Hey Bernice!

    

“Located in the historic Normanby Chambers building in the heart of CBD Melbourne, Vue de monde pays homage to classical fine dining, encompassing this philosophy through food, service and ambience. Vue de monde is testament to the belief that restaurant food can be a wondrous, unforgettable experience.
The philosophy at Vue de monde is to provide a dining experience that cannot be created at home. This is achieved through dedication to the dining experience as a whole; from the sourcing of rare ingredients and an uncompromising approach to classical technique, to a commitment to the very best in restaurant service including crockery, cutlery and glassware.” http://www.vuedemonde.com.au

Our first anniversary was certainly an evening of creative inspiration, and taste bud stimulation.

Vue de Monde surpassed our expectations, walking away with so much to talk about (both being foodies), we spent most of the night watching the talented team of chefs prepare and garnish each meal – truely an artform! Our table was second row back from the kitchen, allowing an evening of entertainment observing the meticulously involved process to complete each dish – We were in heaven!

My husband loves his wine, and having worked in the industry for several years was feeling excitement and anticipation around what the sommelier was going to pair with each course (possibly more so than the fact we were celebrating our first year together). Even the wine pairing was innovative… serving a cream sherry with the truffle risotto, and what an amazing marriage of flavours it was (especially with grated truffle imported from the South of France).

One of the highlights was the Ocean Trout smoked at the table. They placed a glass dome over the plate, and attached a cord to an opening in the dome and pumped smoke into the dome that smoked the fish just before serving. At the table they removed the dome – the smell of the smoke was spectacular, and the flavour through the trout a million times better.

The other stand-out was the Western Australian marron served on a hot river stone from Hobart, Tasmania – very innovative presentation, and again brilliant flavour combinations.

I can’t remember how many times I said WOW! I was in awe of the creativeness in presentation, flavours, textures and wine pairing.

The service was also a stand-out. Even when we were leaving and thought that our Vue de Monde experience was finally coming to an end… we were given a paper bag full of breakfast treats (a mini loaf of brioche, 2 green eggs, tea and 2 chocolate chip cookies, with recipe options!) to keep the Vue de Monde experience alive after we woke up the next morning.

I have compiled our menu below, with photos (of course), so you too can experience a little of Vue de Monde (and so I can return to this post and relive our evening when I like!).

Vue de Monde
Anniversary Dinner – Thursday 25th March

(Note to my husband … our real anniversary date is March 28th)

AMUSE BOUCHE 
Kangaroo charcuterie 
& 
Kingfish with Osetra caviar 
& 
Smoked eel with apple gel 
 
 ~

JARDIN DE LÉGUMES 
Heide vegetable garden 
 
~

TRUITE FUMÉE 
Ocean trout with horseradish and baby beetroot, 
smoked at the table 

 ~

RISOTTO AUX TRUFFES 
Classically inspired truffle risotto 

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ÉCREVISSE RÔTIE 
Roasted marron with bisque glaze 
served on hot river stone 

 ~

TROU PÉRIGOURDIN 
Palate cleanser

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WAGYU BOEUF DE BLACKMORE 
Blackmore wagyu beef with dried berries & earl grey parsnip 

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SAGO AU CASSIS ET FRUITS DE BOIS
Deconstructed cassis
sago pudding with fruits and bubblegum icecream
 

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SOUFFLÉ AU CHOCOLAT 
Chocolate soufflé with chocolate mousse 
and crème anglaise 
 

~

NOTRE SÉLECTION DE CAFÉS, THÉS, INFUSIONS ET PETITS-FOURS
A selection of coffee, teas, infusions and petits-fours
 

Photography by Tim James, Earl Carter, Diana Snape

Vue de Monde Chocolate Soufflé – http://www.vuedemonde.com.au

 
The recipe is below (care of Vue de Monde), or link to the recipe on their website:

From http://www.vuedemonde.com.au : It is very easy to notice a disaster of a failed soufflé, but sometimes appearances can be deceptive, too. I find that far too many people replace the skill of making a light soufflé with adding far too much sugar. I find modern soufflés, in bistros all around the world, far too sweet. Should be very light, always served with a sauce or icecream Should be served by waiter at the table – they will make an incision with a fish knife into the soufflé and pour the sauce in, or drop the quenelle of icecream in, which starts to melt and become saucy. Utterly delicious, and worth traveling to Paris just for a soufflé my favourite flavours are chocolate or pistachio, but soufflés reflect the seasons, so in late summer you will see lots of berry flavours, followed by stone fruits, or in winter, prune and Armagnac is a classic. (Excerpted from Shannon Bennett’s Guide to Paris) Chocolate Soufflé Serves 1 120g egg whites 100g sugar 1 1/2 tbspn chocolate crème patissiere 50g grated chocolate 10g butter, softenedChocolate Sauce 750g dark chocolate 1500ml cream         Butter the copper pan and add the grated chocolate to coat the inside of the pan Beat the egg white till half stiff Stiffen with the sugar Smooth out the patissiere in a bowl and add a tablespoon worth of meringue Fold it in gently Once homogenous, fold in the rest of the egg white Place into the copper pan and place into the oven at 180 C for 6 to 8 mins Dust with cocoa powder and serve with chocolate sauceChocolate Sauce Serves 10 – also good on icecream! Heat cream until near boil Pour over chocolate Leave to soften 1 minute Whisk together until well combined  Bernice