Looking for a fun birthday idea? Come along as we try MM Karaoke Bar in Market City for a couple of Elliott birthdays. See what the private rooms are like and I'll show you what the food and song selection is like too! Plus learn why it's perfect for a birthday.
My birthday falls around Mothers Day and usually it is bundled up with the Mother's Day celebrations that weekend with the Elliotts but this year I decided that I wanted to go to karaoke. I ended up choosing MM Karaoke because it got good reviews and the food was said to be reasonably priced and good. Most karaoke bars aren't really known for their food but I live in hope. The karaoke bar is located on the third floor of Market City just opposite the lifts. The signs are in bright neon and you can't miss it.
People fall into a few categories with karaoke. There are people that love singing and then there are the people that just come for the vibes. Most people in the Elliott family fall into the former category. We're hams, we love the spotlight and sometimes can be accused of being a mic hog. But we also have Mr NQN and his mother Tuulikki that are just coming along for the vibes and maybe to sing along as a group.
Karaoke Pricing
The pricing at MM Karaoke varies according to the day. We went on a Sunday which is a flat rate all day at $16 per hour. Monday to Thursday before 5pm is $13 per hour but after 5pm it is $16. The most expensive time is Saturday night after 7pm where prices start at $98 per hour for the smallest room up to $318 per hour for the largest VIP room that seats up to 20 people.
Drinks and food are extra but there is no minimum requirement for either. Kids are half price and you book in two hour blocks. Although our booking is at 1pm, everyone turns up at 1:20pm but you can wait in the booths outside until everyone arrives and then head into the room past the starship lights to start your karaoke session.
The Room
The 13 private rooms are all futuristic themed and sleek. A staff member shows us the controls and how to order via the QR code. The room's cleanliness was excellent, probably one of the cleanest karaoke bars I've been to in Sydney. The bathrooms are also spotless with nice toiletries. This review is based on two visits: my birthday and another Elliott birthday. I really wanted the pink room for my birthday I think we went we got downgraded because there were less people than what we booked for and you need more people for that room. The room that we have is snug and it's a room for 7 people and there are 8.5 of us (8 adults and a kid). There are glasses on the table and two microphones.
The next time we made sure to book for the pink room V555 and it's a much better size for our group. This time it's a group of 9 adults and 3 kids and it fits us nicely without feeling too claustrophobic. Room V555 is a deluxe room so you can also control the lighting making it bright, soft or romantic. There are also two enormous screens that show the videos and lyrics so I'd definitely recommend getting more people together to get a bigger room. There is also a Luxury room for up to 20 people that is enormous.
The Song Selection
How you find the song selection depends on what artists you like. They do seem to have a lot of Chinese songs there but some Western artists don't even make an appearance on the list at all eg The Eurythmics. You can however search on YouTube for karaoke songs but you aren’t able to add these to a playlist and between each song you have to search so it is a bit more fiddly. It's much easier singing karaoke with a playlist. None of the first 5 songs that we want are in the library but the selection on youtube is more comprehensive although some karaoke videos don't really prompt when you're supposed to sing. Still we are just glad to have the songs we want available. Manu is off to a strong start with Ed Sheeren's Shape of You and within seconds the Elliotts are singing and dancing.
The Food
To order food, you scan the QR code and order the food from your phone. They also give you a pin to confirm the order (maybe to avoid kids from ordering). The only thing you are allowed to bring in is a birthday cake and another reason why karaoke is perfect for a birthday is that they also do not charge cakeage and they give you plates, cake lifter, napkins and forks! Nobody really drinks much so we started with a jug of hot green tea for $10 as well as some juices.
We also ordered some food to share. The renkon chips could be crisper, they're a little sticky but they are good to share and they're popular with 7 year old Finn. The popcorn is spicy and freshly popped.
Everyone dives on the plum seasoned fries, potato wedges and popcorn which are pretty good. My favourite shareable snack are the gobo or burdock root chips and the popcorn.
The salmon carpaccio is dressed in a soy dressing with garlic chips and chives and it is tasty and fresh. I could have had the whole serving to myself too.
The gobo chips have almost a meaty texture to them but they are moreish and served with a spicy mayonnaise.
The calamari rings are a good sharing snack and they arrive hot and crispy.
The corn ribs have a really tasty sauce brushed over them and come out hot and juicy. Having them as ribs rather than whole cobs makes them easier to eat and I would order these again in a flash.
The chicken wings come six to a serve and they're lip-smackingly good. The meaty wings have a gochujang style sauce on them that makes them sweet and spicy at the same time.
The pork gyoza are also good to share and filled with a pork and vegetable filling. These are freshly pan fried so that they have a crispy bottom.
I honestly did not expect a lot from the mentaiko pasta at this price because karaoke bars usually have a bit of a surcharge and this seemed very reasonably priced but this was delicious. The spaghetti is served with sautéed mushroom and onion as well as dabs of mentaiko cod roe that gives a salty hit. I'd definitely order this again.
Likewise the chicken katsu don is freshly fried and juicy with an egg mayo salad on top so that it is like a chicken nanban. It sits on a bed of salad atop some steamed white rice. I would happily order this again.
The meals are really good value and the chicken katsu curry is filling. There's steamed rice, a crunchy chicken katsu fillet sliced up and a generous amount of Japanese curry sauce. Out of the katsu don above and this, I did prefer the katsu don.
The yakisoba comes with a fried egg on top and a generous amount of pork belly strips.
The dessert options include mini cakes and a large fruit platter. We order the fruit platter which is carved up nicely with a good range of fruit (it is winter after all). We have this along with the birthday cake.
The Karaoke Experience
We go through some 80s and 90s bangers like "Creep" and "I Want your Love". Araluen jumps up when "Let It Go" comes on saying, "I'm an early childhood teacher!". Amaya trills trying to break the glass making songs her own. Our attempt at Bohemian Rhapsody renders us appreciative of Freddie Mercury's vocal skills. Aura Lily chooses You Spin Me Round and accompanies it with dancing and then Manu's girlfriend Manuela arrives halfway through after she finishes work. She's there for the vibe like Mr NQN and Tuulikki.
Mr NQN was playing chess in the corner and trying to play it with Jett but I could tell that the kids wanted to sing and they were just getting their courage to do it. I’m happy that I get a couple of Adele songs under my belt like Someone Like You and Remedy although they don’t have the ones that I really want to sing. I also realise that Adele songs are a bit of a bummer whereas people really want dance or poppy songs. Then 7 year old Finn requests "APT." and "Nutbush City Limits" which he knows word for word.
The song mix is all over the place. They even put on a Finnish nursery rhyme song. Towards the end, we even get Tuulikki to sing. It's the song Staying Alive by the Bee Gees. We can't hear anything and then Mr NQN realises that she is actually singing and moves the microphone closer to her mouth. She sounds almost ethereal or like a monk chanting, not quite in time or tune but letting out a long drawn out, "Staaaayiiiiiing aliiiiiiive" slowly to the faster beat of the music.
Mr NQN and Laporello finally agree to singing a song: "Killing In The Name Of" by Rage Against the Machine. We have found that men are more comfortable with singing metal or trying rap but they quickly learn that rapping is reaaaally hard. Aura, Araluen and Amaya get up on stage to dance and then it's time for cake and singing Happy Birthday. Two hours is the perfect amount of time giving everyone enough time to sing a few songs and learn the Nutbush dance. You pay for everything at the end and one thing that was a bit vexing was that they don't do split bills. So bring cash!
So tell me Dear Reader, do you like karaoke? Are you a singer or someone who comes along for the vibes? Do you have a song?
The first meal and karaoke was independently paid for. The second meal and karaoke was as MM Karaoke's guest.
MM Karaoke
Market City Level 3, Shop R3.09/13 Hay St, Haymarket NSW 2000
Phone: (02) 9212 5555
Open 12pm-2am 7 days a week
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