Mumbai Hakka: 592 Barkly Street, West Footscray, 9689 0342
My score: 3/5
When you take two of the world’s most adaptive cuisines – Indian and Chinese – and two dominant emigrant cultures – Indian and Chinese, again – and plonk that combination in Melbourne, you create a restaurant that celebrates diversity and tasty cultural mash-ups. Modest, friendly, eager Mumbai Hakka showcases Indian Chinese cuisine, developed in Kolkata following the arrival of Hakka Chinese immigrants. Thickened soy-sauce gravies, noodles, stir-fries and sizzling plates feature but none of them bear much resemblance to traditional Chinese food. Indeed, Indian spices and paneer cheese are recurring components in this intriguing fusion, which is eaten with chopsticks nonetheless.
The entrees were my favourites. I wish I could issue an edict that ensured Mumbai Hakka’s ‘thread paneer’ replaced arancini on every bar snack menu in town. These clever nibbles comprise a cube of chilli-smeared cheese encased in a spiced noodle tangle, deep fried to create a hot, crunchy snack with a melty centre. It rains noodle shards but the mess is worth it. Lollipop chicken is an Indian Chinese staple: drumettes are spiced, battered and fried to create a no-brainer winner. Crackling spinach is an alluring (and oily, salty and sweet) explosion of deep-fried leaves. It doesn’t feel like a dose of healthy greens but that’s why it’s hard to stop eating it.
There’s an exuberance to this food. Noting heaped bowls of bright orange on every other table I asked if we could have the ‘carrot salad’. I was corrected: the lurid dish is Szechuan rice. The spicy pilaf is pleasant, dotted with cauliflower and spring onion but without the telltale kick of Szechuan pepper. Main courses are okay. Pushing the culture mash further, American chopsuey features crisp noodles, crunchy vegetables and fried egg in chilli sauce. Manchurian mushrooms come in a gloopy sauce of soy, fresh ginger and garlic, reminiscent of old-school Aussie-Chinese. Everyone seems to order the sizzling chocolate brownie which arrives in a cloud of smoke that ebbs to reveal vanilla icecream turning to lava on a scorching cake slab burbling in searing chocolate sauce. I love the idea enough to weep for it but our brownie was burnt and acrid.
This part of Barkly Street is also blessed with ace Indian restaurant Aangan, new pizzeria Gusto and kid-friendly cafe Jellybread, all of which speak of the area’s mix. It’s a cool strip and upbeat, family-friendly Mumbai Hakka is a fun part of the mix.
See their website.
More sub-continental:
Sigiri, 338 High Street, Northcote, 9482 6114
I love Sri Lankan food especially when it’s served up with the warmth and joy of Sigiri. The sambals and chutneys are especially addictive.
Dhaba at the Mill, 18 Piper Street, Kyneton, 5422 6255
Kyneton’s enterprising Indian restaurant also operates a Melbourne food truck (see twitter for locations). Their newest venture, Horn Please on St Georges Rd, North Fitzroy replicates their Kyneton philosophy – freshly cooked Indian food.
Flora, 238 Flinders Street, Melbourne, 9663 1212
Come for cheap, fast, satisfying southern Indian meals in a cafeteria setting handy to Flinders Street station.
First published in The Age February 26, 2012
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