My favourite restaurant in Melbourne. A must visit every time I'm in town. Jacques Reymond has never disappointed me in food, service and presentation. It does cost pretty penny but in my opinion worth it. I'm not sure if it is listed as such but I think this is more of a French-fusion rather than French cuisine and particularly has a strong Asian influence which appeals to me.
For the first course I started with Snapper with togaroshi and wasabi, ponzu dressing, squid and orange witlof. As you can see several of the ingredients are of Asian origin (Japanese for this particular dish). It is never hard to find good fresh seafood in Melbourne and naturally these were fresh and had the mark of natural sweetness. The togaroshi and wasabi are both quite strong in flavour but was used in quiet modesty so that the overall palate of this dish was subtle. Some people might consider this bland but I think when you are working with great raw material such as these fresh seafood it is better to let their natural flavours shine through and this was unquestionably achieved in this dish. But if you do like your food to pack a bit more a punch I would probably not recommend this particular dish.
Mr Z's first course was double baked cottage cheese soufflé, watercress and comte (left). I had a taste and was not a fan but I have never been a fan of cottage cheese. Mr Z, however really liked the dish but it was overshadowed by his second course a beautiful infusion of mushroom, risotto and slices of Parmigiano-Reggiano. Highly highly recommend this which is why it is exceptionally sad that the exact name of dish escapes us - sincere apologies.
For the main I had the quail tempura and asparagus, dry curry of the legs with carrots and cauliflower (left). The quail tempura (forefront) wasn't that great. A little too oily. But the curry quail legs was. Juicy succulent meat with slight tinge of curry. For his main course Mr. Z could not remember the name of the dish. Apologies again. What he does remember is the aromatic shitake mushrooms. This dish was very very chinese with minimal French influence except perhaps in design.
We decided to share a dessert, Warm crepe suzette sauce, orange parfait. The crepe and suzette sauce was zesty with slight sweetness but way too small in portion. I think a whole plate of the crepes would have served me better.
Of course as per tradition I finished the meal with chamomile tea and petit fours. I love love the petit fours here so make sure you leave some room when you order your course. For today we had pate de fruit and micro macarons. The macarons were more meringue than the usual chewy ones but still so cute.
I have to admit that this was not the best meal I've had at Jacques Reymond but this was also the first time I had come for a lunch rather than dinner. In the past I've enjoyed more creative dishes with mixing of unexpected ingredients concluding in equally surprisingly appetizing results.
Sidebar
Food: French-fusion indulgence that never dulls. Menu is seasonal so would recommend coming at least four times a year.
Must try: Since the menu is seasonal I have rarely eaten the same dish twice. But I distinctly remember a slow cooked beef fillet and also a dessert that included a pepper sorbet.
Setting: Formal modern French
Service: The best!
Damage: Sadly on the expensive side but still worth the value.
Jacques Reymond
Labels: Asian, Australia, Eat, French, Fusion, Jacques Reymond, Lunch, Melbourne
