121 Greville St Prahran
http://www.chezolivier.com/
I am so devoted to getting information for you, the fine readers of On Golden Fond, that I subjected myself to a six course dinner within twenty-four hours of returning from our 5 day eat-a-thon in Port Douglas. Once every month or so, Chez Olivier holds, in both Prahran and Elsternwick venues, "Foodie Experimentator Nights". My first thought was that this might be a night of foams and emulsions and gels (oh my!) but looking at their website for evidence of previous nights (this one was number 6) and having a chat with M. Olivier I find this is not so. Experimentation night is firmly within the context of their nature as a neighbourhood bistro.
The experimentation is with dishes that the kitchen would like to try out - sometimes because they are thinking about them for the menu or as specials and they want to get some external feedback, sometimes because they just want to experiment with different textures, flavours, techniques, food and wine matching and so on for the fun of it and for professional development.
I think this is a superb idea. They do it on a Monday night when the restaurants are normally closed, and you have to specially book through a MeetUp group online (you can find the details on the website if you're interested). Bookings are limited to about half the restaurants' capacity. These two factors ensure they have an audience of manageable proportions who know they are coming to see some dishes that are different to the norm and who are happy to contribute constructively, via discussion and also a little feedback form filling.
So the restaurant gets a group of people involved as insiders, building loyalty and rapport, who are more likely to dine regularly; they get considered and structured feedback on a range of dishes for their future development; the kitchen gets to do things that maybe are a bit more new and exciting than the same carte dishes week in week out; and the diners also get a six course tasting menu for $44 (plus matched wines for $31). Brilliant all round, I rather think.
My old school chum M. Andre (who first taught me to steep dried beans and helped cater my mother's 60th birthday party - I owe you, M. Andre) met me for a quick beverage at some hipster bar in Prahran. It was a cold and bitter night and we needed the warmth. We shuffled the block or so of icy terrain to Chez Olivier and gave the pass-sign that we were there for the Foodie Experimentator night. Up to the top floor dining room, we were led to our table to meet Christina and Harry, our new chums for the night. And, at about 7.15, the food began.
Salade de Crabe et Mayonnaise - Chateau Palene Bordeaux 2007
This was a nice light spring salad of impeccably fresh crabmeat, avocado, red bell pepper, a little grapefruit, some baby peas and finely sliced cucumber with mayonnaise. The rich, sweet, soft crab and avocado offset the light, crisp vegetable components and some mayonnaise blended the flavours. I thought the mayo may have been a bit heavy until I tasted it with a sip of the wine; the sharp acid in the sauv blanc/semillon balanced the oil in the mayonnaise perfectly.
Pork Dumpling with Tomato and Sesame Dressing - Outlook Hill Blanc de Noir, Yarra Valley 2009
Nice thin supple pastry on the dumplings, filling slightly grainy but good. The tomato & sesame dressing was a bit pale and a bit mushy in texture, but the flavour worked well especially when combined with the wine which brought a buttery (malolactic fermentation perhaps?) flavour & texture to the party. I'm not sure where it sits on the menu of a French bistro, though I may be excited to find out.
Cleanser : Consomme de Canard
Not the most crystal clear of consommes but it had a rich true ducky flavour, free of sweetness or fattiness. It formed a sound bridge between the meaty and acidic flavours of the second course and the creamy flavours of the third, having elements of each in itself.
Baby Veal with Gnocchi et Sauce aux Champignons - Outlook Hill Pinot Noir Gold Leaf 2008, Yarra Valley
A backstrap or maybe faux-fillet of veal, quickly grilled and roasted, suffered from having a few bits of sinew not removed (which is a heck of a job to do, mind you) and also from being cooked to medium rare which preserved juiciness but left some sinews unrendered and the meat a trifle chewy. Roasting prime cuts of veal is a toughie which is why it mostly ends up in parmas and escalopes where that kind of quality is irrelevant.
The gnocchi were nicely al dente with a slight cheesiness; the sauce was a nice creamy, stocky, mushroomy sauce. Overall this was a very nice veal with mushroom cream sauce with a little flaw in the preparation of the veal. The wine was again a good match, bringing balanced acid and warmth to a mild and creamy dish.
Poulet Chausseur - Outlook Hill Cab Merlot 2006
A very classic chicken chausseur (chicken thighs (bone in), mushrooms, tomato, wine, stock, onion & herbs) on a bed of white rice with a leavening of wild rice. We had a bit of discussion at the table about what cut of chicken to use - some thought the thigh too coarse and strong flavoured, while others thought the exact opposite of the breast (too soft and bland flavoured). The chicken on our table was a tad overcooked (not enough to spoil it) and the plates (and the chicken) a trifle cool, probably a result of trying to serve 24 people simultaneously. M. Olivier, if you're reading this, we don't care much if other tables start before or after us. The food's the thing.
Jelly of Passion Fruit
Our second cleanser was a well-textured jelly with a sharp flavour and contained sweetness; again it was cleverly designed to bridge the gap between the savoury and sweet courses. We were baffled as to the source of the red colour though. Ruby grapefruit? Blood orange? Raspberry? It could have been anything but the secondary flavour was too hard to pick.
Soupe de Cerises and Balsamic Ice Cream - Mini Kir
We exercised our arthritic French early in the meal trying to remember what cerise was and ultimately remembered only with reference to liqueurs - cherry of course! Ah well. The dish was much better than our language skills. The cold cherry soup was perfectly smooth and rich in flavour, with we think some mild spicing along the cinnamon line in it; the ice cream had a remarkable tang that slightly confused and then excited the palate. The room was silenced as everyone tucked in and I am confident in saying this was the dish of the night. The mini kir was a shot glass of kir royale; nice on its own but reduced in flavour when sipped in mid-dessert. Clearly I should have downed it in one right at the start!
Glace au Curry, Poire pochee et sauce au Chocolat, the"Poire Belle Helene" revisited - Chapoutier Muscat de Rivesaltes
A very close second contender for dish of the night was the curry ice cream. Poire Belle Helene is of course a classic Escoffier recipe of poached pear with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce. Chez Olivier's version enhances the ice cream with raisins and curry spices - not the onion and garlic flavours, but the aromatic spices. I don't know what was actually in there, but if you imagine cinnamon, cardamom, anise, fenugreek, turmeric and a tad of chili, you might be on the right track. It worked, it really worked. The pear was a tad undercooked and I personally don't care for gulab jamun but it was a fair example of the breed, and the ice cream was so interesting that I certainly still counted it a win overall.
The muscat was also a lovely drop although again I thought it struggled with the intensity of the flavours in the dessert. Opinion was divided on what wine might work with such an assertive dish. M. Andre thought a relatively lean and spare Alsatian Riesling might succeed through a flavour ju-jitsu of not competing; I favoured a full frontal approach of a richer wine like a botrytis or perhaps an extremely powerful late-picked wine like a tokaj.
So that was a night of Foodie Experimentation. I think the idea is great, and for a neighbourhood bistro the food was interesting and a few times exciting. It made me think a bit more about varying flavours from the standards, something I don't do as much of as I might, and by example reminded me just how much wine pairing can enhance a dish by contributing particular flavours. The six courses plus two came promptly and steadily (not so with all tasting menus these says) and meeting some new people and sharing some different views of food was good for my perspective. We'll be back.
Happy Foodie Experimentation,
Ecumer
0 Yorumlar