Crossways Food For Life

123 Swanston St
Melbourne, 3000
www.iskcon.net.au/food/crossways

Too broke even for Don Don? Try Crossways, all you can eat sanctified vegetarian for a measly $6.50, or $5 if you’re a concession card holder (they do charge 50c extra for takeaway though).

Go up a narrow set of stairs on Swanston Street, and you’ll emerge in a spacious, loft-like space that will inevitably remind you of mess halls on school camps. Approach the counter and hand the friendly people behind it the change in your wallet (concession card optional), and in exchange they’ll hand you a huge plate piled with the curry of the day, rice, and pappadams. Go over to the drink station and pour yourself a drink – yoghurt lassi, cordial, or water (all served cold), and find yourself a seat at one of the communal tables before digging in. And if you're still hungry after you’ve finished, then go back up to the counter and grab dessert – a different flavour of halava served with warm custard each day. And if you’re one of those lucky few who have a magical expanding stomach, then feel free to go back for refills until you’ve had all that you can eat. After you have eaten your fill, grab your plate and scrape it down into the waste bucket, and your Crossways experience is complete.

The food here is simple and nourishing; absolutely nothing to write home about, but comforting and pleasant all the same. It’s a very good option for the vegetarians, budget conscious, big appetites, and the people who just like Indian food. And if the food is simple, then the service and ambience is simpler. Your $6.50/$5 obviously mainly goes towards the price of the food and the cost of keeping the place running. You scrape your own plates, share your table with strangers, and the air conditioning can only be felt in the back half of the room. But that all just adds to the unique camp-like charm of the place.

Unlike the food and service however, the premise of Crossways Food For Life is a bit more complex. Their website says that they serve ‘vegetarian karma-free, sanctified meals’, and it does show. There is a strict no meat, no alcohol policy, and there is an emphasis on ancient Indian spirituality, shown through the religious paintings and slogans posted on the walls, as well as the pamphlets and mini-books sitting on each of the tables for the customers to browse through as they eat. All the people who work here are volunteers, and they also have an outreach program for the homeless and the needy. In a nutshell, there is more to Crossways than what meets the eye.

Crossways is open Monday to Saturday, and there is a rotating menu. Shame it’s only open for lunch (11:30-3:30) though, so if you want your karma-free vegetarian fix any other time, then you’d do best to head to Gopals, the sister restaurant of Crossways just up the road, which is open until 8pm each day.

Rating: 13/20 – go if you’re hungry or poor, or just go for the experience

Hills BBQ Noodle Shop

586 Station St
Box Hill, 3128

Box Hill is not for the indecisive. Every time I eat here I seem to spend more time picking out where I want to eat, as opposed to actual eating. I think half the problem is that all of the places I’ve been to in Box Hill is delicious, and as a result, I’m torn between going to an old favourite, and trying something new. And I’d probably still be there trying to decide if it weren’t for Chris putting his foot down, and deciding that we’ll be eating at Hills BBQ Noodle Shop that night.

But of course, then there’s the question of deciding WHAT to eat. Most Chinese restaurants are known for having ridiculously long menus, and Hills BBQ is no exception. After an indecent amount of time spent deliberating, we decided on what Hills BBQ (probably) does best – BBQ.

Honey Glazed BBQ Pork ($5.50 for a small serve)

 

We started off with a small serve of Honey Glazed BBQ Pork ($5.50) to share. The serving size was very generous, especially for the price that we paid, and unsurprisingly, it was also of good quality. It was sweet and smoky with crispy charred edges, and it was fairly tender as well as being nice and lean. It was drizzled in a sweet sauce that tasted of five-spice, but unfortunately you couldn’t taste the five-spice on the meat. That tiny gripe aside, it was a pretty darn good BBQ pork.  

Roast Duck on Rice ($8.50)

We also ordered the Roast Duck with Rice ($8.50). For that price, I really wasn’t expecting much, maybe just a couple of pieces of duck off-cuts thrown onto some rice. So you can imagine how surprised we were when the dish above came out. There was about a quarter duck sitting on a bed of fluffy white rice, its skin glistening with oil, chopped up into big, eat-able pieces; they even gave us a whole duck leg! It also came with a couple of pieces of the obligatory bok choy on the side. We spent a little while debating whether or not the health benefits of bok choy was worth the risk of choking on it (it’s not). As for the taste of the duck, I thought it was certainly above par. Not the best duck I’ve ever had, the skin could’ve been crispier and the whole thing could’ve tasted more... duck-y? But the serve was generous, the meat was tender, and not to mention, it’s against the laws of the universe for duck not to taste good – I’d definitely order this again.

The service here is friendly and enthusiastic, especially for an Asian restaurant, and whilst the decor is a little shabby, the colourful strips of paper on the walls proclaiming the specials, as well as the large fish tanks near the entrance makes the whole experience that much more authentic. I’ve been here a couple of times in the past, and there has never been a single disappointing dish. The claypot dishes deserve a special mention, but everything else on the menu is also worth a try. They also offer traditional BBQ and marinated dishes, such as pig’s ear, tripe, and offal (and heaps more) for takeaway in pre-packed containers if you don’t feel like a full meal. I know where I’ll be heading when the next BBQ craving hits.

Rating: 14/20 – cheapest duck in town

BrimCC Organic Soup and Japanese Cafe

601 Little Collins St
Melbourne, 3000
http://www.brimcc.com.au/

My head is swimming, my throat hurts, I am sneezing uncontrollably. It is time to bring on the healing properties of a good soup! And a search for ‘soup places’ in the CBD on Urbanspoon directed me to BrimCC Organic Soup and Japanese Cafe. To be entirely honest, I was a little apprehensive about a soup place that doubled as a Japanese Cafe seeing as, as far as I know, the only thing those two have in common is miso soup. But Chris was hungry, so we ended up eating there anyway.

 Between the two of us, we ordered the Curry and Soup Lunch Set ($12.50), which gave us a half serve of curry, and the soup of the day. For the curries, there was a choice between chicken tomato, beef, and vegetable, and we went for the chicken tomato curry. There was a creamy pumpkin soup available that day which looked really good, but I only had eyes for the Hungarian goulash with gnocchi, which looked promisingly chunky.

Chicken and Tomato Curry (half serve, part of $12.50 set)

 

If that is a half serve, how one person can finish a full serve of curry is beyond me. And there was so much curry sauce that I could only see the rice from a tiny corner (do bowls have corners?). There were generous chunks of chicken and carrots swimming in the sauce, which was very mild, and quite different from most of the Japanese curries in town. The taste is a lot lighter, as opposed to full and creamy like most other places. I found out later that this was due to the fact that they use a vegetable stock, as well as the secret ingredient of apples, which lends acidity to the curry. This curry, whilst fairly nice tasting and warming, left me craving for just a little extra oomph – maybe a slightly heavier hand with the spices would have done the trick?

And this is my soup. Looks pretty unassuming, right?

Hungarian Goulash with Gnocchi (part of $12.50 set)

But a couple of sips of soup later, a treasure trove is revealed – I think the question isn’t what’s in this soup, but what’s NOT in this soup. There is capsicum, onion, tomato, and celery abound, and big hearty chunks of beef and gnocchi, all soft and flavoursome from soaking up the soup, and all tasting very fresh. Every aspect of the soup is delicious but the gnocchi deserves a special mention. I never thought I would say that the best gnocchi I’ve ever had comes from a tiny little Japanese cafe but this is without a doubt, the best I’ve ever had. It’s so soft and fluffy that I had a hard time believing that I wasn’t biting into a ball of the creamiest mashed potato, and it soaked up the hearty, tomato-y soup brilliantly. It was absolutely fantastic.

Cafe Interior

Clearly, I’m not the only one who’s discovered this little gem of a place. And with only 14 seats inside and another handful outside, you’re going to have a hard time getting a place during the lunch hour. Despite being small and busy though, this place has an almost zen-like charm to it. The space is bright, airy and minimalistic, and there is a definite sense of contentment as everyone around you digs into hearty, home-made meals. The staff here are so polite, friendly and helpful that you almost feel as if you’re eating in the kitchen of a very hospitable neighbour. The food is cheap, homely and generous, and the soups is especially nourishing. And what do you know? I feel a lot better already! I’ll be back to try the curry and salad combo soon.

Rating: 14/20 – Soup for the Soul

Waffle On

Shop 9, Degraves Street
Melbourne, 3000

Waffle On Interior

 

The wall is made of money. Literally. Well ok maybe not made of money, but there are so many French notes tacked to it that you may as well pretend that it is.

Despite the fact that this place is called Waffle On, despite the fact that the waffle cart is the first thing you see as you walk past the tiny hole-in-a-wall store, and despite the smell of the waffles wafting through the air, this place does a mean baguette (though their waffles are also really quite brilliant with maple syrup, or even just by itself). You have a choice of 6 baguettes, all $8.50 each, which are listed on the blackboard inside the shop. I’ve already tried le roast beef (lettuce, tomato, pickles, mustard, mayo – possibly the best sandwich that I have ever had, and that's INCLUDING the pork belly sandwich from EARL) and le fermier (chicken, mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato – not half bad either), so today we went with le parisien (ham, French pickles, mustard, butter, gruyere).

Ingredients, guarded by Orangina troopers

 

The ingredients are all piled up nice and fresh looking in a glass cabinet, and you can see them make the sandwiches in front of you. If there’s one thing I can say about the people here, it’s that they’re generous. There’s none of the  ‘one slice of ham is all you need to make a sandwich’ business here – in the baguette went 4 huge slices of ham, at least 3 handfuls of the gruyere off the huge pile, and a nice generous serve of pickles from pickle mountain. We had to get our sandwich cut in half too because they practically use a whole baguette!

le parisien ($8.50)

 

What did I tell you? Generous, aren’t they? I know what you’re thinking – with that much filling, there is no way that this can taste bad! And you know what? You’re right! Whilst not as mind-blowingly good as the roast beef baguette, it is still one mean sandwich. The ham and the cheese make this hearty and filling, whilst the well-needed pickles cut through the richness, so you feel like you can just keep eating and eating and eating. But that’s not the best part. The best part about the baguettes at Waffle On is, without a doubt, the baguette itself. There is an audible crunch as you bite into it, scatting crumbs and giving way to a doughy, chewy interior. It is so good, and so crunchy, that you could swear it’s deep fried. And if the baguette is THAT good at 4 in the afternoon, just imagine how good it is earlier in the day!

There is no dine-in option at Waffle On, unless if you consider 2 rickety stools and one slanted, 10cm wide ledge to be dine-in. Instead, take your sandwich, grab a waffle, and head off to Southbank to have a picnic and enjoy the sun :)

Rating; 15/20 – lunch and dessert for under $15

Where we ate :)

Recipe - Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

It doesn’t get much more decadent than this, a cookie within a cookie. I originally planned on making this all legit-like, following the proper recipe and everything I found here. But when I finally got around to it, I realised that I was a very lazy person, and so I just used packet mix instead. I was hoping to find the kind of packet mix that so impressed my boyfriend’s family (shh don’t tell them it wasn’t home-made, they still don’t know) when I first met them, but for some reason my local shopping center had nothing but these mini m&m ones. But anyway:

And so as opposed to having a bunch of ‘real’ cookie ingredients, I had my Oreos, packet mix, and what the packet mix told me to use (80g of butter, melted, and one medium egg)

Is it a giant egg? No it’s 80g of butter melted in a giant bowl!

Add in the packet mix and the egg

Mix it all together until everything is incorporated evenly, I may or may not have eaten some of the dough at this point.

  Make a triple cookie 

Squish it into a giant cookie ball 

Bake for 11-13 minutes on 180 degrees (160 fan-forced) until they look like this. And no I haven’t eaten any, a whole box of cookie mix only made 7 cookies, that’s how MASSIVE they are. Like babies’ heads.

  

Mmm innards shot

Rating: 14/20 – diabetic’s nightmare

Coconut House

449 Elizabeth St
Melbourne, 3000

Typical Melbourne. It was still warm when I got up in the morning, but by dinner time, a cool change, along with a smattering of rain, has come around, leaving me and K shivering slightly, and craving some comfort food. And so we ended up at Coconut House, a Malaysian Kopitam-styled eatery on Elizabeth Street that’s very popular with students, as well as the homesick Malaysians.

Little Coconut House more towards a leisure food place.

Coconut house was practically full when we got there, so we went three doors down to their smaller branch, Little Coconut House. As you can see from the sign above, we needed to ‘allow extra time for our waitress’, because the kitchen is actually back up at Coconut House. Despite that though, we both had our food in front of us in just over 5 minutes after sitting down. Service is minimalistic but friendly, you order at the counter, take some napkins and water, and sit down at your table with your number to wait for your food. The menu covers quite a few of the traditional Malaysian dishes, including (but not limited too) Hainanese chicken rice, pork noodles, and BBQ chicken/pork with egg noodles. They also serve a range of Malaysian drinks such as 3 coloured drink, teh tarik (‘pulled’ tea), and Milo. Most dishes here hover around the 8-9 dollar mark, and drinks are around 3 dollars.

Nasi Lemak Traditional Fried Chicken ($8.50)

 

K’s Nasi Lemak Traditional Fried Chicken ($8.50) was the first dish to arrive. A perfectly cooked sunny-side up egg draped over a mound of coconut rice, accompanied by some sweet-spicy sambal sauce, a handful of peanuts and anchovies, and a single piece of fried chicken. A couple of very thin cucumber slices added some colour. The sambal wasn’t as spicy as I would like, leaning more towards overly-sweet, and the chicken was... just chicken. Overall I’d say it’s not very exciting, nor a very big portion for what you pay, but at the same time, you could certainly get worse for the same price.

Traditional Curry Laksa ($8.60)

 

My portion of Traditional Curry Laksa ($8.60) looked much more impressive. Served in a bowl that was just short of enormous, it came with all the trimmings – sliced chicken, eggplant, a couple of prawns, beancurd puffs, fish cakes, beanshoots, and a combination of vermicelli and egg noodles, all marinating nicely in a cloudy orange broth. Now, I have a confession to make – I haven’t had laksa for a while, and I don’t know if I’ve ever had what’s considered to be a ‘good’ laksa, so I don’t quite know what to rate this one against. Nevertheless, the first sip revealed a broth with good depth of flavour, redolent with the creaminess of coconut milk and hints of lemongrass. But despite the slicks of chilli oil on the surface of the broth, I did find myself craving for more of a spicy kick; or maybe it’s just my upbringing on Sichuan food that’s doing the talking. All in all, I did enjoy this laksa, all the ingredients soaked up the broth very nicely, and it was full of flavour – perfect for a cold Melbourne evening that left me nice and warm on the inside.

Rating: 13/20 – cures cold, hunger, and homesickness  

Gratuitous shot of K's (brother's) DSLR and awesome tripod, taken from the $4 app on my iPhone. And he's not even the food blogger.

 

Lord Of The Fries

2-26 Elizabeth St
Melbourne, 3000
www.lordofthefries.com.au

Nuggets And Chips ($5.20)

 

‘Let’s have vegetarian tonight’

And that is how me and Chris ended up munching our way through 2 boxes of deep-fried goodness. The original plan was to take them down to Southbank and eat it there but then it started raining. Hard. So we ended up in the Melbourne Central food court instead. Not as romantic but deep fried food rarely is.

We picked up one of each of their ‘munch boxes’. The first one we had was Nuggets and Chips Munch Box ($5.20). Now due to the fact that Lord of the Fries is entirely vegetarian, the nuggets were naturally not made of chicken. I personally had no idea what they were but I assume they were some kind of soy-based substitute, a little chewy and not too far from actual chicken. They were deep-fried to a golden crunch, and almost tasted a little like THAT evil chicken franchise, but much, MUCH less greasy. It was nice to see that the chips still had their skin on, though it was unfortunate that they were on the colder, soggier side. But at least they tasted like potatoes and not... not potatoes.

Onion Rings And Chips ($4.20) with Parisian Sauce ($0.75)

 

The other thing we ordered was the Onion Rings And Chips Munch Box ($4.20). This time we ordered the chips with Parisian Sauce ($0.75), which was really just a fancy name for garlic aioli. The onion rings were nice and flavoursome, and there were actual rings of onion encased inside the batter (which coincidentally seemed to be the same batter coating the non-nuggets). The fries were exactly the same as what was in the previous box but this time it was covered in the sauce, which was neither the best, nor the worst aioli I’ve had (though I do recall a FANTASTIC peanut satay sauce I had on another occasion). I would’ve preferred to have the sauce on the side but, I guess that’s just not how they do it. Oh well, no biggie.

It wasn’t until about halfway through that I noticed just how damn salty everything was! Sure, it was nice, but it does leave your throat parched after a while. Not to mention that about an hour later, I started to feel a little ill from all the grease. Serves me right for having an all-deep-fried dinner.

Rating: 12/20 – don’t skip on the sauce

Roule Galette

241 Flinders Ln Scott Aly
Melbourne, 3000
www.roulegalette.com.au

Sugar And Butter Crepe ($5)

‘Dessert?’ ‘Sure, why not?’

And with these words, off we headed to Roule Galette, an adorable little French creperie off one of the many lanes in the Melbourne CBD. Never mind that we just ate our fill at Don Don, because there is always room for dessert!

We ordered a simple Sugar and Butter Crepe ($4) to share between the two of us. As you can see, the crepe was thin and delicate, the edges crispy and almost lacy, and becoming every so slight chewy as you work your way into the middle. The thin smear of butter in the crepe, as well as the sugar sprinkled on top made this a delicious, yet light dessert, and far too soon, it was all gone.

But what I like the most about Roule Galette is not their crepes, or their galettes for that matter (though don’t get me wrong, both are absolutely delicious!), but the charm of the tiny place, as well as the waiters themselves. The space consists of no more than 12 seats, and a few more outside in the laneway, and it is all unashamedly French – pictures of France on the walls, French books lying around, French music blaring from a set of speakers, and best of all, the waiters all speaking in French to each other. The night we ate there, we were entertained by a charming young French waiter, who between taking orders and serving food, danced around to the music whilst rapping in French. Chris noted, slightly disgruntled, that he only paid attention to the pretty girls. But I say if you’re going to be opening a French restaurant, then you may as well be as French as you can, right? ;)

Rating: 14/20 - Unashamedly French

Interior

Don Don

321 Swanston St
Melbourne, 3000

In need of a cheap meal? Look no further than Don Don, the king of value. And not just value, but speed as well. Anyone who has eaten at Don Don (or its younger sibling, DonToo) will know that your food seems to be placed in front of you even before you’ve finished putting your change back into your wallet. And change you will have, for most things at Don Don hover around the $6-7 mark, with the most expensive item at a pricey $8.30.

I’ve been to Don Don more times than I can count, but today I stuck with my favourite – Chicken Curry Don ($6.80). Pieces of tender smoky teriyaki chicken sat atop of an island of fluffy white rice in an ocean of thick curry sauce, accompanied by a handful of bright pink pickles, and a single broccoli floret. Serving size is huge, especially for the price you’ve paid, but flavour is most certainly not compromised. In fact, I would even go as far as to say that this is the best Japanese curry I’ve ever had!

 Chicken Curry Don ($6.80)

Service and decor here is practically non-existent. You order at the counter, grab a napkin and a spoon, and take your food to a table – that is, if there are any available. If not, then just grab your take-away box, and take it across the street, and eat it on the lawn in front of State Library.

Rating: 14/20 – Good ol’ Favourite

The Hardware Societe

120 Hardware St
Melbourne, 3000

** EDIT: READ ABOUT MY MOST RECENT VISIT HERE **

There are lots of places that I’ve eaten at that I’ve liked, and wanted to go back to. But Hardware Societe may be one of a small handful that I can’t go a week without thinking about, and swearing that once I have the funds, I will eat there at least once a week.

Hardware Societe is located in the quieter end of the Hardware area, and it’s actually on Hardware Street, not Hardware LANE. From the street, there is nothing to alert you of its presence, other than a small yellow sign that says ‘cafe’. But walk inside and you’ll be greeted by a small handful of smiling, enthusiastic staff, bustling about the small and eclectic space. It’s hard not to be charmed by the magazines hanging off the ladder in the corner, or the colourful tea cosies, or the little shelf of herb pots sitting outside on the laneway, soaking up the sun.

The brunch menu here is short and sweet, consisting of no more than 10 or so items, ranging from 7 to 14 dollars each. We ordered the Fried Brioche with sliced banana, chopped hazelnuts, Nutella, clotted cream, and drizzled with maple syrup ($13), and BLT with watercress, some kind of mayonnaise, and some kind of fancy German bacon ($9, and pardon the lack of proper name, but this really was quite a while back). Both dishes came out at the same time, which I love – saves both people sitting there awkwardly as the food cools.

Now, imagine the most delicious and decadent dessert you have ever eaten. Got it? Ok, now imagine something three times as good. Can’t do it? Well once you have the fried brioche, you will know EXACTLY what I’m talking about. I was already salivating as the plate was set down in front of me, but the first bite shattered all my expectations, I literally closed my eyes just to savour the taste of it. The fried brioche crispy, sugary and decadent, but not cloying, the banana and hazelnuts on top added a slight semblance of healthiness (HAH!) as well as flavour and crunch, and with the Nutella sandwiched between and the cloud of slowly melting clotted cream on top, it made for one heck of a mouth-watering brunch.

The bacon sandwich was nothing short of brilliant either. Looking a little less dramatic than the fried brioche, it came out cut in half with a couple of lean rashers of bacon visible, and a small amount of watercress and mayonnaise. Despite its humble appearance and simple ingredients however, the taste was sensational. The baguette was fresh and chewy, and biting into it gave way to bacon that had a much smokier and meatier taste than most other bacons I’ve had. The mayonnaise added moisture and a subtle creaminess, and there was just enough watercress to stop the sandwich from tasting greasy. All in all, a delicious sandwich where the fresh, top quality ingredients speak for themselves.

The service here is charming and helpful, our water was kept constantly topped up by a friendly waitress. Halfway through the meal, she came over to ask us how everything was, but unfortunately I had a mouthful of bacon sandwich in my mouth at the time, and so I had to answer her with watercress dangling out of my mouth. Awkward. But at least she seemed happy with my answer (‘Ishh Gwreat!’).

We couldn’t leave without trying the macarons. We shared a salted caramel one between the two of us. Unfortunately it wasn’t as great as the meal. It was somewhat on the dense side, and the flavour wasn’t very pronounced, and it was overly sweet. But I’ve recently read that they have improved their recipe, and now have one of the best macarons in town. Another reason to go back, not that I need one. 

Rating: 16/20 - must come back

Mamasita

Level 1, 11 Collins St
Melbourne, 3000
www.mamasita.com.au

*EDIT: READ ABOUT MY MOST RECENT VISIT HERE*

 Now, it’s been a while since I’ve eaten at Mamasita (hence the lack of pictures), but I can still remember every bit of this memorable meal. We arrived early on a rainy Friday afternoon (and when I say early, I mean REALLY early, at just before 5pm!), and we almost walked right past the place, because the signage was teeny tiny. Like, REALLY teeny tiny. We went up a narrow staircase to emerge in a lofty and airy space, and we were quickly directed to a couple of tall stools facing the window, and a couple of menus were placed in front of us.

From all the previous reading I’ve done on Mamasita, I knew that I couldn’t go past the Elotes callejeros – ‘Street Style’ chargrilled corn with queso, chipotle mayonnaise and lime ($4.40 each). We also ordered a side of Totopos con salsa – Tortilla Chips with salsa ($5, or $7 with guacamole, and $8 with both). The food came out with the speed of which you find in a Chinese restaurant. The tortilla chips were crisp and natural tasting, with none of that orange cheese powder you find on top of packet corn chips, and the salsa was fresh and slightly spicy, and was great scooped up with the irregularly shaped tortilla chips – definitely much better than your 2 for $5 Doritos and salsa combos at Safeway! And then there was the corn. Oh my god, the corn. I have to say it was probably the most delicious corn on the cob I have ever tasted. A half-cob on a skewer, chargrilled to a juicy smokiness, rolled in creamy queso and chipotle mayo, topped with paprika powder and a few drops of lime juice for extra zing. I was in heaven from the first sweet, smoky, creamy mouthful. Unfortunately my dining partner didn’t like the corn as much as me, not being a fan of queso (as well as having self-proclaimed that he has the tastebuds of a 5 year old)... so I got to finish of half his serve as well!

After perusing the menu a little more, we ordered a few more things to share. Whilst waiting for the food to come out, I decided that it would be fun to try out the jalapeno sauces. There were two little bottles sitting on each table, one filled with a red sauce, and one filled with a harmless looking green sauce – oh how wrong I was! The tiny spot of sauce I put on my tortilla chip quickly spread its heat over my mouth, leaving me desperate for a glass of milk to get rid of the buuuuurn. Needless to say I didn’t try the red sauce after that.

The next dish to come out was the Tostaditas de Pollo – 2.5 inch fried tortilla with chargrilled chicken, avocado, queso fresco, and chipotle mayonnaise ($14 for 4). Now after the amazing corn I had earlier, I was expecting nothing short of mind-blowing, and this didn’t disappoint. The chicken was deliciously fall-apart tender and smoky, and the avocado and mayo added moisture and flavour. The small mouthful packed a huge punch of flavour, which each of the components coming through clearly and complementing each other, to make what was possibly the most perfect mouthful of food I’ve had in a long time. Our tacos arrived almost as soon as we finished the tostaditas. We ordered 2 tacos, the Al Pastor – Braised Pork with Pineapple, Coriander, and White Onion ($5 each, or $14 for 3), and the de Res y Chorizo – Braised Beef and Chorizo with Coriander and Onion ($5 each, or $14 for 3). I think it was a bit unfair having this right after the tostaditas. These were reasonably good, with distinct and fresh flavours encased in a soft tortilla, but they failed to excite. I think I was a little more excited about the dish of complementary pickles that came with them, which added a much-needed kick to the tacos.

By that stage we were fairly full, but alas, there is always room for dessert! At the recommendation of the waitress (who had been incredibly helpful and attentive the whole night), we ordered the Platano Frito – Fried banana with Tamarind Ice cream and Lechera ($9) I was initially a bit hesitant about ordering this dish, as the words ‘fried banana’ brings to mind stodgy, shapeless banana fritters encased in a thick gluggy batter, the kind offered at Chinese restaurants. How wrong I was! The dish came out beautifully presented in a shallow ceramic dish, pieces of golden fried bananas surrounding a scoop of ice cream with banana chips sticking out the top, drizzled with thin lines of white condensed milk. The exterior of the banana was fried to almost a sweet toffee-like consistency, and crunching through that revealed soft creamy banana, which paired brilliantly with the slightly acidic tamarind ice cream, which cut through the richness, leaving you with enough room for just ‘one more bite’.

We left the restaurant at just before 6, and the queue already extended all the way down the staircase and into the cold rainy night. And for food this good? I don’t blame them.  

Rating: 17/20 - points subtracted for the average-ness of the tacos