Tacos

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/

Jalisco Mexican

Mexican Street Salad

(aloe vera cactus, feta, corn, pico, lime)

This was my first time eating cactus so I had no idea what to expect. The cactus itself was fresh and juicy, but its taste was subdued by the pico and the lime. In any case I really enjoyed this refreshing well balanced salad.

★★★★☆

Chicken Quesadilla

(pulled chicken grilled with cheese, served with salsa)

Simple cheesy filling encased in a crisp tortilla.

★★★☆☆

Street Corn

(grilled corn on the cob with paprika, parmesan, chipotle mayo and lime)

This juicy charred corn needed more chipotle aioli to take it to the next level.

★★☆☆☆

Tiger prawn, cabbage, pico and chili-lime mayo taco

★★★★☆

Chili con carne, pico, feta and rocket taco

★★★☆☆

Fish, cabbage, pico and chili-lime mayo taco

★★★☆☆

Sangria

(red wine, brandy, triple sec, fresh fruit)

★★★☆☆

Overall:

Not only does this place offer authentic Mexican food, they also offer an impressive selection of tequilas (90 so far)! There is no doubt that the team behind Jalisco Mexican love their tequila, so much so that they named this place after the most popular tequila producing state in Mexico. According to Mexican law, only Jalisco and limited regions in surrounding states are able to produce tequila.

What I really liked about this place was the atmosphere and the decor. The bar was colourful and vibrant, while the beer garden looked like an awesome place to kick back and relax with friends.