Will you indulge me for a moment and allow me to be completely rude, spectacularly offensive …and vaguely racist?
Thanks. Appreciate it.
So, I hate China.
China – home of Giant Pandas, Peking Duck and those screeching Chinese operas my Granddad made me watch.
A place I once called a “cesspool of human degenerates.”
…Sorry – I’ve always been a bit of a drama queen.
But you get the picture, H and I spent 8 days in the People’s Republic a couple of years ago, and clearly it left quite the impression.
It’s unfortunate really – because DAMN I love Chinese food!
Praise the celestial stars then, that we’re absolutely spoilt for choice when it comes to excellent Cantonese restaurants in Melbourne.
One such example is St Kilda’s Mahjong, a contemporary space where the food is good and the service is even better.
The Mahjong staff were swift, attentive and extremely accommodating.
Table set for 9? – “No problem.“
High chair for a toddler? – “CAN do!”
Bring out a surprise birthday cake complete with exploding sparklers and Dora The Explorer candle?
“Sure! We love Dora!”
As for the Mahjong menu – highlights included a crowd pleasing plate of salt and pepper calamari, some spectacular ginger and prawn dumplings and a surprisingly moreish custard bun.
The ginger and prawn dumplings were by far the best example of the many steamed dumplings we ate that day – great big hunks of juicy prawn with slivers of sweet ginger encased in a light egg wrapper.
Ginger and Prawn dumplings – $7.50
Salt and Pepper Calamari – $9.50
Yin Yan Custard Buns – $8.50
And WOW – the custard buns were a revelation! At yum cha outings I often dismiss custard buns in favour of the wobbily sex appeal of mango puddings. But on this occasion I can happily admit that that bun trumped that pudding.
And mate, not only did it TRUMP it - it trumped it, did a cocky winner’s dance and then finished off by running a victory lap around my taste buds with its shirt over its head!
Points to the mango pudding for being beautifully presented in the shape of a fleshy mango cheek, but there was just something about that ever-so-salty custard filling, that gave that custard bun a complexity of flavour that no other dessert was able to match.
Mango Pudding – $6.50
Duo of Egg Custard Tarts – $6.50
And like the bold design space we were in, the rest of the menu was quite contemporary too, featuring various non-yum cha style dishes executed with varying success.
The crispy-skinned chicken and the king prawns on the bed of sweet chilli rice noodles worked.
The beef steak with the Asian greens – Not so much.
Crispy Skinned Chicken – $10.50
King Prawns with Chilli Sauce and rice noodles – $12.50
After two glorious hours of good food, excellent service and the very best company it was time to split the bill, but not before one final belt-busting surprise.
To the strains of “Happy Birthday to you…” a neatly pony-tailed waiter brought out a delectable tiramisu cake for birthday girls – C and I.
C – the ever ethereal Tinkerbell, and me – Dora-The-Inappropriately-Midriffed- Explorer.
I really couldn’t have asked for a better birthday lunch!
A HUGE THANKS to all that came.
x
(Special thanks to S who made the booking and M who organised the gorgeous cake – Italiano S declared it the best Tiramisu ever! )
165 Fitzroy Street, St Kilda VIC 3182 – (03) 9534 8833
Weekdays 11am-11pm
Weekends 11am-11:30pm
Bookings are strongly recommended.
Birthday cake from: Ganache Chocolate Lounge, 250 Toorak Road, South Yarra VIC 3141 – (03) 9804 7485
Too Yum
Cous, thank YOU for the review – you know i’m not a real foodie but glad i read this review! Few weeks back Sim and I were tossing up which restaurant to have dins at and it was a toss between Mahjong and Madame SouSou and I wasn’t keen for Mahjong. I thought it was just going ot be another greasy chingy restaurant! Def plan to go there now.
thanks and muaaaaaaaah! xo
Hi J!
Thanks for reading.
Did you end up going to Madame SouSou? I’ve heard some fine things about that place!
It’s interesting how people get these ideas about certain cuisines and then that’s it – that cuisine is forever tainted in their minds.
Like how H absolutely refuses to go to any French restaurants because he always found French food “too rich.”
And you associate Chinese food with greasiness. I think good examples of French and Chinese food are not these things, but that maybe you’ve both had some bad experiences.
I highly recommend you give Mahjong a try. The food is not greasy and there are tonnes of vegetarian options on the menu. On the Chinese restaurant radar I can also recommend Red Emperor on Southbank and Sung’s Kitchen next to the Queen Vic Market. Of course if Simmo’s paying then maybe splurge one night and hit The Drum….The Flower Drum baby! You’ll never look at Chinese food the same again!
x