When people imagine what it would be like to ascend to heaven, they usually imagine a whole lot of bright gold light and an old guy with a beard and loin cloth. But as I watched the shiny doors of Vue De Monde's private lift slide open, I knew that I had found my heaven...55 floors above the city. Now, for those of you who know me personally, you'll know that i'm not a particularly 'gushy' type of person, (unless cute Asian babies are involved, but I can't really be blamed for that one) however, I may need to ask for forgiveness as I feel like I'll be gushing so much in this post you'll think a fire hydrant exploded in your house. I suppose the short version of the story is that I have been waiting to eat at Shannon Bennett's restaurant, Vue De Monde, ever scince I read about it's move (it was originally located in Carlton) to Melbourne's iconic Rialto building in 2011. Shannon Bennett is one of the world's most acclaimed chefs and his Vue De Monde has been awarded an unprecedented 19/20 in the Melbourne Good Food Guide and been repeatedly named Australia's restaurant of the year. After my dinning experience, I can see why.
My dining companion and I began our night in Vue De Monde's Lui Bar, situated just next to the restaurant. The atmosphere was fantastic with dim lights, old world couches and a view of Melbourne's lights spread out and shimmering before us. I realised that even the drinks here were a cut above your typical mustard (that's not to say that there was mustard in my cocktail...that would be gross) when I watched the cool as a cucumber bar tender pour ammoretto scented dry ice over my champagne, gin and muddled mandarine cocktail. From here we were escorted by a particularly friendly waitress into the dinning room, which is surely a sight to behold, and it is immediately apparent that no expense has been spared in the design. Dotted around the room are kangaroo hide covered tables paired with leather and kangaroo fur covered chairs, specially designed lights, the most extensive open view kitchen I have ever seen and, of course, that view. I really could go on forever, but as you probably want to be finished reading by Christmas, I shall spare you the super long descriptions.
We were escorted to, in our opinion, the table with the best view (though I bet everone says that) and there we were greeted by course upon course of the best food I have ever tasted. But actually, no joke. Each dish was superior to anything I had ever eaten and had a complexity that I never knew could exist within one mouthful. We began with some appetisers, my favourites being a salt cured wallaby carpaccio with herb emulsion and a delicate wild garlic flower and the absolutely mind blowing smoked eel wrapped in a crunchy white chocolate coating topped with black caviar. Oh yes. So wrong, but I promise you, so very very right. As the night progressed, it became clear that Shannon Bennet was not afraid to push the boundaries of his food and allow the diner to enjoy flavour combinations that one could never even contemplate. It's like he's a food wizard (a Dumbledore of sorts, if you will) who can balance taste and texture like no one else. The whole idea seems to be to completely immerse the guest in their dining experience, whether that be through taste touch sight or smell...or perhaps all of the above.
A dish (perhaps one of my very favourites of the whole evening) that you could describe as almost interactive, was the roasted marron tail with tarragon butter, a crunchy marron 'sandwhich' and marron powder. We recieved none of that specially sourced French silver cutlery for this dish and instead were instructed to eat with our hands. The flavours of the dish were so impeccably matched, with nothing over-powering the perfectly cooked and buttery marron tail. Another dish that required a bit of work on our part was a delicate little palate cleanser (warning: the palate clensers are not actually classified as part of the ten course degustation, nor are the appetizers at the beginning of the meal nor the petite fours after dessert. I therefore urge you to consume your food with caution and, for god's sake, do not fill up on bread). Dry ice was poured over fine micro-herbs which we then had to crush with a pestle (or the mortar...I can never remember which is which), before it was topped with a cooling cucumber sorbet. The overall effect was soothing as well as impressive in terms of the performance that was required of the dish.
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| Our first course of spanner crab with kohlrabi, avacado mousse and beach herbs |
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| The incredible marron tail |
This could be said about quite a few of the other dishes, and may I say that our absolutely incredible waiter for the evening performed spectacularly. He was so amazing that by the end of the night my companion and I were arguing over which of us was going to have his babies. I maintain that it shall be me. A dish that was exceptionally memorable was the 'Melbourne Onion Soup' which was brought to our table in an old school coffee siphon. We watched the rich looking liquid that had been cooking for 48 hours be sucked into the top compartment of the siphon before being poured over our bowls containing roast onions, croutons and a rich cream. Let me tell you, this was no ordinary onion soup. I was left baffled and wondering how so much flavour could be imparted into a liquid that, on the surface, seemed so simple. Another dish that allowed us to see the level of dedication, not only in the food, but also in the service of the oh so attentive wait staff, was the roast pigeon with artichoke, mushrooms and parsley puree. Here, our waiter brought out a glass cloche, billowing with smoke, from which he decanted the tiny little legs of the pigeon which he announced had been smoked with hay. For those who would wrinkle their nose at the idea of eating the 'rats of the sky', I urge you to reconsider. This dish was awesome. It was so earthy and the best way I can describe it is of tasting like a forest...but, you know, less dirty and stuff. And then....oh, and then there was the beef cheek accompanied by beef tender loin. So taken was my partner with this dish that I was worried I would have to perform some kind of resuscitation, which would not have gone well (given I didn't even know how to spell resuscitation and just had to google it). Placed before us was a dish with shavings of beetroot, a gorgeous creamy pear puree, grated braised beetroot (grated over our plates at the table, of course!) and a large spoonful of the most incredible beef cheek. Of. My. Life. So tender and soft was this meat it actually made my knees go weak. The tender loin, which was cooked impeccably, was seared on a mini grill in front of us and then placed upon our plates by our diligent waiter. All in all, after this dish I could have died a happy blogger.
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| The 'Melbourne Onion Soup' |
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| A 'gift dish' from Shannon Bennett of barramundi glazed in smoked bone marrow, prawn, herbs and wild garlic foam |
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| Our selection of French cheeses with accompaniments |
But perhaps not, at least, before we sampled our desserts (thats right, plural. Because the 8 dishes, including the cheese course and our special extra dish we recieved from Shannon as a 'gift', we had eaten before this were not enough). We began the sweet aspect of the meal with a classic combination of 'beer and nuts', though obviously, I had never had beer or nuts such as these before. In a small shot glass was a sweet passion fruit and liquorice liquid which was partnered by a tiny little ball of coconut sorbet rolled in toasted shavings of coconut. Then it was on to our first dessert. If any dish could represent the incredible presentation that all of Vue's dishes possess, it would be this dessert. A dish made up of textures of mandarine (sorbet, gel and cooked mandarine segments),textures of violets (flowers, meringues and powder), biscuit crumble and a vanilla snow, was not only perfectly balanced, light and delicious but was also almost too pretty to eat. Almost. And finally was the light as air, soft as cloud chocolate souffle, topped
with chocolate mousse and then finished with a drizzling of vanilla-touched creme anglaise. Basically delicious clouds from heaven in a mouthful. What topped off the evening (if it was possible for the night to get even more incredible) was the private tour we recieved from our waiter, of the kitchen, function room and cellar. It was pretty amazeballs...just sayin'.
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| Beautiful dessert of textured manderine and violets |
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| The light as air chocolate souffle |
Even the word 'perfection' doesn't seem to do justice to the entire dining experience offered to the guests at Vue De Monde. From the moment you step into the lobby of the Rialto building to the second you're escorted back down again after your meal by a waiter, who then offers you gift bags filled with goodies for breakfast the next morning, you feel as though you've seen the very best that hospitality has to offer. Shannon Bennett really does take your dining experience to a whole new level (no pun intended) and seems to have thought of everything. The whole evening is tailored around the comfort and happiness of his guests. Of course this type of experience comes with a price tag...but as you sit in those specially made leather chairs, eating off engraved vintage silver cutlery whilst being served French cheeses from a specially crafted trolly by Australia's most expert wait staff and survey the whole of Melbourne gleaming before you, this ceases to matter. After my night at Vue De Monde, I know what the Vue from heaven looks like.
