Munch & Muse: Cumulus Inc. - Where (food) storms brew...

Checked out Cumulus Inc. with G-dawg one Sunday evening. And boy did it kick up one hell of a (food) storm! We went there quite early - around 5.30pm, and it was already getting full! Luckily there were still a few spots free, so we got a table immediately. I must say I loved how warm and friendly the floor staff were.

The dishes on their a la carte menu are meant to be shared (which works for me because this way I get to sample more dishes!). So we ordered a few to share starting with the grilled octopus, smoked paprika and basil. YUM! I loved the colours of this dish - red, green, yellow - and the little pieces of octopus were served with lots of olive oil and balsamic vinegar - perfect with bread! The octopus itself was cooked just right and wasn't too chewy. I did find that it was a tad bit salty, but the dish as a whole tasted so good that I was willing to overlook this little miscalculation. The perfect entree to get the saliva glands working :)

Grilled octopus, smoked paprika and basil

Next we had the foie gras parfait with toasted brioche. The parfait was perfect! And it was served sprinkled artistically with raisins, crushed pistachio, and baby watercress - sweet, crunchy and fresh complements to the parfait. The brioche toast was equally amazing - soft and fluffy on the inside and , and the 2 put together produced one awesome explosion of flavour in my mouth. The waitress serving us was also nice enough to give us extra brioche at no extra charge to go with the leftover parfait we had after consuming the initial 4 slices of brioche. (I also love toast!)

Foie gras parfait

Brioche toast to go with the foie gras parfait

Lastly, we ordered the roast duck breast on a bed of grains, lentils and plum and a tomato salad on the side. Being a lover of all things that quack, I thoroughly enjoyed the duck dish - again, cooked perfectly, so juicy and succulent, with a crispy and smoky roasted skin. The lentils and plum were a very good accompaniment and even though there were bits of celery hidden in that mixture, I didn't mind at all! Nothing was going to spoil my experience of this dish - not even my dislike for celery.

The tomato salad was definitely a treat for the sense - bright, vibrant colours, oh-so-fresh, delicate flavours. I actually had the salad on its own after devouring the duck. The buffalo ricotta was an unbelievable mixture of slightly springy, slightly creamy and completely melt-in-your-mouth.

The bill came to around $78 for 2 people which is fairly reasonable given the quality of the produce and the experience as a whole. And it's also well within my new self-imposed budget of $50 or less for meals at "nice" restaurants.

And can I say again that I loved the service at this place? Our departure from the restaurant was accompanied by a cheerful chorus of byes from the floor staff. Definitely will be returning to this place one day :)