I love food, which will come as no shock to anyone who has read any of my posts (all 3 of you), but more than that I love the whole dining experience. Nothing better than frocking up and trying out somewhere new.
Today I was off to Bendigo as my sister, the fabulous Madam J, had booked Rocks on Rosalind for mum's birthday lunch. Mum, or "E" as she's known to her friends (she's even cooler than Madonna or Beyoncé as she just has an initial) was very excited and ready to indulge.
As we walked towards the restaurant the topic of conversation was how the dining experience starts when you make the booking, not when you arrive at the restaurant. Madam J said you could not have got a more friendly, helpful, enthusiastic, person on the other end of the line, so already we knew we were off to a great start.
The menu looked absolutely delicious and it was hard deciding what to order - always want to make the right choice as life's too short to rush the decision, and then have food envy of the guy on the next table.
Nailed the entree. Monsieur S had the pork belly and us ladies shared the salt & pepper calamari (as smart chicks we work backwards from the dessert menu & didn't want to peak too soon).
The ladies went with the duck & pork belly for main. I must have been distracted with the presentation of this dish (just gorgeous!) as I totally forgot to get pics of the other dishes. Oops. No problem...next time, and trust me there will be a next time.
Thank god we were on the ball and left room for dessert as this little selection took me to a whole other world.
Not one tier,
Not two tiers,
But three tiers - oh mon dieu!
I was in heaven and wasn't going anywhere soon (to be honest I doubt I could have lifted myself out of the chair at this point). Our waiter walked past at one stage and commented "Why would you have 1 dessert when you can have 12?". This guy really got me.
Monsieur S had his eye firmly planted on the Sticky Date Pudding and I thought it may have turned into a bit of a knock down / drag out situation as I was convinced he wasn't going to share. However Madam J stepped in and to ensure we all played nicely she expertly cut each little treat into 4 pieces. Nicely done.
After much discussion and oohing and aahing we voted and the Passionfruit Semi-freddo came out the winner on the day. I could have eaten a slab of it - truly delicious.
As I mentioned earlier, love food, but it's the whole experience that sticks in one's memory. From the moment we walked in the door we were welcomed with open arms (well not literally, but you know what I mean) and were very impressed with the relaxed atmosphere, friendliness, knowledge of food and wine, and general enthusiasm. These were passionate guys doing what they loved and it showed.
Thank goodness we were given the grand tour as it was exactly what we needed to help walk off what we'd just eaten...
The Vault for those after that intimate dining experience.
This beautiful heritage listed building is the old National Bank and was the first bank for gold discovered in the area. The bullet hole below in the front window is from an attempted bank robbery and to prove it's the real deal our waiter actually stuck his pen through it. Fascinating!
Hi Tracie, great write up! I'm a bendigo local and haven't quite made it in to Rocks yet, I'll have to get there soon.
ReplyDeleteHi Ky thanks so much for your message. Get yourself in there as you won't be disappointed, but just remember to leave room for dessert. I think I'm still dreaming of the passionfruit semi-Freddo! x
ReplyDelete