190 Wells St, South Melbourne
Phone: 9686 1109
Complete disclosure: I dined as the guest of Peko Peko.
Being a former Collingwood resident, and staunch Butter Side Up Northsider for life, when someone mentions Peko Peko, I think of the modern Japanese place on Smith St. And when I first heard of Peko Peko in South Melbourne, I assumed that is was just another outlet of the Smith St restaurant. So when people started talking about a ‘Japanese inspired’ Taiwanese restaurant earlier this year, I was curious. But it was Southside, so I wasn’t that interested.
That’s probably why it took me so long to get down there. But when the folks at nuffnang organised a get-together there, it seemed like the right time had arrived. What I thought was going to be a fun, social lunch with some other local foodbloggers turned out to be something of a lunch feast, as we were presented with one dish after another. By the end of the lunch, we’d sampled, from most reports, most of the highlights of the Peko Peko menu! So here’s a quick(ish) run-down of what we tried that day:
Pepper squid balls and wasabi mayo prawns:


We also had some of Peko’s Sausages and a twist on an agedashi tofu.


The sausage was good, but it was memorable more for the novelty factor of eating each slice with a slice of raw garlic, as suggested by Vanessa, who used to work at Peko Peko. The tofu was lovely – silken tofu, which was a bit tricky to pick up – and the dressing was closer to a soy than a dashi.
Then the mains came out – first up, Pork Chop Addiction.



We also tried the Mince Mince, which I didn’t really like that much. It was a troublesome dish to share; though the minced brisket had a lot of flavour – a bit too much salt in my opinion – I think it might be a better dish as part of one of Peko Peko’s bento boxes. The tea eggs were OK, but didn’t really have a lot of the tea flavour in them.






I don’t know how soon I’ll be going back to Peko Peko, but it’s not because of the food, it’s just because it’s not really conveniently located for anyone unless you live in Central Equity land (the South Melbourne apartment ghetto near Channel 7 studios) or you work somewhere nearby on St Kilda Rd or Queens Rd.
Damn you, I want Pop Chicken NAO. And you know I'm waaaaaaaay northside.
The Earl Grey pannacotta was heavenly. Beautiful texture and wonderfully infused with the tea! Ah such happy food memories.
I love PEKO PEKO! And yes, the dessert is worth heading back for. And so is the cheesecake. 🙂