Persimmon - Melbourne - NGV

Name: Persimmon at the National Gallery of Victoria

Address: Ground Level, NGV
180 St Kilda Road, Melbourne
Call NGV and follow prompts - 8620 2222

Food: ModOz
Average price: Entree - $16, Main - $25, Dessert - $15.

Complimentary: 6 pieces of bread (poppy seed buns and mini baguettes) with butter.

Coconut macarons with our coffees


Chewy, sweet and full of coconut.

The chef, Terry Clark designed 7 dishes for us to eat today based on the current menu:

Watercress & horseradish bavarois, baby beetroot, candied walnuts, onion wafer, Puy lentils


This is visually stunning with gorgeous emerald and magenta hues. The number of textures in this is a delight for your mouth. The flavours are also divine - this was everyone's favourite dish to eat. The bavarois melts in your mouth, hints of pepperyness which gives way to the sweetness of candied walnuts and beetroot followed by the earthy lentils and finally you are left with a sweet onion melting on your tongue. Great, great dish.

Roast potato soup, garlic puree, potato pearls, micro herbs, porcini dust, shaved Summer truffle


The waiter poured the smooth potato soup into the bowl, covering the small kipfler and congee potato pearls, baby peas, garlic puree and shaved truffle with a gorgeously textured soup, perfectly seasoned. The potato pearls were a little on the firm side but added a wonderful texture whilst the garlic puree added a sweetness that gave it more depth. The peas added yet another texture and sweetness whilst the herbs and porcini dust added earthiness and pepperyness. I couldn't quite taste the truffle unfortunately.

Asparagus risotto, duck lover parfait, tomato vinaigrette, chives (I had sashimi-style scallop in place of the duck)


The rice was cooked to perfection. The asparagus added a great crunch whilst the tomato vinaigrette gave a great, sweetly tart punch that complimented the onion-y flavour from the chives. The scallop added a saltiness for me whilst the duck liver melted in your mouth leaving a fattiness (that they liked).

Roast Tasmanian salmon, toasted cous cous, smoked tomato jam, red wine emulsion, salted rose petals in a chardonnay vinaigrette


The salmon was perfectly cooked as was the cous cous. The smoked jam was full of flavour with a hint of smokyness that hits your palette first followed by the tart then sweet, stick tomato. The red wine emulsion and basil oil were strong and added more dimension. There was also ribboned salted cucumber and an aubergine puree which added cool saltiness and a mellow smoky creaminess. There was an overall sweet, smoky and salty balance. The petals added the tiniest floral note, but I'm not sure they really improved the dish from last time.

Slow cooked pork belly, Spanish black pudding, celeriac and apple puree


The pork was tender and went well with the sweet apple and nutty celeriac. My dad was hesitant about this dish but even he had to admit that it was fabulous.

Barramundi with pureed Jerusalem artichoke, onion rings, wilted lettuce


I don't remember what everything was but it was lovely. It was creamy,tangy, sweet, crispy - just lovely.

Croissant ice cream, raspberry powder, coffee (maybe chicory), chocolate biscuit crumbs


Really light but heavy on flavour. The ice cream had a delicate, buttery sweetness which gave way to extremely tangy, tart raspberry dust that stuck to your tongue and would then dissolve into a sweet, coffee that would linger for a while.

Chocolate brownie, raspberry sorbet, hazelnut cream, griotte cherry gel, coffee chocolate dust


The chocolate brownie was decadently dense and chocolaty - absolutely gorgeous smooth, velvet, sticky texture, studded with hazenluts. It had the tart griotte cherry gel as well as a cherry sorbet which offered sharp, but sweet tartness to offset the other deep, sweet tastes. There was also hazelnut cream and a coffee, chocolate dust which offered yet another texture and flavour.

French St Agar blue & Chevre with spiced persimmon chutney, pear sticks & toasted walnut bread


The Chevre was gorgeously smooth and mild, whilst the St Agar was mild for a blue cheese but still had bite to it, the pear sticks helped to cut through the rich cheeses. The persimmon chutney was sweet but not overly so. This time around the walnut bread was thicker and didn't break apart.

Cost: $240 for 7 courses for 4 people.

Service: Fantastic. The service is always flawless.

Atmosphere: Great. The window seats are lovely as the booth seating is very comfy and the view of the gardens is really calming. It can get a little noisy when full but the tables are well spaced. The dark interior helps to frame the gorgeous outside surroundings.


Parking: Limited as car spots are generally taken - although a tram runs along St Kilda rd, and Flinders station is not far down the road. We managed to get a car park a block down the road and there are side streets you might get lucky with.

Website: http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/ngvinternational/persimmon.html

Hours: Daily 11am to 4pm.

Would I return: Yes.

Wildflower - Canterbury

Name: Wildflower

Address:1 Theatre Pl
Canterbury 3126 VIC
Phone: (03) 9888 6662

Food: ModOz
Average price: Entree - $18, Main - $36, Dessert - $15.

Complimentary: 2 slices of lemon sage bread with butter. The bread was really soapy.


We ordered:

Entrees: Pont Le Veque tart with caramelised balsamic shallots (this originally included bacon and prosciutto) - $18.50


Lovely tart, although the phyllo base was slightly overdone. The sweet, tart shallots balanced the salty cheese well. Light but tasty.

Salt and pepper chips - $7.50


These were cooked perfectly, Ryan found the seasoning to be too lemon-y but I enjoyed it.

Mains: Venison with red cabbage - $36


Ryan really loved this, the venison was tender.

Barramundi, red capsicum, parsley salad - $36


The fish was cooked well, but overall I felt this dish was quite heavy and salted - I could not manage to eat all of it and found it overwhelming after a few bites. It needed something to cut through the heavy oiliness.

Desserts: You choose any 3 you wish for $15.

Kaffir Lime pannacotta, malted ice cream, chocolate tart - $15.


The pannacotta had a great wobble but once it was on the spoon it seemed to instantly liquefy. The kaffir lime was also a little too overwhelming.

The malted ice cream tasted like malteasers but was fairly average.

The chocolate tart was extremely bitter and the pastry base was undercooked.

Bombe Alaska, soft centre chocolate pudding, creme brulee - $15.



The meringue on the bombe alsaka was softer than a marshmallow and a little too sweet. The ice cream lacked flavour whilst the sponge base tasted stale.

The creme brulee was ok, much more like a vanilla custard, very thick and a little grainy.

Ryan devoured the chocolate pudding, whilst it had a lovely gooey centre I felt overall it tasted like cheap baking cocoa powder.

Cost: $128 for 1 entrees, 1 side, 2 mains, 2 desserts.

Service: Good. Our water was always topped up and the waiters were great. However there was a large wait for the mains and dessert

Atmosphere: Good. We sat upstairs which had a window view to the courtyard below - seating is well spaced and the style is modern.


Parking: Ample street parking on Mailing, there are also adjacent free carparks.

Website: None.

Hours: Tue-Sat noon-2.30pm, 6.30pm-9.30pm
Sun 9am-2pm

Would I return: No - not memorable enough to warrant a return.

Persimmon - Melbourne - NGV

Name: Persimmon at the National Gallery of Victoria

Address: Ground Level, NGV
180 St Kilda Road, Melbourne
Call NGV and follow prompts - 8620 2222

Food: ModOz
Average price: Entree - $16, Main - $25, Dessert - $15

Complimentary: 4 pieces of bread (poppy seed buns and mini baguettes) with butter, salt and pepper.


French St Agar blue & Chevre with spiced persimmon chutney, apple sticks & toasted walnut bread - $16


The Chevre was gorgeously smooth and mild, whilst the St Agar was mild for a blue cheese but still had bite to it, the apple sticks helped to cut through the rich cheeses. I didn't get to try much of the persimmon chutney as Ryan wolfed it down, he absolutely loved it and had never had persimmon before. The walnut bread is still a little thin and kept breaking

We ordered:

Entrees: Roast potato soup, garlic puree, potato pearls, micro herbs, porcini dust - $15


The waiter poured the smooth pumpkin soup into the bowl, covering the small pearls with a gorgeously textured soup, perfectly seasoned. The potato pearls were a little on the firm side but added a wonderful texture whilst the garlic puree added a sweetness that gave it more depth. I think there were also peas which added yet another texture and sweetness whilst the herbs and porcini dust added earthiness and pepperyness.

Rabbit loin & leg, trompette mushroom & artichoke verrine, salted grapes, Dutch carrots, frisse & chive salad, grilled ciabatta - $16


Ryan couldn't help but order this again as he loved and remembered this so much from the last time he ate it. The dish is luke warm. The boys liked the addition of bread to eat with the gamey meat.

Mains: Braised veal osso bucco, chickpeas, bone marrow & herb crust - $28


Another winner for Ryan. The flavours were rich and full, Ryan wished he had been able to lick every last drop. Our friend said the following; it shied away from the conventional tomato based osso bucco and added unexpected dimension in the form of the herb crust. The meat was tender and the sauce was a great consistency.

Roast tasmanian salmon, toasted cous cous, smoked tomato jam, red wine emulsion - $25


The salmon was perfectly cooked as was the cous cous. The smoked jam and red wine emulsion complimented the flavours perfectly. There was also ribboned cucumber, a foam and perhaps a hummus, all of which added different textures and tastes. There was an overall sweet and salty balance.

Desserts: Tonka bean brulee, pistachio ice cream - $15


Perfectly cooked brulee - crisp sugar crust with smooth, velvet custard. The tonka bean gave the brulee a vanilla-esque, almost almond-y flavour, but deeper and more heady. The pistachio ice cream was perfectly smooth and melted well, creamy and full of pistachio flavour. It helped to soften the perfumed tonka bean so that the flavours were equally balanced.

Chocolate brownie, croissant ice cream, hazelnuts, griotte cherry gel - $15


Everyone enjoyed this. The chocolate brownie was decadently rich without being overpowering. The chocolate was smooth and the cherry gel was more sweet than tart.

Cost: $228 for 4 entrees, 4 mains, 4 desserts, and a complimentary cheese platter.

Service: Fantastic. The service is always flawless. We were lucky enough to be introduced to the chef Terry Clark by the manager, Juan Garcia. He was really lovely and kindly sent out a complimentary cheese platter.


Atmosphere: Good. The window seats are lovely as the booth seating is very comfy and the view of the gardens is really calming. It can get a little noisy when full but the tables are well spaced.


Parking: Limited - although a tram runs along St Kilda rd, and Flinders station is not far down the road. We managed to get a car park a block down the road and there are side streets you might get lucky with.

Website: None. There is a small mention on the NGV website.

Hours: Daily 11am to 4pm.

Would I return: Yes - this is my 3rd visit and not my last.