Yarraville’s indigenous cafe Mabu Mabu reinvents brunch with tasty Aussie bush tucker

Fancy kangaroo stew or salt and pepper crocodile for brunch? This Yarraville indigenous cafe is changing the way we look at Aussie bush tucker, one tasty meal at a time.

Mabu Mabu’s kangaroo tail bourguignon tastes just like a red-wine braised oxtail stew. Picture: Supplied.

The Aussie bush tucker at Yarraville’s new indigenous cafe Mabu Mabu isn’t as intimidating as it might sound.

Battered and fried crocodile ($21.50) could on appearance be mistaken for golden chicken nuggets, but flecked with native spices saltbush and pepperberry, it actually tastes like salt and pepper squid. Snap up the deliciously crisp croc parcels in a bitter but balanced salad of torn kale and beetroot matchsticks, with creamy aioli spiked with lemon aspen (native citrus) on the side for dunking.

Saltbush and Pepperberry crocodile eats more like salt and pepper squid. Picture: Supplied.

Then there’s the kangaroo tail bourguignon ($19) that tastes just like a robust braised oxtail stew, with three slide-off-the-bone tender hunks of meat that’ve been gently cooked for hours in a warming red wine, pepperberry and native thyme jus. Double down on richness with a gooey poached egg side ($2.50), then use crumbly toasted damper soldiers to mop up the more-ish mess.

Chef-owner Nornie Bero (formerly The Merri Table at CERES in Brunswick East) and business partner Hugo Lamb are making bush ingredients fun and familiar at their new cafe.

Mabu Mabu is one of Melbourne’s first indigenous-owned and operated cafes, initially launching last November as a catering business and pop-up stall at South Melbourne Market. When the pop-up ended in August, Bero and Lamb moved the cafe into the old Cobb Lane bakery on Anderson St in September.

Bero is borrowing the Torres Strait Islander phrase “mabu mabu” — which means help yourself in the context of a family meal — that was used by her ancestors, the Komet tribe of the Meriam People of Mer Island.

Mabu Mabu’s owner and head chef Nornie Bero. Picture: Supplied.

Not only inviting by name, Mabu Mabu is also friendly in nature, with waiters holding doors open and decoding the all-day menu for diners. The 30-seater’s pared-back interior has white brick walls, dark floorboards, timber tables and sky blue-coloured doors.

Sip punchy Proud Mary coffee from mugs, or perhaps the caffeine-free, milk-based wattleseed coffee ($5) that drinks like a nutty chai latte minus the spice.

There’s also bottled LORE Australia Gurbuchi (native kombucha) and juices, cooling housemade hibiscus or desert lime granitas, or a refreshing no-booze lemon aspen pilsner ($7) that tastes just like beer.

Sauces, chutneys and outback spices like pepperberry, strawberry gum and saltbush line the floating timber shelves on one wall. Three styles of housemade ketchup can be found on each table — like the green tomato hot sauce that’ll cut through your roo stew and liven the bush tacos ($17) of two gluten-free soft corn wraps cradling either coconut-poached chicken or native spice-crusted cauliflower.

Stock you pantry with Mabu Mabu’s take away spice range. Picture: Supplied.

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The cafe also supports local indigenous artists like Charlotte Allingham whose vibrant mural hangs on the wall, and AARLI Fashion whose “deadly” caps are worn by staff and available to buy.

Mabu Mabu proudly waves the flag for unfamiliar Aussie ingredients that seem intimidating on the menu, but look the goods and are backed up by knockout flavours on the plate.

@kara_irving