Hochi Mama Richmond — Restaurant in Melbourne

Overall close to the worst dining experiences I've had in Melbourne, there are so many better Asian inspired restaurants and eateries in Melbourne.

Dining on a Sunday night with my partner we ordered the Pork Bao and Scallops for starters. While the pork belly was cooked well, the Bao was nothing to write home about. The trio of scallops were quite small (about half the size of what you usually receive at a restaurant) and what was supposed to be a red curry paste was distinctly satay in flavour.

The "Larger" (as described on the menu) dishes were anything but larger. We ordered Mama's Beef Ribs (emphasis on ribs plural). What came out was one short cut rib with at most 50g of meat on it, no shallots and no crunchy glutinous rice as described on the menu. At $33 plus a public holiday surcharge of 15% this was approaching $40 for one rib with barely more than one mouthful of meat on it and missing most of the ingredients on the menu...absolutely criminal. Unfortunately it did not get any better. The Morton Bay Bug Seafood Curry was virtually cold when it came out, had one bug, two small prawns and two small florets of broccoli for a "larger" dish - no bean shoots, no shallots and no spring onion as described on the menu. How a chef can allow dishes like that leave his/her kitchen is beyond comprehension. At least they got the Basmati rice correct.

Given we actually needed to eat, we then ordered Mama's Pad Thai; and wow (not in a good way). My local hole in the wall Thai joint makes a better Pad Thai. Instead of being presented with a freshly whipped up Pad Thai as you would expect, what was served up was essentially the over sauced dregs from the bottom of what must have been a pre-prepared batch...not the way you run the kitchen in any restaurant.

The only saving grace was the cocktails and the service was at level one would expect, but you don't go to restaurant for the drinks you go there for the food.

Will not be heading back to this place. I think we'll stick to the Chin Chins, Coda's and Supernormals of the world - they all set a high standard and...

With such a developed list of food styles and choices to choose from in and around Melbourne, some restaurants get in very right and some, well they just plain struggle to deliver on some of the basics. With most Melbournite’s loving food and all the arty culture Melbourne has to offer, I too was eager to get out just after Christmas 23 and went to Hochi Mama in Richmond for a family members birthday. Hochi Mama’s approach to Asian fusion dining is refreshing. Refreshing because they understand the one big thing most restaurant goers should get as part of the dining experience, and that is value for money. This is often overlooked in some restaurants when one is sometimes presented with plates where you can barely see the food on the plate. Don’t get me wrong, flavours and how they blend and compliment, freshness of ingredients, the food temperature, the quality of the presentation, the service and how often your table is revisited, how noisy the environment is; all these factors also play a role or should for restaurant diners. Its about the whole dining experience when all factors are considered together, and when you get a good one, you are more than likely to go back and eat again and happily.

Hochi Mama was a very good choice. Good personal table service and above all, quality Asian style food prepared well, and value size portions that did not leave us feeling hungry or cheated. The food was served quickly, and the cocktails we all had were well made and some were very different. Certainly not boring. Presentation on the plates was good and the spicy nature of the chili flavours were up there and meshed well with the infused herbs. You just need to be prepared. The chicken was moist, not fibrous and well cooked. The pork belly not dry and not just pork fat alone. It certainly was not expensive per head. The restaurant also prepared and presented our birthday cake for us. Very accommodating and done well with care. Recommend you try the cocktail menu and for me, it’s the...

🦆 Roast Duck Wonton Crisps 🍣 Salmon Sashimi 🍤 Prawn Betel Leaf Bites 🐖 Pork Belly, Mango Slaw 🌱 Vegetarian Spring Rolls 🍞 Roti w Curry Sauce 🍗 Fried Chicken 🦀 Soft Shell Crab Fried Rice

Hochi Mama is a super popular Vietnamese Fusion restaurant, well-known for its contemporary sharing menus and good vibes. They now have two locations in the CBD and Richmond, both are funky, bold and covered in artwork. 🎨

The best option to go for here is their Feed Me menu which includes 2 Small, 2 Large and 1 Side between two people, for any additional people you add 1 more of each. It is super affordable at only $42.50pp for dinner, everyone on the table must participate and they have a limit of 5 people. Any more than that must order the banquet.

The entrees were all delicious and were our favourite dishes of the night, especially the Roast Duck Wontons. Sadly everything else was sub-par. The Pork Belly was really crispy but bland, the slaw was really small and not enough for the 3 to share. The Fried Chicken and the Soft Shell Crab Rice both lacked seasoning (The crab itself was great). The roti wasn’t nice and flakey. We felt a lot of the dishes looked better than they tasted and were carried by a sauce rather than complimented by it. Also be aware that you might find their dishes really spicy 🔥

I rarely dislike a Margarita but theirs is lethal, the cocktails here really pack a punch. We asked them to exchange these for another which they kindly did, the Tokyo Drift and Lycheezy were both really nice. 🍹

Marketed as a restaurant to come with a group to dine and catch up, I really don’t believe 90 minutes is a suitable seating time considering the amount of food you get. You will not get a minute extra, our time was up before we could even finish our meals. ⏰

Overall I give them points for their entrees, the vibe, value and the service. It is a place to eat and go. I also have to add that all three of us were sick overnight from the dinner. 🤕 A lot of people really enjoy this restaurant however we all found it to be a...