Sunday, March 31, 2013

Bangpop


Disclaimer: I managed to snag a complimentary invite to the sneak peek tasting before the restaurant formally opened

 photo bang-pop-8846_zpsf821ec45.jpg

Bangpop is the newest addition to the South Wharf eating district, focussing on authentic street Thai flavours, with prices that won't hurt your pocket. So having said that, Bangpop is an awfully appropriate name. 

I had heard a couple of weeks back that Bangpop were doing a sneaky tasting, so naturally bothered them until I was granted a table the day before the first tasting!

 photo bang-pop-8848_zps4a0890af.jpg

Residing where The Sharing House used to be, the interior hasn't really changed much from what it was originally, it's bright with high ceilings and pops of colour all over the place. 

Accompanied by my friend Shamim (who slept through her nap alarm and therefore delayed us!), we eagerly perched on our high stools, at the lego covered bar, where we drank and ate the array of predetermined food that was placed in front of us. 

Oh and what a variety it was!

We started with Khoa Kreab Tod (which I didn't manage to get a picture of because we arrived late), Thai rice crackers served with a lemon grass and chilli jam. Man, that jam just seriously punched you in the face. Hard. Really hard. And you liked it. We particularly loved the rice crackers with black sesame seeds through it, great crunchy texture and incredibly moreish!

 photo bang-pop-8851_zps678b1c13.jpg

To keep the chilli going we then tried the Larb Kai, a warm chicken mince salad with fresh mint, shallots and dried chilli. Oh my goodness. This made so happy. Vibrant, citrus and chilli all at once. I had to take breaks between mouthfuls to fan my mouth and grin stupidly. 

 photo bang-pop-8863_zps22b68fac.jpg

The Kor Moo Yang, chargrilled pork neck served with sticky rice was salty, firm and just delicious. The sticky rice was a little cold by the time it got to us, so it was hard to give it a solid evaluation, but it did go quite well with the pork. 

 photo bang-pop-8866_zps6142baff.jpg

We had seated next to 5 and Dime Bagel and his wife, who was pescatarian, so had already tucked into the spicy prawn salad, which had similar flavours to the Larb Kai, being citrusy, spicy and minty, but a personality all it's own as well. 

 photo bang-pop-8885_zpscb377ee2.jpg

The Lad Na Ka noodle was a breather from all the chilli, and reminded Shamim and I very much of wattan hor noodles in an egg sauce. It was explained and that it was from an area that had some Chinese influence in their food and it showed. The stir fry noodles with chicken, gai lan and baby celery was very homely and wholesome. The noodles were just so soft and slippery in a gravy that was thick and herbaceous. I'd be super excited to have a bowl of this (to myself of course) when the weather cools down. 

 photo bang-pop-8892_zps67b5e257.jpg

We were a little over enthusiastic with the Gaeng Lueng Tai, poached barramundi with southern Thai style yellow curry with Thai basil and lime leaf, and I didn't get a proper picture of it before we tucked in. Whoops! I think I tend to struggle a little when my curry gravy is more soupy than saucy, as Malaysian curries are generally very enthusiastic with the coconut milk, but the flavours in this were still just lovely and warming. 

 photo bang-pop-8911_zps70d37e1b.jpg

Although we thought we were full, you never really are once you see dessert. We were treated to two, the first being the Fak-Thong Kang Buad (which I think may not have made it to the final menu), a coconut milk dessert with pumpkin. It was quite unusual, served warm and not overly rich (surprisingly). The pumpkin was so sweet and tender. 

 photo bang-pop-8906_zpse10aa367.jpg

And finally, what I think is the Woon-Ma Prow, with young coconut jelly, young coconut flesh and toasted coconut. This was a great way to finish up the meal. Cooling and sweet, and a little bit lighter on the system. 

I was seriously impressed. I've always complained that we don't have enough good Thai food in Melbourne, but at Bangpop we had incredibly vivacious flavours that popped and made you sweat. Sure, a little bit out of the way in South Wharf, but have we finally got what Melbourne's needed? 

 photo bang-pop-8854_zps06a02b79.jpg

I'm very much looking forward to coming back again, bright and colourful food with everything generally around or under the $20 mark and no queue (yet). I would be more than happy to tuck into some Larb Kai, Kor Mee Yang and Lad Na Ka again, and am extremely interested to try out the pad thai, Tom Yum Koong and maybe more of those chillis…getting the sweat on in Melbourne during winter sounds like it might be a treat…

35 South Wharf Promenade
South Wharf

BangPop on Urbanspoon


View I'm So Hungree in a larger map



18 comments:

  1. I missed out on the soft opening specials as I was busy with uni and whatnot :( I've heard heaps of good things about Bangpop so one of these days, I promise to check it out. On another note, it's a bit of a shame to see the Sharing House go :(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I unfortunately never got to the sharing house! No time! :( But at least Bangpop has some solid food to make it a decent replacement. Lookin forward to seeing what you think! :)

      Delete
  2. Damn I missed out! This looks good, but I'm gonna miss Sharing House :(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Never got to the sharing house! :( Buuuuu!

      Delete
  3. Ooh, yes, I've been reading about this place and have been thinking of suggesting it for my sister-in-law's birthday next week. Do you think chili wussies like me would survive there? Medium is kinda my maximum level of chili enjoyment, ha.

    Lucky girl getting in early. As always I love your pics and honest descriptions. South Wharf really is making its way onto the food map, isn't it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha, I'm no chilli master, but I can handle a curry or two, but this was making my mouth water, a a couple of cups of milk wouldn't have gone unappreciated! So might be a challenge, but not everything is searing your eyes hot, so you should be able to find something that you can handle! :)

      And yes, South Wharf is certainly becoming a bit of a destination!

      Delete
  4. Oh no, what happened to the sharing house? Luckily I managed to visit during my last trip to Melb. The new place does sound promising though.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. From what I've heard, the head chef of The Sharing House left, and rather find something to fill those huge shoes, Paul Mathis decided to just turn the place into something different :)

      Delete
  5. Oh gosh.I gotz to go here now...especially for that Woon-Ma Prow dessert.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Get in my belly! Coconut jelly! *random rap tunes*

      Delete
  6. There are so many places that are popping up in Sydney and Melbourne nowadays! It never gets boring does it? :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha, definitely not! Although it's exhausting trying to keep up with it all too! :)

      Delete
  7. Wow, I can't believe The Sharing House has already gone - it seems like just yesterday that it had opened and I was reading about it all over the place! BangPop looks good too though, so hopefully they'll have much more longevity! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's what I thought! I was surprised when I first heard that Paul Mathis had opened up yet a nother spot in South Wharf, until I realised it was just replacing The Sharing House :)

      And here's hoping Bangpop will be sticking around!

      Delete
  8. Been seeing a lot of bloggers' write-up on this venue, most seem to have attended the event you attended, but it is really good that you disclosed that first thing in this post rather than at the very end.

    If you compare BangPop to Chin Chin, Longrain, Gingerboy, etc where does it sit? We are thinking of going but tend to stay away from over-hyped places which always seem to be so utterly underwhelming. eg. BangPop's predecessor, Mr Mason, Chin Chin. Terrible. So we can't decide whether this place will be worth the visit or not. It does sound rather fun though - great name!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I figure if people don't like sponsored posts, they may as well look elsewhere earlier and no one need be offended :)

      It's a hard call to make as I haven't dined recently at any of the other locations. It's not a fine dining experience and would be a much more casual dining experience compared to Longrain or Gingerboy and more traditional in terms of food and flavours compared to Chin Chin. Little more spice going on here!

      I think it's worth checking out if it's not out of the way, as prices look very very reasonable compared to what is out there already. It hasn't revolutionised food, but we don't have a lot of good Thai food in Melbourne, so I think it makes a mark!

      Delete
  9. I went to Bangpop a couple of weeks too during their soft opening :) really liked their dishes and found it to be really fresh but I'm still going to miss The Sharing House and how good is that Young Coconut Jelly! :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I unfortunately never made it to the sharing house! And kinda bummed I missed out on the discount during the soft opening, bahaha. Will be sure to pop back soon anyway! :)

      Delete