Purple Peanuts Japanese Cafe

620 Collins St Melbourne, CBD, VIC 3000
03 9620 9548

Purple Peanuts is a hidden gem, when it comes to cheap, healthy, delicious Japanese food. Purple Peanuts takes on the classic traditional food, but with the modern takes on healthy theme. One of their specialty is their brown-rice sushi roll. 

Akio Salmon Don

Purple Peanut set their place with Japanese punk theme, with various toys around the wall and electric music on the background.

Outside Purple Peanuts Japanese cafe

To escape from the noisy place and simply enjoy the refreshing modern Japanese food, you can easily step outside to the outside seating. On a very nice day, eating fresh modern Japanese food for lunch can be really refreshing.  

Outside seating umbrella

My friend decided to ordered the Japanese beef curry. Alike many Asian places I tried before, Purple Peanuts serve their food very quickly. Like the minute we sit down ordered and pay once we , the food come out right after.

Japanese beef curry, $10.90 AUD

The beef was thinly cut, but very fatty. The level of fat on it does not suit my liking or my friend. However, the curry is the winner! The curry is very fragrance of all the spices in it. The vegetable cooked in it was not overly cook, which compliment the beef nicely.

Akio Salmon Don, $10.90 AUD

Akio Salmon Don took a little longer to arrived compare to the curry. This dish is essentially Japanese radish chutney with fatty salmon, serve with rice and salad. The part of salmon serve is very fatty, so it give the dish the moist texture. Radish chutney is very tang, crunch and very well balance between sweet and sour. I can tell that the chutney was not too old, and the radish was still really crunchy. Eating the salmon and the chutney it self was already very sensational. 

Prawn and Tofu Gammodoki, $10.50 AD

 UrbanList has put Purple Peanuts's Burger as one of the best vegetarian burger in Melbourne. Unfortunately, I am not a big fan of vegetarian burger, but I sure am a big fan of burger, so I ordered the prawn and tofu Gammodoki in ciabatta bread.

Bites into prawn and tofu Gammodoki, $10.50 AUD

 After a bit into this burger, I can see why Purple Peanuts is one of the city best kept secrets. The tofu patty is pack with carrot, sake, sesame, ginger, and topped with tasty teriyaki and Japanese mayo dressing. .The prawn, was the perfect complimentary to the hero patty. The prawn was so fresh that every single bit into it, I can hear the "crunch" noise. There was reasonable amount of vegetable, which make it eatable, unlike many others burger places. 

Purple Peanuts is seriously the Melbourne city hidden gem. The burger at Purple Peanuts is surely the heart of this funk fun Japanese place. That I highly recommend for the lunchtime wonderer around Southern Cross station to try out!