Almost exactly two years ago, my sister took me out to dinner in the Melbourne CBD. The location was Maha Bar and Grill, and she treated me to a pre-dinner cocktail before sitting down to a luscious meal of middle eastern tapas, twelve hour roast lamb, tender duck breast and juicy Israeli wine. It was this event that ushered me into food blogging, as I could not shut up about how delicious the food was. I suppose my descriptions of the food prompted my friends to suggest, “You should start a food blog”
“Well ok then… maybe I will!”
Last night, she took me out to dinner again, and this time it was at Bistro Vue, a branch of the Vue de Monde empire. A brisk 5 minute walk from Vue De Monde on level 55 of the Rialto Towers, it is discreetly tucked away in Little Collins Street and easily passable if you weren’t looking for it.
The mirrored foyer ends with a grand glass door and neon sign advertising that you have arrived at Bistro Vue. Once inside, you are overwhelmed by a certain ambiance that possesses a culture and charm that seems like a French fairytale. The décor is a combination of seductive red plush booth seats opposite quaint, whitewashed chairs, with tables that look like they are made from recycled antique handcrafted timber floors. It was a gorgeous mash up of seduction, enchantment and rusticity.
We got there after dark and I noticed that the lighting was quite dim, which was going to make taking photos a problem, so I hope you can forgive me. I haven't included many dishes because the photos were terrible - and I hate using flash in a nice restaurant.
Drinks
Once our coats were taken, we were shown to the bar for pre-dinner cocktails. After a quick tête-à-tête with the barman, I settled on the
Negresco, which contains Lillet (aperitif wine), gin, Pineau des Charentes (French aperitif) and lemon served over ice. Upon further reading, I actually found out that Lillet is considered to be a tonic wine because it contains the liqueur of the Chinchona bark, which contains quinine – an alkaloid with analgesic and anti-inflammatory qualities! My drink was cool and beautifully refreshing with a slight bitter taste, and a definite contrast to Cin’s super sweet
apple martini, a cloudy concoction served in the traditional martini glass.
We also received a tiny bowl of green olives, which I can only assume to be French Picholine olives, traditionally used for cocktails. They were crisp, mildly salty with a very gentle flavour that was almost sweet.
After drinks, we were shown to our table and I immediately fell in love with my bread plate! The floral design was lovely, something that you’d find in a grandma’s house, along with doilies and potpourri. There was also a stone square flaunting a wheel of soft butter and line of salt and pepper.
The room had soft shades of pink and peach, with a whitewashed buffet and hutch in the corner and a gaping pass between the kitchen and dining area.
A beautiful French girl came over to take our orders, and while we waited for our first course, a suited man with a fantastic pencil moustache approached with a bread basket to dish out these adorable baguette rolls. They were still warm from being freshly baked on the premises. The crunchy crust was a delicate pinkish brown that encased a soft, spongy centre that had a sandy colour. With a lick of butter, it was absolute heaven!
Entrée
Duck Salad – pulled duck meat tossed with fresh salad leaves and pink witlof, with an egg yolk on top to provide moisture. A very simple dish made delicious simply by the savoury flavours of the duck pieces. Even though there wasn’t a lot of duck in the salad, I still enjoyed the freshness.
Moreton Bay Bugs with herb emulsion – three tails arranged in the centre of the plate with blobs of the creamiest, silkiest herb pesto with a very delicate flavour. The Moreton Bay bugs could have done with a bit of salt, but they were well cooked.
Entrée was accompanied by a white wine – 2009 Oakridge Chardonnay. It had an unusual smell; of herbs and green apples perhaps, but was very smooth and drinkable.
Main
300gm Wagyu Cuberoll steak cooked medium rare with thick cut chips and truffle mustard – this arrived on a white plate with lace detailing around the edges. The big steak had the typical criss-cross grill lines and was accompanied by massive rectangular blocks of potato stacked atop each other like Jenga. The waitress came over with a jar of mustard and filled a teaspoon with the condiment before leaving it on the plate.
The steak was juicy, tender and well salted, while the potato blocks were a little dry and needed salt. The mustard was tangy and delicious but I didn’t recognise any truffle flavours – either because I am not used to picking up this flavour or it was overpowered by the mustard.
Curried Spinach – served in a tiny casserole pot, this side consisted of wilted spinach in a light curry… sauce? It was a little too watery to be a sauce, but still gave the spinach a nice flavour. I would say that this is a dish that is easily made at home.
Salade – fresh, undressed salad with discs of radish and ribbons of carrot. Very simple and refreshing.
Mains were accompanied by a red blend.
Dessert
Soufflé au Chocolat – my sister ordered this traditional French dessert, which translates to ‘puffed up’. The waitress placed a bean-shaped plate down on the table that held the soufflé in a brass pot, as well as a small jug of rich chocolate sauce. Before we could stop her, she picked up a knife and drove it through the heart of the soufflé, twisting it about before withdrawing the blade to reveal a nasty, jaggered hole in the middle of my sister’s dessert.
She then delicately picked up the jug of chocolate sauce, pinkies and all, and drizzled the rich brown goo into the hole. The soufflé lapped it up, and slowly began to rise out of the brass pot. What started off as a violent attack ended with death by chocolate.
When we started to eat the soufflé, the consistency was incredibly smooth and fluffy, but once we reached the bottom, it was as if we had struck liquid gold, and each airy mouthful was licked with chocolate. YUM!
Tarte Tatin – despite all of the treats we had eaten, I truly believe my dessert takes the cake. I couldn’t decide what I wanted at first, but the pretty French waitress insisted that I try the tarte tatin. I could tell by the look in her eye that she wasn’t just trying to sell me something – she was in love. I wanted to be in love too…
The tarte arrived shortly after my sister’s soufflé in a black shallow pan separate from the elegant plate that matched the floral bread plates. There was also a small jug of sweet cream with visible black specks of vanilla - crème anglaise? The waitress flipped the contents of the pan onto the plate and waited for a second while a rich caramel sauce began to ooze. When she removed the pan, the ‘upside down apple tart’ was revealed with two vanilla pods baked in the centre. She then drizzled the vanilla cream over the top.
I couldn’t believe what I was eating –flavours of honey, spice and caramelisation, sweet, baked apples, syrupy, sticky pastry and creamy sauce, gloriously combined into a dulcet dream. I’m not a dessert person usually but with every bite my eyes were rolling back into my head with fits of pleasure.
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| Imagine this: Curtis Stone's Classic Apple Tarte Tatin with Vanilla Ice Cream |
I would like to quote
Out of my Kitchen, who made this comment about the same dish:
“food porn at it's finest”
Enough said…
I had a marvellous night at Bistro Vue. The staff were amazing and very pleasant and polite, the décor was elegant and attractive, and the back street location and dim lighting make it an excellent hideaway for lurid affairs and pleasurable moments. I will be back from another tarte tatin experience – but another three course meal will require some serious penny pinching.
