MELBOURNE | Launching in Hong Kong in 1996, TamJai Mixian has grown into a popular noodle chain with 240 locations across Asia. Their first location outside of Asia opened a few weeks ago in Melbourne on Swanston Street, with another in Melbourne Central opening just last week. I popped into the Swanston Street store for What’s on Melbourne to take a look.
TamJai Mixian are known for their Yunnan-style “mixian” noodles. That is, bowls of al-dente rice noodles, served in your choice of soup, with whichever selection of toppings and spice level you want.
There’s a dedicated soup tasting counter so you can try before you commit. Options include flavours like Chongqing spicy sour, tangy tomato, and charred pepper with spices. There’s 10 spice levels, ranging from “Non-Spicy” to “Hell Fire” I opted for the signature Chongqing spicy sour soup, with a spice level of 7 – “TamJai Classic Hot”.
This level is a good one for lovers of spice, properly spicy, but not to the extent that it destroys the other flavours. There’s a silkiness to the soup, with an exciting balance between heat, salt, and sour. There are over 30 toppings. Things like pork belly, fish balls, prawn wontons, wagyu beef, beef tripe, and bean curd sheets. The “Supreme Mixian”, which I chose, gets you the 17 most popular toppings. Perfect for sharing with a few friends.
Beyond mixian, there’s rice bowls and snacks. The rice bowl with minced pork, luncheon meat, pickled cabbage, and fried egg, is a classic winner. For sides, go for the Tufei chicken wings, chilled century egg, and my favourite, sliced pork belly with minced garlic.
Drinks wise, its classic options like Horlicks, iced lemon tea, and peach bubbly Yakult.
TamJai Mixian (Swanston Street)
231 Swanston Street
Melbourne
Victoria 3000
Australia
Telephone: (03) 8351 4708
E-mail: n/a
Website
Open
Mon – Fri: 10:00am to 10:00pm