Matilda (South Yarra) 10/2018

It's not usual that Sandra and I disagree about a restaurant to more than a minimal degree. Matilda, named after Scott Pickett's daughter, was the exception.

I liked the simple, understated decor, although the chairs could be uncomfortable there is plenty of cushioned seating around the walls.

The attempt at noise reduction with the sound absorbing ceiling is admirable and not unattractive 

but not very effective.
I found the quiet woodwork, Australian themed decor 

appealing and the toilets clean and attractively set out.

The food was not without it's problems. 
you can't go far wrong with oysters, which were fine

A kingfish ceviche had a lot of cucumber and other ingredients which were not kingfish. 

OK if you like cucumber a lot.
Octopus was a bit overdone

but nothing compared to the flat bread which was burnt. 

Excusable for a bush BBQ but I would never choose to eat charcoal as part of my meal at a restaurant.

Spanner crab, described as the go to dish in the current AGFG, is a delicate dish. Attractively served here, with plenty of crab meat,

the taste was drowned out by the accompanying sauce. 
A vegetarian mushroom dish was quite nice but for me the best dish by far was the duck served as a breast 

With the legs and a duck rillette served on a separate plate. 

 Score: Sandra 13.5 Elliot 15.5

Kisume (Melbourne CBD) 04/2018

Kisume occupies three floors. At ground level a Japanese a la carte restaurant, above that a bar

where casual meals can be served

and on the top floor a fine dining modern degustation restaurant for 12 patrons, which is where we ate.. 
From the start there is a marked element of theatre about this place. 
We were advised to be seated by 7.00pm. There is a horse shoe shaped table from which guests see a curtained doorway through which the chef 

enters at precisely 7.15

This was not actually his first appearance but it looked great

He has a central bench where he plates some dishes, although many are prepared in the kitchen behind him and are ready to serve to the seated guests.
TOMATO CONSOMME, WASABI TOFU

Our first course, a sip or two of perfectly clear delicate palate cleanser.
PUFFED RICE, MENTAIKO EMULSION

A medley of textures, a beaut dish
UNICORN, UNI, CORN, CAVIAR

This pic shows a root of raw wasabi on  a board ready to be grated. The menu title is a little joke. The Unicorn may not exist but the food was real, but not so special.
OYSTER, UMESHU GELEE

The gold leaf on top was a nice touch. Sweet and plump I could have done with a couple more. GREAT BARRIER REEF, SPANNER CRAB, ABALONE, MUSSEL, SCALLOP, CALAMARI

Not much cooking in fact pretty much raw but the taste and texture of each element was distinct and I loved them all. Others didn't.
STORM SHELL CRAB AND BONITI SIPHON BROTH, SMOKED EEL
Made using an old style coffee maker where the heated broth is forced up to the upper compartment from where it infuses through the seafood ingredients. Cute to do it at the table.
SCAMPI, SASHIMI, NORI, SCAMPY ROE

Another almost raw dish.

EGGPLANT AND SWEET POTATO TEMPURA

Not quite as delicate as the previous fare, the batter had also retained a lot of oil.

SUNOMONO, GINGER, ELDERFLOWER

ABURI WAGYU, CHOPPED TORO

QUAIL YAKITORI, SMOKED LEEK,CARROT, KOMBU PUREE

This was, for me, the best prepared quail that i can remember.
BLACKMORE 9+ WAGYU, SHIO KOJI ZUCCHINI, FRESH WASABI

MOREL MUSHROOM RICE

PASSIONFRUIT, LYCHEE, FINGER LIME, PINEAPPLE TUBE 
You suck it up! Deliicious.

SUMMER DAIFUKU

Comments: This was as much an entertainment as an Interesting and unusual meal. The chef was amusing, full of fun and happy to share cooking, and other information during the meal but he would not tell us exactly where he goes to eat out!
The meal was excellent but the dishes were not exquisite. Except the quail, for me, we did not feel that we could rave about them, nor that any, individually would remain forever in our memory. For an experience in Kaiseki we would highly recommend it.
Score:16.5 /20

Lume (South Melbourne) 12/2017

The Road – 

Saturday, 2 December 2017
Since we have been here before we were well aware that one comes to Lume not so much for a meal but for an experience. Of course it is an experience mediated by food - a series of dishes designed to titivate the senses, especially visual and taste and textures. I'm more than happy to try that.
Show plates carry the circumflex and the acute over the restaurant name BUT the name is missing!

We had the 14 course degustation menu. 

Crab taco's
The taco looked like it had a baby corn in it was actually crab, picked, coloured and moulded to look exactly like corn - cute, although not a taste sensation 
Cuttlefish and cucumber tart smoked potato and salmon eggs 

This little tart is the work of a master chef. Not only does it display imagination and technique but it also a curious and appealing combination of ingredients. The salmon eggs added a lot to the dish.
They slipped this little duck egg tart in without mentioning it on the menu and now, two weeks later, I recall I enjoyed it but not much else.

Marron and salted elderberries, apple and mountain marigold apple, cardamon and mountain pepper.

Pearl on the ocean floor 

An exotic combination of seafoods.
This little smoked tart also slipped out of my memory.

Periwinkle and kohlrabi asparagus smoked over lemon myrtle with flathead and over-ripe lime.

A lot of dishes here have been smoked over various woods. The flavours from these varieties did not resonate with me at all.
Another little deception.Barbecued abalone with emu ham and kombu.

Perhaps a little too fussy a dish.

Finger lime verjus Spanish mackerel with fermented pine mushroom and sea urchin.

Artichoke bread with eel butter and corn honey 

Aged duck smoked over melaleuca
‘Hanami’

Simply delicious, deliciously simple - you may have guessed I love duck and this was very much to my taste. 
Cauliflower cheese with apple and Olida gum Willie Smith ‘Somerset Redstreak’

More trickery - these Camember rounds were cauliflower puree.
Fermented passion fruit, rhubarb and Geraldton wax olive oil and mandarin peel ice-cream, fennel and absinthe 

a simple piece of vanilla 

Of course it wasn't. It's rhubarb!
And these musk sticks (reminds me of school days) were not musk sticks either.

and the last dessert.

“the other side of what?” 
Score:
That's a problem.
Ambiance 15/20
Presentation 19/20
Variety and ingenuity 19/20
Taste 14/20
Service 17/20
Total: 16.75/20
But don't take my word for it - go and try it out for yourself!