Alex: It’s not very often that you can walk into a restaurant and automatically be blown away by the sheer detail of a place. I can name on one hand the places that do that for me, and LuMi Bar & Dining is one of them.
We were being treated to a beautiful 6 course degustation to celebrate Jack’s Creek, following the journey from paddock to plate, and they definitely were not joking when they said that as they were literally carving up a monster head right in front of us! Bit much for a Thursday arvo but hey, it was informative and the quality of meat in terms of age and marbling was evident.
Oysters, (my arch nemesis) were being brought around for people to enjoy as they enjoyed a nice glass of vino.
To ease us into the degustation we were brought a serving of Potato Rosti’s. Extremely buttery and moreish with a similar taste to that of a hash brown. Eating all of them was tempting but I practiced restraint.
Now unfortunately that restraint was put in place because I saw the bread and butter being brought to our table. Perhaps, it’s just an FFS thing but butter seems to be our kryptonite. The bread was warm and fluffy that tasted like a french toast. It was served with a beautiful mascarpone style paté, very sweet and very delicious.
Mussels are only something that I have recently come to enjoy ever since returning from my trip to Europe last year where I was spoilt with some of the best in Montenegro, but I never had the pleasure of trying a tempura battered mussel. If you don’t like mussels but are curious to try it then fried is definitely the way to go. The Beer tempura mussels togarashi were very airy and the accompanying aioli style sauce was a great way to balance richness of the batter.
It was literally like running commentary all day from me about how much I loved all of the plates that they were using. Seriously, they are like works of art. Considering this was a degustation to showcase the meat, this was the perfect way to see that. The Beef Tartare was a crowd pleaser overall. A light dish that paired well with the green pea purée. There was a crunchy element above the tartare that tasted like a crackling, I could be wrong but either way it was a perfect dish.
About 45 minutes before this dish was served I saw the tongue being cut out of the head of a cow so I’d be lying if I said I was a little turned off, but I’ve never really been a fan of tongue anyway so I let my other diners give me some feedback on the dish. The Wagyu tongue, parsnip, yuzu, sea blight was, according to Ange from The Girls Who Ate The World “the most tender tongue I have ever eaten!” Kudos Ange. I did try the dish and thought that the parsnip added a much needed crunch to the dish.
Breaking up the meat dishes, we were treated to Agnolotti, mushroom and toasted rye. This was easily the winner of the day for me. As soon as it hit the table the scent of truffle enveloped the air. This particular pasta dish is similar to a steamed dumpling with liquid on the inside. Perfectly cooked as well.
The whole reason for us being their today was to experience the Wagyu sirloin, potato churros, burnt butter. Oh my goodness man! The wagyu literally melted in the mouth. There’s been very few times that I’ve had wagyu and enjoyed it as much as I did on this day. If this isn’t a credit to Frederico Zanellato (Head Chef) and his staff and how they prepare the meat from Jack’s Creek then I don’t know what is!
The final meat dish of the day was the Black angus short rib, kohlrabi, mustard. The meat was so tender and sticky. Another testament to the chefs and the effort put into treating such a great piece of meat with care. The kohlrabi was actually layered together and looked simply stunning on the plate. And just quietly…THE PLATES! LOOK AT HOW NICE THEY ARE!
Looking at the Fennel pollen, rhubarb, coconut, capers dessert option on the menu really didn’t appeal to me at all. I was quietly disappointed when I didn’t see something chocolatey, but my God, what a way to finish a heavy degustation. The flavours were fantastic. Such a unique dish that refreshed the palate with a hint of sweetness coming from the rhubarb. It’s no wonder LuMi is on everyone’s list these days.
What a perfect lazy Thursday afternoon when I probably should’ve been at work. Jack’s Creek on many occasions has served up some of the beat meat I’ve ever eaten so to see it treated in such a way from the chef’s at LuMi was a treat that I’ll never forget!
Until next time!
Alex
*For Food’s Sake dined as guests of Polka Dot PR and Jack’s Creek. All opinions however are our own and independent.
Whoah potato roesti pizza slices! And good bread with good butter is my nemesis too.