Heirloom - Melbourne - review

Name: Heirloom

Address: Citadines Hotel
Ground floor
131 Bourke St
Melbourne 3000 VIC
(03) 9639 1296

Food: Japanese, French
Average price: Entree: $4-$27, Main: $28, Dessert: $15-$17

Complimentary: 
We ordered: Mother's Day 5course menu  - $55 per person
Salmon Blini
house cured gravalax, buttermilk blini, whipped fraiche, salmon caviar

Dill chevre on crisp toast

This was nothing special, just crackers and cheese.

Warm Truffled Potato and Leek Vichyssoise
slow cooked egg, persillade

This was a lovely soup with lots of flavour and a smooth texture. The egg was lovely for me, though some others would have preferred a runnier yolk. Overall everyone enjoyed it.

Wild mushrooms, quinoa, sage and pearl barley

This was lovely, earthy, salty with great textural differences. I liked the addition of sage.

Terrine de Campagne
umeshu jelly, prune puree, petit herb salade

D liked this.

Rare Seared Yellow Fin Tuna Loin
piperade, black olive crumble, crisp basil

Both Mr.M & S didn't enjoy the flavour combination.

Gnocchi with diced vegetables

The gnocchi was extremely soft, doughy and unpleasant to eat. The veggies were nice enough but just diced veggies, overall I found the dish boring and didn't eat much of it.

Roast Beef Tenderloin
Bourguignon garnish, pomme puree, red wine jus

White Choc and Tofu Blancmange
dark chocolate sorbet, chocolate brownie glace, poky biscuits

Simple and unoffensive dish. The blancmange was akin to a panacotta except it was a touch softer with only hint of sweetness. The chocolate sorbet and sweet glace were lovely and the malt chocolate crumbs added nice texture as well as a slightly salty element to dish which I enjoyed.

Tea & biscotti

Cost: $220 for four Mother's Day menus.

Service: Young but eager. Our waitress kept our water topped up whilst another described our dishes as they came. They were also accommodating to one late diner who they quickly caught up to us.

Atmosphere: Industrial chic meets Japanese zen. I really liked the juxtaposition of concrete and metal against the wood and bamboo plants. The splashes of red and hanging fairyesque lights complimented the style well.

Parking: Limited street parking but plenty of paid underground car parking right next door.

Website: www.heirloomonbourke.com.au

Hours: Mon-Fri 6.30am-late
Sat-Sun 7am-late

Would I return: Yes - good food for a cheap rpice in a nice setting.

Joël Robuchon - Monte Carlo - Monaco - review

Name: Joël Robuchon

Address: 4 Avenue de la Madone
98000 Monaco
93 15 15 10

Food: French, Modern French, European

Average price:$37Euro - $195Euro.

Complimentary: Bread - large variety.

Lemon cake (gift wrapped to take home, lovely touch)

I devoured this for breakfast the next day. IT. WAS. GOOD. Gorgeous soft crumb with wonderful bitter chunks of lemon rind interspersed throughout, it didn't even need any sort of accompaniment. I could have eaten the whole loaf.

We ordered: Discovery menu degustation $180Euro each. (unfortunately my notes seem to have disappeared, therefore I can only comment on what I remember.)

Amuse bouche

ruby red pomelo jelly 
with guacamole and Esplette chilli

Presentation was girlishly pretty and the combination of creamy avocado and cool, bitter pomelo with a hint of heat from the chilly was pleasant.

Yoshi cocktail - $19Euro

asparagus blancmange 
king crab with virgin olive oil in a floral symphony of tomato

Visually gorgeous.

gaspacho with sweet peppers and golden croutons

vegetable mille-feuille with foie gras, sweet and sour emulsion, pig's trotter on toast

mushrooms with soft boiled hen's egg cooked in  alight creamy broth with ginger

blue lobster lightly caramelised, artichokes with Spanish flavours

Poivrade artichoke in a touch of thyme with tomato confit

This was a powerhouse of flavour! I severely underestimated its deliciousness based on appearance. The combination of sweet, spicy, salty and nutty was finger licking good.

tandoori lamb chops roasted with a citrus and fig marmalade, Thai style cauliflower and fresh flaked almonds

pomme puree with truffle

Very heavy, creamy, buttery potatoes. In fact, I dare say, a little too rich for me as I couldn't eat that much of it.

pink bloom light cheesecake with Tahiti vanilla, seasonal fruits

This was nice, but nothing more than a good cheesecake.

chocolate coffee dessert

This dish left us strangely unsatisfied. Too much coffee and not enough chocolate for me.


Cost: $388Euro for 2x Discovery menus (one vegetarian), 1 bottle Evian ($9Euro) & 1 cocktail.

Service: Ok. The wait staff were faultless, and they give you an edible gift bag on the way out which is a nice touch, however the food was incredibly slow, and although we allowed 3.5 hours (1 hour more than they suggested) we almost missed the last train back to Nice as there was at least 20mins wait between each meal.


Atmosphere: Classic contemporary elegance. The colour scheme was a combination of browns and muted greens with a view into the kitchen. The noise level was low, but the restaurant wasn't at full capacity when we went. Despite the tables not being super close we could overhear the tables beside us fairly clearly.
The only gripe I have is that I was very uncomfortable physically, the seats were oddly shaped, not allowing you to recline, and the table column is so large that you cannot really find a place for your feet.

Parking: Limited street parking, unless you have a very expensive car.

Website:  http://www.metropole.com/en

Hours:  Open Mon-Sat 9am-6pm.

Would I return: Maybe.

Les Clos des Gourmets - Four Points by Sheraton Elysee Palace - Nice - France - review

Name: Les Clos des Gourmets

Address: BP 1291, 59 Promenade des Anglais, 
6005 Nice, 
France‎

04 93 97 90 90‎

Food: French, Modern French, European

Average price:$8Euro - $29Euro.

Complimentary: Bread roll.

We ordered: $29Euro for three courses.

Tomatoes carpaccio with mozzarella salad

The tomatoes were watery and devoid of flavour. Not particularly tasty at all.


Salad with Parmesan and cherry tomatoes

Needed more tomatoes (there were only two) otherwise it was fine.


Lamb and Parmesan semolina

Ok, nothing special.


Tuna with potatoes

The tuna was overcooked and dry and there was barely any flavour in the dish at all, it highly resembled plane food.


Red berry salad

The flavours were nice, until we found 4 blackberries covered in white mould...


Apple tart tatin

The apples turned to complete mush and the pastry was very tough. Didn't even want a second bite.

Cost: $49Euro for 2 entrees, 2 mains and 2 desserts (they ended up charging us less ($9Euro) as they compensated us for the mouldy fruit dessert).

Service: Very relaxed. Perhaps it was because we were seated by the pool, as the service felt more like 'poolside service' than restaurant service. Food also took a little while despite there being only one other table seated, most likely due to the extremely tiny outdoor kitchen.

Atmosphere: We were outside by the pool which had lovely rooftop views and was very relaxing, however once the sun sets, beware of the mosquitoes.

Parking: Limited street parking - there is underground parking for guests.

Website: http://www.elyseepalace.com/fr/index.php

Hours:  12 noon to 2:00 pm and 7:30 pm to 10 pm

Would I return: No.

11ème Art - Nice - France - review

Name: 11ème Art

Address: 11 Rue Meyerbeer, 
06000 Nice, 
France 
+33 4 93 87 57 15

Food: French, Modern French, Cafe

Average price: $5 - $10.50Euro.

Complimentary: Sliced white bread and water.

We ordered:

Entree: Vegetable bruschetta - $9Euro

 Really delicious and generous portion. The cheese and veggies (eggplant, capsicum, tomato, mushrooms) were all tasty and well cooked. The bread had a crunchy crust and fluffy centre. The lettuce dressed nicely. We both enjoyed this and I would order it again.

Main:  Herb omelette - $8Euro

The chips were bland and had an unpleasant texture. The omelette on the other hand reminded me of my Yia Yia's omelette - well cooked (I prefer my scrambled eggs well done), seasoned and sprinkled with herbs (perhaps oregano?). Yum - although a little too big for me to finish.

Chicken with mushrooms & cream sauce - $9 Euro

Once again the chips were stale and tasteless, unfortunately R thought the chicken was bland but the mushrooms and sauce were sweetly tasty.

Dessert: Creme Brulee - $5Euro

I was expecting a classic brulee, this however, was raspberry flavoured. My first disappointment was the lack of crack from the teaspoon, it just sunk right through. The custard had a nice consistency but was lolly-sweet from the raspberry, it tasted a little like a sugary children's treat, there was no tartness from the raspberry at all.

Cost: $32Euro for one entrée, two mains and one dessert.

Service: Great. Food came out quickly, water was topped up and the waiter accommodated our lack of French well and without judgement.

Atmosphere: Casual and upbeat. We sat outside, amongst the lively street-scape but the inside scheme was neutral and fairly modern. I'm not sure what the evening atmosphere would be like, I think perhaps they become less cafe-like.


Parking: Risky. Walk or take the bus.

Website: None.

Hours:  Daily 6:30pm-10:30pm

Would I return: Yes. Cheap and tasty food in generous portions.

Radisson Blu Hotel - Marseille - Vieux Port - France - Review

Name: Radisson Blu Hotel Marseille Vieux Port (Room Service).

Address: 40 Quai de Rive Neuve
13007 Marseille,
France

04 88 92 19 50

Food: French, Modern French

Average price:$7Euro - $26Euro.

Complimentary: Two sesame seed bread rolls with butter, ketchup and aioli, all lovely.

We ordered:

Vegetable and tapenade tart tatin, salad, balsamic vinaigrette - $12Euro

This was rather delicious. The fresh rocket added a lovely pepperiness to the sweetly acidic balsamic, salty tapenade and sweet tomatoes upon a flaky and crispy pastry.

Fresh fruit salad - $7Euro

I was pleasantly surprised with the rather 'uncommon' selection of fruit. The fruit was fresh but what I liked most were the tart redcurrants which I have not had in a fruit salad before, and I also enjoyed getting to taste the ground cherry (physallis) which had an interesting savoury taste to it. It was quite a generous portion presented beautifully in a black bowl.

Cost: $19Euro for 1 main and 1 dessert

Service: N/A.

Atmosphere: N/A.

Parking: Limited street parking.

Website: http://www.radissonblu.com/hotel-marseille

Hours:  Daily 6am - 10:30pm.

Would I return: Yes.

Christian Ettiene - Avignon - France - review

Name: Christian Ettiene

Address: 10 Rue de Mons
84000 Avignon,
France
04 90 86 16 50

Food: French, Modern French

Average price: $12 - $125Euro.

Complimentary:

anchovy bread

Nice salty, sweet and tangy flavours

tomato gazpacho with watermelon

Too sweet for me - R liked it.
Tomato bread twist was nice.

We ordered: Tomato degustation - $70Euro


Royal de tomate "Saint Pierre"
heirloom tomatoes, minted celery juice

I found the texture a little too akin to baby food for me, but R enjoyed it.

Traditional tomato tartare
with basil three ways, summer salad with olive oil

The red one had too much onion otherwise the others were quite nice and fresh.

Cuttlefish flan with its own ink,
confit of "Olivettes" tomatoes, lemon vinegar foam with basil

R really enjoyed this

Tomatoes with beans - There was a nice sweetness - acidic tomatoes worked well with beans.

"Marmande" tomato consommé
with cumin, brunoise of Provençal vegetables

The pasta was quite doughy and the broth was extremely salty.

Lamb meatballs rolled in basil,
"Cœur de bœuf" tomato concassée, Parmesan emulsion

Egg in foam - ok, rather heavy and salty.

Goat curd cheese with Picholine olives,
mousse of "Noire de Crimée" tomatoes, tomato grissini

This was quite a heavy mousse, I needed water in between mouthfuls. But it was ok. I couldn't really taste the goat cheese that much.


Tomato-green tea pastry with a salad of cherry tomatoes and strawberries,tomato sorbet, sesame praline

This tasted like a Greek fruit lolly to me. Sometimes the tomato was too savoury and the sponge was a little hard (I think it was perhaps matcha?). It was interesting but I didn't like it much, R thought it was ok.

marshmallow

Good texture, subtle flavour.

saffron and strawberry macaron

Quite nice.

chocolate coconut

too bitter, no sweetness, the base was a little soft but R liked this.

cannelle 

A little doughy within and very chewy outside - not cooked well but it had a nice flavour.

Cost: $140Euro for two tomato tasting menus

Service: A little young. The two waitresses we had were very young, a little sloppy in appearance and knew very little English. They did not know much about the menus and did not refill our water very frequently. The older gentlemen that we had for a few of the dishes however was very well informed, polite and polished. Like all other Michelin starred restaurants the head chef himself came over at the beginning of our evening to introduce himself and ask exactly what I could and could not eat so he could better suit the menu to my dietary requirement.

Atmosphere: A rooftop garden. The mood is very relaxed and suited towards a great night with friends spent under the stars with a glass of wine. The summer terrace did have shelter and blinds that were unfolded as the night became cool. The edges of the area are brimming with wonderful wild flowers and fragrant herbs. There's a small view below to the church square. Some patrons chose to dress up slightly but most were dressed fairly casually. I'm not sure what the main, indoor room is like.

Parking: Risky. There are even less car parks in Avignon town which is geared towards pedestrians so take the bus or train and leg it.

Website: http://www.christian-etienne.fr/

Hours: Open Tue-Sat 12pm-1:15pm, 7:30pm-9:15pm

Would I return: Yes.