iOBento – Hargreaves Mall.
This place serves Japanese cuisine. When I’m there, people are eagerly snapping up their sushi rolls, and my personal favourite are their avocado rolls. You have the option of selecting white or brown rice to go in your rolls, brown being the healthier option, and you needn’t sacrifice on taste – either way, you’re in for a delicious treat.
The miso soup they serve makes for a great accompaniment to a couple rolls of sushi, especially on a cold winter’s day, and it’s throughout this season I find myself drawn to this place in particular.
If you’re looking for something more substantial, they have a variety of hot meals such as ramen, udon noodles, and soba available to order. The first time I tried their ramen, it was beef flavoured, and I quite enjoyed it, but I later found I preferred the vegetarian option. After finishing the noodles and veggies, the broth is really satisfying, and acts like an additional soup, really.
The people are friendly and the prices are affordable too, so it’s a perfect place to stop off for lunch, and really popular with students and those looking to eat healthy.
El Gordo’s – Chancery Lane.
You’ll find Chancery Lane if you walk through the Pall Mall on the left hand side. Once you turn up it, you’ll soon come upon El Gordo’s, a small eatery which serves tapas, bocadillo’s – otherwise known as Spanish sandwiches – and a different soup each day.
I actually haven’t tried the tapas, but I’m a big fan of the smoked mushroom and red capsicum bocadillo, being someone who loves mushrooms on pretty much everything, and the soups they make are incredible.
You don’t have a choice in what they serve you, but it really doesn’t matter – I’ve never been let down with their soup, and neither has my mother, who considers this her favourite eatery in all of Bendigo.
The people who run the place are so friendly, and I was genuinely saddened to hear when they were met with a bereavement in the family, and had to take a break temporarily.
The Dispensary – Chancery Lane.
To get here it’s best to access the laneway from Hargreaves Street, rather than the Pall Mall, otherwise you’ll be passing El Gordo’s and they’ll likely know you’ll be snubbing them in favour of this place, which might be a little awkward.
The Dispensary is a bar and diner which offers a modern take on Australian cuisine. One of the things they do best is how well they cook fish – their red snapper is amazing, and the parsley sprinkled on top complements it well.
My brother is a vegetarian, and when he visited us down from Melbourne, he was well catered to, as their menu have a variety of vegetarian options available, the standouts being (in my opinion) their steamed buns with a variety of different ingredients on offer, such as pumpkin with a dash of aioli.
The Dispensary are constantly changing their menu however, which is both a blessing and a curse. One of my favourite items on their menu is their pork gyoza, and not long ago they made some changes to the recipe, and while still good, I definitely preferred the original.
Oishii on Wheels
Situated on the Pall Mall, this is another eatery focused on authentic Japanese cuisine. Lately it’s replaced iObento as my destination of choice, as it’s quite close to the Bendigo TAFE City Campus, and I like to make occasional pitstops there for lunch.
My favourite dish is their tempura udon with prawns, which doesn’t have an incredibly strong flavour, but the thick texture of the noodles is something I can’t say no to. The mildness of the broth to top things off is lovely too.
Their menu is quite extensive – they offer Osaka-style okonomiyaki, which is like a savoury pancake; delicious karaage chicken, and just this week they began offering three different karaage burger sets (I tried one and it was fantastic); tonkotsu ramen, miso ramen, and beef ramen; and of course, sushi rolls, miso soup, amongst other snacks.
Importantly, the service is excellent. The man and woman who run the place are efficient and polite. I’ve never had anything to complain about when dealing with them.