Vue de monde - CBD

I took Quynh to Vue de monde for her 21st birthday. Boy, was it a journey.

DAT VUE THO

Not too far from the kitchen!

Pretty lights

We were given the best seats in the house (IMO), with the amazing city lights surrounding us. We got the Chefs Tasting Menu ($300).

DRANKSSS

Dranks. Quynh got a cocktail and I got a glass of champagne. So fizzy but so expensive. Also we didn't realise this but it was $9 for still water. Like actually. That should be illegal. Just joking. But seriously $9 water.

Pumpkin and all

Our first dish of the night was described as a pumpkin snack. This was baked pumpkin with pumpkin mousse, pumpkin seed and pumpkin bread. Pumpkin everythinggggggggg! Smooth, creamy textures that was salty and tangy with nice crunch from the seeds. This was a tasty start to the meal.

Turnips with fresh milk curd and emu

Our first official dish was turnip crisps, fresh milk curd, emu jerky, crispy chicken skin, pickled onion in dashi. Chicken skin is always a winner! I liked that there were little pops of flavour from each element.

Raw squid with charred seasonal green and wineberry sauce

Our next entree was squid sashimi, roasted kale and wineberry sauce. This dish was more strange tasting than good. I didn't rate the squishy texture of raw squid, but the kale was nice.

Western Australian Marron with pine mushrooms and macadamia

Close-up shot!

Next we had the Western Australian Marron with pine mushrooms and macadamia. Both of us have never tried marron before so we were really excited. The flavours were really great here, especially the macadamia paste. The raw mushrooms gave it an earthy hit and the marron itself was cooked well. The garlic butter wasn't that present.

Moonlight flat rusty wire oyster with lemon myrtle

As a refresher, we were given a Moonlight flat rusty wire oyster with lemon myrtle snow. This was refreshing indeed and not fishy at all. Top quality seafood!

Barramundi and beach herbs

Next we had the barramundi topped with Australian greens pesto swimming in a foam. Not my favourite dish as the greens were really strong in herby grassy flavour. In my opinion, my fish was slightly undercooked as it was stringy when I pulled it apart but Quynh's piece was fine.

Beer and fennel bread with cultured butter

YAS the bread and butter cart finally made its way to us. Our lovely waitress rolled out the butter for us from the 150 year old churner. The cultured butter was soooo smooth but the bread was a letdown. The beer and fennel bread was too crusty. Didn't stop us from getting 2 servings tho.

Kohlrabi with Yarra Valley salmon roe and marron coral

Our next course was a vegetarian one was shredded kolralbi topped with salmon roe, macadamia milk and fingerlime. This was the least enjoyable dish of the night. I was not a fan of the macadamia milk and thought the flavour combinations didn't match well. The closest thing I can compare it to is a very wet Japanese okonomiyaki since kolrabi is a type of white cabbage.

Fingerlime sorbet with sorrel and flowers

Next we were given a fun palate cleanser. It was a fingerlime sorbet with sorrel and flowers. The sorrel and marigold was presented in a tiny mortar. Liquid nitrogen was then poured in and we were instructed to crush the now frozen sorrel and marigold with a pestle. Once it became fine, our waitress quenelled the fingerlime sorbet over it. The sorbet had lovely bursts of fingerlime throughout and when mixed with everything, it was quite delicious. Definitely a highlight and so interactive as well.

Kangaroo with figs and muntari berries

Our next course was kangaroo and fig. The fig flesh was scooped out and mixed with cured kangaroo and then placed back into the fig. I felt the fig's sweetness overpowered the kangaroo but it was still quite nice.

Wallaby snag with wattleseed damper and condiments

Wallaby Snag

Wattle seed Damper

This dish took up the whole table. It was a playful take on an Australian BBQ as it was not your classic snags on bread. The wattle seed damper was expertly cooked on some seriously hot Japanese white oak at the table. The wallaby snags were smoking on top of the grill and accompanied by fig spiced hot sauce, watercress and pickled onions. When eaten together, it was really yummy. I was impressed by this dish and it was fun to eat.

David Blackmore wagyu striploin with seaweed

Close-up shot!

Wagyu was our next dish. This was accompanied by nasturtium puree and seeweed. The wagyu was perfectly cooked and melted in my mouth. Everything else complemented it well but that piece of meat was an absolute standout. YOM

Trolley of Cheese

Set-up

From left to right: Subtle to strong

Accompaniments

Cheese time! The cheese trolley looked spectacular as it slowly made its way to us. Only I had this course as Quynh absolutely despises cheese (how are we even sisters?!?!!?). The waiter was really knowledgeable as he explained the origins of each slice of cheese. I was encouraged to eat from the left to right. I had goat's cheese, brie, hard cheese, blue cheese and soft rounded cheese. My favourite was definitely the hard cheese. This was accompanied by wafer thin crackers, beetroot, pickled quandong, pickled onion and compressed apple. While I love cheese, a whole course of cheese is a tad overkill for me.

Flinders Island dry age lamb with quandongs and beetroot

Different angle

On the other hand, Quynh had a lamb dish in substitution of cheese. It was lamb loin with beetroot cooked a few ways and nasturtium leaves. Quynh said the lamb was cooked perfectly but because it was so simple, it was a tad overpowered by the copious amounts of beetroot.

Birthday Message

Dessert snacks

Happy Birthday to my sister!!! A couple chocolate and expresso snacks on the message platter. Not very memorable in taste.

Roasted marshmallows

Toasty Toasty

Chocolate and pear roasted marshmallows

Dessert time! First up we got some roasted marshmallows. The brought out a little fireplace to lightly toast the marshmallows. The insides were chocolate and pear and still cold while the outside was toasty.

Tea tree, mandarin, and desert limes

Then it was the tea tree sponge, mandarin sorbet and desert limes. This was super fresh with the mandarin sorbet and segments.

Chocolate soufflé

HNGGGGG chocolate soufflé was the next dessert. It was dusted with a creme anglaise snow. This dessert was soooooo incredibly fluffy. Even though I am not a fan of chocolate, I kept on spooning for more. SHO GOOD.

Post-dessert snacks

Lamingtons

Gumnuts

We ended the night with a couple snacks. It was a modern take on a lamington which had chocolate mousse in the inside. The gumnuts were made from eucalyptus and honey.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY QUYNH

We were properly stuffed by the end of the meal. We had a good time with some highs but there were a couple average dishes. It is a disappointment to have an experience where you come out feeling that it did not live up to your expectations. I have always thought Vue de monde to be the pinnacle of fine dining in Melbourne and I have come to reevaluate it. To pay $300, I would expect the food to blow me away and while some dishes were fabulous, I can't stop thinking of the ones that didn't quite hit the mark. In terms of service, it was definitely above standard. We had an array of servers and it would have been nice to just have 1 for a more personable touch. However, they were courteous and always happy to answer questions. Quynh ordered a cocktail that she had finished by the 3rd course and it wasn't until dessert, that someone finally picked up the empty glass and asked if she wanted another drink. I don't expect lavish attention but in terms of drinks, I think we were overlooked because we're not wine drinkers. I just want to mention the view again. So amaze. When we were leaving, we were given a breakfast goody bag to our delight. It had some tea, muesli and vegemite macarons. So thoughtful of them!


Taste: 7/10
Service: 8/10
Presentation: 8.5/10
Value for Money: 6/10