desserts later.
The desserts are fabulous- hubby had a really rich chocolate cake which is great cos it’s not very sweet. PDiddy had a chestnut tart with a sheet of chocolate and little bits of cute yellow flowers on top- he ate every last bit of it without sharing :’( 
I had the pear crumble souffle with creme anglaise. I love a good souffle- the top is crispy yet it’s light and fluffy inside- it was soooo good. The pear sorbet is quite tart and refreshing. A perfect finish to this decadent meal. 7.8/10
Madame SouSou
231 Brunswick St, Fitzroy
03 9417 0400
It was a hot Saturday morning and I am starving. Sick and tired of the city eateries we have decided to venture out to Fitzroy to get our feed. I’ve my belly set on this establishment for quite some time now- finally!
Half a dozen fresh oysters were ordered for entrees ($18)- Hubby reckons that the oysters are just as fresh as the freshly shucked ones from Tassie, although it tasted slightly too salty.
We both felt like steaks today, so Hubby ordered a 500g T-bone $35 while I ordered the grill of the day ($24).
Hubby’s half a kilo monster arrived swimming in a bath of Parisian butter- very very rich but oh so tender. For a second I didn’t think he would be able to finish it, but he polished off every single bit. He was eyeing on the bone wondering whether he could eat it with his hands I am sure.
Mine was a thin slice of minute steak w/ bearnaise sauce served w/ pomme frites. This was also very tender and the tarragon in the Bearnaise complements well with the beef. One wonders why there was a lemon on both dishes at first. But after the seond and first bite we quickly understood why- the lemon is there to cut through the fat of these rich, buttery food! The steak was really tasty but I could only finish less than half of it before abandoning it for my hubby. Hubby ate the half of my half but that’s about it also!
We also ordered a side of roasted potatoes because we’ve forgotten all about the pomme frites which was actually as big as a normal side. Fear not- hubby comes to the rescue and ate all of the roasted potato, garlic and all. I like the pomme frites better than the roast potato- it wasn’t as oily and the roasted ones feels a bit too powdery.
Overall it was a great meal, but in hindsight maybe I should have ordered something else- will definitely have to try their legendary breakkie that everyone else is talking about next time! 7/10
Tags: Richmond Hill Cafe & Larder
48-50 Bridge Rd, Richmond
(03) 9421 2808
I had the pleasure of heading off to RHCL for their annual Bastille Day dinner ($85/pp, 5 courses). When we arrived, RHCL’s small dining room was abuzz with anticipation. We squeezed past the packed tables and chairs to our shared table and waited expectantly for the appetizer to arrive.
It took about 25mins, finally our appetitzer arrived. Veal Consumme, little onion tartlet, goat’s cheese fritter and snails. I can sadly admit that I am not a “true” foodie, the thought of having snails or any wriggly “delicacies” make my stomach churn. But, since I have decided to write this food review, I was determined to try, at least one. The snail tasted buttery and garlicky, it’s actually tasted quite nice, the texture is nice and firm but not too chewy. I would recommend people not to look into too much detail on how the escargot are prepared, that’s also stomach churning material. Anyway, to the veal consumme- it’s quite nice and herby, kinda taste like some kind of chinese soup to be honest! The onion tartlet and goat’s cheese fritter is also very yummie and flavoursome.
Pate en Croute-Pate encased in pastry & served with a salad of frisee, cornichons (which is just gherkins, from France… shhh…) and walnut oil. This kind of pate that is baked in a crust is not as spreadable and fatty as the pate common in supermarkets. It tasted alright, but it’s not the best dish.
Bouillabaisse served with braised fennel and rouille- this is one of my favourite dishes- rich fish broth with lots of yummie seafood, including: mussels, pipis, red mullet and prawns… I can even eat a bit of the prawns cos it’s so fresh!
Boeuf Bourguignon served with truffled pommes mousseline – this is another one of my favourite dish. The beef was stewed perfection, falls apart when cut, tender and flavoursome. Yum. The truffled potatos are also very yummie and smooth… mmmmm I wonder if I can replicate this dish since I have taken a particular interest in the stew.
Our desserts- a shared plate of camembert is served with bread and dried grapes. The camembert is pungent and the grapes delicately balanced the flavours well. The bread tasted a bit stale though.
Tarte aux Pommes- Apple tart with Armagnac soaked prunes, leatherwood honey, walnuts and salted caramel icecream. I was hoping for a tart tartin to be honest. The vision of the one in T’Gallant still flash through my eyes and make my mouth water. Sadly, this is just an apple tart, it’s not bad, but it’s not tart tartin. The salted caramel icecream was really good though, I didn’t know how it would work, but it’s slightly salty, slightly sweet and very yummie. The walnut is, as one of the guys in the shared tabled said “sex personified”- I don’t know whether he’s overreacting, or drunk, but it WAS really crunchy, sweet and perfect.
Overall, the service was good, the food was fantastic, the timing is a bit slow though. 8/10
Michener’s Restaurant
Iririki Island Resort
Apparently Vanuatu has lots of good French-inspired restaurants, but no one has actually mentioned how expensive they are. Here is one of those famous restaurant, which, to be honest, didn’t live up to its reputation.
Lobster Bisque with Herb Crouton
We had Lobster Bisque for entree (1400 vatu, approx AUD$17.5). The lobster bisque is OK, although the first bite has a weird bitter aftertaste and it’s slightly fishy, it’s acceptable. But if I was to be quite picky, we had to spit out bits of fishy scales and the lobster bits, if, they are really lobsters, they are TINY.
Eye Fillet of Beef
Lobster Tortellini
Hubby wanted an eye fillet with homemade truffle fettuccini & pan fried foie gras, but unfortunately it’s not available. So instead, he had an eye fillet with creamy mash, asparagas and blue cheese sauce (2400vatu $30 AUD). Hubby only gave me one tiny bite, perhaps because the beef was actually not bad. It has a nice meaty flavour, although the beef is not as tender as the Aussie version, probably because they are organic grassfed beef. The potato mash is nice and garlicky and the blue cheese is subtle, which is great cos blue cheese is not exactly my favourite.
My lobster tortellini is less yummie… very much so. Hasn’t someone from Masterchef told some contestant that tortellini is hard to make and cook well? Huh? Huh? For AUD 32, this tortellini is not cooked evenly, or not even cooked thoroughly at all because some bits are too thick and some are too thin. The filling are quite uneven- some had more lobster, some had more vegies. But actually I rather have more vegies cos there are some RAW lobster bits inside I think… it’s a bit too dark for me to see but I can taste the slimey-ness. Yikes.
Kee Wee Bellini
And that’s not even the end of it. Everything in here works in “Island time”- it took me half an hour, several requests to get my kee wee bellini (kiwi bellini- why bother sounding exotic?). When it finally came, it’s just clumps of kiwi with sparkling wine- they didn’t even bother to muddle the kiwi- why the hell did that took so long to make?
Chocolate Souffle
Our dessert- chocolate souffle (900vatu, AUD $11) was even worse. First they bought us the wrong thing- Chocolate marble cheesecake instead of souffle, then when it came, the beautiful presentation hid what lies beneath- melted chocolate. Yes, MELTED CHOCOLATE. I don’t want melted chocolate! Souffle is my favourite- I want my fluffy, warm, lightly sweetened, melt in your mouth goodness! NOT HAPPY.
Baguette
Cuisine: French (Classic and Contemporary)
150 Racecourse Road
Ascot, Brisbane
(07) 3268 6168
The kitchen at Baguette has Michelin-starred chef Bruno Loubet at the reins, but only until April 30th. So if you have never been there’s still a couple of weeks for you to drop by and sample his menu. If you do go, I recommend that you visit the Baguette website and sign up to their mailing list to receive a $50 dining voucher, which is exactly what I did.
Baguette is situated close to the race tracks, fronted with a cosy bar area. We were greeted at the door by the restaurant’s owner Francis Domenech who helped direct us through a large crowd to the elegant dining area at the back of the restaurant.
It didn’t take us long to decide what to eat and after ordering the food came out quickly. We were quite early though and managed to order before the large group made their way from the bar to their table. We weren’t so lucky when we ordered our dessert though and had to wait while the 30 something people at a birthday party were served dessert before ours was ready. The staff were very friendly, attentive and apologetic, taking the time to explain the wait and reassure us that we weren’t forgotten.
Our first entree was the grilled mushroom caps with tallegio (cheese) bruschetta ($16.80). These didn’t last long at all. I absolutely love mushrooms and I also love cheese, and this was a wonderful combination.
We also ordered some spiced chicken pieces on a bed of cous cous. The chicken was really tasty and I loved the spices. This was a special for the month, so sadly, I’m not sure if it will be available the next time I go.
Hubby ordered a main that was on the special menu. Grilled moonfish on a bed of lemon and tomato with polenta chips. The polenta chips were really crispy. I’m sure they weren’t good for me, but it didn’t really matter at the time. The fish was fresh, tasty and nicely cooked. The dish was accompanied with a tuna aioli that hubby enjoyed a lot.
My sister ordered the chicken tagine ($29.80). The chicken was very tender but I didn’t like the flavour but this was mostly because there were olives in it which I am not a fan of. It was a very large serving though and my sister couldn’t finish it.
Mum chose the squid and prawn burger on a bed of aromatic vegetables ($28.50). Mum quite liked this dish, though it probably would have been just as successful without the hamburger bun. After enjoying the combination of seafood mum commented that she might go buy some prawns and squid to make something similar at home.
I ordered the 250gm sirloin steak, Bordelaise sauce and chips ($35.80). There’s also a 400gm option for $45, but if there are people out there who can order one and finish the whole thing, they should probably get a medal. The steak was good and I liked the rich sauce. I have to say though that it really needs either some salad or vegetables. I ended up giving half my chips away (Francis Domenech walked by and said I was being too generous) and ordering a side of vegetables ($6.50).
We were all very full after our meals so it took some time before we made a decision about dessert. Should we or shouldn’t we? The answer was of course, yes, we should.
I couldn’t pass on the Crème brûlée and citrus madeleine ($12). Baguette serves theirs in a shallow dish which excited me as there would be more caramelised sugar to creamy brulee. The citrus madeleine was very nice and the citrus icing was really strong. But I filled myself with the Crème brûlée and only had a tiny bite of madeleine.
My sister ordered the Chocolate soufflé with crème fraiche ($14.50) which was so light and fluffy. She was really happy that the others were too full and I preoccupied with my own dessert so that she could have most of it to herself.
Overall it was a very enjoyable night. The friendly service made it all the better and the wait for dessert was definitely worth it. Bookings are recommended and don’t forget to sign up to the newsletter for the dining voucher! They’re also in the Entertainment Book if you plan on getting your hands on the 2009 issue.
Cafe Vue
Normanby Chambers
FINALLY! I tried the lunchbox the first day it came out! Too bad it’s not as exquisite as the other Cafe Vue Monthly lunch box I had previously. For once, I didn’t have it as a takeaway, but this means it took about 20 mins for the food to arrive- and we’re in the early part of lunch time.
Starter Gazpacho
This starter is seriously good. Cold, rich Spanish soup slightly tingles with the taste of chilli.
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Salad Risoni with tuna
Risoni is just like the ones I ate about 2-3 months ago. Although I really love it and glad that I actually get to eat it again, I wish they cooked something a bit different.
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Savoury Chicken and mayonnaise sandwich with mâche lettuce
This sandwich is good too- but really, it’s just a good chicken sandwich.
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Sweet Crème caramel
I don’t like Creme Caramel either- I would much prefer a madeline, so I can’t really judge this. What I CAN judge is that me and my dining companion both got the lunch box- but only my dining companion got a spoon to eat her creme caramel, and I got nothing so I had to use my fork.
Once again, service is lax and you might as well just get takeaway. 4.5/10
Bistro Vue
430 Little Collins St, Melbourne
03 9691 3838
I have been looking forward to Bistro Vue for AGES, just because it’s so damn exxy to eat there any other time. I am so glad that we tried this today- we had a fantastic time and some very yummy food and wine.
We couldn’t help but select 3 courses again, which although yummy, was quite foolish. French food is very rich and having three courses of rich food equals lots of fat, jelly belly
Anyhoo, enough about my jelly belly. I selected a glass of 2005 Dalzotto Barbera King Valley, Victoria. I normally don’t like red wine, but this one was fabulous. It’s very easy to drink… yummmm I want more :p
For our entree we have a beautiful tomato tart- layers and layers of light pastry topped with tomato, fetta, micro sprouts and balsamic vinegar. It was soooo good but so filling already!
The mains arrived- slow cooked chicken on a bed of buttery, creamy mashed potato, dotted with skinless cherry tomatoes and mushrooms. Once again, this is fantastic- each ingredient is so flavoursome and yet everything went to well together. I couldn’t finish it though- I was full from the tomato tart
We had a beautiful (but once again very rich) Vanilla Bavarois served with poached fruits. Bavarois is like panna cotta, but much thicker and richer. It tasted nice with the poached fruit (although the strawberry looked somewhat dead ) but I doubt if I can stomach it on its own.
Tea and coffee is also included, but alas! They don’t have soy hot chocolate (only full milk chocolate). But cafe vue had soy! Why can’t they just go next door and grab some soy . So I got peppermint tea. This was served with canale, which looks a bit burnt But I loved the inside bit, which is moist and yummy but the others didn’t like it much
Service was fantastic and I would certainly give this place a 8.5/10
Normanby Chambers
Did I tell you that I’ve made it my personal mission to try the Cafe Vue lunchbox ($15) every month? Well, here is this month’s yummie selection:
Starter Pork pie with pea velouté
Very very yummie, esp the pea veloute, which just makes the pork pie just that little bit more unique. Cafe Vue could have just use their tomato sauce with it, which will still be brilliant being Vue, but pea just made this unhealthy pie seemed so much healthier
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Very fresh, lots of yummie tomato, the olives made it slightly saltier than it needed to be but nevertheless, very yummie.
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Is a very simple thick toasted bread with a tomato pesto in one layer, and a basil pesto in the other. Simple but very yummie.
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Sweet Fig and almond madeleine
This, is what Pannacotta would have called, pièce de résistance- This madeleine is just so yummie (and buttery!), and when you bite in to the middle, this fig jam just oozes out- not too sweet- just right.
As much as this made me just oh-so-excited, I am a bit put off by their service. They are great people when they are not busy, but when busy, the waiteress became snappy little devils who can’t wait to get you outta here. Thank goodness the cute little lunchbox cheered me up immensely and the rude service just flew out of the window in the first bite. 8/10
Roule Galette
Scott Alley, 241 Flinders Lane, Melbourne
(03) 9639 0307
This is one of my favourite French Crepe places in Melbourne. This tiny little place is very cosy and on this rainy day after a horrible run, we had breakkie here.
