Royal Mail Hotel On Spencer: Melbourne Food & Wine Festival – Are you game?
Going back to the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival for a moment – as well as the Hawkers’ Market, Bro and I also attended the “Are you game?” dinner at the Royal Mail Hotel on Spencer.
Also known as the “roadkill” dinner, it was an evening of dishes showcasing different Australian game meats. Apart from the yabbies, all the meat that evening was wild caught game. Drink wise, we started with a glass of Prosecco, and then over the course of the evening were served three glasses of wine from the wine label, Ladies Who Shoot their Lunch. Seriously, how perfect was that wine label for the evening. I’m not going to talk about the wine because I know sweet FA about wine, apart from the fact I like to drink it. On to the food!
There were TEN courses… when we saw the menu we thought that we might have to select from some of the options. But no, there were TEN COURSES! Oh my goodness. Let’s get stuck in.
First up was a Yarra Valley yabby martini with lime aioli and spring onion cigar. The yabby meat was very delicately flavoured, and we found a bonus quail egg at the bottom of the glass. The aioli was nice and creamy, although I found the spring onion cigar rather sweet, which was disconcerting!
Next up we received a quail pithivier with wild rice and curly kale. The pithivier had light flakey pastry and I also noted that it was buttery – mhmmm so buttery – with hints of cinnamon. The wild rice was chewy and sweetish, and the kale was also buttery. It was a very enjoyable dish.
The third course was a smoked Flinders Island mutton bird salad with Mount Buffalo organic hazelnuts and grapefruit dressing. This was one dish that had everyone divided. The mutton bird was interesting, and was unlike any other bird I had ever eaten before – it had a very strong, oily anchovy flavour. Yes, anchovy! Mutton bird tastes like fish! Amazing. I can’t say that mutton bird is a meat that I would seek out again, but it was interesting to try it.
After the mutton bird, we received wild barramundi with “sand of the sea” and clam foam. The barramundi was BEAUTIFUL – it had fantastic flavour, was perfectly cooked and flaked away under my fork. The “sand” was finely ground breadcrumbs, and the “foam” was tapioca. Chives represented seaweed and thinly sliced potato on the fish represented scales. I was so impressed that the fish was perfectly cooked when the kitchen would have had to cook so many portions at the same time. This was the dish of the night for me. Seriously lovely.
Following the barramundi was a duck liver parfait with apple and pear chutney and brioche. The duck liver parfait was very, very rich – to the point where it was almost bitter. It was nice though, very smooth, with the sweet, fruity chutney helping to cut through some of the richness, both from the parfait and the buttery (and heavily buttered!) brioche.
Next was a Flinders Range kangaroo rogan josh curry served with a pappadam and a piece of nann. The curry had big bold flavours and the roo meat was made into a couple of large meatballs. I’ve had (and cooked) roo many times before, and because it’s so lean it’s not a meat that is nice when overcooked. So I’m not entirely sure about roo meatballs – while the roo meatballs weren’t too dry, they were noticeably drier than a beef meatball would be. It was a tasty curry though.
After the curry there was a palate cleanser of crocodile ceviche with Yarra Valley salmon roe and limoncello. This was really interesting, it was like a lemon liqueur crocodile chewing gum!
Moving into the final courses, next up was herb crumbed Daylesford venison with mushrooms, kipfler potatoes and saffron cream. Maybe I was a bit delirious with food by this stage, but I wrote in my notes that the venison had a pate like flavour with a texture that made me think of boiled meat.
And for our last savoury course, we received slow braised wild Redesdale rabbit with squid ink gnocchi. This was supposed to come with Flinders Island wallaby prosciutto, but they must have had a shortage because a small amount of the prosciutto was passed around the table (which didn’t get to us). The chewy and tough gnocchi was the only disappointment of the night. The rabbit, however, was good – tender and flavoursome, and in my notes, I wrote that it tasted like a savoury chicken pie! I think I was definitely delirious with food by this stage. The thing that was topped with a mushroom was a potato filled with rabbit liver.
And finally, for dessert, we had duck egg crème brulee. This was SUPER rich, and very creamy. It was lovely, but oh my god it was SO RICH, particularly after ni
ne other courses! I enjoyed smelling the sprig of rosemary and lemon too.
I was mostly very impressed with the food that evening. Most of it was cooked really well, presented nicely and nothing was too strange (not that Bro and I mind strange, we did do offal last year). It was a very good event to attend and we went home two happy eaters.
Royal Mail Hotel on Spencer
519 Spencer St
West Melbourne
Phone: 03 9329 6955
Pigdog
April 30, 2010 @ 11:02 pm
You weren't delirious, the rabbit did taste like a chicken pie from the Hataitai Hot Bread Shop!
chitchatchomp@yahoo.com.au
May 1, 2010 @ 9:32 pm
Very brave! I didn't hear of this event but sounds great – will need to keep my eye out for it next year. Leigh
Conor @ HoldtheBeef
May 2, 2010 @ 9:02 pm
I love the theme of this meal! And oh yes that wine label is hilariously perfect.
Very interested to try mutton bird now. Have never seen it on a menu, nor at a butchers, so I'm not sure when I'm going to get the opportunity. Will console myself by smearing anchovies on some chicken 😉
mademoiselle délicieuse
May 3, 2010 @ 12:17 am
Agree that the wine label was particularly apt and LOL at your 'lemon liqueur crocodile chewing gum' comment!
Maria@TheGourmetChallenge
May 3, 2010 @ 2:40 pm
hahaha…..I could never drag Daz to one of these dinners…he can't even eat goats cheese let along something that may have come from road kill!! Gimme that duck liver any day!!
I can't stop staring at that mushroom in the background…it looks so dehydrated, almost fossilized.
Agnes
May 4, 2010 @ 9:17 pm
Bro: it wasn't entirely like a chicken pie from the Haitaitai Hot Bread Shop – there was no sour tasting, almost off, pastry :p
chitchatchomp: it was a great event! Royal Mail on Spencer also do a "roadkill" menu on Wednesday nights, when the specials are game meat dishes.
Conor: Haha, smearing anchovies on chicken will most likely taste better than mutton bird 😉
mademoiselle: I couldn't believe how perfect the wine label was – hehee!
Maria: really?! Daz is such a big meat eater, I would have thought he'd be totally into it! Hehee, none of it was really road kill.
Tom Dick
August 24, 2011 @ 5:20 pm
Seriously… this restaurant is really bad… please read my comments
1. There are sleazy and ugly old people smoking outside all the time
Not for date or business people. The bar full with local drunken people like to hang out outside. You dont really want to go in if you are bringing your date.
2. The room is empty
Why is nobody here on a Thursday night? Just opened? Don’t kid me, I can see the look of desperation on the staff’s faces.
3. Spruikers try and drag you in sometimes
Obvious really. If they have to use the pressurised tactics of Benidorm timeshare spruikers…
4. Birds on tables
If the birds (or rats for that matter) are inside it’s even worse. And believe me, recently I’ve been attacked by sparrows both inside and outdoors and had my food stolen. Any self respecting restaurant doesn’t want birds near their tables. I’m resisting the obvious jokes.
5. Smells
If you can smell anything bad, especially the staff, you are in trouble. Either chef doesn’t change his clothes or the cooking oil or the restaurant is on fire.
6. Floor and toilet
I’m particularly thinking about floor finishes, anything with shocks of colour. If it looks like the toilet tiles, you’d be better visiting somewhere else.
6. Erections, part one
If menus stand bolt upright they are very probably repeating. Rarely, will they be updated, which means the food is unlikely to be seasonal and very probably frozen. Quality is inversely proportional to the height of the menu. Have you ever noticed that really posh restaurants have flat menus that won’t wipe clean?
7. Food on the menu
I mean physically. If your hands are sticky after touching a menu then the restaurant very probably doesn’t care. And very probably the menu is always the same
8. Erections, part two
Unless we are talking wine bottles, anything that large should be kept well away from the table. I’m thinking of laughably large food receptacles, ketchup bottles and, of course, the ubiquitous joke pepper grinder.
9. Room with a view
If the room has a view, food certainly will not be cheap. And rarely will the food be good.
10. Roadkill night and other themes
Really? If their business is good, why do they bother to have all the different name for the night? Food is still the same. Selling expiry food on the special menu??
11. Long menus
Over 20 items split across entrée, main and dessert is pushing it. If a restaurant is trying to be all things to all people, it isn’t very discerning. It’s probably sticking everything in the freezer and then microwaving it.
12. Erections, part three
If you spot any dessert or cake that is higher than say six inches – I’m being generous here – leave immediately. It’ll be bought in from some cheesecake chain, rot your teeth and very probably give you diabetes.
13. Anything peculiar
Just follow your instincts. If there are weird themes, uniforms – grown men dressed as chickens –or if anything makes you uneasy, just leave. This applies to quiz nights and belly dancing. It smacks of desperation.
14. Pokies/Footy Tipping
If gambling is the central theme, the whole restaurant are likely to be lurid and the food bad. Dont trust their footy tipping score. They may fool you the score and let their best friend to win the tipping!!!
15. Napkins
Controversial this one, but have you ever noticed how the slightest breeze can send your smelly napkin across the room. It is so smelly that you want to use your own cloth to wipe your mouth.
16. Vanilla ice cream
I’ve already aired my views on this. What vanilla ice cream is shorthand for is the mundane and unimaginative menu.