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Vue du Monde - Melbourne


chopper

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I've noticed that reviews for VDM fall into the 'love it' or 'totally hate it' category, more so than any other melbourne restaurant. I've been surprised when speaking to other people, usually from the food industry, who despite having not eaten there proclaim to hate the place and it's chef.

I've had three lunches there back when it was in carlton, and loved each one. Maybe the degustation is drastically different, but I suspect anyone who finds the food there like cat litter has something other than the food on their mind.

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I think one should read all reviews, to get both sides of the story. VdM does polarise diners, and Mr Lethlean is a major figure but then again he is only one voice, although a loud one at that.

I think judge for yourself is the way to go. So what 18/20... I don't agree with half the stuff that's reviewed and look carefully at what people are reviewing. Mr Lethlean spent a lot of time talking about the linen and tableware. I spent a lot of time there wondering how the hell I'm gonna get full...

For the record, I check both sides of every coin before I flip it.

..and I did judge for myself, hence my emphatic disagreement with the Herald Sun review (just my opinion). However, the Herald Sun reviewer must have a degree of familiarity with the taste of cat litter if he/she can liken food in restaurants to it, and that alone is reason enough to discount anything their review has to say :laugh:

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To discount an entire review, or anything, based on one point alone seems a bit harsh, or from some points of view, even a little callous.

Now, I've eaten at VdM for various reasons, about 5 times now. Only two of those times came close to being memorable. Twice I was disappointed, bitterly even on one occasion which happened to be my birthday. I've banged on about consistency before, and I'll beat that drum again.

Sometimes I can't help but feel that some are inclined to like a place no matter what either because of what they are supposed to like, or feel obliged to simply because of what they're spending.

"Coffee and cigarettes... the breakfast of champions!"

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PCL you must have something against this restaurant, I also do not belive you have been 5 or 6 times becasue if that was the case you would have posted something negative long before now.

can't you see that you are in the minority?

Think positive rather than negative thoughts when it comes to the Melbourne scene and stop whining about prices, you lived in London so I am sure you know how cheap restaurants are here?

why does Melbourne always do this to its own city? The place is all about great food and wine it's leading edge, training some of Melbourne finest young chefs and waiters who are working very hard to acheieve a product that is very good. Stop being petty if a restaurant is that bad then don't talk about it. Something Steven downes could not do because that is the only reason the Herald sun employ him and that is to stir up the pot with highly unprofessional and imature views of Melbourne's top establishments. Andrew Mc Connell, Michael Lambie, flower drum and even Stephanie Alexander at the famous Stephanies all got a hammering at some point from this guy, basically i have heard through my industry connections that he reviews anything Lethlean reviews then will score it at the opposite end of the spectrum to prove a point to the publication that sacked him for taking a consulatancy role with crown whilst giving them unjustified raving reviews such as KOKO 18.5/20. The guy is a cheap red wine stain on the restaurant and catering industry of victoria and i urge Shannon and his team to ignore it, just keep cooking and working hard.

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PCL you must have something against this restaurant, I also do not belive you have been 5 or 6 times becasue if that was the case you would have posted something negative long before now.

You've posted three times on this forum, and each of those times was about Vue de Monde. Do you have a connection with the restaurant?

can't you see that you are in the minority?

So what? If that's his opinion of Vue de Monde, then so be it.

Most people like McDonalds, but I don't. Does that make me wrong?

Think positive rather than negative thoughts when it comes to the Melbourne scene and stop whining about prices, you lived in London so I am sure you know how cheap restaurants are here?

London may be relevant to those who can travel, but for most of us, our reference point is Melbourne prices. And on that scale, Vue de Monde is expensive.

Oh, and in many threads, PCL has made many of positive comments about the Melbourne food scene.

why does Melbourne always do this to its own city? The place is all about great food and wine it's leading edge, training some of Melbourne finest young chefs and waiters who are working very hard to acheieve a product that is very good. Stop being petty if a restaurant is that bad then don't talk about  it.

Of course we should celebrate and talk up the successful aspects of Melbourne's food scene, but if a restaurant is bad, then the issues of why it is bad should also be discussed. Without people pointing out what's bad about a restaurant, how can the restaurant know what they should be working on to improve?

Something Steven downes could not do because that is the only reason the Herald sun employ him and that is to stir up the pot with highly unprofessional and imature views of Melbourne's top establishments. Andrew Mc Connell, Michael Lambie, flower drum and even Stephanie Alexander at the famous Stephanies all got a hammering at some point from this guy, basically i have heard through my industry connections that he reviews anything Lethlean reviews then will score it at the opposite end of the spectrum to prove a point to the publication that sacked him for taking a consulatancy role with crown whilst giving them unjustified raving reviews such as KOKO 18.5/20. The guy is a cheap red wine stain on the restaurant and catering industry of victoria and i urge Shannon and his team to ignore it, just keep cooking and working hard.

It's hard to believe that Stephen Downes started at RRR all those years ago. He was one of the best presenters on the station. But since those years, he seems to have become more pompous.

Still, it's funny what you said about the reviews though. One of my friends was at the old Guerinica, and Downes and Lethlean were dining on the same evening. She kept a close eye on proceedings, and said they ordered the same dishes, but when their reviews got printed, they came to opposite conclusions!

Daniel Chan aka "Shinboners"
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Ah, the Goose is back. Welcome back and scroll up to my very first post about VdM.

And it's not personal, just calling it as I see it. I couldn't give two hoots what the journalistic politics are, at the end of the day it's what's on the plate and how one feels about it. I'd like to encourage some introspection and rational critical debate as opposed to emotional and personal reactions.

"Coffee and cigarettes... the breakfast of champions!"

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The herald sun could be viewed as impartial on this as Bob Hart's reviews of vdm are as glowing as Downe's was underwhelmed.

I can understand the Fat Goose response to a degree, and it's the usual vexation- how can it be that a place that bowls you off your feet so hard with the cooking and attention to detail fails to impress someone else? And the best reply of all is to go look at the Fat Duck and El Bulli threads, keep in mind these are amongst the most lauded restaurants in the world currently, and see how many people were dissatisfied there or felt that their meal was off. For everything, including restaurants, one man's genius is another man's 'meh'.

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I agree with everything you have both said. Melbourne should be very proud of its status in the gastronomic world because of the infectious passion that diners and the industry display. food critics owe it to their readers to do the same. I also used to be a chef but now involved in marketing and I have a great enjoyment of eating at Vue de monde, interlude, Circa and many other great restaurants quite regularly because of my occupation so I understand their positions in the market place, with your support these guys will listen and learn from their mistakes and the needs of their clientele because they want to survive and help rebuild this city's reputation that was destroyed by the good food guide a few years ago when it awarded Est Est one hat and its bistro 3 hats, the culinary world was laughing at us, trust me I was overseas at the time. John Lethlean has come a long way since then and has helped repair the damage done in 2000. I quite like his reviews and I now trust his opinion.

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  • 2 months later...

My partner and I recently had a delicious evening at Café Vue. The following is a review that I wrote for some of my friends. It got a bit longer than I intended!

--------------------------------------------------------------

Sometimes I wonder about opening up a restaurant. How difficult could it be, what with my passion for food, obsession with fine dining and a requisite degree in business? Certainly, I am not alone in such ruminations and every year there are countless additions to Melbourne's fabulous, varied dining scene. There are no less than 3,000 restaurants, cafés, bistros and bars littering the city and its surrounds. How then does one make a culinary splash in a city that has been described as having "too many restaurants"1?

In 2000, Shannon Bennett opened Vue de Monde in Carlton because nobody would give him a job. Never mind simply opening up a restaurant; Bennett wanted to create "Australia's best"2 dining experience. After six years, a swag of awards and shifting to a new premises, Bennett occupies an enviable position in Melbourne's restaurant hierarchy. There's no question that the man can cook. But with the closure of such fine dining legends as Hotel Sofitel's Le Restaurant, Federation Square's Reserve and more recently, a handful of swanky eateries on Docklands, one must wonder how sustainable the luxe dining establishment is. Enforced degustation menus are all the rage (see Interlude, Jacques Reymond, Tetsuya's) and with prices averaging $140 AUD per person, they're not something that many people can afford often, or at all. I myself would happily dine at Vue de Monde daily, if I could afford to.

And now, I can. The recently opened Café Vue offers breakfast and lunch at very reasonable prices, thereby capturing a slice of the restaurant market that, like me, has to check their credit card debt before making a booking at Vue de Monde. Later this year, Bennett will be opening Bistro Vue for dining a la carte. The three establishments are set to make for a formidable empire in the Melbourne restaurant scene. Not only can Bennett cook, but he understands the different wants of different customers and is set to corner the market at all levels.

On a wintery night, my partner and I stepped inside the very shiny Café Vue, looking forward to another dose of Vue de Monde wizardry in the form of the Café Vue Cocktail Evening, running twice a week from August 17th with menus changing monthly. Bennett produces a menu of six small dishes that are matched with cocktails created by some of Melbourne's best bars, including Der Raum, Madame Brussels and the Gin Palace. The informal environment and the copious amount of colourful liquor allows for a fun, frivolous atmosphere. Each of Bennett's dishes were created with reference to a botanical flavour found in Bombay Sapphire gin, the drink currently beaing featured.

First up was a French 75, consisting of gin, lemon juice and sugar syrup, topped up with excellent champagne. Each flute had a dollop of white sorbet with green jelly crystals dropped in, as well as a small piece of dry ice. Sweet and well-balanced flavour; the sorbet melted and left the jelly crystals floating in the drink. Out of the kitchen came long, green glass plates with duck cromeski – three balls of succulent, firm duck studded with croutons. I wished someone had warned me of what would happen before I bit into the ball and sent the licorice and angelica jus filling squirting across the bar counter. I took more care with the second and third attempts.

The next drink to come out was the Diabola, a grapefruit coloured drink of gin, dubonnet vermouth and a shimmery liquer that ebbed around the ice cubes. Matched with this was a bowl of warm, tender crab sticks encrusted with almonds and served with bright yellow amaretto mayonnaise. Perhaps this is why I'm no chef – it never would have occurred to me that crab and almond could be so delicious, the softness of the crab meat contrasting well with the crunchy almonds.

The dish that followed was somewhat of a disappointment. Frozen foie gras powder served atop Sauternes jelly in test tubes, accompanied by charred Juniper bread sounded phenomonal. The foie gras was delicious at first but as it mixed with the jelly liquid, it became watery and difficult to spread on the bread. Comparatively, the matched cocktail was delightful – mandarin and chrysanthemum punch, garnished with chrysanthemum flowers.

Time for a palate cleanser: our chef brought out a bowl of liquid nitrogen and squeezed in a spoonful of what appeared to be meringue. She stirred it until it hardened slightly, and picked it up with a Chinese spoon. We were instructed to pop the entire thing into our mouth, as the cold would strip the residual oils and flavours from our mouths, in preparation for the next dish. The expression on the faces of the people nearby was telling: bug-eyed. The meringue was quite cold and had a slight almond flavour. It seemed to expand and then melt against my tongue. After the initial shock, it was very refreshing.

I was feeling slightly full when the next course landed in front of us – slow cooked ocean trout that was as tender as salmon, spread with coriander pesto and topped off with crispy noodles. We continued to sip the chrysanthemum punch and marvelled at the trout which fell apart beautifully beneath our forks. A definite highlight of the evening. Following this was two Chinese spoons each, with a preserved lemon and a bitter white powder sprinkled on top – the 21st Century Gin & Tonic. It was sweet, bitter, intense and not exactly my cup of tea. But, when in Rome…

The next cocktail was a mouth-puckering Negroni, similar in colour to the Diabola and consisting of gin, red vermouth and Campari. I would have preferred a sweeter vermouth – this was a very powerful cocktail. I drank about half and turned my attention to the lamb kebab dish, with preserved lemon and garlic yogurt. I was interested to see what Bennett's take on a kebab would be. The presentation consisted of half a wrap standing up in a pool of yogurt, stuffed with tiny tomato pieces, shredded lettuce and unfortunately, very little lamb. The taste was fine.

Getting to the business end of the evening, my partner and I were not as drunk as we feared we might be. The final cocktail was absolutely delicious. A Ramos Gin Fizz: gin, lemon and lime, topped up with seltzer and finished with a head of creamy meringue and orange blossom. The dessert of strawberry tagliatelle (cold, dark pink ribbons) with Orris root and Grains of paradise, topped with a softened scoop of vanilla ice cream arrived on a white artist's palette and was the kind of thing that people look for when they go to a place like Vue de Monde – inventiveness and wonder. The chef recommended we try and eat it all in one bite, so as to appreciate the layering of the flavours. The orris root left behind a slight, pleasant spiciness.

To finish, good, strong coffee and soft-centred homemade chocolates.

On our way out, my partner and I made sure to find out when there would be a new menu for us to try. Because I need a Vue de Monde fix every now and then. Shannon Bennett offers something that few of the 3,000 eateries in the city do: genuine surprises. There is the occasional misfire, but I will take the exceptional flourishes of culinary brilliance with one or two ordinary experiments over the mediocre any day.

For more information about the Café Vue Cocktail Evening, visit the Vue de Monde website: http://www.vuedemonde.com.au/events_menu.aspx?view=40

1 Barker, A 2005, 'Lygon Street set for restaurant cap', PM, Radio National, ABC, 3 May, viewed 23 August 2006, <http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2005/s1359071.htm>.

2 Lethlean, J 2005, 'Cue the new Vue', The Age, 14 June, viewed 23 August 2006, <http://www.theage.com.au/news/Epicure/Cue-...8514953104.html>.

Edited by of_corset (log)
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My partner and I recently had a delicious evening at Café Vue. The following is a review that I wrote for some of my friends. It got a bit longer than I intended!

--------------------------------------------------------------

Sometimes I wonder about opening up a restaurant. How difficult could it be, what with my passion for food, obsession with fine dining and a requisite degree in business? Certainly, I am not alone in such ruminations and every year there are countless additions to Melbourne's fabulous, varied dining scene. There are no less than 3,000 restaurants, cafés, bistros and bars littering the city and its surrounds. How then does one make a culinary splash in a city that has been described as having "too many restaurants"1?

In 2000, Shannon Bennett opened Vue de Monde in Carlton because nobody would give him a job. Never mind simply opening up a restaurant; Bennett wanted to create "Australia's best"2 dining experience. After six years, a swag of awards and shifting to a new premises, Bennett occupies an enviable position in Melbourne's restaurant hierarchy. There's no question that the man can cook. But with the closure of such fine dining legends as Hotel Sofitel's Le Restaurant, Federation Square's Reserve and more recently, a handful of swanky eateries on Docklands, one must wonder how sustainable the luxe dining establishment is. Enforced degustation menus are all the rage (see Interlude, Jacques Reymond, Tetsuya's) and with prices averaging $140 AUD per person, they're not something that many people can afford often, or at all. I myself would happily dine at Vue de Monde daily, if I could afford to.

And now, I can. The recently opened Café Vue offers breakfast and lunch at very reasonable prices, thereby capturing a slice of the restaurant market that, like me, has to check their credit card debt before making a booking at Vue de Monde. Later this year, Bennett will be opening Bistro Vue for dining a la carte. The three establishments are set to make for a formidable empire in the Melbourne restaurant scene. Not only can Bennett cook, but he understands the different wants of different customers and is set to corner the market at all levels.

On a wintery night, my partner and I stepped inside the very shiny Café Vue, looking forward to another dose of Vue de Monde wizardry in the form of the Café Vue Cocktail Evening, running twice a week from August 17th with menus changing monthly. Bennett produces a menu of six small dishes that are matched with cocktails created by some of Melbourne's best bars, including Der Raum, Madame Brussels and the Gin Palace. The informal environment and the copious amount of colourful liquor allows for a fun, frivolous atmosphere. Each of Bennett's dishes were created with reference to a botanical flavour found in Bombay Sapphire gin, the drink currently beaing featured.

First up was a French 75, consisting of gin, lemon juice and sugar syrup, topped up with excellent champagne. Each flute had a dollop of white sorbet with green jelly crystals dropped in, as well as a small piece of dry ice. Sweet and well-balanced flavour; the sorbet melted and left the jelly crystals floating in the drink. Out of the kitchen came long, green glass plates with duck cromeski – three balls of succulent, firm duck studded with croutons. I wished someone had warned me of what would happen before I bit into the ball and sent the licorice and angelica jus filling squirting across the bar counter. I took more care with the second and third attempts.

The next drink to come out was the Diabola, a grapefruit coloured drink of gin, dubonnet vermouth and a shimmery liquer that ebbed around the ice cubes. Matched with this was a bowl of warm, tender crab sticks encrusted with almonds and served with bright yellow amaretto mayonnaise. Perhaps this is why I'm no chef – it never would have occurred to me that crab and almond could be so delicious, the softness of the crab meat contrasting well with the crunchy almonds.

The dish that followed was somewhat of a disappointment. Frozen foie gras powder served atop Sauternes jelly in test tubes, accompanied by charred Juniper bread sounded phenomonal. The foie gras was delicious at first but as it mixed with the jelly liquid, it became watery and difficult to spread on the bread. Comparatively, the matched cocktail was delightful – mandarin and chrysanthemum punch, garnished with chrysanthemum flowers.

Time for a palate cleanser: our chef brought out a bowl of liquid nitrogen and squeezed in a spoonful of what appeared to be meringue. She stirred it until it hardened slightly, and picked it up with a Chinese spoon. We were instructed to pop the entire thing into our mouth, as the cold would strip the residual oils and flavours from our mouths, in preparation for the next dish. The expression on the faces of the people nearby was telling: bug-eyed. The meringue was quite cold and had a slight almond flavour. It seemed to expand and then melt against my tongue. After the initial shock, it was very refreshing.

I was feeling slightly full when the next course landed in front of us – slow cooked ocean trout that was as tender as salmon, spread with coriander pesto and topped off with crispy noodles. We continued to sip the chrysanthemum punch and marvelled at the trout which fell apart beautifully beneath our forks. A definite highlight of the evening. Following this was two Chinese spoons each, with a preserved lemon and a bitter white powder sprinkled on top – the 21st Century Gin & Tonic. It was sweet, bitter, intense and not exactly my cup of tea. But, when in Rome…

The next cocktail was a mouth-puckering Negroni, similar in colour to the Diabola and consisting of gin, red vermouth and Campari. I would have preferred a sweeter vermouth – this was a very powerful cocktail. I drank about half and turned my attention to the lamb kebab dish, with preserved lemon and garlic yogurt. I was interested to see what Bennett's take on a kebab would be. The presentation consisted of half a wrap standing up in a pool of yogurt, stuffed with tiny tomato pieces, shredded lettuce and unfortunately, very little lamb. The taste was fine.

Getting to the business end of the evening, my partner and I were not as drunk as we feared we might be. The final cocktail was absolutely delicious. A Ramos Gin Fizz: gin, lemon and lime, topped up with seltzer and finished with a head of creamy meringue and orange blossom. The dessert of strawberry tagliatelle (cold, dark pink ribbons) with Orris root and Grains of paradise, topped with a softened scoop of vanilla ice cream arrived on a white artist's palette and was the kind of thing that people look for when they go to a place like Vue de Monde – inventiveness and wonder. The chef recommended we try and eat it all in one bite, so as to appreciate the layering of the flavours. The orris root left behind a slight, pleasant spiciness.

To finish, good, strong coffee and soft-centred homemade chocolates.

On our way out, my partner and I made sure to find out when there would be a new menu for us to try. Because I need a Vue de Monde fix every now and then. Shannon Bennett offers something that few of the 3,000 eateries in the city do: genuine surprises. There is the occasional misfire, but I will take the exceptional flourishes of culinary brilliance with one or two ordinary experiments over the mediocre any day.

For more information about the Café Vue Cocktail Evening, visit the Vue de Monde website: http://www.vuedemonde.com.au/events_menu.aspx?view=40

1 Barker, A 2005, 'Lygon Street set for restaurant cap', PM, Radio National, ABC, 3 May, viewed 23 August 2006, <http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2005/s1359071.htm>.

2 Lethlean, J 2005, 'Cue the new Vue', The Age, 14 June, viewed 23 August 2006, <http://www.theage.com.au/news/Epicure/Cue-...8514953104.html>.

That's a fantastic re"VUE".

I'm in melbourne in a few weeks and am looking forwrad to eating my way around town!

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Take a look online here:

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And the show continues...

Looks like Bennett is following in Keller's footsteps with the multiple outlet thing...

"Coffee and cigarettes... the breakfast of champions!"

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And the show continues...

Looks like Bennett is following in Keller's footsteps with the multiple outlet thing...

I would have thought that Marco Pierre White would have been his main inspiration with the mutiple outlets with different price points - didn't MPW have a similar strategy when he was running his restaurants in the 90s?

Neil Perry has also tried the same thing over the years with Rockpool as his flagship, and places like Wokpool and XO to cater for a lower price point. And I've read that Mario Batali and Daniel Boulard also use the same strategy with their restaurant empires in New York.

Daniel Chan aka "Shinboners"
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I've got to say it, that's a mighty big call.

Perhaps he's just simply opening his second outlet?

um, 3rd outlet dude... vue, cafe, then bistro... like laundry, then bouchon, then per se... three... must be a lucky number thing...

agree Shin... but i just took keller 'cos his name came up first in my mind... i'm still dreaming about what could have been with my one chance at getting a spot at the laundry... another story for another time...

"Coffee and cigarettes... the breakfast of champions!"

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um, 3rd outlet dude... vue, cafe, then bistro... like laundry, then bouchon, then per se... three... must be a lucky number thing...

I'll be intrigued to see what his bistro will be like. Melbourne has plenty of very good French bistros, so I wonder if Bennett will refine the bejeezus out of it as Keller has done with Bouchon (and I mean that in a good way). It'll be interesting to see what menu he comes up with and the pricing.

agree Shin... but i just took keller 'cos his name came up first in my mind... i'm still dreaming about what could have been with my one chance at getting a spot at the laundry... another story for another time...

When you get around to replying to the PM I sent you the other week, you can tell me the story. :hmmm::biggrin:

Daniel Chan aka "Shinboners"
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