Mulan organised some of us to go to this event. It wasn’t an event that originally caught my eye, but I was interested in seeing what the chef of Shepherd was going to make for this event. I was intrigued to see how hot this menu was going to be and if I needed a glass of milk just in case.
Hot and Spice Olive Soup, Chilled Fermented Milk, Cucumber, Fenugreek, Buttermilk
On the left was the Hot and Spice Olive Soup. On the rim was some form of chilli paste. It was really nice spicy if you got the chilli paste mixed with the soup. Then you had the fermented milk, cucumber, fenugreek and buttermilk in another shot glass. This was served cold and also dampened the effect of the Olive Soup. A nice concept.
Salmon Nduja on Rye, Crispy Chicken Skin, Mojo Yoghurt Green Apple
This was really nice, but by itself was not very hot, but you could use a side dish of chillis in oil to pour on top. I really liked the salmon and the rye bread. The apple gave it a slight sweetness with the salmon roe giving it a bit of saltiness.
Raw Fish, Coconut, Rice Noodle Salad, Seaseme, Peanut, Yuzukosho, Mint, Lime
This was a nice refreshing dish. You got a side serving of Yuzukosho, which is a green chilli paste and quite salty, but went really well with the dish. You could have this either cold or warm. It was originally served cold and if you wanted you could add a coconut sauce. I tried it both ways and preferred it with the coconut sauce you could pour on yourself. The raw fish was really nice and I loved the crunch from the fried shallots.
Blood Sausage, Black Garlic, Barley Porridge, Egg Yolk, Fermented Red Cabbage, Spice Capsicum Jam
This was a really interesting dish. The blood sausage was really nice and barley and red cabbage went really well with it. The capsicum jam was a nice addition and I also ended up adding some of the chilli oil sauce that came with the salmon. The yolk was a nice addition and made the dish richer.
Miso Marinated Venison, Baby Beets, Red Wine Vinegar, Celery Hot Sauce, Gingerbread, Pork Liver Pate
This was a really nicely presented dish. The venison was beautifully cooked and nicely seasoned, the beetroot was nice and sweet, the pate was really nice and smooth and the gingerbread brought sweetness into the dish. When you add everything together including the celery hot sauce, it worked perfectly. I ended up adding more celery hot sauce to my dish.
Yellow Curry Custard, Tamarind Marshmellow, Chilli Dressing, Coconut Chips, Pineapple Jam
This was an interesting dessert, It was presented beautifully and had some many layers to it. It came with a side sauce you could put on top, which was soy sauce and chilli kind of reduction. I tried it without and I didn’t really enjoy the dessert, so I then added in the reduction and the dessert was great. In the dessert was finely chopped up fresh chilli, which mellowed out when you had it with the reduction. I loved the yellow curry custard and the coconut chips.
Overall this was a really nice dinner and dining experience. The food was really good and I enjoyed the venison the most and then the noodle salad. The service was really good and the food was well presented. The food overall was not really hot at all, but each dish came with it’s on chilli sauce, which you could then decide how spicy you wanted everything. Overall a very nice evening out.
Trencherman's Travels 