The Botanical

By Franz Scheurer

It’s only been a few months since Cheong Liew took over the burners at the Botanical and not only has the menu changed, the whole philosophy behind the food is new and vibrant. Cheong’s food has always been different, as he calls it ‘Cuisine sans frontières’; food without borders, where methods and ingredients are happily interchanged. It’s a moving feast, ever changing, yet always Cheong Liew.

Last night we ate ourselves silly, mainly on ‘Sitting Ducks’ (Cheong speak for nibbles/entrées).

We started with ‘Seared Hervey Bay scallops with air-dried sea essence and beurre blanc sauce’, accompanied by a couple of oysters, a Pacific from Coffin Bay and an oyster Rockefeller. The scallops were an exercise in texture, with the sweet, firm meat contrasting with the gooey, rich Beurre blanc. The Rockefeller is full of Pernod and Absinthe; making is a little ‘taste bomb’. Don’t order a dozen of these or you’ll be non-compus-mentus before you really started your meal. Next the ‘Poached Tasmanian green lip abalone, thinly sliced served on scallop and squid ink sausage and heritage tomato salad with crisp ginger’ and ‘Victorian Loligo squid, pan seared with chilli, lemongrass and curry leaves’. Oh what joy! Abalone that are tender, full of salty flavours and a squid worth walking barefoot over hot coals for. A total surprise for the palate came next. Although the menu description sounded benign, in reality the ‘Olive fried octopus with steamed eggplant, pickled free-range egg and aioli’ packs a punch. Southeast Asian flavours combined with European technique at its best. The next dish was also my dish of the night: ‘Twice cooked Vermouth lamb’s tongue and duck giblets (confit then flash fried). A soft centred tongue with a crisp, spicy crust and unctuous, gooey giblets made this the taste-sensation of the night. Absolutely adored this dish! We finished the savoury part of the meal with ‘Five mushroom black chicken and goji berries clear broth’ and its peppery heat did exactly what it is meant to do; clean your palate.

Sweets consisted of Cheong’s all-time favourite black sticky rice pudding and a deconstructed apple pie and if you’re into sweets, neither should be missed.

A lovely bottle of Muscadet accompanied our meal and just when I thought it was safe to undo my belt only one notch, we started talking about hamburgers and the #burgerwars in Sydney last week. Wouldn’t you know it? It only took five minutes for a huge ‘Cheong Burger’ to appear at my place and I must admit, I ate most of it. It was superb! Succulent wagyu beef patty, with Cheong’s homemade BBQ sauce, dressed lettuce, onions, beetroot and a terrific bun that was both crunchy and crisp on the outside and soft and absorbent on the inside.

The Botanical is basically various places in one and Cheong has to cater for different budgets and eating habits. His burger is the perfect main meal for a late-night customer in his pub and it certainly is most generous, too.

Noise: 98 db

Would I go again: For sure; I would want to eat every single dish

Best dish: the Lamb’s tongues

Score: 8/10

For more information or bookings:

The Botanical

169 Domain Road

South Yarra

Tel.: 03 9820 7888