HIGH TEA WITH A TWIST AT OM NOM

What makes Om Nom stand out from your usual Hotel restaurants, is its decor and menu. The feel is cool, with a black back drop and golden mirrored bar, with comfortable couches, chairs and a myriad of different pieces of art to catch the eye. Definitely a place where you can catch up for a drink or two with friends, or enjoying a quieter dining experience with a twist.

On the weekend, Om Nom serves up its innovative High Tea with delicious and delicate morsels of savoury bites to beautiful artisan pastries that have been created with the utmost attention to detail and taste. Challenging the status quo means that as a guest, you’ll experience things you would have never expected and leave satisfied that new things bring new experiences.

The chef behind these delectable High Tea delights is business woman turned Head Chef and Dessert Extraordinaire, Christy Tania. The French trained chef’s journey to Om Nom is not your normal story, and I think that because of this journey, it has allowed Christy to be a bit bolder in her choices of what she puts on the menu. Christy’s background comes from the corporate world, specifically at IBM where she spent a significant period of her working career in project management. Realising this wasn’t her passion, Christy quit and followed her dream by moving to Paris and learning how to create gastronomical delights both of the savoury and sweet variety. Following her dream has led Christy to some of Melbourne’s top restaurants including Sake and Vue de Monde, and finally to Om Nom where she has been able to do something very different and ‘push the envelope’ with her food.

Om Nom has a relaxed feel and the focus on the High Tea is on the flavours created in the menu. When we visited Om Nom, a beautiful three tiered High Tea tray came out with quickly identifiable sweet treats on the bottom level of the tray, and some interesting savoury items on the other two layers. I wanted to eat them all right there and then – it was a mini degustation menu in front of me and I honestly didn’t know where to start!

The savoury items included P

oached Bug tail with sweet & sour sauce which was delightfully skewered on the sauce dispenser (inject the sauce while you eat), Vegetable Tempura with Soba Noodles in Dashi broth, Foie gras macaron and  Vol au Vent with Mushroom and Asparagus. I have to say that the innovative use of different flavours and textures made the savoury items a pure delight to eat, especially the Foie gras macaron which had a particularly unique flavour that I really enjoyed.

My eating companion was especially taken with the Vegetable Tempura and Soba Noodles in the Dashi broth, as the vegetables had the perfect amount of tempura batter so that it was crispy and light, and the Dashi broth was a sweet savoury and delicious broth.

Sweet items were equally interesting and innovative. A peanut butter, chocolate & raspberry Gateau was light with a bit of peanut butter crunch in the middle, the Monsieur Green Tea Gateau was indulgent with a rich Green tea flavour and the Pineapple Verrine was smooth, light and delightful to eat. The last item on the tray was a Mango and Shiso Profiterole which really topped off an amazing array of sweetness at the High Tea.

The High Tea includes a glass of Veuve Clicquot champagne, which I enjoyed as I went through the savoury items,  and an array of tea and coffees that go perfectly with dessert. Along with your tea/coffee, a beautiful macaron is served that is the final sweet twist to the meal, and I have to say as a purveyor of macarons, this had to be one of the best I’ve in town!

Not to be outdone by the food, the On Nom bar also serves a beautiful selection of unique and innovative cocktails and ‘liquid desserts’ if you wanted to extend your experience at Om Nom (or if you are looking for an amazing place for drinks). We tried the Lemon Meringue cocktail was a rich mix of Liquor 43, Lemoncello & Vanilla Mascarpone topped with Petit Meringues and side of Shortbread and the Earl’s Classic which was a

light and refreshing mix of Hendricks Gin, Earl Grey syrup, mint and lime juice.

Unique and innovative food meets cool and sophisticated surroundings. That is what really makes Om Nom a gastronomical experience that is second to none.

It is also open for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner  so if you’re looking for a new place to visit, make sure you give Om Nom a go!

For more information visit www.adelphi.com.au and bookings can be made on www.Dimmi.com.au