And we’re back with our favourite people at one of our favourite places. Last night we had a merry dinner with A, N & A at Nel. Restaurant for their exclusive 2020 Christmas menu. We were here for their Once Upon A Time menu in August (LINK).
The Story of Christmas tasting menu was 11 courses for $135 per person.
Again, the boys got the wine pairing because hump day, why not hehehe 🤭
Unfortunately this time around, we were very immersed in our conversations and alcohol, and I had my phone tucked away, so we’ve forgotten most of the ingredients. For once, I was a patron and not a food blogger 😂.
The Story of Christmas tasting menu was 11 courses for $135 per person.
Again, the boys got the wine pairing because hump day, why not hehehe 🤭
Unfortunately this time around, we were very immersed in our conversations and alcohol, and I had my phone tucked away, so we’ve forgotten most of the ingredients. For once, I was a patron and not a food blogger 😂.
Entrée
We started the night with the Danish Æbleskiver. This was inspired by the original Æbleskiver, being spherical in shape with a crispy crust, but taking a savoury approach of fluffy potato stuffing. The sour cream and caviar were the perfect accent to this mini bite, *chef kiss 😘*. And the theatric smoke in the glass was beautiful, engaging our smell with a woodfire scent.
The edible holly arrived in this stunning mist on top a layer of rocks. It was a cold bite of snapper fish, lemon myrtle, dill and mascarpone. It had a mash-like texture, combined with the soft cream cheese. The dominant taste was the snapper but there was also an earthy aroma from the dill dancing along the edge of our tastebuds.
The Rudolph’s nose was a round nugget of venison, shallots, capers, parsley, mozzarella and rosella jam. Despite the venison’s dominant, wild flavour, it was well balanced by the sweet jam and enjoyable in this small portion. The outer batter was a thick, fried crust. It reminded us a bit of the Donald a Paris from their previous menu.
This was so creative! The naughty child was definitely a fun way of serving up bread and butter. The server went around the table as we picked out our ‘coal’ from the stocking.
The bread had a sourdough-like texture with parmesan but the star of the show was definitely the whiskey-infused butter 😍. WOW! They did it really well. The whiskey flavour was subtle and delightful. The butter was airy and glided on so smoothly. There was a smoky taste but our nose might have been influenced by nearby patrons starting their dinner haha.
The bread had a sourdough-like texture with parmesan but the star of the show was definitely the whiskey-infused butter 😍. WOW! They did it really well. The whiskey flavour was subtle and delightful. The butter was airy and glided on so smoothly. There was a smoky taste but our nose might have been influenced by nearby patrons starting their dinner haha.
Main Course
Moving on to the main course, the first dish was the Polish Borscht. This was beetroot slices over a cold goat cheese sorbet. The server poured the beetroot-infused sauce at our table.
It was very interesting, especially since it almost tasted like a refreshing dessert. It was also a hit or miss, purely due to our enjoyment of goat cheese 😅 Half our table loved it and the other half cringed a little when the gamey flavour touched their tongues.
It was very interesting, especially since it almost tasted like a refreshing dessert. It was also a hit or miss, purely due to our enjoyment of goat cheese 😅 Half our table loved it and the other half cringed a little when the gamey flavour touched their tongues.
The Fish Festa was kingfish tataki with diced tartare on the side. The theatrics of this dish was a simple scoop of bonito, yellow tomato and mango.
The kingfish was a fresh, thick and firm cut with a sweet, rich flavour. Combined with the bonito, it brought out a slightly acidic taste. Everyone loved it but there was nothing spectacular in gastronomy here.
The kingfish was a fresh, thick and firm cut with a sweet, rich flavour. Combined with the bonito, it brought out a slightly acidic taste. Everyone loved it but there was nothing spectacular in gastronomy here.
Holy moly, Left over ham was delicious! It was a juicy piece of ham with crispy skin, covered in a mustard orange glaze and finished with an at-the-table pour of a 12-hour stock consommé 🤤.
There was so much depth of flavour in this bite. The meat was a soft firmness, the crispy skin had a beautiful sweet note and the consommé was the perfect, light condiment to finish this dish. I’m just a little sad I took these photos in night mode with tipsy hands 🤦🏻♀️.
There was so much depth of flavour in this bite. The meat was a soft firmness, the crispy skin had a beautiful sweet note and the consommé was the perfect, light condiment to finish this dish. I’m just a little sad I took these photos in night mode with tipsy hands 🤦🏻♀️.
Nana’s Christmas Feast was such a huge and filling portion in comparison to everything we’ve been served before but I guess that was indicative in the name 😂. This was a short rib in red wine glaze, with Brussel sprouts, horseradish, cavolo nero, confit onion purée and buckwheat Yorkshire pudding on the side.
The beef was soooo tender, oozing with its savoury juices in our mouths. And the cavolo nero was delicately roasted, giving this earthy-sweet flavour. There was also a balancing act between the sweetness of the onion puree and the bitter Brussel sprout creme.
We loved the Yorkshire pudding, done perfectly in this tiny bite. One of our most memorable meals was in London, 2019 (LINK) so this dish brought a lot of happiness to our dinner 🥰.
The beef was soooo tender, oozing with its savoury juices in our mouths. And the cavolo nero was delicately roasted, giving this earthy-sweet flavour. There was also a balancing act between the sweetness of the onion puree and the bitter Brussel sprout creme.
We loved the Yorkshire pudding, done perfectly in this tiny bite. One of our most memorable meals was in London, 2019 (LINK) so this dish brought a lot of happiness to our dinner 🥰.
Dessert
Last Christmas I Gave You My Heart was such a pretty dessert 😍. This was a strawberry and watermelon gum heart with elderflower and mint, covered with an icy presentation for “breaking my heart”. It was like eating strawberry jello on a soft bed of cream. It was tasty but didn’t have the wow factor like the next dish.
The Quality Street was definitely our highlight of this menu. This was a bitter orange sorbet, with chocolate ganache, chocolate crumbs, crystalised macadamia, orange and poppy seed cake and orange marshmallow 😍. My instincts kicked in and I actually took a bite of the sorbet before I even took a photo haha.
This dish was just a great choice of ingredients and flavours that was prepared with the right amount of refreshing sweetness. I was especially awed by the delicately placed crystalised macadamia. It was so beautiful.
This dish was just a great choice of ingredients and flavours that was prepared with the right amount of refreshing sweetness. I was especially awed by the delicately placed crystalised macadamia. It was so beautiful.
Finally, we had the Aussie Yule Log. This was a beautiful chocolate swirl with shredded coconut on top of powdered sugar. It was a perfect bite to end the night.
Drink
After our bottle of wine, I ordered the Xmas by the Pool of strawberry-infused tequila, AHD bitter orange and soda. This was such a great balance of sweet and sour that covered the nightmarish taste of tequila 🤪.
Service
I seriously love the staff at Nel. They were really friendly and made us feel so welcomed.
Review
The Christmas Menu was not as overhyped as their Once Upon a Time Menu nor was it as overly flamboyant but we really appreciated the research that went into this menu. Nel incorporated so many Christmas traditions from around the world in such a unique and modern way, and we loved the effort that went into inventing this short-lived menu.
This was another great dinner by an amazing chef and we can’t wait to see what else Nel comes up with next year.
Until then, thanks for reading! Merry Christmas and have a happy holiday, everyone!! 😘
This was another great dinner by an amazing chef and we can’t wait to see what else Nel comes up with next year.
Until then, thanks for reading! Merry Christmas and have a happy holiday, everyone!! 😘
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