Jardin Tan - Melbourne

Lizzie’s first impression: This cafe is situated in the beautiful Botanical Gardens in the heart of Melbourne CBD I loved the decor and ambience of this place so much natural sunlight and greenery that made me feel like it wasn't Melbourne at all even on a gloomy day. <br/ <br/ Lizzie enjoyed: They had an array of choices to select from and I made sure I ordered all of my favourite Vietnamese dishes. <br/ <br/ First up I tried the Vietnamese pancake called Banh Xeo it is a very popular dish made out of mung bean, turmeric, rice flour and coconut pancake and it is cooked crispy and has prawns and pork on the inside. It was delicious. Loved how crispy it was and of course I poured in all the fish sauce! <br/ <br/ I also tried the Hanoi spring rolls that were wrapped in rice paper rolls instead. It was different but still tasty and crunchy as always. <br/ <br/ Next I had the Flinders Island lamb shoulder with pickled<br/ vegetables and steam buns. It was made almost like a DIY Bun station. The lamb shoulder was crispy on the outside, but was so tender and soft when pulled apart. This would be one of my favourite dishes here and I'll be ordering this again. Highly recommend! <br/ <br/ Of course I had to order myself some Water spinach tossed with garlic,<br/ chilli and oyster sauce. It was simply amazing the flavours were brought out all thanks to the garlic and it was just fresh and balanced well with all my meaty dishes. <br/ <br/ Lizzie did not enjoy: I love my vietnamese coffee but not too sure I enjoyed the coconut shavings inside it was a little too overbearing for my liking, but the coffee itself had a lot of flavour. <br/ <br/

4.5 With Shannon Bennet behind the brand, we arrived at Jardin Tan with high expectations. Thankfully, we most definitely were impressed by both the calibre of the execution and the authenticity of the dishes. Successfully combining Western breakfast items into traditional Vietnamese dishes is no easy feat, and boy did Jardin Tan absolutely nail it.

A Vietnamese place located in the beautiful Royal botanical garden near the Shrine of Remembrance. The atmosphere of the restaurant is really nice, it has an open space with both indoor and outdoor seatings. We started our meal with a long black and coconut water. The coffee was really good, so was the coconut. We then had the bahn cuon and salt and pepper squid salad for starters. The bahn cuon is a must try. For mains, we had the Flinders island lamb shoulder and bahn xeo, which is a Viet pancake. The texture of the bahn xeo wasn't quite right, it's a little thicker than usual. The lamb shoulder was amazing though, it was so perfectly done and left us wanting for more.

I was invited to Jardin Tan to try out their food, so I decided to take my kiddies, Hangry Piglet and Hangry Dumpling with me. Jardin Tan is situated in the Royal Botanic Gardens, at the old Observatory cafe location. It was a bit hard to find the place, because the signs still points you to the Observatory cafe. But if you follow the signs to the Observatory cafe, or Ian Potter Children’s Garden, you will find it easily.<br/ <br/ Jardin Tan has a Vietnamese inspired menu which I wanted to try for ages, and their menu (mostly) did not disappoint. <br/ <br/ We started off with babycinos and a Vietnamese iced coffee. I love how the ice coffee had coconut flakes in it, it adds another dimension to the coffee. <br/ <br/ We started with the Vego spring rolls, which we didn’t like very much to be honest. They used rice paper rolls to wrap it and I don’t know whether the rice paper are too big and they didn’t trim it or what, but the pastry was very thick, hard and chewy.<br/ <br/ Our mains also arrived at the same time as the entree which, I suppose it’s good for photos but not great for deciding which food to eat first. However, all the dishes can be eaten at different times so it’s not too much of an issue (unlike say, if you get noodles soup that would get soggy but also sashimi that should be eaten first).<br/ <br/ Now the mains, they are amazing!!!! And embarrassingly (but also great) large portions. I felt like a piggy! Note to self: for one adults and two kids just order one main!<br/ <br/ Here I would defo recommend the lamb. It was crispy, juicy, tender and you can wrap it with the soft and fluffy baos that comes with it. The accompanying herbs and pickled veggies cuts the richness of the whole thing. I am still drooling over the thought of that dish.<br/ <br/ The deep fried chicken was delicious too. It was beautifully cooked and the dipping sauce was so yummy.<br/ <br/ I also weirdly like the fried rice. The waitress said the fried rice is for two as a side but I reckon it could have been for three or four as a side! I weirdly liked it because I think they fried it w butter. Mmmm buttttterrrrr. Not the most authentic but so yummmmmmm. <br/ <br/ Oh and how could I forget about the green beans? Stir fried w Thai basil (and chilli, which I opt out of because of the kids) were delish and the kids smashed those before anything else.<br/ <br/ Thank you Jardin Tan for the invite and the wonderful food<br/ <br/

A venture from internationally renowned Vue de monde owner and chef Shannon Bennett, Jardin Tan boasts a serene canvas of the blissful Royal Botanic Gardens as a backdrop. The kitchen offers dynamic and vibrant flavours of French Indochina in a warm and welcoming space perfect for a quick bite with friends, a lingering lunch, or a formal event<br/ <br/ The kitchen garden blends into a comfy beer garden destined to host lively music during summer. Taking cues from its idyllic milieu, the space is bright, vibrant and defined by the naturescapes that pour through the sea of windows. <br/ <br/ We loved eating our way through the delicious menu. <br/ <br/ To start the Milawa chicken salad was wonderful – a stunning amalgamation of tender pulled chicken, fresh snow peas and green beans, all brought together by a creamy coconut and chilli lime dressing.<br/ <br/ The Ginger soy barramundi en papillote was similarly delightful. The quality of the Mark Eather wild barramundi was exemplary. The flesh was delicate and moist. This was a dish that allowed the natural subtle sweetness of the fish to be enjoyed. The ginger soy sauce was the perfect accompaniment to the fish and the crisp Asian herb salad. <br/ <br/ For something heartier, the Blackmore Wagyu curry certainly hits the spot. The perfectly seasoned spicy coconut and fresh turmeric curry broth possessed the customary punchy flavours exhibited by South East Asian curries and was a great match for the melt in your mouth texture of the wagyu. <br/ <br/ Whatever your do, do not leave without trying the Banh Xeo. In our view it is one of Melbourne’s best renditions of this classic dish – Crispy Saigon turmeric coconut pancake encases pork and prawn salad and bean sprouts is served alongside fragrant herbs and lettuce wraps. This was truly a thing of beauty. Every element was prepared with the utmost care and tasted wonderful.<br/ <br/ Dessert time showcased the kitchen’s versatility. We tried the kem chiên a house speciality and it is easy to understand why. Luxurious flaky caramelised croissant was the perfect canvas for the creamy ice cream and gooey salted caramel sauce. Just yum!<br/ <br/ Jardin Tan is a longstanding Melbourne favourite and continues to deliver high quality modern interpretations of French Indochinese cuisine. In a market where casual dining is in vogue, Jardin Tan assimilates perfectly. Fortunately, unlike some other restaurants which implement a casual approach to the detriment of the food that they produce, Jardin Tan adheres to a very high standard – we simply cannot wait to return.