Steve goes to Mildura perhaps 3 - 4 times a year as he has a client there so Mildura has been in our lives in the 5 years we've been in Australia. We finally decided that this time I would join him over the weekend and dine at Stefano's which was no Jim McDougall in Stefano's Cellar.
As an aside we actually saw Stefano in the brewery during this weekend too which was exciting.
As an aside we actually saw Stefano in the brewery during this weekend too which was exciting.
Our menu was:
Venison and Beetroot
Venison Tongue and Rye
Organic Garlic
Black Pudding Tart
Puffed Pork Skin
Barbecued witlof, ham sauce
Cod liver parfait, yacon, honeycomb
Kangaroo on Murray River rock salt block, wild mustard
Woorlong yolk, chicken liver, Jerusalem artichoke, truffle
Agnolotti of smoked sheep's cheese, lamb sweetbreads, black garlic, macadamias
Ike Jime Murray cod, quinoa, bone marrow, inland sea plants
Dry aged mutton, muesli, apple
Mallee beef, wild greens, pine
Liquid drops
Blood orange, lavender, carrot
Sweetcorn panna cotta, chocolate, caramel
Potato, nutella
Vegemite and cheese toastie
Black sesame yo yo
Dinner here is really very special and exciting. It's theatrical, there are taste sensations and the service is really very professional and attentive. The dining room is dark and lit by candle and the cellars provide an intimate atmosphere. It does also mean that being seated by larger parties means it can get noisy as volume seems to be trapped in the underground space which perhaps detracts from the romance.
Our taste sensation journey began with some bitesize morsels. Interestingly it also ended with bite sizes morsels; a good thing really as were stuffed by then. But back to the beginning...the black pudding tart was a really tasty mouthful and oh so cute.
I recall the barbecued witlof being extremely strong in flavours - smoky BBQ from the char and the bitterness intensified by the ntural flavour of the witlof then washed away by the savoury saltiness of a ham broth that had that slightly sticky gelatinous gummy finish of an intense stock.
Theatre came in the shape of a pink slab of salt rock with thin slices of kangaroo on it that were "cooking" on the slab. This was our first experience of salt slab cooking and it was really delicious.
Another favourite course was the agnolotti that was rich and decadent. And the dish of Mallee beef was a nod to classical cooking.
The liqud drops were a lot of fun - cubes of white chocolate encasing a liquid filling which meant that the whole thing had to b eaten in one go so to avoid leakage.
The sweetcorn pannacotta revealed layers of chocolate and caramel that were sweet and decadent and although we were so full the final three petit fours washed away some of that sweetness with savoury hits of Vegemite and cheese!
Definitely a memorable degustation that is up there with the best!
Venison and Beetroot
Venison Tongue and Rye
Organic Garlic
Black Pudding Tart
Puffed Pork Skin
Barbecued witlof, ham sauce
Cod liver parfait, yacon, honeycomb
Kangaroo on Murray River rock salt block, wild mustard
Woorlong yolk, chicken liver, Jerusalem artichoke, truffle
Agnolotti of smoked sheep's cheese, lamb sweetbreads, black garlic, macadamias
Ike Jime Murray cod, quinoa, bone marrow, inland sea plants
Dry aged mutton, muesli, apple
Mallee beef, wild greens, pine
Liquid drops
Blood orange, lavender, carrot
Sweetcorn panna cotta, chocolate, caramel
Potato, nutella
Vegemite and cheese toastie
Black sesame yo yo
Dinner here is really very special and exciting. It's theatrical, there are taste sensations and the service is really very professional and attentive. The dining room is dark and lit by candle and the cellars provide an intimate atmosphere. It does also mean that being seated by larger parties means it can get noisy as volume seems to be trapped in the underground space which perhaps detracts from the romance.
Our taste sensation journey began with some bitesize morsels. Interestingly it also ended with bite sizes morsels; a good thing really as were stuffed by then. But back to the beginning...the black pudding tart was a really tasty mouthful and oh so cute.
I recall the barbecued witlof being extremely strong in flavours - smoky BBQ from the char and the bitterness intensified by the ntural flavour of the witlof then washed away by the savoury saltiness of a ham broth that had that slightly sticky gelatinous gummy finish of an intense stock.
Theatre came in the shape of a pink slab of salt rock with thin slices of kangaroo on it that were "cooking" on the slab. This was our first experience of salt slab cooking and it was really delicious.
Another favourite course was the agnolotti that was rich and decadent. And the dish of Mallee beef was a nod to classical cooking.
The liqud drops were a lot of fun - cubes of white chocolate encasing a liquid filling which meant that the whole thing had to b eaten in one go so to avoid leakage.
The sweetcorn pannacotta revealed layers of chocolate and caramel that were sweet and decadent and although we were so full the final three petit fours washed away some of that sweetness with savoury hits of Vegemite and cheese!
Definitely a memorable degustation that is up there with the best!
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