Mama's Buoi

Tucked away in the laneway separating GPO and Myer is Mama’s Buoi, a spin on traditional Vietnamese food brought to you by the team behind the ever-popular Roll’d. 

Mama’s Buoi does some monthly menus (previously the team had done a Pho inspired menu, complete with a Pho cocktail!) and this month we tried the Pig Out Menu, where - you guessed it - all dishes had pork of some kind.

We started out with the succulent pork baos. The pork belly skin was crispy and the bun soft, providing complementary textures that we loved. We also enjoyed the sauce and the sour pickled carrots. We then had the crispy pancake with grilled pork. Served somewhat like a crunchy taco, we enjoyed this unique approach - the grilled pork found in this dish is typically used in banh mi rolls. 

While waiting for our main dishes, we had the Miss Saigon, a gin based cocktail described as - “have you ever wanted to put a strawberry waterslide in your mouth?”. No, we haven’t, but yes we enjoyed it. A lot. Perusing the menu, we were reminded of those throw-back laminated sticky cheap photo albums that I’m sure your family photos were at one point or another stored in the less-digital world. This really did make us feel nostalgic!

When it got to mains, we couldn’t resist the sticky pork ribs. Be prepared to get your hands dirty if you really want to dig into these. Slightly fatty (what good pork ribs aren’t?!) and dripping in a sweet and tangy sauce, we found the meat slipped right off the bone. Served with some simple white rice, this makes the dish that little bit less intense. This was our favourite.

We also tried the braised pork curry. We’ve never associated Vietnamese food with curries but this was delicious. It’s not a thick curry - it is more of a sauce which again sits nicely served with rice.

We finished with the candied bacon with fried peanut butter, served with fig ice cream and cream cheese. Yes, these are very rich flavours so we very much implore you to try all the flavours together in smaller bites so you can enjoy the mix.

Go check out Mama’s Buoi when you get a moment (if you need a break from shopping!) even if it is to try one of their unique cocktails!

Location: G25 Melbourne Gpo  Melbourne, VIC
Phone: 03 9671 3426
Link: http://www.mamasbuoi.com.au/
Cuisine: Vietnamese