I don’t think we could’ve picked a more beautiful day to go into the city for our next Malaysia Kitchen experience. Here’s a confession that as a Melburnian I’m rather ashamed to make: I’ve never been to the Docklands before. Driven past, yes. Visited, no. So as we walked by the water to drum up our appetites, Adam enjoyed pointing out restaurants he’s previously visited.
Situated by the water, Man Mo is a spacious, light restaurant, with plenty of staff on hand ready to take our orders or clear away plates (but some readier with a smile than others). The food service was perfectly spaced out, not too long, not too short between courses, which is nice when you have children who tend to get fidgety, but you don’t want to over-cram their tummies either.
Entree
These dumplings were on the Chef’s Entree menu and looked lovely on the plate, round and glistening. The crab flavour was mild – perhaps a little too mild. As Keira is a dumpling fiend, we also ordered some pork dumplings off the regular menu and I think I preferred them if I had to choose.
We ordered these for our Mr Fussy (Riley), thinking he’d like them. They’re meat! What’s not to like? (So said we.) Well – he refused. Although he did eat a piece of sesame prawn toast. All of it. Hallelujah! The satay sauce for these skewers was just perfect: a balance between the peanut and a bit of kick.
Main
Dish of the day, for me. It was the tenderest beef I think I’ve ever eaten. And the Sesame Sweet and Soy sauce was thick and salty was wonderful with steamed rice. Riley ate this one without complaint.
This was Adam’s choice. They were tender, and the ribs had plenty of meat on them, but… I think I wanted more from the sauce which the menu said was made of “Chinese Rose Wine, Grass Fruit & Rock Sugar”. Perhaps I derived an expectation of sweetness to come that wasn’t quite right and was my own fault.
Dessert
I had a bite the size of a postage stamp before these were polished off – so you can see how popular they were!
Anyone who knows Adam well knows he is a banana fritter fanatic. He didn’t order these though – Keira did. So it seems the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. I took a bite of these and wasn’t altogether sold. I think the batter was a bit thick in places and so tasted a bit doughy (or at least mine did).
Riley and I shared this – and it’s as well we did because I couldn’t have eaten it solo! I was a bit dubious in regard to Riley trying the icecream (after all, it was black and flecked – normally two strikes against) but to my amazement he ate nearly all of it himself and put his spoon down at the end and said, “That was the best thing I’ve ever eaten!” He has a point – it was rich and nutty, quite different. We were talking about it and I mentioned I thought someone had cooked it on Masterchef this season (turns out – yes). Glad my memory didn’t fail me.
Music
Music? Well, I have to say, here at the end, I think it was a Gen-X inspired selection, including Seal and the soundtrack to The Matrix. Is it at odds with what I might have expected? Perhaps, but I liked it!
Man Mo Restaraunt
42 New Quay Promenade
Docklands VIC 3008
(03) 9642 1997
www.manmo.com.au
We dined as part of the Malaysia Kitchen Blogger Ambassador Program.
