Street food can be simple, yet utterly delicious and it’s often a great way to sample authentic local cuisine when on holiday overseas. Colourful and diverse, it is a culinary experience you can find in cities and towns all around the world – it’s generally convenient and cheap.
Many Aussie restaurants and cafes offer street food options without you having to leave the country to get your fix…here are five of our faves to enjoy everything from bao to Nepalese dumplings:
Indulge in the exotic flavours of modern Nepalese cuisine at Lakhey restaurant in the heart of Melbourne's CBD. An elegant vibe of brass panelling, lanterns, stone columns and a bar promising delicious, unique cocktails awaits, served with happiness to nourish guests through quality meals.
Introducing Nepalese culture to Aussie diners, expect street food starters like charred corn, crispy enoki and green tomato caviar, or prawns, betel leaf, herbs and annatto oil; moving onto Nepalese goat curry, with smoked Royal Blue potatoes and charred leek, or fire-roasted chicken, spiced cucumber and quandong titaura.
It’s all about Mama’s delicious dumplings at ShanDong MaMa on Bourke Street in the heart of Melbourne’s CBD. Expect unique northern Chinese-inspired fare at this authentic eatery, where everything on the menu is made with quality ingredients, hand-picked and prepared by Mama herself; settle into warm and cosy surrounds with wooden carved furniture, authentic accents and artwork.
The dumpling skins are made from three different grades of thickness to match the filling and method of cooking; while fish dumplings taste best in a thin, translucent skin, meat dumplings need a thicker skin to withstand longer cooking - think choices like signature boiled Spanish mackerel dumplings with coriander, ginger and garlic chives and a mousse textured filling.
Uniting people through food, mahob by amok on Riversdale Road in Hawthorn East delivers the flavours of modern Cambodian cuisine to the plate. Visit for the Cambodian feast you have been craving at this pop-up Melbourne restaurant in moody surrounds of subdued lighting, a dark colour palette and potted greenery, as you peruse a menu showcasing quality ingredients and produce sure to tantalise taste buds.
From the signature Tiger prawn brioche roll with truffle mayo to crispy soft-shell crab, apple chilli jam, green chilli, preserved lime and Asian slaw, street food options abound on this creative menu; followed by slow-cooked tender beef ribs, caramelised aromatic beef sauce, pickled fennel and watercress for the main.
Melbourne foodies are flocking to modern Vietnamese restaurant QT Kitchen on High Street in Glen Iris. This trendy eatery is chic and stylish with hanging low lights and neon signs adding a quirky touch to bright yellow chairs and black and white Vietnamese photos, while overhead fishing nets and bamboo set an authentic ambience.
Street food is the name of the game on the menu – delve into the likes of Wagyu beef in betel leaf with pickle, sriracha mayo, peanut and a sesame cracker – or grilled duck skewers with native spices, green apple, herbs and satay sauce. Can’t decide? Take the Chef’s degustation and experience the best QT has to offer.
Eat, drink and love tacos at Melbourne’s Mexican wonderland, Si Senor Art Taqueria on Swan Street in Richmond. As soon as you enter this new amigo on the block and sibling to Si Senor Balaclava and Si Senor Hampton, it is like stepping back into your Mexican holiday with large custom artwork on the wall and booth and table settings ideal for lazy afternoons with a Margarita in hand.
This fun and funky taqueria covers all street food cravings from tacos to chunky guacamole, burritos oozing cheese and mesmerising cocktails; say arriba to starters of chicken wings and tangy chipotle BBQ salsa, or a fish ceviche tostada with fresh tomato, Spanish onion, coriander, pickled radish, avo salsa and lime.
