Melbourne may not have a lot of street food stalls, but our food trucks are the next best thing. While burgers and hot jam doughnuts still have their place, the food truck scene is growing in diversity of offering. Here are a few worth seeking out, including a Palestinian food truck using the recipes from the owner’s grandmother, one dedicated to meatball subs and a Queen Vic Market staple that specialises in Ethiopian injera.

Falastini

Born in Jordan with Palestinian heritage, Rahaf Al Khatib started Beit Siti in 2022 as a way to preserve her grandmother’s recipes and share her culture through workshops, pop-ups and events. Falastini Food Truck is the newest offshoot of the operation; it opened in Coburg and is now based outside Pony Club Gym in Preston on Thursdays and Fridays from 5pm to 10pm, and on Saturdays from 8am until midday.

The menu showcases homestyle dishes Al Khatib learnt from her grandmother, like molokhia (a stew made from a leafy green called jute mallow) as well as Palestinian street food like musakhan, a flatbread dressed with slow-cooked chicken, confit onion and sumac.

We think you might like Access. For $12 a month, join our membership program to stay in the know.

SIGN UP

Dishes rotate based on what’s seasonal and locally available through suppliers that include Oakhill Food Justice Farm and Fawkner Food Bowls. But one constant is that they’ll be predominantly plant-based. “Palestinian food by design seems to be very vegan- and vegetarian-friendly,” Al Khatib tells Broadsheet.

Mr Baller

Meatball subs have been gaining popularity in Melbourne, but Mr Baller is dedicated to the sandwich.

The signature is The Don, a rich, saucy number made with Wagyu and parmesan meatballs, tomato sugo slow-cooked for nine hours, aioli, salsa verde, buffalo mozzarella and more parmesan, all stuffed in a crusty banh mi roll.

Vegans can opt for a meatless version made with plant-based meatballs and dairy-free cheese There are also sides of crumbed and fried burrata or bocconcini, and loaded fries that layer all the components of a meatball sub onto a bed of chips.

Owner Steven Pentaris has plans to eventually open a bricks-and-mortar restaurant, but for now you can find the truck at festivals and events around Melbourne. Mr Baller will be at Lightscape at the Royal Botanic Gardens every Wednesday through Sunday from June 14 to August 4 and will stop by other events including the Winter Night Market at the Queen Vic Market.

Keep up with Mr Baller’s upcoming locations here.

Silog

Silog is a classic Filipino breakfast plate made from fragrant garlic rice, a fried egg and sides like tapa (cured beef), longganisa (a spicy pork sausage similar to chorizo), tocino (sweet-cured pork) and adobo. At Silog, a food truck and catering operation run by couple Rose and Willie Sta Ana, you can get longsilog made with longganisa, tapsilog made with tapa, and even adosilog made with adobo-glazed tofu. Silog’s popular “sili oil”, a garlic and chilli crisp oil served with its dishes, is also available to take home by the jar.

The truck regularly pops up at Greenvale Recreation Centre when there are matches on, and can also be found at markets, festivals and sporting events around Melbourne.

Keep up with Silog’s upcoming locations through here.

Eat Enjera

Eat Enjera, currently based out of the Queen Vic Market, serves vegan Ethiopian food based around injera, a teff (grass seed) pancake made from batter that’s fermented, then cooked in a hot pan until thick and spongy. It’s perfect for mopping up kik alicha (yellow split pea stew) or with mushroom tibs, a vegan take on the Ethiopian beef stir-fry.

There’s coffee roasted in batches by owner Tilanesh Gebreslase and served from a traditional Ethiopian clay pot called a jebena. The truck also sells retail items including berbere (a spice blend) and shiro, dried chickpea flour used to make shiro wot (chickpea stew).

Eat Enjera is open at Queen Victoria Market Thursday through Saturday from 6am to 3pm, and Sunday from 9am to 4pm.

Mr Latino Cantina

Completos, piled high with tomatoes, smashed avocado, mayo and pebre sauce (a fresh condiment made with coriander, garlic and lime), are loaded Chilean hotdogs.

Mr Latino Cantina, an unassuming food truck based permanently on St Kilda Road, is one of the few places in Melbourne to get them. Here, they’re made with a classic frankfurt or chorizo, or chargrilled portobello mushrooms for a vegetarian version. There’s also a selection of deep-fried and baked Chilean-style empanadas filled with cheese and chorizo; a classic combination of minced and spiced beef, olives and boiled eggs; or even vegan mince.

Mr Latino is open at 34 St Kilda Road, St Kilda, daily from 11am to 9pm.