This is a new addition to Hardware Lane, bringing in some much-needed competition to Roll'd…read more Situated at the far northern end of the laneway, Hawker Boys offers banh mi sandwiches, rice bowls, and vermicelli noodle bowls that are easy to customise, with a lot of different ingredients available (I had the tofu rice bowl). The space is bright and friendly, with a giant cartoony mural on one wall, retro sea-green tiles, and industrial-style seating that looks cool but isn't very comfy. (Although this is a quick lunch spot, so it doesn't matter too much.) Take-out is also fast and easy. Staff is efficient and knows what "vegan" means. The banh mi bread itself is not vegan, unfortunately -- it contains egg wash and butter. But vegans can get a tofu rice bowl or noodle bowl, as long as they specify soy sauce only and no sriracha mayo. (In theory, I think the vegetarian rice bowl or noodle bowl would also be vegan without the mayo, but I didn't confirm this.) The food was tasty. I'm one of those vegans who actually doesn't care much for tofu (shocker!) but this tofu was crispy-fried and yummy. It came in a medium-sized bowl with rice, carrots, lettuce, cucumbers, onions, coriander, and soy sauce. It wasn't drowning in soy sauce, which I appreciated. For $11, it wasn't exactly a steal, but it filled me up enough for a lunchtime meal. The banh mi sandwiches are priced in the $8-10 range, and the bowls in the $11-12 range. (Soft shell crab more expensive.) All in all, a good lunchtime spot, and because of the vegan options I'll go here over Roll'd every time.

Trendy Vietnamese fusion-inspired restaurant. Dishes were fresh and flavourful. Drinks were…read morerefreshing and creative. I didn't get to try the Banh mi (went for the bun rice noodle bowls) but saw how they were assembling it. Looked more authentic that roll'd considering roll'd doesn't use pickled vegetables all the time.

I do love me some Chinese barbecue. Especially duck. That crispy crackling fat, a little bit of…read moresalt and pepper mix, it's what the gods would eat. Unless they're duck gods, in which case I'm probably going to hell when I die. But yeah. The duck here is pretty damn good. Cheap, too. Even if duck's not to your fancy, they offer a whole range of Cantonese dishes. That said, there probably isn't a lot on offer for vegetarians.

C and I have been here a few times and when a visiting American friend said that he just wanted to…read morehave some good basic Chinese meal we knew where to take him. It is not expensive and the service is ordinary but efficient. The roast goose and ducks in the window is a good indication that this place is serious about its food. It feels like it part of the continuing culture of Chinese eat out, the big round tables, the menu, the Chinese tea. And the food is good. Our American friend was very pleased with the lemon chicken; it was what he had been yearning for. C and I tried to tempt our American friend into trying more of the menu; we had roast duck and some other dishes. Our American friend tried some but stuck mostly to the lemon chicken.

Brilliant Indian food, never oily and always tasty They…read morenever make my food spicy Hough tho, always ask for hotter than ud estimate as they always assume that you need less Highly recommend eating here

Indian food has really taken off in the western suburbs and Priya is a fantastic example of that…read more Definitely not a cheap take away place, I definitely recommend eating in, and the waiters are charming and happy to answer your questions. I've tried a few dishes here but my favourite is the Angar E. Priya which is their vindaloo style curry. I usually get it with lamb and what they call "mother-in-law hot", although on my latest visit I was feeling adventurous and went for "volcano hot". Accompanied with some garlic naan and saffron rice it was really tasty and had me sweating profusely in a way any enjoyable activity should! The wine list is affordable although not very diverse, and my only real gripe is they only stock one Indian beer, but I can live with Kingfisher! Give them a go, you won't be disappointed.

Well, I have now been to this restaurant twice and it is simply yummy! For some reason, my first…read morewas not reccomended... Oh well, I can say the dal tadka was deliciously spicy and the chicken was tender and yummy the second time as well. Nirankar has some of the best butter chicken I have had outside India. I was impressed with the dal makhni as well. This restaurant has the best Indian food in Melbourne. Delivery to Southbank, fresh ingredients and excellent flavors makes this a return very soon for me and my family!!

I never go out for lunch with lunch usually being scoffed at my desk in front of my laptop as I…read morerespond to emails or write reports - so today was definitely a welcome change. It was good to walk into an empty restaurant at lunch hour as this would have meant quick and efficient service; however, Nirankar failed us in many ways. As we entered the place, we saw lunch specials from $9.90 and even as low as $8.50 on a chalkboard; however, we were handed dine-in (nothing was 9.90 on this) menus. When asked about the lunch specials which are $10 on their website, we were told that these no longer exist and are only from Mon-Wed. When I questioned them further about how then were these "weekday" specials, the waiter continued to say that the website needed to be updated. I thought this was quite unprofessional. I then asked what the chalkboard outside was for and he finally brought us "Lunch special menus" which actually started from $11.90. So the lunch bowl includes one choice of curry, rice, salad and "papa" (which I assume is pappadum and not a human being or an undiscovered plant). We ordered the butter chicken lunch bowl and the lamb rogan josh lunch bowl (where I asked to replace the rice with naan). For starters, we got 6 momos (Nepalese dumplings with a tinge of spicy tomato chutney) for $8.50. The momos take 10-15 minutes to steam which we were warned about. They were quite doughey but nice with mince chicken inside and a delicate spicy thick tomato chutney to dip them in. Our plates were slowly taken away and our lunch bowls brought. So, my friend's lunch bowl was soggy pappadum, butter chicken and rice with a leaf as salad. My naan arrived separately to my lamb rogan josh (which I appreciate) but no salad and pappadum. I felt cheated. The naan was delicious, the lamb rogan josh was just the right amount of spicy (so when you ask for very hot - you'll get an average spiced curry) and the butter chicken had a nice charcoal flavour to it without being too sweet (which I appreciate). Their tomato base in the lamb rogan josh was definitely fresh. The waitress tried to take away our plates while we were still eating. This place has potential but I think they need to work on a lot of factors such as false advertising on their website and customer service (the waiter was quite incoherent). Their food when compared to some restaurants I have been to in Melbourne is definitely above par - fresh and delicious!

Wow absolutely beautiful food. Definitely be coming back here again. The staff are amazing. The…read moreservice was absolutely brilliant. Very clean. Neat and tidy. Recommend everyone try it.

I reckon that I'm getting pretty close to having visited all of the restaurants along this section…read moreof High Street (though when you head further north, the crowds begin to disapate). It was actually a pretty decent place, though like a lot of the Vietnamese restaurants that I have visited of late they seem to have started Chinese options as well, or rather Chinese options that you tend to find in Australia. Still, the service was pretty good, and the food was quite nice as well.

This place recently opened. Went after 8, the place was a little quiet but was pleasantly…read moresurprised! We had the Char-grilled chicken which was very tasty and had a great vegie sauce. Also had the Pho Ga(Pho Chicken) and loved it, it was delivered very quickly, a great size with lots of thin chicken and delicious. All served with tea! Service was friendly, place is clean and will definitely be back to try more!

As a fellow foodie I would not lead you astray!…read more I have been to this restaurant at least 5-6 times varying in parties of 1-4 people. Upon arrival to your table you are given a thermos of hot Jasmine tea. Such a beautiful tea that needs no sugar or additions. Two of my favorite dishes to mix are the salt & pepper soft shelled crab along side the beef pho. The broth from the pho is an excellent complement to the crab. I usually soak the crab in the pho broth and that is my ultimate satisfaction for food delicacy at the moment. I have eaten many dishes on the menu and each one has been delicious. The portion sizes are generous making the already reasonable prices even more appealing. A standard bowl of pho could easily be shared by four people but I myself prefer to take the leftovers home and split it up into several other meals. I do not know if it is standard but the chef has allowed me to purchase pho broth to take-away on a couple of occasions which makes cooking meals or little snacks at home a quick and easy treat. This restaurant does serve wine and beer but you can also BYO. There is usually some sort of pop music that ranges from current to possibly late 90s in the background but as a person who has been to Asia and many Asian establishments I have gotten used to this. An array of dishes to choose from, standard service with a willingness to please and all in all a great price for great quality food. I would highly recommend this restaurant to anyone seeking delicious Vietnamese food!

Ph Nom is an unassuming looking eatery in the food court located on the lower ground level of the…read moreshoping center, The Emporium. The restaurant boasts of MSG-free, high quality ingredients with authentic Vietnamese recipes. My pho bo Saigon came with tender brisket, quality steak, and your usual beef balls. The beef broth was HANDS DOWN the most finest, clean-tasting, and flavorful beef broth that I have ever had. It was not oily and surprisingly had a lightness to it. No hoison sauce or sriracha needed to go into this broth. It was perfect the way it was. I also tried the Saigon sandwich, which came with housemade pate, wagyu beef, and eggs. The sandwich was delicious, flavorful, and hearty. Housemade pate truly makes a difference. I did not think a Vietnamese sandwich could've been enjoyed that much but this was an elevated version of your usual banh mi. The Vietnamese iced coffee was also delicious and almost finished immediately. I will definitely miss Ph Nom when I return home! Vietnamese cuisine is one of my favorite and growing up with it, I thought I had tasted it all but Ph Nom was a whole new level entirely!

What's that? A big fancy new shopping centre has opened in Melbourne and people are flocking there…read moreto visit MUJI and Uniqlo? Ahuh. Very nice dear. I'm more interested in the food offerings they have at Emporium and it was Pho Nom that I was most keen to sample first, as it's been spoken and tweeted about for months now, with chef Jerry Mai even giving potential new customers a sample at some pop up Pho kitchens months ago at the National. I'm glad to say that it lived up to expectations, my Saigon Pho Bo broth rich with spices and flavour and three cuts of beef (rare, brisket and meatball) bobbing around amongst the rice noodles. We also sampled the rice paper rolls - the pork skewered and the lemongrass chicken got the thumbs up from the grown ups and the crispy pork got devoured by Miss 3 before she started in on the Pho. It was only the first week when we visited and it was clear that every store in Emporium was struggling a little with the onslaught of people while trying to bed down systems. The Pho Nom crew did a stellar job, pumping on the food quickly and maintaining a smile the whole time. The only downfall? With hardly any seating (something that seems to be apparent with all food vendors in the centre) it was tricky finding somewhere to sit. Once we did, we could feel the eyes of everyone around us as we ate our last mouthfuls. Apparently more seating has been ordered, which should hopefully create a little more calm. Hooray!

Around Bundoora areas Only this place serves traditional…read moreVietnamese food: Banh xeo - Vietnamese pancake comes with fresh herbs and bowl of fish sauce. I have had a bowl of Pho here in lunch time and really enjoy it. Because taste of the broth brings me back to my home town in Vietnam: Sai Gon. It has more of the beef bone taste than every where else. Banh mi here is also an another highlight food here. It comes with different options from Pork, Chicken... to Vegan. It doesn't have any Vietnamese Pate or Butter but the sauce highlight the delicious taste. Location: it is a tiny take away kind of store which locates inside Bundoora Square and in front of BWS. So you can both enjoy your dinner with your love one and have a glass of wine.