Blu Grill

So after more than a month hiatus, I'm backkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk! To kickstart my blog again, I want to recap Sly Mr Fox's birthday dinner at the Blu Grill. This place is nice and cosy with its mood lighting and the large windows open up to the park across the road.

I might have mentioned it before but you'll soon realise just how much love I have for peanuts. I absolutely adore them and was so pleased when I saw the jar of mixed nuts on the table. They had a bit of an odd taste to them that made me keep coming back for just one more. It was salty and smokey but also a bit sweet, almost as if they were finished off with a final dusting of sugar. I didn't want to ruin my appetite for dinner so I had to sadly turn away from the nuts.

I'm absolutely nuts for nuts

After everyone had chosen their main, we debated a little bit over what we should have for entrees. The bruschetta sounded pretty nice but we were pretty disappointed when the waitress said that it's just one piece of bread for $16 - yeahhhh, no. We decided to be a bit more adventurous instead and opted for the rabbit rillettes. Being avid bread lovers, we also chose the selection of breads. 

Selection of breads with
dukkah, olive tapenade, balsamic & olive oil

Everyone were really please with the breads. They had different textures and flavours and it was exciting to try them with the different condiments. The olive tapenade really surprised me as I'm a bit of a hit and miss with olives usually but it provided the bread with a nice salty hit without the overbearing olives taste.

Rabbits are so cute but oh-so-tasty!

The rillettes on the other hand wasn't to my liking. I prefer my rillettes to have more texture from the meat being shredded instead of formed into a pate. There was so much going on that I couldn't really taste the rabbit, especially since the texture was lost in the pate. The red cabbage remoulade overtook the whole dish so much so that within a mouthful I started and finished with the cabbage taste.

I don't know if I should be trusted with this many knives!

The thing that really impressed me at this restaurant was the platter of knives that the waitr(ess) brings out for you to choose from. I went for the one that looked the most serrated and was pretty happy with it. Until I actually went to cut my meal...

 

'Roos are definitely another one of those "so cute but so tasty" animals!

At first I had an internal debate between choosing the kangaroo, lamb and spatchcock. They all sounded so good but in the end I decided to 'roo since a few years ago I made a pledge to myself to choose kangaroo if it appears on a menu. It's really a shame that not many restaurants offer kangaroo on their menu. I was pretty impressed when it came to the table. However when I cut into my kangaroo with my "really serrated knife", I soon realised that the serration didn't go all the way to the tip of the knife. With my cutting technique, it felt like I was using a butter knife. The energy I expanded cutting probably exceeded my energy intake. The kangaroo didn't really taste like kangaroo to me. Usually when I have 'roo I can taste the gaminess of the meat but this tasted like beef... I found the pancetta on top on weird and it didn't contribute anything towards the dish. It almost felt like an afterthought. The veggies were a bit on the crunchy side, which I don't mind, but with the crisp from the daikon I would've preferred the carrot to be softer.

Spinach fettuccine

 The pasta was nice and creamy with loads of seafood but I don't know if I would've been able to finish the whole plate. 2 of my friends got this and neither of them could find the crab meat.

One of the steaks from the menu

A side of hand cut chips

 The bit of steak that I got from my friend was nice and tender but it looked really lonely on the plate. It came with a few slices of soggy potatoes and a sauce. The mushroom and blue cheese sauce was a great accompaniment to the steak but the blue cheese was really subtle. The roast garlic and peppercorn sauce had a bit of a kick to it and the pepperiness really hits you. However I think the steaks are pretty expensive for what you get.


We were all pretty full from the generous serving of the mains but we still couldn't go pass the dessert menu. We decided to try different ones. In my haste of contemplating whether to have dessert or not I decided on the mocha creme caramel thinking it can't be bad!. I was proven wrong once again.

Mocha creme caramel

To be honest I was a bit shocked when this came to my table. In hindsight I should've really looked at the menu properly and considered how mocha and berries would go together. The answer was not well at all... The creme caramel was really grainy and the strawberry ice cream tasted synthetic. I I thought that it might've been one of those desserts that you have to mix everything together to fully appreciate the flavours but my tastebuds instantly went nope. I really hate wasting food but I couldn't finish this weird combo.

Chocolate trio

Amarula malva pudding

The chocolate trio and the pudding were pretty good though. Although the chocolate ice cream tasted watery (I doubt they make their own ice cream and they should really get a better brand), the warm chocolate fondant was nice. The pudding was moist and reminded me of sticky date pudding, especially with the butterscotch sauce and toffee ice cream (the shocking flavours of the other two ice creams have omitted the flavour of this one from my memory). This was my first time having warm sago and I think I much prefer mine cold.

WICB? The savoury dishes were pretty good and there are so many other things that I want to try from their menu. The desserts were so disappointing that I don't think I would order them again unless they completely overhaul them. All in all, it was a nice meal with good company. Happy birthday golden boy and thanks for the meal!