fermentAsian — Restaurant in Tanunda

We have dined at Fermentasian 6 times now. After being so impressed by the flavour balance and overall quality and presentation of the dishes during our first visit, and being lovers of the Vietnamese cuisine, Fermentasian became our absolute must do dining experience when staying in the Barossa. We have recommended this restaurant to countless friends and anyone that was going to the Barossa for many years now. It was always very highly regarded and we rated it 5/5. Every single time it was consistently excellent. For me to say this doesn't come easy - I am a keen cook and with a very well tuned palate for flavour, a lot of dining experiences don't get my accolades. Fermentasian repeatedly did. We stayed for a few nights last week and booked for lunch on Friday, very much looking forward to it, as we hadn't been for 3 years with covid etc.

It pains me to say this, but to say that we were disappointed was an understatement. We had the tasting menu of 3 entrees, 3 mains. The betel leaf was not as good as it used to be - and there were only 2 - you used to get 4 on a plate. The hanoi spring rolls were good and tasty, however, the previously perfectly balanced nuoc cham sauce was sour and did not taste like it used to. (In my last review of this restaurant, I noted that the nuoc cham was 'on point'. This missed the point). We also used to get many more fresh herbs with the spring rolls. I think there were 3 mint leaves and a tiny sprig of coriander between 2 people and a couple of dismal looking, lettuce leaves. The 3rd entree, the whiting, was really very disappointing....

Onto the mains - the squid could have been lifted to another level by the addition of fresh asian herbs tossed through at the end before plating up. This dish was ok, but didn't really taste very Asian, although we could detect a slight hint of some fish or soy sauce in the tomato base. The confit duck - this was an extremely disappointing plate of food. Yes, the duck was tender, however lacked in flavour - the quinoa with corn was confusing and underwhelming with limited flavour - and tossed on top were 3 perilla leaves. Again, could have been lifted with the addition of more fresh herbs. Thank goodness we asked for more of the nuoc cham sauce, albeit very sour, as it lifted this plate of lacklustre food. This dish also did not look very nice on the plate, very brown and dark looking.

We finished with the king fish red curry. Again, we have had this before and really enjoyed it, however, this time, it was underwhelming. The red curry sauce - was ok - nothing special. No oomph, no presentation on the plate.

Also, out of 6 dishes, 3 were seafood, which I thought a little unusual. Why not balance the meal with some chicken, pork or beef?

I am not sure what has occurred, but the flavours, presentation and consistency that were the hallmark of this restaurant have disappeared. Perhaps Tuoi is not spending as much time in the kitchen and others are cooking? If this is the case, unfortunately, they do not put in the love, passion and attention to detail that was always so evident.

I am certain that the food could be brought back to the previously excellent high standard, however, this would obviously take some major changes in the kitchen and some very measured procedures of quality control.

I won't give up on this restaurant, as there is obviously a reason for the drop in consistency and standard. However, next time I would ask to steer clear of those dishes we did not enjoy and try some of the others.

I hope that Fermentasian can find its way back to its previously wonderful level.....and that next time, I can again give...

Let down.

First time ever writing a bad review.

Off the bat: we ordered the 'Chefs menu' which was $75 each with the vegeterian option for my partner.

Most of the food was good but 4 out of 6 of the vegeterian dishes were just glorified salads. We had not one but at least 5 different servers over the night who seemed to all get confused between one another. Two of them serving the food (with very little enthusiasm, explanation or even knowledge of what we were being served) and 3 serving the drinks, which is where things really went down hill. (However one of the girls did a great job of seeing to what we needed and stood out above the rest)

After asking for recommendations on the gin menu, my partner was just given the same drink she had prior. I was not only given the wrong rum (even after questioning it when it was served) but got double charged for it (which they did however take off of the final bill when it was mentioned). I also asked for an affogato, they told me it was not something they did (which was absolutely fine and was happy to just leave it) however they made one on the spot which they charged $4 for the coffee, $5 for a tiny scoop of icecream, and $12 for a shot of cointreau (an orange flavoured liqueur) which was simply horrible.

After heading back to where we were staying, feeling dissapointed, my partner worked up the courage to call and complain about the issues listed above. She was met with frustration at the end of the first call, but was very soon after called back to offer a refund on the affogato which we would have to come in and claim.

In conclusion a complete waste of $270; where the service was beaten 10 fold by those that offer $10 wine tastings in the area.

It did not live up to the hype, or...

This establishment is quit a surprise. Not what I was expecting. Quite a modern interior design. Not the average Asian restaurant interior that one might be used to. There are regular menu options but we went with the Chef's Selection degustation. At $68 per head it's a serious impact on the "plastic". Why, you might say? Well, that does not include desert, coffee or any beverages. Have any of these "extras" & your evening out is very likely to top $100 per head, easily. There were 12 in our group & they will take split bills so keep track of what your consuming. First couple of dishes are finger food & then you start the meats & seafood. They will cater for special diets & allergies etc. They do serve some greens, however, some of us would have liked the option of steamed vegetables as it would have been a foil for some of richer food plates served up. All food is served to the middle of the table & then you select your portion. I wouldn't necessarily go "hoovering" up leftover portions as there quite a lot of different plates of food to get through & you'll be struggling to make it to the end as the dishes can be very rich. All meal selections were, mostly, enjoyable & varied. Near all were had exceptional taste. Table service was a little ad hoc not quite fluent. However, the girls were very polite & cheerful. Deserts were tiny & fairly pricey too. Coffee was served in tiny cups @ $4 each & were not particularly warm at all. The coffee tasted fine but was gone to two mouthfuls. I'll leave it up to you to decide on the value side of things for your visit. I thought that it was just a little expensive for what you end up with. You can always go with the individual meals instead of the...