Oh, my friends. On Wednesday I was struck down with the lergy that has been plaguing my office and I have been ILL. I've spent a couple of days in a snotty, feverish haze and even today I'm still leaving masses of used tissues in my wake. My head has been so foggy that thinking has been difficult and my taste buds have gone on strike. This Friday I spent on the couch watching a crappy chick flick (the most taxing thing that my poor overheated brain could take), but on a previous Friday, Alastair and I went out to dinner.
We went to Arcadia Gastronomique, located on Union Road in Ascot Vale. Arcadia is small but nicely fitted out, with the lower walls a dark wood panel, highlighted by a deep emerald green on the top. It felt very calm and serene – lovely for a quiet dinner for two.
We shared a starter of middle eastern spiced tiger prawns, served sizzling with garlic ($15) and some bread ($6.50). The prawns had some lovely flavour from the spices, but was let down because of a lack of salt (it didn't taste like there was any, to be honest). As there wasn't any salt on the table it wasn't easily rectified. Anyhoo, it wasn't that big a deal and fortunately our mains didn't have seasoning issues.
After the prawns, Alastair and I both had seafood mains. We obviously hadn't thought about our food choices very carefully!
I had the ragout of mixed seafood braised in a sauvignon velouté with soft herbs, served in a case of puff pastry ($25). Pretty good. Creamy seafood, crispy puff pastry... Yum.
Alastair had the seafood linguini, which came with wild olives, spinach, prawns, calamari, shellfish, and mussels tossed in a lemon olive oil emulsion ($24). It was rather good – the fresh pasta was toothsome and the whole thing was tied together with the tangy oil.
And for dessert, we shared the flourless chocolate slice, with chocolate sauce and vanilla ice cream ($9.90). It was served warm and was a slice of chocolatety goodness.
Reasonable prices, and a nice setting made for a good evening out. I can't wait for my sense of taste to return so I can enjoy eating again!
Arcadia Gastronomique
152 Union Road,
Ascot Vale
Phone : 03 9375 2751
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