Tag Archives: Noma

Igni, Geelong

P1180971Chef: Aaron Turner   Website: www.restaurantigni.com    Cuisine:  Modern Australian (charcoal)

When Loam abruptly closed its doors for good over two years ago I was rather annoyed with myself. I should have made the effort earlier to head down to Drysdale and I was kicking myself. To add salt to the wound many of my food contacts would often repeat how great the restaurant was. So when I heard Aaron Turner had decided to make a come back I wasted no time in getting a reservation to his new venture in Geelong. His new restaurant Igni promised to deliver far more refined food than Loam with a focus on using a charcoal grill like Lennox Hastie’s Firedoor. After a rather disappointing meal at Firedoor I was praying for something better.

P1180973The generous amount of space in a modest sized dining room made the dining experience a rather intimate one. The raw timber and simple designs of the furniture were reminiscent of Noma and El Celler de Can Roca where Turner had previously trained and polished his skills. There’s also no escaping from the intoxicating charcoal grill smoke that adds that rustic canvas to a modern decor. It took me back to my meal at Asador Etxebarri almost five years ago. P1190027Igni only had two degustation menus on on offer: a five course menu (AUD 100) or eight course menu (AUD 150). Turner only used fresh ingredients available on a given day so there was usually not enough of one ingredient to go around for all diners. To top it off, the chef also catered to each diners likes / allergies so each table was not likely to be getting the same dishes. We were perhaps not overly helpful when asked about likes and dislikes as all I could come up with was “No bad food, please”. As with most degustation menu options there were also matching wines available for both menus… Who am I to say no?

P1180978The bread on offer was supplied by a seventh generation baker based out in Warrnambool. It had a light and fluffy texture and disappeared all too quickly with…

P1180979… the smoked home cultured butter that really got our palate going. We subsequently had another two serves.P1180982Amuse Bouche 1: Air dried beef – The beef had been marinated in a concoction of mushroom soy sauce, grapeseed oil, vinegar, dried herbs and fish paste before being dehydrated. Delicious!P1180983Amuse Bouche 2: Salt and vinegar saltbush leaves – The saltbush leaves had been fried to a crisp and dressed with a vinegar powder. It was a healthier alternative to salt and vinegar chips and rather delectable.P1180984Amuse Bouche 3: Duck Crostini – A lovely fatty slice of duck ham wrapped around the thinner-than-usual crostini which was as texturally pleasing as it was flavoursome. P1180985Amuse Bouche 4: Chicken skin and cod roe – My personal favourite of the amuse bouche series were the crunchy roasted chicken skin that had a generous portion of cod roe with a hint of citrus spread across it and dressed in dill. This was exactly my kind of food. Comforting, different but most importantly delicious.P1180987Amuse Bouche 5: Guanciale – House made slices of guanciale.P1180988Amuse Bouche 6: Zucchini flower and pickled mussel – The zucchini flower had been stuffed with pickled mussels before being grilled over charcoal. This was the end of our amuse bouche segment. Not a bad start at all. Overall, some interesting textures, flavours and ideas. P1180992Course 1: Oyster, guava berry, sea water – Our first course consisted of a lightly roasted oyster that had been placed in a ceramic oyster shell with a salty sea water emulsion and guava berry juice. All the flavours worked well including the slightly tangy guavaberry which I had never tried before (apparently it goes well with rum!). The overall taste echoed the taste of the ocean. Light, fresh and mineral.

Matched with a glass of the 2014 Bodegas Bernabe la Amistad, Alicante, Spain

P1180994Course 2: Leek, cultured cream, dill – A fat piece of char grilled leek served with cultured cream, dill oil, saltbush and oyster leaf. I was not the biggest fan of this dish. I could see that Turner was trying to celebrate the humble leek in the same way the Catalan do with their Calçot, but I found it rather bland and at best slightly bitter. It looked better than it tasted.

Matched with 2012 Ben Haines, Encore, Marsanne, Yarra Valley, Australia

P1190004Course 3: Southern Calamari, broth, brook trout roe – This was a better dish. Raw thin calamari ribbons, dressed with a generous portion of trout roe and finished with a marron and chicken broth poured at the table. The broth had a good depth of flavour, perfect to be mopped up by the incredibly thin slithers of calamari. Its aroma was equally inviting.

Matched with 2014 Pierre Rousse, Le Pelut Dithyrambe, Languedoc, France

P1190007Course 4: Marron, pil pil, cucumber – Admittedly this dish divided us a bit. The lightly grilled marron was an odd combination with the fermented pickled cucumbers, yet the Basque pil pil sauce worked brilliantly well. Overall, however, there was one flavour that lingered in our mouth and that was the pickled cucumber. I thought it was a bit of a shame for the beautifully cooked marron.

Matched with 2014 Matassa, Coume de l’Olla, Blanc, Cotes Catalanes, France

P1190009Course 5: Lamb rump, parsnip, radicchio – A giant radicchio leaf dressed in a honey vinaigrette was placed over…

P1190010… a smooth parsnip purée and a piece of perfectly cooked lamb which was unbelievably tender and juicy. The honey vinaigrette worked well to balance the bitterness of the radicchio. Every element here was important in creating a very well balanced dish. I’m not easily impressed by red meat dishes but this was quite good.

Matched with 2013 Brendan Tracey, Gorge Seche, Loire, FranceP1190013Course 6 (Extra course at supplementary cost): Smoked duck, baby fennel, finger lime – Perhaps it was the caliber of the last course but we felt we could do one more meat course before moving on to the dessert courses. This was the best decision we made. The free roaming ducks sourced locally from the Great Ocean Road were aged for 21 days before being smoked. The crispy skin, the smokey meat, the bursting bubbles of finger lime. What a treat to the taste bud!

Matched with 2014 Mahana, Gravity, Pinot Noir, Nelson, New Zealand

P1190017Course 7: Old ewe, new ewe – Essentially a mixture of Roquefort cheese, mint and sheep milk granita. An interesting take on Roquefort but I would have much preferred a plate of good old Roquefort to be honest.

Matched with NV Tom Shobbrook, Salvia, Barossa, Australia

P1190021Course 8: Mandarin, cream, honeycomb – To my relief it wasn’t another cheese course but this time it was a bowl of mandarin sorbet, cultured cream, lemon drops and honeycomb using real honey for a change. Refreshing and great flavours from a tried and tested combination. A perfect course to make way for the finale.

Matched with Ginger beer and Heiwa Shuzo yuzu-su

P1190026Course 9: Seaweed, quinoa – A rather polarising finale of a sweet and sticky goats milk ice cream flavoured with seaweed, sandwiched carefully between thin and crispy quinoa wafers dusted with a green tea powder. I personally thought the dessert was a triumph. The umami and saltiness of the seaweed, the sweet and sticky ice cream and the slightly bitter green tea. It all just complemented each other.

Matched with 2015 Mukai Shuzo, Junmai Genshu, Japan & Ota Shuzo, Dokan, Ume-shu

P1190029Petit Fours 1: Madeleine’s coated in icing sugar to finish the dish off.P1190030Petit Fours 2: Roasted pineapples and physalis to draw the meal to a close.

Perhaps it was the friendly front of house who put up with my wanker food talk with a grain of salt and good humour, or it may have been the intoxicating smell of burning charcoal, but there was something in the air that made you feel at ease in Igni. The food was very serious but equally comforting and delicious. What was a pleasant surprise was that the food here was far more enjoyable and less pretentious than Firedoor in Sydney. Whilst we decided to drive from Melbourne, the station is only a few minutes walk if one wanted to partake in the very reasonable and excellent wine matching option too. It was a few years of waiting but I’m glad I finally had the opportunity to try Turner’s food. His future looks promising. Let’s hope he keeps this one open for a while. I certainly will be planning to return there a couple more times.

 

Noma in Australia, Sydney

P1180482Chef: René Redzepi     Website: www.noma.dk     Cusine: Modern Nordic

Noma and the Fat Duck were two of the first fine dining experience my wife (then girlfriend) and I had experienced in Europe so I thought it would have been very fitting if I managed to miraculously score a table for both pop-ups in Australia; and I did! Admittedly, my friend Sarah was the one who actually had scored the table at Noma as I had accidentally slept through my wake up alarm whilst traveling in Spain. It does appear that lady luck is still by my side in my culinary adventures. She didn’t abandon me for elBulli and the Fat Duck down under and she certainly didn’t here. We were two of the 5,500 lucky diners… and trust me you were well aware of the 27,000 strong waiting list breathing down your neck!! Fast forward a few months and here we were, having flown from Melbourne to purely indulge ourselves for the afternoon. I had very fond memories from my last experience seven years ago in Copenhagen and the staff warmly greeted us as they had before.

P1180487

After being greeted by Redzepi and his team of chefs, we found ourselves directed to our table in a cool and modern decor dining room. There wasn’t much of a view as the curtains were draped from top to bottom and we were oriented towards the service stations. This did have some advantages as it allowed us to observe the army of front of house meandering around the room as well as the reaction of each diner as their dishes were being served. This certainly worked at building up the anticipation. There was certainly a different type of dynamic here compared to the Fat Duck in Melbourne which was perhaps more discrete, not that I minded. With the meal paid upfront all we had to do was choose our beverage pairing option. I went for the matching wine option ($195) whilst my friend chose the matching juice ($95).

P1180489We opted for a glass of the Snakebite a la Noma, which was a significant departure from what I remembered from my students days. The producers from Two Metre Tall in Tasmania recreated this classic drink with an unusual barrel-aged cider-ale blend; the result being a rather crisp and refreshing drink that went down almost in one gulp perfectly quenching my thirst from the heat outside. Luckily the team here were as generous as always. Top up was plentiful at no extra cost. This was going to get messy. As the glass got topped up for the second time our friendly waitress Tamara explained that the meal today was celebrating the Australian native ingredients and produce. Intriguing. I was wondering what lengths Redzepi had gone to for authenticity. Perhaps he had wrestled a kangaroo to the ground himself (to which he assures us not this time later in the meal).P11804911st Course – Unripe macadamia and spanner crab: The first course was a broth of spanner crab from Western Australia with macadamia nut from Byron Bay, served over ice and drizzled with rose oil. I loved the marriage of the sweet and savory broth, the crunchy and sweet nut and the floral note of the rose oil (which to be honest, prior to tasting, I didn’t expect to work). The combination of the flavour reminded me of eating coconut on the beach while licking your lips wet from the salt water. P11804942nd Course – Wild seasonal berries flavoured with gubinge: A dish created from several types of native berries including muntries, riberry, kakadu plum, desert lime and lemon aspen, dressed finally with finely grated kakadu plum (gubinge) powder and olive oil. It was a rather tart dish that could have been balanced better in my opinion, making it my least favourite course of the meal. In comparison, I thought Attica’s take on the native berries was more refined.

P11804983rd Course – Porridge of golden and desert oak wattle seed with saltbush: This was a far more interesting and, most importantly, delicious course. The ‘porridge’ which was wrapped in celery oil compressed saltbush leaves, was made from two types of wattle seeds, the golden and desert oak. This playful take on Dolmades was completed by a sweet anise myrtle oil, native herbs and finger lime dressing. It was a very creative use of unconventional local produce which highlighted Redzepi’s ability to adapt in foreign environment. P11804994th Course – Seafood platter and crocodile fat: If, for some bizarre reason, you ever wondered what crocodile fat could be used for then Redzepi has the answer. A selection of five locally sourced molluscs were served over a bed of chilled pebbles, each one covered with a crispy thin wafer made from crocodile fat combined with the skin that forms on top of chicken stock. We were advised to start with the Pippi, followed by the blue mussels, strawberry clam, flame cockle and finally the oyster. My personal favourite was the flame cockle and the sweet strawberry clam.

P11805075th Course – W.A. deep sea snow crab with cured egg yolk: Undoubtedly one of my two favourite dishes of the meal. The snow crab, sourced from the deep sea south west of Western Australia (Albany), lightly steamed and extracted with as minimal interference as possible. The crab was placed over a bed of rich sauce made from…. wait for it… egg yolk from an egg that had been cured in fermented kangaroo juice (sounds worse than it was) and smoked butter, kombucha and rose. The fermented kangaroo juice required six months preparation! This was an unbelievably deliciously and rich course with its success attributed to the salty and luxuriously creamy egg yolk that surpassed even the curing techniques used in Japan (commonly in dashi and soy sauce) in my opinion. P11805086th Course – PIE: dried scallops and Lantana flowers: Another simple looking dish which could not have been more complex. The crust of the ‘pie’ was made using dried kelp to add umami into the dish. The main content of the pie was a scallop fudge made by slicing and drying a scallop before powdering it and mixing it with some bees wax. A layer of Lantana flowers were laid on the pastry before the fudge was set into the crust. We were advised to pluck the Lantana flowers and scatter it over the pie…

P1180511… which we naturally obliged. In the absence of a distinct smell, the edible flowers provided a lovely aroma to the dish and also cut through the rich slice of pie. All in all, the flavour of the pie was not too dissimilar to a very concentrated taste of scallop unlike anything I had eaten before. The crust crumbled like a sable biscuit and provided that important firm texture to the dish. It was an interesting dish although I was not quite decided as to whether I just liked it or loved it. It reminded me of a Japanese prawn cracker, and a good one for that matter.P11805137th Course – BBQ’d milk ‘dumpling’ Marron and Magpie goose: Our only meat course of the meal was something I had never tried before; a magpie goose. It is apparently a waterbird species from the wetlands in the Northern Territory. P1180514 This was another winner of a dish. Inside the palm leaf was a dumpling casing made from crisp milk skin, resembling more of a taco shell. The marron could be seen poking out, oozing with a ragu made from magpie goose. The entire dumpling appeared to have been grilled to create a smokey flavour. The magpie goose, it was explained to us, is a culled pest in NT due to their love of the farmer’s treasured mangoes. Even worse, they only eat the sweetest part of the mango!! Perhaps this explained why they had a rather sweet flavour to their meat. It didn’t take long for Sarah and I to devour this dumpling.

P11805168th Course – Sea urchin & tomato dried with pepper berries: Another surprise of the day was the source of the sea urchin. I was quick to assume this had been sourced from Tasmania but quickly corrected that it had in fact been sourced from Ulladulla, NSW. The sweetness of the sea urchin was remarkable and the tomatoes from Launceston were equally impressive. They had been cooked 30 mins on each side to get an equal amount of heat. The delicious morsels were placed in a soup of fermented tomato oil, pepperberry and elderberry.

P11805209th Course – Abalone schnitzel and bush condiments: The abalone sourced from Eden, NSW was crumbed lightly to create a crunchy texture that contrasted with the juicy and tender meat inside. We were presented an assortment of Australian bush condiments to try with the abalone, starting with mattrush, sea fennel, beach plants, native fig, neptune necklace, Kakadu plum, Atherton oak nut, sprouting kelp, yellow palm fruit, bunya nut, sea pearls and finger lime. On the side as well there was a small bowl of salty sauce made from celery oil and yeast. I wondered what had happened to the other half of my abalone. Given the number of condiments on the plate it was impossible to try each with the abalone.

That, ladies and gents, was the end of our savory dishes. Was it enough? No, I definitely wanted more!!

P118052710th Course – Marinated fresh fruits: Our first of three desserts consisted of Redzepi’s famed ingredient, ants. On this occasion we had native green ants coated around a mango sandwich although the lime-like taste we were promised was nowhere to be seen. We also had a watermelon cube soaked in Davidson plum sauce and my favourite of a pineapple cube soaked in Tasmanian Belgrove whiskey.

P1180528Some dessert plum and finger lime were also presented with a pepper berry twig as a utensil to pick it up.P118053411th Course – Rum lamington: A courageous move in my view as Australians generally prefer their lamington’s untouched but (and admittedly I am still a new Australia) I thought it was executed well. The light and airy lamington conjured from aerated Black Gate rum cake topped with shavings of dried milk on a native tangy tamarind sauce was a very well balanced dish.P118053512th Course – Peanut milk and freekeh ‘Baytime’: The finale was another homage to the Australia iconic “Golden Gaytime” ice cream which was one of the first thing my wife introduced me to when I arrived in Melbourne. They had wanted to call it a Gaytime but couldn’t (possibly for copyright reasons I assume) and instead called it a Baytime to reflect the location of the restaurant. Inside was a toasted freekeh glazed coating was a frozen peanut milk juice and a caramel centre. A twig of lemon myrtle was used as the stick of the ice cream, adding a subtle note of citrus fragrance. Impressive!

P1180540We were next provided with some dessert lime candies to go with our Ethiopian coffee which was excellent. Whilst I haven’t delved too much on the matched wine, I can share a few thoughts. Firstly, they are exclusively Australian and, in absence of a wine list, one can safely assume the choices are limited to the Sommelier’s suggestions. Secondly, there was a concentration of wine from South Australia and in particular the Adelaide Hills. I was surprised to find no Victorian or Western Australian wines. Thirdly, just as my experience in Copenhagen seven years ago, the offering is generous with at least a top up for each matching wine; so much so I was utterly intoxicated by the time we moved outside to have a digestive. Lastly, as dictated by the courses, it wasn’t surprising to find that all but one wine were white. On a completely separate note, my friend’s matching juice was in my opinion a far better match to the food as far as the compatibility factor went.

P1180541Since returning home the main question I keep getting asked was whether it lived up to its hype. To be honest this is something I’ve struggled to answer. There’s a certain intrinsic value of something that is so finite in supply, similar to our experience in the closing season of elBulli, that canvasses the sense of occasion. To that same token, comparing my meal here to the one in Copenhagen would be like comparing bananas with apples; the food was completely different. Overall there were a couple of knock out dishes and a couple less so. What excited me, however, was the opportunity to taste and celebrate Australian ingredients and produce in a way that I’d never come across before. The uniqueness in this occasion was that this was done through the perspective of a talented foreign chef. Redzepi was in a great position to present ingredients which to be honest I suspect no one would have even contemplated serving. This highlighted the diversity and abundance of ingredients found across the continent. For this reason, Noma in Australia was truly a unique and memorable experience like no other. The icing on the cake of course was the friendly service I fondly remembered from Copenhagen. So if you do get a chance, go. You may not agree with all the dishes but you will certainly have a unique and highly memorable meal.

Urbane, Brisbane

P1150068Chef: Alejandro Cancino    Website: www.urbanerestaurant.com   Cuisine: Modern Australian

At the tender age of 29, Alejandro Cancino already has an impressive résumé having amassed a wealth of knowledge and experience at big names like Mugaritz, Le Manoir Aux Quat’ Saison and Noma. To top it off he’s even added a Michelin star to his name in Japan. But he is not one to sit on his laurels. In just over a year since his arrival to Brisbane in 2012, Cancino has attracted quite a bit of attention from the culinary world in Australia, snapping up the title of Gourmet Traveller 2013 Best New Talent. What’s more, he has successfully retained Urbane’s Two Hats, and based on my meal in October 2013 it’s not going to be long before he gets the third.

P1150019I must have walked past the restaurant a handful of times before succumbing to the inevitably embarassing call asking for directions. I was told to look behind and sure enough it was there, 10 metres away. Having regained my composure, I entered the modern dining room which only had two tables occupied. I was the last person to arrive that evening; not a good omen. I knew Cancino was well known in Brisbane for hosting vegan events. Was that playing against him in a meat-loving nation? Given it was a Tuesday night I gave it the benefit of the doubt. After all, there was hardly anyone walking in the city. Little did I know what I was about to experience…P1150024To kick off the evening my friendly waiter for the night brought over a delectable range of amuse bouche starting with Duck Consommé, Tongue. I was advised to eat first the crispy tongue that had been sprinkled with a pink ginger and soy concentrated sauce before washing it down with the consommé. The intensity of the flavour of the duck was superb. A very modern twist to some classic flavours.

P1150026Another delicious morsel of Mussel, Saffron, Rye followed immediately after. The plump mussel from Noosa was perfectly complemented by the seasoning from the soy jelly and the thick texture of the rye crouton disc, finished off with a subtle saffron aftertaste.

P1150027Another bite size Pork Tail, balanced well with ginger and coriander with a ginger glaze. The dried pork jerky base released ample flavour and the small dose of tanginess from the coriander cut through the meat without overwhelming the palate.

P1150028If you’ve never tried snails, then Cancino’s Snail, Carrot would be a perfect introduction. It was a bit messy to pick up but the combination of the caramelised carrot purée with chicken glaze, garlic and walnut purée worked, in fact very well.

P1150033I couldn’t believe that none of the amuse bouche had disappointed yet, including the Oyster Wasabi. It was ingenius. The wasabi beurre blanc took the slight fishiness away from the Coffin Bay oyster with a momentary kick of heat, leaving only the sweetness and taste of the ocean.

P1150034The finale of the amuse bouche was the Cobia Sashimi rolled around a jelly of ponzu and soy sauce, topped with some freshly grated wasabi. The ponzu jelly cut through the fatty fish and left a very clean aftertaste. I was thoroughly impressed with the opening act but equally worried whether he would be able to maintain this standard across the rest of the menu.

P1150035The choice of bread for the evening was a sourdough sourced from a company in Woolloongabba…

P1150036… served with whipped butter. The bread was nothing special and slightly disappointing. I must admit that good home made bread is something which I have found to be lacking across fine dining establishments in Australia.

P1150038Cancino came out briefly to introduce himself before the main part of the meal commenced. I had to do a double take as the humble chef who came out looked so young. After a brief chat he excused himself before returning to the kitchen to prepare my first course of the evening, Spring, which consisted of a colourless tomato water, peeled heirloom tomatoes and spherified basil purée. Very clean on the palate and extremely refreshing. It came with a side of…

P1150042Crouton mounted with a glossy Jamon Iberico, anchovy paste and herbs from Cancino’s garden in the alleyway. I couldn’t fault the quality of the produce but I found the anchovy’s fishiness dominating the ham.

P1150043It was apparent that Cancino was taken by ponzu as he incorporated it another jelly form in the Octopus, Beach Herbs. The mollusc was seasoned by the jelly and salty rye crumbs that had been scattered over the avocado mousse. It was overall a bit salty but the textures and flavours of the dish were spot on.

P1150046A much more delicately balanced dish ensued with the Egg Yolk, Buckwheat, Shimeji. The earthy elements of the slow cooked hen’s egg and shimeji mushroom blended harmoniously with the smokey aubergine purée and salty lumps of chorizo. In case the buckwheat wasn’t enough to soak up the yolk there was also some fresh walnut bread. Divine.

P1150050The penultimate savoury course of Pork Cheek, Onion, Garlic was all about the alliums. From the variety of onion preparations including purée, consommé and roasted, to the garlic flower, garlic purée and ginger, this dish delivered punchy flavours. The consommé actually did remind me of the soba noodle sauce (tsuyu) although I was reassured that wasn’t the case.

P1150052The best dish of the evening was without a shadow of a doubt the Wagyu, Black Pudding, Carrot. The cut of the wagyu, sourced from Cabassi & Co in Queensland, was a pillow of the cube-roll and it was served with a black pudding sauce and carrot two-ways; pickled and roasted. The marbling of this cut was superb and took me back to the phenomenal dish I had at Ledoyen in Paris. The slight sharpness from the pickled carrot sliced through the rich beef. In my honest opinion, this steak was far superior to anything I’ve previously had in Australia including the big names.

P1150056As a palate cleanser a reconstructed Grapefruit was served. It was essentially grapfruit jelly set back on the skin of the grapfruit. It was very refreshing and not too bitter. It was so well made I initially thought that I was being served a slice of grapefruit!

P1150059Based on the first dessert, Local Pink Lady Apple, Lemongrass, Ginger, I assumed that pink lady apple was quite popular this time of the year! I had the apple served as a sorbet and also fossilised (dried using chemicals) although the texture of the skin was not to my liking as it felt a bit leathery. The ginger was nice and left a slight tingle on my tongue.

P1150061The final dessert course was Eucalyptus, Pain Perdu which I found rather uninspiring compared to his savoury dishes. The eucalyptus ice cream was delicious but I felt the mulberry foam and fruits did not belong on the same plate as it was bitter enough already.

P1150062Some tea made from Native Fruit Infusion to sip whilst I reflected on the meal I just had. The native fruits used were displayed by the tea for educational purpose only and included Quondongs, Rosela and other familiar fruits I came across at Attica a few months ago. I was surprised at how sweet the tea was.

P1150065The tea came with a valrhona white chocolate with Corsican mint. It was good as far as minty chocolates went but mint chocolate has never been my thing and I wasn’t going to change that night.

P1150067I went to Brisbane with little expectation and left the city enchanted. For a city that has never really been associated with fine dining, Urbane is a breath of fresh air. Despite his youthful looks, Cancino brings a wealth of knowledge, experience and passion to the local dining scene and he is a force to be reckoned with in Australia. And from our brief chat after dinner, I reckon he has only just got started here and is definitely one to watch. His enthusiasm for sourcing fresh produce and ingredients was contagious and his discovery in such a short period of time impressive. Let’s hope he sticks around for a while. If he felt like a change in scenery I’d be the first one to welcome him down to Melbourne!