8 Whiteman St, Southbank 9292 8300

 

Chiboust, exaggerated blackberries, basil sorbet, hazelnuts, hazelnut oil, mint chocolate and puff pastry

Lychee and pine nut tartare, white chocolate, raspberries, gruyere cheese, lychee bubbles and poached raspberries

Mandarin and yogurt ice cream balls

Chestnut honey yogurt, milk crumb, scorched ruby and pink grapefruit poached in elderflower, elderflower jelly, caramelised seville orange, peach/honey/yogurt sorbet and orange isomalt sugar

Housemade dulce leche mousse in a mango glaze, mango poached in kaffir lime leaf, oat cookies, dark ale granita and a multigrain crouton

Dark chocolate sauce, milk chocolate cremeux, dark chocolate frozen soil, pistachio crumb, strawberry sorbet, dried strawberries and strawberry dust

Complimentary take home chocolates: Raspberry milk chocolate & Yuzu and chai dark chocolate

Overall:

I simply LOVE dessert. I am one of those people who always has room for something sweet. So when we decided to come and sample the new dessert degustation menu at Mr. Hive, I was very excited. And I must say, the dessert here did not disappoint.

The dessert bar was overseen by pastry chef John Demetrios, for whom I have a lot of respect. Previously the pastry chef at Circa, he was responsible for some of the best soufflés that I have ever tasted in Melbourne. As we sat at the bar and watched him at work, I marvelled at how quick and neat he was at assembling all the delicate little pieces and tiny details that made up each dessert. Although I thoroughly enjoyed every single dish that John created, the stand out elements for me were the basil sorbet (strikingly fresh with a strong basil flavour), the mandarin yogurt ice cream balls (which were lightly scorched before being served so that the ice cream inside was soft and bursted with flavour once you bit into it) and the dark ale granita (beautifully refreshing).

Note that the dessert degustation menu changes weekly every Tuesday and that the dessert bar only seats 6 people so bookings are recommended.