Moo-light in the Jardin

Gastrology bloggers attended the event courtesy of Jardin Tan.

Melbourne chef and entrepreneur Shannon Bennett has extended his passion for food fusion and reinterpretation to include craft beers that also put their own spin on traditional styles.

Bennett formally launched his connection with Tasmanian craft brewery Moo Brew at his newly established “Jardin Tan” eatery at the Royal Melbourne Botanical Gardens last week. 

Moo Brew – known for its five premium craft beers and unique sculptural bottles labelled with John Kelly artworks – was the brainchild of fellow visionary entrepreneur David Walsh; the man behind Tasmania’s world-renowned MONA (the Museum of Old and New Art). 

Bennett sees Moo Brew as a great match given their reputation for stylistic beers that transcends core styles – but with their own twist with Jardin Tan which takes French Vietnamese cuisine and imbues it with farm to table philosophy. 

Gastrology was pleased to attend the Moo-light in the Jardin media launch which featured John Kelly artworks plus some new, exciting Bennett sourced artworks from David Teplitzky including Sigalit Landau: 4 Love Heaters, 2012, Heater and neon light, various light installations, launch of the Banh-Mi bikes (custom-made bikes which will deliver food to Jardin patrons around the Tan), Moo Brew installations and styled food.

Mini bo la lot burger

We adored the perfectly matched morsels that went hand-in-hand with beer.

Prawn and sweet potato fritter with pickled green chilli

The fritters had a crunchy golden brown exterior and were succulently sweet - the nuggets of deep fried batter brought pleasure to our taste buds. 

Mark Eather lemongrass fish skewer

The skewers were another highlight. Sufficiently seasoned and flavoursome, the skewers had benefited from sufficient time on the grill to achieve the perfect degree of outer charring.

Vietnamese spring rolls, nouc mam Cham

Bo la lot: Beef mince wrapped in betel leaves

The bite-sized appetiser of betel leaf with beef mince was a medley of aromatic and acidic ingredients and was thoroughly enjoyable.

Crispy tofu, fermented chilli, lemongrass salt

Mini pork Banh mi 

The traditional Vietnamese pork banh mi was a delight. The crunchy bread roll was shimmered with pâté and mayonnaise and filled with generous serves of pork, topped with a salad of sweet pickled carrots, cucumber, coriander and fresh chilli. It was both fresh and very tasty.

We adored the Moo Brew beers. The Dark Ale was our favourite of the bunch. An American Brown ale using resinous hop flavour, the beer was rich and dark with caramel and chocolate notes with a lightly roasted finish - beautiful.

The evening concluded with a decadent array of beautifully made desserts...

With the beautiful  Royal Botanic Gardens as a backdrop, Jardin Tan is at once warm and welcoming. The delicious menu draws influence from the Vietnamese/ French fusion cuisine which makes it perfect for sharing with friends for any occasion whilst knocking back on some delicious Moo Brew craft beer. 

Location: Birdwood Avenue, Melbourne

Phone: 03 9691 3888

Link: http://www.jardintan.com.au/ 

Cuisine: Vietnamese, Cocktails, Coffee