I am an amateurish food lover who enjoys simple meals and staple foods. A finely baked apple crumbles topped with milky vanilla ice cream would have delighted my taste buds, and an ordinary-looking grandma’s recipe baked cheesecake with buttery golden base would have easily caused me salivating in joy. I am no John Depp or Nicolas Sarkozy; a dish would need to possess quality of an utmost atrocious level to compel me to do the undesirable act of sending it back to a chef.
Dining at On Nom was definitely a rare
occurrence done out of my usual character. I knew the desserts were going to
look awesome, but the extent of their sophistication and intricacy was way
beyond my initial envision.
Firstly, we were presented with a
chocolate-infused dish contained in a glass terrarium with vintage rope handle.
The dish was a sweet fiesta bursting with a complex assortment of
chocolate-related flavours: fancy European churros with tint of cinnamon taste,
chocolate gravel, chocolate sponge embedded with an intense pistachio fragrance,
chocolate ice cream, and chocolate mousse made of exquisite French gourmet
brand Valhrona.
We then came face-to-face with the
signature Mango Alphonso; a whimsical tower of choux pastry (light pastry dough
originated from France), fondants, discs of tempered chocolate, topped with a
crowning dome made of a half-sphere mango mousse and a half-sphere shiso
cremeux (an exotic chef-created milky cream combined with eggs and gelatin, with
a strong hint of Japanese minty herb flavour). The extravagant efforts were
complete with a finale of coconut spheres, succulent diced mango in syrup, a
scoop of tangy kalamansi sorbet, and a glittering bit of gold leaf.
Next came the sweet, endearing looking
dessert that made our hearts skipped a beat. The Raspberry Field was a
delicately handcrafted pink mushrooms dessert consisted of frozen raspberry
sorbet and meringue stems, elegantly decorated with dainty rosewater pearls,
oriental lychees and glamorous raspberry pannacotta.
It is a difficult task to describe the
tastes and flavours of each of this complicated individual element so deftly
placed on the plates; a true challenge beyond my limited ability and nil
qualifications. In brief, it was a celebration of flavours and textures; a
remarkable combination of crunchiness, smoothness, and sweet surprises of liquidness;
an awesome gala of extraordinary ingredients and skillful techniques.
I love the desserts, but I would never
in my life dare to proclaim to have any knowledge of how a top-notched
raspberry or kalamasi sorbet should taste like, or whether the shiso cremeux
meets the standard of an international acclaimed patisserie.
Suffice to say, the desserts are a
delightful visual stimulation and an enchanting gourmet experience that I
wouldn’t mind getting used to. The success story of the head chef, Christy
Tania (an Asian pastry artist from Indonesia and Singapore), will definitely continue
to serve as an amazing inspiration to many future young master chefs-to-be.
Location:
Adelphi Hotel, 187 Flinders Lane
Melbourne VIC 3000
Prices (dessert):
Average $24- $28 per dish
Prices (dessert):
Average $24- $28 per dish
Website:
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