Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Left Bank Melbourne

Prior to heading out to the movies a few Saturdays ago, J and I decided to have dinner at Left Bank.

The design and layout of this place is just beautiful! It's relatively new, its a bar as well as a restaurant and has been set up really well. There is a balcony area for alfresco dining, something I look forward to enjoying in the warmer months. The restaurant area is directly in front of you when you come through the main entrance and to your left is a stunning bar area. Along the window of the restaurant there are tables that can be separated by silver organza curtains, transparent but can still give you a feeling of privacy. We were seated along the other wall in a little couched area, low tables, and lots of cushions. It was so comfortable, and great for sitting around after if you just want to chill out, have some cheese, wine, or even cocktails (which also sounded fantastic). They have somewhat of a tapas menu too if you are just feeling a little snacky.

The menu looked great as well, with a 5 course degustation for $65 (excluding wine). The waitress basically told us that you let the chef know of any allergies and he will prepare a five course meal that explores the entire menu. Sounded so great, but I was feeling a little off that night so we decided on sharing an entree and a main each.

We decided on the mixed seafood wontons with XO sauce for entree. These were plated up so well, cute and very easy to eat with a little toothpick for each one. I found they tasted a little like Thai fish cakes in wonton wrappers, with some spicy dried chilli mix and spring onions on top.


For main I had the soy lacquered duck with asian greens and shitake mushrooms. There was so much duck on this plate! Which is unusual considering most places will just give you a small breast piece. The skin could have been a little more crispy, but the duck itself was flawless. I just wished I had felt better and been able to eat the whole dish, because I just love duck! The asian greens were cooked perfectly and were still crisp. The shitake mushrooms were maybe a little salty for my liking, however with the duck being soy lacquered, the whole dish had a certain degree of saltiness.


Overall, nice place, nice food and definitely would like to return when not feeling so under the weather.

Something I learnt...
My photography skills are not getting any better!!! However, I have begun teaching myself a few things using tutorials and tips from some great food photography blogs. Here's hoping my photos will only get better from here on in.


Left Bank Melbourne on Urbanspoon

4 comments:

  1. mmmm... those wontons look really good! was it a cheap asian joint or a fancy place?

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  2. It was pretty fancy, mains were all between $25 and $40. But really nice! The wontons were good, but I have to be honest and say they weren't the best I have ever had.

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  3. Looked very good, even if you think you can't take a good picture.

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  4. Well thank you! The duck was really yum!

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