Iron Chef Shellie
 

Counting House

I join some other like minded foodies in a trip down to The Counting House, on the Mornington Peninsula.

Travel & Dining

Counting House
May 22, 2012
Dining

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Counting House

 

Hamsley and I were lucky enough to be invited down to Mornington with a few others, to sample the food at Counting House.

The name Counting House is based on the nursey rhyme – Sing a Song of Sixpence, with cute little references around the restaurant, even in the toilets!

Counting House is set in a 99 year old bank building, with the original vault still in place. They plan to use that as their wine cellar in the not to distant future.

The menu and settings are French inspired. Chef Gavin Ong is a protégé of Curtis Stone while at Marco Pierre White’s London restaurant, Quo Vadis.

There are five dining areas, including a private dining room which we were lucky enough to dine in. We sampled wines and beers from the local region, along with the vast array of fantastic food.

Sashimi style tuna, avocado and gazpacho sauce $17

I loved the little kick of spice from the gazpacho sauce in this dish. Light and refreshing.

Zucchini flowers with Persian feta and leeks $19

Not normally a dish I would order, but the creamy centre was perfect with the crispy flowers.

Quail trio, pan seared breast, terrine and scotch egg $19

The breast had an amazing flavour, I didn’t know how we would be able to divide up such a small breast between 5 people but I-Hua managed to with some of her crazy knife skills, and I was so glad she did, as I was ready to just let someone else have my share.

Scallops, pea puree, crispy carrot and sweet wine reduction $17

A delicious combination. Sweet scallops, cooked to perfection. I could have had a whole plate to myself.

Pork belly, ginger vinegar, apple puree and braised witlof $17

Crispy crackling and sweet apple puree, it was a flavour match made in heaven!

—————-

Mains

Snapper, pepperonata, pesto sauce $30

Scotch fillet, bernaise sauce $31

Hamsley got the steak, and of course I had a bite, or 5 of it. It was perfectly cooked, medium rare as requested, and the bernaise sauce was fantastic.

Corn fed chicken, sherry vinegar sauce, maraconi cheese $33

I had the chicken, and it was cooked very well. I LOVED the posh maraconi and cheese it came with, the perfect accompaniment. I forgot to take a photo, so this dodgy instagram one will have to do!

Pumpkin gnocchi, sauteed green vegetables, boursin cheese $23

Crispy duck breast, foie gras, stuffed figs $32

Herb crusted rack of lamb, eggplant puree $34

——————

Sides

Frites $7

French peas, pancetta $7

Potato dauphinoise $7

——————

Desserts

We were trying to pick what desserts might be on the menu with a French inspired restaurant. I put my bets down for chocolate fondant, and luckily I was not let down.

Bread and butter pudding, clotted cream $13

Lemon curd, chocolate basket, fresh berries $12

Chocolate fondant, strawberry ice-cream $14

This was the highlight dish of the night for Hamsely and I. As good as the mains and entrees were, crossiant bread and butter pudding his not good for the hips, but something we will be definitely stopping by for the next time we are in the neighborhood!

Counting House

787 Esplanade, Mornington VIC 3932

Phone: 03 5975 2055

Website: http://countinghouse.com.au

Bookings available online through the website for lunch and dinner Tuesday – Sunday. Closed on Monday.

Iron Chef Shellie and Hamsley dined courtesy of The Counting House and Gun Communications. This review was based on our honest opinions of our dining experience.

Comments

15 comments on “Counting House
  1. Chopinand @ ChopinandMysaucepan

    Dear Iron Chef Shellie,

    The food looks awesome and I am so impressed with the honest and so reasonably priced compared to Sydney. The scallops, pork belly and snapper looks awesome. Love the way they separated the bernaise from the scotch fillet too.

    May 23, 2012 at 1:03 am
  2. Michelle

    At moments like these, i wish i own a teleport machine so i can teleport to mornington whenever i want

    May 23, 2012 at 7:13 am
  3. Nic@diningwithastud

    Goergeous photos Shell 🙂 Everything looks so awesome and delicious

    May 23, 2012 at 9:11 am
  4. Sarah

    Looks like a great meal! And well done I-Hua on her excellent knife skills! 🙂

    xox Sarah

    May 23, 2012 at 11:52 am
  5. Roxanne

    Brilliant photos!! I LOVE it there!! I had the duck & it was AMAZING 🙂 Also a great wine list, friendly staff & lovely atmosphere.

    May 23, 2012 at 12:34 pm
  6. tania@mykitchenstories

    I absolutely love the look and style of this food. Hope I can go there one day

    May 23, 2012 at 1:05 pm
  7. Adrian (Food Rehab)

    chocolate fondant…here I come babay!!!!

    May 23, 2012 at 2:02 pm
  8. Hannah

    I love the look of the sashimi tuna with gazpacho and the lemon curd dessert! What a lovely night.

    May 23, 2012 at 3:11 pm
  9. Heidi - Apples Under My Bed

    Yay for Mornington! Those scallops look divine. Very impressed, Mornington 😉
    Heidi xo

    May 23, 2012 at 3:53 pm
  10. Cara @ Gourmet Chick

    This looks amazing – there are so many beautiful places on the Mornington Peninsula that I am discovering.

    May 23, 2012 at 10:00 pm
  11. Tina @ bitemeshowme

    I am absolutely loving your photos. The decor of that place is stunning, and the food looks gorgeous! Definitely things I’d love to eat!

    May 24, 2012 at 9:52 am
  12. Phillip Boutte

    I’m salivating already! The Scotch fillet looks so palatable in my eyes. The food all look so good, I suddenly felt starvation!

    May 24, 2012 at 5:57 pm
  13. Daisy@Nevertoosweet

    ohhhh did my comment disappear? just wanted to say i’d love go try this place and haven’t gone down to the Mornington area ~ can’t wait to go for some R&R ~

    May 24, 2012 at 11:43 pm
  14. Winston

    Oh man… Everything is ABSOLUTELITIVELY DELICIOUS!! It’s great cause it’s got great flavours, fresh ingredients without being overly complicated too. I’m keeping this place in mind next time I’m in Mornington. Yummm, Michele. AND LOOOOOOL your header is too cute hahaha!

    May 25, 2012 at 9:15 pm
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