Taxing Dining Room

Dining Date: August 2009

2009 Rating: 87th

2009 Star rating: 1

Chef: Michael Lambie

Location: Level 1, Transport Hotel, Federation Square, Cnr Flinders & Swanston Streets

Melbourne Victoria

Website: www.transporthotel.com.au

Taxi dining room is located at federation square in the heart of the Melbourne CBD. We ventured out to the city on a particularly nice day, the sun was shining, the weather was warm and I was feeling flirty. So I put on a dress and some nice high heels. It seemed life the rest of Melbourne had the exact same idea and everyone was heading for the city. The traffic was a nightmare and we ended up parking a mile away. My feet are still angry with me! We were late, and I HATE being late. We practically sprinted to the restaurant from the car park, at least once we got to the location we could sit down and relax. I was really worried that they would have given our table away. We were having another winter express meal and he session times are pretty strict. Luckily the table was still waiting for us, and there was no need to chow down at lightening speed.

Taxi has a great atmosphere, laid back while still being funky and modern. The views across the river or city, depending on where you sit, are breath taking. I'm in love with the city of Melbourne and can never bore from seeing the tree lined Yarra river, or the towering sky scrapers. I managed to take a couple of shots of the interior of the restaurant before my camera battery decided it had enough, its funny how batteries require regular charging. Thanks to modern technology my pocket camera, which doubles as a mobile phone was all I had to document the meal. Apologies in advance for the crappy photos!

We started with a glass of wine each, Galli estate Pinot Grigio from Heathcote Victoria. The selection of what to have for entree and mains was limited, but I didn't mind. The quality of the overall meal was exceptional so I don't feel like I missed out at all.

We started with Panko crumbed brandade cake with spiced tomato jus. It came with a cold noodle salad on the side and I'm not quite sure what the other thing was. But it tasted delicious! Daz and I decided to share the entree and dessert at the end of the meal. As soon as I took my first bite, wished I had opted for my own main. The cake was so crunchy on the outside and beautifully fluffy within, such a joy to eat.

If the entree was nice, the main was heaven. I love a really good slow cooked piece of meat and the braised beef with mushrooms, bacon, pommes puree and red wine jus was fall apart perfect. We were given a knife that looked like a ice pick. It was so pointy and extremely sharp with menacing serrated edges, I thought it was hilarious as the dish could have been eaten with a spoon.

I loved the crispyness of the bacon. Everything on the place was so soft and juicy it needed something to contrast with so you could fully appreciate the texture. The crunchy bacon was such an awesome surprise when you took a mouth full of the creamy luscious mash. I was so extremely happy after eating this dish I think I had a meat-o-gasm.

We were sitting directly opposite the pass for the dessert section. Literally every minute 4 souffles would be whisked away to hungry customers. Looking at all those beautiful gravity defying souffles I had to have one for myself. We discovered that it was a Grand Marnier souffle with orange caramel and blood orange sorbet. The souffle was piping hot, so fluffy that when you put it n your mouth it disappeared. But the absolute stand out for me was the sorbet. I could have a massive bowl of that sorbet on its own, then ordered another for dessert. It was so tasty, the true flavour of orange was right there on your palette, it filled your mouth and was so tangy and sweet that it made my mouth water while I was eating it! Something that doesn't happen often to me.

After we devoured the entire thing I contemplated licking the plate, no jokes. So I moved the cup that the souffle was baked in and unwittingly discovered Taxi's secret anchoring system. We all know that a lot of restaurants use sauces or puree's to stick down food to the plate, but did you know they use pieces of cake? Underneath the cup was a perfectly circular piece of cake. It was ingenious, no slipping and fits snuggly in place. The thought of eating the cake crossed my mind, but then I thought it probably wasn't intended t be eaten so might give it a miss.

Overall I liked Taxi Dining Room. I thought all the dishes I tried were well executed, some even presented with a little flare. I would definitely go back to sampling some of their dishes other dishes.