The Foraging Quail | 148 Merthyr Road, NEW FARM QLD 4005
The
Foraging Quail had been on our ‘to-eat’ list for a long time. We
were intrigued by its creative presentation, exotic menu items and
the unique idea of shared degustation dining. We were so eager to go
but the only hesitation was whether Minibun George would be well
behaved enough to stay quiet in the pram while his parents dined.
If
you recall, two weekends ago Brisbane was in midst of some terribly
stormy weather. Looking out of our window thirty-six storeys up it
was so gloomy, wet and depressing that we thought to ourselves what
the heck, we were in needed of something to shake off our weekend
blues.
We
arrived at The Foraging Quail at 5:30pm on the dot and were led to
the Chef's table by our host. Focusing on seasonal and local produce,
the menu items here change regularly to ensure sustainability and
seasonality. For $65 per person, the diners at a table can choose any
five courses from the menu. The other travel bunnie and I, being
major meat lovers, knew that there was no way for us to forgo both
the Slow Braised
Pork Belly, Capsicum Puree, Baby Apples, Young Bamboo and Honey
Gastrique, and
the Saltbush Lamb
Belly, Baby Vegetables, Olives and Jus.
To
start off the culinary affair, we were offered the amuse
bouch and
some crusty bread
and butter,
following which our first course arrived being the Heirloom
Tomatoes, Buffalo Mozzarella, Samphire, Wild Herbs, Milk and Tonka
Bean.
The dish was light and visually alluring; the perfect dish to get our
taste buds excited. The dish that followed was something that I had
never had before and probably wouldn't have dared to order on my own.
The Butter Poached
Crocodile, Mojama, Watermelon, Capers, Cornichons and Dehydrated
Bisque was
equally as elegant on the plate for something scary like crocodile
meat, however as much as I tried to like it, its strong gamey flavour
wasn't for me. I felt that the crocodile flesh was tough (which I
expected) but the funky taste, despite being carefully mixing with
sweet watermelon, was still just a little too foreign for me to like.
The third course of the night had to be the highlight as the pork
belly was simply on another level. The meat melted (literally) in my
mouth and the rich sauce on the plate was simply the perfect
compliment. While the signature quail dish was perfectly prepared and
presented, I felt it was just missing a slight punch in seasoning
that would have made it a truly memorable dish as well. We finished
off with our fifth course being the lamb and again, tender, carefully
prepared and presented food that was a delight to eat.
While
each of the five courses were flavoursome and fairly proportioned for
a degustation, I could not go past ordering
the
Chocolate Forest
Seven Textures of Chocolate with Orange Marshmallow, Strawberry and
Meringue ($16)
and we were not disappointed. Each of the techniques used were
perfectly executed with the tempered and aerated chocolates my
favourites. The plate really captured a moment and told a story that
I was impressed to be able to experience in suburban Brisbane.
It
was so beautiful watching chef and owner Minh Le and his team of
chefs preparing our food in front of our eyes with each ingredient
carefully presented onto the plate with precision and passion.
Indeed, I would have been happy to eat at any of the tables in the
restaurant as the pleasant wait staff all help to create an
unobtrusive experience where the food really does all the talking.
Total
Bunnie Dollars Spent: $153
