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I first visited Taiwan about ten years ago, and ever since, it’s maintained its standing as “my favourite place I’ve ever visited.” I love it for the history, the charm, the nature, the approachably sized cities – and most of all, the food.
Taiwan is best known for its street food, which dominates the late-night markets across the country. While a growing number of Taiwanese restaurants have opened in Melbourne in recent years, the cuisine still hasn’t broken into the mainstream here beyond bubble tea. But Ahma (the Taiwanese term for grandma) might just change that.
The small, fast-casual eatery is tucked inside the 206 Bourke Street arcade, with a light timber fitout that’s clean and welcoming. Tables are cluttered with dishes that aren’t cleared throughout our visit, but otherwise the service is attentive and the space is nothing short of charming. Ordering via QR code at your table makes for a far more relaxed experience than jostling your way through a market in Taipei – but the food is much the same.
Take the sausage with sticky rice, for instance, which eats like a deconstructed fantuan – the sticky rice rolls beloved in Taiwan and southern China. In Taiwan, this rendition has been dubbed “Taiwanese hot dog” or “small sausage in large sausage” – a sweet pork sausage stuffed into a tube of glutinous rice. At Ahma, you can have it hot dog-style or “share style,” where the sausage and rice are sliced into bite-sized rounds. It’s finished with pickled mustard greens, pickled cucumber, crispy onions, spring onions and microplaned raw garlic – covering salty, sour, bitter and savoury in one punchy little dish.
The beef wrap riffs on another Taiwanese staple: the spring onion pancake. It comes slicked with a hoisin-style sauce and wrapped around a heavily spiced braised beef that leans into licoricey notes of star anise and clove, plus a few spring onions. It’s tightly rolled, sliced in half and ready to eat. Could it use a hit of brightness or crunch from extra veg? Sure – but that’s what the leftover pickles from the sausage are for.
For something more well-rounded, try one of the Taiwanese bentos – a format that’s increasingly common around Melbourne, featuring rice with your choice of protein plus a handful of side dishes. Here, that includes more pickled greens, stewed cabbage, a soy-marinated egg, marinated tofu and tomato egg – a home-style Taiwanese classic.
On our visit, we opt for chicken schnitzel. It doesn’t look like much, but it’s one of the night’s highlights – delightfully craggy and deeply savoury. The interior is mostly juicy white meat marbled with tender pockets of darker meat. It can – and should – be ordered a la carte if you skip the bento. Little studs of pork through the rice lend an additional umami boost, and the tofu and double eggs are a welcome palate cleanser.
To drink, there’s a selection of Taiwanese teas and soft drinks – plus complimentary honey water. In both appearance and execution, Ahma is a humble operation, but one that captures the heart of Taiwanese cooking – and will hopefully lead to more following in its footsteps.