Note: March into Merivale launch party 2013 is now posted.
The March into Merivale Launch Party 2012 took place on the evening of 16 February with a fiesta of food and drink from the Merivale group of restaurants and a theme of “Eat My Words”. Massive crowds spilled into the Ash Street Laneway and upstairs at the Ivy Room with tickets to the popular event selling out in advance.
March Into Merivale Launch Party – Eat My Words
VIP guests were welcomed in the glorious setting of Felix with cocktails on arrival and wines, sparkling wines, beer and beverages throughout the evening.
Felix Bar, the VIP area
Cognac and Peach Bellini with champagne foam (top R) and Earl grey infused gin and citrus Martini with an apricot and orange marmalade (top L)
High attendance made it difficult to make way through the crowd with a estimated 1500 people attending the event. The popular El Loco stall had long queues forming for those patient enough to get a taste of the ” secret taco”.
Ash Street Laneway
Felix: lamb pie, sauteed mushrooms and tarragon jus; tasting of fruit de mer with lobster roll, oyster and prawn
Mad Cow: Barbequed rangers valley wagyu flank steak with spicy barbeque sauce; signature pavlova with strawberries and passionfruit
Musicians at Ash Street Laneway
Ash St Cellar: chicken and chorizo Argentinian empanada with salsa criolla; ash st cellar tart of the day with berries
Sailor’s Thai: grilled chicken satay with peanut sauce; beef curry with roti
Ms G’s: sang choy bao of cheeseburger springroll with potato chip mayonnaise; Vietnamese ocean trout ceviche with prawn crackers
El Loco: crumbed flathead pico de gallo, mayo, pickled chilli; ‘secret taco’; field mushroom quesadilla with chipotle mayo
Bite Me
Upstairs in the Ivy Room, where the remainder of the restaurant stalls were set up, it was even more difficult to manoeuvre around the crowd.
The Beresford Hotel: shellfish orechiette with vongole, mussels, crab, cuttlefish, squid, chilli, garlic, parsley and lemon; classic panzarotti in three different flavours
Entertainment and eye candy
Sushi E: snapper sashimi, ruby grapefruit, white soy dressing; wagyu beef confit with miso sesame sauce; spicy tuna “dynamite” roll
Bistrode: spit roast melanda park pig with raw fennel and lemon dressing; wagyu beef pie with homemade bistrode ketchup
El Loco margaritas – deliciously potent
Mr Wong (opening August 10 with Dan Hong & Jowett Wu): Steamed scallop shumai and Sushi Choo: creamy salon and avocado handroll, mixed seafood ceviche, vegetarian handroll
Uccello: vitello tonnato, piquillo peppers and caper berries; prawn and calamari salad with saffron infused orzo, olives, chilli, cherry tomatoes and parsely
David O’Brien (Merivale events executive chef): tuna carpaccio, foie gras butter, brioche, quail egg
Est: salad of sand crab heart of palm, avocado, chilli, pink grapefruit, coriander cress; mascarpone citrus cannoli, raspberries and violets
Some of the favourite dishes on the night include Felix’s lamb pie, sauteed mushrooms and tarragon jus, Sailor’s Thai’s beef curry with roti, Ms G’s Vietnamese ocean trout ceviche with prawn crackers, The Beresford Hotel’s shellfish orechiette, Est mascarpone citrus cannoli, raspberries and violets with the standout dish being David O’Brien’s tuna carpaccio, foie gras butter, brioche, quail egg.
Tickets to the launch party cost $20 and were redeemable for 8 food/drink tokens, and could be topped up on the night.
March into Merivale runs from Friday February 17 through until Thursday April 5 2012. The $33 lunch and dinner meal offers are back as well as an array of special nights and events showcasing the culinary talents of the Merivale chefs.
Merivale Restaurants: est., sushi e, Felix, Mad Cow, Uccello, Ash St Cellar, Sailors Thai, Sushi Choo, Bistrode CBD, Ms.G’s, The Beresford Hotel, El Loco.
http://merivale.com.au/
Previous Merivale Events on Gourmantic:
- March into Merivale Launch Party 2011
- Establishment’s 10th Birthday: X Marks the Red Party
- Merivale Feast for the Senses Launch Party
Gourmantic attended the March Into Merivale Launch Party as media guests. Photography by MrGourmantic.
[…] March into Merivale Launch Party 2012 is now […]
Great summary/pics from a fabulous event! RT @Gourmantic: March Into Merivale Launch Party 2012 – a fiesta of food &… fb.me/1n1GgKfxu
This comment was originally posted on Twitter.
I can’t stand crowded events like this normally is, but the food looks top notch 🙂 Who/what is Mr Wong…? Related to Ms.G’s? 😉
I thought the food was even better than last year. Of course, one couldn’t try everything but all the dishes were well presented and delivered on flavour. No idea who Mr Wong is… it was so crowded we barely could get around to all the stalls to take food photos let alone have a quick word to any of the chefs!
Edit: Please see post re Mr Wong.
Oooh, what a cool food event! The dishes look scrumptious. It would be so hard to pick what to eat!
It was a tough choice, and looking back I wish we had more time in between taking photos to savour more dishes!
We were disappointed they sold out. But looking at the size of the crowd, we wouldn’t have enjoyed it. It’s a shame. We went in 2011 and the crowd was manageable.
Hi Ben. A few people have said the same. Last year had better crowd control but I guess as these events gain popularity, it becomes unavoidable. Shame you missed out. The food that was showcased by the chefs was most impressive!