Vue de monde, Melbourne

Have you ever had such an incredible meal at a restaurant that you don’t even know how to convey the words on how amazing the experience was? That’s exactly how I feel when thinking about the lunch the boy and I had at Vue de monde when we went to Melbourne for my birthday. It starts from from the moment we were greeted in the lobby of the Rialto building to the impressive walk through the wine cellar. Then there’s the amazing view from our table, the impeccable service that was friendly and down-to-earth and every single incredible dish that we received in the 10 course degustation. Ready for some pics? Let’s go!

We start with some snacks, first up is this Chiko Roll made with fermented barley, charred cabbage, shallots, carrots and roasted buckwheat mayo. All it’s missing is a drizzle of tomato sauce and it’s the schmancy version of the milkbar from yesteryear.

A glistening Moonlight Flat Rusty Wire oyster is briny and zingy with the green grape granita.

The next lot of snacks is a trio: ribbons of buttery Wagyu beef; a beef tendon puff with celery root and prawn powder; and a mug of beef broth that warms the soul.

Vue de monde makes their butter in house and a trolley is wheeled over with an original Miele butter churner. The butter has been aged for a month we’re told, and has such an incredibly rich flavour, almost tasting like brie or camembert!

I couldn’t help but slather the butter inch thick onto the slices of warm bread!

Next up, morsels of lightly seared King George whiting and a fat mussel lurk in the charred orange sauce along with quandong and a sprinkle of microherbs.

AND THEN THIS! My fave course was this plump marron tail with a sheath of translucent squid, a dusting of seaweed powder AND A DOLLOP OF CHICKEN EMULSION! Everything about this dish was just so fricken tasty I greedily stared at Noods’ plate hoping he’d give up his marron haha but no dice. We were encouraged to use our hands and no cutlery was provided and yep that chicken emulsion was just finger lickin good!

Next up is the Marron Snag haha a homage to the Aussie snag sizzle 😛 I loved the interactive element to this course with the sausages arriving sizzling on a grill, warm brioche buns and condiments of caramelised onions and seaweed mustard served on the side. The sausages are a revelation, consisting of marron, scallop, chicken and seaweed- it’s no wonder we are blown away by the flavour packed into the sausage!

Cook me mah dinner!

The palate cleanser is a classic from Vue de monde with fresh herbs and flowers sourced from their garden at Burnham Beeches. Liquid nitrogen was poured at the table and we were instructed to carefully grind everything into a powder.

And then a quenelle of lemon myrtle sorbet is added and makes for the most refreshing palate cleanser ever!

Moving onto the heavier end of the dego is the strikingly presented crushed Yukon Gold potatoes, buttery and comforting and topped with a mountain of Yarra Valley trout roe and a puddle of black shellfish sauce as dark as the night. I loved popping each bauble of roe between my teeth for that briny burst!

The next course was kangaroo and it is lightly seared at the table on bincho white charcoal.

The red kangaroo loin does look a bit on the too rare side (for me) but flipping it over shows that the quick sear has actually cooked the kangaroo to a perfect pink centre with a caramelised edge.

Then comes the super tender braised veal loin with pickled, raw and scorched cabbage. It looked like such a simple dish but the flavour of that veal was amazing!

I absolutely loved this last course of Aged Milla’s farm duck breast with leek and fermented truffle, the duck was so tender and juicy but the skin! Oh my! How did they get that skin so perfectly crisp?!

And now onto desserts starting with this cute as a button quince sorbet in a cone of crisp parsnip!

Aaaand we were sent out a platter of petit fours!

Petit Fours- eucalyptus ice pops, ‘fairy bread’, macadamia cookies and lamingtons.

And then Vue de monde’s signature Valrhona chocolate soufflé arrives…

With a spoonful of vanilla crème anglaise liquid nitrogen! That soufflé will be the death of me, it was the lightest, fluffiest soufflé I’ve ever had!

AND THEN… THE CHEESE TROLLEY! I’d been eyeing the trolley all lunch and made sure to save some space because cheese makes my world go round!

Mmm cheese how I love thee… Noods was too full by this stage so I pretty much singlehandedly finished this haha

And some wattleseed caramels to finish!

Check out this amazing view from the 55th floor!

We even got some goodies to take home! I absolutely loved Vue de monde, yes it’s exxy but it’s definitely worth it for a special occasion!

Vue de monde
Level 55, Rialto
525 Collins Street,
Melbourne

Trading hours:
Lunch: Thursday – Sunday: from 12pm
Dinner: Daily from 6pm