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Budget friendly

Scallop and prawn dumplings (top) and prawn and chive dumplings.
14/20

Is this suburban yum cha spot serving Melbourne’s best dim sum?

Melburnians should be grateful for Chef Wong’s beautiful dumplings and exemplary egg tarts, writes Dani Valent.

  • Dani Valent
Ahma’s popcorn chicken.

Taiwanese diner makes a bid for Melbourne’s best popcorn chicken

Halfway down a Chinatown arcade, Ahma is much more than a simple fuel stop in the city.

  • Dani Valent
Assorted sandwiches, the San San salad and deli plate.

San San

  • Erina Starkey
Vienna pork schnitzel.
14/20

This ‘raucously cosy’ club serving schnitzels and schnapps is still going strong after 45 years

The pokie-free Austrian Club has an infectiously warm vibe, deer-based taxidermy and excellent apple strudel.

  • Callan Boys
Pepperoni pizza.
14.5/20

‘Biggest pizza I’ve seen in my life’: This new Sydney restaurant is serious about its New York-style slice

MMC Slice Shoppe trades on familiar references but stands out by offering not-so-standard-issue toppings and generous serves.

  • Lee Tran Lam
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The king-size thali at Namaste Haifa in Ormond.

This affordable, female-led eatery provides an ‘extraordinary’ discount to certain diners

Create your own vegetarian thali from the day’s 20 specials, all cooked by a team of mothers.

  • Dani Valent
Rare beef noodle soup with fried dough stick bread and onsen egg.
13.5/20

This new CBD restaurant serves excellent pho – just don’t ask for bean sprouts and Thai basil

An An steers clear of the Saigon-style pho that dominates Sydney, instead championing its cousin from Vietnam’s north.

  • Callan Boys
Owner/chef Helen Hung with Stanley Ho and Eva Ho.
14/20

At $17, ‘number eight’ at this retro food court gets you one of Sydney’s best value lunches

But you’ll need to arrive early to join local workers, grandmas and retirees who jostle for soups, noodles and this deceptively complex dish.

  • David Matthews
Inside Thai restaurant and Asian grocer, Thoong Thong.

This Thai takeaway tucked inside an Asian grocer is Thai Airways cabin crew-approved

Eddie Goosag’s food at suburban gem Thoong Thong is light, bright and fresh with dancing flavours.

  • Dani Valent
The duo base hot pot loaded with ingredients from the conveyor belt.

Hot pot meets sushi train for a new style of DIY dining

We’ve got sushi and cheese trains, but Divine Hotpot’s track boasts 50 trays of ingredients ready for DIY dipping.

  • Dani Valent

Original URL: https://www.watoday.com.au/goodfood/topic/budget-friendly-6gsw