Fresh new CBD lunch spot
Lunch options abound in the CBD and a new player on the eat-and-run scene has just popped up in Wellington Square. It’s not a part of the city I’m familiar with and I was worried I wouldn’t be able to find it in what looked like a maze on my phone screen. But there it was in all its dark windowed and cheery neon glory on the corner of the bustling square - Pink Buns!
We made our way through the lunch loiterers who were waiting outside for their takeaway orders and heading for a midday meal al desko, collected a menu from the counter and nabbed a couple of stools at the long window bench. There was plenty to choose from and I wanted to try a bit of everything. We started with crispy eggplant sticks ($8.80) and my lunch companion and I were in immediate agreement – they were exceptional. In the wrong hands, eggplant can be a bit like eating a damp sponge but here, they are dipped in a batter of rice flour and tapioca then fried to golden perfection. The eggplant is soft and the batter stays crispy even if you can resist eating them all at once. They’re drizzled with a sweet malt syrup, topped with a dash of red vinegar for tang and then sprinkled with a housemade spice mix and topped with sesame seeds. They’re reminiscent of a Spanish tapas dish called berenjenas fritas con miel (crispy eggplant sticks drizzled with honey), but these have a distinctly Asian flavour profile.
Steamed kimchi dumplings ($10) are equally delicious – all the dumpling pastry is made inhouse and is translucent and tender, not at all chewy. The filling is mild kimchi with the addition of finely chopped capsicum and tofu there’s a little heat but it’s pleasant, not eyewatering. I’ve not heard of crispy cheese dumplings ($11.80), so of course we have to have some of those and I go for the beef variety, which is flavoured with mild Japanese curry powder and gives me a slight Chiko Roll vibe. Cheese isn’t a staple of Asian cuisine and I asked chef Liang Hsu what the story was. He and business partner Jeff Li have cooked in restaurants all over Hobart and made many chicken parmies in their time. “A chicken parmie is great,” he says, “but really, the best bit is the cheese that gets burnt onto the oven tray. The meal gets sent out and the chefs are in the kitchen eating the burnt cheese. So we wanted to create a dish that showcased crispy burnt cheese.” They’ve done it by topping fried dumplings (usually cooked in oil and water) with a generous layer of cheese that turns into a crisp, lacy crown that adds crunch and flavour to the dumplings.
Hsu is from Taiwan and Li is from Hong Kong so they wanted to include both bao buns and yum cha elements on the menu when they opened a month ago. “We want to make handmade, good quality food and felt we couldn’t find that in Hobart yet,” says Hsu.
Given the restaurant’s name, we have to try a couple of the bao options – there are seven to choose from - and we opt for the tea-smoked barbecue pork ($13.80) and the vegie version. There are also four types of bun – plain, pumpkin, sweet potato (gluten-free) and beetroot. I ask for beetroot, expecting a rich purple bun but it’s actually pale pink and kind of flesh-toned. I don’t let that get in the way of a good meal however and the soft steamed bun is texturally perfect. The pork has been cooked sous-vide and then oven-roasted and smoked with oolong tea, which adds a subtle yet distinct flavour. The vegie version is a patty of corn, sweet potato and carrot dipped and fried in the same batter as the eggplant. Both come with a sweet sauce and salad to round it out. If you’d like to kick it up a notch, there’s a help-yourself sauce station with a selection of chilli oil, sriracha, soy, Worcestershire and tomato sauces.
Both bao were delicious, I’d probably prefer a crispy filling to contrast against the softness of the bun and next time I’ll be trying the fried chicken variety, which Hsu says has already become a customer favourite.
Although I don’t work in the city, Pink Buns is open all day Saturday as well and I can see it becoming a delicious weekend option.