Saturday, September 17, 2011

Taste of Melbourne 2011

FINALLY. After hearing/reading about the Taste of Melbourne event for so long, this year was finally my turn to go! And if it weren't for the double-pass tickets I won from Penny@Jeroxie, I don't think I would've actually gone. So, thank you!

It was a fun day of seeing interesting stalls, tasting food from Top Restaurants and even attending a free demo! I gave one ticket to a friend, who I know have a high appreciation for food, and went together with my two other amazing friends, who actually scored free tix from the owners of LuxBite -- how cool! Glad to have experienced it with these peeps.

Here goes the recap:


View from inside the Royal Exhibition Building (REB)

Better enjoy this place before they turn it into my Exam Hall in two months time ;p


$30 worth of Crowns for the day


Sher Wagyu meatballs, Sicilian cous cous & salted Ricotta by Mezzo

LOVED the taste of the meatballs! Though to be honest, I wouldn't have been able to tell it was Wagyu. Meatballs are normally heavily seasoned, which might've masked the taste of the Wagyu. Still, good meatballs!

Enjoyed the cous cous a lot. Not too wet and full of flavour


Seared Scallops, green chilli Aioli & Celeriac remoulade by Stokehouse

One of my fav dishes of the day. Scallops were PERFECT. Slightly undercooked without being too rubbery and still juicy, just the way I like it. The crunchy celeriac was a good combination to the dish and gave a nice textural element to the dish. Paired with the aioli -- YUM.


Cheese Platter by That's Amore Cheese

LOVED this! My order of favourite (from most to least): Bocconcini, Ricotta, Smoked Mozzarella and "something else" which I forgot ;p

The bocconcini was really good. Super smooth on outside and chewy on inside with slight salty aftertaste. Ricotta was texturally amazing too, like whipped cream and tasted very plain and natural.


"Toulousse Cassoulet" - Confit duck, Garlic sausage & White beans, oven baked by Libertine

Immediately bought a bowl to try just cause it was named after Toulousse and remembering my sister describe it as her favourite town in France. SO GOOD -- my other favourite dish of the day.

Duck was moist but it was all in the sauce and beans. The sauce was packed with flavour from the duck fats and the beans went beautifully with this dish.


Moscato Sample

LOL. I've never heard of Moscato on tap before!! We were given a glass of Rosé which was delicious. They do this Moscato on tap at a bunch of places now including Little Creatures at Brunswick Street


Popcorn and Cookie flavoured "Mini Melts" Ice Cream by Mini Melts

Frozen ice cream pellets that melts when you put them in your mouth -- interesting!


Nespresso Coffee -- Free Demo

Fun taking a break from all the eating to attend a free demo. Was rather blown away by the quality of the coffee from the Nespresso machines, full body and good flavour. Except that you won't get that thick, creamy milk consistency from your usual cafes but still nice! So coffee was thinner and went down pretty smoothly. Guess that's why I ended up having almost 3 cups lol


Us enjoying ourselves by clicking the fancy buttons and seeing the coffees come out of the machine ;p


KFC -- "St Katherine's fried Lilydale Chicken" with BBQ Sauce by St Katherine's

Didn't realise St Katherine was yet another restaurant by Masterchef Judge, George Calombaris. Chicken wasn't as crispy as I'd hoped but still, I enjoyed it because it had a spicy "kick" from the batter and served with mayo.

I love anything deep-fried and served with mayo/Jap mayo. I could eat grass if it were deep-fried and served to me with mayo.


Slow-cooked suckling lamb, Pearl barley salad & truffled Peccorino by Sarti

Thing about slow-cooked meat is that I can't really enjoy it if it doesn't have enough fats or tendons at all, just like this. Didn't have a distinct lamb flavour and couldn't taste the truffle too. Meh.


Pecan & Caramel Ice Cream Sammies by Pat and Stick's

When was the last time you had ice cream sammies? Hehe. This was a REALLY good flavour combo and can taste the lovely roast from the nuts. My friend, Ming, was right to say that the cookie did taste a bit "doughy" but we still enjoyed it. And everything they made was homemade which was great =)


Us with "Pat and Stick" themselves! Two really funny and amazing people


Overall, the Taste of Melbourne event was a really enjoyable event to attend, especially if you're going with friends and can chip in to taste as many foods as possible. Would I go back again next year? Yes.

Thanks heaps again to Penny@Jeroxie for giving me these tickets. Without whom, I wouldn't have had the chance to spend an amazing afternoon with this lovely bunch of people.

Hope you all had fun reading this post as I did writing it!

Will be leaving for Sydney in 2 days for a 4-Day FOOD TRIP and I am absolutely stoked about it!! Have a good one wherever you are! ;D

20 comments :

Michelle Chin said...

you look positively happy haha! congrats for winning this. :)

Winston said...

I really was, haha! So much food everywhere... And thanks for that I was really lucky haha. Hope you're enjoying the break, Mich!! 2 awesome weeks of no uni, woot! ;D

penny aka jeroxie said...

Glad that you and your friends enjoyed the event! Have fun in Sydney. EAT LOTS!

Winston said...

We really did, Penny! Felt like such a lucky boy to be able to go... Don't worry, will do!! I'm super excited and I know there will be times I will be scolding myself for being in too much pain for overeating. Trying to cram as much of the good food in Sydney in just 4 days sounds a bit preposterous.

Heard you're making the move to Sydney. An exciting chapter ahead, your presence will surely be missed in the Melb food scene =(

April@MyFoodTrail said...

You got some great photos! I'm sad to have missed out on the meatballs, you're not the first person to say it's good!

Hope you have a great time in Sydney. So many places to eat! Looking forward to your posts!

Vee said...

Winston how the heck did you get such fab photos? Mine are all awful from the lighting!! Looks like we had a lot of the same dishes - I totally wanted those scallops but ran out of stomach space. Have a great time in Sydney, I loveee going there :)

Winston said...

@april: Thanks! Don't worry, I'm sure you had other great things too. It was Michelle (Iron Chef Shellie) who recommended it to me actually. But then again, after we all gobbled up the meatballs, one of my friends was like "i wouldn't mind some Ikea ones right now" *face palm to the MAX* hahaha

@vee: I went in the Friday arvo session. Whole REB was filled with natural lighting, every photographer's dream! I really fail at night shots and I think yours turned out much better than if I were to take them myself. Thx for your compliment anyway. Gonna be gorging myself silly hehe. All the best with everything! =)

kyleen said...

Hi Winston! Mhmm, I love looking at pictures of food. Looks like the festival was a lot of fun. The scallops look amazing!

Anonymous said...

I am hungry by looking at all the food photos. Love the suckling lamb!

Shu Han said...

ahhhhhhhhhh i am jealous and salivatig.

Winston said...

@kyleen: hello! i love looking at pictures of food too. i can do it all day, everyday hehe. then i smack myself in the head for getting myself too hungry with nth to eat around the house =(. thanks for the comment anyway! =)

@ellie: yeahh i can't rmb the last time i had suckling lamb. suckling lamb, suckling lamb... just the sound of it makes me want to eat it already. oh btw we going to porteno in abt half an hr and gonna have the suckling lamb there WAAAAAAAH can't wait haha! =D

@shu han: hey shu han! you make me jealous all the time with the food that you eat and cook too! hehe... happy eating in singapore & uk! =)

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

What an awesome event! The food looks so good. I wish Switzerland would offer such events...

Cheers,

Rosa

Winston said...

Thanks, Rosa! It's the first event of the like that I've attended and had heaps of fun. I've never been to Switzerland or anywhere even close to Europe but would really, really love to one day. Thanks for your comment! =)

leaf (the indolent cook) said...

Yay for winning tickets! What a delicious day of eating. I would particularly like to try those ice cream pellets!

Winston said...

Ohhh yeah they were really fun to eat, haha! Hopefully they start selling them around Melbourne. I wasn't done trying all their flavours. But I was too shy to ask to try more after the 3rd scoop already haha

Cindy said...

I have eyes only for the icecream. :-D The mini melts look fun, and the icecream sandwich looks to-die-for.

Winston said...

Hey Cindy! Good eye, I say! ;p I really enjoyed both of them. Both websites do list a couple of locations where you can buy them in Melbourne. Do let me know if you happen to try them one day! =)

Clive at Mini Melts Ice Cream said...

Hey guys - great reading your comments on our Mini Melts ice cream! check out our website www.minimelts.com.au...we're growing by the day and you will find the list of our locations in Victoria so you can see the store that's selling our ice cream closest to you! Don"t be shy....if you want mini melts ice cream at a party or event that you are involved in, we will gladly supply you ALL our great flavours! Mention this blog and I'll arrange a special price...

thanks so much Winston for the great photo and for your blog...much appreciated

The InTolerant Chef ™ said...

Lucky, lucky you! It looks like an awesome day, and maybe next year I'll go too!

Winston said...

@clive: most welcome, clive. you've got a great product and i've heard nothing but good things from people i know who's tried it. all the best!

@intolerant chef: yes, you should! it was fun to attend, and then also fun to read abt the same event from many other blogs after it's all over =]

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