Jul 23 2008
Haru Review
Well Hello Haru! The re-opening of the old Monkey Magic happened this Monday with new management and a moderately new look. After giving them a couple of days to find their feet(*) I dropped by for a spot of lunch today.
Can the new management inspire me more than the predecessors?
Let’s find out! 
(*) Ok,ok – we didn’t notice anything had changed until late on Tuesday arvo!
Service Quality - 5.5/10
Top marks for being keen and eager to help with my meal choice upon ordering. Top marks also for providing a quite unexpected miso soup as a starter. Not so good marks for bringing the soup out 10 seconds before the main, giving me a choice of eating one of the two whilst the other one went cold. Also not so good marks for bringing the miso soup out without a spoon.
Should the customer have to go over to the counter and get the spoon themselves? Probably not!
Service Speed 6.5/10
Ordering is done upon entry to the cafe with no waiting, unless someone is in front of you of course, and I ordered one of the staples of Japanese cuisine, a Chicken Teriyaki don (my Japanese tastebuds are not as adventurous as most other cuisines). So I can only really the speed of the wait for the food to arrive.
Which wasn’t bad at all ~approx 10 mins. Although bringing the soup out straight away would also have helped boost this score, as I wouldn’t have noticed as much time going by twiddling my thumbs…
Food Quality 8/10
…and its the food the new owners score highest on. The Teriyaki don was top notch, freshly cooked in a wok, pretty much in front of my eyes, and was topped with a good array of condiments – picked ginger, spring onion and seaweed. Best of all the teriyaki source was not a heavy thick one but light not too salty and just the right quantity to flavour the steamed rice without drowning it.
I’ve had chicken teriyaki from a fair few places in town – this is easily one of the best ones.
And the miso soup (which I tried a bit before leaving in preference of the teriyaki) was pretty good too!
Ambiance 6.5/10
Unfortunately the new place doesn’t make a good enough break from the past. I mean if you’re going to change the name, change the menu and change the furniture, why put an ‘Under New Management’ sign in the window? Its not “Monkey Magic redux” – it’s Haru and the New Management sign is just confusing. Also the interior hasn’t completely changed – sure the chefs all have brighter-than-white brand spanking new uniforms (I almost had to put my shades on!) but the drinks units, cutlery and layout of the venue is still exactly the same. The decor is an improvement though, and I guess for any new visitors are not going to notice the similarities.
Value for Money 7.5 / 10
The price has come down a bit from Monkey Magic – the Teriyaki is now $8.30 as opposed to $8.60 previously, and is also a larger serving than before. For the quality that sounds like good value for lunch money to me!
Overall Ranking: 6.8/10
In closing, the great food on offer is let down somewhat by the unclean break from the old Magic Monkey. It really needs to find its own identity if its going to flourish and do justice to the excellent array of food options and quality thats now being served under the new owners.
But if for nothing else than the love of good food, give it a try!
I found your site on Google and read a few of your other entires. Nice Stuff. I’m looking forward to reading more from you.
Looks like this will need another go then
Thanks Sue!
I’ve been tied up with work commitments lately but I hope to wrap up the Ramsey Restaurant locations in the next week, as well as a recipe for Osso Bucco.