a homegrown meal to remember

WLG www.au.timeout.com/melbourne/restaurants/events/1903/wellington-tourism-pop-up-restaurant

• Corner Gertrude & Napier Streets, Fitzroy, Melbourne from Nov 15th - Nov 27th
• Dining at dinnertime
• Party of two

When I heard that a pop-up restaurant named "WLG" - the Wellington airport code - was coming to Melbourne, I just had to get in as I knew the experience would be blog worthy.  Perhaps being a Wellingtonian makes me slightly biased but I was certainly eager to have a taste of home.  Little did I know, it would exceed all my expectations, however getting into this temporary restaurant proved to be harder than I thought.

By the time I looked into WLG, the tickets had sold out, but the website did say that walk ins were available every night.  We thought we would try our luck on a Tuesday night and aim to be at the restaurant by 6pm when it opened.  We arrived just after six and the friendly guy organising the patrons said that we were welcome to "hang around abit" to see if there were any no shows.

Turns out, we were in extreme luck and managed to get seated inside on a table of six.  Each place sitting had the set menu and a copy of a New Zealand guide book.  The staff were blatantly Kiwi and provided exceptional service to approximately sixty diners wanting to sample a piece of Wellington's culinary delights.  After about twenty minutes of being seated, three Air New Zealand air hostesses walk into the restaurant and a voiceover is played, similar to the safety voiceovers played at the beginning of each flight.  The next thing we know, we had all been given a complimentary return flight to Wellington.  The room erupted with cheers, the bubbles were opened and ticket vouchers were handed out, much to the delight of everyone in the room!

Watch the youtube video here and catch a glimpse of us: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2akTqEClXEo&feature=youtu.be

Now to the food.  The food was brought over from New Zealand, designed and cooked by some of Wellington's top chefs from popular restaurants: Logan Brown, The Larder, Boulcott Street Bistro and Capitol.  The friendly staff explained the set menu which began with a shared entree named "Tastes of Wellington Shared Tasting Plate."  It consisted of:

• Lot Eight Spiced Olives
• Manuka Salt Cured Lamb Shortloin with Beetroot, Walnut and White Balsamic Salsa
• Grilled Marlbourgh Scallops, Celeriac puree and Pancetta crumbs
• Fried Goat's Cheese Balls with Manuka honey and Kiwi chutney
• Maple syrup smoked Regal King Salmon with Horseradish Creme Frache and tiny Capers
• Pig's Cheek 'Schnitzel' with Roast Lemon Chutney, Cornichons and Cress

Everything on this plate was delicious however the two stand-outs were the Pig's Cheek and the Goat's Cheese.  The crumb on the schnitzel was well-seasoned and perfectly crisp.  The kiwi chutney gave a tangy dimension to the goat's cheese that melts in your mouth after biting into the slightly crunchy shell.

Next-up: the mains.  There were five choices, designed by each of the chefs.  After much deliberation, I chose the dish by Jacob Brown, Head Chef and owner of The Larder.  As the menu told you who was cooking on which nights, the reasoning behind my decision was Jacob Brown was in the kitchen on this particular night.  The main was called 'Slow-cooked Venison in Tunisian Brik pasty with Veal Sweetbreads, Broad Beans, Peas and Pancetta'.



The pasty was similar to the skin of a spring roll - firm and crisp, the venison was delightfully tender, the difference in texture of the sweetbreads, broad beans and peas gave the dish variety and the strong flavour of pancetta rounded of this dish that left me wanting to savour the taste.

As there were two of us dining, I was fortunate to  sample some of Brendon's main.  He opted for the 'Braised Lamb shoulder Timbale with Dukkah-Crusted Lamb Rack and wilted mixed greens with a Thyme and Garlic Braising Liquor.'  This dish was designed by Terry Lowe of Black Barn Bistro, Hawke's Bay.  Nothing beats kiwi lamb, yeah cue the sheep jokes, but in all seriousness, the lamb was perfectly cooked and succulently tender.





Dessert.  There were two choices for dessert and we had one of each.  The 'Licoricello Panna Cotta with Vodka Lime Parfait and Pistachio wafer' had a good kick of vodka and the panna cotta was silky smooth.  The perfect size and a great way to end the meal with something sweet.

The 'Whittaker's Dark Chocolate Pave with fresh Raspberries, Manuka honey cream and Damson Plum Coulis' was another mouth-watering dessert.  The chocolate pave was light in texture but rich in flavour.  The raspberries and coulis gave it a tartness it needed to stand up to the rich chocolate.  This dessert left me wanting a whole lot more of it!

And finally, Mojo coffee and Whittaker's chocolate squares were offered to complete the meal.  Three courses for $35 was a steal, the food was of high quality and all the better washed down with a glass of New Zealand wine.

I have found that it is not until you live outside New Zealand that you become extremely patriotic and this unique concept made me extra proud to be a kiwi.  It showed just what little old New Zealand can offer in quality food, wine and dining.  Hopefully this pop-up restaurant returns next year for those who missed out.  Complimentary airfares aside, the initiative for promoting Wellington proved to be successful in creating an awareness of the cuisine available on the other side of the ditch.  Now I look forward to going home to enjoy my mum's cooking courtesy of Air New Zealand!