[Melbourne 2022] Kitchen 8 Hastings @ Salmon Street

We were done with sightseeing for the day and was looking for a lunch place. We would also be doing some meat shopping for a grilled dinner later on. Therefore, Tracy and Hence Googled and found Kitchen 8 Hastings. From the name itself, am not sure what food it serves.

shopfront

menu

Seems like this place serves Cambodian/Chinese/Vietnamese home-style foods. Ahh, I've never had Cambodian food before.

We were there pretty late at 1.30pm, so we placed our orders quickly. I'll be having a bite from what the rest ordered. Because I don't think I can finish a whole bowl of pho on my own plus am not sure how big a serve would be at this place.

pot of tea (jasmine) @AUD3.50

The food was served pretty quickly after ordering. There weren't a lot of other customers at that late hour as well.

Beef Pho with sliced beef and beef balls @AUD14.50

a squeeze of lemon and let's eat

let's eat!

There's nothing more comforting on a cool day than a hot bowl of hearty pho. Granted the soup here didn't have enough depth, it was still nice to satisfy the hungry tummies. The noodles were cooked just right, as it was not too soft nor too hard.

Prawn Rice Paper Rolls @AUD7.50 (2 rolls)

The paper rolls were served with peanut sauce so that was interesting. Clean tasting on its own, so I had a bite of it with the chili sauce (sweet vinaigrette) served with the Crispy Chicken Red Rice dish.

Crispy Chicken with Red Rice @AUD14.50

Is the red rice from the tomato sauce used? But then, it doesn't have a strong tomato-ey taste. Hmm, it tasted like fried rice without any particular aromatics in it. The chicken was well fried and tasted good with the chili sauce.

Matt's Special (Spicy Hot) @AUD17.50

Ivan had the Matt's Special which had beef and wanton dumplings in it. I must say, the dumplings were good. It was plump and meaty. The soup for the special, wasn't that spicy actually. Tasted similar  to the beef pho soup with dashes of chili oil.

I asked the owner, like who is this mysterious Matt in the menu. Turns out, these dishes were frequently requested off the menu by their regulars, so much so that it appeared in the menu with the guest name! Hahaa, I see. Nice to know such information. =)

Kitchen 8 Hastings

Address: 8/145 Salmon St, Hastings VIC 3915, Australia

Website: https://www.facebook.com/Kitchen8Hastings

Business Hours:

Closed on Sat.

Sun: 9.30am to 2.30pm

Mon-Wed: 10.00am to 3.00pm

Thu-Fri: 10am–2:30pm, 4–7pm