MUMU Grill, Crows Nest

I am one of those unlucky people who have never won a competition based purely on chance. You know the ones that I'm talking about: raffles, lucky draws, and those ubiquitous "Describe in 25 words or less..." competitions. So boy was I glad to read on Not Quite Nigella that I could get a free lunch at MUMU Grill (up to $35) simply by signing up to their newsletter.



Sir D and I are (very) late risers, and consequently we usually don't end up eating lunch until about 2pm. Today we arrive at MUMU Grill at about 2.45pm, and although it says that their kitchen closes between 3pm and 5pm, the staff are welcoming and they let us know that we don't need to hurry. Excellent.

Fresh baked wood fired bread with dips - $6.50

Being food-obsessed, I have of course looked at the menu beforehand and chosen the MUMU Chicken Club from the Express Lunch menu, and Sir D decides on some tapas. We also get some wood fired bread to start (since we are quite hungry) which comes with dips. The fresh-out-of-the-oven bread is soft and dense and is accompanied today by a tomato relish and a white bean and parmesan dip - both of which are delicious. I particularly like the white bean and parmesan which is incredibly smooth and creamy.

Organic chicken liver and mushroom pate with mini toasts - $11.00

We aren't waiting very long at all before the tapas start arriving. The organic chicken liver and mushroom pate is on the specials menu and comes with toasted pieces of MuMu's wood fired bread. The serving of toasts looks small relative to the amount of pate given, but the waitress lets us know that we can get extra toasts at any time which is very generous of them. The pate is delicious but quite rich and would probably be better off shared between more than 2 people because Sir D and I have trouble finishing it.

Rabbit, beef and spinach empanadas served with BBQ sauce - $12.00

Next up are the rabbit, beef and spinach empanadas which are also on the specials menu. The pastry is fantastically crunchy and they come with a tangy BBQ sauce.

Chorizo braised in red ale and topped with parmesan - $7.50

The chorizo is served in a cute metal pan on a wooden board and the sausage pieces are juicy and delicious with the salty melted parmesan, although I can't detect any distinct 'red ale' taste.

MUMU Chicken Club: organic chicken, cos lettuce, tomato and pancetta on house made bread with rosemary aioli - $14.90 (lunch only)

My Chicken Club is an enormous sandwich of organic chicken, cos lettuce, tomato and pancetta with rosemary aioli and also comes with a side of chips. By this stage, Sir D and I realise that we have probably ordered too much but we continue to dig into the food with gusto. The chicken club has just the right amount of chicken and vegetables, and the rosemary aioli is a wonderful complement.



When we finally finish all the food we are at the point of carb-overdose (Sir D says, "We probably shouldn't have ordered that bread at the start..."). But there was something we'd had our eye on from the very start, and that was the brown sugar pavlova.

Brown sugar pavlova topped with fresh pineapple and passionfruit sauce - $13.50

Our "opera house" of a dessert was placed before us and it looked amazing with sails of fresh pineapple and orange rivers of passionfruit sauce. Despite being on the verge of potential explosion, once we tasted it any regrets we had were immediately dispelled because it was incredible. The pavlova was baked to a nice crisp and the sweetness was offset by the tangyness of the pineapple and the passionfruit. Three words: Best. Pavlova. Ever.

Thanks you to Craig Macindoe and MUMU Grill for the free lunch and I will be returning for more amazing food and definitely for more pavlova =D

MUMU Grill
Shop 1, 70-76 Alexander Street
Crows Nest NSW
Ph: +61 (02) 94606877
Monday - Tuesday, 5.30pm-10pm
Wednesday - Sunday, 12pm-10pm

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