A date at Number 8

For my birthday my lovely mummy decided to take me to Number 8 in Crown. It's not the first time I've been here but it's always a nice place to dine once in awhile.Started off with the tasting platter which had slow-roasted high country pork belly with watercress and hazelnuts, natural oysters with lemon, sautéed garlic prawns on fennel purée and wagyu carpaccio with semi-dried tomatoes and Parmesan.
Oysters were yummy. Doesn't exactly compared to the oysters at fish market in Syd but still very fresh. Garlic prawns had good flavour but if they took it off the heat like 30 seconds earlier, would have made a difference. Wagyu wasn't great but wasn't bad either. Pork belly had a nice crisp skin and juicy tender meat. Overall I was very happy with the tasting platter.

Free-range Bendigo chicken breast, sweet corn purée, wild rocket pesto, crispy bacon. The chicken was a bit tough and there never seemed to be enough sweet corn purée but that could be due to the lack of flavour in the chicken. Bacon bought in a nice seasoning but not enough for me to order this dish again. Have to say that this was the let down of the night.
Roasted Flinders Ranges kangaroo loin, fennel purée, Raincherry salsa. The meat was soft juicy and tender. The sour note in the cherry salsa was a very nice complement to the game meat. Thumbs up for this one!

Roasted free-range Milawa duck breast, spiced duck brik pastry, baby leeks, thyme and orange reduction. Duck was very flavorsome . The zesty finish in the orange reduction was a great contract. Baby leaks gave the dish the sophisticated finish.

Also had a few sides to go with it. Mushroom risotto and Rosemary potatoes. I guess it's not often that potatoes will disappoint. The risotto was very cheesy but not too cheesy. It was a good way to complement the meatiness of the mains!

Then my free Birthday cake wooo! Have to love free halzelnut chocolate cake!

Overall: 3.5/5 This place can be a bit of a hit miss at time but it's not bad for the price. Once the lights are dimmed it can be very moody but the loudness in the crowds there, takes the romantic feeling away. Would not recommend this place if you want a fully romantic evening where you just stare into each other's eyes. If that's the place you want I won't come here. Get a hotel room instead!

Pricing: $$.5 again this place is in the ET book but there are lunch specials too if you want to try it out. It's less than $50 for a 3 course for lunch. But a bit more for dinner.

Thanks for a awesome night mummy!