MELBOURNE | Melbourne’s brunch scene is famous for being one of the world’s best. This city’s dedication to excellent coffee (and coffee-adjacent creations) is a part of it, as is a continued evolution as regards elevating brunch to something that can stand its own against the city’s quality lunch and dinner options.
Immigrants are another driving force behind Melbourne’s cafe scene, introducing aspects of their own cultures to create something personal, yet unmistakable a “Melbourne brunch”. Cham, a new Vietnamese cafe by couple Tony Nguyen and Christa Chan-Nguyen, is one such place. I was recently invited in to take a look.
Both Tony and Christa are trained chefs – Tony heads up the kitchen, while Christa runs front of house. The duo are passionate about what they’re trying to achieve with Cham. That is, creating an experience that showcases the best of their Vietnamese heritage, in a way that makes so much sense in a city like Melbourne.
The space is bright and airy, with high ceilings a white brick walls. Independent Vietnamese makers and designers form a big part of the interior. Furniture is made by Ho Chi Minh City design studio, LAITA, and lighting comes courtesy of Vietnamese brand, BằNG. There’s indigo-dyed fabric work by Hanoi’s Du Du, and hand-made objects from across Vietnam.
The menu features traditional and reimagined Vietnamese dishes, influenced by Tony’s fine-dining background, including stints in restaurants like Aru, Supernormal, and Firebird. One of my favourite Vietnamese breakfasts, bánh mì chảo, is a must try. A sizzling skillet of cold cuts, pork meatballs, house-made pâté, a gooey fried egg, and pickled vegetables. It’s served with toasted bánh mì, and whipped Laughing Cow cheese, and might be one of the best things you’ll eat for breakfast all year.
Other dishes include things like a croissant filled with typical bánh mì thịt ingredients and sate sauce; Northern-style short grain sticky rice with house made pâté, house pickles, Chinese sausage, pork floss, chả heo (pork meat loaf), fried shallot, marinated egg, dried shrimp, and sate sauce; and crispy rice paper sesame prawn rolls with coconut sauce.
Coffee is another big reason to visit Cham. They use beans from Coffee Supreme, as well as Vietnamese roaster, Every Half. The latter are one of Vietnam’s most progressive and interesting coffee roasters, showcasing just how good Vietnamese-grown coffee can be. Cham is the first time their beans have been available outside Vietnam.
You can get excellent traditional Western and Vietnamese coffee, along with a variety of creative coffee and tea-based drinks. Think ice-egg Vietnamese coffee, preserved kumquat and lemongrass soda, and a refreshing blend of cold brew coffee, apricot puree, and fresh lime, served in a glass lined with muối ớt (Vietnamese chilli salt).
Cham
25/31 Peel Street
West Melbourne
Victoria 3003
Australia
Telephone: n/a
E-mail: n/a
Website
Open
Tue – Fri: 8:30am to 3:00pm
Sat – Sun: 9:00am to 4:00pm