The great food truck exploration

by thefoodbooth

Melbourne is known for its culturally diverse scene and the cuisines that it offers is equally as diverse…

A few weeks ago the girlfriends and I , during a intense Gami chicken consumption session, decided to prowl the streets of Melbourne on the search for the most known-to-men food trucks that roam these streets. Truck hopping, a sport usually undertaken by crazy people meant that we were, inevitably the crazy bunch. After much deliberation and organisation, we finally met up this week.

20 long minutes in peak hour traffic and a few poorly given directions later, we arrived at our first truck destination.

This truck is one I’ve been looking forward to for quite sometime. brightly lit, against the cold harsh winter night  and winds of 100mph, it shined as a glistening gem

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Taco truck, like its name suggests sells nothing but tacos. ranging between fish, chicken and potato(vegetarian alternative) these little buggers were $6 each  or $12 for two tacos and a side of corn chips. Raph Rashid, the brains behind Beatbox Kitchen started taco truck not long ago and since then, everything else is history…

I’ve been dying to try the fish taco for sometime. the generous portion of fish sitting on a bed of home made slaw drizzled with the right amount of lemon and tartare. Just as I had imagined, the moistness of the fried fish flaked easily and its accompaniments didn’t overpower each other.

The chicken taco, though smaller in its filling size, stood out and screamed delicious from the first bite. crispy chicken skin with generous amounts of corn salsa, smoky chipotle mayo and spinach. We left the taco truck with our stomachs still rumbling, knowing clearly well that our food night had just started…

Our second stop, 5 minutes down the road, meticulously placed near the taco truck was the well known Beatbox kitchen that everyone raves about.

Judging on the size of the burgers, we decided to buy 2 Raphs burgers between the three of us. no fries were ordered….very sad day for all.

I can understand now why people rave so much about Raphs burgers. These meat patties were one of the best I’ve encountered. juicy, tender, well seasoned, everything you’d want from A grade beef.  Sadly, One of the biggest downfalls to the burger was the bread. slightly over toasted, the bun was too crunchy and very hard to chew through, sitting outside with the wind blowing in our faces, the bread became more and more rigid which made me question the freshness of their bun. Not deterred by this semi pleasurable burger experience, we were on the hunt for our third truck…

This next particular truck has been in my books for awhile,  I regret still to this day that I didn’t bother to get out of bed and head 5 minutes down the road when it had set up shop not far from my house last year (Eduardo still shakes his head ). So this was my time to redeem myself for my wrongs by finally visiting Gumbo Kitchen.

the truck was pretty easy to find,parked on the side the local church with already a small group forming,  the three of us excitedly rushed over to examine the menu.

Po’boys, gumbos were all new terms in my vocabulary. me and the girls nitpicked a few delicious sounding menu items and hoped for the best.

(The gumbo man handing us our  smoked sausage and chicken gumbo and fried shrimp po’boy!)

Tucking into the shrimp po’boy, I have finally found MY SANDWICH. small pockets of deep fried prawns  wrapped in a well seasoned batter, with hints of lemon juice. spicy cajun sauce, slices of tomato and pickles to accompany.  The bread had a crunch on the outside and soft  on the inside. it was the best thing I’ve ever encountered.  On a happy high from the shrimp roll, I took some mouthfuls of the chicken gumbo.

not as delicious as I would’ve liked, the gumbo lacked that extra bit of seasoning to bring out the flavour. Slightly watery in consistency with  a strong hint of medicinal herbs. the chicken and sausage was of generous proportions. not something I’d try again any time soon.

Our night was almost over, with the prospects of a warm cup of coffee and some simple desserts, we hit up urbanspoon and found a nearby restaurant for a short not-so-alcoholic nightcap. 

Penny Farthing Espresso, a short stroll from the gumbo truck, provided the nightcap we needed. A quiet, refreshing atmosphere was the perfect place to sit and discuss the nights food journey. We ordered warm chocolate brownies and Coffee crème brulee.
The Brownies were what you’d expect brownies to taste like, warm, thick in texture, and rich with chocolate.

The coffee crème brulee was a sure crowd pleaser when it had arrived at our table.Aesthetically pleasing to look at  and aromatic in its coffee flavour, the coffee infused custard was creamy and rich. The cup was finished within the first 5 mins. Will definitely be back to try out a full meal!

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