Spice Temple Review @ Crown Casino, Melbourne

The entrance to Spice Temple is right next to Rockpool Bar & Grill 

"SPICE TEMPLE IS OPENING!!" The Boy excitedly kept me up to date with the going-ons with the set-up of the restaurant. He'd check the Rockpool blog nearly daily to tell me how close they were to the opening day.

The Pub @ Crown Casino

"WHERE SHALL WE TAKE THEM??", demanded Ms Tinymouse to me upon Pub locations for the tourists when they arrived...

I said, "Why not The Pub at Crown?"

My reasoning was so that they could experience food in a pub whilst enjoying the Casino and see the fires (if you're Melburnian, you'll know what I mean) at Crown...

A pub favourite and a crowd pleaser, Chicken Parmigiana – topped with ham, mozzarella and Napoli sauce, served with chips $19.50


Ms Tinymouse had the Lamb shank – with mashed potatoes, sautéed vegetables and red wine gravy $19.90


Z had a very delicious (his words) and tender Fillet mignon – beef tenderloin topped with grilled bacon, chat potatoes, baby spinach and red wine gravy $26.50


Dapeng had a really good Pork Chop (another special item of the day)... for $20.50 I think...


My special of the day (which I got charged $31.81 for initially instead of $13.50, until the Boy checked and I went to get my money back. Thankfully an easy explanation and a bubbly operator solved the issue), Lamb Pasta with olives and feta$13.50


A most dissapointing Chicken Kiev – crumbed chicken breast filled with garlic butter, served with chips $18.50



Food was pub-like... and did they get to see the fires? No!

WE forgot all about it as we went to try our luck in the Casino and I got a bit distracted with the footy.. Goooooo DOGGIES!

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

Food/ Cuisine: Australian/Contemporary/Pub
Overall Food Rating: 6/10
Restaurant ambiance: 5/10 (The seating arrangements could have been better)
Service/ Attitude: 4/10 (I might be generous here, but service wasn't fantastic. Putting aside that I was overcharged and had to go back to get my money, we had to wait 40 mins, as they *apparently* do not accept phone bookings for Friday and Saturday. But when we got there, there was a waiting list and people that arrived after us were seated before us... the waiter kept assuring us that we were next in line, and that we were going to be seated in, "the next 5 minutes" had me glaring at him the whole time.. whilst he fluffed around rearranging ketchup bottles on seemingly empty tables for 4!)
Value for money: 6/10 (Very pricey on this night. I've been here on a Tues/Weds night and they have excellent specials for food and drinks... I think one of them was for a chicken parma and a pot of beer for $10!)

Address:
Level 1 (Next to Village Cinema Ticket Booths)
8 Whiteman Street
Southbank 3006 VIC

Tel:(03) 9292 4001

Website:http://www.thepubatcrown.com.au

The Pub Bistro is open for
Lunch midday - 3pm daily
Dinner 5pm - 11pm daily
and
The Pub Bar is
Open from midday - 3am Friday, Saturday and Monday
Open from midday - 1am Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday

How to get there:

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Be Amazed by Gordon Ramsay's Maze @ Crown Metropol Hotel - Southbank

Maze opened a couple of weeks ago, the 29th of March to be exact, and as such it's still relatively easy to make a booking as many are waiting for more reviews to show up before they try the offerings...

(Peephole to the lounge area, where you can sit and wait for your table)

I called to book on Sunday morning for the lunch session, and was pleasantly surprised at treatment and phone manner service... very good (first impressions have been made)

(The bar, where you can again sip and look sophisticated whilst they find your spot)

When we arrived (a tad early) we were greeted with smiles, and brought to our table by the usher and immediately greeted with bright smiles from our Maitre' D...


(The bird cage like light shades)

He informed us apolgetically, that at this stage the gas supply in this side of the CBD area had ceased, and as such the delivery of the food to our table might be a delayed...



The bird motif's on the wall

(A closer shot of the motif)

I was just trigger happy, as we were one of the first few diners seated, and I wasn't the only one happily snapping away!

(The view from our table)

As usual, we were given time to peruse the menu and the wine list...

(I love LOVE love the open plan and ceiling/floor windows)

It was well spaced between tables and we didn't have to nudge the next table as we did in Cutler and Co



The menu was a simple and AFFORDABLE (NOTE GORDON RAMSAY)... AFFORDABLE *ahem* spread with either a 3 course $38 or a 4 course $49.. that's right, you read right...



We wanted to try their Chef's menu (Degustation) which is available upon request, but decided that we would both do the 4 course meal (and then have 8 different dishes to sample, as oppose to the 7 in the Degustation)... clever huh?

I decided to go with 2 entrees, a main and a dessert.

The Boy went with 1 entree, 2 mains and a dessert.



I absolutely loved the cutlery stand/holder and wanted to sneak it into my bag.. too obvious? *sigh*



When we were served the bread, we were introduced to the Affagato butter.. and I thought I'd heard it wrong.. until I put a slice of buttered bread into my mouth...

I was in heaven!!!!! It was so smooth, with a hint of coffee and so delicious... first we tried it on it's own.. and then we sprinkled the sea salt on it.. the taste explosion in my mouth was so great that we quickly devoured the 4 slices of bread...

And just when I was saddened that I had no more bread to go with the butter... they came with MORE!.. they refill the bread as you go! ABSOLUTE genius!



First up, I the Boy had the Jerusalem artichoke veloute, southern rock lobster and green beans ($18)



Whilst I had the Marinated pink fir potatoes, smoked eel, sour cream, blackened leeks and shaved foie gras ($14)



My seared yellow fin tuna, white radish, yuzu, enoki mushrooms, black garlic ($16)



The Boy's pan roasted barramundi, butternut squash, compressed cucumber, and pumpkin seeds ($20)




The Boy's Ox "tongue and cheek", caper and raisin, carrots, horseradish pomme puree ($23), which he cheekily tried to point out how they got the cheek so tender.. (which was by slapping the cow until it's tongue rolled out)... disgusting yes I know, but extremely hilarious when you're trying to not giggle in a fine dining environment.. hee hee



My Lamb cannon and shoulder, califlower puree, anchovy and stinging nettles (Which I thought was spinach.. goes to show, how little I know) ($24)

(The Flash Natzi aka the Boy spend countless minutes photoshopping the above picture... and has hinted indirectly and directly - by way of putting it on my desktop, that it should be on this blog)

And then they cleared away our dishes, and dusted our table... I continued to munch my bread smothered with butter at this point.. and then the waittress took it away! *Sniff*



The Boy's carrot cake with carrot puree (This is only on the lunch menu)



My Chocolate cremeaus and banana bread, salted macadamia nuts, and pearl barley ice-cream ($16)



To finish off, the Boy had English Breakfast tea (served hilariously in a Japanese-esque tea pot)



And I topped off the wonderful meal with a very strong caffe latte...

I've put in brackets the prices of each food item as listed on their ala'carte menu, but considering I only paid $115 for the entire meal... it was super CHEAP for a fine dining environment!

If you do go, I hope you enjoy the same wonderful experience as I did, I know I will be returning!

Overall Food Rating: 8.5/10
Restaurant ambiance: 9/10
Value for money: 9.5/10

Address:
Crown Metropol Hotel
8 Whiteman Street (Corner of Clarendon and Whiteman Streets)
Southbank 3006

Opening Hours: Daily noon-2.30pm, 6pm-10.30pm

Tel:(03)9292 8300

Website:http://www.gordonramsay.com/mazemelbourne

How to get there:

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The Brasserie @ Crown Casino, Melbourne

I woke up to find a to-do list on my desk... what a wonderful Birthday morning!

First HE gets angry with me for him forgetting my birthday, then now I have to do bookings for my own birthday.. *sigh*... gotta love the Boy d ^_^ b



So I rang up The Brasserie and spoke to a very sweet girl on the line (name of Ann), who promptly reserved me a table... =)



When we got there, we were greeted by the grumpiest Maître d’ (or at least I assumed he was since he was glaring at another waiter for doing something wrong)....



He sat us down and proceeded to ignore us... I was beginning to have my doubts about this place. However, all the other waiters and waitresses were very nice and friendly...



I loved the fact that we were early (trying to make the 9pm show for Nine), thus, I could snap happily at my surroundings...



Love the decor... I like it simple



You can just see where the entrance to the kitchen is at the corner



I loved their idea of the bread and oil... the waitress explained what the seeds were (there was a term for it, but I can't remember), needless to say, it was fun!



We decided to skip the entree's and just go straight to the mains.

One reason was that we were rushing (and knowing French cuisine, it will take more than 2.5 hours to get a complete meal) and secondly, I had only just come back from Asia, and am not used to the huge quantities of food served here...

Maître d’ was not impressed...

This was what the Boy had:

Porterhouse (280gr) $ 39.00
pan-fried served with French fries

All steaks served with a choice of béarnaise sauce, beef jus, herb butter or mustards

(The Boy chose herb butter ;) )

He declared this the crispiest and juiciest piece of steak!!



This was what I had:

Spring Dorper lamb rump $ 39.50
jus and young vegetables “navarin”

And I declared this "one of the best!" Absolutely loved it... moist, tender, juicy... everything a lamb should wish to grow up to be!!!



Look at the size of the serving plates!!!



And because it was my birthday, I HAD to have dessert... and despite the Boy saying he was EXTREMELY full... he managed to eat half of everything as well =)

We ordered the Tasting Plate $12 pp

EDIT: Whatever we had on this plate, besides the creme brulee and the Rum Baba is not on the menu... which is even better!! Visit the website for the complete menu... although they have different specials on their board (and sometimes off the board, so make sure you ask!)



Nothing left.... and extremely satisfied!!



Definitely WILL be back.. and we got our discount by being members of the Entertainment Guide Book =)

Overall Food Rating: 9/10
Restaurant ambiance: 7.5/10
Value for money: 8.5/10
Address:

Crown Ground Level, 8 Whiteman Street (Next to Number 8)

Southbank, VIC 3006

Tel: (03) 9292 7808

Website: http://www.thebrasserieatcrown.com.au

How to get there:

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Cafe Cervo @ Crown

On one of the rare beautiful sunny weekends that visited Melbourne, the Boy decided to enjoy the sun.



We were attending the Home Buyer Expo at Melb Exhibition and decided to go have a bit of lunch and sun at Crown (casino).

The Boy wanted to try Giuseppe... but I figured that it might be too expensive, and passed on. Plus I wanted to enjoy the SUN!.. and not sit inside, tucked away in a dark restaurant!



I wanted Greco's, but he wanted to try something different.

Surprisingly, we've hardly ever tried any of the cafe's located at Crown... and decided to give Cervo a go.



They had the usual cafe styled menu, but we went in because they had lunch specials.

Considering that it was 4pm, we just made it!



Service was exceptionally slow...



Late afternoon, where customers are just enjoying a drink or a light snack... our food took almost 40 minutes to arrive!






As you can see, the place was pretty empty!



There were 3 cooks in the kitchen that I could see. 3 Waiters and 3 bar staff, and yet the wait was long!



The Boy ordered a Chicken Risotto, which turned out really nicely.



I ordered a Lamb Salad (40 minutes for this!), which was merely passable.

Edible, good, but not anything special.



The French fries ($6.90) were good. Lightly salted.

When I asked the waitress if they had any sour cream, sweet chilli sauce, she looked at me blankly, and replied, "We don't do that sort of thing here"...



Sigh... good effort, but could have been way better. Considering it's located in Crown Casino, tourist, gambler and explorer destination!


Overall Food Rating: 6/10
Restaurant ambiance: 7/10
Value for money: 6.5/10 (

Address:

Crown Ground Level, 8 Whiteman Street

Southbank, VIC 3006

10% SURCHARGE APPLIES ON PUBLIC HOLIDAY S & 15% on NEW YEARS EVE

Tel: (03) 9292 7824

Fax: (03) 9686 1488

Email: manager@cervo.com.au

How to get there:

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