Saturday night was spent at Circa. First impressions are that it's a swanky place. I liked the oval table we sat round and the place had that trendy hipster vibe. Lots of buzz, lots of shine and immaculate wait staff.
The meet and greet was warm and friendly and drinks order was quickly taken. The menu was diverse and we struggled to come to a decision.
After our first drink, service seemed to slow down and our empty glasses stayed empty for a while and we weren't offered the chance to order again for a while. The funny thing was that even after we did manage to order our second round, and some of the food had started to come round, Steve's empty beer bottle and glass still stayed on the table. The wait staff who brought us new items failed to see the empties and I guess this is a small indication of lack of attention to detail.
The two cocktails I did have were delicious though; both gin based. The first was all citrus and pear and the second berries and lemon. Definitely worth returning for.
The meet and greet was warm and friendly and drinks order was quickly taken. The menu was diverse and we struggled to come to a decision.
After our first drink, service seemed to slow down and our empty glasses stayed empty for a while and we weren't offered the chance to order again for a while. The funny thing was that even after we did manage to order our second round, and some of the food had started to come round, Steve's empty beer bottle and glass still stayed on the table. The wait staff who brought us new items failed to see the empties and I guess this is a small indication of lack of attention to detail.
The two cocktails I did have were delicious though; both gin based. The first was all citrus and pear and the second berries and lemon. Definitely worth returning for.
We started off sharing a few small dishes. The first to arrive was a seared piece of tuna with a crab and enoki mushroom salad. It was light and fresh and prettily presented. A pleasant start to the meal.
Next came crispy lamb ribs with Sichuan eggplant san choi bao and the mud crab chawan mushi with Winter truffle. The lamb rib was more a chunk of lamb wrapped in filo pastry which we topped with the spicy eggplant pickle and wrapped it all up in the lettuce cup. Again, pretty tasty but nothing we've not experienced elsewhere.
The crab chawa mushi was smooth and silky and slightly more unusual as I tend to have only had this at more traditional Japanese restaurants. The sweet and rich crab meat flavoured the soft egg and the truffle added a heady blast of depth.
The crab chawa mushi was smooth and silky and slightly more unusual as I tend to have only had this at more traditional Japanese restaurants. The sweet and rich crab meat flavoured the soft egg and the truffle added a heady blast of depth.
Korean inspired taco, LA style short ribs + Napa cabbage slaw was our final entree type dish. The short ribs come out whole and we were instructed to cut the meat and make the taco ourselves using the accompaniments. Whilst the meat was tasty and I loved the accompaniments, the taco shell was too thick and pastry like and the meat was difficult to bite through so our mistake was to not cut the pieces small enough and end up with too much meat in a mouthful initially and then not enough meat for the remainder of the taco! However I did love the flavours - the spiciness made my lips tingle and the kim chi it came with hit my tastebuds on a positive high.
By this time I was hoping my choice of main would be light enough for me to power on through to dessert. Rice crusted Milawa chicken wth young vegetables
and golden shiitake broth sounds pretty light right?
The plate came without the broth which was poured into my bowl from a sake bottle. The heady aroma that came from pouring the broth out was savoury and fragrant. I could taste star anise, soy, rice wine and a sweetness from the vegetables and interestingly found a clump of dehydrated Chinese cabbage underneath all the chicken and veg. My mum used to make soup from this stuff and it's quite sweet. The veggies were vibrant and crunchy and I could taste the flavour of each which enhanced the broth. The chicken was soft and moist with a slight crunch from the crispy rice topping. There was also a ballotine of chicken wrapped in perhaps a cabbage leaf that provided contrast to the chicken breast meat.
The broth did become a touch overpowering after a while like a sauce does when it's over reduced. The salty and the sweet became a touch cloying.
and golden shiitake broth sounds pretty light right?
The plate came without the broth which was poured into my bowl from a sake bottle. The heady aroma that came from pouring the broth out was savoury and fragrant. I could taste star anise, soy, rice wine and a sweetness from the vegetables and interestingly found a clump of dehydrated Chinese cabbage underneath all the chicken and veg. My mum used to make soup from this stuff and it's quite sweet. The veggies were vibrant and crunchy and I could taste the flavour of each which enhanced the broth. The chicken was soft and moist with a slight crunch from the crispy rice topping. There was also a ballotine of chicken wrapped in perhaps a cabbage leaf that provided contrast to the chicken breast meat.
The broth did become a touch overpowering after a while like a sauce does when it's over reduced. The salty and the sweet became a touch cloying.
Steve ordered the 30 day aged O’Connor 300g rib fillet with truffle butter and seasonal condiments. We assumed the condiments would be mustards or maybe a Bearnaise or something.
Instead Steve is given a pestle and mortar and three little pots of seasonings - one was sesame seed and another either black salt or black pepper and the third some brown stuff. The explanation wasn't too clear or easy to understand. Anyway the interactive element is pretty fun. The steak was already quite well seasoned with a truffle butter so not sure whether the spice mix is really necessary.
The steak was a tender and tasty piece of meat that came with a creamy coleslaw type thing and some green salad. There was also a small jug of, I think the waiter called it "dressing". So definite credit for the steak, the creamy coleslaw was too rich what with the truffle butter and other spices. The dressing was also too sweet.
Instead Steve is given a pestle and mortar and three little pots of seasonings - one was sesame seed and another either black salt or black pepper and the third some brown stuff. The explanation wasn't too clear or easy to understand. Anyway the interactive element is pretty fun. The steak was already quite well seasoned with a truffle butter so not sure whether the spice mix is really necessary.
The steak was a tender and tasty piece of meat that came with a creamy coleslaw type thing and some green salad. There was also a small jug of, I think the waiter called it "dressing". So definite credit for the steak, the creamy coleslaw was too rich what with the truffle butter and other spices. The dressing was also too sweet.
Our side dishes of caramelised brussel sprouts and thrice cooked chips were good. In fact the chips were excellent. Dry and ungreasy they were well seasoned and a great contrast to the rich meat. The sprouts would have been good but I would prefer them crispy I think and it was a bad decision on our part as they were sweet (caramelised would have been the hint) and with the sweetness of the chicken broth and the steak dressing and butter it was just too overwhelming.
Elements of the food so far were impressive but there was also just something off balance with the flavours or perhaps it was just too rich and over flavoured. We felt it was slightly confused and trying to do too much and incorporate too many elements. The steak is an example what with truffle butter, creamy coleslaw, salad dressing and a personal blend of seasoning! Hence the very plain thrice cooked chips were very welcome. The chips came with a sesame mayo but what with everything else, we didn't really touch it.
I guess the confusion wasn't helped by the wait staff who delivered our food. I felt the explanations were not clear enough (the seasoning and dressing for the steak being an example) and they didn't create enough of a personal relationship / experience for us to ask questions. The delivery of dishes was always very brisk and the explanation mumbled or maybe lost in the buzzy background noise. I've had more personal service in other places and perhaps we'd have felt less confused if we'd had it at Circa.
Anyway by this stage we felt very very full but we still had lots of Heathcote shiraz to get through so we worked slowly through it and by the time we got to the end it was dessert time!
Elements of the food so far were impressive but there was also just something off balance with the flavours or perhaps it was just too rich and over flavoured. We felt it was slightly confused and trying to do too much and incorporate too many elements. The steak is an example what with truffle butter, creamy coleslaw, salad dressing and a personal blend of seasoning! Hence the very plain thrice cooked chips were very welcome. The chips came with a sesame mayo but what with everything else, we didn't really touch it.
I guess the confusion wasn't helped by the wait staff who delivered our food. I felt the explanations were not clear enough (the seasoning and dressing for the steak being an example) and they didn't create enough of a personal relationship / experience for us to ask questions. The delivery of dishes was always very brisk and the explanation mumbled or maybe lost in the buzzy background noise. I've had more personal service in other places and perhaps we'd have felt less confused if we'd had it at Circa.
Anyway by this stage we felt very very full but we still had lots of Heathcote shiraz to get through so we worked slowly through it and by the time we got to the end it was dessert time!
The dessert menu was very appealing and I went with the salted caramel sundae and hot chocolate sauce. Topped with popcorn it was delicious. It wasn't overly sweet, even the chocolate sauce was more cocoa than sugar and the salted caramel ice cream was smooth and like satin in the mouth. A definite hit!
Steve went with the native lemon aspen pavlova with hibiscus ripple ice cream. He enjoyed the different layers of fruit, cream, ice cream, jelly and meringue and it was probably light enough to be a good finish. He also enjoyed finishing the rest of my sundae too!
In conclusion, Circa is a happening place to go for the beautiful party people of Melbourne. It's not exactly somewhere Steve and I would say is in line with our style. However I'd certainly return for cocktails and dessert. Maybe I'd sit in the bar where it's more relaxed and just eat the smaller dishes.
Steve went with the native lemon aspen pavlova with hibiscus ripple ice cream. He enjoyed the different layers of fruit, cream, ice cream, jelly and meringue and it was probably light enough to be a good finish. He also enjoyed finishing the rest of my sundae too!
In conclusion, Circa is a happening place to go for the beautiful party people of Melbourne. It's not exactly somewhere Steve and I would say is in line with our style. However I'd certainly return for cocktails and dessert. Maybe I'd sit in the bar where it's more relaxed and just eat the smaller dishes.
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