243 High St, Northcote 3070 ph (03) 9489 4609
It's Date Night again and this time we booked for dinner at Estelle Bar & Kitchen. I've often admired the beautifully plated food from their degustation menu on my instagram feed since Scott Pickett (now over at St. Crispin) opened this lovely eatery over in Northcote.
We had an earlier sitting and only had time for the 8 course degustation ($100pp) (6 courses/$80, 10 courses/$120, matched wines optional extra). We started off with an amuse bouche, which was delightful and tasty, the standout of which would be the onion cream/mousse with the crackling. This was the start of an exciting food adventure!
The tomato, fior di burrata, & yellow gazpacho was surprisingly packed with flavour, and beautifully presented on a Glenn Tebble plate.
The hand rolled macaroni, slippery jack mushroom & pinenut is a great twist on the tradition, with sheets of rolled pasta and smokey mushrooms held together with a sauce packed full of umami. I am usually a "meat please" type of girl but I would happily gobble a plateful of this.
Next up was the spanner crab soldier. I loved the presentation and the spanner crab was lovely and delicate sitting on top of the slightly chewy soldier, giving it an interesting contrast in textures.
John Dory, artichoke and farro was a perfectly cooked piece of fish, and I have to admit I had to google what "farro" is (a type of grain). Again the crisps on top gave the dish a really nice balance in both flavour and texture.
Pork jowl and blood plums was our first meat dish, and I really enjoyed the tang of the plums both as a piece and in the sauce coupled with the oh-so-good fatty pork and a crispy skin.
The second meat dish was the wagyu rump, bone marrow & eggplant. Hubby found the combination of the fatty wagyu and bone marrow a bit overpowering but the glutton in me loved every bit of this dish.
On to dessert! The fig and beetroot was quite an unusual combination for me. I found the use of the freeze dried beetroot and the meringue really interesting but the sweet-tooth in me wanted this to just be a little sweeter.
Sadly we came to our last course, which was the chocolate, yuzu & gruetine, presented in the form of a beautiful and smooth mousse. A lovely sweet note to end the degustation.
Alas, there was one more little treat as we paid the bill and bid the lovely evening adieu. We lingered (just a little bit) over the sticky meringue, and exited to the apple-liciously tangy note in the sugar coated jellies.
The degustation menu at Estelle was a delightful experience which showcased the chef's mastery with fresh and interesting ingredients. The creativity of the dishes was impressive and refreshing, and the artfully presented dishes were a treat for the eyes as well as the taste buds. I am most certainly looking forward to our next visit with great anticipation!
John Dory, artichoke and farro was a perfectly cooked piece of fish, and I have to admit I had to google what "farro" is (a type of grain). Again the crisps on top gave the dish a really nice balance in both flavour and texture.
On to dessert! The fig and beetroot was quite an unusual combination for me. I found the use of the freeze dried beetroot and the meringue really interesting but the sweet-tooth in me wanted this to just be a little sweeter.
Sadly we came to our last course, which was the chocolate, yuzu & gruetine, presented in the form of a beautiful and smooth mousse. A lovely sweet note to end the degustation.
Alas, there was one more little treat as we paid the bill and bid the lovely evening adieu. We lingered (just a little bit) over the sticky meringue, and exited to the apple-liciously tangy note in the sugar coated jellies.
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