Gladioli; Inverleigh.

Gladioli
14 High Street
Inverleigh

organic butter // rye, white, sourdough

Torquay for the weekend, on such short notice, Loam was booked a good 6-8 weeks out. Right off Hamilton Highway, a bright dining room at lunch. We went with the eight-course tasting menu, tacking on an extra course that was on the five-course.

beetroot gel // green tea cloud // trout mousse

Shiny cool earthy beetroot gel, with a caramelised onion crisp and heady parmesan, both grated & crisp.

A soft pillowy cloud, nutty from the sesame seed, of sweet & savoury.

Balsamic pearls nestled in creamy trout mousse, with a cracker of the sea.

kingfish, konbu, apple, rice, wild rice

A promising start, this was gorgeous to behold. Paired with a spanish wine, refreshing, not unlike a Riesling. Fresh kingfish, black & white sesame & light rice puffs, a warm dish, with a clear konbu consomme gel. With white apple crisps & delicate garlic blossoms. Each mouthful as precious as it looks.

trout, cucumber, daikon, avocado, lime

The cool clean cucumber ribbons & pearls tempered the citrus cured trout nicely, with a saltier edge, sleek & oily, with the roe. Held together by the creamy avocado mousse. Paired with a fruity Austrian wine.

snapper, rye, chicken, mussels, red peppers

The snapper, drier than we hoped, with crisp golden skin. The mussels were gorgeously soft & fresh of the sea. A cream of chicken buttermilk foam, a skeleton of crisp bread & sweet bursts of capsicum - a dish clumsier than the others.

chicken, scallop, corn, faro, asian mushrooms

The chicken, moist with a crisp skin, with a creamy sweet corn puree & scallops.

western plains pork, pumpkin, fennel, yoghurt

The pork - as divine as it looks, with a crisp golden coat, luscious fat, and a piece of crumbed gelatinous pig’s ear. Pork & pumpkin, a fondant & a puree, sweet & velvety, both broad on the palate.

From fish, to chicken to pork. No stone left unturned, beef & duck follows tomorrow.

The start to our afternoon was the most promising, while the others never quite hit the same highs as the kingfish & the trout.

duck breast, pearl barley, mustard, hazelnuts, raisins

Tinged pink, the succulent duck - perfectly summed by its counterparts. The earthiness of the grain, the nuttiness, the smokiness from the lardo - a shiny glaze, the sweet stickiness of the raisins.