Meringue

The Roving Marrow

Manuka smoked duck breast, liver parfait, caramel apricot

Well cooked duck with a wonderful combination of flavours.

★★★☆☆

Mozzarella pasta, peas, goats cheese

The mozzarella pasta was so amazingly smooth, while the fresh peas and goats cheese added incredible taste and texture.

★★★★★

Whole wheat sour dough with burnt butter

Quality butter and delicious sourdough fresh from the oven.

★★★★☆

Hen’s egg, smoked potato, shiitake, mushroom

Small but tasty.

★★★★☆

Potato chips and dip

These triple cooked chips were ordinary however the wasabi aioli dip was seriously top-notch.

★★★☆☆

Skull island prawn, creamed corn, kimchi salt

More delicious prawns please!

★★★☆☆

Strawberries, meringue, lychees, fragrant watermelon jelly

If only this strange watermelon jelly sheet contained something that looked and tasted more inspiring.

★★☆☆☆

Overall:

Sleek decor, attentive service, exceptional quality food. A place I would happily return to.

The Roving Marrow

418 Lygon St, Carlton, VIC

(03) 9347 7419

http://www.theastorcarlton.com.au/restaurant/

Lake House (revisited)

Veal tartare, mojama, bonito, nori

House baked sourdough

Confit trout, roe, cauliflower

Bug agnolotti, house kimchi

Skipton smoked eel in pancetta, new season beets

Limestone farms pullet egg, wild mushrooms, white polenta, porcini chestnut pangrattato

Seared duck breast, parfait, fig, muscatels, hazelnuts, salsify

Ginger and lemon shot

White chocolate mousse, poached pears, pear granita

Lollypop

Lemon curd meringue lollipops

‘An autumn ramble’

Almond biscuits, pistachio friands

Overall:

A perfect experience as always. We chose to get the autumn/early winter tasting menu and relished every single bite. My thoughts remain unchanged from my previous visit and I still believe that this place is worth a visit the next time you are in Daylesford!

Lake House

4 King St, Daylesford

5348 3329

Restaurant

Lake House

Punch Lane

House smoked tuna, goats curd, pickled fennel, mustard seeds

This entree was originally served on a different plate and our waiter divided up the contents, hence the careless presentation. The creamy goats curd, sharp fennel and spicy mustard seeds were perfect accompaniments for the wonderfully smoky tuna.

★★★☆☆

Roasted quail, almond cream, grape bath, vine leaf, red grapes

Crispy tender quail with extremely sweet grapes.

★★☆☆☆

Roast baby snapper, cauliflower, capers

★★☆☆☆

John Dee Black Angus scotch fillet, roasted shallots, harissa and watercress

The harissa was quite mild and did not overpower the tender scotch fillet

★★☆☆☆

Peanut butter parfait, dulce de leche, peanut brittle

The parfait itself was delicious but remarkably rich. Sharing this dessert would be a good idea.

★★☆☆☆

‘A bit of a mess’: strawberry sorbet, frangipane, custard, meringue, Antico Rosso jelly

★★☆☆☆

Overall:

I first ventured here almost a year ago and I remember being truly impressed with the food. Thus I decided to once again order the five course menu however this time I left feeling disappointed. The food was good but not outstanding (like my previous visit) and the portions served were TINY. (The tuna and quail each took all but three small bites to finish). In fact we ended up having a second dinner someplace else that night. I understand that fancy places tend to have smaller portions and I wouldn’t be grumbling so much had the dishes been more superlative. Perhaps things will be different with the next menu change. On a positive note the service was wonderful and the atmosphere was lively. I really do hope that Punch Lane was just having an off night with their food.

Punch Lane

43 Little Bourke St, Melbourne, VIC

(03) 9639 4944

http://punchlane.com.au/

O.My

23 Woods St, Beaconsfield 9769 9000

House-made bread with cultured butter

Fabulously soft bread, and the cultured butter was absolutely delicious as it had a noticeably fresh, tangy and of course buttery flavour

= Good

Pastrami cured salmon in pork broth with radish and watercress

Fresh salmon, fantastic pork broth

= Good

2.5 hour roasted cauliflower, leek, red wine gel, fresh grapes

Cauliflower is one of my least favourite vegetables but this dish was seriously amazing.

= Excellent

Homegrown leaves, King Prawns, King Prawn powder

The King Prawn powder was rather salty and overpowering so only a tiny bit was needed and the rest just got pushed to the side

= Good

Dehydrated and powdered mushrooms, dehydrated jerusalem artichoke

= Excellent

Pork, dehydrated carrot, parsnip puree, oats, jam

= Not bad

Honeycomb, caramel, Italian merigue, crème fraîche, sticky date

= Not bad

Buttermilk gel, buttermilk foam, coffee gel, honeycomb, chocolate mousse tart, chocolate sorbet, sweet potato gel, dehydrated sweet potato, fresh grape

An odd assortment of items that tasted fine on their own but not so fine once they were combined together

= Not bad

Overall:

Three brothers (Tyson, Blayne and Chayse Bertoncello) own and run this family business, and it is a business that they should definitely be proud of. The food here was innovating (we noticed that the chef had a fondness for food that was dehydrated, in powder form and in gel form) and was genuinely fresh. The menu here constantly changes according to produce that is in season and the produce that they use is locally grown. They even use herbs and vegetables that they grow organically themselves! After our meal one of the Bertoncello brothers (not sure which) enthusiastically showed us the beautiful garden that they have out the back. He informed us that this was one of many gardens that they owned and that the plan is to get a beehive and possibly some chickens (for fresh eggs) some time in the future. He also mentioned that during the warmer seasons they have a few tables available in the garden so that diners are able to enjoy their meal amongst the greenery.

Throughout the night service was fantastic however the ambience was somewhat dark and moody. The intimate dining area (which seats no more than 30 people) was predominately black, and the artwork here can best be described as eccentric (particularly this one painting of a pig that had bright red blood seeping from its gouged eye). Note that O.My also have a private dining room at the back that can seat 10 or so people, and that they are closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.

The Hardware Société

118-120 Hardware St, Melbourne 9078 5992

Fried brioche, French earl grey tea and rosewater panna cotta, raspberries, meringue

Rather pricey for the size of the dish. Ordinary brioche, sweet chewy meringue, tart raspberries (that balanced out the sweetness of everything else), delightfully smooth and subtly flavoured panna cotta.

= Not bad

Confit duck, spiced orange cous cous, chestnuts, pomegranate, crispy root vegetables

Flavourless reheated duck, sour pomegranate, average cous cous

= Not bad

Overall:

A bustling place that always has crowds of people waiting outside for a table (regardless of the weather). What impressed me the most was the staff organisation and teamwork. Everything ran very smoothly and service was quite fast considering how busy it was at the time. The décor was charming (butterfly wallpaper, quirky hanging lights) but the food was a let down. I’ve previously tried the baked eggs as well as the scrambled eggs, and found those dishes to be good but nothing I would ever crave. The Hardware Société isn’t on my favourite brunch places list, but kudos to them for remaining so popular for so long.

Luxbite

38 Toorak Road, South Yarra 9867 5888

Meringue Monster

(green tea sponge, pistachio, watermelon yoghurt, sour strawberry mousse, meringue)

Passionfruit Tart

(Passionfruit curd, meringue, kaffir lime sherbet)

Endless Love

(lychee ganache, rose cream, lychee, fresh raspberries)

Lolly Bag Cake

Thoughts:

Meringue Monster – terrific combination of flavours! The only thing that could have made this cake even more delectable was having a less dry and powdery green tea sponge (which is only noticeable if you eat this layer alone) = Excellent

Passionfruit Tart – the tangy passionfruit curd together with the sweet meringue and hint of kaffir lime resulted in a very refreshing tart. Just note that the pastry is quite solid and takes a bit of muscle to cut through = Good

Endless Love – fresh and delicate with a hint of tanginess from the raspberries = Good

Lolly Bag Cake – made famous by Masterchef, this cake is made up of seven layers that include: 2 layers of joconde almond sponge brushed with banana sweet syrup (banana lollies), freckles crunch with popping candy (chocolate freckles), spearmint leaf buttercream (spearmint leaves), mandarin Jaffa ganache (jaffas), musk stick marshmallow (musk sticks), topped with a delightful redskin glaze (redskins). A very sweet and unique creation, the best part about eating this was trying to determine which layer was which lolly = Good

Overall:

The desserts on offer here are pretty amazing: well presented and of course taste fantastic! There is a curious Asian influence with some their flavours; their macaron selection includes pandan, green tea pistachio, rose and lychee, and bamboo oolong tea. The decor here is modern with high ceilings, striped walls and a long marble communal table. Service is quick and friendly although seating is limited so expect a wait or grab a takeaway instead.