Mr. Hive Kitchen & Bar

Mr Hive is proving itself to be promising, young contender in the restaurant world. I think give it some more time and eventually it would mature into a chef hat status. It is currently half a point short of achieving that goal. Our recent dining experience with Mr Hive was fantastic and it is worth checking out. Another plus is that Entertainment card holders get an additional 25% off the bill...score! :)

We waited at the Bar area until our table was ready. Live acoustic music and finger food kept us distracted. 

The starters and mains we ordered were cooked well and the flavours were great. Being a platter dish, I think the mains took about 40 minutes to come out. The venue wasn't very full at this point so that's why it caught our attention. Food was worth the wait though. I didn't expect the chicken breast to be that juicy. I must research what beer can cooking involves :)

Our waitress was friendly, attentive and engaging. By engaging, I mean she would pick up some of our conversations upon coming to the table to clear our plates and chat about it. It didn't seem too intrusive but it was better than no conversation at all. 

The dessert bar was named after Mrs. Hive. Isn't behind every man a great woman? ;) They offer dessert degustations on Friday and Saturday nights for a good reason. 

I sampled Mr. Hive's signature chocolate bar ($20) that a friend ordered and it was mouth watering good. The slightly bitter after taste didn't linger too long. During the preparations, the layers were already constructed. The top of the cake was quickly flamed and melted into a glossy finish. They were using this cocoa bean imported from Madagascar which was apparently $100 per kilo. Chocolate is indeed expensive!

I ordered the white chocolate/mango/basil and coconut deconstructed dish ($16). The combination worked really well, with the basil tying in all the flavours together.  Similar to Shaun Quade's dessert night where he used lemongrass as the dominant flavour for one of his dishes. Coconut was in the form of a mild foam. I didn't realise the white chocolate was at the bottom of the plate so it became very sweet when I ran out of the other ingredients nearly two thirds in!

The other two friends ordered the praline souffle with coco nib icecream ($18) and the pistachio/olive oil cake/yuzu parfait ($18). She noted that it was the lightest soufflé she tried so far, almost foam like. The souffle arrived at the table full bodied and didn't go flat while we were taking pictures.  It wasn't dense like a cake and when enquiring the pastry chefs about the cooking method, they only cook it for a 3-5mins on one side. Most soufflés would take at least 15-20 minutes but having a lighter content means less cooking time. There was also a cheat way of cooking a souffle in the microwave for a short period of time. I will try to dig it up if it can be found. The other not-so-sweet-tooth friend gave the pistachio cake a thumbs up and said he could happily devour it as it wasn't too sweet.

Even though we weren't having the degustation option, they offered us a complimentary palate cleanser of watermelon, berry juice and elderflower jelly infused with liquor. Everyone loved the cleanser but thought it should have been offered after the chocolate milk hehe. We finished off with another complimentary salted caramel truffle and chocolate milk plus take home lolly bags. It was a very thoughtful gesture.

The dessert degustations at Mr. Hive can now be booked in advance. I will be back and can't wait to sample their other desserts!

Menu can be found here: http://www.crownmelbourne.com.au/Assets/Files/Mr%20Hive%20Spring%20Evening%20Menu.pdf