Openings and things

There are restaurants opening across Melbourne at a rate of knots... and it seems every time I open the mail there is another launch to attend. Apart from an ever expanding girth and a somewhat damaged liver, I think we are blessed to have the finest of dining culture here in the southern city of class. This has been evidenced of late with several top notch awards coming Melbourne’s way.

Andrew McConnell’s Cutler and Co was awarded the gong for Australian Restaurant of the Year in the Gourmet Traveller awards held just last week. David Lawler in his role as Sommelier at Neil Perry’s Rockpool Bar and Grill took the coveted wine list of the year at Australian Gourmet Traveller Wine’s recent wine list awards, as well as Lawler himself picking up the much prized Judy Hirst award for his passion and skill as a top notch Sommelier. And not ignoring the talents of those in regional Australia, Dan Hunter and the Royal Mail Hotel in Western Victoria’s Dunkeld has won Regional Restaurant of the Year.

Back to the openings though, I was recently at Pandora’s Box on Duke Street, Windsor. Pandora’s is a sister restaurant to Orange that sits merely doors away on Chapel Street. Pandora’s was always going to fare well, and no expense has been spared. Consulting wine maker, Lok Thornton has put together an awesome list, and the food is under the guidance of the talented Matthew Germanchis, formerly of Mo Vida. Even the tiles have been hand made for the bar and floor, with PB initialled in every one of them.

Pandora’s is a shared plate experience, slightly sitting to the tapas edge of dining, but with options to suit all tastes. Don’t go past the wonderful take on a scotch egg – a quails egg has been hidden amongst Bacala or salt cod, then crumbed and fried. When you reach the middle, a gooey yolk from the egg runs down the chin, and is a sensational food experience. Also have a go at some St Helen’s oysters with Riesling jelly, watercress and horseradish. Order at least a half dozen. Then grab a selection of the other tasty tidbits before hoeing into mains. There are a number of options, some more solid than others, including an aged Angus Rump with bone marrow (my favourite indulgence), fine herbs with chips, or maybe a wild Barramundi alongside mussels with fennel & watercress, and ‘Macleay Valley’ rabbit, stifado style served with garlic & lemon kale. The rabbit was a tad dry for my liking, and the barramundi could have dealt with the mussels a little better, but overall, a wonderful dining experience.

There are some dessert options at Pandora’s but after pigging into the salt cod scotch eggs, Mr handsome and I were unable to stomach any more food.

Duck Duck Goose is an entirely different affair. Situated in Artemis lane, just off Lonsdale street, this eatery had a gestation longer than that of an elephant. 3 years in the making, the patient were rewarded with a very stylish melange of traditional chinese food and some high end French haute cuisine. Start at the bar, as they serve 23 different champagne offerings by the glass, including a reasonably priced Krug Grand Cuvee. We cant all afford a bottle but a glass did very nicely thank you. Butter up to the gorgeous Sommelier, Rohan Anderson and be well looked after with your plonk.

Food, as mentioned, is a mish mash. A formal dining area and private dining rooms, in the area known as the dark side, offer up all manner of new and modern, maybe even posh techniques. Foams, splodges, sands, gels and other such scientific explorations accompany high end traditional French cuisine, with smatterings of the Asian influences the Kam Fook group are known for.

You will find foie gras, abalone, shellfish and other such classy desirables popping up on the menu, and one might need a slight advance from the bank manager to splash out on the trusty visa! Kick off with the oxtail and foie gras mille fieulle, something you don’t try every day and certainly something that will get the mouth watering. Keep with the upper crust experience by trying the almost sticky rare venison fillets with a couple of sauce options, calvados (apple brandy), paired with espresso. Yep, espresso... coffee!

The wine list is impressive but this is totally a special occasion event. Its not cheap but there is something there for every one’s taste, everyone’s budget (quite a list by the glass), and you will find some of the much maligned New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc in there, otherwise known to some as slut juice ( I so wish that expression was mine!).

Desserts are as equally spectacular as the remainder of the menu and certainly if you are splashing out, have yourself a cheeky little sweetie, paired with a glass of sticky.

For diners on the light side, expect a very well priced dim sum style of food. Dishes down there start at just $8 and will please any palate that you can muster up. It’s easy to have a dark side, light side experience at Duck Duck Goose – pop into the bar and be seduced by some exquisite champagne, then pop downstairs for a good old fashioned Hong Kong style dim sum meal. The fountain in the middle of the dark side will calm your nerves while you jump on the phone to the finance department, making sure the funds are in the jar to spoil yourself and your date.