Where - 16/235 Milleara Rd, Keilor East
Price - $23.90
Website - None that I could find, other than a Facebook Page
Reviewers – Lee & Nikki
This week's review is 100% a case of me caving to peer pressure. We had planned to visit a different spot in Melbourne but after getting tagged, tagged and tagged some more in the below Facebook video, there was no way we could hit anywhere other than East Keilor's Fat Chef this week.
I mean, I'm not complaining too much - those parmas look absolutely phenomenal. However the fine print of the video revealed that those mammoth parmas - The Fat Chef 1KG parma challenge and the 500g Sou Chef parma - Are only available on Monday night. We've got a fairly big parma eating challenge on the horizon (Early Feb, keep an eye out for it!), so I was more than happy to visit on our usual Thursday night and check out Fat Chef's more sensible parma option.
Fat Chef is in a weird spot. Attached to the Milleara Shopping Centre in East Keilor with both an external door and a door with a view through to Woolies inside, it's the kind of store you'd expect to find serving smashed avo and hedgehog slices - Not pints of Furphy, tomahawk steaks and 1kg chicken parmas.
We grabbed a table and checked the menu -
The chat potatoes spied in the above video seem to be a Monday only thing also, the term "potato stix" thew me a little as they were something I'd never heard of in over 330 reviews. Curiosity was certainly piqued.
An amazing looking set of beer fonts held quite a few options, however there was nothing too crafty on offer at the time. Pints of Furphy were on happy hour prices when we visited so that seemed like the best option, and it went down a treat.
About 15 minutes after ordering our parmas arrived...
It seems a little unfair to talk about the schnitzel first as that was probably the element of the dish I enjoyed the least. Don't get me wrong it wasn't bad it was pure chicken breast - Perfectly juicy and well cooked, However the crumbs carried no crunch and the chicken was quite dense in a way that is hard to describe - Reviewer Nikki probably articulated it best with her opinion of "It tastes really chickeny" (we are in the process of petitioning the Oxford English Dictionary to add "Chickeny" by 2019).
It had a decent thickness for the most part with a bit of thinning out toward the edges, probably a little smaller than I'd like but to be honest I'm struggling to find a criticism too damning of the Fat Chef schnitzel.
The toppings had the look, taste and consistency of one thing - a Magherita pizza. Picture in your mind the last time you had a margherita pizza, peel the toppings off the dough and slap them on a schnitzel and you've got the Fat Chef parma. Great coverage of cheese and napoli were apparent, however a slice of ham was sorely missed.
Despite being presented beautifully this parma wasn't knocking us out of the park in the flavour department, and a good slice of ham would have really let this parma shine (especially since in all the video footage and facebook photos it seems like the Monday parma includes ham). I mean, the supermarket is right there, I can go and grab a slice if you'd like!
It turns out "Potato Stix" are another word for "chips". I'd normally complain about the use of such unnecessary word use on a menu, but when the Fat Chef "Potato Stix" are some of the best chips we've had in recent memory they can call them whatever the hell they want.
These chips were an absolute triumph. Served in a mini fry basket totally seperate from the parma, well seasoned with salt and herbs and served with a tomato sauce pot on the side without even requesting it. This is as close to chip perfection as we have seen in a while. Bravo.
It has been a long, long time since we have seen this much effort put into a salad. Rocket, apple slices, cranberries, shaved parmesan and a super creamy dressing. It was unbelievably unique with flavours possibly not for everyone - but I absolutely loved it. Another win.
“Very cheesy parma, but a little bland. Chips were near perfection and, while it wasn’t quite for me, I appreciated the effort put into the super unique salad!”
My brain is telling me that $23.90 is a little pricey for the meal we received at the Fat Chef, but when you factor in the ridiculously good sides accompanying this parma its easy to cut them a little slack. I'd definitely be back to try another Fat Chef parma, and if you want to shave a few bucks off you can get the 250gm version that we just reviewed for $20 with a pint thrown in on a Monday night - Fantastic deal.
The Fat Chef is a rare case of phenomenal sides sitting beside a parma that, while good, fell just shy of the mark. With a bit of ham or something to give it a little extra punch it'd be in contention to walk among the best of the best - But even in it's current state it's worth trying, and if you've got a decent appetite head down on a Monday to have a crack at the 500g or 1kg options ... I know I'll be considering it.