Dinner at maze by Gordon Ramsay, Melbourne

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I can’t believe I actually dined in one of Gordon Ramsay’s restaurants! I’m sure he’s no stranger to anyone, not only famous for his culinary skills but also, one might add, his foul mouth. *LOL* When I found out that he has a restaurant called maze in Melbourne, I immediately made a reservation online and the next day, both Saucer and I were there right on time. We were asked to wait for a while at their lounge called Maze Grill, while they got our table ready.

The lounge

Maze Grill coaster

Before long, we were shown to our table. Since we booked the earliest time available for dinner (6pm), we were actually the first table to be occupied! OK, before that, let me just warn you of the poor quality pictures ahead. Australians value their dining experience very much. Heck, I’m sure half the price they pay for fine dining goes into the environment. So, flash photography is pretty much frowned upon, simply because it might affect other patrons’ dining experience. Saucer learnt this from experience in another restaurant previously, so we didn’t use any flash to capture the food here. And the lighting made it very challenging to get good pictures. It was so very dark, almost candle-lit. So bear with me ok?

Maze by Gordon Ramsay, interior

After placing our orders, we were served with warm home-made bread with some seaweed butter. The bread was fresh and warm with slightly crispy crust. We enjoyed it very much and it was even refillable!

Complimentary bread and butter

We ordered from the ala carte menu and chose 5 courses including one dessert. The smoked kingfish was served raw, making it taste very Japanese. *LOL* But what we were very impressed was how the whole combination tasted so well-balanced. You would eat it and couldn’t help nodding away.

Applewood smoked kingfish, fennel purée, pickled celery, globe artichoke, Californian caviar (AUS$17)

And I finally had a taste of caviar! *noob*

Californian caviar

Seared leg of rabbit was again another masterpiece. It was my first time eating rabbit meat and surprisingly, it tasted very much like pork.

Seared leg of rabbit, jicama, green olive, almond and brown butter vinaigrette (AUS$19)

The lamb cannon was my favourite that night. It was so very tender and juicy that I couldn’t tell that it was lamb! There was no strong gamey smell at all, and it was cooked just perfect. No blood but yet, not overly done.

Lamb cannon and shoulder, cauliflower purée, anchovy, stinging nettles (AUS$24)

I have to admit, when I saw poussin, I didn’t know what it was and had to ask the waitress embarrassingly. It was the term for young (<28 days old) chicken! OK, before you judge my for eating such a poor little bird, I have to say that this is probably the only time I’ll eat it, ever! So, go easy on me ok?

Poussin “coq au vin”, savoy cabbage, smoked bacon (AUS$22)

And finally, the dessert! Something I was very sure what to order – the chocolate and violet fondant! Oh my goodness, this was amazingly glorious! It was so good that I had to take my chances to snap a photograph with flash just to show you how awesome the chocolate fondant was. The oozing hot chocolate, the crusty and warm cake, and the ingenious salted almond ice-cream!

Hot chocolate and violet fondant, salted almond ice cream (AUS$16)

It all went so well together! When I knew that the ice-cream was salted, I hesitated a little bit, but I was surprised that the combination actually was perfect! There was warm and there was cold sensation. Then, there was sweet and there was salty taste. Blend them all together and I swear, it’s an experience you cannot get enough of.

The bursting hot chocolate

Before we left, we were also given some cute white chocolate truffles with frozen berries inside. Delicious touch for a sweet finish indeed.

Complimentary White chocolate truffles

And I was also surprised by a cute little goodie bag filled with some sweets to take home. Ahh, good to be pampered eh?

Complimentary goodie bag

It was definitely an experience that I would remember for a long time to come. And not just for the good food, of course.

The entrance

maze Melbourne
Level 1, Crown Metropol
Corner of Whiteman and Clarendon Streets,
Southbank, Victoria 3006
Tel no.: +61 (0)3 9292 8300
[email protected]
http://www.gordonramsay.com/mazemelbourne/
Opening Hours
Monday-Sunday
Breakfast: 6.30am – 10.30am
Lunch: 12.00noon – 2.30pm
Dinner: 6.00pm – 11.00pm

For the rest of my Melbourne adventure, check out my Melbourne Itinerary.