Miss Chu Tuckshop South Yarra. Even if you’ve never been there, at some point you’ve probably seen their eponymous scooters driving around Melbourne with the mildly racist “You ring, we bling” slogan emblazoned on the box.
Actually to be honest I’m not sure if they still do that, I remember reading something a while ago about them going into administration, but nonetheless they still seem to be going strong (ish).
I was just stopping past for a quick bite so ordered 2 Peking duck pancakes (labelled as “traditional”) and a mini beef pho. Sadly I’m going to say right up, at $3.80 each don’t waste your money on the Peking duck.
If you’re familiar with “traditional” Peking duck you’ll know it’s all about the skin. Crisped perfectly, the skin is artfully sliced from the duck as thinly as possible, then served with cucumber and spring onion in a warm pancake with lots of hoisin sauce. The rest of the meat from the duck is then used in soup, or stir fried with bean shoots or noodles. These Peking duck pancakes, aside from being tiny, features a reasonable slice of meat but no skin whatsoever. Additionally, the meat appeared to have been reheated in a microwave and the moisture leaked through and made the bottom of the pancake totally sodden. If the sauce was hoisin, it was very watered down.
The mini pho looked more promising and was a reasonable size for $4.50. For some reason this also came with a tiny rationed portion of hoi sin (perhaps there was some kind of shortage today???) and the flavour of the broth pales in comparison to alternative local favourite Hanoi Hannah.
Not to end on a totally negative note however, pros were fairly quick service, and the self ordering menu style as well as seating layouts were comfortable and welcoming for solo diners which is always nice.
The food wasn’t awful, just disappointing, and there are plenty of other choices in Melbourne so I doubt I’ll be back.
livelovelick 