Grand Opening @ Rubix, Tetris Studios Brunswick
Hey guys welcome back! 🙂
So on Saturday I went to the Opening of Lil’ Nomnoms with my mate A.T. Lil’ Nomnoms is a new food truck selling Vietnamese street food in different areas across Melbourne. I am a vivid fan and advocate for local businesses, and particularly a strong supporter of food trucks because they make great quality food (I can always taste the love!) and it is such an innovative business/food idea. So when I heard about a new truck opening, I couldn’t help but to come along and support. We paid $15 each, and they promised us a 7 course meal. When we got there, we were taken by surprise because the event was completely different to what we had expected. The venue was great; very aesthetically pleasing with graffitied walls and tetris block seats. It had a hip hop type of warehouse vibe. However, the venue was small and could barely shelter for the amount of people who came (I would say it was about 70 people) so it was packed and therefore hard to manoeuvre our way around. There weren’t many chairs either so everyone was standing around with a beer in their hands. It gave off a clubbing atmosphere, which is completely outside of my social comfort zone.
The first three courses came out fairly quickly. I’m so sorry, I have failed as a food blogger because I didn’t take any photos of the food but I promise to try their food again and take photos then!! Waiting for the fourth course took about an hour or longer and by the time we received it, I looked at my watch and it was already past 2PM (the event was supposed to end at 3PM). After eating our fourth course, the owner came out and announced that there was one final course left, which was such a let down because I was so excited to try all 7 courses!! I guess they just ran out of time. Anyway, the fifth course finally came out and by that time, it was already 3PM so we were keen to leave. We happened to be standing next to the owner’s brother (he introduced himself as Nam) and he was so friendly. We had a little chat and he said that they’ll be selling around Maribyrnong soon (Yarraville, Seddon and West Footscray) so I’ll definitely check them out again and see which courses will remain on the menu!
This is the list of all 5 courses that we tried:
Goi Cuon Cha Gio (8/10) – Vegetarian rice paper roll w/ spring roll inside, lettuce, Vietnamese mint, coriander and perilla. This was pretty nice, however they didn’t give each person a separate dipping sauce. It needed that sauce. Still good though.
Goi Ga Nuong (8/10) – Vietnamese BBQ chicken salad. I thought this was fairly simple but a great dish. Chicken was quite tender, and I thoroughly enjoyed the pickled salad. It was also dressed with a sauce that added a bit of a subtle sweet flavour, and tied the whole dish together quite nicely.
Banh Hoi Thit Nuong (5.5/10)- Roast pork belly on a bed of cos lettuce, rice noodles, cucumber, coriander and mint. This meal was very poorly constructed in my opinion. You had a tiny piece of lettuce, then a giant square bed of rice noodles on top, with the other ingredients in addition to that, finishing off with a tiny drop of Hoisin sauce. Very difficult to hold, let alone eat. My noodles broke and went everywhere, and it was bland because it needed more sauce.
Banh Mi Ga Nuong (7/10) – Banh mi slider filled with grilled lemongrass, chicken, cucumber, spring onions, picked carrot, coriander, mayo and chicken liver pate. This course was quite tasty, I particularly enjoyed their truck made mayo because it was different from the usual spread used in fob roll places. I didn’t really taste much of the pate though.
Banh Bao Thit Heo Kho (7/10) – steamed bun with Vietnamese braised pork belly, cucumber, coriander, chilli, crushed peanuts and shallots. This was great however a bit too greasy for me. The grease liquid was dripping out of the side and onto my hands. The braised pork had more of the fat than the meat which was unfortunate.
A very slow service but the food truck seems to be owned by a friendly and welcoming Vietnamese family who are passionate about their food. The truck has a slick design and a great concept so I’m definitely eager to try it again when they roam around the streets of Melbourne. I would give the food quality overall a 7/10. Not too shabby. 🙂
Interested?
Lil’ Nomnoms (Food Truck/Vietnamese Street Food)
They’ll be up and running soon at a street near you,
Times and locations will vary so check them out for updates!
Facebook:Â https://www.facebook.com/lilnomnomstruck
Twitter:Â https://twitter.com/lilnomnoms
Pls, stay safe for next Tuesday,
From Your Weekly Foodie,
– T
tuesdayswiththao 