Chairman and Yip

Roasted duck pancake with shitake mushroom

There was a complex combination of flavours and textures (juicy roast duck pieces, chives, shallots, shitake mushroom, a crispness of the chestnuts, and sweetness of the hoisin sauce). Unfortunately, I felt like the duck was chopped too finely and wished I could taste more of the duck flavour. It could have been San Choy Bao filling in a pancake with hoisin sauce.

 

Grilled field mushrooms with cashew and herb pesto

Delicious pesto sauce, very nutty flavour. The mushroom was cooked just right.

Pan fried Kurobuta Rich River (Vic) pork cake w/ red wine vinaigrette

Looked and tasted like a rissole. Flavours were lacking, all I could taste was pepper. Red wine vinaigrette tasted extremely subtle (read: diluted). It was cooked well, crispy on the outside and not dried out on the inside, but there weren’t any herbs or spices to “accessorise” the pork cake.

Sesame crusted Ocean Trout with cinnamon infused soy

This dish was the highlight of the meal. The fish was cooked to perfection – melt in the mouth. Crust was deliciously crunchy. Absolutely stand out dish.

Pan-seared Chicken with honey pepper and black bean sauce
Chicken was a bit tough and very peppery. Could not taste the honey nor distinguish the black bean sauce.

Chocolate fuentille with orange and caramel sauce

Pyramid of mousse – chocolatey, smooth and creamy and light. The biscuit base was also surprisingly light and had a slight crunch to it. It was paired well with the mousse.

Service was prompt and seamless. Could not fault it. They passed the Water Test (water glasses never empty or bottle water promptly replaced) with flying colours.

I’m not sure the quality of the food completely met all my expectations (due to the hype) but it was still a spectacular meal!

Food Avenue rating: 8/10