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Stars reflecting off a wine glass
Along comes Mama Ganoush. Although officially the restaurant of Geoff Malouf and Michael Baroud from Arabesque in Elsternwick, the star right now is brother Greg. Waiting for Momo to reopen in the Hyatt next August or September he had time on his hands.
A $200,000 budget upgrade, an interior designer and a few more bits of kitchen equipment later and we have something pretty special at the Windsor end of Prahran. Greg will only be there for four to five weeks. I can only hope the kitchen learns as much as possible from him before he leaves.
First is the design of this converted shop front. Quite sober and not on drugs we were mesmerised by the stars reflecting on the china and glassware.
Last to leave…
We visited on Saturday, night two of opening. And it was packed. We were told to arrive a 9pm. There were a few forgivable blips in service. Both the white and the red wines I wanted had run out - my taste obviously being a bit mainstream and populist. And it took some 40 minutes to seat us.
But it really is the food that this place is about and no doubt the service will settle down.
“Better than Abla’s,” asked a friend.
Yes. Better and far more refined but also more expensive. Still Mama Ganoush represents good value with starters about $17 each and mains about $28 and sides at about $7.
Our starters were Kibbah (above) an amazing spicy kid kofta (below) with goats cheese cream and herbs.
Cheesy Ladies thigh pastries came with honey cardamon stewed leeks. The leeks were a particular highlight.
The double lamb chops was about as good as lamb gets but overshadowed by what has to be one of the best dished I’ve eaten this year - Claypot roasted free range chicken with giant cous cous, Turkish Sausage and Sweet Spices. It is made with a seven year old master stock liberated from Momo. It was so good that we were instant messaging all Monday about it.
At this point we were full but we couldn’t ignore pudding. I was so overcome I forgot to write down what it was. 
Popularity: 8% [?]
September 18th, 2007 at 8:11 am
Great review! I have been a big fan of Greg Malouf, so I really wanna try this place out before he leaves.
September 18th, 2007 at 3:04 pm
We’re big fans too, I’ve taken a some of his cooking classes and we used to love Momo, so have resorted to hiking up to Stones in the interim for his huge Sunday degustations that leave you seriously in need of a lie down.
Greg mentioned the master stock in one of his classes, he does it the Chinese way whereby you recook it every day and continue to top it up. It develops an intensity over time, just as a good sourdough starter does. I have some in my fridge, but its no way near as old as his, it’s wonderful in something as simple as a bowl of won ton and noodles with torn iceberg lettuce.
Just been ringing Mama G but can’t get through…
September 18th, 2007 at 4:42 pm
God I miss Middle Eastern food. The closest I get up here is a sloppy kebab…..
The Windsor end of Chapel is going to be the new St Kilda by the sound of it. Soon the op shops will be pushed out by Greville st funky boutiques and cafes.
I used to love going to Kanzaman on Bridge road. For some reason Abla’s didn’t strike a huge chord with me.
September 26th, 2007 at 10:57 am
Visited Mama Ganoush last night with my wife and 4 friends. At the waitresses suggestion we shared entrees, mains and desserts so that we could taste as many dishes as we could.
Absolutely fantastic. The Ladies Fingers, Kibbah, Ox Tongue and fattouche salad were wonderful for the start.
On to mains and snapper, rabbit, Pork Hock/chickpea and more all just superb with the wonderful Pilaf rice and spinach sides.
Desserts of fresh fruit and sorbet ,Halva ice cream and I have to stop there as I am drooling all over the keyboard.
Rolled out the door and home. The meals are huge. Malouf will not make the serves any smaller as he says “my mother would chop my legs off”.
March 6th, 2008 at 11:39 am
We saw The Age review so decided to give Mama Ganouch a go. The staff were welcoming and the layout downstairs is pleasant albeit crowded. The bright light coming through the kitchen door simply doesn’t do anything for the atmosphere but apart from that all looks fine.
The starter we ordered came quickly which was a surprise as the waiter had told us that everything was cooked to order from scratch. We thought that this would be great if true and if true would be impossible to manage commercially. Nevertheless the starter was excellent. We’d nearly finished it when our problems started. Someone, who looked like the owner, whisked our plates away before we’d finished. When I looked at him and he in turn looked at the remaining food, he offered to put it back on the table. All a little too late for my liking. This is the sort of mistake that is really inexcusable in a restaurant of this supposed standard.
A little time after that our main course arrived, after two mouthfuls each we established that the chicken was hard and tasteless, although the source it was supposedly cooked in was quite nice. On noticing the waiter enquired if we’d eaten enough and when we told him of our disappointment he handled it exceptionally well. I got the feeling that it wasn’t his first complaint of the night. It was clear that the meal was put together with haste, clearly not prepared from scratch nor prepared with any care or attention, and I’d bet that it wasn’t tasted before it was sent out either.
On receiving the bill we discovered that we had items on there that we hadn’t ordered and most disappointingly that the meal we’d sent back was being charged for. I’m not sure whether Mama Ganoush simply had a bad night or maybe they just can’t cope. I fear that we won’t be going back to find out.
March 6th, 2008 at 12:18 pm
Hi bramley, Thanks for the comment and updating us on how Mama is going. In my subsequent visits service has been variable and I forgave what seemed to be disorganisation because it was early days. For the first few weeks Greg Malouf was helping out but now that he’s moved on I guess the kitchen is settling into something a bit lesser. Those service flaws are inexcusable and show a lack of observation and sensibility to the guests at your table. The xtras on the bill are inecusable too. Funnily enough, I’m writing a story for a business magazine that what businesses can learn from good service in restaurants. If you don’t mind I may use this example of what can go wrong.