Ian's New Life Down Under: Weekend Degustation Lunch at Loam, Bellarine Peninsula

With just over three weeks until the big move to Canada, I wanted to get out of Melbourne for a weekend and eat somewhere that I couldn't go to any night of the week. Due to scheduling conflicts, degustation at the Royal Mail in Dunkeld was out (next time Gadget), but we were more than happy to secure a Saturday lunchtime booking at Loam, near Drysdale on the Bellarine Peninsula. It had been on my radar since a glowing review in The Age late last year, and has also recently been named by New York magazine Food & Wine on its list of '100 Best New Food and Drink Experiences'. The fact that chef Aaron Turner has spent time at Noma

in Denmark (the new #1 restaurant in the world) and Spain's El Celler de Can Roca (#4 on the same list, behind El Bulli and The Fat Duck) in the past year or two certainly gives it a decent pedigree.

After a takeaway coffee from Seven Seeds, we headed off down the Princes Highway. Loam is located on a dirt road not far from Queenscliff, Point Lonsdale and Portarlington, in a light-filled, spacious room - The Age article describes it well. It also makes mention of the service, which was impeccable - Jo, who described the ingredients with an unbridled enthusiasm ("oh, you need to see it" in response to our question about Black Turnip), and Aaron's wife Astrid, who listened to my childhood tales of picking Samphire by the bag on the North Norfolk Coast with immense patience.

We went for the 7 Course degustation (including matched wines), none of which was listed up front on a menu. Instead, we were given a list of ingredients in season, and asked to point out anything we didn't like. From there, it was a big surprise.

First up was a palate cleanser of Radish with a Coffee 'Soil' (a recurring theme, given the name of the restaurant.) From what we could figure out, the soil consisted of coffee grounds, with salt and sugar for extra crunch. Presented on a slab of slate, it looked beautiful, and I was dipping my finger into the soil long after the radish had gone.

Our first 'proper' dish was lightly sautéed Pine Mushrooms ("from a secret location) with silverbeet, all sitting on a pine needle infused yogurt. It was the latter that was the real standout here - a slightly-sour contrast to the rich earthiness of the other ingredients.

Next came a piece of Pink Ling, soused in Sherry and then pan-fried Medium-Rare. It came sitting on a Celeriac Puree, with Daikon Noodle and Cucumber. The fish was beautifully cooked with a crispy skin, and the puree was smooth and sweet.

The second fish course was the best-looking dish of the day - Barramundi on Pumpkin Puree with Brussels Sprout Leaves and little dots of Bread Sauce. If anything, it was a little similar in construction to the course that proceeded it, but you couldn't fault the taste.

From here, our food diverged (as you'd expect with one half of us being vegetarian). I had squab on a bed of rhubarb, covered in milk skin and seasoned with saltbush ash and samphire. I wasn't totally sold on the milk skin (too many bad memories of school dinners and custard) but the poultry was complimented beautifully by the tang of the fruit. Sarah was presented with a poached egg, cooked at 64 degrees for an hour, which came with a homemade miso. Simple, but apparently a highlight.

Next up for me was duck, served on heirloom beetroot with sesame and a sorrel leaf. If you'd have shown me a menu beforehand, I wouldn't have necessarily picked it as my likely favourite, but that's exactly what it ended up being. Sarah received a similar dish, with the duck substituted with roasted parsnip, and more milk skin.

Then came the cheese course - Ossau-Iraty (a semi-hard, 100% Ewe's Milk cheese) mixed with Spelt 'rubble' (AKA crumbled biscuits), on picked carrot and topped with tiny celery leaves. It was fantastic - the cheese crumbly and nutty, and the carrot providing the sweetness. Another highlight.

Over three hours after we first sat down, dessert came. And boy was it worth the wait. A quince parfait on a bed of Edmonds Honey (pale, floral and with a slight grain) and rolled in/surrounded by homemade honeycomb and fruit breadcrumbs, rich with ginger, and a topped with a small sliver of candied lemon. Each of us went with the smaller spoon to make it last as long as possible.

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I honestly can't praise Loam highly enough - the food is inventive but the flavours simple and uncomplicated; the service friendly yet passionate, and the view over the olive grove (which we walked around whilst waiting for our taxi back to Point Lonsdale) tranquil and serene.

Highly recommended.