Mad Mex, Melbourne CBD by Bureaucrat

As Big Fil mentioned in his post below, I had been wanting to try Pappa Rich at QV.  Even since the Pappa Rich at Chadstone Shopping Centre opened, Mother Hen and Mr Strong have been going there for lunch. They rave about the curries, the roti and the Hainanese chicken.  On a more local level, the stalwart Star East Cafe in Kingsway, Glen Waverley, has recently closed up shop, with a sign saying that in its place will be a new Pappa Rich.  Clearly, this Malaysian chain is making its presence in the Melbourne foodie scene.

On this occassion, I had wanted to go to PR in QV.  Indeed, I was looking forward to it and had brought Mr S along.  Unfortunately, there was a big queue (just like its short-lived, but popular, predecessor, Old Town Kopitiam Mamak - refer my post back in Oct 2011) that meant that it was unlikely we would finish our meal within the lunch hour.


With hungry bellies and a strict one hour lunch deadline, Mr S and I decided to opt for Mad Mex - a Mexican chain.


There's a few MM peppered around town.  MM offers Mexican food at a reasonable-ish price.  I'm still perplexed as to why Mexican food, which is essentially street food, is relatively expensive in Melbourne.

Despite having a queue, the line moved quickly and we soon got our food.


Mr S went for the generous sized toasted burrito, and chose  brown rice, black beans, grilled chicken, salsa, lettuce and cheese for the filling.  It was a bit tricky and messy to eat.


I went for the naked burrito - which is everything in a burrito except the tortilla.  I opted for white rice, black beans, carnitas (slow-cooked shredded beef), salsa and lettuce.  To drink, I went for a tamarind soft drink that had a mild tamarindy-sour kick.

I've also had this as a vegetarian dish - instead of meat you get grilled eggplant, zuchinnis, (lots of) onion, peppers and guacamole. I do like the naked burrito as it leaves me full, healthy and not bloated. It's a nice meal for a hot day.

Overall
MM is a good fall-back option if you want a quick, healthy, filling meal that doesn't cost too much.  As you'd expect MM is popular among office workers and uni students.

Personally, I think the burritos are better value than the rest of the menu (tacos, quesadillas).  I've had the tacos before and it costs about the same as a burrito but it left me hungry (you get two tacos with the same choice of fillings but they don't pack as much into them as they do for the burritos).

Verdict
Food - 7
Ambience - 7
Service - 7
Price - 8

Address
Mad Mex
Red Cape Lane
Cnr Swanston & Lonsdale St
Melbourne 3000
Telephone: 9662 3002