Celebrating the 32nd milestone

Yung: Last night we celebrated my 32nd birthday in what could well be the last fine dining experience we get to enjoy before it all ends with kids. We tried not to think too much about the future and of the thought of celebrating our birthdays on Maccas or take-aways (or Alyssa'a cooking) - that could perhaps wait until next year. Alyssa made a booking at Vue De Monde, a French style restaurant in Melbourne which critics hail the best restaurant in Melbourne - and we certainly can't argue with that. The format was a 5 course degustation of savoury dishes with additional top up as you please - then you order how many courses of deserts you can manage. You don't get to choose what you eat, and everyone gets something different. I guess the surprise factor somehow makes the food taste that much better.

The food was sensational and the service even more so. There was a particular abalone dish we ate early in the menu which tasted so good, I ordered another one to finish with !! All through the night, we were also served with some very interesting "palate cleansers", some of which looked more like a mini chemistry experiment.

Bon appetit....whatever hole you manage to burn out of your back pocket at Vue De Monde certainly makes up for it in what is truly a great dining experience. Here's to another year of getting older and to perhaps the last of enjoying a dinner where "fine and relaxing" could be noted in the same sentence.