Review Series. Maha Degustation

In continuation of the theme of randomness, I’d like to dedicate a few blog entries to a review series. This first review is about my dining experience at Maha with my mum and my sister.

In typically Melbourne style, Maha is hidden down a dark alley. Once you descend the staircase and shrug off the feeling that you are entering a basement, you will encounter a very difficult to open front door. After a few minutes where I struggled to ‘push’ the door open despite the ‘pull’ sign,  the maitre di spotted us and rushed to let us in with a look of pity.

Maha is not for the claustrophobic. Its low ceiling appears even more so with the dimly lit interior. That said, it would make a cosy date spot as the lighting is just dark enough to cover up any blemishes.

After we were seated, mum isn’t feeling the ambiance and expresses concern that I am seated on the edge of the thoroughfare to the kitchen. We relocate to a more comfortable bench table which has the added advantage of being further away from a toddler that has just started to scream.

Not a great start but this is about to change. Our waitress swooshes over with three little cups of hibiscus flavoured Egyptian tea. She suggests we say “Saha”, instead of “Cheers”. After Saha-ing and taking a swig of tea, the three of us decide on a 6 course degustation dinner with matching wines. Ooooo yeah. Mum is concerned about getting too boozed. The waitress reassures us that the 6 different wines will only amount to about 4 standard drinks.

We all enjoy the chilled orange and coconut soup poured over a fresh herb salad with combu and lime pearl. Incredibly, this dish manages to be sweet & sour, salty & spicy all at once. Lipsmackingly refreshing. We are appetized and ready for more.

For the next course Steph and mum tuck into some scallops while I look down at what looks like a minimalist vegie garden on a plate. The light brown foam is apparently ‘toast foam’. Hmmm. Worth a try but not something I’d eat every day. I did enjoy the carrot though.

A few courses later I’ve had quite a bit to drink and my notes are getting more and more illegible. I ask my sister the food critic for a verdict on the meal so far: “I’m liking it. Every element. Is good. For me.” Clearly, the four standard drinks are getting to her too.

During the fourth course we decide to come up with a name for our little dining society.

Fam-meal-y suggests my pun loving sister. Groan.

Sisters (and mum) are doing it for themselves is rejected for being too wordy.

Mastication guild is also rejected because, well, it sounds wrong.

The pig -out guild is void because mum reckons it is too close to the truth.

The name will have to wait as our next course has arrived. Desert is some delectable Turkish delight doughnuts. I admit to eating more than one.

After the meal our waitress spritzes our hands with a Turkish lemon cologne and we sip mint tea to aid our digestion. Woah. We are full to bursting at this point.

The bill is presented and mum has a mini heart attack. We pay and make our way to that dammed front door I had trouble with before I had the four standard drinks. The Maitre Di has anticipated me however and is there to hold it open for us. We are given mini scrolls with our menu and paper bags filled with the Turkish doughnut mix. Clutching our goodiebags we ascend out of the basement and into the crisp Melbourne night.

Maha degustation rates: three out of three incredibly full bellies.