It was Mr D’s birthday and I booked Lake house for his second lunch (wooohoooo lunchhhh) because I’ve been hanging to come here (2 chefs hat!). We arrived and entered through reception and was greeted warmly. We were shown to our table, I of course went and sat on the cushiony bench surrounded by cushions (Mr D was lucky I didn’t just cocoon myself with cushions). We (really it means I) decided to get the Autumn/Early Winter 2015 Tasting Menu for $145 (why pick two dishes when you can have EIGHT!!!) and waited for our food to arrive.
We decided to get mocktails (running amok at lunch woooo) for lunch. I got the strawberry mule and Mr D got the Sage something (I forgot what the name was…oops). I loved mine, so fruity and a hint of sour from the lime. Mr D liked his drink, very refreshing but it didn’t tickle my fancy.
Finally the food came out and first up was the Veal tartare, mojama, bonito, nori….I looked at the waiter and said tartare means raw….He convinced me to have it and I’m so glad he did because it was absolutely beautiful. Can tick raw veal off my list now!
Veal Tartare, Mojama, Bonito, Nori
Next up, Confit trout and roe, cauliflower custard, preserved lemon served in a little cup thingy. THIS. WAS. AMAZEBALL! When i saw it, I thought to myself “pfft what is this”, boy was I wrong. Everything was cooked beautifully.
Confit trout and roe, cauliflower custard, preserved lemon
Our bread came out and it was GINORMOUS and they sliced it into quarters (seriously, I couldn’t even eat a quarter…).
Next up, Bug agnolotti, house kimchi! This was delicious. Sure, you only get two pieces but you need to savour it because it was soooo good. So smooth, so creamy, so everything I could imagine. This was the stand out dish for me!
Bug agnolotti, house kimchi
As we chatted away, the Skipton smoked eel in pancetta, new
season beets came along. Yep, needed the distraction because Mr D just couldn’t stop talking (men…what do you do). This dish was made my eyes so happy. The colours, the weird looking eel, the smidgen of puree and sauces. Now, the beets were cooked in various ways and i enjoyed it when it was shredded, every other way, not so much. The eel wrapped in pancetta was okay as well but now, the dishes were no longer outstanding to me…
Skipton smoked eel in pancetta, new season beets
Now, at this point at lunch was when I started to become irritable, the next dish didn’t come out half an hour after and everyone around us were also becoming restless, it’s like “hey, service guys!”. After a LONG while later, the Limestone farms pullet egg cooked to 63°C,
Lydia’s cotechino, white polenta, pancetta,
autumn crisps came out. This was something I didn’t mind not having. Didn’t really enjoy this one, Mr D did so he had mine as well (lucky he eats everything).
Limestone farms pullet egg cooked to 63°C, Lydia’s cotechino, white polenta, pancetta, autumn crisps
The confit duck, the dish which Mr D was hanging for. The duck was beautifully cooked. I only enjoyed the duck and the light sauce drizzled underneath it. Puree,muscatels and hazelnuts, didn’t enjoy it so much. Shame though. The actual plate made me a little bit dizzy if I stared at it too long…luckily I devoured it quickly.
Seared duck breast, fig, muscatels, hazelnuts, salsify
This means, PLAYTIME WAS NEXT! What is playtime you ask, the waiter said it was the palate cleansing part before DESSERT wooohooo! Now when this came out, it was the prettiest thing and I was super excited! It was to be eaten from right to left, the sorbet (I think), then some fizzy drink then the lemon marshmallow lollipop. The first and last pieces were my fav, the middle, pass.
Playtime (Palate Cleanser)
Finally dessert came out and Mr D got one the says HAPPY BIRTHDAY since, “shawty, it’s yo birthday” (too cool for school I am). This was the autumn ramble and I was disappointed. Sure it was pretty but the flavours were very sour and I didn’t enjoy any part of the dessert at all. *insert sad face*
Autumn Ramble
Finally the coffee and sweet indulgences. Now I loved the sweets better than the desserts and I’m glad we ended it on the sweets.
Overall,I can see why they earned their two chefs hat but the waiting time (must be due to the change over of staff) was ridiculous, the dessert was a disappointment but there were amazing dishes which I would definitely come back for. Next time, will be getting ‘the apple’.
4 King St, Daylesford, 3460 VIC
Tel: (03) 5348 3329
Website: www.lakehouse.com.au