The Sunny Cafe
6 Balmoral Avenue, Springvale
03 9540 3804
Taiwanese
$
Food
- Taiwanese Baso Rice
- Taiwanese Sausage Bento
- Crispy Fried Chicken Fillet
The Good
The Crispy Fried Chicken Fillet was pleasant. Fresh out of the fryer, the crunchy golden brown batter offered a satisfying crisp. The chicken within was juicy and tender, though the batter could’ve definitely done with a tad more seasoning to bring out the flavours.
The Mediocre
The Taiwanese Baso Rice, otherwise known as Lu Rou Fan in Mandarin, was rather unspectacular. This simple dish consists of slow braised pork mixed with various spices sitting on top of a big bowl of rice. While the pork was extremely fatty, it failed to carry much flavour. The spices were definitely lacking as well which made for a rather bland experience. Coupled with a lacklustre sauce that was supposed to exhibit a sweet and savoury flavour, this traditional cheap eat from Taiwan certainly failed to impress.
The Taiwanese Sausage Bento didn’t fare much better. Once again despite the aptly fatty sausage, the sweetness was overwhelming and totally masked the flavour of the pork itself. It was also lacking in the distinct crisp, charred outer that characterises any good Taiwanese sausage. It was honestly a one dimensional and rather bland meal.
The Bad
Nothing.
The Verdict
The Sunny Cafe has sat on our wishlist for a long, long time. Unfortunately this authentic yet markedly mediocre meal most certainly failed to impress.
Having travelled to Taiwan on many occasions, this did not live up to the simple standards you can come to expect, from the cheapest of Taiwanese street food vendors found all over the country.
Would Penguin Eat Again?
No thanks.