“When I was young, my brothers and I were obsessed with Bakpau — an Indonesian variant of the more recognisable Baozi. They weren't common growing up in Moonee Ponds, so my mum have to traipse all over Melbourne to get the ingredients, but thankfully for us, it usually involved a train trip into the city. We'd go to either one of a few places, but the standouts for me were the now closed City BBQ on Little Bourke St, or the giant Pacific BBQ House on Lonsdale St. It was always the best feeling seeing those ducks lined up in the window, because that meant we were there. She'd buy a takeaway container of Char Siu for the Bakpau and every now and then we'd get a bowl of noodle. But that's probably the rose coloured glass of wanting my personal history to line up with something special.
The reality is I was always gunning for McDonalds when I was a kid, but somewhere along the way a bowl of char siu noodle soup with all the crispy edges and the chewy egg noodle and the fermented chilli oil condiment just makes me feel really nostalgic. It's probably the bakpau, but who cares about that. Get the char siu. It's always delicious.
Also a pro tip, if you're day drinking, a container of Char Siu from Pacific House makes for an excellent road snack.”
The reality is I was always gunning for McDonalds when I was a kid, but somewhere along the way a bowl of char siu noodle soup with all the crispy edges and the chewy egg noodle and the fermented chilli oil condiment just makes me feel really nostalgic. It's probably the bakpau, but who cares about that. Get the char siu. It's always delicious.
Also a pro tip, if you're day drinking, a container of Char Siu from Pacific House makes for an excellent road snack.”
ADDRESS
Pacific BBQ House Lonsdale
213 Lonsdale St, Melbourne VIC 3000
213 Lonsdale St, Melbourne VIC 3000