Minh Minh Saigon Soul

Minh Minh in Richmond is a casual but vibing Vietnamese restaurant that takes fresh, good quality produce, mixes it up with some Authentic Vietnamese flavours and serves it up in dishes that will make you want to come back for more.

Minh Minh’s steamed prawn dumplings couldn’t be stuffed with more juicy chunks of prawn if they tried, and the stir fried prawns with ginger and garlic showed that simple flavours executed well can take a dish to a whole another level.

The ‘Sexy Chef’ with crispy beef in a Peking duck sauce however added a touch of theatre to our dinner  - with the bowl under the foil literally flaming when being served to us.

If you’re in the mood for Vietnamese, but not quite feeling a bowl of pho, then I would definitely recommend giving Minh Minh a try. 

Food: 4/5

Service: 5/5

Venue: 4/5

Value for money: 5/5 - especially their nightly specials! 

Total: 18/20

Verdict: love - get around to trying it soon 

 

Lenny

It’s a tough world out there for Melbourne cafes - not only do you have to offer incredibly delicious food and drool worthy coffee, but it seems that must also offer insta-worthy dishes that could easily form part of a new exhibit at MONA. Luckily for Lenny 3206 on Victoria Ave in Albert Park, it hits this high mark.

With items such as eggs benny served on a potato hash with crackle dust, and Japanese inspired okonomiyaki with a poached egg, Lenny’s breakfast menu ventures from your standard brekki fare. On this occasion I ordered the smashed avacado with grated broccoli and ricotta salata ($18). Fresh, healthy and delicious - as a lover of smashed avacado this interesting (and refreshing) take on the dish certainly didn’t disappoint.

Tasty food, friendly service and exceptional coffee - Lenny is definitely worth checking out for brunch if you find yourself in the area.

Food: 4/5
Service: 4/5
Value for money: 3/5
Venue: 4/5
Total: 15/20
Verdict: love - get around to trying it soon

 

Shanghai Street

It’s no secret that my favourite place for dumplings in Melbourne’s CBD is Hutong, but my favourite dumpling dish is a whole another story. Whilst chili wonton’s are far from a stranger to the dumpling scene, Shanghai Street’s pork and prawn chilli peanut wontons take it to the next level - the rich and creamy nutty sauce paired with the spice of the chili oil will makes it hard for you to stop to going back for more.

What Shanghai Street unfortunately doesn’t excel at though (well at least on this occasion) is their xiao long bao. The dumpling wrappers stuck to the baskets and broke to smitherreens the minute we tried to move them - meaning that all the delicious soup stored inside was quickly lost to the bamboo basket.



With Shanghai Street having four locations across the CBD, it’s definitely worth popping in to give their chilli peanut wontons a try.

Food: 4/5
Service: 3.5/5
Venue: 3/5
Value for money: 5/5
Total: 15.5/20
Verdict: love - get around to trying their chilli peanut wontons soon