Asian fusion at Gingerboy
I took a wonderful trip to Melbourne and the surrounding gorgeous countryside and beaches of Victoria after Christmas when my mother was visiting me a few weeks ago, which of course meant many new wining and dining experiences. I’ve written about the absolutely glorious food in Melbourne before in my previous visit there where I ate at Chin Chin. That place is so good that I obviously had to go back, but also on my list for a while has been Gingerboy, so since we had a few days we went there as well.
It is similar in style to Chin Chin in that it offers Asian fusion food, but it focuses a bit more on the “street hawker” fare you could get in a place like Singapore, but with a fancier twist. If I had to straight up choose this place or Chin Chin, I’d have to go with Chin Chin, but the food here is still fantastic. Anything modern Asian is just my absolute favourite type of food, so it’s hard to disappoint. A few things popped off the menu immediately so we knew exactly what to order. The menu is great in that it offers a bunch of “snack” items and then some more substantial dishes, so you can pick and choose depending on your hunger level.
Steamed wagyu and bamboo dumplings – obviously quite glamorous fillings, but honestly they tasted like regular (albeit delicious) dumplings to me
Steamed char sui pork buns, pickled cucumber, chili sauce. These were a standout. I am such a sucker for anything in the Momofuku style of pork buns. (Getting to Momofuku Seibo in Sydney is on my ULTIMATE Sydney bucket list and trust me there will be a blog to end all blogs on it.) I digress. Basically these were far better than your typical pork bun because the pickled vegetables were amazing and added the perfect amount of bite, and the structure of the bun was just adorable. So good.
Wok greens on the left and barramundi in a lemongress and ginger curry with a coconut and pomelo salad. Heavenly. My mother and I tried to get barramundi everywhere we went because it’s such a classic and delicious Australian fish, and this did not disappoint – the flavours of coconut and ginger complemented the fish perfectly and the pomelo salad of course made me think of pomelo salads in Asia, which was one of my favourite dishes to eat in Manila. Add some delicious Asian vegetables and you’ve got a perfect main course!
Overall, definitely a fantastic restaurant – but with the Melbourne restaurant scene as unbelievably good as it is, Gingerboy definitely has competition with the multiple other delicious Asian fusion restaurants in the area. Can’t wait for my next Melbourne trip to try another one!
merrifood 