Australian Adventures @ Meat Fish Wine

31 Artemis Lane, Melbourne VIC

8660 6333

12pm - 3pm Lunch

5pm - 10pm Dinner

Closed Sunday

Definitely a classier atmosphere than I expected, I've been pretty excited on coming down to Meat Fish Wine since it first opened. Enchanted by the modern and fancy interior the restaurant gave off a fine dining vibe. 

Coming with a group of 4, we came during lunch time of a weekday, and surprisingly the restaurant was empty during the rush hour. 

As I was late, I awkwardly made my way through the restaurant as I was completely under-dressed and totally didn't fit in at all (learnt my lesson) 

2 of us including myself opted for the express lunch special which included and entree, main, dessert and a glass of wine. Whilst the other 2 decided to order a main and side from the a la carte menu

Complimentary Bread, Butter & Olive Spread

We were served complimentary bread, some sort of butter and olive spread right after we ordered. I don't remember what the waiter said as he was explaining what was what on the plate. 

The olive spread was absolutely delicious, I've never had it before but I wanted more. The butter on the other hand was nothing special, definitely had a great flavour but I preferred the olive spread by a mile.

(8/10)

Spiced Duck Liver Parfait

Onion relish, parsley, cornichon salad

My friend (R) who opted with the lunch express set with me ordered the spiced duck liver parfait as his entree which he said he enjoyed. I had a bite and it was a unique dish which I haven't tried before. The texture was smooth, when combined with the mini-toast, created a unique flavour. Unfortunately it wasn't my cup of tea.


(5.5/10)

Beetroot Cured Salmon

beetroot and mizuna salad, avocado puree

I instantly knew which entree I was going to get. With my history and love of salmon, I had no choice but to choose this dish. 

The beetroot cured salmon itself was delicious and fresh. with many elements on the dish there was numerous combinations of ingredients that made this dish enjoyable. The avocado puree worked well with the salmon and the black rice cracker which I didn't know was included in the dish was delicious.

(7.5/10)

Lamb Rump ($40)
celeriac & apple puree, dates, puffed quinoa

My friend (D) ordered the Lamb Rump, I wasn't able to try the dish but she did quote "The presentation of each meal was so beautiful. The lamb was dayum good, cooked nicely & went well with the combination of sauces of the plate"

Snapper 

smoked cauliflower, "noir cracker" & sea foam

(R) and myself ordered the Snapper for the main dish. I absolutely loved this dish, the snapper was tender, flavorsome and cooked to perfection. Though the rest of the dish was questionable. 

The sauces which I believe was mayonnaise, a type of spicy sauce, sea foam and I have no idea what was in the 3 bubbles in the photo. First of all is that those bubbles are extremely sweet and in my opinion, did not work well with the dish at all. The other sauces were mediocre and underwhelming, I felt like there could've been much better alternatives to the sauces as the fish was absolutely stunning.

(6/10)

Wagyu Rump Cap ($55)

garlic butter

My friend (S) got the wagyu rump cap, I didn't try any of the dish but she did mention that the steak was underwhelming and "not that good" for the price. With such a large price tag she would've much preferred Meat & Wine Co steak instead.

Vanilla Creme Brulee 

Lastly is the dessert, both (R) and I ordering the creme brulee. The creme brulee was underwhelming and wasn't my cup of tea. There was home-made ice cream which accompanied the dish, and to be frank, it tasted bad. I had no idea what was in that nor what flavour it was but I did not enjoy it.

(4/10)

Overall Meat Fish Wine has a few hit or misses and I feel they could improve on food. Service was attentive but at the same time there was only one other table dining during the time we were. I will definitely come back as I've heard they have changed their executive chef and perhaps the food will be much better than it was on my experience. 

Food - 5.75 / 10 

Ambience - 10 / 10

Service - 9 / 10

Total FoOodie Points - 24.75 / 30

European Adventures @ No35 (Old Post) (LQ)

No35 is a High-end European restaurant on the 35th floor of Sofitel Towers, Hence No."35". I came here today as a celebration dinner for my partner and also to tick another restaurant off in the "Try everything in Melbourne Checklist". I heard this place is a hit or miss from friends but luckily i was not disappointed and was mainly satisfied with each and every dish.

View from No35 

The beautiful view from our table, though the other window had a much better view which overlooked Southbank and Crown but we only managed to book the last table since going here was a last minute decision. 

Complimentary House-Baked Sourdough & House-Made Butter

Complimentary House-Baked Sourdough & House-Made Butter on arrival. Complimentary stuff is always a plus sign for me. Though the bread was quite tough but the butter was full of flavour and made up for the toughness of the sourdough.

 Dark Mocha Martini & ?? (Cocktail Special)

Ketel 1 Vodka, Kahlua, Dark Choc Mozart, Espresso

We started off with a cocktail for each, Sadly i forgot what cocktail my partner got as the waiter notified us of the drink special of the day, therefore was not listed on the menu. The cocktail tasted of a sour lime/citrus flavoured with a sweet aftertaste. It was okay, but we expected more as the waiter hyped it up.
As for me on the otherhand, I had the "Dark Mocha Martini". I chose this because; I love my mocha, and i love my cocktails, So i thought, why not both?. It was exactly how i expected it to be, the espresso overpowered the alcohol and provided a sweet aftertaste, though it lacked in punch because of the espresso, it was still a pleaser.

Carpaccio of smoked Petuna Ocean trout (gluten-friendly) ($26)

Horseradish & lemon cream, egg & caper salad, trout caviar, citrus and herbs.

My entree of the night was the "Carpaccio of Smoked Petuna Ocean Trout". With my love for seafood, i couldn't resist when i spotted this dish on the menu. The ocean trout was tender and fresh, combined with everything else in this dish, it was light and full of flavour. Surprisingly, this dish was quite filling, and made me overestimate how much food i could handle.

Spiced Duck ($26)

Plum wine gel, picked enoki, beetroot, apple, raspberry & golden elk.

My partner chose "Spiced Duck" as her entree, on first bite, it was packed with flavour, though the duck wasn't as tender as i had expected it to be, it was definitely satisfying. Though i was a bit confused with the condiments, such as apple & raspberry, it was still a visually satisfying mix.

Tasmanian Wild Clover Roast Rump of Lamb ($42)

Butternut pumpkin puree, freekah with dried cranberries, chocolate sauce, rapa and broccolini

Sadly i was unable to get a good photo because the lighting in the restaurant was quite dim, so this is the best i could do with my horrible phone.
My main of the night was the Tasmanian "Wild Clover Roast Rump of Lamb". As i had a seafood dish to start, i felt like i had to try meat to mix it up. The dish was visually appealing, the lamb on first bite was simply amazing, tender and full of flavour. But the star of this dish the the pumpkin puree, i swear i can eat this on its own. Combined with the lamb it created an amazing mixture full of flavour and punch. Definitely my favorite dish of the night.

Seared King Salmon ($39)

Squid ink linguine, calamari, spanner crab, sweet corn, sauce bouillabaisse, ocean greens

My partner had the "Seared King Salmon". It had a mixture of different types of seafood and i was luckily able to sample everything on the plate as my partner wasn't a seafood lover and only wanted the king salmon. The salmon was cooked beautifully, it was soft, tender and packed with flavour, there was no surprise as it was the main dish. the bouillabaisse sauce provided a nice taste in accompanying the calamari and crab, It was simply satisfying.

Apple Marshmallow ($16)

Green apple sorbet, blueberry & jasmine gel, basil wafers, cider jelly, clotted cream & apple chips.

At this moment i was bloated, but as for every food lover out there, there is always room for dessert.

I had ordered the Apple Marshmallow, it sounded the most appealing and my love for apples made me choose this. At first glance t was quite confusing to eat as i had absolutely no idea what anything was. But after sampling each, my favourite was the green apple sorbet, it tasted amazing. Sadly everything else on the dish was questionable, especially whatever that marshmallow thing was. I was clueless to what it was and it had no flavour at all.

Strawberry cheesecake ($17)

White chocolate, passion-fruit and raspberry gel, milk almonds & consomme

My partner had the Strawberry Cheesecake, at first glance it did not look like a cheesecake at all. But after observing it closely it was just uniquely constructed. I was able to have a bite, and that bite was heavenly. It had full of flavour and the white chocolate was really good. The only thing lacking would've been the size for i wanted to have more of the cheesecake but my partner had already finished it :(.

Overall my experience at No35 was satisfying as each dish did not disappoint. I would recommend this place for anyone that wants to impress their partner with fine food, or for a special occasion. With a beautiful view, romantic atmosphere, amazing service and great food, No35 does not disappoint.

Food - 8.5/10

Ambiance - 9/10

Service - 8.5/10
Total FoOodie Points- 26/ 30