I was lucky enough to get a golden ticket for a whole day of ‘Christmas discovery in the CBD’. My partner in crime, Rukmal, described our day of gluttonous exploration here. 

One of our stops on the day was Mama’s Buoi where together with David (The World Loves Melbourne) and Prue (Melbourne Girl) we tucked into some seriously fresh Vietnamese food and several cheeky cocktails. 

We were welcomed by Nam, the manager of Mama’s Buoi. His energy and passion for Vietnamese food shone through and I loved discussing the dishes with him. One of his goals is to shake Melburnians from their fixation on pho (as delicious as it is) when they think of Vietnamese food and appreciate the breadth of flavour that comes with Vietnamese cuisine. As such, Mama’s Buoi focuses on traditional Vietnamese food, the types of flavours that Nam remembers from when he was a child. 

Photo courtesy Mama’s Buoi

After Nam told us about his inspiration and vision we were ready to be treated!

• Pulled duck pancakes with fresh cucumber, pineapple with a beanshoot and Vietnamese mint salad with hoi sin sauce
• Barramundi salad in lettuce cups
• Vermicelli crusted prawn and calamari on sugar cane
• Prawn cakes w crispy young green rice and pickled vegetables

The food was absolutely delicious super fresh. My favourite dish of the day has to be the barramundi lettuce cups with parsley sprinkled on top! The atmosphere was really cool and Nam’s attention to detail and  the service was outstanding.

Fresh, clean, delicious – these are all synonymous with Vietnamese food.

What really surprised me here were the cocktails. Mama’s Buoi is a class cocktail establishment worthy of mention alongside some of the finest cocktail houses in Melbourne. I was especially intrigued by their signature cocktail, the ‘Pho’ cocktail! Don’t worry, it’s not served hot but rather is a pho deconstruction of sorts. It uses pho ingredients such as Thai basil, Vietnamese mint, star anise and cinnamon to put together something pretty special. Also don’t leave without trying their super refreshing passionfruit cocktail too which is truly amazing!

Ruki and his +1 Marine

Mama’s Buoi is tucked away in Postal Lane next to Melbourne’s historic GPO building and makes for a nice hideaway among the hustle and bustle of the city. I won’t wait very long until my next visit to Mama’s Buoi, that’s for sure.

-Marine

Mama’s Buoi
Postal Lane (near corner of Little Bourke and Elizabeth Streets)
Melbourne VIC 3000
(03) 9671 3426
http://www.mamasbuoi.com.au/
Daily, 10am–10pm