raD fooD: PM24

The feeling of warmth in my bones is now but a memory, and I am well and truly back into my Melbourne routine. What better way to embrace that routine than to dine with my 'hat-conquering' friend, Anna. Why 'hat-conquering' you ask... because some time ago Anna and I decided to try as many restaurants awarded with a chef's hat (or more) in the Good Food Guide as possible. And although we've already been to quite a few hatted restaurants separately, this is the first we've planned together.

PM24 is tucked away on Russell St and as you walk by it is easy to spot the impeccably dressed wait staff go about their work. Once inside, we were greeted by attentive staff and a warm, even comforting ambience. Just perfect on a cold winter night.

Sitting near the hot pass, we were able sneak a peek at most dishes before contemplating what to eat. But everything that came out of the kitchen looked amazing and I became most distressed about my choice - I really hate the idea of missing out on a fantastic meal. "You can come back" I told myself. Ah the dilemmas of the privileged.
With wine in hand, we um-ed and ah-ed our way through the menu. Occasionally getting help from our waiter - there were a few terms I didn't understand. We eventually decided to share an entrée, order suitably French mains and drool over the dessert being made right in front of us.

After starting with a crusty bread roll, we tucked into the Lobster Boudin Blanc, which is pretty much lobster sausage with rice. Something totally different to anything I have tried before. The sausage was more, well sausage-y than I anticipated and it lacked a strong 'lobster' flavour. Admittedly, I've only ever eaten 'fresh' lobster, so it might not be an appropriate comparison. The rice, a combination of white rice and crispy black rice (I'm not sure what the correct title/description is), was fantastic.

Though I was recently in France, I decided I hadn't tried enough genuinely 'French' food, so I ordered the cassoulet. It is not the type of meal I would normally order while dining out, but it seemed appropriate.

It was well executed and the team at PM24 are clearly talented, but it is probably not a dish I would order again. Purely because having four different types of meat, of which there is one large piece of each meat, is not really something that impresses me - not in a casserole anyway. The flavours in the casserole were very nice though.

Anna fought her way through a very rich/filling ox cheek and pasta with shaved truffle (just a bit fancy). I tasted the ox meat and it was divinely tender.

Despite oogling the chef creating desserts throughout our meals, we were more than full and even just the thought of dessert made us cringe. Our waiter was most helpful (as she had been throughout the entire evening) in recommending the lightest hot and cold desserts on the menu, but we just couldn't.

Somehow though, when our bill arrived with a couple of wonderfully light (and not-too-sweet) marshmallows, we couldn't help ourselves. Yum!