IN THE SPIRIT OF BEAUTIFUL FOOD // Sonia Rentsch

Photographs by fellow Melbournian, Sonia Rentsch

FAST FEWD @ Miss Chu

Yalei and I braved the 9 to 5ers when we popped into Miss Chu for lunch a couple of weeks ago. The competition for table space, counter space, seats, lunch bags and attention from wait staff come 1pm is pretty damn fierce. For this reason, if you’re the more on timid the side, maybe hold back a couple of hours and try for dinner. This place is on high rotation, so you have to be quick.

But I’m not saying it’s not worth it. It is. I’ve been to Miss Chu’s a few times now, and it’s always in the back of my head when I want a simple meal in the CBD with minimal fuss. Sure, it’s always chaotic, and you’ve got to be quick on your feet to grab a table, but I am, so I feel like this restaurant and I are a good match.

Always a fan of house-special drinks, Yalei ordered the frozen coconut-mint drink, which is an icy concoction that you can also order with vokda. She got a virgin one, as above ($6). She also ordered the duck pancake ($3) which was a bit smaller then anticipated, but apparently tasted amazing. We shared the prawn and crab net spring rolls ($6) which are incredibly light and so easy to eat quickly. Instead of using thicker Chinese style pastry, Miss Chu’s thing is to use rice paper, so the skin is crispy and light with a fresh filling, without that really greasy feeling you get with most spring rolls. There is none of that miscellaneous green, "vegetable" stuff in there either. I ordered the seared atlantic salmon, which came with rice ($13) and light greens on the side. I always come back to this dish, because they hit you with a decent amount of salmon, and the vegetables are always fresh and cooked well. I also got a raspberry and apple juice ($3.5)

Prawn & Crab Net Spring Rolls 

I really like Miss Chu, and it’s the general vibe and the affordable, satisfying food that keeps me going back. There are a lot of good things about this place. To begin with, it’s all about fair trade and organic ingredients, and no MSG. I think it’s great the the owner tributes her Vietnamese-Laotian heritage by using her Australian visa photo from her childhood as the icon of the restaurant. They also have free WiFi (should you have enough table space to open a laptop) and deliver take-away orders within 1 km of the restaurant, which I should totally jump on now that I spend three quatres of my life in the CBD.

It's interesting to note that this place is pretty white-washed, despite the owner being of the same origin, and each time I’ve visited, is providing non-offensive Vietnamese fair to a large majority of white, young profs in a contemporary setting.

The only downside is that the service is a bit iffy, and the waitstaff have a tenancy to throw your meal across your table at you, Shanghai-Dumpling-style. Rush times are kind of a bun fight where you have to look out for yourself, because the wait staff are too busy to be escorting you anywhere. But you can tell that this is more under staffing and a lack of space and even perhaps a lack of commitment to customer interaction that makes the service a bit dicey.

The Seared Atlantic Salmon with rice and greens

MISS CHU 

297 Exhibition Street, Melbourne

11am- 10pm daily 

Good for: Easy, fast and informal dining with groups of up to about 4 people. Would be perfect to visit before a gig or a show, but probably get in before peak hour to avoid a wait.
Vegetarians: Have lots of options, as do the health conscious.

Seats: Try to get a table, although you may have to share with another group. The counters are a good idea to save space on the restaurant floor, but sitting there isn't ideal, especially if you're there to eat with other people.
Wait time: It was about 5 minutes before we spotted a table and nabbed it.
Food waiting time: Around 7 minutes- very quick.
Cost: Good value, and one of the cheaper lunch or dinner options I've encountered in Melbourne. My share of the spring rolls, the salmon and the drink clocked in just under budget at $19.50.

 

SUKIYAKI DAD @ Ocha2go

I have the original meat and three veg father. While I will always turn to the most foreign thing on the menu, my dad will without-fail, order a steak with chips and vegetables. But last week, I made a stand and dragged him kicking and screaming (you know, in a grumbly father kind of way) to Ocha2go, on Burwood Road in Hawthorn, meters away from Hawthorn Station.

I really dig this weird Japanese restaurant, with it's strange purple and orange, semi-galactic interior, and from the amount of people popping in to pick up take-away, I'm far from being the only one. I've been coming here with friends for a few years now, and on the rare occasion that we hang out at home, it's been our standby for a solid Japanese meal.

Service at Ocha2go is a bit unusual. First timers to the restaurant don't quite know where to stand when they walk in, and debate if they should just pick a table and sit. At the same time, lines quickly grow around the single cash register as everyone orders from the front desk. I think they could probably do well with a few more staff, or begin taking orders from sit-in patron tables to help cut down the queing situation.

 Spicy Fish Karage

I ordered the Spicy Fish Karage, made up of floured, lightly fried pieces of fish in a green salad, which is then covered in cripsy fried noodles, with light chilli and garlic seasoning. This is one of my favourite options on the menu and I've never been disapointed. It's the perfect light meal, and provides more substance then eating a regular salad, with a slight citrus kick at the end.

My dad ordered the Sukiyaki Don - a beef dish with sukiyaki sauce, carrots, zucchini and tofu, sitting atop a mound of sticky rice. I am happy to report that he liked his meal and its serving size, even though it lacked the grilled hunk of steak I'm sure he would have envisioned for dinner that night - a pleasant surprise for all.   

The food came out quite fast, probably within 10 minutes of ordering which was great considering the amount of food that was being prepared for take-away and the other sit-in customers. What Ocha2go lacks in table service, they make up for in food quality and speed. I would recommend it if you find yourself looking for casual dining around the Hawthorn area.

The Sukiyaki was a hit 

OCHA2GO

 64 Burwood Road

Hawthorn 

Tues - Sunday 11.30am- 2.30pm, 5.30- 9.30 (Not open for lunch on weekends)

 
Good for: Easy and informal dining with groups of any size. While not the trendiest cafe, there is certainly something great in this place and I've never seen it empty. 
Vegetarians: Will be happy with the selection on the menu as it caters for most eating preferences, with lots of tofu, vegetable-based and seafood dishes.
Wait time: I would have stood in line to order for about 5 minutes.
Food waiting time: Not long as all; it is the type of place where your drink arrives only a few seconds before your meal does.
Cost: Really good value. The spicy fish was $13.50 and the sukiyaki don was $16.50. All up, including drinks, we paid around $35.

 

YOUR WHITE TOP WON'T MAKE IT OUT UNSCATHED @ Laksa King

Life changes mean that I now am mostly unable to do brunch, which I used to do over quieter times during the week. It's all a bit of a downer but the obvious upside is that I can now suss out the dinner scene for Melbourne's poor studes. So far, it hasn't been too much of a stretch but it does take a little more planning when finding places that will fit the budget in the PM hours. 

The Seafood Curry Laksa

To begin this slightly new phase, a small group of us hit up the west side to visit Flemmington's Laksa King a couple of weeks ago. We went on a Monday night, thinking it would be pretty quiet, but the place was a hive of noodle eaters, with a quick turnover of customers. 

For some reason, I had assumed Laksa King would be this kind of little restaurant, intimate and a little smaller. Apparently, that's the old one. The new Laksa King, in reality, is quite large, with long communal tables and not a lot of space. It's more like a diner-style, fast-eating restaurant, instead of the 'sit down, chat and enjoy your meal' kind of place.

To be honest, huge eating places like this kind of put me off. This should be called 'foodcourt syndrome' - I think there is something kind of nasty about lots of people who don't know each other, eating in a room together. But hey, it's obvious Laksa King is a big hit, and it's turnover is huge, which meant we didn't have long to wait for our table.

The Beef Curry Laksa

It's not Pho King, and it's not Rice King, and as long as we were in the palace, we we're going to order it's signature dish. Between us, we chose the chicken, beef and seafood curry laksas.

My friends were big fans of their chicken and beef laksas. They reported back that there was lots of meat, the perfect merging of spice and coconut milk and enough noodles to last the soup.

I ordered the seafood version, which was also a good choice on a miserable Melbourne night.
The quality of seafood wasn't great, which is always a risk when you order seafood for cheaps, but was more then bearable. I was however, a big fan of the big cubes of fried tofu that soaked up the laksa. But I will concur with my pals that the coconut and spice flavours were right on in terms of taste - if not a little too intense coconut-wise. If you don't enjoy that usual 'breathing fire' feeling after eating spicy soups, then this is the place to come to because the laksa's aren't too intense. Ultimately, because of the coconut milk, this is one full bodied, voluptuous laksa and we struggled a bit after.

The pluses are that Laksa King is super, super quick, and really great value and you don't have to get laksa- the menu is diverse in offerings. It's the perfect student eat, especially as it's so close to Newmarket train station. The cons are that it's not the best quality food and I've heard that it's authenticity is questionable. At the same time, it's not 'a hang out for a leisurely meal sort of place'- you're in and out the door within half an hour and because of this, there isn't much ambiance to speak off.  However, that's probably why it's so popular, especially around the 6.30 mark when we went, just as people were arriving for a quick meal, from the end of a long day at work or uni.

         Having and blast with Antonia and her beef curry laksa

LAKSA KING 

6/10-12 Pin Oak Crescent, Flemington VIC 3031

 

Mon-Sat

11:30am-3pm, 5-10:30pm

Good for: A quick Malaysian-style meal with a group of friends, after uni or work. Probably not as good for dates or 'serious' catch ups as the venue is not particularly romantic or private.
Vegetarians: Will be happy with the selection on the rather extensive menu as it caters for most eating preferences.
Wait time: Only a couple of minutes. Laksa King's turn over is fast and the venue is huge.
Food waiting time: Not long as all; it is the type of place where your drink arrives only a few seconds before your meal does.
Cost: My memory is terrible, but I think we all paid around $16 for our laksa and diet cokes, which was really good value for the decent size of the laksa.

SMALL FISH, BIG POND @ Three Bags Full

It’s funny how once you start food blogging, every social occasion becomes surrounded by food. Every catch up is another opportunity for a post, another meal with someone I love spending time with. This is the upside of writing this blog. The downside is that because I have so much on right now, I am eating and working more then blogging and thus, my little patch of internet has not been tended to for some time. I’m going to try and rectify this.

My mum and I went to brunch at Three Bags Full, which sit around that Abbotsford, Richmond area. You know how occasionally in American shows, when a place is really busy, someone will say something like 'It’s like Grand Central Station in here' ? Well, at 10AM on a Sunday, Three Bags Full is Grand Central station, for breakfast.

The vibe of the cafe was good and due the number of people inside and the levels of noise, the pace of the establishment is energetic, maybe even too energetic for a Sunday morning. It's a little dwarfing walking in It's also huge and is spread over the multiple rooms of a converted warehouse. Diners belong to no specific crowd and instead, there are just all kinds of bods, everywhere, on every table, and on every stool, eating, drinking or waiting to do both.

We arrived just- and I mean, just minutes before the cafe got seriously crowded, right on 10am.
 Not wanting to join the line for a table inside, we scooted outside in the slightly windy sunshine. At the rate Three Bags Full fills, if you find yourself in the same situation, I strongly suggest you do the same. You’ll also be able to hear your eating companion talk, which is always nice.

After a while pondering the menu, I ordered the Roasted pumpkin + sage fritters ($16) with grilled haloumi + a parsley, pinenut, parmesan + pomegranate salad, while my Mum choose the Roasted field mushrooms, garlic, rosemary, goats cheese + almond dukkah ($15)

I have to admit, I didn’t enjoy my meal as much as I thought I would. Although it looked great and was nicely arranged, it was lukewarm, and the fritters were dry. For this reason, I suspect it had been sitting on a counter somewhere for a while before it got to me. I love haloumi, I eat it like it’s a magical, wonder food, but halomui cold has the texture of rubber. That was kind of a bummer. - because if all the temperatures had been right, it could have been a great dish. Although for $16, I also expected it to be a little more substantial then it was.

My mum on the other hand, loved her choice of mushrooms. Her dish was sizable, and the mushrooms large and meaty.  You can see from the pictures that the goats cheese was also plentiful and according to her, the meal was a substantial and well cooked brunch.

I don’t quite know what to make of this eatery. The menu is fantastic- versatile, expansive, and presents lots of options for the variable modern day Melbourne eater. And, the coffee was good, but could have been hotter (I seem to be finding this a lot, is this a 'thing' now?)

But organisation seems to be a problem, and getting things from the kitchen to the table quickly was certainly an issue that Three Bags Full needs to work on, especially in the case of my meal, and the coffee we had. I know that Sundays are crazy for most businesses, and I have an inkling this is may be an issue of staffing. The waitstaff in fact, were very friendly and weren’t slacking off by any means - the problem was that there just wasn’t enough of them to go around.

I was disappointed; I've read so many great reviews, and heard so many great things about Three Bags Full that it seems my expectations had been set a little too high. I suppose the obvious answer to this is that everyone else has read these same reviews too, and perhaps peak-hour on a peak day isn't the time to really enjoy this cafe.

THREE BAGS FULL  

60 Nicholson St

Abbotsford

Open daily: 9am- 5pm

Good for: A really great menu. Hopefully next time I visit, it will live up to its promises.
Vegetarians: Have lots of options for interesting and fulfilling meals. 
Wait time: Quite a while - I strongly advise visiting outside regular weekend brunching hours. 
Food waiting time: Quite a long time- Half an hour during peak time over the weekend. 
Cost: Including a latte, my meal sat at $19.50. Had the dish been delivered sooner, I would have considered it better value.


 

GLUTTONY COMES GLUTEN FREE @ Tomboy

With such an extensive cafe culture in Melbourne, I imagine that it must become hard to create a point of difference. Really good coffee, an innovative menu that caters for most eaters, and a slightly intriguing interior are considered the basics, but it’s the little things that now set each of Melbourne cafes apart. I'm always interested in seeing how newly opened cafes are making their mark, and so after the amazing experience that was Proud Mary, Antonia and I took the short walk down Smith Street, to Tomboy. I’d wanted to visit since it had opened, as the team there used to deliver these amazing little cupcakes and baked treats to my old work. Unfortunately, the didn’t have any cupcakes when we made our visit. Sad face. But full and bloated after breakfast, we soldiered on.

We only intended to try the cafe's coffee, however I took one for the team and ordered the chocolate and raspberry brownie. Rich and gooey, it was less of a brownie, and more of a raspberry-hinted chocolate cake. Highly recommend. Our coffee (Seven Seeds) came beautifully presented in one of their signature cut-glass jars and was as good as any well-travelled Melbournian would expect.

I thought the in-built counter speakers were a nice touch.

Tomboy's most impressive quirk is that their baked goods are all gluten-free. Apparently one of the owners is gluten intolerant, and creates treats that don’t compromise on health, texture or taste.
Most of the time, I associate gluten-free foods as being like the poor man's version of ‘normal’ foods, but this belief was shattered after delighting in Tomboy’s brownie. As one of the best cakes I have had for a long time, rich and flavoursome with a shadow of raspberry appearing after each mouthful, there was nothing poor man about it.

All in all, I liked Tomboy. It had all the components of a good cafe, and is somewhere I would go with friends to try the lunch or breakfast options. At the same time, the vibe within the cafe was pleasantly quiet and it certainly wasn’t a ‘loud’ cafe, probably because of the intimate size of the venue- which also means it’s perfect for a solo coffee. It’s probably worth noting that the selection of magazines they have for customers is also first-rate, with recent additions of I love you and Russh, which will always win extra points from me. I suspect Tomboy will do well on Smith Street, with lots of thoughful little details that are sure to keep the northern suburbs a’coming for some time.

We're in Melbourne, so there was the requisite clip-board menu

TOMBOY

356 Smith Street
Collingwood

Tue-Sat 7am-4pm
Sun 8am-4pm

Good for: Early morning Coffee (Opens at 7am!) or a quiet coffee with friends. Although I didn't stay for a meal, there are breakfast and lunch options too. The gluten-intolerant will love it.   
Vegetarians: Not sure, as I only ate the brownie. Although, that was vegetarian.
Wait time: We walked straight in and found a table at around 11am. The cafe was slowly filling, but not bursting.
Food waiting time: Not long at all.
Cost: I paid $11 for two lattes and the brownie- works out to be the standard $3.50 for coffee and $4 for the brownie.  Bonza.

NICE BUNS @ Wonderbao

  The Fried Silky Tofu Gua Bao and Choi Bao

 In typical Melbourne fashion, Wonderbao is a neat little servery, tucked down cobble-stoned Literature Lane. I was keen to try some Chinese food that wasn’t super-fine dining, but wasn’t your run of the mill, beef and blackbean, sweet-and-sour pork style venue either, and Wonderbao seems to fill this gap by adding a Chinese flavour to the easy eating food trends we're seeing right now. They are also the first Melbourne eatery that I’ve heard of that are jumping onto the boa train that is really taking off in the US.

Wonderbao's set up is pretty cute with its stamped steamers and clip-board menus. The venue itself is quite intimate with only one bench to eat on and a handful of stools - although this probably isn’t a huge issue though because the food is quite take-away friendly and comes out quite fast. You can also see the goings on in the kitchen, which suits the casual vibe of the place. The staff serving us were pretty relaxed and didn’t mind explaining to a uncultured white person (that was me!!) the deal with the buns. They also played some tasty beats, so extra points for that. 

DA PORK BAO!

I ended up ordering the choi bao with shiitake mushrooms, tofu and vegies (pictured above) and the fried silky tofu gua bao. The choi bao was good and hearty (although it was a little plain) but I really enjoyed the tofu gua boa, which was beautifully presented in its little cardboard container and tasted fresh and light. I’m not really in to doughy foods, so I didn’t looove the buns, but the gua boa was a pleasant surprise (kind of what you'd get if you crossed an asian taco with a pancake), and was really, really tasty, bursting with colour while the tofu inside was well cooked and nicely textured. 

My friend ordered two of 'da pork boa'. She demolished them and told me they were ‘just like Grandma used to make’ which was nice because she grew up in China. These little boas are carb-loaded and super stodgy, but I wish I’d had room for a sweeter, dessert style one.

Much like my post on Fonda with the horchata, I particularly liked how Wonderbao had a drinks fridge filled with a variety of ‘F.O.B Drinks’ (their words, not mine) which kind of added to the Chinese experience and gave me the opportunity to try a cold lemon tea which I probably wouldn’t have sampled normally- it was delicious. They continued with the theme with cups of warmed soy milk, which I hadn't tried before and ordered but didn’t really dig. I think I really just needed a coffee.  

The prices here are really, really reasonable, almost too reasonable, and because of this, it will be hard to hold yourself back. The bao's rang from $1.70 to $3.80, which is crazy good.  Despite only having two serves each, both of us were stuffed by the time we left so it’s probably a good idea to pace yourself as you enjoy your little buns.

 

Wonderbao is a great little place to visit if you find yourself hungry and with a couple of gold coins in the CBD. The menu is succinct, but sufficient and I would say that most people would be happy with the choice of boa's on offer. It would be great to see some extending to the menu, but Wonderboa's team is doing a great job at introducing their wonderboa's to Melbourne.

A NOTE ON DIRECTIONS! 

I had wanted to go to Wonderbao for a few weeks before I finally made it but each time I tried, neither google maps or iPhone could find it. It might have been super easy for some people, but if you struggled like I did, I found the best way to get there was via little LaTrobe Street, and down Literature Lane where you can see Wonderbao from the end of the street. It’s super close to RMIT and Melbourne Central, but as Literature Lane is reletively new, I don’t think it’s appearing on many online maps.   

WONDERBAO

Shop 4/ 19-37 A'Beckett Street 

Melbourne

(Enter via Literature lane, off little Latrobe)

Good for: A quick and easy lunch or snack while in the city. They open from 8am, so I suppose you could visit Wonderbao for a quick and easy breakfast, if you like, too.

Vegetarians: Are catered for with a couple of options on a pretty small menu.
Wait time: We nabbed some stools by the window at around 2pm on Wednesday. It was quiet, but got busy and then went quiet again, so I think the crowds come in waves.
Food waiting time: Minimal- probably about 5 minutes. 
Cost: At $2 + $3.80 for my two buns and $2.80 + $1.60 for drinks, my total sat at $10.20 - a new Record for Poor Student Eats!

COFFEE AND BAGELS @ Manhattan

I'm all for hitting the town hard on Friday and Saturday nights, but I'm going to be honest and tell you that I'd much rather wake up fresh faced and early so that I can sink a million lattes in a cafe and not feel like I've wasted the day. Unfortunately, this doesn't happen too often and usually by the time I wake, brunch time is over. Last Sunday however, was the exception and my friend Antonia and I visited Manhattan in Toorak Village for an early morning breakfast. I hadn't been here before but it always looks busy when I drive past on my way to work, so I was kind of keen to check it out.



 Without being chaotic or child-ridden, Manhattan on a Sunday morning is a busy place, but we got a table out the front and arrived just before the real breakfast crowd hit around 10am. We kept it simple by ordering smoked salmon bagels (The 'Lox on Bagel') and avocado and goats cheese on toast- pretty classic breakfast dishes. I was pleased to see that they didn't skimp on the salmon and my meal was just as I would have wished, but made better with the accompanying lemon and rocket. 

The staff were cheery and upbeat, which is always a winner- even if they brought out our coffee after we'd received our food, which is probably my biggest peeve in a cafe. But the guys serving us were friendly and fun, which is nice during their brisk Sunday morning trade.

All in all, brunch at Manhattan was a pleasant experience. The biggest qualm I have with the place is that the menu wasn't exciting and I didn’t get that nice little feeling of anticipation that I like to get when I order (this probably sounds really sad, but look, I just really love eating). I know that this isn’t the most substantial of issues, and for an area like Toorak, keeping Manhattan’s menu as a conservative one probably works well. However, Manhattan is an upmarket 'eggs and bacon' eatery. They are catering for the 'classic' breakfast experience, which makes it hard if you are vegetarian. Vegans on the other hand- don't even bother, unless you're willing to make some serious adjustments to dishes as almost everything has eggs, cheese or meat in it.

Although I wasn't dissatisfied with my meal at Manhattan, the experience did make me think about eating out for breakfast, and I realised that the more that I go out for breakfast and brunch, the more I've come to expect something a little different to choose from, instead of a dish I could create myself at home.



I do see Melbourne as a town that thrives on ‘food surprises’ and I’ve come to appreciate, and rely on creativity in a menu- especially as vegetarianism and to some degree, veganism are now no longer considered unusual. Now, it's almost a basic requirement now to cater for these eaters in a way that is both filling and interesting, instead of resorting to making substitutes within a classic breakfast fry up. We noticed this particularly here, as I have been avoiding meat since my jaunt to Huxtaburger, and my friend doesn't eat eggs which gave us some serious limitations when trying to make a selection.

But perhaps (actually, there is no doubt) I am spoilt for choice in Melbourne, and if you're looking for a classic breakfast experience I can recommend mornings at Manhattan to you.

MANHATTAN

448 TOORAK ROAD, TOORAK 

Good for: Family breakfasts, coffee and 'the bacon and eggs' experience.
Vegetarians: Should be fine, but you won't find anything super innovative for you. Vegans, don't bother- there are better places to eat.
Wait time: We walked straight in without issue around 9.30.
Food waiting time: Maybe 20 minutes- not bad as the restaurant was filling as we arrived, but our coffees did arrive after our meals.
Cost: I paid $19.50 for a latte and my salmon bagels. My friend paid $18.50 for latte and avocado and goats cheese on grain.

MEX-WE-CAN @ Fonda Mexican

A friend of mine had raved about Fonda for a while, and as I hail from the eastern suburbs, I'm a big fan of any place that means I don't have to travel across town to eat. So, on Sunday night, we hit up this fun little Richmond cantina.

I'm not so into fashion 'trends' but I love food 'trends' and Mexican is peaking in Melbourne right now. I remember reading an article a few years ago on food trends, which used the then-current example of how Mexican was everywhere in New York. I found that really hard to believe; what could be done with burritos, nachos and tacos that hadn't already? Since then, I've learned that Mexican cuisine is a lot more expansive then those three menu items, and that they are just the tip of the iceberg. 

Icy horchata made the meal 

Now however, Melbourne has well and truly embraced the innovations within Mexican cuisine.
What was once associated with soggy nachos and stodgy enchiladas, has become a food-style based around fresh ingredients and easy eating. One article even termed Melbourne's version of Mexican food as 'Mel-Mex'. It's easy to see why we've taken to it; the small sizes of each dish, and the shareable nature of Mexican also means the price isn't out of the question for most people. Fonda, which sits somewhere between Mamasita and Touche Hombre, is the perfect place to begin exploring the new wave in Mexican food.

Perhaps it was the effects of a big weekend, but my friend and I weren't particularly daring when it came to selecting our meal. I've heard good things about Fonda's kangaroo burritos, but as I'm back on the (pescatarian) wagon that wasn't going to happen. I settled with one of the fish tacos, and a pickled cactus quesadila. The tacos were really, really good. Fresh, crumbed fish and light mix of chipotle aioli, carrot, onion and cabbage and left you feeling keen and ready for more, probably like a good taco should. At $6 each, I have no regrets.

Ordering more out of curiosity then from the heart, the pickled cactus quesadilla reminded me of a Mexican version of pizza. Although it was hearty, with lots of cheese, beans, tomato salsa and some background spice, it was tasty, but wasn't as exciting as I might have hoped. I still wish I'd ordered the corn, at only $3.50 it was super cheep and looked delicious covered in cheese.

 
My favourite part of the meal though, was the fact they serve Horchata. Horchata is a Mexican drink, similar to a very lightly spiced milk, that I had had once before with Mexican friends in Japan. It manages to be both refreshing without being super sweet and should you have hit the chilli bottle too hard, takes the edge of any spice in your meal. Horchata is delicious and if you like cinnamon, I highly recommend you order one here too, but they also have Jarritos soda, which are cute. 

As somewhere to hang out with a close friend for a casual meal, I really liked Fonda. It wasn't too loud to have a conversation, and the 'vibe' was casual and easy. There was no pushing us out the door, even though the food arrived not long after we ordered. I also appreciated the size of the restaurant, not awkwardly small or dauntingly large, and each table has a good amount of its own space. The staff were also friendly, and food came out quickly, which made it the perfect Sunday night eatery.

These tacos are the best thing I've spent $6 on in a long time. 

FONDA MEXICAN
248 Swan Street
Richmond

Good for; Meeting with friends, dates (depending how busy it gets on the night you are in), catching up for dinner before a gig or going out, take away or a quick bite.
Vegetarian options: Are there, but aren't as expansive as you'd hope.
Wait time: For seating, we walked straight inside to a table at around 6.30 on a Sunday night.
Food Waiting time: Not long at all, less then 10 minutes.
Cost: I think I paid about $22.00 for the taco, horchata and the quesadilla. Although it did exceed the $20 I usually set aside for meals, I really, really loved that they had horchata. Despite the Mexican-food invasion in Melbourne over the last year or so, Fonda are the first Mexican joint that I have seen serving it and I  appreciated this dedication to Mexican eating.

A HOT BEEF INJECTION @ Huxtaburger

To go with the burger theme we're running with right now, I thought I'd start things of with one of Melbourne's dude food friendly eateries, Huxtaburger.  

 Chef and owner of Huxtaburger and Huxtable, Daniel Wilson is obviously a big Cosby Show fan. When ordering your burger, you can choose from; the Denise, the Rudy, the Huxtaburger or the Bills.  I thought this was the greatest idea ever.

I must have been the last person in Melbourne to get to Huxtaburger on Smith Street, and my short-lived pescaterianism was halted when I made a visit to the burger bar a few days ago. It's a good budget-friendly alternative to Huxtaburger's older brother restaurant Huxtable, which sits watching a very loyal crowd pile into the burger bar from across the road.

Huxtaburger exemplifies the 'dude food' movement that is currently lining Melbournes' stomachs, and I wasn't disappointed. This is THE place to go for a serious intake of iron, and you're going to feel it for a good few hours afterwards. Sure, they may appear all fancy with their brioche buns and wagyu patties, but that's where the wankiness ends, and the classic burger appears in all it's juicy, calorific glory.

 'The Theo'

Not wanting to half-ass the experience, I ordered the 'Theo', which goes the whole way with two beef patties, bacon and cheese on a fantastically orange brioche bun. I don't know if I'm ever going to be able to call a burger 'amazing' but I've certainly had my share of bad ones, and the Theo was pretty great. Without being excessively oily, the wagyu patties were fat and juicy, and had just enough cheese, bacon and barbeque sauce to keep the classic burger combination interesting. The crinkle cut chips (how retro!) were really good; just enough crunch to make a satisfying side. My friend got the eateries namesake menu item, 'The Huxtaburger' which is the restaurant's take on the classic burger, and although she had trouble eating it (I love watching people struggle with food), she seemed to dig hers a lot too.

I'm not sure if my photos truly capture how wonderful these burgers looked when they arrived (forgive me, I'm still practicing) but I'm not exaggerating; they are the burgers you dream about when you get crazy, insatiably hungry. I think I even took a picture for my instagram account- they looked that good. Make no mistake, in the flesh, these burgers are beautiful things.  

Staff were surprisingly friendly for peak hour in this popular and hip Melbourne eatery. The wait time for a table wasn't long for 6.30 on a Tuesday night, I think we were there for about five minutes before something came up outside. However, by the time we left, people were falling out of the shop, and lining up against the outside window because there wasn't enough room to wait inside. Once we'd ordered, we had a short, but not too short wait for our meals.

'The Huxtaburger' came perfectly stacked. 

All up, I paid $17.50 for the burger, a small chips and coke. Realistically, $17 is a lot to pay for a burger and fries, but the meat was delicious, the vibe was easy and if i can get change from a crisp 20, I'm really not complaining. By themselves, the burgers range from $8- $11.

 
HUXTABURGER
106 Smith Street, Collingwood

Cost: $17.50
Table waiting time: Less then 10 minutes.
Food waiting time: Around 15 minutes.
Good for: Catching up with friends, dates with long term partners (don't come here on a first date, no one looks sexy manovering a burger around their mouth) or a quick bite by yourself if you get in early. As there is no meat-free burger option, your vegetarian or vegan friends probably won't like this place as much as I did, unless their eating morals are as flaky as my own.