Saturday, December 31, 2011

Loam - Drysdale, Victoria


650 Andersons Road, Drysdale, Victoria, Australia (03) 5251 1101
Open for lunch Thursday to Sunday, and dinner Friday and Saturday


It was a beautiful day as we set off on the hour and a half drive to Loam, perfect for getting us into the holiday spirit. The drive was easy (though we did miss the entry by a few metres) and we arrived right on time for our lunch booking.


We were greeted warmly as we walked through the doors, which instantly put us at ease, and the understated decor and mesmerising view only made me more excited about our upcoming meal.


Featuring a photograph of some beautiful mushrooms, the non-traditional menu consisted of a list of ingredients that were in season, from which the chefs could create at their discretion. All we had to do was decide which ingredients we wanted to omit (none!) and how many courses we would like - four, seven or nine (with or without matching wines).



It was lunchtime, and we had started the day with some bread and cheese, so we settled on seven courses without wine - five savory, one cheese and one dessert. I pounced at the Choya Plum wine, lemon, ice while Pisso opted for his favorite White Rabbit Dark Ale.



December is: Almond, Anchovy, Apple, Asparagus, Avocado, Banana, Beans (Broad), Beef (Hopkin's River), Blueberries, Blue Mussel (Seabounty), Boysenberry, Borage, Cabbage (Savoy), Carrot, Cavolo Nero, Cantaloupe, Cauliflower, Celeriac, Cherry, Chickweed, Chook (Glenloth), Coconut, Crayfish (Geraldton), Cucumber, Duck (Great Ocean Ducks), Eel (Skipton), Fennel, Grapefruit, Goat's Milk (Drysdale Cheese), Hen Eggs (Kossies), Honey (Wallington), Lamb (Western District), Mandarin, Nasturtum, Oyster (Pipe Clay Lagoon), Parsley, Peas (Garden), Pear (William),  Pig (Western Plains), Pineapple, Plum, Point Henry Saltbrush, Potato (Ron Polley), Pumpkin, Quinoa, Rabbit (Macleay Valley), Radish, Rhubarb, Rock Samphire, Rose, Salmon (Huon), Samphire (Bellarine), Sea lettuce, Sea urchin (Lakes Entrance), Shitake (Otway), Silverbeet, Snapper (Port Philip), Squab (Glenloth), Squid (Port Philip), Sunrose, Tarragon, Tomato (Black Russian, green), Veal (Gippsland), Walnuts (Wellwood), Wagyu Beef (Blackmore), Watercress
Gourmet butter to go with our pick of bread.


A trio of 'snacks' arrived at the table...



Sea Bounty mussels in their own juices.



The mussels were spectacular and has inspired us to try cooking them in the same way at home. Then it was time for our main meal, which I'll present with the motto 'less words, more visuals' in mind. Enjoy the food porn!


Yolk, cauliflower, asparagus, sherry vinegar, oatmeal.

Snapper, black russian tomato, basil seeds, samphire.



One of the prettiest dishes I ever did see - Sea urchin, silverbeet, chicken skin vinegar, flowers.

Our favorite dish of the day - Wagyu rump, oyster, bruny island raw milk c2, parsley.

Pork jowl, watercress, lettuce hearts, sea blite.

The texture of this dish was amazing - Mauri taleggio, fermented cabbage, raw honey, fennel.

Mandarin, almond, coconut, young pine.


Surprise petit fours.


Phew! Overall, a delightful meal which I'd happily recommend. What a way to finish off the year!


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