CAROUSEL - Formula Fine Dining

22 Aughtie Drive, Albert Park Lake - ph: (03) 8646 6000

Carousel at Albert Park Lake has one of the best views of Melbourne's skyline. At sunset, there is no better place to be sipping a glass of champagne while celebrating a special occasion with friends.

I was very happy to be invited to the Formula Fine Dining event tonight.

The event was part of a fine dining series of corporate entertainment during the 2012 Formula 1 Grand Prix. This year's chefs included Matt Moran, Manu Feildel and Philippe Mouchel.

Our guest chef tonight was My Kitchen Rules presenter, Manu Feildel. The evening started with canapes and F1 sponsor Mumm champagne served at the balcony overlooking Albert Lake at the sound of a jazz trio. Nice music, atmosphere, drinks, venue... the night promised to be an event to remember.

Our three course menu included:

Scallops with hazelnut butter: cooked perfectly, covered in silky butter and crunchy hazelnuts. Perfect combination of textures and flavours.

Chicken liver parfait on croutons had, again, fantastic texture and taste - I had a few of these!

Entree of mussel and saffron pies

The pie was served in a ceramic bowl covered with puff pastry. It was more like a thick mussel and saffron stew than a pie, really. Very tasty - I loved the strong taste of saffron - but not as dense as I would expect a pie filling to be.

Main of kingfish with pickled baby onions and bacon, served with a celeriac puree

I really enjoyed this dish. The fish was cooked well and the onions and bacon added a touch of sweet and sour that complimented the celeriac puree.

Manu Feildel was a charming host. He took time to talk to the guests and was a very entertaining speaker as well.

It was a great night and a perfect way to finish our day at the track.

THE BOTANICAL Melbourne Food and Wine Festival

169 Domain Rd, South Yarra - ph: (03) 9820 7888

Restaurant express, Food and Wine festival, take 2.

Our second festival lunch special was at The Botanical in South Yarra.

If you missed my first festival post; a number of fine dining restaurants are offering a special lunch menu during the Melbourne Food and Wine festival where you get 2 courses + a glass of wine + tea and coffee for $35. Express lunches are a budget friendly way to try out new top rated Melbourne restaurants.

This was my first visit to The Botanical after their renovation early last year and under the new executive chef Cheong Liew.

Today, we were choosing dishes from their festival menu and ordered:

Entree of cold poached veal, confit tuna, radicchio and capers. I was a bit disappointed when the dish was served, as I was expecting a tuna steak instead of tuna paste.

Cold poached veal, confit tuna, radicchio and capers

Although I didn't like how this dish looked, I loved the taste. The finely sliced veal went well with the tuna paste and the capers added great texture and a touch of tang.

I chose cod fish with creamed silverbeet and butter sauce for main. Presentation was again a bit disappointing as I was expecting a nice tall cod fillet with firm flesh. The portion served was a tail fillet, which has more fat and softer meat.

Rock cod, creamed silverbeet, butter sauce

Again, the dish tasted better than it looked. The fish was cooked well, silverbeet was creamy and sweet and the butter sauce added some saltiness.

Hubby ordered crispy duck with thai salad for main.

Crispy duck, Thai salad, peanuts

I liked this dish. The duck was very well cooked, the sweet and sour thai flavours were nicely balanced in the salad and the peanuts added texture. I didn't really understand the creamy coconut rice in this dish. Don't think it went very well with the other ingredients on the plate.

We had our eyes on dessert (extra $10 for an extra course) and chose the chocolate mousse cake with blood orange terrine.

Balthazar and blood orange terrine

The menu described the chocolate cake as 'balthazar' - no idea where the name comes from.

The cake itself was delicious and definitely the highlight of our meal. Lighter than air layers or dark and milk chocolate just melted in the mouth. Both the blood orange terrine and yoghurt ice cream worked well to balance the sweetness of the cake and deliver a combination of flavours to every mouthful.

I enjoyed the meal overall. Every dish was tasty and well executed. It was clear though they were trying to save money on the ingredients used and I hope that was a reflection of the festival prices charged. The Botanical is meant to be a fine dining restaurant after all; I'd be very disappointed to see off-cuts on their full priced menu.

THE MESS HALL

51 Bourke St, Melbourne - ph: (03) 9654 6800

I have recently discovered The Mess Hall at the top end of Bourke St and I'm lovin' it.

The Mess Hall is a set at a narrow and long space flooded with sunlight from a large glass roof at the back. Simple white walls reflect light and make it cosy. Great atmosphere.

Today I quickly stopped by for a bite to eat before a meeting. The chicken and avocado sandwich was all I was looking for: crunchy sourdough baguette filled with tender slices of chicken breast, home made mayo, chunky avocado and fresh spinach leaves.

Simple, fresh, tasty and the perfect size.

Chicken and avocado baguette ($9.50)

The Mess Hall serves breakfast, lunch and dinner and the menu ranges from takeaway sandwiches to more substantial Italian pizza and pasta dishes. I have tried - and liked - their coffee, but am yet to try the breakfast menu.

Another post will follow soon, I'm sure.

BACKSTREET CAFE

152 Kerr St, Fitzroy

Backstreet Cafe is a new venture from the owners of Birdman Eating.

Like Birdman, Backstreet is operates as cafe by day and bistro by night. Also like Birdman, Backstreet's menu is creative and a bit quirky using wholesome ingredients - very Fitzroy.

Backstreet is aiming to be more upmarket though. You can tell by their impressive wine list, posh decor and fancy ingredients.

Hubby wasn't too impressed with the menu - which he thought was a bit overly complicated for breakfast food - and opted for the toasted muesli with yoghurt and fresh strawberries. Nice and simple.

I was up for some fancy brekkie and chose the day's special French truffle with scrambled eggs on toasted brioche.

French truffle with scrambled eggs on toasted brioche ($19.50)

I loved this dish. The eggs were cooked well, I got a very generous serve of shaved truffles to go with it and the sweet brioche provided a great base for the eggs. Simple, top ingredients, well executed.

There are also two options of baked eggs that vary regularly.

We chose the minced lamb, currant, burgul and allspice served with toasted sourdough. My friend really liked the combination of flavours here. The baked eggs were a pretty unexpected item on a breakfast menu and something worth a try.

Baked egg with minced lamb, currant, burgul and allspice served with toasted sourdough ($14)

I really enjoyed breakfast at Backstreet Cafe and am keen to try their dinner menu soon.

PM 24 - Melbourne Food and Wine Festival

24 Russell St, Melbourne - ph: (03) 9207 7424

One of the best things about Melbourne Food and Wine festival is the 'restaurant express'. Some of Melbourne's best (and most expensive!) restaurants offer a lunch special for the duration of the festival where you get a set menu of 2 courses + a glass of wine + tea and coffee for $35.

Express lunches are a budget friendly way to try out new top rated Melbourne restaurants.

First cab off the rank was PM 24. I haven't been there before and was looking forward to trying Philippe Mouchel's new place. I really liked dinner at The Brasserie a couple of years ago.

PM 24 is an upmarket French bistro and rotisserie. I was expecting simple food made with top ingredients and great technique...

... and it delivered. I could see their attention to detail from the moment we sat down. Warm sourdough was served in cute rustic fabric bags to keep them warm and accompanied by delicious French butter.

Warm sourdough bread

Hubby and I shared an entree of organic chicken liver terrine served with toasted sourdough, onion jam and salad.

Chicken liver terrine with onion jam on sourdough

The terrine was delicious. Great flavour and texture, not as overpowering as duck liver. I loved the slightly sour and very sweet onion jam. The flavours went really well together.

I chose the Tasmanian salmon for main, served silverbeet polenta and red wine jus. Tasty dish with perfectly cooked salmon. I enjoyed the soft polenta and the jus. Sadly there was not enough of it to go with the generous slice of salmon I got.

Tasmanian salmon with silverbeet polenta

Hubby ordered the duck leg with Paris mash and vegetables. We weren't very impressed with this dish when it was served. The duck looked really dark and overcooked. Surprisingly, the meat was tender once he cut through it.

Duck leg with vegetables and potato mash

For dessert we ordered a slice of apple and mirliton (known as choko in Australia) tart with pistachio ice cream. Mirliton is a tasty vegetable that I've only eaten before in savoury dishes. I was interested to see what it would taste like in a dessert.

Apple mirliton, pistachio ice cream

Unfortunately, I couldn't taste the choko at all in the dessert. It is a pretty blend tasting vegetable, so I guess the sugary apple would easily overpower it. The tart was nice, a bit too sweet for my taste. I really liked the pistachio ice cream. Smooth creamy texture and great flavour.

We had an enjoyable lunch at PM 24 - excellent cost benefit. I get a feeling I'll be carrying a few extra pounds by the end of the Melbourne Food and Wine festival!

IL FORNAIO

2 Acland St, St Kilda - ph: 03 9534 2922

I had the best breakfast EVER last Sunday!
It was such a lovely sunny morning last weekend that I couldn't resist going to the beach. Trying to make the most out of the last days of summer before the cold settles in...
I had been to Il Fornaio before when the cafe first opened with Philippa Sibley (of Philippa's bakery) as chef. Food was good, but the place was more of a bakery than cafe and cooked breakfast choices were pretty limited.
Things are much different now under the executive chef - Mark Boyd (of Bistro Guillaume and Jacques Raymond).
The menu is broader and more sophisticated. There is a strong emphasis on using top quality ingredients, which I absolutely love.
I was also impressed by the creativity in the menu. You can find all the staples - baked beans, avocado on toast, poached eggs - but always with a twist.
I ordered the spinach stack - fresh spinach, oyster mushrooms and ricotta on gluten free bread, topped with a generous portion of avocado.
The dish was exactly what I was looking for: simple, fresh, light, tangy and very filling.

Spinach stack - fresh spinach, oyster mushrooms and ricotta on gluten free bread, topped with avocado ($14) + poached egg ($2)

Il Fornaio offers a variety of freshly squeezed juices which included my favourite fruit juice - grapefruit. I was in heaven.

Freshly squeezed grapefruit juice ($6)

This place really surprised me. I had a lovely brunch sitting outside and enjoying the sun while sipping on my cold grapefruit juice. Staff was nice, the ambiance was relaxed and the price very reasonable. Definitely recommended!