WTC Wharf Progressive Dinner + a competition
Sponsored by Nuffnang.
Why take a regular taxi to dinner when you can go via water taxi?
You can do that down at WTC Wharf, one of the latest precincts to pop up in Melbourne recently. WTC Wharf is accessible by Siddeley Street, and is located on the riverside of Melbourne’s World Trade Centre.
A bit of work has gone into making the precinct easily accessible: as well as the WTC Water Taxi service there’s also a new footbridge that links it from Spencer Street, around Crowne Plaza.
Several restaurants have opened in the precinct, and I went to check out three of the dining venues as part of a progressive dinner with a small group of other bloggers.
Byblos Bar and Restaurant
We began the evening’s feast at Byblos, where the food is a modern take on Mediterranean and Lebanese cuisine.
We settled into our booth with a cocktail – I had the C’est La Vie ($16), made with Hendricks gin, St. Germaine elderflower liqueur, grapefruit and raspberries shaken and topped with Chandon NV sparkling wine.
The kitchen sent out a selection of food for our entree. Did I say entree? This could’ve been our entire meal – there was so much food. Check it out:
Batata Harra ($16.50): Hand cut potatoes sauteed in lemon, olive oil, chopped coriander, garlic anda hint of chilli.
Grilled halloumi ($15.90): Lightly grilled Cyprian halloumi served golden brown and accompanied by fresh lemon.
Kebbi ($4.50): hand-rolled roasted ground lamb and ground beef with pine nuts, chilli, and spices.
Rekakat ($4.50 each): Lightly fried filo pastry filled with feta and mozzarella cheese, freshly chopped onion and fresh herbs.
Fattoush ($13.90): a light mixed green salad with radish, tomato, cucumber, capsicum finished with toasted Lebanese bread and a lemon and olive oil dressing.
Shish Tawook ($5.50 per skewer): char-grilled chicken tenderloin marinated in olive oil with garlic, oregano and a mild pepper paste.
Kafta Meshwi ($5 per skewer): marinated lamb with parsley and traditional spices, finished on the grill.
Quail ($18): Whole roasted quail marinated in pomegranate molasses and served with eggplant and yoghurt.
Trio of dips ($13.90): Three dips served with pita bread – Hommos, a blend of chickpeas, fresh lemon, juice and tahini, Labneh Bi Toum, a soft homemade cheese blended with garlic and mint, plus Baba Ghanouj, chargrilled eggplant with roasted garlic, tahini and fresh lemon juice.
The highlights out of all the dishes was definitely the lamb skewers. They were cooked perfectly and had picked up lots of smokey flavour and aroma. The chicken skewers were also rather good – fortunately not at all dry as chargrilled chicken can occasionally be. Also, the skewers were served on top of a tomato and onion spiced Lebanese bread that soaked up all the meat juices and was served with a great garlic sauce. Delicious!
I also loved the Batata Harra – the little cubes of potato were so moreish and garlicky. Fairly oily, but that’s where all the flavour comes from, right?
Everything else was also rather good, with the only misstep being a slightly dry kebbi, although the flavours in it were nice.
Kobe Jones & Riverside Teppanyaki
Our second stop of the night for our main course was Kobe Jones, who serve modern Japanese food. There was a slight mixup with our booking, however the manager was incredibly helpful and friendly.
While we were trying to sort out our booking, the manager told us to take a seat and then brought us some oysters to sample.
I had been to Kobe Jones when they used to be in Docklands (years ago, before the blog) and was interested to see what changes had been brought about in the new venue. One big change – they have a massive teppanyaki table that seats up to 44 people.
We started with a cocktail – I had the Red Lotus, a mixture of rum, lychee liqueur, orange juice and grenadine ($17). Others had an Apple Blossom Martini ($17.50) with green apple and vanilla liqueur, and a Japanese Mojito ($18), made with shiso, and fresh lime muddled with white rum and sugar.
Kobe Jones’s teppanaki menus start from $55 for several courses. As we were only there for main, we had a taster rather than going through an entire set menu. We started with a small bowl of warm mushroom salad.
Which was quickly followed by a plate of beef and salmon. Both were good, but the salmon in particular was fantastic, retaining its juices and moisture but topped with a crispy skin.
Three dipping sauces were provided: ponzo, miso citrus and teriyaki. My favourite was the sweet and salty miso in the middle.
The Wharf Hotel
Our last stop was the busy and happening Wharf Hotel for dessert. It looked like the kind of place you’d pop in with friends for a drink and a casual bite to eat.
We received a dessert each: either sticky date pudding or apple pie.
Both desserts were extremely generously sized and would be good (better) for sharing. The sticky date pudding was a big slab of soft, fluffy cake, surrounded by a sweet, sticky sauce and served with a scoop of cinnamon ice cream.
I also liked the apple pie, which was encased in a buttery pastry and served on top of custard with a big scoop of cinnamon ice cream.
Both desserts, in addition to being really large, were also served warm so we had to snap quickly before all the ice cream melted – a difficult task sometimes for food bloggers! They were a nice end to our night, and it was just unfortunate that we had been fed so well at the other venues because we couldn’t do the desserts justice.
Competition
Would you like to head down to WTC Wharf for a meal? You can win a $100 WTC precinct voucher that you can use for any restaurant in WTC Wharf. Just answer the question: ‘If you were to go to the WTC Wharf, which restaurant would you go to?’
The most creative answer will be selected by Nuffnang and entries close on 16 November 2012. The terms and conditions of the competition can be found here. Good luck!
Update: This competition has closed. Congrats to Rachael for being the lucky winner!
View Off the spork in a larger map
WTC Wharf
World Trade Centre
(Riverside) Siddeley Street
Melbourne 3005
wtcmelbourne.com.au
Byblos
WTC Wharf
World Trade Centre
(Riverside) Siddeley Street
Melbourne 3005
Phone: 03 9614 6400
Web: byblosbar.com.au/melbourne
Kobe Jones & Riverside Teppanyaki
WTC Wharf
World Trade Centre
(Riverside) Siddeley Street
Melbourne 3005
Phone: 03 9329 9173
Web: kobejones.com.au/melbourne
The Wharf Hotel
WTC Wharf
World Trade Centre
(Riverside) Siddeley Street
Melbourne 3005
Phone: 03 8680 6000
Web: wharfhotel.com.au
CheezyK
November 7, 2012 @ 10:47 am
The food at Byblos looks fantastic but if I absolutely had to choose only one I think I’d have to go with The Wharf Hotel for that apple pie … looks delicious!
Effie Bakkalis
November 7, 2012 @ 9:52 pm
What a fantastic giveaway!
I’d love to try out the Byblos Bar. Lebanese food is delish and is very close to my favourite cuisine which is Greek.
This would be an ideal dinner date for me and hubby!
Sarah
November 7, 2012 @ 10:22 pm
Beautiful photos in this post! 🙂
msihua
November 7, 2012 @ 10:39 pm
Your pictures are so pretty here!
Thanh
November 7, 2012 @ 10:41 pm
Mmmmm I want more lamb skewers and those amazing potatoes. I’d definitely go back to Byblos to try out the Chicken Wings and Octopus which you all wouldn’t let me order. I’m sure we could have fitted it in. Although….we probably couldn’t have eaten anything else after. So instead of being a progressive dinner, it would have been a regressive dinner.
Daisy@Nevertoosweet
November 9, 2012 @ 12:03 am
YAY another give away and a fantastic one too 🙂 I’ve been meaning to try and have dinner at WTC but haven’t had the chance ~ So this would be the perfect opportunity!
I’m definitely going to the Wharf Hotel ~ even though it’s now spring I’m still craving winter desserts and that Sticky Date pudding with cinnamon ice-cream is making my mouth water SO badly!!!
Thank you so much for the chance to win 😉
Kelly
November 12, 2012 @ 12:13 am
Kobe Jones. I like to see food literally cooking right in front of me. Hope the chef wouldn’t be disturbed by my excitement and flip the food on my face.
Bri
November 12, 2012 @ 3:29 pm
Kobe Jones – I love Japanese food, that lychee cocktail looks sensational, and they have slipper lobster on the menu, which I really want to try!
Rachael
November 13, 2012 @ 9:12 am
K ingfish
O yster shooters
B ittersweet soy glaze
E damame
J apanese
O zen
N ishiki Rice
E l desko express lunch
S ashmi
I at least deserve an A for effort. Obviously I have had a peek at the menu and would love to eat at Kobe Jones. 🙂
Elton
November 16, 2012 @ 11:23 am
Thanks for a fantastic giveaway!
Say no more,
Eating at Byblos will be no chore,
Lamb’s my pick,
I’m a passionate carnivore,
for a side of veges will get potatoes with garlic,
Wife is drooling over quail and haloumi,
Begging for some WTC vouchers, quick!