March Into Merivale 2010 Launch Party

Yes, March Into Merivale is back! And it kicked off with a bang last week with the inaugural launch party held at The Ivy. I was lucky enough to be invited to a preview of the event before the doors opened to the public.

The Pool Club

We went up to the Pool Club for some drinks and were very well looked after by Renee and Debbie from Merivale, before we went downstairs to the Ivy Room to check out the chefs in action!

Nobuyuki Ura, head chef of sushi e, preparing sushi for the launch party

It was great to watch the Merivale chefs prepping their canapés and plating them up right in front of our eyes. Lucky for us we got to sample some of the canapés before the masses were let in.

Pork "Banh Mi" croutons

Skewer of prawn crusted with "Tasty Toobs"

Ocean trout ceviche with Thai flavours

Dan Hong from Lotus cooked up some tasty treats with my favourites being the pork "banh mi" croutons and the prawns topped with "Tasty Toobs".

(left to right): Chocolate indulgence; Goats cheese and fig tartlet, balsamic glace; Brandade, cured salmon, gribiche, en croute

The friendly crew from Bistro CBD assembled a "photoshoot" of their canapés on the table which was awesome! They even blowtorched the top of their Chocolate Indulgence to give a lovely chocolatey sheen.

Roast duck: shallot with Yuzu Kosho sauce

Spicy salmon roll (L) and Establishment roll (R)

Sushi e was offering some succulent roast duck as well as two types of sushi rolls. I particularly liked the Establishment roll with the super fresh tuna and crunchy pieces of tempura inside.

Ready to serve drinks to the masses!

It was about 6pm and hungry people started flowing freely through the double doors of the Ivy Room, so sadly I didn't get to try all of the canapés. I did manage to grab some canapés and take a few quick snaps of the food from est. which was amazing. One of my favourites (and also a crowd favourite seeing how quickly they disappeared) were the spoons of scallop tartare and pork crackle - definitely a winning combination in my eyes!

Gingerbread, chicken liver parfait and Tasmanian black currants

Grilled scallop tartare, olive oil, lime juice, washed red onion and pork crackle

Skewer of Serrano jamon, compressed rockmelon and nasturtium

I also got to sample some of the canapés at Mad Cow whose juicy chunks of Wagyu flank steak were a big hit.

Heirloom tomato, buffalo mozzarella, basil with preserved lemon

Chicken liver pate on crouton

Grilled rangers valley wagyu flank steak with chimichurri sauce

I just managed to squeeze my way over to Uccello to grab some of their parmesan and prosecco risotto which was being spooned from a giant hollowed-out cheese wheel. Sadly, that was the last canapé I was able to get my hands on, but the chefs and waitstaff were working extremely hard to make sure everyone was fed and watered so I think it's safe to say that the launch party was a great success!

Parmesan and prosecco risotto

March Into Merivale is on until the 16th April, with $33 lunch and dinner offers as well as special events on throughout the period. Check out their website for more info and to sign up for the latest updates.