Love Pho Vietnamese Cuisine, Myer Centre Food Court

Presumably I've missed the point by having lunch at a place called Love Pho and not ordering the pho - but today's lunch was decidedly average.

I ordered honey bbq pork, lemongrass beef and noodles.



The honey bbq pork was certainly sweet but it had no discernible texture - neither tender nor crispy nor juicy nor crunchy nor glutenous; the lemongrass flavour was noticeably absent in the oddly fishy-tasting lemongrass beef; and the noodles were very greasy.

In the interest of fairness I'll come back and try the pho and let you know how I go.

Wendy's, Myer Centre Food Court

I had a Wendy's shake'n'dog combo for lunch today. For me, Wendy's has always been more about the milkshakes and hotdogs rather than the ice cream. Shun me if you will but Wendy's retains a certain magical high school nostalgia - more so than Hungry Jacks or McDonalds or KFC. In many ways, Wendy's represented the pinnacle of adolescent achievement. Because the outlets were less accessible you had have the means to get yourself there (a car and a certain amount of freedom) and once there you had to be able to afford to buy your meal (implying a high school job of sort) and the outlets were usually located by the beach or near cinemas (which often meant babes and dates).

Today's meal was my old stand-by of chocolate thick shake and a hotdog with butter, BBQ sauce, mustard and cheese.



Thick and cold and sweet and chocolatey the thick shake was just as I remembered it. Because I can hoover down a milkshake in 30 seconds I always order a thick shake. It might be smaller but it takes much longer to knock back and means you've usually got something to drink with the dry nub of roll at the end of the hotdog.

And this is probably the great flaw of the Wendy's hotdog - the final nub. The fourth to last and third to last bites are invariably the best. There's still some dog left and all the buttery/cheesy/saucy goodness has oozed down to the bottom to create a mouthful of ultimate flavour. The second to last bite probably still has some residual flavour ooze and is ok. But the last bite - just a disappointingly dry heel of bread. I mean, look how far the dog is poking out of the bun. No wonder the flavour doesn't reach the bottom.



Having said all that, Wendy's probably still do the best hotdogs available in Adelaide (but I'm happy to be corrected). I'm not sure whether that's an indictment on Adelaide's hotdog scene (does Adelaide even have a hotdog scene?) or my own tastes. Regardless, Wendy's will always take me back to those halcyon high school days of hot cars, hot babes and hotdogs.

Big Beefy Burrito Battle - Burp Killer Burritos vs Zambrero

Last week a colleague of mine bought a small silver torpedo into the office that looked a bit like this...



... I know what you're thinking and no - he doesn't have a boogie board bag full of these and is planning a trip to Bali. This is in fact a burrito from Zambrero. This foil wrapped bundle started a debate about the relative merits of Burp Killer Burritos vs burritos from Zambrero. We didn't form a consensus so I felt I should subject both burrito outlets to a rigorous scientific review to decide this matter once and for all.

To keep the burrito sample pool as constant as possible I ordered beef burritos with whatever fillings came free and some sort of smokey sauce.

Let's start with the Zambrero burrito - slow cooked beef with refried beans, sour cream, rice, corn salsa, tomato salsa, onion & coriander salsa, cheese, jalapenos, smokey tamarindo sauce and a squeeze fresh lime.



I question whether this beef was slow cooked - it was quite chewy and had very little flavour. The various salads, fillings and salsas were fresh and tasty but didn't really add any textural crunch to the burrito. In fact, eating this burrito was like eating a small log of Mexican mush. The smokey sauce didn't come through and jalapenos didn't add any heat. But the squeeze of fresh lime really helped. In fact, that's probably the best way of describing this burrito - fresh.

Now, lets have a look at the Burp Killer Burrito. Keeping the boogie-board-smuggling theme going, for some reason it was wrapped to look like a giant spliff. I should warn you that the lighting in Burp was pretty low so the photos aren't that good. 



The Burp burrito was Mexican beef with guacamole, refried beans, sour cream, corn salsa, tomato salsa, rice, red onion, lettuce, cheese, jalapeños and smokey chipotle sauce.



Tender and falling apart - this beef was definitely slow cooked but once again didn't taste like anything much. The various salads, salsas and fillings stayed more compartmentalised and therefore the burrito had a bit of crunch and texture. Burp was more generous with their fillings - especially the sour cream. The jalapenos had some heat and the chipotle sauce carried through the whole burrito.

The verdict? Let me start by saying that both Zambrero and Burp did a few things badly. I really disliked the wraps they used - it was likely trying eat flattened glue. And the beef from both places didn't taste like anything - but at least Burp's was meltingly tender.

But I think I've come down in the Burp Killer Burrito camp. For one, they didn't try and charge me $2 for guacamole and the burrito was significantly larger. It also had more flavour and texture.

That said, neither were as good the smokey beef mocha mole burritos I made on the weekend.

Dumpling King - Moonta Street, Central Markets

Many years ago Dumpling King was the scene of a food epiphany for me. Their dumplings became the standard against which all other dumplings are judged. I've had many a dumpling since then - some better but many much worse. Regardless, Dumpling King will always have a place in my heart and when a friend suggested we eat there for lunch I immediately agreed.

Although they were obviously busy we were quickly ushered to tabled (this is almost always possible if you are happy to share) and immediately ordered sweet and sour soup, fried chicken and prawn dumplings and steamed greens with oyster sauce.



The sweet and sour is a very textural soup - thick and almost glutenous liquid; creamy, firm tofu; crunchy black fungus and bamboo shoots; and soft egg. It also has enough heat and acid to get the saliva going and excite the taste buds for the dumplings to come.



Crispy, chewy dough filled with minced chicken and prawns that pop these dumplings are grease bombs with insane flavour - especially after you hit your dumps with some chilli onion jam, black vinegar and soy sauce. I could literally feel the fat running down my chin while eating these. When your family motto is 'adipem est saporem' this isn't a problem.



I'd recommend your order some greens with your dumplings. There's nothing particularly special about them but you need something to take the edge off the grease-bombs.

Although I've heard a lot of people complain about the service I've never had a problem with it - it's chaotic, not bad. So long as you're happy to go with the flow and demand whatever you need (usually more of the FREE tea or a couple of little bowls if you're sharing a meal) you'll be fine. Plus, the food is good and the price is right.

Viva Espresso - Ham Sandwich, Pirie St

A friend of mine recently raved about the sandwich at Viva Espresso - and particularly about the multi-grain bread. This is fortunate because Viva Espresso wasn't really on my lunch radar (and it probably should have been). We made a date and had lunch there today.



I reckon this is one of Adelaide's great sandwiches. Great quality ham; sweet crunchy pickles; tangy Dijon mustard, sharp cheddar cheese; cucumber; tomato; and a selection of lettuce leaves. A thoughtful and well balanced sandwich indeed.

You know that bread you get when you go to really good Baker's Delight? Not the flavourless doughy stuff but the kind with the thin almost crackling crust and soft fluffy interior. Well, two thick multigrain slabs of that sandwiched the filling. Probably not baked on site but pretty damn good.

I also ordered a regular serve of pommes frites. These were the best chips I've had for a while - crunchy on the outside and cloud-fluffy inside. Make sure you have a couple of friends to share them with because even the regular serve is massive.



Unfortunately I only realised that empty ramekin half-concealed behind the massive cone of pommes frites was for the sauce bar - yes, I said SAUCE BAR. Mayo, tomato sauce, bbq sauce - you name, it's all there for your chip dipping pleasure.

Viva Espresso is a little on the pricy side but the serves are generous and the quality excellent. And despite the fact they were wall to wall with customers the service was friendly and efficient.

Dozo Sushi Expess - Katsu Pork Roll, Pirie St

Just a quick blog one this time. I went back to Dozo Sushi Express (see my other reviews here http://theofficeeater.blogspot.com.au/2012/06/dozo-sushi-express-pirie-street.html and here http://theofficeeater.blogspot.com.au/2012/06/dozo-sushi-express-pirie-st.html) to try the katsu pork roll.



I was hoping for some mega crunch and more thoughtful fillings but I was to be disappointed. Same roll, same tomato, same cucumber, and because the sauce penetrated every bite and soggy-ed up and overpowered the katsu - the pork tasted practically identical to the chicken I had last time.



These rolls should be excellent so I'll return to Dozo to try another but I feel as though I'm destined to be underwhelmed.

Dozo Sushi Express - Tempura Chicken Roll, Pirie Street

Last week I promised myself that I'd return to Dozo Sushi Express to try out a mysterious menu item - the Japanese sandwich. Ordering the the tempura chicken sandwich I hoped that I'd end up with some mega-crispy chicken on soft white bread - something to rival the oyster po' boys and southern fried chicken sandwiches of the United States. I didn't quite get that but I did end up with a pretty tasty roll.

Let me start with the most defining element - the sauce. Teriyaki sauce and Japanese mayonnaise were applied liberally and amalgamated to penetrate every mouthful with its rich, savoury creaminess. The bun (light, soft and white as hoped incidentally) barely stood up to it and would most likely have drowned if I weren't such a fast-eating guts. The sauce also turned the once crispy chicken soggy. Don't get me wrong - sauce soaked batter is delicious but didn't provide the crunch I had hoped for. The cucumber and (out-of-season and therefore a little mealy) tomato were seemingly added as an afterthought.



This was a good roll but it could have been - and I think wanted to be - so much more. Had the integrity of the crunchy chicken remained intact and had the other fillings been give some more thought and attention (some pickles to cut through the richness for example) this have been truly excellent roll. Instead, it was just another sandwich at $7.50 price point. That being said, Dozo offers some interesting fillings (like potato salad or katsu pork) that have piqued my curiosity so I'll no doubt return to test these.