August 2, 2024
We were in the city for a Friday night Wheeler Centre event and needed an after-8pm dinner. Michael googled around for Indonesian food and Makan rapidly came up with available seats. Others will know it because it's run by the Seger sisters from My Kitchen Rules, or simply because they're more on top of the city dining scene than we are! As so many Melbourne restaurants are, Makan is tucked a fair distance down a laneway, so spontaneous walk-ins are surely less common. It's got a very familiar contemporary atmosphere with polished concrete, neon lights, pastel finishes and a prominent cocktail bar.
To my delight, they're on top of their mocktail game as well. All seven options appealed to my tastes and it was the novelty of the Coco Pandan Highball ($12) that I ultimately had to try. It was a super-sweet close sibling to the soda-and-condensed milk Es Soda Gembira I recently sampled at Sendok Garpu, with the bonus texture of grass jelly.
Michael observed that vegan wines were well-marked amongst the drinks, which is funny because we couldn't see markings for dietary requirements on the standard food menu. Nevertheless, plenty of it looked veg-friendly, and we chose one dish from each of the subsections.
First, there was Bakwan Sayur ($21) from the Plates, a very battered tangle of shredded vegetables accompanied by green chili mayo. These were fun but ultimately a touch too oily for me.
I was less ambivalent about the Roti Serabi ($10) from the Bites. Described on the menu as 'coconut crumpets', they're made from a batter of coconut milk and rice flour, are perfect for soaking up the rich and spicy gulai sauce, and are garnished with serundeng (spiced and roasted shredded coconut). Just my kind of snack!
From the Large offerings, it had to be the Tempeh Lodeh ($32) for us. Here was another lovely coconut broth, holding the most tender, flavourful tempeh pieces, plus browned cauliflower and okra, garnished with crisp tempeh chips. We made sure most of the broth was soaked up in our Side of Nasi Serai ($7), and brightly flavoured bowl of rice with lemongrass.
We had room to negotiate one dish from the Sweets. Again, I was torn in several directions and ultimately we were both satisfied with the Teh-ramisu ($17), a cutely layered cup where the sponge fingers are soaked in a subtly sweet Indonesian jasmine tea, interspersed as usual with mascarpone cream, and then garnished with chocolate shards. It's less assertive than a traditional coffee-infused tiramisu but has its own charm.
Having no prior knowledge or expectation, finding a comfortable seat and kinda-fancy last-minute vegetarian meal at Makan was the best case scenario for our Friday night out. We'll certainly file it away for future reference.
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Makan has also received a positive review from Kulture Kween.
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Makan
Collins Way, Melbourne CBD
9642 3109
Accessibility: Makan has a step down from its Collins Way entry into the main restaurant floor. (Michael thinks there is potentially another flat access point from elsewhere in the building, but prior arrangements might be needed with the staff outside of business hours.) The tables are regular height and generously spaced, with a mixture of padded benches and backed wooden chairs. We ordered at our table and paid at a low counter. Toilets are gendered and include an accessible option.
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