Mandala

133 Commercial Road, South Yarra

This Friday evening took us just up the street and across Commercial Road to Mandala Restaurant in South Yarra. Having lived in the area for almost a year now I have walked past this restaurants façade more times than I can remember and had often wondered what lay within, so when it was suggested for dinner I thought why not, let’s give it a go.

Commercial Road is a colourful street to say the least. With its mix of gay bars and night clubs, adult book shops, the Prahran Market, Lebanese bakeries, up-market hotels and a variety of international cuisines ranging from cosy Korean, quirky Japanese or stylish dumpling houses, it’s a street of extremes. Much like the beloved street that it lives on, Mandala is a scrambled mix of cultures and unfortunately is a restaurant suffering desperately from an identity crisis.  

Walking into Mandala I was hit with the pungent aroma of incense, with the smell transporting me to the streets of Bali and the small offerings found on every door step and shop front. Although it took me back to the warm surroundings of last year’s winter escape, a blessing in this cold winter weather, in this small room it was excessively overpowering.

Our dinner party of six was shown to a table at the back of the restaurant in a little nook overlooking a quaint pebbled courtyard. As the restaurant is BYO we placed our wines for the evening on the table and were lost in an initial hub of conversation until we fell silent, gazing longingly at the unopened wine. Trying to get a waiters attention proved harder than driving down Punt Road at peak hour and after no luck, one of our guests left the table to ask for both wine glasses and menus.

The menu, once arrived, offered a long list of options although the construction of it was confusing. Thai curries, salmon with an Asian twist, Indian goat and roita sitting alongside lamb shanks served with boc choy?

Having to leave the table again to place our entree orders, we settled on Momos - pan fried pork dumplings with sesame tomato dip, Golden Wonton Parcels and Salt and Pepper Squid. Unfortunately the starters did not take the sting off the bad service. The Wontons were soft and lacked the golden crunch we were looking forward too, the squid pieces were large and chewy covered in a thick batter, heavy with oil while the Momos were the best of a sad bunch.

With the entrees behinds us and mains on the way we hoped that Mandala could turn itself around with a stunning grand finale.

For mains we ordered a blend of dishes to share including Peanut Beef, Classic Chicken, Prawns Simmered in Coconut Cream, Cumin Spiced Goat and Chicken Biryani Rice with a serve of crispy roita. Hmm, perhaps this was not going to be our night.

Each dish was pleasant enough in flavour but lacked spice and the intensity of good Thai food. The goat had not been slow cooked to the point the meat was falling of the bone and the sauce that accompanied it was lacklustre. The Chicken Biryani Rice with its mix of Cumin rice, sultanas, cashew and mixed veg added a fresh mix to the curries and the crispy rotia was in fact crispy on the outside and soft and flavoursome on the inside.

Despite the unremarkable dining experience the table was alive with laughter and conversation, proving that good company is the core ingredient to any great night out.

Rated: 8 O’s out of 20

Entertainment Book: 25% off to the value of $30 per voucher