Peter Verey

Needed a quintessential well executed Mod-Oz lunch when visiting Melbourne and @atria.dining @theritzcarltonmelbourne delivered .

Beautiful property with a great view across Melbourne from the 80th floor . Terrific expansive wine list and the cooking was assured and aesthetic.

Pork jowl, puffed buckwheat , organic apple , lovage

Victorian seafood Crudo with white soy dressing , torched Alfonsino , snapper, sea bream.

Macedon ranges duck, cherry, radicchio.

Murray cod , nasturtium pil pil , zucchini , almond .

Pommes dauphinoise. Less

Amaru has always had a distinctive style . Native and foraged ingredients, light sauces, sustainable , expert level cuisson . It is really the only fine dining venue that I feel compelled to visit when in Melbourne .

some of the highlight components were

- bunya nut tofu , perfect texture and the nut flavour was pronounced .

- Mud Crab with zucchini chawanmushi was the dish of the night , layers of zucchini studded the dish, particularly taken with the chawanmushi and the zucchini ponzu

- The cooking of both the WA Marron and the Jurassic quail was faultless

-The final dessert with a koji and Davidson plum ice cream and rainforest cherries was utterly brilliant and definitely my front runner for dessert of the year .

Menu below

Heirloom Melons / Bunya Nut / Sunrise Lime

Mud Crab / Heirloom Squash / Basil

Western Australian Marron / Seaweed / Bitter Lettuce / Clams

Quail / Quince / Pumpkin Seed Miso

Dry Aged Pork / Muntries / Warrigal Green Kimchi / Fermented Pear

Bees Wax / Camel Milk / Green Tomato / Queen Garnet Plum

Rainforest Cherry / Koji / Davidson Plum /saltbush Less

My favourite restaurant in Melbourne , faultless pasta with terrific texture and amazing emulsions. Always number #1 place to revisit when back in Melbourne .

Rigatoni with nettle sauce , red pepper sauce and pistachios . The texture of the rigatoni was firm yet pillow like , the duality of the sauces combined beautifully.

Risotto with herb oil and super tender mussels and abalone .

Mafaldine with sher Wagyu shank and pickled chilli sauce .

Before the pasta the ubiquitous Australian kingfish crudo , this timed paired with Geraldton wax oil , grapes and caviar . Less

Have a bit of travel coming up the next little bit so think this was the last sushi meal for about 2 months 😢.
Fun night with chef Osamu explaining the process and thinking about the nigiri he curates , alternating textures and temperature, he tries to give a unique omakase experience .

Loved the contrast of otoro from both the belly and the cheek , and the Nodoguro barely touched with flame to wake up the oil on the skin is always a pleasure .

Full menu below

Scallop and shrimp with caviar
Ark shell clam sashimi
Charcoal grilled Hamachi
Abalone cutlet
Seared Snapper
Snow crab and tofu in dashi
Nigiri sequence -
Cheek Otoro
Belly Otoro
Marinated akami
Iwashi
Uni
Nodoguro
Kuruma ebi
Anago
Toro handroll
Shizuoka Melon Less

French food in the hands of Japanese chefs is one of my fav fine dining genres , however this leant a little more bistro than I anticipated.
Fact is there was nothing wrong with the meal whatsoever just a case of my expectations not being correct .

A grilled Spanish carabinero prawn was full of flavour and the sourdough bread helped greatly in mopping up the juices .

3 fine specimens of white asparagus were paired with a white miso espuma , a satisfying if not exciting dish .

Cuttlefish tartare were bound and formed into balls and deep fried with kataifi pastry . Perhaps this dish was a nod to HK street food. I must confess I prefer the local HK cuttlefish paste balls but did enjoy this dish regardless .

Last course was a solid puck of braised monkfish with a ragu of barley , chorizo , green olive and fish broth. This was perfect Provençal comfort food . Less

Came to Shanghai but had outstanding Cantonese food @102house_shanghai .

Originating from Foshan, the restaurant opened in Shanghai in 2021 and has allready obtained Michelin ⭐️ ⭐️ and a 40th ranking in Asia’s 50 best .

The only option is a seasonal set menu which last night ran to 21 dishes over 12 courses .

While most dishes were familiar to me and I have seen them on menus in HK or Macau , the quality of the execution was eye opening. In particular all the stir fry dishes were judged to the optimum level , with proteins and vegetables supremely tender , juicy and flavourful.

Photos attached represent some of my favourite courses .

Deep fried caul fat surrounded a jumble of oysters and mushrooms , the rough texture of the caul far wrapping gave terrific texture .

Pigeon and scallop was a stir fry combo that I haven’t encountered, the pigeon was juicy and slippery , the scallop supple and sweet .

Wok fried shrimp was served with Chinese onion and sweet peas , clean and fresh .

The Lobster with shrimp roe was one of the best examples of lobster cooking I have ever had , the meat just seperated from the shell and was juicy yet cooked thru .

Crispy chicken was deep fried but also deeply smoked for a great contrast .

Sweet and sour pork is the signature dish , the pork is pork belly and is crisp as glass, the fruit changes seasonally while it was pineapple on this occasion , other variations feature peach, ginger and strawberry.

A coral grouper was cooked with mild shrimp paste , ginger and tofu skin , fun dish to get messy with .

The final savoury course was were rice noodles in fish broth and geoduck , milky and cleansing .

Full menu in comments .. Less

When you go to Shanghai and while having lunch you find out that the chef from said restaurant will be in Macau next week 🤦‍♂️. ( Go check out the 4 hand dinner at Imperial Court April 26-28 )

But no regrets as was a delicious lunch @meetthebund.2019 .

Specialising in Fujian cuisine , loved the clarity of flavour in all the dishes .

Small Fujian surf clams were flavour packed with a chilli vinegar dressing , could happily slurp up dozens.

Chilled tofu skin with Celtuce was a super refreshing starter .

Angus beef was cooked with dry spices and mixed with a tangle of chilli threads and dried tangerine peel . Sweet and spicy ..

Miniature grouper was served 2 ways , first in a porridge that was so velvety , it really gave New England chowder vibes and was delicious .
Secondly the grouper was briefly scalded with hot oil and served atop a bed of seaweed , quality ingredient led cooking .

Finally a “mystery “ green veg stir fried with red pepper and garlic , great fragrance and the vegetable was perfectly set . Less

I last had @elzer.olivier ‘s food at his previous restaurant concept Seasons ( now with a branch in Taiwan ) in 2015 . Fair to say that @lenvolhk is a completely different style of dining and the execution is first class .

Razor clams and caviar kick off the meal , a very pleasant mouthful and I particularly enjoyed the pressed caviar cream that serves as the base of the dish and really lengthens the flavours on the palate .

The signature dish is Hokkaido Uni with Sicilian gamberoni and crispy fennel , it is a worthy signature, if I had to have a quibble it is simply the power of the chive garnish , the allium essence does interfere a little with the other delicate flavours.

A morel and veal tarte tatin is next paired with a limousin veal sweetbread and yellow wine sauce . This is exactly as delicious as it reads on the menu and anytime I see sweetbread as an option I am beyond excited .

Sea bass is coated with a tomato sauce blended with Tel Aviv spice mix , a burrata sauce , eggplant puree and confit garlic . Very familiar Mediterranean flavours delivered with aplomb .

A duo of Australian F9 Wagyu oyster blade is the last savoury course , one half is charcoal grilled with a vadouvan sauce , but I particularly enjoyed the braised section with potato purée .

The cheese course supplement is a must , I chose all the strongest funkiest cheeses , and the Munster finished with a plum vinegar rind is a must order .

Pre dessert was a unique hibiscus and grapefruit combination.

Before a classic Sicilian Pistachio soufflé with La Gauloise liqueur ice cream , faultless . Less

First time having a set menu at Jade Dragon rather than Dim Sum or ALC , and it was my favourite meal here so far .

Nuanced flavours that felt a little European at times and were somehow subtle but robust .

A trio of apps start the meal , suckling pig with caviar is probably a little over done these days but it’s a winning combo , but the deep fried Cristal blue prawn absolutely popped and the toasted sea cucumber and jelly fish with balsamic was a nice palate reset .

Braised imperial birds nest soup in brown sauce is a dish I would never order and I may have to rethink that . The texture was great and the soup/ sauce tasted like a rich roasted consommé, incredibly pleasurable to eat .

Steamed garoupa sat atop a Hokkaido milk custard , chicken oil and aged Hua Diao wine sauce , the chicken oil absolutely sung here and the flavours of the dish were profound .

Australian abalone was deliciously tender and served with a glossy liver sauce that shone on the plate , sea cucumber was deep fried and and stuffed with shrimp paste and a duo of mustard . Didn’t really think the mustard worked but the tempura pumpkin was textbook .

Live lobster poached to order and paired with udon noodles and a spicy yellow pepper broth, this one had surprising acid heat , but as the palate adjusted it became extremely enjoyable .

To end things ,the ubiquitous mango, coconut, sago pudding was reimagined into a modern plated dessert and no less delicious . Less

Back to Neighbourhood last night and ordered all the fav dishes .

The Salt baked chicken is a must pre order . Coming out of its salt crust , it is lightly tanned, perfectly juicy , and full of flavour . The rice is studded with morels plus all the chicken bits , gizzards , heart, liver etc.. are found after a bit of a forage . The rice also plays a starring role and you must grab your fair share of the rice crust at the bottom .

Mackerel was the smoked fish of the day , judiciously handled and the highlight just may be the horseradish cream which gives it the perfect balance .

Celtuce , anchovy , Parmesan is a terrific take on Caesar salad , utilising both the stem and Celtuce leaves . It’s delicious and I always ponder why I don’t try to emulate this at home .

Baby squid is served sizzling with a mix of garlic and espelette , mop it up with sourdough bread .

Seasonal veg casserole with bacon and black truffle is an excellent warm fricasee that also gives some salad vibes . Love the softness of the carrot and Sunchoke interacting with bursting sweet peas and then the savory hit of bacon and black truffle .

Thanks to @davidtlai for another great meal Less