Muharam Cafe
97 Burwood Road, Hawthorn
03 9818 7722
Cafe
$$
Food
- Red Velvet Pancakes
- Mexican Bowl With Chicken
- Beer Battered Chips
- Nutella Shake
- Flat White
The Good
The Red Velvet Pancakes looked absolutely stunning. Served in a wooden board, the trio of pancakes were topped beautifully with berries and cream cheese. The pancakes themselves were perfectly cooked to a light and fluffy layer, full of flavour and was well complemented by the smooth cream cheese. Combined with the slight sourness of the strawberries and pouring the rich chocolate sauce onto these edible works of art only added to their deliciousness.
Being rather hungry, we opted for some Beer Battered Chips as a side. Exceptionally crunchy on the outside, the light and crunchy batter enclosed some of the softest and fluffiest potatoes ever. Dipping them into the delicious honey mustard mayonnaise made for an absolutely unstoppable snack.
We also enjoyed the Mexican Bowl. Filled to the brim with a variety of fresh and wholesome ingredients, hidden underneath the beautifully presented bowl was a generous amount of black, squid-ink rice. With complementary flavours, the sweet potato and avocados, coupled with the light ricotta, made for a hearty yet healthy feed. Unfortunately, the chicken wasn't nearly as tender and flavourful as we'd like, and was probably the weakest point of the dish.
The Mediocre
As one of the pioneers of Nutella Shakes and various freakshakes in Melbourne, they are naturally a must-try at Muharam. Disappointingly, our shake tasted mostly of chocolate, as opposed to the hazelnut normally associated with Nutella. It wasn't nearly as cold as we'd like either. The massive Nutella donut on top was however spectacular in and of itself, with just the right sponginess, coupled with an abundance of gooey Nutella within.
The Bad
While the service was friendly and down to earth, the execution and organisation unfortunately was not up to scratch. A Long Black was served instead of a Flat White. Our Nutella shake was sadly forgotten. All dishes arrived sporadically, all at different times. Despite being apologetic at every point in time, the service overall was undeniably chaotic and disoriented to say the least.
The Verdict
Overall I would still say it was a positive experience. The food served here were for the most part excellent and very tasty.
Obviously, there are lots of room for improvements in terms of the service. In saying that though, it may have just been a once-off occurrence after having spoken to others who have visited Muharam.
Would Penguin Eat Again?
Definitely. Those Red Velvet Pancakes were to die for, and ranks among some of the best we've ever come across. I'd undoubtedly be back for more of those.
We'd like to thank Muharam Cafe for inviting us to sample their new menu.