Southgate Movable Feasts 2015 (3/3)

Edit: So why is this post split into 3 posts when it’s clearly just one meal? Because Zomato are being a bit mean with their policies and won’t let me link to more than one restaurant in the post, even though it’s clearly 3 legitimate posts. Anyway; on with the show!

Psst! Here is Part 1 and Part 2!

THE DECK
Southgate Precinct, U1/2 Southgate Ave
Southbank VIC, 3006
http://thedeckrestaurant.com.au/

Still feeling rather full, we left for The Deck to have some dessert. Instead of the extravagant spaciousness of the last two restaurants, The Deck was a comfortable little cranny, cosy and perfect for cake and coffee.

We didn’t get matching wines with this course, which was just as well, because I was getting sleepy. Instead we had a couple of hot drinks – a pot of Chamomile Tea, and a cup of Hot Chocolate. Regrettably, neither was very good. The chamomile tea had an odd mustiness to it, whilst the hot chocolate was essentially hot milk with an afterthought of cocoa powder.

The Chocolate Ganache, Mandarin, Milk Crumb sounded like a no-brainer, and the first impression definitely helped. A crumbled path of biscuits and chopped mandarins led to a sculpture of toffee on a base of dark chocolate ganache; this was almost too gorgeous to eat.

It all turned out a bit underwhelming in the end, as the combination of milk crumb and mandarin wasn’t the burst of flavours and textures as I had imagined. The ganache however was surprisingly good; though a bit dense, the dark, rich aroma was undeniably sexy.

I chose the winner of the night, the Rhubarb and Vanilla Rice Pudding, Musk Meringue. Thick and sugary, this was almost like rice pudding flavoured with skittles. It started out a bit too sweet, but when eaten with the scoop of vanilla bean ice cream and shards of musk, it hit just the right note of nostalgia for the sweetness to make sense. I felt like I had grown up eating this.

All things considered, our movable feast ended on a sweet note. After all, who can say no to gooey rice pudding that tastes like the corner store candy shop? I found the Movable Feast to be a great experience overall, and I enjoyed it a lot more than the last one I went to. My advice is to not scrimp and just go for the $85pp option. And if you find that this really floats your boat, the restaurants featured differ from day to day, so you can even fit in a second round if you’re fast enough!

Rating: 13/20 – nostalgia trip.
This rating reflects my personal experience at the time of visit.
Sweet and Sour Fork dined as a guest of The Deck, courtesy of Southgate Movable Feasts.