Madam Char Char, Surry Hills

It’s well known that diners on Crown Street in Surry Hills are spoilt for choice with the many vibrant eateries in the area and one night we were feeling like a quick bite so we popped into Madam Char Char which is near The Winery. At first glance, it looks a bit like a fancier version of a deli with the option to eat in and you can pick from a selection of burgers or braised dishes which are heated up and served with couscous or brown rice. We picked one of each and settled down at the bench next to the open window which faces the sidewalk on Crown Street, making it a great spot to people watch.

Our Little Lambie Burger arrived first and was a fairly tall serving of 7 hour shredded lamb, caramelised onions, rocket, aioli and Nan’s relish sandwiched between a plain bun. The slow cooked lamb didn’t have much flavour to it and I found that there wasn’t that much aioli or relish smeared onto the buns either, but DK enjoyed his half of the burger.

Little Lambie Burger, $14.50

We had also ordered a medium serving consisting of a mix of 2 of their braised dishes – the Braised Chicken Tagine with Preserved Lemon and the Braised Chicken and Sweet Corn Balls. The serving was quite generous and the flavours of the 2 types of braised chicken dishes complemented each other quite well as they both had tasty tomato based sauces. The Sweet Corn Balls were more flavoursome than the Tagine and well seasoned with slightly exotic tasting herbs and spices. However, we found that because the dish had been heated up in the microwave, it wasn’t uniformly hot throughout the dish and we had to ask for the dish to be re-heated. Also, after we had dug into the dish looking for the bed of brown rice it was supposed to come with, we found that the waitress had forgotten to put it in. She was gracious enough to heat up a separate bowl of brown rice for us when asked, but it was quite an oversight to forget half of the dish. We also overheard that it had happened to the diners at the table next to us as well which seems to be a bit of a concern.

Medium Braised Chicken Tagine with Preserved Lemon/Braised Chicken and Sweet Corn Balls, $12

Overall, the braised dishes at Madam Char Char are decent value for a simple and quick meal but the service was rather absent minded on the night we went, which was disappointing. There are many other options in the vicinity which will offer more attentive service with your meal if you’re dining in and judging by the locals who dropped in while we were there, Madam Char Char seems to be an eatery that is more suited to takeaway rather than dining in.

Madam Char Char
285 Crown St, Surry Hills NSW 2010
Ph: (02) 9380 4411


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Madam Char Char on Urbanspoon

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