Buvette

After a fabulous savoury course, it was time for the sweets. We had tried to pace ourselves, but ended up only trying the least portable desserts, and getting the rest takeaway (thank you Buvette!). I started with the lemon meringue tart, as the lightest of all the flavours. The meringue was so glossy and soft, it just melted away into the sweet pastry and delicious lemon curd base. Yum. Next up was the profiterole – now usually I’m not a huge fan of these, as they can be bland compared to other sweets, but this one had such great quality chocolate and a caramel-flavoured filling, that it has change my mind about what a good profiterole can be. The tiramisu was a highlight, although by then I had reached dairy saturation, so only tried the coffee-and-liqueur-soaked cake – it was stronger on the coffee than the liqueur, which was probably good to counteract the sleepiness from so much eating. Of the sweets I took home, I particularly liked the strawberry friand – it had great flavour and actually smelt really great too – and the salted caramel square was also divine. Highly recommended for a special occasion, or just to celebrate the weekend!

Buvette, Hotel Realm, 18 National Circuit, Barton ACT, http://buvette.com.au/

Buvette

Buvette’s Petit Feast has become the hottest new thing for Canberra foodies to indulge in – and what a treat! My friend and I booked a few weeks in advance and were delighted by the whole experience ($65pp). I’ll post about the sweets separately, but on arrival you start with the savoury course, served with a glass of rose and a separate plate with your oyster. The oysters were huge, although they had probably the strongest oceanic flavour of any oyster I’ve ever had, so it might not be to everyone’s tastes. We started with the finger sandwiches – the top two were salmon, the bottom two tomato and cheese – which had been made fresh and were both light and tasty. Next up was the spinach and zucchini quiche, which had very short, sweet pastry and a luxurious, silky-smooth filling. Yum. The tiny beef pies were elegant and flavoursome, but I was particularly excited for the cold meats. The jamon definitely stole the show (my friend’s pick of the whole feast) and was closely followed by the guyere cheese, which was so tasty we kept our leftovers for the doggie bag. The manager came to check on each table (very classy) and told us it was imported from France. The olives were also a nice respite from the richer items. Stay tuned for the sweet course…

Buvette, Hotel Realm, 18 National Circuit, Barton ACT, http://buvette.com.au/