Mudbar is a highly-rated, premium, modern Australian restaurant on the waterfront of Launceston, Tasmania; and our most anticipated restaurant booked for our trip. Unfortunately it did not live up to the hype, however we still had a great dining experience.
Food
We started with mixed oysters (half dozen with nahm jim, ponzu and natural at $26) and wasabi oyster shooters for $4 each.
The oysters were very fresh and plump. The ponzu sauce came with pickled ginger and wakame – a refreshing savoury condiment. The nahm jim vinaigrette was a balance of sweet, sour and dash of chilli. The wasabi oysters were okay – the act of ‘shooting’ the sauce took away from the natural deliciousness of the oysters.
The oysters were very fresh and plump. The ponzu sauce came with pickled ginger and wakame – a refreshing savoury condiment. The nahm jim vinaigrette was a balance of sweet, sour and dash of chilli. The wasabi oysters were okay – the act of ‘shooting’ the sauce took away from the natural deliciousness of the oysters.
This was sous vide octopus, Gochujang paste/ aioli, apple, cucumber salsa for $26. We were intrigued by the sous vide technique however the octopus was not as flavourful as we thought it’d be. There was a soft chewiness to the legs. The sauce was sweet and spicy, cut through by bits of apple.
For our main, we got the cape grim porterhouse MB3+ 300g for $62, with the salt & vinegar potato for $14 and fat chips, served with aioli for $12. The steak quality was amazing; succulent and tender. The potato was dense, not a layered triple-fried potato as we had hope but that was our fault for hoping. It was still delicious with the sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. The chips were enjoyable.
This was white fish/ yuzu, nori custard, buttered mushroom, sticky mirin rice for $51. Again, the fish was very fresh and the quality was amazing. The skin was salty and crispy, balanced by the creamy savoury sauce.
For dessert, we got the hazelnut ganache, vanilla coddled cream, caramel, honey comb for $20. It was sweet and sticky, just ok.
And our last dish was the orange brûlée with toasted sesame tuille and dehydrated orange crumble for $20. The sugary lid was very thick so it took a few smacks to crack the brûlée. The custard was mildly sweet with a nice dimensional flavour.
Review
This was a decent dining experience but definitely not a memorable one. The quality of food was delicious but the combination and techniques were above average. The service was okay.
Thanks for reading. Happy eating!
Thanks for reading. Happy eating!
