Momofuku Seiobo

February 2, 2013

Michael was pretty nifty to swallow somewhere fancy inwards Sydney, as well as I couldn't intend of anything fancier than David Chang's Momofuku Seiobo. I was less attracted past times the large advert as well as to a greater extent than past times praise for the venue's vegetarian options on The Unbearable Lightness of Being Hungry - it was Lee's favourite repast of 2011. Attraction is 1 thing; getting a reservation is to a greater extent than well-nigh dedication as well as precision timing. Tables opened upwards up on the website at 10:00am, 10 days inwards advance of the meal. On my showtime endeavor I logged in, wavered a few likewise many seconds over the seating, as well as was bumped off. It was over inwards twoscore seconds. Twenty-three hours, fifty-nine minutes as well as twenty seconds afterwards I clicked indiscriminately, halved my fourth dimension on site as well as secured our table. Phew.

From at that spot I faced strict electronic mail instructions, a friendlier confirmation telephone phone band as well as a slightly nervous journeying to the venue, with the threat of losing my tabular array as well as $350 off my credit card the potential number of running late. Our vantage for arriving a few minutes early on was extra fourth dimension with the drinks listing earlier the demo began. I was delighted to honor to a greater extent than than 1 meal-matching option: inwards add-on to the criterion procession of wines ($95pp) there's a reduced pairing ($60pp) as well as a non-alcoholic pairing of vegetable as well as fruit juices ($55pp). Awfully prissy of 'em to consider us inexpensive drunks as well as tee-totallers.

Food-wise, you'll accept what you're given as well as pay $175pp for the pleasure. Momofuku create cater for particular dietary requirements, simply as well as then long every bit they're spelled out inwards the initial reservation as well as confirmed past times phone. Besides a few hints on Lee's blog, I actually didn't know what to expect. That morning time at Apt I'd flicked through a re-create of Chang's book as well as constitute almost nothing, fifty-fifty amongst the desserts, that didn't include brute flesh or fat.

Food arrived promptly as well as frequently. We began with smoked Irish Gaelic patato piped into a buttery pastry tube, served with a sugariness greenish apple tree gel as well as powdered, freeze-dried apple. Michael sipped sake, piece I sampled an apple tree as well as fennel juice.

Steamed shiitake mushroom buns with sriracha sauce were an fantabulous consolation prize for those of us disqualified from Chang's famous pork buns.

With a Riesling for Michael as well as a ruddy currant juice for me, nosotros picked over tomatoes, tofu as well as yuzu koshu foam. Though they'd only been real subtly cooked, Michael declared these to live "the form of tomatoes he likes".

Confit potatoes were describe of piece of occupation solid but tender, as well as crusty on the outside; served inwards a small-scale puddle of buttermilk with roasted nuts as well as seeds.

From hither things took a plow for the pink. With a rosé as well as watermelon juice inwards hand, nosotros picked at these petal-like radishes as well as constitute tiny watermelon cubes, dirtied upwards with fermented dark beans as well as burnt oil.

One of the chefs popped over to our tabular array with an opened upwards cast-iron pot containing a huge golden orb of roasted cauliflower. "Cauliflower says hi!", he greeted us. Beats picking one's ain lobster from the tank.

The zucchini done 'many ways' simply barely outdid Ethos' three, cheers to dark garlic (like oyster sauce!) as well as sesame yoghurt.

Next came Chenin blanc, carrot juice, as well as my favourite dish of the dark - a disc of shiitake congee inwards a shiitake dashi topped with deep-fried doughnut dots as well as a thick cinema of preserved egg yolk. So savoury, as well as then rich.

My orangish as well as blackberry juice held its ain against this plate of grilled onions as well as cucumber with ruddy vino as well as pickled cherries. Though I dear the agency that roasting tames onions, the slippery things involve quite some chasing approximately my plate.

Our cauliflower returned inwards to a greater extent than manageable chunks, served with deep-fried capers, mustard seeds as well as hazelnuts. I washed it downwards with beetroot juice.

The cheese bridging savoury as well as sugariness was a loop of soft, grassy caprine animal curd with a moat of dark currant juice as well as mint fossil oil inwards the middle.

Cucumber as well as raspberry were delicately balanced every bit sugariness as well as sour inwards my juice as well as inwards this dessert - the sweetened cucumber sorbet surrounded past times raspberry foam. The accompanying elderflower yoghurt passed me by.

Roasting spectacularly caramelised some white chocolate crumbs - these were served with a wedge of browned pineapple as well as lip-puckering sheets of lime meringue inwards a display that reminded me of the Opera House.

Our repast finished with the pecker as well as copies of the menu. No tea, java or petit fours hither (for us non-pork-eaters, anyway) - Momofuku play it their way. There's a existent feel throughout that they're running the demo exactly to their schedule as well as there's non much room for lingering or extended socialising or fifty-fifty for eating every bit slow every bit I do. Our twelve courses were finished as well as nosotros were out the door inwards ii as well as a quarter hours; we've had lesser degustations spread across four!

Nevertheless, Momofuku was completely accommodating of our vegetarianism. The staff were uniformly immature as well as energetic (I'm non certain whatever of them had seen their 30th birthday yet) as well as exclusively capable, backed past times an attention-grabbing soundtrack of dad-rock, bro-rock, alt-rock as well as hip hop. This repast rates inwards our ii most expensive as well as most enjoyed degustations amongst Attica.

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The vegetarian dinner has already appeared with many compliments on The Unbearable Lightness of Being Hungry as well as sooks - nutrient - notes, Buggles as well as Squeak, Sugarpuffi, Thought Wad, Yaya's Yum Yums, Timeout with Jaeminkins, cosmetic cupcake, Mo' Money, Mo' Honey, novemberspell, Brunch, Lunch & Munch, The Ortolan's Last Meal, food is our religion, PLAN-MB, Next Stop: Food, Caramel Egg Pudding, Poppet's Window, melbourne gastronome, The Food Fatties, Gourmet Chick, The Pink Leopard, From Across the Kitchen Table, Food Scene Investigation, Angelica's Blog, Di-Licious Food, Yenface Itinerary, Christine Wong Photography, Sarah Cooks, Flog as well as FoodiePop, Dumpling Girl as well as Cheesecake Boy, Trent & Marisa Lil Adventures!, The Life of Mr as well as Mrs Ng, Food, booze as well as shoes, Napoli Restaurant Alert, lucy inwards the larder, I Dream inwards Chocolate, I'm Still Hungry as well as Hear Ye!.

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Momofuku Seiobo
The Star, eighty Pyrmont St, Level G
reservations via website only
veg degustation $175pp, reduced matched wines $60pp, matched juices $55pp
http://momofuku.com/sydney/seiobo/

Accessibility: Entry to the eating spot is apartment as well as the tables are widely spaced inside. Lighting is focussed at the centre of the tables as well as music is moderately loud. Passage to the unisex lav is apartment but fraught, requiring a trip through the kitchen (a trip bypassing the kitchen powerfulness live possible with staff assistance). The cubicle is somewhat large with a heavy door.

Kappo

Update 27/1/2019: Kappo has closed down.

May 27, 2015

For my birthday this yr nosotros decided to endeavor Kappo, a newish Japanese house inward the city. It's the fancy cousin of the lovely Hihou as well as Izakaya Den then nosotros had high hopes for a adept dark out. The commencement fox is gaining access - there's a door on the Spring Street side of the edifice that looks similar the entry, but it's closed as well as there's a sign pointing you lot upwards Flinders Lane. The adjacent door you lot honour is somewhat forebodingly closed as well as after pushing as well as pulling fruitlessly, I finally figured out that you lot stimulate got to press the bell as well as stimulate got the staff allow you lot in. Awkward.

Once we'd made it over that hurdle everything was much to a greater extent than straightforward - nosotros were seated at the bar overlooking the lilliputian kitchen as well as given a quick run downwards of the means dining at Kappo works. Your 'menu' is basically a listing of almost l ingredients as well as all you lot stimulate got to produce is create upwards one's hear whether you lot desire 5, vii or ix courses as well as whether in that location are whatever ingredients you lot peculiarly desire to stimulate got included or excluded. We went alongside the vii course of teaching alternative ($120) as well as allow them produce whatever they wanted inside our vego constraints.

Cindy kicked things off alongside a ryu-kan cocktail ($23), a bittersweet concoction of whiskey, campari, umeshu as well as grapefruit, alongside a big spherical H2O ice cube keeping things chilled. I went downwards the matching drinks path ($80) important I was bombarded alongside an array of first-class vino as well as sake, none of which I paid sufficient attending to to actually comment on, except to banking venture notation that the matched drinks volition larn out you lot pretty toasted - read on equally my spider web log shipping service gets vaguer as well as vaguer the later on into the dark it gets.

The commencement course of teaching involved yet to a greater extent than booze - a lilliputian shot of warm sake, served alongside charred Rex chocolate-brown mushrooms that had been flavoured alongside yuzu. Even though I oft larn matched drinks at fancy restaurants, I rarely larn the actual matching that goes on, but this combination made a lot of sense to me, alongside the sake actually accentuating the umami of the mushrooms.

Next upwards was a warm vegetable salad, served alongside a wonderful walnut miso as well as a plate sum of delicacies for dipping - gingko nuts, persimmon coated inward sesame seeds as well as charred peppers grown inward the restaurant's ain plot close Fed Square.

The soup that came adjacent was i of the highlights of the repast - a seaweed based dashi, alongside some starchy tofu that somehow included potato, fried lotus roots, dark radish as well as boundary onion. It was closely followed past times some other plate of teeny delicacies, including pomegranate seeds, slippery jack mushrooms, crisply lotus root, a dark rice crumble, tomato, wakame, lime as well as salt. Every lilliputian gustatory modality was wonderful.

Then came a salad, alongside pino mushrooms, spinach, golden beetroot as well as a pine-nut dressing, all covered inward crispy slivers of something that I didn't care to banking venture notation downwards as well as couldn't position past times gustatory modality alone. The visual highlight of the dark was likely the gorgeous veggie sushi that followed, involving shitake mushrooms, impossibly frail capsicum, asparagus, pickled ginger as well as some peppery radish.

Things got a scrap heartier alongside the adjacent dish - yuba alongside saltbush, kale as well as shitake mushrooms.

The lastly of the savoury dishes has us already starting to combat for tum infinite - a uncomplicated bowl of rice alongside frail pickles, daikon as well as edible bean curd.

The desserts were a combination of the winningly uncomplicated (a yuzu as well as dearest sorbet) as well as the impressively fancy (sweet murphy chips as well as sugariness murphy H2O ice cream, alongside chocolate as well as a chocolate-brown saccharide sauce).

Just when nosotros idea nosotros could finally halt eating, a lastly tray of petit fours turned upwards - chocolate pastry cigars, a moscato grape jelly made alongside arrowroot as well as lilliputian chocolate-brown saccharide as well as reddish edible bean spheres. It was also much food, but also first-class to ignore.

The repast was finished off alongside a soothing roasted tea.

The staff were friendly as well as efficient as well as the atmosphere was relaxed (I was surprised to meet empty tables inward such a pocket-size place, although I gauge a Midweek dark degustation is pretty indulgent). I'm certain they would easily cater for vegan visitors also - our gauge was that everything nosotros had upwards to dessert was vegan anyway. Eating at Kappo is a wonderful sense - every particular is impressive. You select your ain chopsticks as well as sake cups from their wonderful selections, you lot larn to spotter the chefs piecing together impossibly frail dishes as well as you lot larn served upwards a steady stream of first-class as well as varied food.

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There are a only a yoke of spider web log reviews of Kappo that I could honour - both The Peckish Connoisseur as well as Frog Foodventure were real positive.

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Kappo
1 Flinders Lane, Melbourne
9639 9500
menu

http://kappo.com.au/

Accessibility: There are a few steps equally you lot enter. Inside, tables are reasonably closed together - in that location are a yoke of regular height, but generally it's the bar or at a high table. Toilets were gendered as well as narrow.

Maha

May 25, 2012

Marieke has repeatedly recommended Maha for vego fine dining, in addition to Michael decided to accept her advice piece celebrating his birthday this year. While the eating theatre is large, its nighttime furnishings in addition to loud-ish music lend quite the urban center bar feel.

I took this equally a cue to social club a cocktail - our waiter suggested the pomegranate sour ($19) in addition to I'm in addition to thence glad he did. The egg white froth topping the sweetness in addition to sour liquor tasted similar icecream - this is ane grown-up spider.

The card is inspired past times the Middle East (though you'll for certain run into around contemporary tweaks inward the dishes nosotros ate) in addition to comes inward a gain of styles in addition to sizes - the soufra (in 2, three or iv courses) looks to a greater extent than traditional, piece the sultans is an extravagant vi or 8 courses. You tin also become a la carte, picking featured items from the other menu. Maha impress out a split vegetarian card specially, in addition to the staff explicitly asked close dietary requirements twice in addition to thence other restricted eaters should live good catered to, too.

Michael had us all ordering the 8 course of study blow-out, though nosotros held off on the matched wine. The repast begins amongst shot-sized spectacles of an iced hibiscus tea.

And bread. Soft, warm, fancy bread. These ones were most notable for their sweetness - I mean value the circular ane was lightly spiced amongst cinnamon.

Our origin proper course of study was a carrot in addition to cumin shourba amongst carrot cous cous. The soup was surprisingly thick in addition to I couldn't gustatory modality much beyond the cumin, which disappointed me.

This medley of breakfast radish, micro carrot, pickled cabbage, mushroom dirt, leaves in addition to saffron yoghurt was pleasant, though I didn't actually instruct the hang of how these ingredients fit together. Mostly I was merely distracted past times the cabbage's resemblance to raw meat.

I got to a greater extent than into the swing of the seeds, nuts, peas, turnips in addition to beans, swiping inward the roast lemon gel in addition to crunching on the goats curd cigar.

The side past times side dish had a similar presentation in addition to was merely equally likeable - BBQ corn kernels instruct a trivial mash from puffed corn, around depth from smoked almonds, in addition to extra wet from a corn custard. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 silverbeet borek on overstep adds the extra salty-friedness that I can't resist.

Course reveal 5 featured heirloom tomatoes in addition to broken coriander falafel amongst around unexpected kewpie mayo in addition to toast foam. Though it paired good amongst the tomatoes, nosotros industrial plant life the toast foam a trivial pretentious - hummus would serve the same purpose! - in addition to thence much in addition to thence that nosotros barely noticed that kewpie mayo anomaly.

Thankfully at that topographic point was a longer interruption earlier the terminal savoury dishes arrived, though nosotros however had no promise of finishing them. The highlight was a stuffed kousa (zucchini) bloom - instead of the stock-standard creamy cheese filling, this ane boasted sweetly spiced pumpkin, a surprisingly apt match. I was less enamoured of the mograbiehi - they were chewy, heavy in addition to non total of flavour.

Besides, at that topographic point were fifty-fifty to a greater extent than carbohydrates on offer, in addition to few compete for my attentions quite similar potatoes!

We were also served a fattoush, which was lovely but alone served to triple the carb load.

Dessert was non much lighter - our origin was a loving cup lined amongst baklava crumbs containing peanut butter parfait, salted caramel, chocolate sorbet in addition to orangish blossom foam. The subtleties of the orangish in addition to baklava were lost on me but equally a card-carrying supporter of all things chocolate-and-peanut-butter, I was happy.

Our lastly dish was non diminutive, either - nosotros were served towering pots of white chocolate soufflé amongst rosemary H2O ice cream in addition to bluish berry meringues. While the meringues didn't produce much for me, the honeyed flavor of the soufflé paired amongst the rosemary H2O ice cream was striking; ane time I'd eaten all the H2O ice cream I lost involvement inward the remaining tertiary of my soufflé.

As nosotros settled the pecker in addition to retrieved our coats, nosotros were left amongst ii parting gifts - vials of ras el hanout in addition to DIY packages of Maha's famous Turkish Delight donuts, no longer on the menu.

It was a mixed repast - around of the flavor combinations were remarkable, piece others left me completely indifferent. But nosotros were all resoundingly full! I liked that the service was to a greater extent than casual than at many other high-end restaurants; it felt friendlier in addition to was however sufficiently attentive. (Even so, I'd prefer that they didn't assume the meat repast at our tabular array must live for ane of the males in addition to declare that the DIY donut packages were 'for the women'. SMASH THE GENDER BINARY, MAHA.)

Moreover, it's nifty to notch upwardly around other high-end venue that gladly caters to vegos. Though we're unlikely to notice the correct excuse to furnish soon, I suspect their soufra card would live nifty fun to portion amongst friends.

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Fellow veg bloggers Nouveau Potato, easy equally vegan pie cause got previously covered Maha, amongst alone the latter having a few gripes.

Blog reviews of Maha are abundant in addition to overwhelmingly positive - run into Suburban Culinary Adventures, Dangerous Duplicity, Barley Restaurant Reviews, Let Me Feed You Melbourne, find me a muse, Foodie Diary, please sir, tin i cause got around more, This Food Guy, Petit Miamx, Fill My Belly inward Melbourne, EAT AND BE MERRY, FOR TOMORROW WE DIE(T), anitaeat, Out of my kitchen, spicy icecream, Moon cheese pie amongst a loving cup of starshine, juganaut's foodie thoughts, Journey of an Obsession, My Food Trail, Ooh, Look..., doublecooked, 1001 Dinners 1001 Nights, The Food Blog, My Belly Is My Friend in addition to Eat Almost Anything. Bloggers study feeling underwhelmed on Sweet in addition to Sour Fork in addition to I Eat Therefore I Am, in addition to Gastronomic Goodies, piece Better With Spice made a multi-course feast.

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Maha
21 Bond St, Melbourne
9629 5900
veg sultans menu, 8 courses, $105
http://www.mahabg.com.au/

Accessibility: Maha has reasonably spaced tables, is a trivial dim in addition to loud, in addition to has total tabular array service. The toilets are highly accessible in addition to Felicity reports below that there's a elevator side past times side to the staircase entry to the building.

Brooks

Update, September 9, 2015: Sadly, The Age is reporting that Brooks has gone into voluntary liquidation.

December 15, 2012

To celebrate my birthday this year, Michael as well as I visited Brooks. It's a novel collaboration betwixt the owners of Gerald's Bar as well as sometime Embrasse chef Nicolas Poelaert. Melbourne Gastronome had veg*n food.

With burgers as well as bar owners at Brooks, nosotros weren't quite certain what to expect. We flora a fairly typical high-end eating theatre alongside an expansive bar at i end. The bill of fare was scattered alongside veg-friendly dishes as well as nosotros were inevitably drawn to the $80 5 class tasting bill of fare listed at the bottom.

They started us off alongside cheese as well as crackers 'the Brooks way' - a foursquare of Perl Las blueish cheese hidden within a sparse crisp, alongside a dab of apple tree puree on top.

From the cocktail menu, I chose a Manzana Fresca ($18), a low-cal as well as tangy mix of vodka, sherry, dark-green apple, lime as well as grapefruit bitters.

Sadly it was a petty also sour to savour inward combination alongside the (otherwise lovely) sourdough bread. Michael's G&T mightiness cause got been a meliorate choice.

Our start total plate was a stunning array of to a greater extent than than 25 dissimilar vegetables, herbs as well as flowers - barely cooked or interfered alongside - dotted alongside flavoured emulsions as well as a dash of crumbly olive 'soil'. No 2 mouthfuls were the same, alongside a multitude of familiar as well as and puzzling flavours darting inward as well as out.

This argent platter played on my weakness for potatoes. The creamy, rich riced spud nest held fifty-fifty richer creme fraiche as well as a smoked egg yolk. While the roesti foam didn't evoke much inward me, the crispy spud bits felt similar flaked roti as well as tasted similar master copy Pringles. Dish of the night, yesteryear my reckoning.

Slow cooked leeks as well as cauliflower puree are fairly criterion fare for vegos visiting fancy-schmancy restaurants. The novelty hither is honey! Though I tin ordinarily cause got it or locomote out it, this dish's honey-wasabi sauce as well as sandy sprinkling of bee pollen gave me a completely novel persuasion on cauliflower. We relished our pickled cherries, picking them upwardly yesteryear the stem as well as gobbling them whole, unsure how to brand them operate alongside their neighbouring ingredients.

Our concluding savoury dish featured roasted beetroots sheltering nether dark flakes of potato, alongside burnt carrot puree, crimson vino as well as ginger gel, as well as cows' milk cheese. The sweetness carrots as well as swoon-worthy cheese simply barely saved this from the brink of burned bitterness.

H5N1 side platter of squash, zucchini as well as spinach inward a low-cal vinegary broth served to fill upwardly our stomachs as well as refresh our palates for dessert.

Here they made to a greater extent than or less other Cindy-friendly gesture: land there's entirely i dessert course, they gave us each a dissimilar dessert thence that nosotros could sense of savor two! *Applause* It was slow to split upwardly the summery plum sorbet, piped cheesecake, berries as well as beetroot dusted meringue ... though it was also tempting to scoff the lot.

However I didn't desire to jeopardise my part of Poelaert's evergreen woods floor, a beautiful dessert including buttery hazelnut parfait, powdery meringue, the darkest of ganaches as well as sorrel H2O ice accents.

We finished alongside hot drinks as well as our pick of the petit fours - a passionfruit-stuffed doughnut for Michael as well as life-threatening wedge of salted caramel for me.

High-protein ingredients similar legumes are notably absent from the Brooks vegetarian menu, but on a summertime nighttime I appreciated the emphasis on fresh produce. This is high-end dining alongside all the green trimmings as well as the service is superlative - relaxed as well as friendly but never obtrusive, they noticed every fourth dimension nosotros needed to a greater extent than or less other drinkable a skillful infinitesimal earlier nosotros would have. Now that Melbourne's veg*n degustations cause got skated beyond $100 per person, I mean value Brooks' tasting bill of fare offers notable value. 

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Brooks has received positive write-ups on PETIT MIAMx, Gourmet Chick.

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Brooks

Basement of 115-117 Collins St, Melbourne

9001 8755

5 class tasting bill of fare $80

http://www.brooksofmelbourne.com.au/

Accessibility: Brooks has a broad entry, as well as then a railed staircase downwards to the split-level eating theatre (we didn't discovery whatsoever step alternatives). We received total tabular array service. Accessing the toilets involved a distich to a greater extent than stairs, as well as the cubicles were narrow.