Jacques Reymond, like the Hermes of all designer bags, is one of the Top Fine Dining Restaurant in Melbourne.
Being one of the only two restaurants that bagged the Three Chef hat award by The Age Good Food Guide for more than 5 consecutive years, there is no questioning as to how excellent the food was. And just when you thought that the journey ends at great food, Jacques Reymond even won the Sevice Excellence Award 2010.
I wasn't sure how i'd story-tell my experience in appropriate words for fear that my "England" dictionary has never been extensive. but if anyone ask, my answer would be:
"Jacques Reymond is THE BEST restaurant i've ever been"
Being situated off the main road of Williams Rd, we had a lil' trouble finding our way into their private parking and ended up parking my car by the roadside behind the mansion, in the housing area. What's more pathetic was that i had to fecth my "so-called date" to our dinner.. Definitely NOT impressive, but hey.. who's complaining when you have a free meal?? hehe =P
Before stepping into the vintage-looking door, i was feeling a little intimidated by the seriousness of the place.. It was as though you don't know what to expect- pictures flashed into my mind were: armoured statues jus like the ones in horror movies/ tom and jerry shows or moving eyes from the painting on the wall.. haha
The greeting door
Boy was i wrong. We were greeted by the staff and maitre'd, we are made to feel instantly welcomed. Everything was done so seamlessly, meticulously and effortlessly with the fine balance between being attentive without being too in-your-face.
Our journey of gastrnomy was kicked start with cheese puff, also known as Gougères.. They were light and sprightly and somewhat addictive!!It's like putting a fluff of cloud into your mouth.. Ummm... *im craving for it now*
We ordered the desgustation menu for 2 as i've heard much raving on it.. i'm a sucker for degustation menus, especially when it was an 8 course meal!! *glutton mode on*
Lemongrass, spinach and rock lobster soup (served in a shot glass), fragrant Tiger prawn, and sweet potato and turmeric ice-cream...
The rule of thumb when it comes to eating a platter like this is to start from your left hand side..
The shot was smooth, prawn was fabulously juicy and sweet, ice cream was refreshing and refined despite the intimidating inclusive of the ingredient- tumeric.. My first thought goes to: sweet potato tumeric ice-cream??
My date big brother.. The one who pampers me with lots of fine dining experience..
Driver of the night
Sandwich of spanner crab, mirin and fresh wasabi jelly, lacquered Petuna ocean trout, black bean and sweetcorn dressing
Like most fine cuisine, chefs tend to incorporate a touch of asian-ness in most of their food nowadays.. Agree??
Unfortunately, the ocean trout that was served on my plate was a tad bit too dry and overcooked. The wasabi jelly was refreshing but lack of wasabi taste, as though it is made out of the ordinary "agar-agar" (jelly) mix
Wild Barramundi, almond and bush pepper caramel, yoghurt and black garlic, kaffir lime and lemongrass espuma (it really just means foam)
I reckon this dish is excellently executed!! Love how the foam slowly dissolve into the fish (i'm easily amused like that =P) I like how the crispiness of the caramel topped with the soft and flake-y barramundi.
Pekin duck (No spelling mistakes here), and Harvey bay scallop, peking juices, spiced marshmallow like a crepe, tempura enoki mushrooms, ginger sesame and pandan oil
Not quite sure how should one incorporate the "marshmallow" into the whole savoury meal, pretty intriguing i must say. However, the pekin(g) duck was cooked to its perfection!! Though it's not the typical way of cooking, slightly raw, (served like a medium cooked beef), i love the tenderness and the juicyness of it!!
Highland venison like a warm carpaccio, horseradish mustard dressing, butternut pumpkin with honey and bitter chocolate beignet
The venison meat was too chewy, hard to bite through.. If you're gonna serve a carpaccio as your dish, shouldn't the meat be more thinly sliced?? I guess if it is done as it should, we wouldn't have the issue of tearing the meat apart like a carnivor right? And i thought the butternut pumpkin with honey was a little out of place.. Since when has it become a must for every fine dine dish to be paired with something sweet?
Unfortunately, not what i was drinking that night... Oh, Dom... My loveee!!
Western plains suckling pig and tamarind, celeriac and bitter almond, dashi apple veil, dancing bonito flakes and rosella chutney salad, cavalo nero
Sadly, my bonito flakes weren't dancing and there was no crackling of how a suckling pig should have.. But the meat was cooked to perfection. Juicy yet tender. The tamarind sauce was definitely a compliment to the meat!!
It's a surprise how down-to-earth a chef as famous as Jacques would come around and greet his customers himself and concern about our opinions on his magical work.. Definitely make you feel so welcomed and home.
Pacific Rim martini of pineapple, passionfruit and banana, liquorice ice cream and honeycomb
The only thing that was stopping me from swiping the glass clean was the inappropriateness of the usage of the dessert spoon/ the way this dessert was presented. It was impossible to stick your big fat spoon down the narrow glass.. I was this close to sticking my fingers in to get that last bit of pineapple!! =(
Millefeuilles of chocolate: white chocolate mousse, pure Caribbean chilli ice cream, dark chocolate mousse and praline ice cream
I LOVEEEEEEEEE DARK CHOCOLATE!!!!! But didn't even realise that there was actually a "chili" ice cream among them.. *failed tastebud!!*
Petit fours to sum up our fantabulous dining experience in Jacques Reymond
I definitely enjoyed my experience in Jacques Reymond. It was almost close to faultless with a few tiny misses. Service was perfect and attentive. It really takes a real 3 chef hat to give you such professional service. Food was outstanding and is an art in presentation. Defintely takes a pro to put them together!!
If anyone would take me out on a date *hint*, this is definitely on top of my list!!
Jacques Reymond
78 Williams Rd
Prahran VIC 3181
Telephone: 03 9525 2178
Opening Hours:
Lunch Thur-Fri: 12:00pm-1.30pm
Dinner Tues-Sat: 6:30pm-9:30pm
78 Williams Rd
Prahran VIC 3181
Telephone: 03 9525 2178
Opening Hours:
Lunch Thur-Fri: 12:00pm-1.30pm
Dinner Tues-Sat: 6:30pm-9:30pm
