Spring is well and truly upon us now in terms of produce available at our local markets. As part of this year’s Spring Put Victoria on Your Table event, Melbourne Food & Wine  have put up a couple of events to run through the month of September.

One of these events features Prahran Market and Oakdene Wines at Ayatana in Windsor.

Along with a few other bloggers, The Boy and I were invited to a preview of this dinner (to be held on the 24th of September 2013).

Ayatana is a modern Thai cuisine and wine bar that has set up shop at the part of Chapel Street which is slowly transforming into a place to visit for food and drinks.

With a beautiful 5 course dinner menu featuring produce sourced from the nearby Prahran Market, Ayatana’s Spring Graze menu certainly hits the spot.

We certainly loved the vibe and feel of the restaurant as well. Dark, intimate and cosy without losing elegance. The staff were also very friendly and courteous.

[from top left to bottom right]

First Course: Hot & Sour Portobello, Flat & Button Mushrooms Soup with Pumpkin, Sweet Potatoes, Galangal, Lemongrass, Cherry Tomatoes, Vegetables. Sourced from Damian Pike.
Paired with 2010 Oakdene ‘Yvette’ Methode Traditionelle Sparkling.

Second Course: Sweet Crunchy Roasted Tamarind Bio Dynamic Brown Rice Salad with Crushed Cashew Nuts, Green Apple, Bean Shoot, Mint, Coriander, Red Onion, Crispy Noodles, Mixed Salad, Flying Fish Roe. Sourced from Ripe the Organic Grocer.
Paired with 2012 Oakdene ‘Jessica’ Sauvignon Blanc.

Third Course: Caramelised Crispy Free Range Berkshire Pork Belly (Greta Valley Free Range Certified Pork) with Chilli Jam, Lime, Mint, Coriander, Red Onion, Fried Shallot. Sourced from Gary’s Quality Meats.
Paired with 2012 Oakdene ‘Peta’s’ Pinot Noir.

Fourth Course: Slow Cooked Sher Wagyu Rump Massaman Curry with Roasted Cashew Nuts, Sweet Potatoes, Fried Shallot, Cinnamon, Star Anise. Sourced from Neil’s Meats.
Paired with 2010 Oakdene ‘William’ Shiraz.

Fifth Course: Salted Caramel Ice Cream Sundae with Caramelised Slices of Steamed Banana, Crushed Cashew Nuts. Sourced from Fritz Gelato.
Paired with 2012 Oakdene Pinot Grigio.

Our definite favourite dish of the night would have to be the second course of the brown rice salad. It was so delicious I wanted to immediately replicate it for my future meals! The pork belly dish was also very good and I scored extra pieces from The Boy who was saving space in his belly for the wagyu dish.

Not having tried the wagyu massaman curry, I can verify that the table as a whole enjoyed the dish as they were all saying the same thing. The curry was delicious and the wagyu was perfectly tender and wonderful.

The Boy and I were pleasantly surprise and our expectations blown away as we were not expecting to find good Thai fare down that part of town. The food served at Ayatana certainly had class, finesse and the ability to mesh both classic Thai dishes with slightly modern twists.

The Ayatana Loves Prahran Market dinner is on for one night only, so get in quick 🙂

Details of Ayatana’s Spring Graze:
Date: 24th September 2013
Time: 7:30pm
Price: $95 per person

For other delicious summaries of this dinner, visit:
Gastrology
MEL: Hot or Not
Second Helping

[Ms I-Hua & The Boy attended as guests of Ayatana and Little Big Marketing & PR]

*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: Thai
Dining Style: Restaurant

Opening Hours: 
Lunch: Thursday to Saturday, 12:00pm to 4:30pm
Dinner: Monday to Sunday, 5:00pm till late

Address:
97 Chapel Street
Windsor VIC 3181

Tel:(03) 9533 8813

Website: http://www.ayatana.com.au/

Twitter: @Ayatana_Windsor

How to get there: