AISALICIOUS: CRAVING ASIAN FOOD IN MELBOURNE

I have never refused to try different types of food but as a true Asian sometimes I want to eat rice even at overseas.

PHO BO GA MEKONG
241 Swanston St, Melbourne - Australia
Phone: +61 3 96633288
Opening Hours: Monday to Thursday 09:00 - 22:00, Friday to Saturday 09:00 - 23:00, Sunday 10:00 - 22:00

When I visited Melbourne in 2008, I ate at Pho Bo Ga Mekong restaurant with my cousin.

And in 2020, I had plan to go back to visit Melbourne, some friends recommend the Pho Bo Ga Mekong Restaurant. “ Don't forget to eat at the Mekong restaurant ”. Is that the same Pho Bo Ga Mekong restaurant as the restaurant that I visited 12 years ago? Yes the same. Surprisingly not much changed and still located at the same address.

We ordered Pho Bo special & Broken Rice special chargrilled Pork Chop. Pho Bo special is a bowl Pho with beef broth which featured a mix of beef slices, beef meat balls and beef tripe, accompanied by a plate of raw beansprouts topped with fresh Thai basil. The broth had a sweet tone, I added a little bit of fish sauce and chili for the kick.

I visited Vietnam frequently lately, so if asked to compare the pho in Melbourne and in Vietnam ( the country origin of pho ) the taste must be different because some of spices hard to find outside Vietnam.

Pho Bo Special

Their broken rice is still my favorite. Broken rice special Chargrilled Pork Chop is unforgettable. The meat was to tender and I love the smell of the chargrilled pork chop.

Broken Rice Chargrilled Pork Chop

CHIN CHIN

125 Flinders Ln, Melbourne - Australia
Phone: +61 3 86632000

Opening Hours: 11:00 - 23:00

When I walked into Chin Chin restaurant, the atmosphere was like the most happening place is Melbourne. The huge bar and the music was playing from the 80-90’s. Chin Chin is a fancy Asian Fushion restaurant.

We ordered fried rice for the kids, stir-fry green vegetables and Massaman Curry of coconut braised beef. I ordered Massaman curry because many articles was recommended it.

Massaman Curry originated from Thailand’s Southern Malay and Indian Muslim friends. As an Asian, I was familiar with this kind of food. Curry and rendang.. in between, curry with good quality Australian beef.

Fried Rice, Green Veggies, Massaman Beef Curry

When we asked about the desserts, the waiter gave us desserts menu. We ordered Vietnamese Iced Coffee Panna Cotta because sounds interesting. The looks was far from the photogenic but we ( me and my cousins ) was surprised with the taste. Panna Cotta, coffee, sugar, and cashew praline... it was sooooo good.

Vietnamese Iced Coffee Panna Cotta

JUICY BAO

178 Little Bourke st, Melbourne - Australia
Phone: +671 3 90417009
Opening Hours: 11:30 - 21:30 ( closed on Tuesday )

The kids were happy when I said in Melbourne had Xiao Long Bao restaurant and they didn't complained about 1.5 hours queueing.

My cousin ordered Fried Rice and Crab & Pork Xiao Long Bao. Plumpy Xiao Long Bao were filled with flavourful minced meat mixture as well as delicious golden yellow broth. The steaming hot bundles of juicy really hit the mark. Xiao Long Bao with great filling and thin skins. They are served steaming hot and all I want to do is eat them and burn my mouth instead of waiting for them to cool down. Bite the top of the bao first and then suck the juice out, then eat the filing and skin together.

2 baskets of Crab & Pork Xiao Long Bao

DRAGON HOT POT

251 Swanston St, Melbourne - Australia
Phone: +61 3 9942 5230
Opening Hours: 24 hours

213 Russel St, Melbourne - Australia
Phone: +61 3 9662 1833

Opening Hours: 24 hours

I loveeeeee any kind food with Ma La as ingredients. Because we often pass Dragon Hot Pot Restaurant which always looks crowded and it’s open 7 days 24 hours, we became curious.

The ordering process is simple. Grab a huge rustic metal bowl and head for rows of over 100 ingredients. Then put as many ingredients in as you want using the tongs with a minimum 400g requirement. There’s assortment of vegetables, seafood, noodles, meat, and many more. There’s something to suit everyone.

Head to the counter to have your food weighed and pay. Choose from one of five broths. We ordered the signature Ma La Tang broth, cooked with more than 24 wild herbs from Mount Emei in China’s Sichuan province. Then select from one of four spice levels – mild to dragon hot.

Over 1000 gr

Signature Ma La Tang

On the last day in Melbourne, we back again to Dragon Hot Pot restaurant with the kids. We ordered Collagen Bone Broth for the kids and Ma La Spicy Strir-fry for adults. The Collagen Bone Broth was delicious and flavourful. Perfect pairing with Ma La Stir-fry.