Posts Tagged ‘French’
February 12, 2010 | 
Author 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
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.
Belle Epoque
1000 Ann St, Fortitude Valley
).Beware: Toast is not a toast but this beautiful chewy baguette… yummmmm! I don’t really know how to describe the taste sensation- the salty goodness of the parma ham, a tinge of sweetness in the crepe, chewiness of the baguette, the soft pillowfuls of egg and mozzarella. It’s really really good. Only thing I couldn’t taste was the potato- which is a bit disappointing.
Doritos had the ham whilst Cavs had the Salmon egg benedict and both were goooooodddd although Monkylicious did say the salmon was better. The sauce was the best, the eggs were cooked just right- not too runny and not too hard, served w/ crispy bread. Good even when it’s cold, which I will explain later.
Ohhh this is sooo rich but it tasted sooooo goooooddd. The Egg Cocotte is beautifully presented- Brioche Mouillette on one side (I assume that this means fingers of toasts), a pot (sorry Ramekin) of egg on the other. This is not just some random baked eggs- the eggs were so smooth that it felt like melt it your mouth custard- yummie! It is extremely rich and now that I am looking at the menu, I couldn’t see any crisp bacon chips on ours. Mmmm wonder what happened?
The service: really, the service needs to smarten up a bit in the very sassy restaurant. First they got Dorito’s Chai Latte wrong by giving her coffee, then they decided to forget her plate of food. Hence her egg benedict was cold. Still good, but cold and would have been better when hot. we don’t understand- obviously it had been made but they’ve left in on the counter and decided to ignore it? Overall, I give it 7.5 out of 10, as I have deducted 1 point for service. Boo Hooo for service.
The fruit tart was fantastic. Decorated with fresh mini pears, kiwi, blueberries and strawberries and the crust was really yummie and buttery (yep diet time next week!).
The chocolate macaroon are not as good as the ones in Cafe Vue I must say (will have to blog Cafe Vue’s one day), but then again the one I tried in Cafe Vue was a raspberry macaroon so I can’t really compare. The chocolate macaroon is still very nice though. It is rich and chocolatey and it melts in your mouth, but I think it’s a bit too sweet for my liking.
78 Williams Rd, Prahran, VIC 3181
(03) 9525 2178
Excuse the bad pics, I thought that they don’t allow photo taking, until everyone starts using flash -_- …and then my camera started to half died (the lens didn’t fully open)… Anyway back to the food.
As an appetizer we were served this Beard Papa puffy cheese thing, this is obviously much fresher, slightly warm, crunchy on the outside and soft and melt in your mouth on the inside. Yummm
We selected a degustation menu, $150 per person, good thing is we got the Entertainment Book- and we get up to $50 discount- Whooo hooo!
Dark chocolate- really really yummie, although Hubby thinks it’s a bit too sweet
Lemon tart is very citrusy- only for people who likes sour
Currant jelly- soft and squishy- very sweet
The raspberry something is very light, very yummie
Overall the food is very very tasty, I am a fan of rare cooking, so bloody meats don’t faze me, however some guys complain that it’s too rare. Service-wise, most of the waiters are very smooth and attentive, unfortunately there’s one lady there who is extremely obnoxious. She only acknowledge the presence of Hubby but not myself, when I ordered sparkling wine she assumed I wanted the cheapest, Yarra Block whereas I would like a Moet Chandon. One of the pleasing thing is to meet Jacques Reymond himself, who greeted each table so warmly. Oh and Hubby wanted more comfy chair, cos his arse was numb after a 4 hour dinner 9/10
Movida
1 Hosier Lane, Melbourne
(03) 9663 3038
I’ve always wanted to blog Movida, cos the food is soooo yummie. Movida is always bustling with activity, you’ve got to book months in advance for weekends.
San Jacobo de Cordoniz $7.50-Hunter Valley Quail, partially deboned, crumbed & filled w/jamon & Mahon Cheese- this was really good, the cheese all squish out when you bite into it- be careful of the bone though! It’ s only partially deboned!
Patatas Agrugadas $11.00- Canary Islands new season wrinkly salted potatos w/ spicy Mojo picon. Doh Just realised I didn’t take a pic of this. This is a dish where even the potato lover, Hubby, is not impressed with. Potato is a potato, no matter where it comes from, boiled potato with some sauce shouldn’t cost $11
Sorry Canary Island potato with maybe some exotic sea salts
Hot Ganache $12.50- served w/ vanilla bean ice creammmm & nougat- OMG… the hot ganache is HOT and Yummy! Crispy outter layer, molten hot dark chocolate inside, coupled with subtly sweet vanilla icecream, even Hubby who claimed that he’s totally full grew another stomach and ate more than half of that dessert. Noice.
Service is good, smart waiters changed our dirty dishes at appropriate times. 9/10 again- too bad for the ordinary potatoes
Posted in European, French, Melbourne | 
Tags: Degustation, French, Melbourne, spainish, Tapas | 
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