Taste of Melbourne 2009

The gorgeous painted ceilings of the Royal Exhibition Building and two chocolate works of art from Sisko Chocolate

Oh what a gorgeous building! That was the first thing I uttered after stepping off the tram in Carlton. Well, that and let’s get the hell on in, it’s bloody cold! After battling torrential rain, crowds, a muddy park and the blazing sun at March’s Taste of Sydney, I’m incredibly relieved that its Melbourne counterpart was held indoors.

Top-left clockwise: MoVida bar, USA Foods, dessert from Jacques Reymond, Puddings on the Ritz

Sheltered inside I continued to ooh and aah at everything like the proverbial out-of-towner: the sound of my boots on polished hardwood floors, the amazing painted ceilings and the civilised evening atmosphere. It felt more like of an art gallery opening than a food festival.

Royal Exhibition Building, Carlton

Yes this post is unforgiveably late but as I’m sure all you lovely readers should know by now, the Taste Festivals are all about the gathering of the city’s top restaurants, gourmet producers and winemakers under one roof for a few hours of culinary pleasure. What better way for a wide-eyed Sydney girl to experience a general spectrum of Melbourne’s dining institutions?

Della Mano – purveyor of delectable gourmet chocolate brownies

Some of the city’s known restaurants were well represented with their equally famous chefs in tow ready for photos and autographs; Frank Camorra (MoVida), Jacques Reymond and of course Masterchef’s Gary Mehigan amongst others. Stud of the night surely has to be The Press Club’s George Colombaris who never seemed to be without happy fans and giggling girls. That Greek accent… sexy yes?

Merchandise from Nobu

While my entourage of The Captain and Laurent Garnier were busying themselves at the wine tasting, I happily meandered amongst the gourmet food stalls, which sadly seemed lacking. I was surrounded by alcohol and winemakers more than anything else – not entirely a bad thing mind you – but if you were hankering for a non-alcoholic beverage? Bad luck. Taste of Sydney definitely had more variety of gourmet producers and at least there were water stands and a few organic juice stalls. Unless I was walking through Melbourne blind?

Always my festival favourite – Beechworth Honey

But the real centre of attention was of course the food and I had the The Captain and Melbourne’s own Laurent Garnier as my hungry entourage. One thing that I noticed was that the restaurant stands were all separated into little groups and appeared scattered about the venue amongst the gourmet food stalls. Scouting down 3 entrees, 3 mains and 3 desserts from 5 different restaurants took a bit of strategic work and genius logistical planning but I still found myself a bit lost and annoyed.

Top-left: chocolate fountain from Green & Blacks Organic Chocolate, more chocolate art from Sisko Chocolate

Clearly the trio of The Press Club, Maha and Hellenic Republic proved the most popular, but it was Botanical that got us frothing at the mouth, as we eagerly snapped up their 3 courses. Since it was the first opening night, the crowds were minimal, the queues were sane and seating was easily found, unlike in Sydney where a majority of us had to balance our plates in our hands and eat as gracefully as we could while hiding behind stalls to shelter from the wind and sun.

Moevenpick Ice Cream

Circa The Prince

The sashimi of yellow fin tuna with roasted prawn, sesame and avocado from Botanical was a fresh way to start the night off and though we lamented, laughed and pulled faces about the rather pitiful portion of two (tiny) seared Hervey Bay scallops with Thai style sher wagyu beef and crispy Asian salad from Jacques Reymond, we were promptly silenced after we put fork to plate. The scallops were perfectly cooked – succulent, fresh and plump – and a sublime combination of light and subtle Asian flavours.

Botanical

Jacques Reymond

The Captain’s Wagyu burger from Botanical had a strong marinated flavour of peppers and spice that was quite unlike all the wagyu burgers I’ve tasted from festivals and burger joints in Sydney but it was utterly tasty no less. Laurent Garnier’s tempura of quail breast, tajine flavours and whipped Persian fetta from Jacques Reymond also had all of us grinning.

Botanical

Jacque Reymond

I went down the path of Fifteen for a slow roasted porchetta-style pork belly with a salsa verde and lentil du puy. I tend to be extremely blasé about pulses unless they’re done right and tasted spectacular and alas, these lentils didn’t sing to me. Neither did the limp piece of pork that bore no crackling to speak of. A poor choice on my part.

Fifteen

Fifteen’s dessert fared a little better with The Captain’s vanilla panna cotta and slow cooked quince (which I adored) but paled in comparison to Jonah’s ultra wobbly, ultra smooth ‘booby’ panna cotta at Taste of Sydney.

Fifteen

My dessert just had to be chocolate so it was on to the mousse of The Brasserie by Phillipe Mouchel with its salted caramel ganache and Tonka bean anglaise. But the winner was Botanical again with its pavé of Valrhona chocolate with burnt orange cream and candied cumquat. I’m simplying climaxing at the mere thought of it.

The Brasserie by Philippe Mouchel

Botanical

A big thanks to Ed for the complementary entry tickets but if I had to pay for my own, would I come again to Taste of Melbourne? Possibly. Even though the entry prices were actually more expensive than Sydney and the value is always questionable, it’s still a decent culinary attraction for those who don’t normally get a chance to sample the wares of Melbourne’s restaurants. But next year, can they please add a couple of soft drink stalls? That goes to you too Sydney!

Cheers Melbourne!

Taste of Sydney has already been confirmed for 2010 on March 11-14th and Taste of Melbourne August 26-29th.

Taste of Melbourne
Royal Exhibition Building
9 Nicholson Street, Carlton Gardens
Carlton VIC 3053

Tagged as: Food Event, Melbourne, Taste of Melbourne, Victoria