Saturday 20 April 2013

Wonderbao - Literature Lane Curiousity

After reading a fair amount of positive press and equally good comments on Twitter about Wonderbao my interest was effectively peaked so we went on the hunt for this place on A'Beckett Street, which is technically accessed via Literature Lane for lunch the other day.

This is a small shop that is hugely popular considering the very reasonable prices and the proximity to not only the CBD but also RMIT. The first thing I noticed when approaching the building that Wonderbao is housed was that the police were conducting some sort of operation across the road. It wasn't long until the whole of the police were also queued up to get a bit of the Wonderbao goodness.



We were lucky and were able to secure one of the six stools against the window after ordering. You can easily have a wide variety of tastes for under $10, and I was very impressed. People rave about the pork belly gau bao ($3.80) so that was the first one that went down my gob. The bao itself was light and fluffy and had a very nice texture. I was impressed by the amount of pork belly which which was both gelatinous and tender. The crushed peanuts and coriander complemented it well and I appreciated the volume of food and intriguing tastes that you experience for that meager price. The Cheung chay bao ($2) was the biggest surprise. It is a Chinese sausage bao, not only full of flavour but the bao itself was awesome. I used a fair amount of the chilli sauce provided to spice it up and was thoroughly impressed. Finally "da" chicken bao ($3.20) was consumed. Although the chicken contained a trace of cartilage was tasty however the bau starred with this menu selection and the taste was once again highlighted by the addition of chilli sauce.

If you are fortunate enough to secure a stool, you will have views out to the street art and rubbish bins on Literature Lane. Most people seemingly choose to eat their food in the laneway which has a fair amount of character itself. There is a perfect symbiotic relationship with the location of Wonderbao and this particular laneway and makes for a relaxing and interesting time where your senses are piqued. Don't be surprised if you turn up and see a long queue however do not abandon your desire for bao. The staff are really efficient and you will not be waiting long - in our case less than five minutes, which included time spent in the queue and waiting for the finished product. So good.


Wonderbao, A'Beckett Street, Literature Lane, Melbourne
Wonderbao
4/19-37 A'Beckett St., Melbourne VIC 3000
03 9654 7887
http://www.wonderbaokitchen.com.au
My Rating: n/a
Service: n/a
Ambiance: n/a
Quality: n/a
Value For Money: n/a
Opening Times
Mon - Fri8:00 am - 6:00 pm
Sat: 11:00 am - 4:00 pm
Beware... Cash only.



Twitter: @epicurean3006
e-mail: epicureanofsouthbank (at) gmail (dot) com


At the time of this post, 89% of the reviewers on Urbanspoon like Wonderbao.

Wonderbao on Urbanspoon

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