NUMBER 8
Crown Casino, Melbourne
www.number8atcrown.com.au

The number eight is a lucky one for Chinese people. I had a friend who paid a fortune for a number plate with that number in the licence plate she stuck on her Rolls Royce.

 

In culinary terms No.8 is a lucky place for foodies. I have mentioned this place before, at Crown Casino  on the banks of the Yarra, but it is a favourite dining spot of mine.

 

On a warm day you sit outside and watch the passing parade. Especially the kids splashing in the spouts of water from the computer-programmed fountains. In winter they have those gas heaters on.

 

Across the Yarra is the Melbourne skyline. It is a very relaxing venue.

 

Recently at No.8 I had the best Moreton Bay Bugs I have ever eaten. They were huge. Mini-crayfish. The flesh was tender and sweet and served with a jug of buttery sauce.  The seafood easily came out of the shell. Plus their traditional bowls of potatoes roasted with rosemary – and asparagus spears and boccalini.

 

Like many restaurants these days, even expensive ones, they do a two-course lunch for less than $35. And it is genuine. You can get two courses – plus a side dish – off the a la carte menu for less than what a main course would usually cost.

 

I mean, we had huge bowls of seafood chowder, loaded with mussels, as a first course and then four or five grilled giant Moreton Bay Bugs. It was a magic meal.

 

At No.8 the food is relatively cheap. The wine is not. They must have the best and biggest wine list in the country. It ranges from $34 a bottle to $14,000 a bottle for a bottle of French. I told my dining partner that for $14,000 I would rather take her to France and buy a bottle of French wine there. And that would include a night in a big bed in a Paris hotel!

 

We actually had two of my favourite wines at lunch at No.8. One I have savoured since the 1970s. A Tyrell’s Vat 47 pinot chardonnay at sixty bucks and my favourite red, Penfold’s Bin 407 at $55. That’s the drop they nick-named “Baby Grange”. It is divine.

 

You can probably buy it at Dan Murphy’s in a steal.

 

If the Chinese think that the number eight is lucky then so should Melbourne diners. It is a luxurious dining experience at No.8 from the minute you sit down to their bread and dips.

 

January 25, 2006