Il Fornaio Dinner & Dessert Review - Part III @ 2 Acland Street, St Kilda

Third time lucky as they say. Ms Fashionista was down here for a weekend and the Boy and I decided to take her out to try out the dinner and dessert menu at il Fornaio.

She must have been our lucky charm! We got a seating (we were early, 6pm - the person over the phone told us that it is super busy around 8pm --> they don't take bookings either)

We had an absoultely great night, with good food, fantastic dessert, great company and exceptional service! The last was indeed a pleasant surprise given our previous two visits here was a bit... err... how do I say... abrupt and interesting (let's just leave it at that) albeit the food was good.

We put in a few savoury orders to share, but our main purpose for the night was of course to try their dessert menu... my eyes scanned the menu and rested at the "Sweets" section and had an extremely hard time deciding what to order... Between the 3 of us, I decided we could do two appetizers, one main and 3 desserts (all to share of course)...

So for starters we had a Lentil and ham hock terrine with Dijon and cornichons (a type of gherkin)... $18

Whilst the terrine was fabulous and went really well with the crispy toasted bread, the Dijon mustard really didn't add much to the flavouring or the dish

Next we had a serving of Home smoked salmon classically garnished (served with egg, capers & creme fraiche $ 17)


This was delicious, but again it wasn't outstanding or special... and the toasted white bread that came with it was a bit err.. over buttery

For the mains, we tried the special of the day, which was a roast lamb dish with a bean salad (I can't remember the price, but I'm sure it was in the high 20's)

We were quite pleased with the service at this stage, our nice waittress checked on us often enough (but not intrusively) and continuously topped up our water!

A snapshot of dinner

But I was eager to eat my dinner quickly as I knew that dessert was on the way! And what a spectacular round of dessert it was...

Million Dollar Bullet $22

First up was the Million Dollar Bullet and boy did it look a Million BUCKS! The chocolate was really dense and intense.... the licorice ice-cream was an absolute divine pairing with the intensity of the chocolate... just amazing really...

Snow White & Rose Red $18

The Snow White and Rose Red arrived with a pair of beautiful Meringue Wings (I wish I could do that) and sugared rose petals...

Ms Fashionista commented that it reminded her of "Air Bandung" (which directly translated means Bandung Water --> as in the place in Indonesia)... Air (pronounced, ah-ye) Bandung is a rose syrup milk drink...

I didn't think about the similarities until she pointed it out.. I'd rather have this dessert tho :)

SNICKERS $19

And finally, to the Snickers (caramel parfait paired with salted peanut caramel and milk chocolate mousse) ..

The dessert that brought me back here not once, but 3 times!

The dessert that stumped the Masterchef contestants in the second season...

The dessert that has made it into the top 5 most memorable desserts in Victoria...

Is it worthy of all those accolades? Yes, and much much more...

I know quite a lot has been written about this.. but clearly I have to have my say in this as well... A mouthful of this dessert is equivalent to jam-packing a whole Snickers bar into your mouth...

The tempered chocolate snapped with a resounding "crack".

The salted peanut caramel... MmMmmm.... the salted peanut caramel... remembering it almost makes me want to drive over there right now and buy a few...

I asked the Boy (two weeks after this visit), if he would return and pay $19 for another Snickers.. and he immediately replied, "Of course!"... Apparently I was asking a redundant question...

Read more about other visits here:
Tea Time
Breakfast & Lunch

*Disclaimer: All food ratings are purely based on my own experiences and how I feel about the service, food and quality

Food/ Cuisine: Modern Australian
Dining Style: Cafe/ Restaurant
Overall Food Rating (Based on the Dining style): 8/10 (9/10 just for the desserts!!!!)
Restaurant ambiance: 8/10 (it was a lot quieter and less chaotic during dinner time)
Service/ Attitude: 8/10
Value for money: 8/10 (those desserts are hard to make!)

Address:
2 Acland Street
St Kilda, VIC 3182

Tel:(03)

Website: http://www.ilfornaio.net.au

Il Fornaio is open from

Monday - Friday 7am-11pm

Saturday & Sunday 8am - 11pm (closed from 5pm-6pm)

How to get there:

View Larger Map

Good Food & Wine Show - Melbourne, Part II

This continues from the last post.

After our big lunch, we wandered off to the free cooking theatre (Good Food Magazine)... to see Manu cook up a storm...


He was really charming (just like on TV and I've had a tiny crush on him since Ready, Steady, Cook days in uni)...

At one point, he asked the crowd, "Any of you watch My Kitchen Rules? Good... why would you want to watch 3 fat man instead of two handsome one's eh?"... saying that this was a running joke with him and the Masterchef "boys"

Taking a pot shot at Masterchef... to my delight... they (all the celeb chefs) appear to be good friends anyway...


We wandered over to the Border's Book Signing area next and took a few snaps of Gary and George doing their 'thang...

(The book signing session times)

At this point, I was wanting to buy heaps of food and ingredients, but they Boy wouldn't let me... at the pretense of going to see Gary and George at the Border's booth, the Boy went to line up at the celebrity iLive theater and was cheekily grinning from ear to ear...


Turns out, he had bought tickets for us to see Matt Moran's cooking show... titled Matt's Favourite Things


Cheeky fella...

So I was really excited and happy that we managed to get seats for the show, as all other shows were fully booked, with the Boy saying that George and Gary's show was sold out!


I didn't care as I was happy anyway with the surprise of Matt Moran... That's Lucy the Lamb on stage with him...


And man can that Chef disect a lamb really quickly (yes, the whole bloody lamb!) And he was giving out each piece of the lamb to audiences on the floor... shoulder, leg, neck, etc... everything!!!


He then called up some lucky sods from the audience (floor and further back) to be participants on stage to eat his food... he was trying to matchmake people, and the reward was, if the couple hit it off on the show and got together, he would throw in $500 to spend in his restaurant Aria in Sydney...

JEALOUS BIG TIME!!

(The happy couples)

Matt was suave and a big comedian... often putting his foot in his mouth and apologising for it... it was really fun! Quick like Jamie's (Oliver) show which I went to a couple of months back... fun!!!

At the end of the show, I was ridiculously happy and the day could not get better! (Or so I thought!)... walking out... the Boy and I were making a list of things that we should buy.. he wouldn't let me buy a lot of things, saying that we will be walking around and he didn't want to lug the items around... fair enough...

I didn't suspect a thing... when he said he needed to go to the Gents... I followed him towards the exit as the toilets were located outside... and he sneaked into the iLive celebrity theater line again!!!!!!!!!!!!


He had somehow gotten us tickets to the SOLD OUT show of Gary and George's Your Place or Mine show!!!


When the two chef's walked out, it was pandemonium... quite akin to Rock Stars coming out to their concert stage.. it was phenomenal... of course, I added to the din and hullabaloo...


Their show concept was simple... partly to promote Masterchef and partly to promote their new book coming out at the end of the year... where they will demonstrate how to cook 40 different ingredients cooked via Gary's and George's own respective styles... (So that's 80 recipes!)


They have an amazing rapport on stage... and spent a lot of time making fun of Matt Preston (only because he wasn't there to bite back)...


I was jumping up and down on my seat trying my best to be picked to go up on stage (we were 5 rows away)... and still missed out!


At the end, they brought out the team of chef's and apprentice who were "behind the scenes" at their restaurant booths and the back stage preparation ....

(Gary and I during last year's Taste of Melbourne... I'm milking this picture for all it's worth!)

And finally, as that was the last show of the weekend, I could finally walk out of the theatre knowing that there wouldn't be anymore surprises and could happily shop with no interruption...


The great thing about leaving the shopping at the very last minute, was the extra bargains that came our way...

We got 6 tubes of herbs from Gourmet Garden for $6 (originally 3 for $6)...
Ayam Brand sauces 5 for $10 instead of 4 for $10 (including free recipe books, 2 sets of bowls, chopsticks and spoons)
3 rose juices for $12 instead of $15
3 packets of Luv'A Duck for $20 instead of $16.50 each!
A bottle of coffee Bailey's (new) for $25
A jar of Yarra Valley salmon roe for $15
and a Masterchef (1 year) subscription for $38 with a free Masterchef Junior kit

All in all a good haul.. and a fantastic Surprise gift from the Boy...

Good Food & Wine Show - Melbourne, Part I

Good morning Melbourne (and the globe, to whoever is reading this elsewhere!)... Apologies on the lack of postings.. I've been so bogged down with work and everything else.. but I have RETURNED!!! (All hail!)

On the first weekend of June (4th-6th) and on that Sunday, the Boy had a surprise prepared for me...

(George Colambaris's restaurant meals)

Now, he had prepared me that Sunday would be a surprise.. so I spent that whole week guessing where he would take me for lunch/dinner (the last surprise was Embrasse)

(Gary Mehigan's restaurant meals)

So after church on Sunday, when he said he needed to collect some tickets in Crown (at Ticketek).. I was suspecting that we would be dining at Maze or Bistro Guillaume

(Shaun Bowle's menu)

So as we parked and were getting out of the car, he stopped me and said, "Aren't you going to wear your heels?"... so this confirmed my suspicion that we would be dining at Crown... just where, that was going to be my surprise...

So I followed him to the Ticketek booth (which I now know, that he knew would be closed)... and he suggested that we try the booth at Southern Cross instead.. and I whined that I wasn't going to walk that distance in my heels!

(Pete Evan's menu)

He said, "Don't be silly, we'll catch the tram"... so I grudgingly went along... and at the intersection (in front of Lucky Chan, we saw Neil Perry a.k.a. Steven Seagal at the window.. and I squealed!... maybe another round at Rockpool?)...


But then the Boy said, "Oh, I KNOW... let's try the Melbourne Convention Centre to see if they have tickets there!".. I looked at him doubtfully, but happy that I would have to do less walking...


At the steps of the Melbourne Convention, I saw the big banners notifying me that I had been duped and that my surprise was the Good Food and Wine show!!! YAYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!


I was utterly and completely flabbergasted with his nonplussed facial expressions and leading me on to wear my heels (WHICH gave me a few blisters and we had to return to the car to change back to proper shoes... all the while, the Boy patting himself proudly on the head on a Surprise well done!)

Note: EVERYONE (whom I had related this story to) said that my blisters well worth it and nobody bothered about the pain =(... lols.. I just like to whinge...

(Gary Mehigan's Fennel and Grapefruit Salad served with Hardy's Nottage Hill Sauvignon Blac)

With hundreds of booths relating to Food and Alcohol... I was in heaven!

Because it was lunchtime and the crowd hadn't yet arrived, we headed straight to the celebrity restaurant (the only area for dining)... with Entrees costing $16; Mains costing $24, and Desserts costing $8... we actually started with mains, then dessert and then went back to entree's.. but for the purpose of your reading pleasure.. this has been re-arranged =) Full menu at the bottom of this post


Shaun Bowles's Taste of Victoria entree which consisteed of Sugar cured ocean trout with Yarra Valley salmon roe, Vitello Tonato-Poached Warragul veal with tuna mayonnaise and white anchovy and Red Hill goats cheese with brioche and baby pear

The Boy said the veal was alright, but I actually quite liked the goats cheese and I thought it went interestingly well with the baby pear... sweet and savoury at the same time...


The Boy had George's Braised Chicken and Celery Fricassee (Fricassee is another word for stewed, typically done with poultry dishes)... served with Hardys Oomoo Adelaide Hills Chardonnay

This was quite nice (I stole some to try)... and although it was nice... there wasn't anything special with this dish...


I had a magnificent Bastilla of Lamb, Olives and Pine Nuts from Gary Mehigan's counter... served with Hardys Nottage Hill Pinot Noir (I don't normally like reds but this went really well with the dish)

Ever since I saw Gary making Beef Wellington on masterchef and seeing the wonderful puff pastry bits and oozing meat inside... I've been jealous (because I don't eat beef or any part of any cow... Yes, this includes veal)

But no longer! I loved this meat pie (that's what it is in essence)... the meat was seasoned beautifully and the pastry was light and flaky...


A quick shot of Gary's Panna Cotta with Rhurbarb compote served either with Hardy's Oomoo Clare Valley Sparkling Shiraz or T2 Melbourne Breakfast Tea or both

We didn't actually try this dish, so I can't comment on the taste.. but it looks pretty!


For dessert, I caught a glimpse of a little girl hurrying back to her dining table with this dish (this area is self served)... and I couldn't lose out to a little girl!


Shaun Bowles's Apple, Rasberry, and Calvados Cobbler with Vanilla Ice-Cream (suggested serve with T2 Sencha Vanilla Tea)

This was indeed heaven on earth and I melted with every spoonful...



Overall, the food was excellent (the chef's were around after all, when they weren't doing their cooking shows or autograph sessions...)... although.. I didn't see Shaun Bowles or Pete Evans... although I'm sure the former was lurking around somewhere being the Executive Chef to the venue...

More surprises to come (for me) in the next post!!

In case you're wondering what the meals were... I've typed it out here for you (for those that have bothered scrolling all the way down =) This has disappeared from the Good Food Show website and all that remains is Perth's menu.

Gary Mehigan
Entree $16 Fennel and grapefruit salad
Main $ 24 Bastllia of lamb, olives and pine nuts
Dessert $8 Panna cotta with rhurbarb compote

George Colambaris
Entree $16 Warm salad of squid with chickpeas and wild greens
Main $24 Braised chicken and celery fricassee
Dessert $ Chocolate and walnut tart, salty caramel sauce

Pete Evans
Entree $16 Sweet corn soup with crab
Main $24 Chilli mussels on rice with Asian herbs
Dessert $8 Goat's curd cheesecake with passion fruit sauce

Shaun Bowles
Entree $16 Taste of Victoria --> refer to above pictures and description
Main $24 Braised short rib of beef with flat noodles and Chinese broccoli, Pecorino, cracked pepper and ricotta tortellini with salsa verde
Dessert $8 Apple, raspberry and calvadoes cobbler with vanilla ice-cream

Oui Oui!! Ooh La La...

(Old picture from: SMH)

OMG! OMG!... Sudden heart palpitations... sweaty palms... butterflies in my tummy...

I just saw the teaser trailer for Masterchef 2010.... Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

And that is all I wanted to say...

I'll post up some Jamie pictures tomorrow... been languid lately

Taste of Melbourne - Royal Exhibition Building, Carlton (Part III - Final)

The overview of the R.E.B. building.. the whole time I was there, I just kept thinking... R.A.B.... Regulus Arcturus Black... then I realised.. too much fiction and fantasy and not enough reality.... *sigh*

Some of the chocolate displays by the chocolate booths... wonderful for me as I went around nibbling on free samples of dark chocolate...



Another one...



This dude with the funny mustache was making mojito's of all sorts non-stop...



Silk Road... had their very own V.I.P. lounge.. not that we were missing much.. since my experience with Silk Road is a bar full of sleazy old men...



Much appreciated, and much love to all the food I tried on the Sunday...

Nibbles of cheeses and chocolates and pastries (crackers, biscuits, cakes), as well sa alcohol sampling (didn't do too much of that unfortunately), but I got to try a red wine jam, pure ginger beer (1 shot was amazing), ginger alcohol, limoncello shot, and a couple of other things...

Downside... everything was pretty pricey... the dishes from the restaurants cost about 8-12 crowns (mostly 10 and 12), and alcohol priced at around 8 crowns and above.

There was also NO WATER anywhere to be found.. only coffee or alcohol.. not very smart...

1 crown = $1 (and no refund on leftover crowns)!!

But it was a fun experience. However, if it's the same restaurants attending again next year, I might give it a miss.

I was hoping Vue De Monde might make an appearance.. but , "Oh, Well!"

My souveniers... We spent roughly about $80 on food, and another $60 just to enter... this is us with no alcohol =O



Gary said he wanted to make monobrow's for the poor model he was doodling autograph's on... *BEAM*!

And that's all from me.

Over and out from Taste of Melbourne 2009...

Now to attend Sydney's... hmmm... October.. hmmmMmm