Mac and Cheese

Kuku Mama

Cheeseburger Dumplings – beef, pickle, cheese, Bobby John sauce

Although these are not your typical dumplings, this is certainly fusion done right. Within each dumpling was perfectly cooked beef and plenty of melted cheese, which was delicious when eaten with the pickle and the sauce. The dumpling skin was a bit chewy though and needed to be steamed a tiny bit longer.

★★★★☆

Vegetarian Dumplings – sweet potato, shiitake, enoki

Unsurprisingly sweet and mushroomy.

★★★☆☆

Bao – Peking roasted duck, pickled cucumber, hoisin

Soft pillowy steamed buns with a decent amount of tasty duck.

★★★★☆

Tacos – blackened salmon, herb crema, chicharron

★★☆☆☆

Mac & Cheese squared with Bobby John sauce

★★★☆☆

Crinkle cut chips, honey, soy, sesame, chilli, spring onion

A great mix of sweet and savoury.

★★★☆☆

Bao – soft shell crab, kewpie mayo, Kuku kimchi

The soft shell crab had good crunch but lacked any actual crab taste.

★★☆☆☆

Balinese coconut seafood curry with herb rice

The curry was a little on the bland side, while the herb rice (ie. the coriander rice) was a little salt heavy. So I suppose the flavours balanced out when you ate them together.

★★☆☆☆

Bao – southern fried chicken, slaw, BBQ sauce

The crispy tender chicken combined with the slaw and BBQ sauce made for terrific baos!

★★★★☆

Overall:

This was such a cool place. From the vibrant decor to the comfortable booths and couches, Kuku Mama is a fantastic place to eat, drink and simply hang out at. Service was quick while the food was creative and reasonably priced. Make sure you come with a few people because there will be lots of things on the menu that you’ll want to try.

Kuku Mama

105 Chapel St, Windsor, VIC

(03) 9529 6900

http://kukumama.com.au/

Royal Stacks

The King

All Australian pasture fed beef patty, tomato, butter lettuce, hand made mac & cheese croquettes, American mustard, special burger sauce

The fantastic mac & cheese croquettes undoubtedly added something special to this burger.

★★★★☆

Queen Bee

Hand made chickpea patty, tomato, butter lettuce, American cheddar, special burger sauce, pickles

It had been a while since my last veggie burger experience and I’d forgotten how great they can be when the right ingredients are used.

★★★★☆

Miss Elizabeth

All Australian pasture fed beef patty, Swiss cheese, truffle mayo

I pretty much inhaled this burger! Deliciously simple and definitely crave-worthy.

★★★★☆

Saint

Two all Australian pasture fed beef patties, tomato, butter lettuce, bacon, American cheddar, raw onion, chipotle mayo, pickled jalapeños

One heck of a tasty and good looking burger!

★★★★☆

Fries

If you like McDonald’s fries, then these are for you.

★★★☆☆

Potato Gems

I know this may sound a bit weird, but these humble potato gems were the epitome of potato gem perfection! Perfectly seasoned and unbelievably crunchy on the outside with soft fluffy potato on the inside.

★★★★★

Frozen Custard

Salted Caramel, Mixture of Chocolate/Cheesecake/Peanut Butter, Kinder Surprise

★★★☆☆

Overall:

Royal Stacks is one of Melbourne’s newest burger joints and I was fortunate enough to be invited to one of their launch nights last week. This American-style fast food eatery is Dani Zeini’s latest venture (in case you didn’t know, he’s the guy behind Dandenong Pavilion, Grand Trailer Park Taverna, Easey’s and Truck Stop Deluxe) and needless to say, I had high expectations. But of course my expectations were met, as the food here was pretty darn tasty! Each burger was consistently good and you could tell that the beef they used was of high quality. It turns out that all of their beef is all Australian, pasture fed, GMO free with no added hormones or antibiotics and is minced fresh daily. The locally made bread is baked fresh daily and is free from any additives, while the gelato and frozen custard is sourced from 7 Apples. If the CBD is a bit tricky for you to get to, don’t stress because a Brunswick store and a Dandenong store will be opening within the next few months. So head to Royal Stacks where the food is fit for a king (or a queen)!

Royal Stacks

470 Collins St, Melbourne, VIC

(03) 9793 2133

http://royalstacks.com.au/

*Disclaimer: I dined as a guest of Zilla & Brook and Royal Stacks.

Le Bon Ton

Onion Rings – beer battered and jerk seasoned

Nicely seasoned onion rings with a thin crunchy batter.

= ★★★★

Fried Chicken – Southern style buttermilk soaked tenders with cracked pepper white gravy

Each bite brought to mind KFC chicken.

= ★★

Mac & 3 Cheese – Cheddar, American and Swiss

Dry and pungent.

= ★★

The Smoker’s Lot – (left to right) Otway Ranges pork shoulder, Chicken basted in apple BBQ sauce, Jalapeno and cheddar hot-link sausage, Riverina Angus beef brisket

Each meat was deliciously smoky and tender. However everyone’s clear favourite was without a doubt the sausage: spicy, juicy, with portions of deliciously melted cheese.

= ★★★

Overall:

Decent food, decent service and I really liked the old West saloon vibe that they had going on. I must really try one of their burgers the next time I come here as I’ve heard many good things about them. And here’s a fun fact for you. The name “Le Bon Ton” actually originates from a Louisiana saying “Laissez les bons temps rouler” or “Let the good times roll”, which is often used as a fun and festive way to get people riled up and let them know that the party is starting. So altogether now: “Le Bon Ton!”

Le Bon Ton

51 Gipps St, Collingwood

9416 4341

http://www.lebonton.com.au