Four weeks to go, and my folks are flying over, so babymoon, here we come!
Don’t know who invented the word babymoon, but I love it and we’re going to make the most of it!
Just like last time when I was pregnant with Zonni, we’re not planning a big trip. This babymoon’s just a weekend away from, well, our house. Sounds boring, but any parents to be would know even time away from home and go somewhere nearby, just have some quality time off you two means a lot!
Hubby booked the Crown Metropol hotel in the city, so we could explore and stroll around in the Melbourne CBD, particularly for food. For foodies like us, this is a big treat.
Apparently, it’s tricky to fly, which means any kind of flying, during the third trimester, so I had to give up the romantic hot air balloon, a bit upset but saved quite a bit of $$, so no complaint.
“We’ll have heaps of chance to do that down the track.” Hubby said.
And I agree, secretly I’m thinking about going with all my loves, including my smart hubby and my two littlies within the next few months, so I better keep my mouth shut. But for whoever are planning a babymoon at the second and first trimester, lucky you, you’re still safe to jump on it!
Without a doubt, it was still a perfect weekend! We had 2 nights in the hotel and two and a half days just belong to two of us. It was surprising that hubby could manage to book a table at 6 pm on a Saturday night at Dinner by Heston Blumenthal just 2 weeks in advance. Of course, he played the “babymoon” card.
Dinner by Heston: Surprise entrance & Vibe
Since we’re on this foodie weekend away, great food is definitely in our schedule. And I have to say, Dinner by Heston in Crown Towers is a place hard to beat, either eating environment or the food itself. Walking into the restaurant was a mysterious experience since we felt like walking in a tunnel to nowhere; we couldn’t even find the door!
Then once you got close to the end, a side door opened, and you found yourself in a big space where staff were welcoming you with warm greetings and lovely smiles.
On the way to our table, the open kitchen on the left gave you a clear vision of where your dishes were coming from. It’s all so vibrant and interesting! Our table is right next to the massive window and looking down was the gorgeous view of the Yarra River.
First time coming to Dinner by Heston’s restaurant, it’s all new and exciting. Everything I used to hear and watch on TV about Heston’s style of dining is now right in front of me! Dear hubby, thanks for surprising me!
Looking around, the setting of the tables is so open but still private at the same time, as the space around the tables is quite generous, and the lighting is quite cosy. For a big space, the setup is comfortable and convenient. Only negative thing is it’s not really a baby-friendly place, but they won’t stop you from taking little ones (from the age of 4), but you do want to wait till they can appreciate the fine dining instead of crying for attention when you know you’re paying a big bill at the end. Guess that’s why hubby chose to come to the Dinner by Heston when we’re child-free.
Time to order, I was hungry but thinking of the big name, I was a bit cautious about the price tag when the waiter handed me the menu. Still, we are having the second baby, this meal could equal many cans of formula. Alright, stop thinking, just enjoy. However, frankly, in terms of being a fine dining restaurant, I don’t think its overpriced. We were planning to order 3 courses plus some drinks. Their mocktails were awesome! For the sake, your curiosity here is the link of the drink menu.
Dinner by Heston: The Drinks
Drinks are never cheap in these type of dining places, but hey, you don’t really come here that often right? I had their Peter Piper’s Pickled Lemon Lemonade. It was quite delicious, but maybe a bit too sour for me, however, the flavour was very refreshing and perfect for a heavy “pregger” like me. At least I can try something else next time.
Dinner by Heston: The Food
Now the food, my favourite part! They had certain waiters manage particular tables and different staff in charge of different menus. So you do have a specific person to go for if you have questions regarding the drink menu or a la carte. They really know every single detail of the menu, which can be super helpful when you have certain diet requirement(s).
For the starter, I did have quite a few questions since I need to know if the materials are cooked or raw. The waitress was explaining patiently until I made the decision. My safe choice was Salamagundy. A savoury porridge and rice & flesh.
Not keen to try kangaroo tail at that moment or abalone, which left me with Salamagundy, AKA chicken oysters and I couldn’t be happier with my choice. Even though my hubby’s dish was way more “Heston-is”.
He ordered plum meat fruit and based on his comment, the parfait was super smooth and flavoursome. Plus, according to the short amount of time he used to finish the whole dish, I can only imagine how delicious it was.
Well, my chicken oysters were perfectly cooked, tender and moist, all the ingredients on the plate were like a little fest, worked perfectly together.
The main, oh the main, we both had our eyes on the roast quail and have to say it was an awesome decision. I believe others were all nice, but we always want to order something that we barely cook back home, so here we go with the quails.
Honestly, I’m not a big fan of pumpkin, no matter how you cook it, it’s just not my favourite thing. Apparently, I didn’t pay much attention to that word while going through the menu of Dinner by Heston.
As an Asian, we quite often just deep fry the whole quail, dip it in chilli powder and eat it like street food. But here at Dinner by Heston, it’s all nicely delicate! Since after too many trials, we know how tricky it is to cook the quail properly. Once the dish was in front of me, it was like a piece of art! The confit butternut was made into a noodle shape, and the pumpkin puree was so smooth. One bite of everything worked so well and felt like a happy dance in my mouth.
For the dessert, I have to admit my hubby made a better choice, as my tart of strawberries was nice however it didn’t really satisfy my sweet tooth (a bit too sour and sharp).
On the other hand, my hubby’s tipsy cake was a real treat. You have to order that at the same time when you order your entrée since it needs more time to cook and its made to order.
The cake was baked so moistly and soft, which was soaked in the juice, combined with roast pineapple, the flavour is second to none! Love, love, love it!
All in all, Dinner by Heston is a one of kind dining experience: the perfect combo of detailed customer service and superb dining vibe.
It’s definitely worth it to go back, start saving up for our next trip to the Dinner by Heston in Crown!
xx
