Ostani

There were a couple of food options at the Night Market at the Realm complex, but my friend and I couldn’t go past the sliders on offer from Ostani. Before the queue got too long, we ordered one of each of the two flavours – BBQ pork and chipotle beef. They were obviously well prepared for churning out food quickly, and we only waited about five minutes before our orders were ready (so fast!). I tried the pork first – it was incredibly tender and really did just melt in your mouth. On my last mouthful I had a lovely hit of corriander, which would have been perfect if it had been throughout. The brioche bun wasn’t overly sweet, but the pork and I want to say char-sui sauce had an overall sweet flavour. The beef was fantastic too, with quite thick chunks and a rich tomatoey sauce. For fast street food, we were very impressed with the quality – two was also just the right amount to leave room for dessert! The market itself was lovely – not overly crowded, with plenty of variety among the stalls and fabulous live music all creating the perfect atmosphere for a summer evening.

Ostani, Hotel Realm, 18 National Circuit, Barton ACT                                   http://www.ostani.com.au/

Delectaballs

My next choice at Fork on the Road was the sliders from Delectaballs. There were a few flavours on offer, but I opted for the Moroccan lamb with minted yoghurt. While they were being freshly cooked, the lovely gentleman wearing an ‘I like big balls and I cannot lie’ cap chatted to each customer and then used my order to demonstrate to someone who didn’t know what a slider is. My model sliders were well-sized and oozing with tomato sauce and the minted yoghurt, so were good advertising! I was expecting the bun to be a bit too much, but it cushioned the giant meatball nicely and was thankfully quite light. The meatball itself was perfect – well-cooked, high quality lamb mince with a mix of spices I couldn’t quite pick. There was just the right amount of sauce to prevent the slider from being dry, and the rocket made me feel slightly healthier about eating such a big serve of meat! I was surprised by how filling the slider was – I needed a good digestion pause before trying the next thing. Next time I think I’d try the eggplant and parmesan slider – I’m definitely a fan of Delectaballs!

Delectaballs, changing locations around Adelaide, SA                    http://www.delectaballs.com.au

 

Mamachau

Oh Adelaide, how I adore your food trucks! They conveniently gather together on the odd occasion for an event called Fork on the Road, which is where I tried Mamachau’s incredible bao. At only $3.50 each they felt like a real steal, and we picked two of the three flavours on offer to try. I had the KFC (Korean fried chicken) bao, with kimchi mayo and Asian coleslaw. The chicken was to die for! Crisp, fresh and tasty, it was definitely the winning choice, with incredibly soft meat inside the fried (but not oily) skin. The kimchi mayo didn’t add as much spice as I expected, but there was plenty of self-serve Sriracha sauce for extra chilli. The slaw was packed in and the bao was springy and not too dense. We also tried the master stock pork belly bao with peanuts and pickled vegetables, which was a great flavour combination, but which paled in comparison to the KFC bao. The pork belly was tender, flavoursome and complemented the coriander and hoisin sauce perfectly. Luckily they also have a store on King William Street – added to my ‘to visit’ list.

Mamachau, Shop 3/118 King William Street, Adelaide SA    http://www.mamachau.com.au/