Calia

Calia

Now our girl is 5 months old and needs all the attention it takes anywhere from a week or a month to complete a blog so while i have 10 minutes free hopefully i can complete this review in one go. Last week our friends invited us to go to Calia for dinner and because it said Michelin star i expected it to be expensive or have tiny serves. It is a beautiful small restaurant with a Japanese shop attached to it.
The menu is simple yet elegant. The alcohol prices are not over priced either.

 For Starters we he had fresh raw scallops with a wasabi sauce. The scallops made me feel like i was back in japan, so fresh and juicy. They melted as you ate them and it had a sweet but tangy taste from the wasabi and lime. After the first few i really wanted more. We also had the truffle fries because why not right? They were so crispy and the truffle just added some extra flavor. It was not over empowering but just added some extra wow to it.

For Mains I had the premium 9+ Wagyu sliced  beef with an egg and rice. It was absolutely amazing as the meat was tender and juicy and i loved the sauce that it had. Best beef in Melbourne by far. 

For dessert we had the highly recommended matcha lava cake. The matcha just added another level of awesomeness to it. As you cut into it the sauce oozed out and it melted like it should. It was the perfect mix of chocolate and matcha.

It is an great restaurant and worth a visit. We will be back for sure.
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

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

Monk Vegan Degustation

Monk Vegan Degustation

We have been going to Monk Bodhi Dharma for a few years and have also been to the Friday dinners but we have never done the Degustation at the Cafe' or a Vegan degustation. It you have never been here it is a bit hard to find as it is hidden in an alleyway. 

It is a very small rustic sort of cafe and has an amazing selection of coffees and teas.

We had no idea to expect so it was going to be an interesting night. We ordered the Strawberry and rock melon Smoothie with Maple Syrup. Is was sweet and creamy and very filling.

The first thing we had was a palate cleanser, it was a tomato , cucumber and spiced water. I don't like tomato juice so i did not really like it but it was interesting to say the least.

The next dish we had was a  Tarator and it had Coconut yoghurt with cucumber and pineapple.

  

I don't eat much yoghurt but it was a nice mix, it was sweet and a bit tart with some crunchiness.

The next dish was the Quinoa Cake, it had quinoa , dill butter and tomato.

It was very crunchy and buttery, the flavours were amazing and completely different.

We then had green olives with artichokes with a thyme mayonnaise.

  

The mayonnaise helped change the flavour of the olives so it was not as salty.

The next dish was my favourite Watermelon and Feta. It had watermelon, sharp feta and freeze dried raspberries.

I would have never thought it would have worked as well as it did. It was sweet and crunchy yet smooth and salty, it was AMAZING.

The next dish was chilli , macadamia and mango.

It was not a hot chilli but had a little bit of spice, the macadamia paste gave it structure and the mango gave it a fresh taste.

Most of the courses had bit smallish so the next course was quite big. We got a Persian Stew and it had  vegetables, persian lime, barberries, rice and salad.

I mixed the rice in the stew and it was cooked to perfection. The potatoes fell apart as you ate them. The rice was soft and fluffy with a little bit of crunchiness. It was heavy from the potatoes.

The next dish was also a favourite, the sweet potato stack. 

So it had sweet potato on the top and the bottom like a sandwich with a almond chevre. Almond chavre is cultured almond paste and used to replace goats cheese. The flavours worked so well together and i could go vegan if i had food like this. I was starting to get full and that does not happen very easy with degustations.

The next dish was melon caviar.

I just ate it in one bite and it was sweet from the melon and chewy. The flower gave it a slight bitter taste afterwards.

The first dessert was the Space Library 

The reason they called it space library was because they love the movie Interstellar and it refers to a scene? Anyway it was layered sponge with fruit , berries, vanilla. It was sweet and i would never had expected it to vegan.

The last dish we had was a deconstructed snickers bar.

It had chocolate, peanuts and caramel. It was sickly sweet, crunchy and if you were still hungry this would fill you up. The menu said there was a Mignardises but we did not get one, maybe they ran out?

It did not matter as we ate so much and was amazing value for money.

We loved it all and we will do it again.

They are doing another one on Valentines day and if there is space DO IT..seriously.
Thanks for reading.
Kind E-gards
Dale Stewart