At the start of October I was invited to Piqueos South American restaurant to try out some new dishes for their Spring menu, before they were unleashed on the general public. I'd been following co-owner Shaun Burke on Instagram for ages, and had been meaning to make a visit, so I happily accepted the invitation!
Piqueos
298 Rathdowne St
Carlton North, VIC 3054
Ph: (03) 9349-2777
I happened to rock up a little early (how unlike me...!), so sat at the bar and nursed a saketini: a mixture of cucumber, sake and pisco. It was quite strong and very clean tasting - it worked well as an aperitif, and was a nice way to start the evening.
Saketini - sake, cucumber & pisco |
Piqueos |
The first courses were matched with an Argentinian white wine, an Amalaya 2013 Torrontés / Riesling blend from Valle de Calchaquí. It had a fruity and perfumed aroma but was still quite dry, and it matched the light spiciness of the first two dishes well.
Tiradito - Salmon, pisco, radish and aji amarillo |
The first course was salmon cured in pisco with radish slices and aji amarillo (a type of chilli). The salmon slices were very fresh and soft, and I liked the addition of the crunchy quinoa around the edges.
Humita - Corn husk filled with char grill corn and cumin |
The next dish we tried was a humita: a corn husk filled with char grilled corn and cumin. I can't say it was the world's most attractive dish, but it sure was delicious! Kinda like a spicy smoky creamed corn. This was the only dish we tried that night that hasn't made it onto the permanent menu - a real shame because it tasted great! Perhaps the presentation was a little too, um.. challenging for most customers.
The next two courses were matched with another Argentinian wine, this time a red - a Colonia Las Liebres 2012 Bonarda from East Mendoza. It was quite light and went down easily.
Bondiola - Pork neck, dark beer and sweet spices |
The bondiola was a highlight for me - the pork neck was very tender, and the sauce had a great mix of slightly bitter beer and heady spices. I would definitely suggest ordering this!
Palmito - Palm heart, tomato, olive and burrata |
The accompanying salad was also impressive. I enjoyed the freshness of the tomatoes and sharp olives against the creamy burrata and mild palm hearts.
And then it was time for dessert...
Picarona - Sweet potato and pumpkin donuts filled with chocolate |
These donuts were awesome! A light and fluffy dough dredged in crunchy spicy sugar. I could have easily polished off a whole plate of these. (And I'm super lucky Jess gave me one of hers, muahaha). They came with a really lovely Uruguayan sweet wine (I believe I described it as "ridiculous" on Instagram!), a Alcyone Reserve 2007 Tannat by Viñedo de Los Vientos. It was sweet, sticky and rich, and a perfect match for the donuts.
And there may have been a couple of shots before the evening was through... I blame Jess!
Pisco |
Cheers! |
Thanks to Shaun Burke and Dave Mills from Piqueos for the invitation and the fun night!
Sarah attended the Piqueos Spring Menu Launch as a guest.
2 comments
I'm super disappointed that the corn didn't make it onto the permanent menu - it's one of my favourite veggies, especially when it's buttery and chilli at the same time.
ReplyDeleteAwww I totally would visit based on the humita alone! The picarona sound like a worthy consolation though.
ReplyDelete