Tel: (852) 2810 8585
After a friendly chat over the phone with manager, Adrian Hall, at Malouf's, I was quite certain that I had made the right choice in selecting Greg Malouf's first and newly opened restaurant in Hong Kong as my birthday celebration venue. Perhaps I should explain a little as to why I was impressed, at least initially. Firstly, the way the manager spoke on the phone very much reminded me of the attentive and hospitable service for which Melbourne is renowned for. Secondly, he was kind enough to check whether the kitchen could make a birthday cake for me (though I give credit to myself for inquiring whether I could bring my own cake. $200 cake charge? You have got to be kidding me).Troubled by the non-user friendly directory of the newly opened shopping mall, Elements, my guests and I finally managed to locate the rooftop where Malouf's is located. Splendid, the decor was modern with a subtle Middle-Eastern touch. Immediately, I could not help but instill in me an expectation on par with MoMo, Malouf's restaurant in Melbourne which has temporary closed down since late 2006. Looking back, perhaps I should not have done that. The restaurant was manned by a team of Filipinos, and there was no sign of the hospitable manager. Our friendly waiter showed us to our seats and asked whether we would like to have some drinks. He was quite chatty and attempted to strike a conversation with us every now and then, which was nice. Still there was something missing - an air of pride and enthusiasm as a waiter. I am coming to terms with the fact that while we see a host of well known or branded restaurants popping up at almost an exponential rate, the city lacks skills and talents in the hospitality trade, which arguably is one of the key ingredients to an ultimate dining experience.
So waiters lacking flair, like clones from the same mould, came to and from our table bringing us our Arabesque-inspired Australia cuisine (or the other way around?). I picked the grilled lamb cutlet with honey-cardamom stewed leeks and haloumi pie. The dish was beautifully done and the texture of the coarse yet palatable lamb rack was spiced in such a way that is so reminiscent of the flavours of Lebanon. Worth mentioning is the haloumi pie which left my taste buds tingling with joy with its fluffy and buttery puff pastry filled with an assortment of mash potatoes and greens blended with some magical aromatic spices. My favourite though was one of my guest's selections, the claypot-roasted free-range chicken which was, odd enough, served in a Chinese claypot. Never had I thought one could turn chicken into a memorable dish, but Malouf's done it. The Moroccan-spiced chicken cubes, dipped in a yellow concoction with giant couscous, merguez sausage and Syriandesert truffles, were so tender that they almost melt in my mouth. There was a dish that I thought was not very exciting – the black bream roasted on the bone with tiger prawns, green chermoula and fennel. Don't get me wrong, the bream was grilled nicely grilled, but because it wasn't filleted, the whole experience became really messy. Having said that, the tiger prawns (yes, also spiced) were delicious.
A glance at the dessert menu brought a smile to my face. The thoughts of spooning scopeful of the sticky apricot and cardamom pudding and Blood orange Mahallabia with Iranian orange candy floss had me drooling like a 5 year old kid craving for her lollipop. While I was happily sipping my latte and chatting with my guests, Adrian together with two other waiters brought me a specially made chocolate mud cake with the words "Happy Birthday" written on the plate. The three of them tried to sing me a song, which was very sweet of them, but they were a little shy and hence the soft and choppy tunes. Although there were only a few tables during lunch time, all the other tables clapped in unison to the ending of the song. How sweet, and the whole atmosphere, even the mix of clientele, reminded me so much of Melbourne. I blew the candle, cut the cake, and the waiter took it back inside to slice up the rest. To my surprise, they came back out with plates of the chocolate cake decorated with a selection of red and black berries and finished with a dash of chocolate sauce. It was simple, not too fancy, but I was happy.
My readers might find my conclusion a little contradictory given the positive note above. But here it is: If chefs are the heart and soul of the restaurant, then the waiters are the arms and legs. It'd be a shame to have a fine dining establishment, like that of Malouf's, to house a team of waiter and waitress which lacks flair and has little understanding of professional hospitality trade. I honestly think they need to either find a better bunch of waiters (too hard in HK I suspect?) or have the current crew undergo a proper hospitality course and help them develop their own personal style. Furthermore, I am not sure how frequent Malouf can actually come to the restaurant, but I know the dining concept of having a celebrity chef designing the menu and never appear in the kitchen simply does not work, at least not in the long run. Already, I am missing MoMo - the restaurant where the Middle Eastern culinary master personally creates all his magical Middle Eastern delights.
Verdict: I really don't want to label Malouf's as yet another big-name restaurant joining the leagues of Nobu, Joel Robuchon, Pierre Gagnaire and Zuma, which inevitably are all establishments with a glamorous shell but no heart or soul. But at the moment, it seems like I have no choice until they get better at it. Having said that, if you're just after a nice Arabesque meal, Malouf's is definitely up to scratch.
Bill: Starters HKD 88 - 138; Mains HKD 158 - 238; Desserts HKD 58 - 82; Cake HKD 350.
