Bing Boy

Over the last few years Melbourne has seen more mini-franchises popping up that tend to offer more interesting, sometimes healthier options than Maccas or the Colonel. Think Mad Mex, Pie Face, Ajisen Ramen. The latest of these is Bing Boy, a national chain that serves Jian Bing, a thin Chinese-style pancake, filled with a medley of Asian and Aussie ingredients.

Opening earlier this month in the depths of Melbourne Central, Bing Boy was hopping when I visited. A line snaked from the brightly lit yellow counter as two chefs furiously worked preparing the bings, which resemble crepes. The system here is simple, order one of eight bings, take a number and watch it being prepared.

Fillings include the Hey Bing Boy (dry pork, pickled cabbage and wonton skin, $5.90) and the Pretty n’ Peking (duck, cucumber, sweet & sour carrot, mix salad and hoisin sauce, $7.90), as well as chicken, seafood and veggie options. When asked if I wanted double meat I said yes (that’s really what she said).

Ingredients for bings vary across China, but here they’re made with egg, coriander, spring onion and sesame seed. It’s pretty fun seeing your lunch deftly come together, and because it was a nice mid-winter arvo my friend and I enjoyed our bings on the lawn of the State Library.

Resembling something between a burrito and an engorged rice-paper roll, the bing isn’t the daintiest foodstuff to photograph. Or the easiest to handle. Don’t make this a first date meal. After biting through the thin skin, which I reckoned tasted more like thick rice paper than a crepe, I was rewarded with a generous serving of roast duck, sweet hoisin sauce and crisp veggies. It was sort of like a huge, slightly clumsier version of a Peking duck crepe. But pretty cool because it was super-sized.

About half way throug my bing I lost control and everything spilled out (not sure if this was because of the double duck) and a fork was required. Still, it was fun, reasonably cheap and not something I’ve eaten before. For something new for lunch, bing is worth a swing.

BING BOY
Shop LG 19A
Lower Ground, Melbourne Central
211 LaTrobe Street, Melbourne
bingboy.com.au