The Sharing House @ South Wharf Promenade, Melbourne – Sharing the Love for Food

By On May 21, 2012 · 39 Comments · In By Cuisine, By Location, European Cuisine, Food Reviews, Inner Southern Suburbs, South Wharf

I come from a culture where sharing food around the table is the norm. Sometimes, we would often share and eat around the floor, sitting on mats. Cutlery would be optional as we delved into rich curries and chilli paste with rice using only our God given utensils.

When I first moved to Australia, I stayed at the little community of Churchill in Gippsland (uhuh, country town!) and was surrounded by so many beautiful local Aussies who were so keen to show me that they too loved Chinese food. Imagine my shock and horror when we went out to the local Chinese restaurant and everyone ordered a dish each and ate the dish in its entirety (one person to one sweet and sour pork, lemon chicken, salt and pepper tofu) without sharing.

I remember once when my Malaysian housemate and I were making Chrysanthemum tea in the communal kitchen over a big pot, when two of our Aussie housemates came in and looked at us and promptly ran out to the lounge room shouting, “Come See! Come See! I-Hua is boiling flowers! SHE’S GONNA MAKE US DRINK IT!”. I had to give it to them though, those boys would try anything we cooked up in the kitchen. Even eating pan fried SPAM as well as green bean soup (a Chinese dessert – mung bean soup) before promptly declaring if they liked it or disliked it.

I wonder where they are now? (Hello Tom and Andy! *waves*)

It’s so nice to see that these days, “food sharing” is now a norm at a lot of restaurants. Indeed, it has become a trendy thing for most to dine out and have tapas styled dining.

When we first visited South Wharf Promenade for our progressive dinner and The Sharing House was brought to our attention, the Boy and I just knew we had to make a return trip to try their savoury items.

The last time we were here, it was cold, wet and windy. The Sharing House was the last stop of our progressive dinner and we only managed to try their desserts.

On our return visit, it was as though the seasons had changed, from winter to late spring. In truth, only a week had passed us by. Such is the insane Melbourne weather.

With the sun out and an entire Sunday laid out free to us, the Boy and I returned to Akachochin for lunch (to be blogged about soon) and The Sharing House for dinner.

Having heard from Thanh that this was a dish not to be missed, I had to order the Rabbit & Cauliflower Popcorn ($12.00) – Confit rabbit and cauliflower in Parmesan breadcrumb served with a roasted garlic aioli.

Indeed, this dish was so addictive I could just picture myself sitting on the couch, PJ’s on and a whole bag of these beautiful “popcorn”. Just me and the popcorn, no one else.

We next ordered the Gravlax ($12.00) – Ocean trout cured with apple vodka, various textures of apple and mustard creme fraiche. The Boy particularly loved this dish for all the different elements and textures of the humble apple.

The salty ocean trout when paired with the sweetness of the dehydrated apple, apple jelly and apple spheres made a perfect match.

Okay, let’s be honest. The main reason we ordered this was because I wanted to say THERMIDOR!!!!! What is it? The Thermidor ($19.00) is a single Morton Bay Bug tail roasted in the shell with dijon mustard and gruyere cheese.

The second reason we ordered it, was that the Boy likes his sea bugs very much. He is very much a big fan of lobster-like sea creatures and will when the opportunity present itself order them.

At this point, I was filling up (I know it doesn’t seem like a lot of food, but we’d only finished our brunch 3 and a half hours ago).

We perused the menu for the dessert items. Scouring it for the ones we missed the last time we were here.

Obviously, I had to order the Chocolate Delice ($14.00) – Chocolate mousse, salted caramel, vanilla ice cream which was amazing!

Don’t be fooled by its humble appearance. The chocolate delice is anything but. If you do have the chance to taste this dessert at The Sharing House, make sure you watch out for the surprise encased within.

I’m not going to give it away :)

Having had nearly all the items on the dessert menu, we had to order the last one to make it a complete set.

So we did. Just for you my dear readers (oh the things I do for my blog *heavens*!). We ordered the Classic Treacle Tart ($12.00) – with Meander Valley clotted cream, which we both decided as far as tarts go at The Sharing House, this wins hands down.

It was rich, with the texture quite akin to a thick fruit jam (think the pineapple filling of a pineapple tart). So so so good and sweet.

Again, I couldn’t help as I spooned the last treacle tart into my mouth, on planning my next visit back to The Sharing House.

We did try two weeks later, but the place was full and packed to the brim! They are getting very popular (good for them, bad for me ;( )

I can’t stop gushing about how much I love this place. I think a lot of it has to do with the quality of the food (ex-VdM chef, c’mon) and the bright and fun colours of the Duplo blocks that makes you just want to have a good time!

Top Tip!

Make sure you book, as I’ve heard that majority of their weekends are fully booked out at this stage!

I can’t wait to head back soon!

*Disclaimer: All food ratings & review are purely based on my own experiences and how I feel about the service, food and quality at the time of visit

Food/ Cuisine: Modern European
Dining Style: Restaurant
Overall Food Rating (Based on the Dining style): 8/10
Restaurant ambiance: 8.25/10
Service/ Attitude: 8/10
Value for money: 8/10

Opening Hours:
Monday to Sunday, 12:00pm till late

Address:
Shed 6
35 South Wharf Promenade
South Wharf VIC 3006

Tel: (03) 9245 9800

Twitter: @TheSharingHouse

Website: http://www.thesharinghouse.com.au/

How to get there:

Parking (*prices correct at the time of publishing):

  • South Wharf DFO Open Air Carpark (Off Normanby Road): Evening Flat Rate – Monday to Friday (entry after 6pm, exit before 6am) for $8.00. Check here for more parking rates.
  • Melbourne Convention & Entertainment Centre Carpark (Off Normanby Road): Evening Flat Rate (entry after 6pm, exit before 6am), Monday – Thursday for $12.00 & Friday for $14.00. Weekend Flat Rate is $14.00. Check here for more parking rates.
  • Crown Casino Carpark, check here for parking rates.
  • Wilsons Parking (Cnr Flinders and Siddeley Street): Evening Flat Rate (entry after 4pm, exit before 6am), Monday to Friday for $7.00. Weekend Flat Rate is $7.00. This carpark is located on the opposite side of the Yarra River (WTC side), use the bridge to cross to South Wharf. Check here for more parking rates.

Tram: Take trams 109, 96 or 112 and get off at stop 124A (Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre / Crown Casino) on Clarendon Street. Walk along the riverside, past the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre until you see South Wharf.

Train: Stop at Southern Cross Station and catch any of the trams above.

The Sharing House on Urbanspoon

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39 Responses to The Sharing House @ South Wharf Promenade, Melbourne – Sharing the Love for Food

  1. Julie says:
    May 21, 2012 at 11:52 AM

    That lego bill holder is sooo awesome =). I always love the idea of sharing food and your story reminded me when I dine out with a group of people I just met – everyone had their own dishes at a Chinese restaurant! You got me curious about the Chocolate Delice, is it pop candy ;) ?
    Julie recently posted..izakaya den

    Reply
  2. CheezyK says:
    May 21, 2012 at 12:00 PM

    Wow, I grew up in a family who took regular visits to the local “Chinese” restaurant and don’t believe we ever just ordered our own meal – it was all about the sharing. (I use the quotation marks because it was a very typical ’80′s Australian country town Chinese restaurant serving very Westernised msg-laden versions of dishes … still delicious though :) ).
    CheezyK recently posted..Last Night …

    Reply
    • Ms I-Hua says:
      May 21, 2012 at 6:17 PM

      Hee hee.. no idea, maybe it was just the one group I hung out with (but they came from all over, Frankston, Geelong, Bairnsdale etc).. so I thought it was a pretty common thing!

      Reply
  3. Nic@diningwithastud says:
    May 21, 2012 at 12:37 PM

    Oh that popcorn! It looks amazing!!
    Nic@diningwithastud recently posted..Thai Veg and Noodle Stir-fry with Steamed Chicken

    Reply
  4. Libby says:
    May 21, 2012 at 3:42 PM

    Oh wow, yum! I will take your advice and avoid this place on weekends. Going to see if I can convince a friend (who owes me dinner) if we can go here after work one day – though given how yummy the food looks, I would be very reluctant to share ANYTHING with him, haha.

    Reply
  5. Iron Chef Shellie says:
    May 21, 2012 at 5:13 PM

    Amazing photos! Need to get to South Wharf it seems I’m missing out on lots of yummy food!
    Iron Chef Shellie recently posted..Really Good Gingerbread

    Reply
  6. Fatboo says:
    May 21, 2012 at 5:26 PM

    I’m glad (and a little surprised) that area is becoming quite popular. Fakegf and I can stroll down there from home one evening and have a fake date night. ;) Some of the restaurants there had nice settings, it’s becoming a new nucleus of eating places, no?
    Fatboo recently posted..Vue de Monde

    Reply
  7. Michelle says:
    May 21, 2012 at 7:16 PM

    Wow, they even attempted green bean dessert without trying a sip first! brave!

    I used to feed my russian neighbours red bean dessert. they loved it. hehehee
    Michelle recently posted..Simply Cooking: Kimchi Fusilli (Inspired by D.O’s 김치 스파게티)

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  8. Hannah says:
    May 21, 2012 at 8:05 PM

    I love eating with my hands, so I think I would have fit right in at your childhood home. :D

    Oh my gosh, treacle tart! I’m so, so in :) And the gravlax, too…

    Reply
  9. Ames says:
    May 21, 2012 at 9:20 PM

    Looks like lots of fun! Can’t wait to visit after exams XD
    Ames recently posted..Green Eggs and Ham: Reinvented

    Reply
  10. Agnes says:
    May 21, 2012 at 9:58 PM

    Yep, I definitely need to revisit to try their savoury food. Damn austerity measures.
    Agnes recently posted..The week in brief: 14 May – 20 May

    Reply
  11. Cara @ Gourmet Chick says:
    May 21, 2012 at 10:25 PM

    I love the lego bill holder – so cute. Really want to visit the Sharing House now.
    Cara @ Gourmet Chick recently posted..South Melbourne brunch: St Ali v Chez Dré

    Reply
    • Ms I-Hua says:
      May 21, 2012 at 10:45 PM

      I keep banging on about it, cause I don’t want it to shut down. Judging from the massive crowd there on the weekends, I think it’s backfired on me, cause I now can’t get in :(

      Reply
  12. Popcornandtoast says:
    May 22, 2012 at 12:03 AM

    Rabbit popcorn!? I am so there.
    Popcornandtoast recently posted..INVITE:The Counting House; Mornington.

    Reply
  13. Vien @ We Dare Food says:
    May 22, 2012 at 3:14 PM

    When I was waitress-ing last year, I was really amused by Australian’s non-sharing style! And some table would order two of the same dishes because they wanted one each!
    Oh lordy! That treacle tart looks heavenly! Beautiful pictures! :D
    Vien @ We Dare Food recently posted..Dry Chilli Pan Mee (Spicy Broad Noodles)

    Reply
    • Ms I-Hua says:
      May 22, 2012 at 10:40 PM

      I know right? So funny! One person has a whole sweet and sour pork and the other has a whole lemon chicken.. it’s too funny!

      Reply
  14. MoMo & Coco says:
    May 22, 2012 at 10:10 PM

    I quite like this place…probably the best of the offerings in South Wharf. The rest are just meh.
    MoMo & Coco recently posted..Shocolate

    Reply
  15. TravelJunkie says:
    May 23, 2012 at 2:14 PM

    their food look so good and delicious, most especially the desserts! and i love their lego-childlike theme, so nostalgic. :)

    Reply
  16. Kristy Hans says:
    May 23, 2012 at 11:14 PM

    I really love all those foods. I love eating so I want to tasting and eating these awesome delicious foods. The foods make me hungry.

    Reply
  17. Daisy@Nevertoosweet says:
    May 26, 2012 at 6:32 PM

    I didn’t know there were so many nice restaurants in this area either :) And now that i’m working in Southgate it’s quite close hehe I can go after work YAY! Food here looks soooooo nice and i really like the desserts hehe I SO wanna try the treacle tart!!!

    Reply
  18. Thanh says:
    July 18, 2012 at 5:12 PM

    *gasp* how can people not share Asian food. Glad you liked the popcorn chicken too.

    Thank you tireless one for trying out all the food for our sake. *bow*

    Reply
  19. piggyeatalot says:
    August 16, 2012 at 9:54 PM

    Hey Ms I-Hua! Love ur post about The Sharing House (and laughed a bit about your non-sharing Chinese food experience years ago… and thank goodness the sweet and sour pork/ lemon chicken days are the only thing available in Chinese restos are long gone!)

    ANYWAYZ, I am a bit sad cos EVERYONE talked about that rabbit popcorn… but I couldn’t find it on the menu when I went! :’( Sadness.
    piggyeatalot recently posted..The Sharing House

    Reply

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