By Amanda – On The Chopping Board
:: 27 Kensignton Road, Norwood
:: (08) 8331 7199
Another Saturday, another lunch! This time a friend selects the location, so I’m a little apprehensive as I’m usually the venue decider but I throw caution to the wind and look forward to a new discovery! The three of us arrive at Vileroy at 12pm and we are the first customers to arrive for lunch. We are guided to a window seat and are provided with table water while we peruse the menu. It is very quiet until a few more tables fill over the course of the lunch but an air of sophistication fills the room when a couple of local female newsreaders dine at the table next to us!
Looking for something relatively healthy on this occasion I order the ‘Miso Poached Chicken Salad’. Not only did it look pretty on the plate but it also tasted fresh, healthy and delicious. The extra wedge of lime on the plate was a lovely addition to all the finely chopped vegetables and herbs. The miso poached chicken was shredded throughout the salad, tender, juicy and had lots of great flavour.
My friend ordered the ‘Blue Swimmer Crab Cakes with Kaffir Lime Mayonnaise’. She was expecting them to be the flat cake version but instead they were crab balls! After taking her first bite the shape became irrelevant as the crunch of the outer and the creamy tasty inner won her over! She thought the perfectly cooked crab cakes were the best ones she has had in a very long time. A happy customer here!
My other friend ordered the ‘Chicken and Vegetable’ soup of the day which came with a thick slice of grilled bread. She really enjoyed the soup as it was filled with nice delicate pieces of chicken throughout and the vegetables were cooked perfectly! Overall a very warming and healthy tasting soup.
We weren’t going to order dessert but then we saw the menu and all that changed! As we were not able to decide on one dessert each, we decided to order three desserts and share. I start with the ‘Lemon Curd Meringue Roulade with Mango and Passionfruit’. The meringue is perfectly soft with a lovely slight outer crust. The lemon curd is very subtle. I’m not sure if the mango and passionfruit distract from any tartness the lemon curd had but you couldn’t really taste it. Overall an easy refreshing dessert to eat.
I then start on the ‘Apple Tart Tartine with Ice Cream’. This is my favourite dessert of the three. The apples are perfectly caramelised, deliciously sweet and hold their shape well. The pastry is soft and buttery and the ice cream and caramel sauce on top makes for the perfect accompaniment. This dessert was hard to share!
I lastly dive into the ‘Belgain Chocolate Fondant with Sparkling Shiraz Black Berry Ice Cream’. I am a massive fondant fan and so I am glad that the centre was perfectly oozing as it should with a lovely silky smooth chocolate centre. This fondant is cooked well but I would have loved even more rich Belgian dark chocolate flavours, as for me it wasn’t chocolatey enough. It was lovely to see a different flavoured ice cream paired with the chocolate fondant rather than the standard vanilla. I think it paired well especially with the shot of berry coulis to add some tartness to the sweet flavours already on the plate.
Vegetarian/Vegan Friendly :: One vegetarian lunch menu item
Child Friendly :: I think it is more of an adult ladies who lunch/brunch venue.
Ambiance :: 3.5/5 Started very quiet but the atmosphere grew over the course of the afternoon.
Service :: 4/5 Quick and friendly.
Food :: 8/10 Simple food executed well and beautifully presented.
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