Luxbite – cakefest

Posted by Almost Always Ravenous on July 4, 2011 · 15 Comments 

{Luxbite}
38 Toorak Road
South Yarra, 3141
03 9867 5888

Not long following a satisfying macaron fix, a sugar-crammed-cake-fest was already in the making. In view of Luxbite being a relatively small space, it would not have been viably possible to fit in more than a small group of 10, so it was essentially first in best dress!

As the name suggests – cake-fest – this was to be a cake driven theme, meandering away from its other big draw card: macarons.

A few savoury courses from their new exciting breakfast menu to begin with…

Amuse bouche of chawan mushi – A smooth velvety custard of egg speckled with sliced shitake and enoki mushrooms, spring onion, with a small hint ginger. Actually I lie; this item is NOT on their breakfast menu as yet.

Vegobite – A hearty but over-seasoned display of fleshy mushroom, gooey poached eggs, spinach, tomato, cute little bites of poppy seed on pumpkin cubes. The greens on the plate (aka spinach) imparted a lot of salt, leaving thoughts of dehydration…

Meatbite – served in red earthenware, the baked beans with poached eggs has hidden underneath lovely slices of well cooked pork belly. Aside the baked beans little on the softer side, this was pretty popular amongst the table.

Now the sugar degustation officially begins…

{Craving series} – A selection of cake slices from the cravings series…

Epic chocolate cravings (left) – an immensely rich, almost ganache-like chocolate cake with a lovely hazelnut crust and salted-caramel-filled liquid sphere.
Cheese cake cravings (background centre) – the lemon scenting within the cake complete with dusted strawberry provides an element of acidity against the rich dairy content.
Caramel cravings (right) – Sandwiched between a devilishly dark chocolate layer and coconut base, the thick layer of caramel had enough syrupy goodness to satisfy my sugar / caramel cravings in one bite.

Luscious and decadently enjoyable in small amounts, but dare I say, luckily these were designed to be shared on the menu. Otherwise there would be no space for anymore courses!

{Sweet bite} Warm buttery waffles served with quenelles of soft velvety honey butter and golden syrupy pears (actually I can’t be sure if they were pears – forgot). The combined elements together seemed to resemble hot cross buns, not sure why that is.

{Palate cleanser & Tart series}

Three mini tartlets tailored especially for this event, consisted of the: Pining for passion (bottom right) made with a crispy short base lined with a thin film of chocolate, filled with a custard of passionfruit and topped with caramelised pineapple – this was my favourite of the series, offering a tangy twist alongside a buttery heaven; Apple iTart comes fresh from the oven filled with the sweetness of warm apple and a crunchy crumble; Lemon meringue (bottom left) has a buttery pastry base and a slightly browned meringue roof with a soft gooey meringue and lemon curd centre.

Being not too sweet and bite sized, I thoroughly enjoyed the tart series. I especially appreciate the little details in the thin lining of chocolate within the tarts, setting them apart from traditional versions.

Palate cleanser – This granita of guava atop a layer of ‘green’ panacotta was a highly welcomed intermission, providing cool, wholly refreshing icy granules of not-too-sweet acidity. The ingredients in the panacotta came as surprise –pandan and tamarind – providing a silky, creamy, gently fragrant addition to the palate.

{Love series}

Supersized love – this enormous macaron is supersized with a rich hazelnut and chocolate ganache filling that oozes out the sides as you bite into it. There is some resemblance to the ferrero roche, with the hazelnut and chocolate combination but has an added textural component from the light chocolate meringue.

Oriental love – whole juicy bites of banana spheres coated in a thin film of syrup, a central dollop of pandan cream and passionfruit curd, all sandwiched between a delicate coconut meringue. A sprinkle of peanut brittle adds an extra note of crunchy joy. I absolutely luuuve this!!!

By the time we reached this course, most of us had already requested for take away boxes in a real fear of not being able to get through the designated menu. In fact aside the initial savoury and cravings series, a consecutive of 4 courses (including the next course) were all individually served. Being the notorious ravenous eater, I held firm, and ploughed on not transferring anything to the take-home box… =)

Bread & butter pudding (left) – A new twist on an old favourite – bread and butter pudding – served in a ramekin of earl grey and peppermint. For those who enjoy earl grey and peppermint will most likely enjoy this combination a lot more than I did. Nonetheless I delighted in the buttery pudding …

ET (right) – I can’t remember whether ET stood for extraterrestrial, but it sure looks alien enough to me with a medusa like head on a round pudgy body. The head is in fact a conglomerate of popcorn slathered in a sticky salty caramel – something I could snack on all day. The body is a chocolate mousse covered in a dark chocolate ganache. It is so buoyantly light that it quite literally collapses on itself upon eating. Wonder how it keeps its shape?

Unfortunately, by way of its placement near the end of the degustation when our tastebuds had had its quota for sweet things, most of us were left with an impression that this was insanely decadent and heavy. Anyways, that’s just my theory.

It was to our great horror that there was still two items to go…

Meringue monster – Encased in a gooey meringue are two layers of mousse finished off with a cake base. A spoonful of it gives a timed delay on the palate – with an initial hit of watermelon then strawberry (actually I could be wrong with that order). I enjoyed the insides of this meringue monster so much so that having finished our half of the table’s serving, I started spooning from the largely untouched one from the other side of the table. INSANITY I say! This is what happens when your mouth doesn’t listen to your stomach…

Surprise: PMS – In case you were wondering, NO, the final surprise item does not stand for premenstrual syndrome, but actually stands for the polenta, mandarin and saffron mousse used to make this item. If you’re a fan of chocolate mousse then this is the way to go – mousse giant!

Rating: Yummy going onto +1 for the sheer sugar high experience – ultimate coma!

My most memorable items included the guava palate cleanser, oriental love and the meringue monster; and the ET is definitely also worth trying – if not just to simply admire how it keeps its form, despite being so soft and almost liquid like.

For all those looking to have a sugar coma, please refrain from eating as much as we did, for the sheer quantity and excessive gluttony made it a tad difficult to fully appreciate each course with enthusiasm. Not to say we weren’t gleefully over the moon. Happy stomach yes, clear mind no… =P

[Many thanks to Luxbite for hosting this event, Thanh for helping to make it happen, and everyone who came for making it an enjoyable trail of sugar gluttony and delirium]

For more sugar comas see: Cutler & Co, Luxbite macarons, Ganache Chocolate, Parisian Patisserie.

Filed under Blogger events, Breakfast, Coffee, Dessert, French, South Yarra, Yummy · Tagged with cake, cheesecake, granita, macaron, meringue, pandan