Melbourne Chrissy Function suggestions

[jkim]

Hey guys,

I am looking for a suitable venue for a Christmas function for the following:

- Around 25 - 35 adults.

- Around 6 - 10 kids (ages 5 - 12).

Preferably, it should be in or near the CBD, and have a function room, with a small separate area for the kids.

Some exclusions include:

Cumulus (did them 2 years ago, roomy enough for kids in the art gallery dining hall)

Flower Drum (did them last year, wasn't suitable to bring kids)

So does anyone have any suggestions for a nice venue, with good food?

[gap]

What about Boozy Rouge in Richmond? Both food and venue are good (although maybe not quite at Cumulus/Flower Drum levels). I've had a few work functions there and it has had a great feel/vibe for a celebration. It has function rooms as well. Order ahead for suckling pig which could be a winner for Chirstmas.

[jkim]

What about Boozy Rouge in Richmond?

Thanks for the suggestion. I've looked it up on Urban spoon and although the reviews were pretty good, it didn't look that "special". In fact, some of the comments lead me to believe this is too high risk (hit and miss) to put my name down as the organiser for this event - especially if it becomes one of the miss nights mentioned in the user reviews. I'm looking for something a bit more up-market and consistent, or a bit more unusual (i.e. Aquarium [done 5 years ago] with clown to entertain kids) to make it a bit "special".

My current considerations are:

- Vue de Monde (can scrape in budget with the function package, and can't take kids OR maybe we can hire a room in the Rialto and a nanny and put up the kids there or something... not sure how well this idea would go down with the parents)

- Mo Vida (I personally don't like the food there but most people seem to, and Tapas are always fun for the kids(? is it just me thinking this?) - not sure about function area - haven't found out yet).

- Somewhere in crown (i.e. maybe we can hire a room in Crown Promenade/Tower and a nanny and put up the kids there or something... not sure how well this idea would go down with the parents)

- Stokehouse - being next to the beach is always good...

- Call me stupid but I can't think of any "unusual" events...

[ChrisZ]

Sorry I have no suggestions, but I would love to know your impressions of the Flower Drum. I have only heard praise from people who have been, but it seems to be often overlooked in the press when they discuss top restaurants...

[Broken English]

Sorry I have no suggestions, but I would love to know your impressions of the Flower Drum. I have only heard praise from people who have been, but it seems to be often overlooked in the press when they discuss top restaurants...

I had never even heard of it until a few weeks ago when I was crawling through past "50 Best Restaurants" lists, and was amazed to find it in there multiple years. I thought it was very strange I'd never so much as heard of it, considering it was ranked at #20 in 2004.

[jkim]

Sorry I have no suggestions, but I would love to know your impressions of the Flower Drum. I have only heard praise from people who have been, but it seems to be often overlooked in the press when they discuss top restaurants...

When we were there, we had the "westernized banquet". Apparently, they have 2 separate banquet menus, one is westernized and one is chinese.

In terms of service delivery, it was impeccable. I can't fault it.

I thought the decor was not that special, since it just felt like "another middle/upper cantonese restaurant" (i.e. Shark Fin Inn).

The food was... my opinion was that it was a bit hit and miss, but I think that was due to the "western" style than anything else.

The 6 course consisted of the following:

• Baked Crab Shell
  
• Minced Quail in Lettuce Leaf
  
• Platter of Spring Onion Cake, Crispy Bread Scallop Roll & Lamb Spring Roll
  
• Peking Duck
  
• Steamed Half Crayfish with Ginger & Spring Onion
  
• Grain-Fed Black Angus Eye Fillet with Spicy Szechuan Sauce Served with Seasonal Vegetables & Special Fried Rice
  

You'd note the Chinese banquet menu is a bit different:

• King George Whiting
  
• Baked Crab Shell
  
• Minced Quail in Lettuce Leaf
  
• Sauted Seafood with Garlic
  
• Peking Duck
  
• Grain-Fed Black Angus Eye Fillet with Spicy Szechuan Sauce Served with Seasonal Vegetables & Special Fried Rice
  

Now for the run down.

Baked Crab Shell was fantastic. You'll note I have not much to say if I was happy with something.

The Quail Sanchoibao was nothing special. Just standard stuff... It was quite... "clean"? so that's a +.

I was quite disappointed starting with the platter course. Only the scallop roll was good. The others were quite boring and flavourless.

Big disappointment number 1: peking duck. No... just no. It did not taste "right". The sauce was way too overpowering to taste the duck, and the matched wine was even worse, overpowering both sauce and duck meat. They should really reconsider how they do their peking duck, since the combination should all work together rather than 1 overpowering the rest.

Big disappointment number 2: the lobster... Steamed crayfish, with just a blob of sauce on the side. How boring can you get? You'd note the chinese menu sounds a lot nicer (sauted seafood - which I assume is done cantonese style with noodles?). I thought so too, and would have loved it if they served that instead.

Best: The steak was the best steak I've had in Melbourne... much better than "steak" specialist places or French restaurants. I wasn't that happy with the sauce, but the meat itself... oh how tender and flavoursome that was... cooked perfectly so it was juicy and tender, but not too rare.

Dessert: Fruit platter was served as dessert. OMG I want to find out their supplier. The freshest fruit I've tasted in Melbourne... I've only tasted fruit this good overseas.

I thought the sommelier was not what I would expect at a venue as reputable as the Drum.

We had 4 wines, 2 whites and 2 reds.

The white selection and matching was quite well done.

However, I felt his selection of reds to be bad.

He matched Burgandy with Peking duck. Come on... who does that?

Burgandy was way too heavy to suit the fruity flavoured duck.

It went much better with the steak (course 6), but of course, he recommended a different wine for that course.

I think he should have popped a fruity light red (i.e. pinot noir) for the duck course.

All in all, a place that could do with some improvements, and I would definitely go back to (after they adjust) - to try the Chinese menu.

I had never even heard of it until a few weeks ago when I was crawling through past "50 Best Restaurants" lists, and was amazed to find it in there multiple years. I thought it was very strange I'd never so much as heard of it, considering it was ranked at #20 in 2004.

Really? Flower Drum is like one of Melbourne's most famous icons in terms of restaurants.

Granted, it's gone downhill during recent times, but prior to the advent of Vue De Monde, I believe Flower Drum was considered Melbourne's best (as in #1) restaurant for over a decade...

Edited September 1, 2011 by jkim (log)

[Broken English]

Yeah, I've never even heard the name. That said, the Melbourne dining scene was never anything I had a great deal of knowledge about, apart from the bigger names. Plus, I was still at school in 2004

I just thought that in the following years, I'd have read/heard about it.

[Simon Lewinson]

One place to have a look at is Tho Tho in Victoria St Richmond. Not too "up market" but definitely kid friendly and has fantastic Vietnamese food. Their prawn spring rolls are legendary. I do not think that it is the most upmarket place, but compared with most Vietnamese restaurants it is great value and always spotless with lightning fast service.

I would consider having a bite there and seeing what they can offer - I think that they have a function room or can partition off part of the venue.

Dragon Boat or Westlake in Chinatown are great for a yum cha style feast but again not sure on the function rooms.

Edited September 1, 2011 by Simon Lewinson (log)