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.

 

SOUTH EATS @ Hanoi Hannah

I'd been looking forward to visiting Prahran's Hanoi Hannah for while before I made the trip in with two of my friends last week. Not having been to South East Asia, most of my experience with Vietnamese food is limited to cheap phở restaurants on Swanston street, so I was keen to see how this young restaurant had jazzed up Vietnamese fair.  It turns out that I was right to be, and the people behind Hanoi Hannah should be proud of their innovative take on Vietnamese food, modern and contemporary with some western touches.

 

The Tofu Sliders: I could feel some pretty fierce food envy coming from my eating companions

Hanoi Hannah’s menu was one of those where everything reads as amazing, so I settled on two dishes. The first were the tofu sliders, as above. Sliders are an American thing, mini hamburgers that I hadn't had since I was in Hawaii early this year. Arriving as a pair, they were delicious and looked adorable, too good to eat.. almost. The tofu had been cooked so that it was crunchy and was well complimented by the mayonnaise and salad within the bun. Honestly, if you're going to make the trip in to Hanoi Hannah, get the sliders. They also have a pork belly version if meat is more your thing. The second dish was the chilli squid, which came lightly seasoned and not too chewy, as squid can sometimes be. It was a little bland, but to be fair, was just what I ordered.

The perfect amount for a light dinner

My friend ordered the tofu salad with basil and tomato. I tried some of the tofu, and like the sliders, it was deliciously crunchy, similar to the texture of a hot chip. My other friend settled on a Vietnamese classic, phở for his meal which arrived with the token side plate of Vietnamese mint and bean shoots. Phở doesn’t shoot very well, but it always smells great and was a good choice for a winter night. I read after our visit that this phở is MSG free, which is good to know, considering I didn't know phở and MSG mixed regularly. Hmm.

We arrived at Hanoi Hannah at 6pm on a Wednesday night, and the restaurant had only just started filling up. Pretty soon into our meals though, it got busy, the bar was packed and all the previously empty outside tables had been filled - this should be a pretty good indication as Melbourne was freezing last week, yet there was a whole crowd of people ready and willing to brave the weather and eat outside.

The tofu salad

Staff were friendly and attentive, popping over every so often to make sure we were okay. It was also nice to have table service, which after the last few restaurants, I'd kind of missed. All in all, I thought it was a great place to go for an easy dinner with one or two friends- any more and I think you would be pretty cramped, but it was perfect for the three of us. The venue's vibe was upbeat and lively and the music fitting, but not too loud to have a conversation. 

It may be just off Chapel street, but the crowd are low maintenance and the prices more then fair for an area that makes quite a lot of money from not amazing food. All up, I was really impressed. Hanoi Hannah was well fitted in to my budget, and the food was refreshingly interesting. I work on Chapel Street, so it's always a pleasant surprise when something a little left of centre pops up. The popularity that we witnessed shows that even though it’s just celebrated its six month birthday, I wasn’t the only one still keen to enjoy this Prahran gem. 

HANOI HANNAH

180 HIGH STREET

PRAHRAN 

Good for: Small groups of friends, dates, easy and quick dinners or lunches.

Vegetarian Options: Are well represented and are balanced out alongside meaty dishes.

Wait time: We arranged to meet at 6pm on a Wednesday night and had a table as soon as we walked in to what felt like a quaint little restaurant and bar. By 6.30, it was packed, there were people waiting at the bar and outside.

Food Waiting time: Not long with the food arriving around 15 minutes after ordering. Dinner all up, probably took a little under an hour.

Cost: Each dish cost around $10. I got a small amount of change from my $20 for my two dishes. The salad was around $12, and the phở was $10.