Maha

I am not really one to get caught up in restaurant hype. I still haven’t been to Chin Chin! (I know!)   I also don’t get terribly wooed by the celebrity chef effect. I love Shane Delia’s ‘Spice Journey’ cooking show but had never really entertained the idea of eating at Maha, his restaurant. That is, until my buddy Carly named it as one of her favourite places. Serendipitously about a week later one of my foodie friends suggested a blogger catchup at Maha.

It’s all about the courses at Maha. You choose from six, five, four or two courses (all are available with matched wine). The six and five course menus are degustation style, however we went with the four course ($85) which is more about share plates. 

Clockwise from top left: Freshly shucked oysters served with toasted sesame and sour onion  ~  Smoked hummus, with lamb, cashew and parsley  ~  Local olives, fel fel  ~  Chemen Cured Swordfish with preserved lemon and kewpie mayo  ~  Olive oil poached potato, spring onion and grilled octopus

The hummus was particularly special; the lamb added a lovely richness and texture and the Turkish rolls it was served with were beautifully fluffy.

Turkish red lentil dumplings, spring peas, sumac, yoghurt, mint

These had a very slightly spicy filling in quite a doughy textured dumpling with a tangy yoghurt dressing. They reminded me a little of Perogi (Polish dumplings), comfort food at its best.

Lebanese cous cous, scallop, mussel, cinnamon, radish

I found this a bit lacklustre but it was a favourite for some. The flavours were clean and simple but I felt it could have used a light sauce to bring it all together.

Tea smoked duck, corn bread, hazelnuts, weeds and greens, black garlic mayo. 

This was a bonus dish – all the SLR cameras at the table might gave given us away as not being your average group of diners. I’m so glad because this was my favourite dish of the night. Thick, silky black garlic mayo was an umami-explosion with the tender duck meat and the richness was balanced beautifully by the slightly bitter greens.

Main Course – Clockwise from top left: Cracked wheat pilaf, carrot, apricot, dill  ~  Roasted heirloom carrots, iranian figs, basturma, pickled onions  ~  Fattoush – tomato, mint, roast garlic, baked bread  ~  12 hour roasted lamb shoulder, garlic, cumin, coriander, smashed radish, almond, mint  

After quite a gap between our early dishes and the main we dived in quickly and ate far too much. Largely because this was a gorgeous table full of food. The lamb was melt-in-the-mouth tender with little bursts of freshness from the herbs and pops of crunch from the radish; accompanied by sweet, tender carrots, crunchy-fresh salad and nutty texture from the pilau. 

Fortunately there is a separate stomach for dessert – Turkish delight-filled doughnuts, rosewater honey (not pictured),

Blood orange parfait, puffed forgotten grains, salted caramel,

Argan oil chocolate brownie, orange and cinnamon ice cream.

The parfait was a stand-out, a burst of creamy citrus parfait topped with blood orange gel, a citrus foam and dusted with subtle salted caramel; some micro-herbs and puffed grains added freshness and nutty crunch. The intense orange and cinnamon ice cream atop the moist chocolate brownie added some lovely balance to a very rich dessert.

Service was friendly but not terribly efficient. Admittedly it was a Friday night but wine lists had to be requested between drinks, attention sequestered to order drinks and then one was forgotten entirely. There was also quite a wait between courses at one point. None of this really dampened our enjoyment but it is not something I expect at this level of dining.  I would probably be reluctant to go back for a romantic dinner (unless on a weeknight) but for a destination to catch up with friends and eat a lot of very good food, Maha is my new go-to.