Ezard's - Melbourne

[tony h]

Edzard's was my favourite place - particularly the oyster shooters.  

Also, the Adelphi Hotel (the one with the overhanging glass bottomed swimmingpool) is easily my favourite hotel in the whole world.  Its a minimalist/memphis designed hotel - they have made an art out customer care & could easily write the book on it.

(Hi Elly)

[gordwal]

Ezard is a fantastic restaurant and a must-do for serious foodies who are visiting Melbourne. We had the 8 course tasting menu at A$115 per person. We adored Tetsuya's but slightly preferred Ezard. The food is equally creative--perhaps even more--and the cost for the tasting menu is A$60 less than Tetsuya's.

Some of the best dishes include the following:

Swordfish Shooterwith Ginger, Mirin, and Soy Dressing and Wasabi Flying Fish Roe.

Hiramasa Kingfish Tataki with Gingerand Black Bean Dressing, Cucumber Oil, and Baby Asian Cresses.

Bangalow Crispy Pork Belly with a Salad of Apple, Ginger, Coriander, and Spring Onion, Green Ginger Wine Glaze.

Suzuki Sea Bass with Stir Fried Asian Mushrooms, Soy Mirin Broth, and Ezard XO Sauce.

Wagyu Beef Red Curry with Pumpkin, Betel Leaves, Peanuts, Lime, Spicy Hot & Sour Coconut Salad & Cucumber Oil.

Don't miss it!

[Shinboners]

No crispy fried pork hock with chilli caramel and salad? That is one of his truly great dishes.

Just thinking about it is motivating me to try and get back to Ezards sometime this year.

[ozmouse]

food might be a adventuresome as tetusaya's. but is the restaurant/service that formal or refined?

i was considering ezard's for a private dinner, but passed on atmosphere and the food would be to way out for some of my guests. ( i had to keep reminding myself the dinner was not for me, but someone else's birthday!)

yes i keep hearing about this pork hock!!! and i noticed the pork belly on the tasting menu.. YUM. i love pork. and the modern asian treatments are the best.

after having some good old fashion organic pork in bali, and kindling the memory bank about what pork is meant to taste like, i have been on a pork craving ever since. the white meat at safeway does'nt do it for me. pork produced by artisanal growers and handled by our good chefs do the trick.

the best dish of recent memory was a refried pork hock dish at longrain in sydney.

...yes ezards is on my list

[gordwal]

food might be a adventuresome as tetusaya's.  but is the restaurant/service that formal or refined? 

i was considering ezard's for a private dinner, but passed on atmosphere and the food would be to way out for some of my guests. ( i had to keep reminding myself the dinner was not for me, but someone else's birthday!)

yes i keep hearing about this pork hock!!!  and i noticed the pork belly on the tasting menu.. YUM.  i love pork.  and the modern asian treatments are the best.

after having some good old fashion organic pork in bali, and kindling the memory bank about what pork is meant to taste like, i have been on a pork craving ever since.  the white meat at safeway does'nt do it for me.  pork produced by artisanal growers and handled by our good chefs do the trick.

the best dish of recent memory was a refried pork hock dish at longrain in sydney.

...yes ezards is on my list

←

Greetings, Ozzie Mouse:

Yes, you make a good point. Tetsuya's does offer a more formal atmosphere and slightly more refined service. But you are paying $A60 more per person for the tasting menu that is no more creative than Ezard's. I guess the final conclusion is that we must suffer and eat at both restaurants!

[Fi Fi La More]

Gordwal, thanks for highlighting Ezard. I think it is a brilliant restaurant. The food is sensational and I am very grateful to Ezard as I actually discovered a great Pinot Noir at Ezard which is surprising produced in Ballarat.

Tetsuya's is certainly more refined and has more of a big night out/special occasion feeling. Tetsuya's also has a more extensive wine list. As Gordwal and Ozmouse conclude, we should make room for both of these restaurants in our dining experiences.

[ozmouse]

Gordwal, thanks for highlighting Ezard. I think it is a brilliant restaurant. The food is sensational and I am very grateful to Ezard as I actually discovered a great Pinot Noir at Ezard which is surprising produced in Ballarat.

←

FiFi .... how can you do that... leave us hanging....

WHAT IS THE WINERY/LABEL!!

Of course, i am assuming you cant remember, hence the exclusion of the name! LOL

[ozmouse]

i have just been reminded i am going to the regent theatre in 2 weeks time (kd lang concert), and will be doing dinner that night!

ezards is nice and close, being one street over. but alas, i dont think combining dinner and show will not do the restaurant justice.

should i just go early enjoy 2 courses (one of them the hock) and 2 glasses of wine and shoot thru? or save the meal as the evening attraction in itself?

if not ezard, any other suggestions for before show dinner. im also thinking, arjinti @ fed square. others that come to mind, verge, european and punch lane, are all theoritically a bit far away.

summer in melbourne... great time of the year!

ps for those interested ezard's website

Edited January 26, 2005 by ozmouse (log)

[ozmouse]

Gordwal, thanks for highlighting Ezard. I think it is a brilliant restaurant. The food is sensational and I am very grateful to Ezard as I actually discovered a great Pinot Noir at Ezard which is surprising produced in Ballarat.

found out the wine Fi fi!

that is if it is the same as the one listed on the wine list on his website

2000 Eastern Peake pinot ballarat

[Fi Fi La More]

Gordwal, thanks for highlighting Ezard. I think it is a brilliant restaurant. The food is sensational and I am very grateful to Ezard as I actually discovered a great Pinot Noir at Ezard which is surprising produced in Ballarat.

found out the wine Fi fi!

that is if it is the same as the one listed on the wine list on his website

2000 Eastern Peake pinot ballarat

←

Ozmouse, I do know and have sampled the Eastern Peake but the wine I was referring to is Tomboy Hill. I also enjoy their second label which is called Rebellion. As far as I know it is only available in restaurants and direct from the winery.

[Shinboners]

After taking a few minutes to fill in a survey on restaurant service, I won dinner at Ezards at Adelphi. I've been to Ezards a few times, and it is a favourite restaurant of mine. However, I hadn't been there for about a year and a half, so I was looking forward to eating there again.

I started with an oyster shooter. My fiancee had the same, except that her oyster was replaced by silken tofu. The oyster/tofu is marinated in a mixture of ginger, mirin, and soy dressing, and it comes with a wasabi flying fish roe. You get a very nice hit of flavours in the mouth when you take the shooter. There are far worse ways to start a meal.

As an entree, I had a hiramasa kingfish tataki with ginger and black bean dressing, cucumber oil, and baby Asianc resses. I really love kingfish for its lovely firm texture and flavour. But this dish didn't quite work for me. Eating the fish by itself, and the flavour was fantastic. But eating it with the dressing, and the flavours overwhemled the fish. The dressing seemed to be too tart, and the balance of flavours wasn't quite right. I was disappointed by it.

My fiancee had the mushroom and herb tortelli with seared spinach, crispy taro, parmasan, and truffle oil. I had a taste of the mushroom and herb tortelli and it was stunning. The aroma of the mushrooms filled the nostrils and the flavour filled the mouth.

I have a general rule not to order the same dish twice running, but I will always make an exception for Ezard's crispy fried pork hock with chilli caramel, Thai basil, marinated beanshoots, and steamed jasmine rice. I really do believe that this is one of Melbourne's great signature dishes. My initial mouthful was disappointing. The meat seemed to be a bit dry and stringy. However, with subsequent mouthfuls, the joys of previous servings of this dish came back. The texture and flavour of the pork was a wonder to behold. There was that all important layer of fat that not only provided a degree of richness, but also provided the perfect partner to the crispy skin. Nonetheless, there was one persistent fault with this dish last night - the sauce was a touch bit too sweet. Like my entree, the balance of flavours seemed to be slightly out of kilter.

Meanwhile, my fiancee tucked into a Wagyu beef red curry with pumpkin, betel leaves, peanuts, lime, spicy hotand sour coconut salad and cucumber oil. It was a very good curry. The flavours were subtle and in balance. As you'd expect with Wagyu beef, the meat was tender - a melt in your mouth experience. However, I tend to wonder if there is any point in using something like Wagyu beef for something with flavours as strong as a curry. I feel that any other good quality beef that is slow cooked could do just as good (if not better if it's a more strongly flavoured cut of beef) a job than Wagyu beef. It should result in a dish that is just as good, but at a lower price. But then again, I guess that Wagyu beef is the fashionable thing to have on menus these days.

My dessert was the strawberry fromage frais cheesecake with butternut crunch and strawberry amaretto syrup. After initial thoughts that it was a little bit too sweet, I found it wonderful. It had the same texture as a creme caramel, firm but wobbly, and the flavour of the cheese and the strawberry were in balance.

The chocolate dessert is almost an inevitable choice for my fiancee, but the honeycrunch ice cream with toasted gingerbread, cinnamon oil, and sugar swirls is a happy exception for her. IT looked fantastic (as it always does), and she assured me that it tasted just as good.

The service at Ezards was, as in previous visits, top notch.

Overall, the food at Ezards was still very good, but there are flaws. Teague Ezard has been overseas doing other projects, but I hope that he starts to spend more time in his kitchen to iron out some of the problems I had with my dishes.