21 Daly St, South Yarra VIC 3141
Expectations were high, after all our other wonderful experiences at George’s restaurants.
AND THEY CAME CRASHING DOWN at Mamababa
The concept was great – Sunday lunch Special
Greco Roman Yum Cha $40 per person (4 courses)
We were the first customers to arrive for the 12noon lunch sitting.
We were put in a weird little corner even though we’d booked in advance.
First course was quite pleasant -
Thin strips of prosciutto with fennel seed infused grissini
Smoked salmon with fresh warm bread
Warm breaded olives with harissa
Second course was a bland cauliflower soup that didn’t move me
Penne matriciana – Undercooked pasta, served room temperature, unseasoned
Macaroni cheese – bland, cold, undercooked, unseasoned, – I did like the super crunchy breadcrumbs with not nearly enough panchetta on top
Spaghetti puttanesca – undercooked, under seasoned, pretty bland
Orichette – with asparagus – probably my favourite dish of the day but needed something acid like lemon juice to balance the flavours
And the salad – how can you ruin salad? They did
The cos lettuce still had sand/dirt grains, and was served – 5 leaves with a few curls of reggiano – no dressing – it was like they forgot to finish making it
Dessert – The expected Columbaris donuts with honey and candied pecans – raw, like the pasta, they were uncooked in the middle
Creme fresh semi freddo with rose and candied pistacios – weird flavours, tasted like creamy soap
Well, we’ve had amazing meals at Maha, Hellenic Republic, and St Katherines. But I’ won’t be going back to Mamababa any time soon – leave it long enough for them to cook the pasta all the way through!
