Lume - South Melbourne

A couple months ago, we went to Lume for Quynh's birthday. The menu has probably have some variations since then but they still have some of their staples around. It was a recommendation from our mate Viv (@ourfavouritepasttime). We honestly did not scour through the reviews or flick through the photos posted online before we dined here. It was quite refreshing to be surprised. The journey was 14 courses excluding the bread and butter course for $210. Exclaimer: full spoilers below.

Sea Corn Tacos

Close up shot

Our first dish of the night was 'sea corn taco'. It consisted of baby corn and mudcrab on a delicate taco shell. The flavours were very pronounced and the baby corn was actually a sort of puree/mousse that was piped to imitate baby corn. Amazing!

Cuttlefish and cucumber tart

Close up shot

Next was the cuttlefish and cucumber tart. The components were cured cuttlefish, barley and cucumber presented on a smoked macadamia tart. This was quite an earthy dish but I felt the cuttlefish was too subtle so the dish did not tied together as much. The tart however had a lovely crumble.

Golden Egg

Cross Section

One of my favourite dishes of the night was the Golden Egg. It was beautifully presented, The 'egg shell' was a miso waffle batter and the 'egg' comprised of an egg yolk sitting atop a potato foam. When biting it, bursts of salmon roe were a surprise as it hid underneath the surface.

Berries and Beetroot

Next was the salted berries, beetroot and possibly goat's cheese. I have never been a fan of sweet and savoury but the dish made a bit more sense when eaten together.

Pearl on the ocean floor

Close up shot

Cross section

Details from the back

 This was by far the prettiest dish of the night. Pearl on the ocean floor had so many components. The 'pearl' was a pinenut and white miso ice cream and we were instructed to eat it first to start the 'journey'. This journey was an array of seafood slivers to represent the rockpools from Queensland to Tasmania. The sweet mussel was definitely a highlight as well as the acidic gel on the dish.

Duck ravioli

Ooh the insides

The next course was the duck ravioli. Saltbush and kolralbi were presenting flavours. The casing itself was a tad thick and it tasted more like a dumpling than a ravioli. The broth that accompanied it had a lovely taste though.

Barbecue Abalone

 Next was the Barbecue Abalone with emu ham and kombu. It also had shitake mushrooms, desert limes (my favourite ingredient ever), flaxseed crisp and a dashi broth. The broth was flavoursome and everything worked well together.

Marron

Close up shot!

Back of it!

 This was the marron dish. The poached marron was surrounded by tomatoes, cucumbermelon, spring onion and topped with marron butter. The takeaway of this dish was that it was super fresh. It would've been nice to let the richness of the marron be the star. More saucy elements pls. P.S I have confirmed that I am allergic to marron. It was a very sad day indeed.

Broccoli

Close up shot!

 Next was 'Broccoli'. It looked deceptively simple but there was fingerlime and a calamari and caramelised garlic gravy. Simple flavours that paired so well with each other.

Bread and butter

Eel butter and corn honey

YAS, our fav bread and butter course. This was taken to the next level with Jerusalem artichoke sourdough, corn honey and eel butter. It wasn't until we were happily munching away that our waiter let us know that the eel butter wasn't butter at all but a Spanish custard that was cooked down to resemble a butter consistency. I did very much enjoy it. The sweetness of the honey added to the depth. Apparently they cook the corn until it becomes caramel.

Dry aged duck

Close up shot!

 We also got served dry aged duck, honey and kombu egg. The duck was cooked to perfection. The dish was a touch too sweet with all the honey though.

Ricotta stuffed zucchini flower

Our last savoury course was a ricotta stuffed zucchini flower. Quynh had hers stuffed with tofu because she ain't about that cheese life. It was deliciously cheesy as promised. Again, it was quite sweet as it sat in a pool of of tomato and fig leaf honey.

Musk sticks?

Really delicate dish!

Time for dessert! To start we got fermented passionfruit and ginger sorbet with fried rhubarb and Geraldton wax leaf. This was a play on musk sticks, which was quite clever. The Geraldton wax really added another dimension to the dish. It reminded us of tangy Kaffir lime leaves.

Olive Oil ice cream

Soooo yummy!

 Next was the Olive Oil ice cream. This was surprisingly delicious! The consistency was perfectly smooth and it got me coming back for more and then some more. The absinthe gel was interesting but could've been a bit sweeter. The saltbush gave it a nice crunch. Nearly perfect dessert!

Vanilla beans

 We got the 'vanilla beans' to chew on but in reality it was dried rhubarb. Lume really likes messing with you.

Bday treat!!

 As part of Quynh's birthday treat, we were given black rice ice cream, freeze dried meringue and blackberries. The ice cream was just fab.

Truffles to end this journey

We thought we were done but surprise, one more course! The presentation was pretty extra for 2 truffles. It was chocolate truffles with salted caramel and fingerlime. We were instructed to eat the whole thing and it was just a gooey burst of goodness. A very sweet way to end our meal.

Overall, we had a great time at Lume. We had a fantastic table where we got to witness the hustle and bustle of the pass. All the chefs worked so harmoniously. Our server, was very relaxed, friendly and made us genuinely laugh which added to the experience. The food was great and we got to taste really interesting innovative things. It was just a playful array of courses where not everything tasted the same as it was described on paper. We were definitely very full leaving Lume. It was a well celebrated birthday.


Taste: 8/10
Presentation: 8/10
Value for Money: 8/10
Service: 9/10