Rifle Brigade Hotel
137 View St
Bendigo
03 5443 4092
Another gem located at the top end of View St art precinct, recently taken over and restored to its past glory. The bar at the front has a pub rowdiness about it, which contrasted greatly with the restaurant’s dim lit warm, chatty vibe dining section.
Roast Duck ($20.5) – with roasted mushroom, baby spinach & semi-dried tomatoes in a rich orange & plum broth, tossed through penne pasta.
Roast Duck penne pasta
The duck meat was very tender, with a thin layer of tasty duck fat (Note: only thin layer, so not particularly artery clogging.) infused with star anise. The duck certainly had a strong resemblance to the Cantonese roast duck. The plum & orange broth (particularly the plum) gave a rich & complex savoury-acidic-sweet component that really helped bring together the juicy mushrooms, wilted spinach and acidic sundried tomatoes. This Chinese-European fusion dish really left a pleasant savoury dimension which lingered on the palate. Though one small thing, the broth was a tad oily for my liking (at least for a more Asian-style broth anyways =P).
Rating: Yummy +1; certainly would return to try more of their menu.
Unpleasant: damn upset my desire to eat; Average: palatable but many shortcomings; Yummy: a pleasant experience; Yummy +1: mouth-watering like rain; Yummy +2: exquisite flavours that hit all the right notes; Divine: sheer culinary perfection!
Almost Always Ravenous 