By ANGELINA,
the Hype Hunter

“The wait will be about an hour long” is the first thing you will hear as soon as you set foot inside Matcha Mylkbar.

It’s no surprise – this vegan cafe located in St Kilda’s Acland St was Instagram-famous even before it opened its doors, and so popular afterwards that the food sold out almost every day.

Inspired by an ideology of ethical sustainability and a balanced diet, Matcha Mylkbar brings something new to Melbourne’s cafe scene with their completely plant-based menu.

Upon arriving, we were greeted by a host who ignored us a couple of times before finally getting us a table after more than an hour of waiting.

It was madness inside Matcha Mylkbar’s bustling understaffed small space. Overworked servers carry matcha-strewn dishes and water (which is supposedly three times more hydrating than normal) back and forth from the kitchen, forgetting the glasses or a fork in the process.

What Matcha Mylkbar lacks in courteousness and basic manners, they make up in culinary creativity.

Vegan poached eggs is the blockbuster at Matcha Mylkbar. These poachies aren’t actually poached, and they aren’t even real eggs.

The “egg whites” are made from agar agar, coloured with coconut and almond milk, while the yellow “yolks” are a combination of sweet potato, coconut milk and linseed protein.

The coconut components can be overpowering and the eggs have an off-putting sweetness. But there’s no denying the creativity behind this dish, and even the texture resembles that of normal poached eggs.

It’s not a bad attempt – but with all the rave reviews, you’d be forgiven for expecting more bang.

Matcha Mylkbar’s soy “chicken” burger makes a great alternative to our unhealthy obsession with the burgers from Macca’s.

The umami flavour from the mushroom, bacon and beetroot kraut harmoniously envelopes the slight bitterness of the bright-green matcha bun.

The texture of the burger – which was so similar to that of chicken patties – made us doubt if it was really vegan. It just needed a few bites to taste the prominence of soy.

The burger as a whole lacked the flavour to make it really sing. However, the accompanying sweet potato fries sprinkled with matcha powder could keep you away permanently from any salt-laden version.

The matcha pancakes looked like a mini birthday cake, artfully topped with dark chocolate sauce and macadamia and kinako crumble.

Taste-wise, it is hardly a celebration. The matcha pancakes were dry and bland. The dark chocolate sauce had an unpleasant tanginess to it. The strawberry and baobab coconut ice cream was the sole hero of the dish.

That may be where Matcha Mylkbar falls short. A meal here may lead to a dozen Instagram-worthy pictures, but it also leaves you wanting more substance and flavour in the food to go with all that style.

WORTH THE HYPE?

So is Matcha Mylkbar worth the wait? Frankly, no.

The ethos might be admirable and the food photogenic, but Matcha Mylkbar has yet to convince us that the hour-long wait was worthwhile.