Taste of Melbourne 2016 @ Friday, December 02, 2016

Saturday 12th November




Note - This glass being plastic will shrink in the dishwasher!




Arriving at 6pm lines flowed quickly, though there was a lot of hovering about the door, for those who didn't pre-fill the entry card. It was nice to see two lines, invites and general admission. But only the later line were given menu cards and wine glasses?





Gif cameras/videos are all the rage now, though I prefer polaroid-ish prints.


We headed straight for the workshop marquees to buy tickets, scoring the last two spots for the session we wanted, same at the other place. At the Good Food & Wine Show entry includes the workshops. Not here, $40 entry gets you nothing but entry, and a wine glass for sampling, and other than drinks there aren't any samples. Nothing to take home and no Maggie Beer.



Electrolux Chefs' Secret Workshop with Shaune Quade of Lume - On arrival we were offered cider (it burns!!), sorry I don't really drink, that's why jas was invited. :P When offered a drink we always accept, because it's the normal thing to do. It appears that Australia really likes to drink, anytime any day is ok with my housemates.



Some delicious beetroot based and sashimi on a cracker entree/snacks. The experience was pretty awesome for $12, two drinks (see above, also champagne after), some snacks and the actual workshop. There's time to sit down and eat it too.


Making the nest, and sponge cake base. The thinnest sponge cake I've ever seen. That was premade for us. For the nest there were a couple elements, to which we divided and conquered. With mr menulog (another jas, a very common name) we whipped the lavender cream. I'm not trusted with much in the kitchen. :P

Making the actual nest involved pipping chocolate into a bowl of icy water then plunging your hands into it and forming the shape. It was amazing and we've never done anything like it before!




Chef Shaun Quade is known for his whimsical and visually-stunning dishes at Lume on Coventry Street in South Melbourne and with him we created a 'Birds Nest', a dessert that was awesome to make! 

What is it? A chocolate nest on top of a thing chocolate sponge, inside: lavender cream (perfect scooping skills by the chef), nitro gas-ed frozen berries, orange peel, and some green stuff. 

With someone else to clean up the mess, this was why I loved cooking at school.




Mamasita - Elote callejero $7

Chargrilled corn cob, chipotle mayo, queso & lime


Delicious as always! Risen in price by a dollar. 
We really need to learn how to make this at home.




Supernormal? - Love the simple yet cheap and effective deco. 


Cumulus's Lychee & Raspberry Meringue $8 (incorrectly listed as $6 online)*


Lychee, raspberry, poached meringue & rose. Delicious, with all my favourite flavours it was a combo of textures and temperatures. 

*There a were a few different prices on the menu and at the place. e.g. The Meyer Lemon Tree dish from Lume was $20 online but $45 on the day! And you couldn't pre-order...


Mallie Mustard was onsite selling one hot dog, and one only. The $100 truffle one. Last time we encountered them they had $10 hot dogs too, but here when everyone is selling bites you can't sell a meal.


Huge cup, small samples. Efficient? Nope. It burns!!



THE ROYAL MAIL HOTEL $6
Meadowsweet Ice Cream with lavender & chocolate ice magic
Very teay, so tea ice cream, but other than that, average.

Greenvale Pork Hangis $14
“Happy as a pig in s##t” with edible flowers. Jas gave no comments.





OM NOM's ICON DISH: Rosemary and Chocolate Cigars $10

Valhrona caramelia chocolate and rosemary

Chocolate roll full of rosemary chocolate mousse. It was awesome! Smooth silky goodness!

We were also the 'Granny Smith Panna Cotta' but it was sold out after our workshop.



Hello Summer Snow, my favourite apple juice! We shall have the pink lady apply juice at the wedding! An apply juice bar would be awesome, but he said no. :(




How awesome is this packaging? We have a thing for science glassware.





$8 a scoop, what has the world come to? The event life is quite expensive and makes you think that $12 desserts are the norm. But are they really? Or does marketing tell us that? 




It won't stop you from transforming into a bogan, but it'll help with the hangover!
Hence I don't understand the 'stay classy' tagline?




The Atmosphere





Deliveroo was onsite offering carnitures and calligraphy!






 Within the marquee you could order food delivered to your table from selected stalls.





CIRCA, THE PRINCE $12. Kingfish Sashimi - Prawn remoulade, apple + padron pepper

Deliciously fresh and a highlight of the evening said jas.



Mamasita's Taco de Pescado $8
Grilled fish, chipotle mayo, red onion salsa, cabbage & lime

We do love fish tacos, it was good like most fish tacos. Nothing really stood out.



 Lurpak Cookery School Workshop $6

With Lurpak for $6 you could do a workshop to do a fish or steak dish. We made steak with beurre noisette hollandaise. It was awful as I used a small handful of salt. I have no idea what I'm doing when it comes to savory food and need adult supervision.


For dessert we were provided with a cupcake with a hole in it, and frosting. Pipped it, made it neat then drizzled caramel sauce, and topped it off with popcorn. Chocolate base. How was it? Dry, the cake was dry. 



Instead of taking home a tub of butter we were instead offered spice blends! Which would required you to buy the butter as an ingredient. We're excited about using the rosemary blend with lamb!



We left when the show closed at 10pm. The night is young and so we went to the beach. I was there yesterday but with the bags and wearing a suit couldn't go out on the pier or sandbar. We went all the way out into the pier came across some guys fishing flatheads and something else, 6 in 2hrs, 3 in an hour, 1 every 20mins. At the end of the pier was a surprize, fairy penguins! In groups of 2-4 and some alone. Just chilling, hanging out with fellow penguins or walking around. They were on the rocky sides of a sandy path behind the restaurant. We definitely got our $2 worth of parking :P. $5-something an hour, we paid $2 for 20mins. 




How was the event compared to last year? It was about the same, though the butterfly house was replaced with a virtual reality experience. Expect to spend $60 on food, it's card only, but you need to buy tokens. 

We won tickets for entry, but would never go if we had to purchase entry tickets because they don't include anything but entry itself. They're around $30 we believe. You'll find plenty of competitions for free tickets about a month before the event.

It was odd how there were no coconut water stalls, as one year there was three!




Did you go to the Taste of Melbourne this year?


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