Number 24

I turn 30 in just over a week and in April 2009 I wrote a list of things I wanted to do before I turn 30 and I updated it in June 2010, but that poor list has been seriously neglected. I would have a very busy (and expensive) 10 days ahead of me if I were to try and complete it before I turn 30, but unfortunately that won't be happening. I'll give a full updated closer to my birthday, but over the weekend I was surprised that one of my most desired objectives from the list was ticked off.

My birthday is obviously at a shitty time of year, so I have a tradition with my dad and step-mum that they come down to Melbourne for a weekend close to my birthday and take me out to a fancy restaurant to celebrate, rather than doing anything on the day of my birthday. They came down this weekend and we were planning to go to the wonderful Flower Drum, but that day another restaurant called my dad and said they had a last minute availability, as he had put us on the waiting list a while ago. So a last minute change of plans meant we were now dining at Vue de Monde, my most sought after dining experience and number 24 on my list 30 things I wanted to do before I turn 30.

We ate the ten course degustation menu with wine matchings and it was the most amazing and exquisite experience of my life. The food was superb and was like eating a work of art and the wine pairings were impeccable. It is impossible for me to even say how fabulous this meal was, I just don't have the words to express what a wonderful experience this entire evening was. The restaurant was beautiful, the staff were so knowledgeable and the food and wine were perfection.

We started dinner at 8.00 pm and didn't leave the restaurant until 1.00 am and we ate and drank the entire time. Each course was more amazing than the next and each wine was more delicious, or maybe I was just getting drunk?! Every dish was made up of a complete mix of flavours and textures that any normal person would never imagine to put together and yet they were just perfect. I have eaten at a lot of the best restaurants in Melbourne and Sydney and this was just a level above anything I have experienced. OK, I have to stop talking because I am sounding like a complete wanker, but it was without a doubt one of the best nights of my life and the best birthday present ever.

Of course I have photos for you...

Me posing before we left home

Me and AJ getting a photo of us all glammed up

Drinking Dom Perignon, the restaurant upgraded our wines to 'very fancy' because it was my birthday

My dad and step-mum enjoying the champagne

One of the courses... when the top was lifted off the plate, smoke came out like a magic show

Me very much enjoying a glass of wine

The most tender wagyu beef I have ever eaten

 Cheese... yum

A pre-dessert of ice cream, popping candy and lemonade

Chocolate mousse souffle... AMAZING! God I wish I was eating that right now.

A dessert styled to look like cigarettes in an ash tray

One of the petit fours

Waiting for a taxi at the end of the night

I'm not sure if this will work because I have never posted a video, but while AJ and I were trying to get a photo of us before we went out, we accidentally put the camera on video and I just thought it was funny when I came across it. We look so stupid and I am doing the worst laugh!

**********

So how can someone with a lap band eat ten courses of food and wine, plus amuse bouches and petite fours? Well, luckily for me, I had .4 ml taken out of my band on Thursday (I now have 5.5 ml in a 10 ml band). Just in time! My band has been way too tight and I have been getting food stuck almost every day, so I got quite a large un-fill and I feel so much better already. Before the un-fill I would not have even been able to eat one course of food, let alone ten! Now I am back to being able to eat all foods- bread, sushi, meat and that's the way I like it. I would rather use a bit more self-restraint and be able to enjoy a diverse range of foods.

**********

For much better reviews of Vue de Monde and proper photography see these great blogs:
Tummy Rumbles
Eat Almost Anything
Second Helping
Gourmet Husbands