Peko Peko @ Wells Street, Melbourne

Melbourne 2010 Post #7: What? Cute little Taiwanese restaurant that serves pannacotta?...

C: "You're the one in the black jacket and jeans at the Domain Interchange (tram station)? I think I see you from my office..." *Cheng squints*
J: "Yup. You're in the round-ish building, right? See you in a minute.." *J strides confidently ahead*
C: "WaitWaitWait. You're going the wrong way! It's on your right."
*J turns right*
C:"A bit more... "
*turn turn turn*
C: "Ah ok ok stop! Now keep walking straight. Cross the road - will meet you there."

LOL.
(I guess my sense of direction sucks?)

Anyway,.... it was my second last day in Melbourne and it was very kind of Cheng to spare some time during his lunch break to try out a fairly popular Taiwanese restaurant called Peko Peko (which is very near his office):
Small shop lot...
Yes, I realise it's Asian food (again)... :)
... but the pannacotta here came highly recommended by Mr Alex Lobov (who had very kindly taken the time to give me an extensive list of "Must Eat" places in Melbourne), so I just had to try it.

It is simple and cosy inside Peko Peko with its dark but whimsical paintings on the wall:
(Important note: Do not be fooled by the following photo, as it usually PACKED during peak hours. However, the weekday lunch crowd is mostly from the nearby offices so they cleared out almost immediately at 1.30pm)
Inside Peko Peko...
They have a pretty extensive menu of Taiwanese food and some fusion desserts, but the popular choice are the bento sets (box sets) so we tried those that day.

First up, the Honey beef bento (about AUD $12):
Crispy beef slices...
The beef slices were definitely very fragrant and crispy.... but sadly I found them way too sweet for my tastebuds, unless I paired each bite with huge mouthfuls of the rice....

Other than that, we had the Crispy pork bento (about AUD $12):
Crispy meat slices...
Mmmmm.
Again, the slices of meat were definitely very crispy.... but this time it was a tad too salty (although there was a nice fragrance of spices) and not meat-y enough.

By this time, I was fairly disappointed.... but I thought I should try the Earl Grey Pannacotta (about AUD $7) anyway:
Jiggly pannacotta...
Oh man......
Thank goodness I didn't decide to just skip it! :D

The texture was just nice, kinda wobbly like a jelly but still with a creamy enough texture... and a wonderfully delicate flavour of Earl Grey** accentuated by the added vanilla beans.
(**Slightly sweet, fragrant yet with a sliiiiiiight bitter tea flavour - awesome!)
(Note: It is usually served with a much raved about black sesame ice cream, but they had ran out that day and replaced it with a pretty good green tea ice cream)

The dessert really saved the day for me. :) :) :)
To be fair, I don't think the food at Peko Peko was bad.... It's probably just that my expectations are way too high when it comes to Asian food.


SHOUT OUT:
Thanks for taking the time out of your hectic schedule to have lunch with me, Cheng!
(And thanks so much for offering the chocolate fountain to me. It's just a pity I couldn't find any way to fit it into my luggage...)


PS/ After you have gorged yourself on the food there, you can amble over to the Shrine of Remembrance and Melbourne Royal Botanical Garderns, which are both just a stone's throw away.

So, it's: Friendly service, cosy ambience, wide range of Taiwanese food and AWESOME desserts for reasonable prices BUT very crowded during peak hours and dammit the bloody AUD to MYR forex hurts....

Summary Information:
Peko Peko @ Wells Street, Melbourne

Opening Hours: Mon to Sat 11am - 3pm, 6pm - 10pm
Phone: +61 3 9686 1109
Address: 190 Wells St, South Melbourne VIC 3205, Australia
Map: (Below)
Website: -

NOT HALAL

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OTHER REVIEWS:
- MSG: The Melbourne Social Guide
- m1rr0r's life
- Food Rehab The Tastebud Diaries


TAGS: Food, Blog, Weblog, Malaysia, Restaurant Review, Restaurant Reviews, Peko Peko, Taiwanese, Asian food, South Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Melbourne