Crosta D'Oro Hot Bread, Thornbury

Crosta D'Oro Hot Bread, Cnr High St & Clarendon St, Thornbury $4.80

Before eating this 1kg bohemian baguette I was nervous. I thought to myself, this could be possibly the best or worst pork roll my adventures have taken me on. I had to ponder the ingredients in silence. Does coleslaw belong in a pork roll? This very question was unfathomable until the moment those tongs clutched the creamy cabbage sabotage. It was a day of allowing unorthodox ingredients in the fill so I didn't question the pork princess's motives. I thought to myself it could be an easy mistake as she happily tonged at the ingredients with the speed only a pork roll princess could possess. I had a quick conversation about the 'gravy' she asked if I wanted. A rich tomato, stock, garlic and ginger reduction added a good zing that I was looking forward to, and the peanuts, I am always one for the peanuts. An odd combination that paid off in the end. Presentation was great with meat on top and bottom and double whammy of onion. I am a fan of this bohemian.

Bread 3/5
Salad 4/5
Meat 4/5
Chilli 3/5
Overall 8.5/10 experimental viet pigs

Ingredients: mayo, pat'e, 2 cold sliced meats, vietnamese gravy, soy sauce, coleslaw, spring onion, onion, pickled carrot, coriander, chilli, peanuts

T`s Vietnamese Classics - Preston Martket, Preston

T`s Vietamese Classics - Preston Market food court, Preston $4

Busy ass place rubbing elbows with all nationalities competing for a table, cheap meats, fruits and vegetables. Be prepared to push and shove your way around this place. It is a great market no doubt, I have always preferred this over Vic Market for its price and freshness so when I saw a Vietnamese takeaway opened up I was pretty excited. Specialising mostly in other Vietnamese cuisine like Pho or other rice and noodle dishes, I was here for one thing. A shame no cold cuts on offer but the BBQ`d pork more than suffices. I was aghast when the lady put lettuce in this shapely offering and was tempted to throw it straight at the ground and stomp on it, but everything else looked so tasty and the lettuce was only minimal. A good spooning of a sweet fish sauce sealed the deal for me, with chilli seeds and and carrot floating in the bowl, it forgave the lettuce and turned out to be a tasty number although the bread was a let down.

Bread 2.5/5
Salad 2/5
Meat 4/5
Chilli 4/5
Overall 7.5/10 Viet pigs swimming in fish sauce

Ingredients: lettuce :( pickled carrot, cucumber, coriander, spring onion, regular butter, BBQ pork, chilli, soy sauce, sweet fish sauce

Tina`s Hot Bread, Preston

Tina`s Hot Bread, High St Preston $3.50

Not bad work from young Tina but room for improvement. Soggy salads, good pat'e, good meat and bread was decent. A little to much raw onion for some but I was not complaining. Generous salt and pepper with a kick in face of chilli, this pork grenade was a real creeper. The thing with a creeper is it gets better and better towards the end, once all the sauce and juices have soaked down to the last bite of bread. Preston certainly has some Pork Roll establishments the community should be proud of.

Bread 3/5
Salad 3/5
Meat 4/5
Chilli 4.5/5
Overall 7.8/10 hard to find a car park viet pigs

Ingredients: Mayo, Pat'e, 3 cold sliced porks, pickled carrot, cucumber, coriander, raw onion, chilli, soy sauce, salt and pepper

Mai Lan, Preston

Mai Lan, 435 High St, Preston $3.50

I have been going to this place for years and have never had a bad pork roll. When asked for chilli I usually say "just a little bit" and end up with a small piece at the start, nothing in the middle and a huge chunk right at the end and always fire hot. This particular time I simply said "yes" to the chilli and watched her throw in quite a few pieces and it made me fairly nervous, thinking this is going to ruin my meal. For some reason unknown to me, I could taste the chilli but it had no kick at all. Nothing. Everything else rated highly but I had to deduct points for the chilli.

Bread 4/5

Salad 4/5

Meat 4/5

Chilli 2/5

Overall 7.5/10 regular customer viet pigs

Ingredients: Mayo, Pat'e, 4 different cold meats, pickled carrot w/ raddish, cucumber, coriander, spring onion, brown onion, chilli, soy sauce