Degustation at the Grove

 Because we had not gone out for Duncan's birthday I thought we should push the boat out at a degustation dinner. At $125 a head we hoped it would be a highlight and it did not disappoint. Many of these items I would never try cooking at home, Take for example the three Amuse Bouche that we had.

The one on the left is crisp pigshead croquette with a mustard creme. Yes that's right, they boil down the pigshead then pulp it up - there were even a few bristles in it!! it tasted surprisingly delicious. The one on the right was a truffle creme white mushroom. Third was tempura - Duncan had octopus in his while I had cauliflower.

We decided to choose our own wines by the glass, and were very pleased we did. You could do wine matching at an extra $80 a head, but at the table next to us they ended up with a huge number of half drunk glasses. We chose a  Grava reisling from Martinborough to start with, and then - a walk down memory lane as we had a  Achaval Ferrer malbec from Mendoza, Argentina.

The Swede Tagliatelle with fennel and orange began the first of the degustation courses.

Duncan had a seafood starter - kingfish with a crab stuffing.

Probably the most unusual dish came out next - Poached Egg Ravioli with a black garlic sauce decorated with blanched brussel sprout leaves. When you cut into the ravioli the semi cooked egg yolk squidged out.

The next course was sort of the main course and I think I could cook  this better - beef strips in Macadamias. 

The buns were a highlight - sort of bao buns then coated with a tasty glaze. Oops looks like the Malbec is going down well. I ordered one more glass and craftily shared it between our two glasses when the sommelier was not looking. That way we could have something sweeter with dessert.

What looks like lettuce is a sort of pistachio nut sponge, served with figs and buttermilk icecream. And to finish was the chef's special treat , and a weird conclusion to a high class degustation, but we ate it anyway.

 The courses were very light and fresh. and my

 bank account was a little lighter too. The service of the staff was superb but friendly.

Great night out, and within walking distance of our hotel.