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
