July 19, 2013

BangPop

Agnes south wharf, suburb

I was a fan of The Sharing House in South Wharf and so was a bit sad when they transformed earlier this year into BangPop. With the restaurant revamp the food changed to Thai street food, though the decor remained pretty much the same (ie the Lego bar stayed).

I had lunch there the other month with Haz and Gaz. Haz and I decided that – being Sunday lunch time – yes, cocktails were in order. Because Sunday lunch needs celebrating – right?

I had a Tom Yam Siam ($15) which contained vodka, lychee, fresh lime juice, red chilli and kaffir lime leaves. It was very limey (shut up DD) and refreshing, though as I got closer to the bottom the lychee aroma became slightly more pronounced.

Haz had the Thai Bloody Mary ($15) made with vodka, tomato juice, Thai soy sauce, fresh lime juice and chilli.

The menu is split into smaller plates, larger plates, noodles, rice and spicy salads. Being Thai food, the food is meant to be shared, so I sat back and let Haz and Gaz make the decisions. 🙂

But before our dishes came out, we received a complimentary plate of pork from the kitchen. This pork was delicious! It seemed to have been dry fried (or something similar) and came with a vibrant dressing on the side.

BangPop provide condiments so you can adjust the dishes to your own tastes – vinegar (sour), sugar (sweet), chilli (spicy) and fish sauce (salty). I love this idea.

Sai krok isaan – sour Isaan pok sausages with chilli, fresh herbs, and cabbage ($10.90).

Our first dish were these sour sausages. They were nice, though the cabbage was a bit stiff and hard to wrap around. I thought it could’ve used a dipping sauce of some kind though.

Gaeng daeng phed – slow cooked duck leg red curry with basil, fresh chilli and roast coconut ($24.90).

Who doesn’t love duck curry, right? I found it on the sweet side, though the meat was incredibly tender. Fortunately, since BangPop provide condiments, after I added more salt and spiciness, it was delicious.

Pad ka – nha moo krob ($14.90) – crispy pork belly, choy sum, oyster sauce, garlic and chilli.

This dish normally comes with Chinese broccoli and we were advised of the vegetable substitute when we ordered, which was appreciated. It seemed very Chinese in flavour with the sweetish soy sauce but was nice enough.

Yum pla foo ($20.90) – roasted and fried “cotton fish” with green papaya salad and nam-pla wan.

Dish of the day – we all really liked it and it was something a bit unusual. The fish had been roasted and fried until it was fluffy like floss. It was delicious with the crunchy salad, fresh herbs, and flavoursome, tangy dressing.

We decided to share two desserts. The first was a selection of ice cream ($10.90). On the day we visited the selection was coconut, lychee and mango and were all pretty good – nice texture and flavour.

Woon-ma prow – young coconut jelly with young coconut flesh and toasted coconut ($10.90).

The coconut jelly, as Hazzie mentioned, was like a childhood dessert. It was really nice – very smooth with a delicious coconut aroma and the coconut flesh on top providing a textural contrast. Although maybe it was a bit expensive because it was pretty teeny.

Overall though, I thought the food was enjoyable and reasonably priced. I really liked that you can adjust the seasoning to your own tastes. I’d visit again.

For more on lunch at BangPop, check out The Chronicles of Ms I-Hua and The Boy.

View Off the spork in a larger map

BangPop Melbourne
35 South Wharf Promenade (off Dukes Walk),
South Wharf
Phone: 03 9245 9800
Web: bangpop.com.au