SEASON’S EATINGS
It’s truffle time and if you love your luxury this degustation is the ultimate way to roll
VANITAS PALAZZO VERSACE, 94 SEA WORLD DRIVE, MAIN BEACH Book it: 5509 8021
AT the risk of sounding like an annoyingly pretentious foodie, truffles are intoxicating. They look weird, taste like forest floor and I don’t know why I love them so much, but I do.
While I can get by most of the year on the whiff of truffle trifles — dregs in a drizzle of oil or folded through softly scrambled eggs — there is absolutely no replacing the intoxicatingly rich, room-filling aroma of the real deal.
The time is ripe for fellow funghi fans, with fresh West Australian grown Black Perigord truffles popping up on the Gold Coast’s finer menus.
They’ve been thinner on the ground this year, but you wouldn’t know it at Palazzo Versace’s Vanitas, where the pricey morsels are generously shaved over no fewer than five courses. Available until September 2, the Truffle Degustazione is a collaboration with Stonebarn truffles and it’s the ultimate way to roll.
Sniffed out by specially trained truffle dogs, the buried treasure is harvested from beneath the property’s oak and hazelnut trees between June and August.
It was all the excuse I needed to visit Vanitas for the first time since its November relaunch.
The newly decluttered Italian menu does a lot to dispel the fine-dining fear factor.
The lure of luxury remains, but dishes aren’t overcomplicated or too “cheffy” — just exquisite produce in hands sensible enough to let it shine … there are frills enough in the medusa motifs splashed across a small fortune of tableware.
Truffle Degustazione — laid out on pristine white tablecloths in the appropriately decadent setting — starts with truffle butter to thickly slather on toasty pumpkin and goat’s curd bread.
It’s followed by an airy confection of cauliflower foam and delicate poached lobster tail threaded with truffle oil, then a precisely judged Scotch quail egg with parsnip and truffle pecorino.
The wild mushroom mix in tortellini enhances the earthy allure of shaved truffle, contrasting with the sharper artichoke and goat’s curd.
F1 wagyu striploin and short rib makes for a memorable main course with the guest star offering rich rewards in the jus. Accessories aside, it’s a beautiful cut of meat.
Cosy, caramelised notes in the apple pastry finale are grounded by yet more truffle, alongside a hit of smooth, subtle sweetness from sauternes ice cream.
The meal is $165 or splash out $229 for matched wines — some strong pairings from fellow WA export Cape Mentelle make it a worthy investment.
Up the ante with the ultimate chef’s table, A Night with Truffles, on August 25 for $279 per person.
If they keep putting food like this on the table, expect to see Vanitas firmly back on the Coast’s restaurant radar.