Vue de Monde (Melbourne CBD) 05/2015

I've said a lot about VdM over many years now. It continues to be marked by the highest standards in every element of a dining experience. The venue is outstanding, cutlery, crockery and glassware, which I have mentioned in previous posts, quite lovely. Riedell, Gabriel and Zalco glasses are exquisite and Christofsen cutlery extremely decorative, 



and functional of course. Service is impeccable.
Food, the freshest ingredients, is presented beautifully in unusual and unexpected combinations which delight the eye and the palate.. As usual we took the menu gourmand which is approximately a 10 course meal although it is hard to define quite what a course is at times. After  chips with salt and vinegar served with a macadamia puree and apple  three or four amuse bouche,

Oyster

Smoked eel, white chocolate, caviar

Truffle marshmallow

Barramundi, a roll of apple, apple vinegar with a touch of honey, caviar

David Blackmore Waygu strip loin, roasted onion, pickled mushroom,oyster mushrooms, pine mushrooms, onions and truffle jus. Although it does not look like it the waghu was medium to medium rare and rather unexpectedly tough.

On inspection the raw loin looked impressive.

Cucumber, wood sorrel

That 'fog' is evaporating liquid nitrogen freezing the herbs before they are crushed and the quenelle of  cucumber sorbet added

Quail, cabbage, beetroot puree. This must have been the best quail I have ever had. An indescribable pleasure. Boned out it was easy to eat and had an excellent flavour, light stuffing and a well matched jus.

Duck yolk, pear, truffle jus roast fennel sourdough bread and crisp fried saltbush. Mouth watering, forget the cholesterol.

Another unbeatable dish.

Marron, brown butter emulsion, a small crab cake, lemon.

 

Served without cutlery it was totally delicious. Three consecutive out of this world dishes!

Ox tongue, beetroot, bone marrow, yet another fine dish escaped without a picture!

This was followed by a long series of sweet things, cheese, and coffee.

Got to have cheese before the desserts.

Unbeatable souffle

And lots of petit fours

After a slightly unusual pinot colada

we enjoyed the following wines:

2012 Paradigm Hill 'L'Ami Sage' Pinot Noir, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria

2008 Yarra Yering ‘Dry Red No.1’, Yarra Valley, Victoria

2010 Castagna ‘Genesis’ Syrah, Beechworth, Victoria

Duck yolk, pear, truffle

2006 Louis Roederer Cristal, Reims, Champagne AOC, France

2014 Levantine Hill Chardonnay, Yarra Valley, Victoria

2014 Framingham Noble Riesling, Marlborough, New Zealand

2010 Mas Amiel Rouge, Maury AOC, France

A selection of petit-fours

2010 Les Grands Maréchaux Côtes de Blaye, Bordeaux, France

 Score:18.5 /20