I was wandering along Collins Street, hoping to bump into someplace interesting before going home. Having a rough day at work, I was looking forward to unwind before hitting the sack. I didn't realize that I was already walking for a good 30 minutes until I hit Flinders Lane. Flinders Lane is home to so many of my favorite places to eat: Centre Place, Bar Lourinha, Journal Kanteen, Verge, and, of course, Cumulus Inc. This is one of the reasons why I would want to stay in Melbourne. Inventive food from a genius.
There was a seat at the marble bar waiting for my arrival. Cumulus Inc. is known for long waits so I'm fortunate to get a seat when I walked through the door. After deciding on a French red, I surveyed the floor. It was as exciting and lively as I remembered: rustic yet classic, feminine yet masculine.
Entree #1: Crab and Dried Scallop Soup with Crispy Chicken. Creamy and smooth with crab meat and dried scallop flavor. The crispy chicken bits were a surprise. The combination of seafood had an Asian feel to it but Westernized.
Entree #2: Charcuterie Plate of Kurabouta prosciutto. This was one of the best variations of proscuitto I've had in a long, long time. It was firm yet silky and that fat was astoundingly creamy. The way it was cured was almost grassy but slightly sweet and salty at the same time. The person taking care of slicing the charcuterie offered me more bread and I gladly accepted.
Main: Silk purse from a Sow's Ear, Ravigote and green sauce. This is a strange and intriguing dish. It kept me taking bite after bite until I realized that I almost gobbled everything up. These are actually pieces of fried tendons, crumbed, and stuffed with a filling that tasted so much like high-end meatloaf sans the sweet component. It was delicate yet complicated and the green sauce looked like a pesto made from parsley and coriander, from what I can taste.
Dessert #1: Coconut sago, meringue, coconut lime sorbet. I love desserts with coconut and this is always may dessert flavor of choice whenever I have had something rich such as my main. This seemed to be the perfect choice. It was light yet aptly sweet but nothing overpowering. The lime in the coconut sorbet didn't make it taste like dishwashing liquid, which was fantastic. The meringue reminded me of bakeries from home since it's been a while since I've had one that good.
Dessert #2: Madeleine with lemon curd. Now, this is the stuff for foodies who love desserts and teas. This piece of pastry has been legendary and I've read so many reviews raving about Cumulus Inc.'s madeleines. And now, I know what they're all talking about. The madeleine was cooked on the spot, on the perfect temperature for 15mins until just puffed up, slightly brown. Next, they will poke wholes into the blonde pillow and inject a cool lemon curd mix into it, dust with powdered sugar and served immediately. I know what it feels like to have a freshly baked pastry served straight from the oven and this one hits all the right spots. It was warm and just cooked through and no signs of any bit dried out, the edges crunchy and the filling oozing with delicious lemon curd.
I walked out of Cumulus Inc. satisfied as always. Suddenly, the city seemed to be happy as my tummy and I can't wait to be back at Cumulus Inc. soon.
There was a seat at the marble bar waiting for my arrival. Cumulus Inc. is known for long waits so I'm fortunate to get a seat when I walked through the door. After deciding on a French red, I surveyed the floor. It was as exciting and lively as I remembered: rustic yet classic, feminine yet masculine.Entree #1: Crab and Dried Scallop Soup with Crispy Chicken. Creamy and smooth with crab meat and dried scallop flavor. The crispy chicken bits were a surprise. The combination of seafood had an Asian feel to it but Westernized.
Entree #2: Charcuterie Plate of Kurabouta prosciutto. This was one of the best variations of proscuitto I've had in a long, long time. It was firm yet silky and that fat was astoundingly creamy. The way it was cured was almost grassy but slightly sweet and salty at the same time. The person taking care of slicing the charcuterie offered me more bread and I gladly accepted. Main: Silk purse from a Sow's Ear, Ravigote and green sauce. This is a strange and intriguing dish. It kept me taking bite after bite until I realized that I almost gobbled everything up. These are actually pieces of fried tendons, crumbed, and stuffed with a filling that tasted so much like high-end meatloaf sans the sweet component. It was delicate yet complicated and the green sauce looked like a pesto made from parsley and coriander, from what I can taste. Dessert #1: Coconut sago, meringue, coconut lime sorbet. I love desserts with coconut and this is always may dessert flavor of choice whenever I have had something rich such as my main. This seemed to be the perfect choice. It was light yet aptly sweet but nothing overpowering. The lime in the coconut sorbet didn't make it taste like dishwashing liquid, which was fantastic. The meringue reminded me of bakeries from home since it's been a while since I've had one that good. Dessert #2: Madeleine with lemon curd. Now, this is the stuff for foodies who love desserts and teas. This piece of pastry has been legendary and I've read so many reviews raving about Cumulus Inc.'s madeleines. And now, I know what they're all talking about. The madeleine was cooked on the spot, on the perfect temperature for 15mins until just puffed up, slightly brown. Next, they will poke wholes into the blonde pillow and inject a cool lemon curd mix into it, dust with powdered sugar and served immediately. I know what it feels like to have a freshly baked pastry served straight from the oven and this one hits all the right spots. It was warm and just cooked through and no signs of any bit dried out, the edges crunchy and the filling oozing with delicious lemon curd.I walked out of Cumulus Inc. satisfied as always. Suddenly, the city seemed to be happy as my tummy and I can't wait to be back at Cumulus Inc. soon.
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