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