05 May Melbourne Aquarium, Melbourne CBD

This even was a wedding reception held at the Melbourne Aquarium in the Coral Atoll (room). Each table had a platter of bread (possibly white and olive bread) with a tray of butter and olive oil to accompany it.

The entree was either swimmer crab beignets or Caesar salad. I’m not into Caesar salad so I was hoping not to get to get it, but when the plate was placed in front of me I decided it wouldn’t be too bad because all the components were separated and the dressing was presented on the actual plate surface. The menu said that the Caesar salad had a ‘dock egg’. I don’t know what that is; maybe it was a spelling mistake and it was supposed to say duck egg. The egg and the anchovies were the best part of the dish; my toast was too crispy and the edge tasted slightly burnt and the dressing was quite strong. I did also like how the bacon wasn’t saturated in oil.

For the main course there was pan-fried harpuka and a rack of lamb. A lamb rack is not the most elegant of dishes to eat at such an occasion. When I was slicing each cutlet apart the whole table was moving. I didn’t think each component went well together so I ate most of the separately. The lamb was OK, but by the time I had cut it into bite-sized pieces, the crust had mostly fallen off and became lost in the eggplant ‘caviar’. It did still taste of rosemary though. The eggplant was nice, but slightly too salty; the cous cous and zucchini/roasted capsicum mille-feuille were so-so, nothing special. The menu didn’t mention what could have been under the hapuka fillet. Apparently the fish had been overcooked, so even though the fish tasted nice, it was dry and tough. One girl on my table had a vegetarian main course. It appeared to be pearl cous cous with the same vinaigrette, added vegetables underneath and a few pieces of roti on the side.

Lastly was the blueberry and frangipane tart with blueberry ice cream. The ice cream was quite nice and the tart pastry was thick and crispy, but the inside was too sweet and rich for me. Not many people finished or even ate much of their dessert. I don’t know if it was because they were too full or because they didn’t like it.

Overall, not the most terrible meal but not the best meal I’ve had either; perhaps a little lacking for a wedding reception.

Melbourne Aquarium
Corner Flinders Street and King Street
Melbourne, VIC, 3000
(03) 9923 5999
http://www.melbourneaquarium.com.au/