The Stuff of Magic at Magic Mountain Saloon

I seem to start every second blog post with “I’ve been watching photos drift across my Instagram feed” and while it’s not terribly original it certainly is my secret to hunting out foodie finds. Magic Mountain Saloon sparked my attention particularly because of the name. I grew up in Northern NSW and there used to be some kind of theme park (I think it might have been fairly crappy) that used to advertise regularly. I never actually went, which was probably a good thing, because it meant I didn’t lose the illusion that there might actually be a mountain that was magic.

When my Super Talented Director Buddy (STDB 🙂 ) came to town I needed to make sure I took her somewhere pretty special for dinner, so how could I pass up a Magic Mountain?

The first thing you need to do when planning to go to Magic Mountain Saloon is to memorise the logo. Just like an entrance to a magical fairy world, if you don’t know the symbol you can’t find the entrance. Here is the logo next to the prettiest table setting around:

I’m not just being fantastical here. There isn’t actually a sign, just a glowing M symbol as you stroll up Flinders Lane.

Once inside we were directed up a curling flight of stairs to the main dining area at the top. I loved that there was a mezzanine level on the way up with just a couple of tables, like a little private bar. The upstairs area is quite spacious with booths lining the walls around a sparkly centre bar. I do love booth seating.

So onto the wines…

Just like their sister venue Cookie, the wine list is SUPERB

So many wines by the glass and so many exciting things.

My love started with bubbles – NV Cremant d’Alsace Jean Marc Bernhard, France ($15) – a refreshingly zesty, slighter richer style of sparkling

I have a bit of a winemaker crush on Nick Glaetzer so had to go with  the 2013 Glaetzer-Dixon ‘Avance’ Pinot Noir, Hobart Tasmania ($13) – plenty of darker red fruits with some denser savoury characters. As we moved into the spicier dishes there was some aniseed and bramble fruit characters that developed too.

My STDB is a big shiraz fan so chose the 2013 Route de Van Shiraz, Heathcote Vic ($12), especially after I talked up Heathcote Shiraz (not that much Healthcote booze makes it to Qld, where she is from). This wine had all the concentration and dark brooding fruit you expect from Heathcote with rounded tannins.

When we finally got onto looking at the food menu there were a few chuckles. With dishes like ‘Tomato, Zucchini & Buffalo Mozzarella; Chilli, Basil and Cashew Crumble’ in what is an essentially Asian restaurant, it became very clear that we were up for some creative food. The dishes are divided into Appetizers, Salads & Sides, Grill, Wok, Wings & Ribs, Curry Pots and Breads & Rice. We went for a mixture of ‘out there’ dishes and some more traditional stuff. 

To start with, a fairly ‘out there’ one – Curried rice & mozzarella balls, coriander & avocado sauce ($12.50)

Effectively an Asian-inspired arancini ball and one of the best aracini balls I have ever munched. There was a huge chunk of oozing mozzarella inside a lightly spicy curried  rice and the thick, silky avocado sauce was worth licking the plate for.

Next up was Lotus Root, Peanut & Pickled Turnip Tapioca Dumplings ($14.50), because dumplings!

These came with instructions, we were to wrap the dumplings in the salad leaves to add texture. What a dish; the dumplings were dense and chewy with a rich sweet, nutty filling balanced by freshness and crunch.

For mains we had two of the wok dishes:

Curried Soft Shell Crab, Celery & Sweet Peppers ($29.50)

We all adore soft shell crab so this was a clear choice. It had a lovely buzz of spice and plenty of big chunks of crab. 

As usual I had to get Fat Rice noodles, Peking Duck & Brussel Sprouts ($26.50) – I always order a version of pad see ew and I  had raved about a very similar dish at Cookie (Magic Mountain Saloon’s sister restaurant).

The balance of sweet and savoury was perfect and I liked the little twist of featuring brussel sprouts. The duck was tender and juicy but there wasn’t quite enough of it.

Green Papaya, Yard beans, Tomato, Avocado & Peanut Salad ($17.50)

The salad was tangy and a great addition to our richer wok dishes. We are all at different levels of chilli love so our waitress offered a dish of chilli on the side to adjust the heat as needed.

And of course Roti ($5.50)

So flaky good.

It was time for a wine top-up. My STDB was so enamoured of her shiraz that she went back for another. Meanwhile My Love and I like to try lots of different things. He chose the 2012 Heemskerk Chardonnay, Coal River Tasmania ($15) – restrained oak and vibrant fresh citrus and stone fruit with a richness akin to Greek yoghurt.

I had the 2013 Lacrima di Morro d’Alba DOC Velenosi, La Marche Italy ($13) at Cookie and I think summed it up best back then with “I managed to suppress a squeal of joy when I noticed the 2013 Velenosi Querci Antica Lacrima di Morro by the glass. I fell in love with the Italian grape variety Lacrima di Morro d’Alba during a wine club two years ago. It is a very rare variety, grown almost exclusively in the Marche region of Italy and leads with gorgeous floral aromatics. On the palate it is fairly soft with red fruits, rose petals and slightly grippy tannins. Such an interesting variety and hard to find.”

We were pretty full but the desserts looked so… different.

Thai Tea Crepe Cake & Honeycomb ($14)

I have never actually had a crepe cake before and after this I am a fan. It had subtle chai spice flavours, with a creamy texture I suspect was due to condensed milk, and the crepes were so light and fluffy. Despite how big the slice was it wasn’t too rich and I managed to polish it off (with a little help). The milky caramel drizzle added sweetness and I loved the crunch from the decadent honeycomb.

Pumpkin & coconut Creme Brûlée ($14)

We were all a little sceptical about just how pumpkiny this was going to be but decided that if anybody could pull off pumpkin in a creme brûlée it was going to be Magic Mountain Saloon. We were right, the pumpkin was subtle and just added some texture and sweet spice to the creamy coconut custard.

Magic Mountain Saloon certainly is magical. The food is so creative and perfectly executed with great balance, the space is gorgeous, and I must say the service was some of the best I have had in a long time. All the staff were friendly, relaxed and very happy to answer questions. Memorise that symbol lovely ones, you are going to want to find it.