{Invite} Bianca: During last year’s October Good Food Month, team FFS enjoyed a gorgeous 4 course cheese degustation at Abode Bistro. We were back almost a year later to try their Six Course tasting menu. At $65 per person and an additional $35 for matching wines, value for money cannot be disputed. It’s a steal.
We arrived on a Sunday for a relaxed long lunch and whilst it was bucketing outside we were perfectly cosy indoors. We were well looked after by the bubbly and effervescent Hayley.
We started with an Amuse Bouche – a Smoked Paprika and sweet corn soup with crab lime and salmon roe. A wonderfully light and delicate taster to really get the taste-buds going. The sweetcorn was prominent with a subtle sweetness from the crab. This paired wonderfully with the Jansz premium cuvee NV Tas which was an easy drinking champagne.
The Pan seared scallops with cauliflower puree, pickled radish, shaved broccoli, pancetta and lemon oil celebrated those scallops. Perfectly executed scallops with a crispy exterior. They were particularly plump and juicy. I enjoyed the pickle as it was a perfect balancing accompaniment to the scallop. One element I found a little jarring was the shaved broccoli. It just didn’t seem to gel cohesively on the palate.
Despite my usual aversion to beetroot, the third course consisting of a Baby beetroot & Goats cheese salad with puy lentils, barberries, orange gel and cumin crackers was actually very enjoyable. The beetroot was understated and not overly ‘earthy’ as can be the case. The goat’s cheese was a sharp contrast to the rest of the dish. We all liked the addition of the barberries, a left of field choice to add a delicate sweetness. And we appreciated the citrus notes within the lentils. All in all a nice light refreshing dish to segue into mains.
The first of which was the Confit Quakers Hill Duck Breast with wilted greens, mushrooms, bacon and red wine jus. The duck was cooked exceptionally well and the red wine jus was a perfect complement to the duck. The wilted greens were cooked down to have quite a concentrated flavour but they still retained a nice crisp bite. They almost tasted like they has been marinated in a soy sauce, as we were getting strong Asian vibes. This was also paired with a Hardwood Shiraz. The reds were definitely among our favourites of the wines.
And the final savoury of the night and the last main. The Flinders Island rump of lamb with smoked aubergine, onion marmalade, asparagus, sheep’s milk fetta, olive paint and confit tomato. This was one we were all looking forward to and sadly it missed the mark. The lamb whilst cooked well was particularly fatty. This just seemed like a disjointed mish mash of flavours that didn’t work particularly well. It had a few strong elements. The smoked eggplant, confit tomato and fetta were a great foundation alongside the lamb but the onion marmalade just wasn’t successful whatsoever. And paired with another favourite, the Ferngrove symbols cabernet merlot ’12 Margaret River WA.
And saving the best for last. The Banana parfait, coconut sponge, salted cashews and butterscotch sauce. A light end to the meal. The banana parfait had a strong banana flavour and the salted cashews mixed with the butterscotch sauce was a great interplay between the sweet and salty flavours. Also a great use of varying textures and temperatures. This was paired alongside the Keith Tulloch Botrytis Semillion ’12 Hunter Valley, NSW. A great sweet sticky.
Price wise and value for money you really can’t beat Abode’s tasting menu. And while there were a few hit and miss dishes on the whole, the quality for the price point is indisputable.
Bianca
Photos by Alex
*For Food’s Sake dined as guests of Abode Bistro, all opinions however are our own and independent. A big thank you to Yvonne from Holysmoke Agnecy for organising our visit.
