Dining out

Don’t take this to mean that I’ve returned to the blogging world. I’m just taking a short time out from cramming for tests and assignments once again. Seriously, why do I do this to myself with uni work and all that jazz.

Anywhos, as I hope for spring(s) eternal on this first day of September, a friend recently brought up an interesting point in an email convo where I seemed to prefer spending cash on food than on clothes, shoes or bags of late. I’m not too sure about that but I can definitely say with confidence that I would take surviving on crackers and water for a month if it meant owning several pairs of Louboutins and Prada bags just for fun. Clothes, not so much as I like recycling old stuff and I practically live in my pjs anyway.

Hence I guess the reason for this post; on food blogging, restaurant reviewing and mostly to do with food in general. I’ve always been a foodie as can be told from my slight obsession with a certain show by the name of Top Chef and coincidentally just won the Emmy for Outstanding Competition Reality Program. I’m unabashed about my passion for good food, which are prepared decently, presented beautifully and most important of all, MUST taste well. Of course, tasting well is such an ambiguous and grossly overrated term used by chefs, reviewers, foodies and the regular old public like myself. To me, tasting well is an overall sensory experience of the dish itself where the taste of each ingredient complements each other, have layers of flavour that don’t overpower your palate for the next course, be texturally interesting, and of course be visually appealing as you do eat with your eyes when you’re first presented with the dish. To ensure that all these points are ticked off is no mean feat especially when you’re dining at an upscale and fancy restaurant where everything has to be perfect from the first bite to the last sip of wine.

Running with that, the overall restaurant experience is what makes or break a perfect dining night out in my opinion. From the moment you step into a restaurant to be greeted with a smile, the host leading to your table and the pleasantries exchanged with your waitress, the diners take note of every single detail, which some restos neglect to pay attention to. The lighting, soft music, the clinks of wine glasses and cutlery, table arrangements, ease of movements, view of the dining room, patronage and interior decorations; we take note of all of this even though we may not place it at the very top of our restaurant choice criteria where the food will come out number one every time. We are sensory creatures who like pleasant sounds, engaging people, beautiful environments and an exciting atmosphere of anticipation. This is where I believe that good restaurants ultimately succeed at when and if they tick off all those check boxes in my book.

Recently, I had the opportunity to dine at Cutler & Co. Dining Room & Bar in Fitzroy, Victoria. Cutler & Co. is a fairly established Melbourne restaurant in its own right in the casual fine dining style and scene. Not like the folks at Cutler need any more publicity and recognition but being awarded the Best Restaurant of the Year in the 2011 Australian Gourmet Traveller Awards and Two Hats by The Age Good Food Guide 2011 are totes more than reason enough for you to make your way there and soon.

My dining partner, A (who runs The MSG) and I made a booking for Cutler’s Sunday lunch special where Andrew McConnell and the talented kitchen staff plan and prepare the day’s menu with a focus on fresh ingredients sourced from the local farmers. The idea is to come in, dine with us, and enjoy a long leisurely lunch with good food and company. The menu consisted of several appetisers and entrees to share, which has been set by the kitchen, followed by your choice of main and dessert. And all that for just $69 pp, which is very reasonable.

We were promptly seated by our host in the dining room area that was decorated with gorgeous light fixtures and some palm trees around as well. I actually quite like the palm trees even though I thought it was a bit off with the rest of the decor but I digress. I ordered an aperol with blood orange drink to start the day off light while A went with a coffee. The waitress explained how the Sunday lunch menu worked and I was suitably impressed and excited with the way things looked and started already.

From here on, the food kept on coming and did not stop til desserts arrived. (Note: The dishes described below correlate with the photos above from left to right.)

We started off with fresh Coffin Bay oysters to get our appetites going. It wasn’t the best nor biggest oyster I’ve had (PS: Tasmanian oysters FTW!) but it was a decent palate cleanser. This was followed by cracked wheat salad, labne and barberries. This starter was rather surprising as I’ve never had cracked wheat before and it reminded me of barley and risotto combined together to make this delightfully light and refreshing dish. We promptly finished this and I would definitely go back for more if I remember the name of this dish in future.

Next was the wood-grilled prawns and celeriac remoulade in a tangy mayo dressing. The prawns was quite good and went well with the salad on the bottom. The next dish brought out was carrots, walnut cream and shanklish. (PS: I knew you’d want to know what shanklish was.) I really enjoyed this one even though when it arrived at our table, my first thought was, “Eh? Carrots?!?” But when I tasted it, I went, “Mmm, carrots. And yummy yammy paste thing.” The “yammy paste” was actually walnut cream once I managed to get the proper menu names off A. The carrots were beautiful and had a lovely bite, which paired well with the walnut cream and shanklish. The shanklish was peppery and threw me off a bit but I really liked the combination. A hates carrots but had a try because you simply had to, so I had to take it upon myself to finish the dish. Tried as I might, I couldn’t but it remains one of my favourite of the lunch.

By this time, our stomachs were about ready to implode from too much food too early in the day with two more entrees, mains and desserts yet to arrive. A typically Australian breakie choice at most brunch eateries; avocado and spring onions on grilled bread arrived, following that a terrine of pork with a mustard fruit puree. The avo toast was nothing that remarkable but the next time I make it at home, I’m going to add some coriander on it fer shure. A thought that the terrine lacked flavour and tasted bland but with the marmalade, I thought it was good and was texturally fine, just not as awesome as I wanted this terrine to be.

We were given an interval between entrees and mains, which I am so grateful for, and A even more taking a short smoke break. A chose the pork belly and I the duck leg. The corned duck leg was meltingly tender and crispy breaded skin on the outside which complemented the purple broccoli and creamed leeks. I would have preferred for the leeks to be cooked a little more because it was too toothsome for my liking but paired with the soft duck meat, the dish would have been a textural mess of mush on mush, so I won’t complain too much. A thought the pork belly was good but the skin a tad less crispy than we liked pork belly skin to be. The cavolo nero and pearl barley were good garnishes to the plate. Desserts arrived momentarily where I was about ready to fall into a food coma. A chose the Meyer lemon curd, rhubarb and blood orange granita. I decided to go for the Tomme D’Abondance cheese served with apple chutney, which was a slightly better choice because I very nearly went with the chocolate cake and chestnut ice-cream. The granita was refreshing and a great finish to such a rich meal. I loved the cheese paired with apple chutney and maybe a little mustard seeds eaten with crisp crackers. Not the lightest end to a meal but certainly one of the more memorable ones.

To surmise, I will definitely be making my way back here again for their ala carte dishes at the bar for a different dining experience. I have to say that on a Sunday, the place was full on packed out by 1pm with likewise diners as ourselves who just wanted a relaxing day out. After this meal, I can see why Cutler & Co. are doing remarkably well. With almost perfectly executed dishes, delicious flavours with complementary textures, pleasant service and host, and awesome company, you’ll walk away from this restaurant happily satiated.

Watch out, Attica, Imma coming for you soon!

(PS: Don’t expect this to be a regular thing… yet. This was just an experimental avenue for me to explore food blogging and reviewing a resto. Oh who am I kidding, I’m procrastinating from studying, plain and simple.)

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Tags: cutler & co, dining out, food philosophy, foodie experiences, melbourne, restaurant review