Walking around the unassuming streets of Southern Cross Station, we discovered a little Japanese café just on Collins St. And with a name like Purple Peanuts Café, how could we not enter?
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| Tuna onigiri, $4.50 |
I couldn’t help myself but order the tuna onigiri. The little triangles looked too tempting. And at $4.50, how can you resist the cheap deal? We had a choice to douse it in chilli, sesame or teriyaki sauce and we went with chilli. The onigiri itself had been fried to give a nice brown hue so that the rice had crunch with every bite. The chilli sauce wasn’t that spicy, but instead provided more flavour which had me coming back for more.
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| Katkuni pork $9.50 |
Ah, pork belly, one of the fattiest cuts of meat but also one of the most delicious. This particular dish comprised of pork belly that had been braised over several hours so the fat simply dissolved on your tongue and the meat was so tender. Ah,it was bliss to eat.
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| Goma bean salad, $4.50 for a small |
Coz we had to make up for our unhealthiness from the pork belly, we got a side of vegetables too. Carrots and beans mixed through sesame sauce.
They also sell some interesting desserts like matcha tiramisu and green tea chocolate that they make themselves! A bit on the pricey side, but you wouldn’t expect things to be cheap if they were handmade.
We stayed for a while, discussing our group project and weren’t pushed to leave. It was relatively quiet though they still had a steady stream of customers. But I was very happy with the discovery of the pan fried onigiri – that is something I ought to experiment at home with! Maybe after I learn to make the actual onigiri first :P
Purple Peanuts Japanese Cafe
620 Collins St
Melbourne, VIC, 3000
Melbourne, VIC, 3000
Opening Hours
Monday - Saturday: 9:00am - 8:30pm
Omg i love it when onigiri is fried. So much deliciousness!
ReplyDeleteIt's that outer crust that makes it so amazing hehe :D
DeleteDear Sherrie,
ReplyDeleteI have not had onigiri for a long time but I have never seen one as spectacular at that one either! It needs a serve of purple peanuts on the side too.
Purple peanuts really would've completed the onigiri wouldn't it? :P
DeleteWhat a CUTE name for a cafe. Love it.
ReplyDeleteThe name really lured us in but boy am I glad I did because I got to eat the onigiri!
DeleteThat tuna onigiri looks totally unlike the ones that I used to see at the store in Japan. It looks so much better! I always found them a bit heavy in rice (well obviously) but I like the sound of the crispy sides and chili sauce :)
ReplyDeleteI'm in Japan at the moment and I'm loving the onigiri here! Though I haven't spotted any pan-fried ones, the onigiri you can buy in convenience stores are still just as delicious! And cheap :P
Deleteso big- I want onigiri. What were you doing in Melbourne by the way?
ReplyDeleteOnigiri is so delicious! I was in Melbourne for a study on Flinders St Station for my uni project that semester :D
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