Sometimes, life is hard. You find yourself overworked and deadlines are looming. At times like that, it's a nice surprise when your other half takes initiative to take you out for a nice lunch to get your mind off work. Bonus points for deciding to go to Malt dining, a place within 50 metres from work, that I've always wanted to go to but never had a good enough reason to try, and so he took me there, just because.
Heading in at lunchtime, we were seated in the attic. Decor was elegant and classical. I loved the setup and the moody vibe.
The lunch menu was fairly short but had a few things that I could easily come back for.
Starting off, we had the Malt bread with cultured butter. Elegant and sophisticated, the bread was slightly warm and butter was easy to spread and lightly salted. Dense and crusty, the bread was delicious.
Drinks came during our bread session. To share we had the Lady of Fall with gin, apricot brandy, lemon juice, rosemary syrup, elderflower and egg white. We also had An Old Fashioned Good Morning with coffee brown butter, whiskey, honey and aztec coffee bitters, we also had a Spiced 94 Iced tea with sencha and cardamom. Refreshing and sweet, these weren't overly potent, but did set a relaxing mood for the rest of our lunch.
Entrees came promptly after.
First up we had the Malt Haloumi with mountain pepper and beetroot. Coming in a wedge shaped piece, it was slightly different to the rectangle we are used to. Stacked up as two layers rather than one made for easy sharing on our part too. Ordinarily, haloumi would have been a fairly decadent and heavy dish, but balanced out with the sweet beetroot, it was really delicious.
I was really curious about the Fried Chicken with Mayo and Togarashi being a fine dining offering. Although not visibly spectacular, the taste definitely was. With a delicate crisp batter, juicy tender marinated chicken thigh and creamy kewpie, it hit the spot in all the right places. In a rare display of affection, I even allowed him the last piece of chicken.
Our shared main and side came fairly soon after our entrees were finished, always welcome when we were constrained by the lunch hour.
To share, we had the lunch special Steak sandwich, with steak sauce, pickles, slaw and fries. Again a fine dining take on a standard pub classic. The bread was toasty and heavily buttered, steak was generous with three slices that weren't too thin but grilled to a wonderful pink. Am always hesitant to order steak sandwiches as the potential chewiness could ruin the experience, but I'm happy to report that texture was soft and easy to bite through without cutting. Chips were fresh and crispy, a little more seasoning would have made it stand out, but the combination worked.
Not one to avoid my greens, I also had a side of Fall Farm Salad. Crisp and fresh, the dressing was light and could have been a bit more flavoursome.
Always one for desserts, Adam had the stone fruit curd with basil and crispy pastry. Sneaking a bite, I loved the buttery flaky pastry, stone fruit was light and tangy whilst basil gave it an unusual fragrance for a dessert dish. He really enjoyed it.
Price Range: $50 - $70pp
Taste: 8/10
Value: 8/10
Service: 8/10
Environment: 9/10
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