Money Order Office

What: Money Order Office (aka M.O.O.)

Where: 2 Driver Lane (near the Crn of Little Bourke St & Elizabeth St) Melbourne VIC 3000

As part of the Melbourne Food & Wine, Restaurant Express Lunches I went to M.O.O. Unlike other lunches I had attended that only offer 2 courses & 1 glass of wine for $35.00, at M.O.O. they gave us 3 courses plus a glass of wine.

Definitely recommend going with a friend, and getting all 6 options they have on the Restaurant Express Lunch menu – then you can share them and enjoy a wider variety of dishes.

Entree:

• Poached Pear Salad: Composed of poached pear, wild rocket & Valderon cheese with a lemon vinaigrette (glorious, refreshing, great textures, perfect blend of acid from the vinaigrette and Valderon blue cheese) 
• Roast Pumpkin & Pomegranate Salad: Roast pumpkin with pomegranate, toasted slivered almonds, goats cheese & pumpkin puree (a very dense salad, but wonderfully colorful, full flavored, and who doesn't love pomegranates - especially when someone else has done all the effort of removing them from the pith)

Main

• Pork Belly: Twice cooked pork belly with Jamon, savoy cabbage & cider foam (the foam is like a sorbet, which acts with its acid to balance the fat of pork, however the Jamon proscuitto was a bit salty - which I think slightly dominated the other flavors)
• Tempura Monkfish: Tempura monkfish with saffron aioli & watercress salad (I mean how can you go wrong with tempura and aioli - very tasty and light, especially when paired with the pork belly)

Dessert

• Crema Catalana: Catalan's version of creme brulee (amazing, perfectly creamy, with nicely caramelized sugar on top - favorite dish of the day)
• Vanilla & Goat Curd Mousse: Served with spiced orange & figs (refreshing and interesting, glad I tried it, but not a repeat order when I go back)

Wine

• 2009 Sally's Hill Pinot Noir (mature, full and round, fantastic)

Review:

Best value of the festival for me

The ambience is perfect for a date, good lighting, friendly staff, and nicely decorated. And AMAZING WINES.