Ca de Vin

Melbourne GPO - Postal Lane, Bourke St Mall Melbourne 3000
Date visited: 19th July 2012

Usually, I avoid pasta whenever I go out.  I always have that paranoia that the pasta is grainy or doughy... however, I had the best pasta ever in Italy a couple of years ago and it didn't matter that it was more al dente than we would have it anywhere else - from the penne to the ravioli - it was all fantastic.  And when Masterchef Australia took their contestants to Italy last week, I was sorely reminded of this and hence the reawakening of my pasta craving.

Ca de Vin was our pick of the day.  We came in through the Bourke St entrance and was brought to our table.  Ca de Vin has a usual menu and the specials of the day, which are written on boards all around and on the walls.

Service wasn't the speediest - it was a while before our orders were taken.  However, I never had coffee come out this fast - literally within a minute or two of our order.  Our lattes were pretty standard, but came with a cute little biscotti.

Latte

There was another long wait for our food.  Now, it was pretty cold outside, but the heaters were blasting under the red tents.  OMG!  You would think they were preparing us all for the fires of hell - I felt like I was sitting in a solarium and the heat was seriously giving me a headache.  MerlinFan thought her face was going to peel off like the police officer in Silent Hill when she was being burnt to death.  

At least the food was worth the wait.  I chose the pumpkin risotto with basil, pine nuts, goats cheese and pancetta (optional).

Pumpkin risotto $23

The risotto was rich and creamy, but not particularly fluid - a little on the dryer side.  The balance of the flavours were great though - I loved the subtle taste of basil, chunks of soft pumpkin and goats cheese with the crunch of pine nuts and crispy pancetta for texture.

Traditional moussaka $28

MerlinFan had the moussaka, which consisted of layers of eggplant, potato, beef mince, béchamel sauce with mixed leaf.  One word - yum.

Overall, service wasn't the speediest and the portions are admittedly small for the prices, but taste wise, the food was a hit for me.



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