Wooden Spoon, Cremore

Put your hands up if you've ever been invited to event and arrived a DAY early? Oooooh me me! Pick pick me. Yes that's right, that was me to this event. The incredibly affable owner Livia Wang invited me a couple of days ago for a tasting and I arrive a day early. Not a minute early. Not an hour early. But a day. Great start.

They're already at a disadvantage being located just right below a gym. Every now and again, it's hard not to notice the infamously loud spin classes or toned bodies as you're about to dig in to your brownie... However they've done what they can to hide it all; umbrellas section off the area, various bibs and bobs line the walls and dark furniture creates an intimate space. On that night, the bar was in full swing at the front creating a merry although admittedly loud atmosphere.

Wakame and soy soup amuse

We start off with a wakame and soy soup. The flavours of simply miso and soy are enough to get the taste buds going and we're anxious for more.

Lemongrass smoked mackerel, kipfler potato, baby onion rings, tatsoi, strawberry tea and plum vinegar

Unfortunately we were immediately let down by the entree. Pretty as it looks, it was incredibly bland. The mackerel had almost no flavour, the whole dish suffered from severe under-seasoning and the strawberry plum gel just didn't work. It must be said that they've recognised that and it has since been removed from the winter menu.

White cooked chicken, black rice, silverbeet, galangal puree, goji berry, wooden mushroom

Thankfully it only got better from there. The next dish was so reminiscent of mother's cooking in a good way. It's all round comforting, from the slightly resistant wood-ear and salty silverbeet to the plainly delicious rolled chicken and galangal puree combo.

Sous vide ocean trout, celeriac puree, sweet corn mousse, baby zucchini, water chestnut, miso egg yolk

The good times keep coming with a perfectly rare sous-vide ocean trout and perfect matches of an earthy celeriac puree and sweet corn mousse. It's almost right save for the serving temperature of said puree and mousse which were stone cold.

Korean BBQ beef short rib, buckwheat, carrot top puree, heart of palm, prunes, pine nuts

Now my favourite savoury course by far was their Korean beef short rib. A deliciously tender hunk of meat falls apart with a gentle nudge of the fork paired up curiously with sweet prunes and (green?) carrot puree and dressed in its lovely cooking jus. Just flipping delicious. Still a cold puree brings it down slightly.

Chocolate mousse cake, toasted rice and coconut custard, raspberry sorbet, hazelnut crumble

Dessert finishes on a high note with their insanely delicious combo of dense and rich chocolate cake, raspberry sorbet and coconut mousse. It has me swooning for more when I sadly realised I had eaten it too quickly.

Something has to be said about their ridiculously well priced degustation. I mean seriously $56 for 5 courses. How good is that? However, Wooden Spoon is a place to me that hasn't quite found its feet yet. Their technique is confident enough but they seem to experience to the most success doing things that aren't completely off kilter. Take the tried and true combination of chocolate and raspberry or a deliciously unctuous short rib or sous vide fish. They're willing to improve and meet criticism and that's the most important thing. Watch this space guys.

Petit4s and guest ate at Wooden Spoon at a discounted price courtesy of Livia Wang from Wooden Spoon. 

Posted in: beef, chocolate cake, cremorne, degustation, dessert, ocean trout