Mama’s Buoi is all about authentic home-style Vietnamese cuisine. Unlike other Vietnamese restaurants, this place offers more than just pho noodle soup and rice paper rolls. Co-owner Tin Ly explained to us that he could never get his favourite Vietnamese dish “caramelised pork belly hot pot” from anywhere but home. I had never even heard of this dish before and couldn’t wait to try it out.
Chicken and pork liver pate with sesame crackers
Pulled duck pancakes with hoi sin sauce
Rice noodles stuffed with pork, mushroom and fried shallot
Shell on school prawns with salt, pepper and citrus
Steak roll Vietnamese salad wrap with citrus and green chilli dressing
Roast pork belly and crackling with pickled veg
Reconstructed Can Chua (sour soup) with fried noodles, mussels, calamari and prawn
Ginger chicken stir fry with bok choi
Steamed barramundi wrapped in bamboo with lemongrass, chilli and citrus dressing
Mushroom and snow pea stir fry
Caramelised pork belly hot pot with boiled egg
Reconstructed three colour drink with black jelly, pandan jelly, rum and mung bean puree, basil seeds, jack fruit and coconut milk
Lychee & Watermelon Martini
(vodka and lychee liqueur muddled with lychees and watermelon)
Overall:
Talk about being well fed. Not only did the food look amazing, it also tasted fresh and delicious. The standout dishes for me were the chicken and pork liver pate, the shell on school prawns, the reconstructed three colour drink and of course the caramelised pork belly hot pot! The cocktail list here was also quite interesting. I wasn’t daring enough to try their ‘pho’ cocktail, however I was pretty happy with my lychee & watermelon martini.
Mama’s Buoi has opened me up to a whole new range of Vietnamese food. With its cheery homely atmosphere (bright colours, raw timber tables, festoon lighting, photo album-like menu), this is a place I would gladly return to.
Mama’s Buoi
G25 Postal Lane, GPO, Melbourne, VIC
(03) 9671 3426
*Disclaimer: I dined as a guest of Mama’s Buoi.
DAMMIT JANET I LOVE FOOD 
This place is amazing. I have to admitting I was a bit unsure from the curb on the street peering in. Mexican maybe? No, Vietnamese soul. It took some time… a few Martinis and fried crab rice later to see the owls on the wall, the staff that moved around like family and their wonderful manager who in my eyes, filled a maternal role for these young guys n gal who are manuevering their way in the food alley ways of good Ol’ Melbourne. My belly is full my soul gets it and my heart aches to leave.
ga mun
As I travel on my
Way