Just a strawberry

Inspiration: Dinner at the Flower Drum restaurant

Created: Tue 3 May 2005 16:55

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It is said that the further from the door that you are seated when you dine at Melbourne's Flower Drum restaurant, the more important a customer you are. On this basis, I expected to be seated somewhere quite close to the door, or possibly even outside of the restaurant itself. It therefore came as a shock when I gave my name at the front desk, and was led through the whole restaurant to a table at the very, very back, and on the opposite side from the toilets: surely the best table in the house using these guidelines.

Perhaps, though, this was just a result of me having booked the table over a month prior. Being a Flower Drum virgin, I had not known just how far in advance the restaurant would be booked out, so I was overly cautious. The Flower Drum was, after all, rated the 33rd best restaurant in the world by a panel of over 500 experts in Restaurant magazine, and this is but one of the many awards and high ratings that the restaurant has received in its time. But is it worthy of all this praise?

A few of us began the evening with a cocktail (I asked for a recommendation, and was offered a strawberry daiquiri, which I was quite pleased with), which set me along a dangerous path of intoxication, upon the brink of which I teetered for much of the night (I didn't want to be too smashed to appreciate everything else, so I was as sensible as you can be after starting your night with a strawberry daiquiri). Our waiter brought menus, and explained that it's possible to order in two different ways. Firstly, you can order straight from the menu, and secondly, you can just tell the waiter the kinds of things you like and dislike, and let them make up a menu especially for you. Though the second option sounded tempting, we were a little worried about how many extra mortgages would be required were we to go with this technique, so we eventually decided on the set menu, which, at $120.00 per person, was still hefty enough to require one additional mortgage per person.

First up in the set menu was a pair of "Steamed King Island crab meat dumplings", served with a ginger and vinegar sauce. That first mouthful of dumpling was absolutely delicious, and this dish turned out to be one of my favourites for the night. The flavour and texture were exquisite, the sauce was mild, but added a bit of zing, and you could couple it with a bit of chilli sauce if you wanted to strengthen the flavour further. Appetites well and truly whetted, it was on to the next entree.

This course consisted of "Crispy battered S.A. King George whiting fillet", served with spiced salt, and lemon reduction sauce. It truly was crispy, and it didn't suffer from over-battering or oiliness, both of which are all too common. The spiced salt was sprinkled with the fingers onto the fish, and then each forkful generously dabbed into the lemon, which made for a very pleasing taste sensation. This dish was not particularly Asian, and as a result, it didn't make the list as a favourite for the evening, but regardless, it was amongst the better pieces of fish I've ever eaten.

Onto the main courses, the first being Peking duck. I am not a big meat eater, but given that the Peking duck is said to be the Flower Drum's signature dish, I had to give it a try. It certainly ain't my cuppa tea, but I could appreciate that the flavours were delightfully balanced, and I loved that you got to watch the waiter putting the pancakes together just beside the table. Unfortunately, I missed a little bit of this preparation, as I decided to go and check out the toilets at the wrong time. If My Restaurant Rules has taught me anything (and it probably hasn't), it's that a visit to the restroom provides a great way to judge a restaurant. Unfortunately, were I to judge on these facilities alone, the Flower Drum would end up with a substantially lower rating. Sure, complimentary tissues were provided, but you get better freebies at a Gold Class cinema toilet than you do at the Flower Drum. Also, there were a bunch of those little fruit fly guys hanging around in there, which really put me off.

Anyone for "Stir-fried fresh crayfish with ginger served with egg noodles"? I certainly was. The dish contained huge chunks of cray still attached to the shell, along with smaller pieces mixed into the noodles, and I would describe the amount of crayfish as plentiful. Given that this is one of the more expensive ingredients on the menu, this was a happy surprise. The flavour of this stir-fry was quite delicate, and lulled you into a false sense of security before the next dish. I loved every bite.

For the final main course, we had "Grain-fed eye fillet with Szechuan sauce served with seasonal vegetables". I asked for my eye fillet to be changed to something else, and was given chicken. I am not entirely sure whether the chicken was grain-fed or otherwise-fed. This dish came with a side bowl of special fried rice. The Szechaun flavour was delicious and bold - and I couldn't help but start spouting catch-cries from Iron Chef, trying to remember anything I could about the Szechuan sage, Chen Kenichi. The seasonal vegetables in this case consisted of simply one vegetable, which I believe was bok choy, though it may have been something-or-other-else choy. I didn't realise it was possible for there to be much variation in fried rice quality, but this particular fried rice was amazing. By this stage, however, I was getting really full, and I had to palm off some of the course to Jud (he didn't mind one bit).

Of course, one of the defining features of the Flower Drum is the service, and we gave the waiting staff plenty of chances to impress us, but particularly when it came to dessert, which was a "Fresh fruit platter". The Flower Drum don't do things by halves, and this was the most impressive fruit platter I have ever had the pleasure of tucking into. It held many fancy fruits, some of which we struggled to identify, which is where the waiters came in handy. Of all the queries we put to them, every one was answered without hesitation - well, all except one. After querying them on rambutans (not lychees - those are out of season at the moment), papaya (which spawned an "are paw-paw and papaya the same thing?" debate on our table), figs, and custard apples, I did what anyone in my situation would have: I dared my brother to ask "what's this?" about a strawberry. And although he managed to keep a straight face whilst asking, the waiter was clearly taken aback, and nearly dropped his super-cool facade, answering with a bewildered "That one? ... It's... just... a strawberry.", and providing us with a strawberry-based running joke that is bound to be repeated for many years to come.

And with that, it was time for "Coffee or Chinese tea served with almond cookies". I chose the tea, and it was quite a delightful little jasmine number. I'm sure the cookies went better with coffee than they did tea, but nevertheless I found space for about five of them, and they made a deliciously sweet end to a great night.

Aside from those little flies, I can't fault the Flower Drum. A night at the Flower Drum is a wonderful experience: the service is impeccable - attentive, but not so much that you feel crowded, the waiters are able to answer any question you throw at them, and they're willing to cater to special needs. The restaurant itself has a great ambience - the tables are well separated from one another, meaning that you have plenty of space to enjoy yourself with the people on your table, rather than spending the whole night listening to people at the table next to you. Also, the Asian artworks give you plenty to look at when your friends are being boring (we had a series of beautiful calligraphy panels behind our table). We went to the Flower Drum with the intention of making a big night of it, and we succeeded. Definitely a night I'll remember forever.

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