Peko Peko

There is a reason why Peko Peko in South Melbourne is always filled to the brim and has such an incredible rating on Zomato - and no, it’s not just because it has a catchy name - Peko Peko’s Japanese inspired cuisine is cheap, creative and most importantly, absolutely delicious.

Whilst it is definitely a no frills kind of venue, the tables and glasses are clean and the service is quick.  If you’re a fan of Japanese curry then Peko’s Crispy Calamari Curry is definitely a must - the calamari manages to stay crisp on the outside while tender and juicy on the inside, and the curry sauce is rich with flavour. The Chicken Dumplings with seared prawn and coriander mayo is also a must - with sauce so good you'll want to lick the sauce off the plate with your finger.

 

But to be honest, you really can’t go wrong with whatever you order at Peko Peko, with the Spinach Beef Dumplings with seared scallops and chili oil, and the Spicy Basil 3 Cup Noodle  also being excellent options (although, the Spicy Basil 3 Cup Noodle dish may have been a bit too overzealous with the silken tofu).

 



Incredible food at a budget price - I’ll definitely be back again soon.

Food: 4.5/5
Service: 3.5/5
Venue: 3/5
Total: 11/15
Verdict: love - get around to trying it soon

China Bar - Swanston Street

 

 

China Bar is a chain of, well, as the name would suggest, Chinese restaurants. Open until the early hours of the morning, China Bar serves up a variety of dim sum, rice dishes and other Chinese eats.

But is the food any good? Does this even matter when you’re being served at 2am in the morning? I say it does - and China Bar was definitely dissapointing on the food front. The prawn and garlic chive dumplings had no flavour, the shanghai dumplings were soggy and the pan fried pork dumplings were cold. They weren't even cheap on dumpling standards - the dim sum worked out to be over $2 a piece - even Hutong's dumplings are much cheaper than that, and that is saying something!



 

 

The highlight of the night was by far the beef in black bean sauce with rice noodle - the beef was tender, the noodles cooked well and the whole dish was surprisingly full of flavour.

 

With such top quality Melbourne eateries open into the wee hours of the morning, there really is no excuse for a soggy, on the expensive side, dumpling!

Food: 2/5
Service: 3/5
Venue: 3/5
Total: 8/15
Verdict: don’t bother - stick with Shark Fin House

BKK

BKK in a word? Underwhelming. Although, in fairness to BKK, their less than rave review stemmed mainly from their family name -  as a member of the Hanoi Hannah/Tokyo Tina group, it was always going to be tricky for them to meet the incredibly high expectations I had for this place when walking through its doors.

Situated in Saigon Sally’s old hood, the downstairs of the venue itself is, well, quite sterile - consisting of vast white walls with not a plant, painting or other decorative feature in sight.

Offering Thai inspired cuisine, the menu offers up many of the usual Thai culprits, but also offers a few surprises, including the Fried Green Papaya Nest with sweet pork, cherry tomatoes, peanuts and som tum, and the Broken Mussel Pancake with bean shoots and home made siracha.  As a lover of green papaya salad (and if I'm going to be honest, of most things fried!), I certainly couldn't go past the Fired Green Papaya Nest. Whilst mildly apprehensive about my papaya being fried, it actually added a delightful texture to the dish, which overall was bright, fresh and well balanced in flavour. The shredded chicken salad with green mango, prawns, peanuts, herbs and chilli was also a highlight of the night.

The Thai Green Curry and the Rice Noodles with Prawns, Chilli, Basil and Snake Bean were "good", however they were no better than a $10 dish you could grab from your local take away joint such as Thailander.

The service was by far the highlight of the evening - friendly, attentive and completely across the menu, they were an absolute delight. However, whilst the service was impressive, with its hit and miss menu, I definitely won't be running back through BKK's doors.

Food: 3/5
Service: 4.5/5
Venue: 2.5:5
Total: 10/15
Verdict: Verging on don't bother - there's so many other amazing Thai places in Melbourne.

Gru Thai

They say that you should never judge a book by its cover, well when it comes to Gru Thai, you shouldn’t judge a restaurant by its shop front. Looking cheap, dark and dingy from the outside - you’d be forgiven for thinking this place doubled up as a brothel. However, on walking through Gru Thai’s doors I was surprised to find a light and bright restaurant brimming with patrons.

From fish cakes to Thai green curry, Gru Thai has all of usual culprits. The drunken noodles with minced pork and green beans however was by far the highlight of the night, and definitely a dish I would go back to Gru Thai to order again.




The pad chicken satay was also on our menu for the night.  The chicken was cooked well, and the vegetables remained crisp, however the sauce was verging on watery and lacked any depth of flavour.

 

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say the service was petty dismal - not only was it slow, they forgot our entrees, served two of our mains without rice, then served the last main about 45 minutes later. But service aside, the drunken noodles were enough to make Gru Thai a contender for takeaway.


Food: 3/5
Service: 2/5
Venue: 3/5
Total: 8/10
Verdict: like - get around to trying it at some point - but perhaps stick to take out

Tina's Noodle Kitchen

Offering the likes of Braised Pork Feet with Pickles and Bones, and Chilli Blood Curd Combination, Tina’s Noodle Kitchen could definitely be coined ‘authentic’. Part of the Dainty Sichuan Group, this Swanston Street establishment offers a no frills inexpensive experience, with a menu consisting solely of noodles.

Whilst I wasn't quite brave enough to opt for the Chilli Blood Curd Combination, the hot and spicy beef slices looked pretty tempting. However, what started off as a decent (but far from delicious) bowl of soup, was quickly destroyed by a shard of some obscure spice (perhaps the love product of a star anise, chilli pepper and green peppercorn gone terribly wrong) which overpowered my taste buds and tainted the rest of the dish

 

 My friend ordered the mixed vegetables - which she was tasty, even though she only recognised about 70% of the vegetables in it.



Was it terrible? No. But my soup lacked any depth of flavour, and with so many other amazing Noodle houses in Melbourne, it’s certainly not somewhere I’d be rushing back to.


Food: 2.5/5
Service: 2.5/5
Venue: 2.5/5
Total: 7.5/15
Verdict: don’t bother - there are too many other amazing Noodle houses in Melbourne

Lamaro's

Exquisite is just one of the words that I'd use to describe South Melbourne's hidden treasure Lamaro's. Tucked away on Cecil Street, Lamaro's dining room is the place to go to if you're after fine dining with a local touch - there won't be a glimmer of pretentiousness or snobbery whilst your being served up your French champagne and oysters - just a friendly smile and a 'how else can we help'.

Lamaro's menu is Modern Australian scattered with international influences, offering the likes of red duck curry and seared yellowfin tuna in their formal dining room, and pork belly kim chi Baos and Soft Shell Carb Sliders in their more casual bar. Opting for the more formal dining room menu, we couldn't go past kicking off our meal with a serve of oysters, which were so plump juicy we ordered a second serve.

The whole deep fried baby snapper with coconut caramel sauce and Asian salad was nothing short of exquisite. Coming out as a whole fish, the way it was prepared made it surprisingly easy to navigate - and it certainly wasn't just a pretty face, whilst deep fried - the fish was still fresh and juicy, and the tangy Asian salad was the perfect accompaniment.

Offering the option of a formal dining room, a bar with a more casual menu, and even a scattering of outdoor seating, Lamaro's has you covered for any occasion.

Food: 4.5/5
Service: 5/5
Venue: 4/5
Total: 13.5/15
Verdict: love - get around to trying it soon

Din Tai Fung

Its' no secret that with their no frill vibes, cheap but delicious eats and BYO policies, dumpling houses are one of my favourite things about the Melbourne food scene, so it may come as a surprise that I only recently tried Din Tai Fung's famous rainbow dumplings.

Allegedly naturally coloured without artificial food dyes (and I emphasise the word allegedly), Din Tai Fung's "Dumpling Gems" are made up of a Salad Green, Golden Corn, Seafood, Bolognese, Cheese, BBQ and Garlic Pork dumpling.

 

Whilst dumplings and cheese by themselves are up there with some of my favourite food - I thought the two would marry together about as well as a banana and cheese burrito (which unfortunately is a thing!), but the cheese dumping was actually the tastiest dumpling of the lot. The Golden Corn dumpling was also delicious. But novelty aside, once is probably enough for me to try these "Gem" dumplings, as they didn't quite hit the mark like the likes of a classic pan fried pork dumpling, or Din Tai Fung's Xiao Long Bao (pictured below).

 

 

When I heard that Din Tai Fung was located at the Emporium, I was expecting to pull up a chair at a food court - but to my delight, Din Tai Fung is its own self contained restaurant, which even has a separate entrance to Emporium if you don't want to be tempted by the shops on your way.

With its decent food and reasonable price tag, the novelty factor alone of the Gem dumplings means that this place is worth a try.
 

Food: 3/5

Decor: 3/5
Service: 3/5
Total: 9/15
Verdict: Like - Get around to trying it at some point.