Oh man. MasterChef Dining & Bar disappointed me on so many levels.
I get really sad whenever I have a bad dining experience :(
MasterChef Dining & Bar is a 3 week pop-up restaurant.
I loved the concept so I decided to give it a try!
Their restaurant serves a 4 course menu for $115.
For that price tag I would have at least expected to receive a pleasant dining experience.
But that was not at all the case.
Service
The service was horrendous.
First of all, they had serious timing and organising issues.
We had a booking at 8:30pm.
And we were seated at only around 8:55pm.
We had to approach them 4 times to check whether our table was ready.
The reason why we were not seated was because 'the wine glasses are not yet prepared on the table'.
It took them a solid 25 minutes to prepare for that.
Furthermore the way they responded was not at all polite.
Secondly, the waiter/waitress did not care to explain what we were eating.
I know we were given the menu, but people forget.
After all, it's the explanation of all these minor details that allows a person to appreciate what they are eating.
Thirdly, they did not ask whether I was done with my plate when they were trying to clear the table.
They simply took it away even though there was still food on my plate.
I found this to be extremely rude.
Food
MasterChef Garden
Consuming this was an example of not knowing what at all I was eating.
(Apart from the visual of the vegetables)
Flavourwise, the 'soil' was too sour, and kinda tasted like there was couscous in it?
I have no idea.
Master Stock poached chicken w/ eggplant cream, white radish, soy & ginger
To be honest, this dish tasted very pedestrian.
The texture of the chicken tasted like it was smashed.
Flavourwise, it was fine, but there just nothing memorable about it.
Roasted Northern Rivers Pork Loin w/ crackling, apple, caraway & bacon jus
Our main was very disappointing.
On the Masterchef Dining website, it says:
"Maggie Beer's melt-in-the-mouth roast pork MasterClass is the inspiration for our dish"
Unfortunately, the roast pork did not melt in my mouth.
Instead, they presented us with two huge slabs of pork that was tough,
& the fat-to-meat ratio was just out of whack. Waaaaay too much fat.
I must say though, I liked the apple & bacon jus.
But the pork was just very poorly executed.
Zokoko Black Forest Cadeau w/ cherry Gelato Messina
This was the highlight of the entire night! Thank god.
This dish actually shows complexity and careful thought in its creation.
The different textures and flavours of the chocolate & cherries were definitely very interesting.
Again, it would have been much better if we were told what was on the plate.
Vegemite Caramel Chocolate Cup
I have no comment on this one.
Range of Lipton Teas
This was another highlight of the night.
They presented us with 5 types of Lipton Tea, allowing us to smell each and every type of tea leaves.
Finishing the meal with a warm tea of our choice was quite refreshing :)
(though, it was an extra charge)
Overall, it was just disappointing.
I feel that if any of these dishes (except the dessert) were presented on the actual MasterChef show, they would be sent home.
I really did want to like the dishes. But it was just not up to standard. Not for $115.
So please, spend your hard earned money somewhere else.
There are numerous other options you can choose from where you will get the most value for your money.
E.G. Momofuku Seiobo, which I've heard is amazing, provides an 8 course tasting menu for lunch for only $110.
Labels: dinner, food, masterchef
