Deko Boko

Deko Boko

This is my 100 Blog so i am really happy as i have persevered this long... Anyway  Deko Boko has only been around for 7 months. We had been invited to go try this place so we thought why not. I would not call it completely traditional but it had that aspect to it. It is a narrow restaurant that is long and can fit a fair amount of people. It was very quiet when we arrived but got busier when we left.

 I normally worry about parking in the city / Richmond but after 6:30pm parking is free out the front so we had no problem at all.

It is a very clean restaurant with random displays to which i did not expect.

I ordered a Japanese rice lager beer which was very light and not bitter so it was easy to drink. Kim ordered a Whisky Sour and i was impressed with it as it tasted like a Whisky Sour should,  as some places use cheap alcohol so it not sweet or have that Whisky taste.

For Entrees we ordered the Pork Gyoza and it came with three sauces, light soy sauce , chili mayo sauce and a sesame sauce. The gyoza skin is light and the filling was juicy. I love chili so i added it but it did not really need sauce as the flavours inside were perfect.

We also ordered a Bao to share We ordered a vegetable croquette and the bao was light and fluffy, the croquette was crispy and that sauce added a bit of sweetness. Normally we would order Pork but we wanted something different and we were happy with our choice.

 

For my mains i ordered the Wagyu beef curry and it was not a spicy but a sweeter curry and the beef was cooked really well as it melted in your mouth and was an amazing dish.

We had a concoction of a dessert that had green tea ice cream, red bean ice cream and black bean ice cream i think. It had fresh bananas and strawberries, it was a very refreshing dessert and the ice creams did not have that icy taste like some that have been defrosted then refrozen.

 

The staff are very pleasant and i was happy with the restaurant overall i will go back in the future.

Kind E-gards
Dale Stewart

Deja Vue Bistro

Deja Vue Biststro

I haven't done a food blog in a while and i have a few to do. So i will start with this one.

Philippe Mouchel had a restaurant called PM24 and it was a fancy french fine dining . The food was fantastic and the place just suited the restaurant. He took off a year to go travelling and has come back and opened up a pop-up restaurant.

For starters i ordered the Escargot with Parisienne Gnocchi and like all fancy places you get fresh baked bread with butter salt and pepper.

I love snails and have since i was young. Our parents made us try a variety of food growing up so i am not afraid to try anything. This dish was amazing as the snails had not been overcooked like places do and the gnocchi exploded in your mouth

. 

 I ordered the beef cheek, there was no fat or anything like that. It was very sweet and juicy, it fell apart as yo ate it. A very nice meal

For Desert they had a great selection,

Once they had been plated they looked even better, i did not order a desert because i had eaten a lot of food.  

After all that they gave us small fruit and nuts covered with chocolate.

The food was beautiful and we will go back again.

Thank you for reading,

Kind E-gards

Dale Stewart

The B.east Burger

The B.east Burger

We have been to the B.east burger once before and i don't know why i didn't do a blog. here is my Vlog instead

Thanks again Ben Salter for letting me use your song as the backing track for my vlog I really appreciate it

Ben Salters website.

New Album The Stars My Destination

and of course please subscribe to his Youtube channel and mine if you have not done so yet.
Kind E-Gards
Dale Stewart

10 Minutes By Tractor

10 Minutes By Tractor

I have wanted to go to 10 Minutes By Tractor for a about a year now and had planned to go with a group of friends for my birthday. That ended up not happening but our friends decided they would still take us for me as my birthday gift. They picked us up at 7pm as the booking was for 8:00pm. It is a 45 minute drive down to Main Ridge and it is a beautiful drive as it is in the country. It was raining quite heavily but that did not dampen the mood as we were excited to be going.

  I could not get any good photos because of all the rain and being dark from the front. It is a small restaurant and most customers were dressed like you were at a expensive establishment except for a few who had t-shirts and jeans. They had an extensive alcohol list including a limited range of cocktails but the wine list is amazing.

 They do A' la carte or the Degustation and the Degustation is either a 5 course or a 8 course. We had all not really eaten to save space so we went the 8 course. Most of the fine dining experiences we have done  give you small portions but not here. We should have done 5 courses but we know for next time. With all fine dining restaurants the presentation is the main key and it makes you want to eat the food straight away. Being a two hat restaurant i had some expectations.

We ordered a bottle of wine of

2001 Jean Raphet et Fils Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Lavaux St. Jacques which was the best wine i have ever had, no tannin and was so smooth. 

I am not sure what the first taster was i was so focused taking pictures.

For starters we had Somers Soft Goat Cheese with slow roasted grapes, fennel and celery relish with a walnut crunch.

I don't really like goats cheese but the flavours worked well together with the roasted grapes. It was sweet, creamy and salty all at the same time.

Second course.
We had Grilled Yellowfin Tuna with marinated eggplant, compressed cucumber, tomato salad and black olive crunch.

The tuna melted in your mouth and worked really well with the eggplant and salad.The eggplant was not over cooked and not undercooked. The vegetables are grown on the property so it is all so fresh.
 The serves were big but that did not stop me eating the bread. The bread had a warm homemade garlic butter that was addictive and amazing.

Third course.
The third course had Seared Scallops with roasted pumpkins, chickpeas, green beans and artichoke chips

I really don't like artichokes normally but like any male you fry something and make them crispy, you change the flavour to an amazing chip and it goes down well. The Scallop were quiet big and the pumpkin was soft and juicy.

Forth Course.

We got some more seafood, pan seared local Mussels with zucchini and pomme puree (apple).

The thing i love about Degustations is they make food that i don't like taste soo amazing. i did not realise i ate mussels until just a moment ago. The mussel was not tough like a lot of places do it and thats probably why i did not realise what it was.

Fifth course.

My favourite course Roasted quail with pearl barley fig puree and a beetroot vinaigrette and a brioche bun.

The quail was sweet from the puree and beetroot and fell apart as you ate it also the drumsticks are so cute. We had all eaten our buns before i realised i did not have a photo. We were starting to struggle now as we had eaten a lot of food and still had three courses.

Sixth Course.

We got Roasted Duck Breast  with golden raisins, pumpkin and chestnuts.

It was a big piece of breast but like with all the other meats was cooked so well....perfection. The pumpkin and gravy just added some more flavours. i was in heaven almost as i had Quail and Duck cooked just right.

Seven course.

The last of the dishes was Grass Fed Cape Grimm Sirloin Steak with open ravioli beef cheek, sauteed mushrooms and sauce.

I really struggled to finish my meal but i managed too finish it. The cheek and steak had no fat as it was top quality meat. The steak was rare on the inside but a bit crispy on the outside. It was the perfect meal to finish of the dishes.

We got a sorbet grapefruit palate cleanser.

It was a bit sour in order for you to taste and appreciate the desert that much better. 

Thank goodness it was a light thing to eat and then we got dessert

For Dessert we got a Chocolate Ganache with plum orange and pistachio chocolates.

The ganache was the best thing i have eaten in a while. So smooth and creamy and sweet.

We then got chocolates but i felt so sick from eating i could not take the pictures.

The staff were so friendly and accomodating. the food was just amazing and went beyond my expectations and i will be back as soon as i can. Thank you so much for an amazing night.

Thank you Kathy and Sam for a fantastic night and it was an amazing birthday gift. I felt so special to be treated to such a spectacular dinner.

Have you been here?

Leave a comment.

Kind E-gards

Dale Stewart

Woodland House

Woodland House

Over the last few years Kim and I have been to a few degustations, we have been to Nobu in the Crown Casino and in Hollywood, vue de monde,  Eau De' Vie  and a few others. It was our 2nd Year Anniversary on Saturday night and i wanted to do something special. Last year we did not celebrate because we went to America instead. This year we celebrated by going to Wood Land House.
As you walk up the stairs to this mansion you ring the bell and they open the door, well everyone else did i just opened it and the guy looked really confused. They took us to our seats.
We had a choice of a five course or a eight course. Degustations never really fill me up so i ordered the eight course.

As a starter they gave us Purple Congo Potato crisps. The crisp was very crunchy and light, a little bit salty but interesting at the same time.

The second course was Foie gras with kiwi and a hint of chilli. It was fried so as you ate it, it exploded in your mouth. I guess thats what i like about degustations you get to try different foods cooked different ways.

The next dish was Smoked oyster, abalone with compressed cucumber and samphire. Samphire  is a coastal species with white flowers that grow in the United Kingdom.

 We got given bread, they had two choices of fresh brown bread and a scroll. Over the evening i ended up eating four of each because i was really hungry.

The third dish was Tamarind glazed kingfish, wood ear and preserved grape. Wood ear is a edible fungus that is used commonly used in Asian cooking.

The fourth dish was Rock flathead with lemon verbena and mustard. Lemon verbena is a small shrub had adds a flavour of lemon when used in cooking. It was a nice twist to fish without adding actual lemon.

We had two  surprise dishes, the first one was spanner crab with coconut and bamboo salt. It was quite refreshing with the coconut. 

The second surprise dish was Wallaby with a special cracker, I have had kangaroo but never wallaby so it was a nice surprise.

The fifth was the standout and my absolute favourite dish, i took a photo of the menu but i did not read it so i was not expecting this. Quail, golden beetroot, duck tongue and purslane. Purslane is considered a weed in the United states but it added to food because it has a salty taste. The quail was cooked perfectly and so was the duck tongue. Duck tongue is hard to cook as it is small and can get rubbery very quickly. Most times i have had it, it is just fried so it is crispy. 

The sixth dish was Poached and roasted veal, asparagus and pickled kohlrabi. Kohlrabi is a type of cabbage.

The seventh dish was Venison, candied buddhas hand and juniper. I thought it was a carrot but i was mistaken because it tasted different. The venison was cooked well.

The eighth dish was Wood roasted corn with butter ice cream and chocolate.  It all worked together so well and tasted amazing.

We also had Yarra Valley berries wild fennel and a vanilla slice type thing.

The last treat was nuts covered in chocolate.

 It was a really nice evening and lovely way to spend our two year anniversary.

Kind E-Gards

Dale Stewart