• Too much salt isn't healthy: salads from Aruba Espresso Cafe

129 Bourke Street
Melbourne 3000
9639 7272

When I am hungry, I can’t concentrate or make decisions, I become consumed with the feeling in my stomach  and the instant need for carbohydrates.  And so, the other day I wondered the streets too hungry to decide what I wanted to eat.

In this fashion, I stumbled across Aruba.  Staffed by polite, middle-aged women, their warmth somehow convinced me that salad was an appropriate nutritious lunch, despite the cold outside.  I liked that the ladies helped me to decide what to order and told me there were vegetarian ones without me asking.  In my desperation, I didn’t seem to mind that it was $10 for a salad.


I ended up choosing the pesto penne and the Moroccan cous cous.  The pesto was fresh with the natural basil flavour coming through against the tang or lemon, garlic and slices of parmesan.  The pasta was soft and moist with baby spinach mixed through.


The cous cous salad looked attractive with pumpkin, eggplant, capsicum, chickpeas and red onion.  The veggies were all crunchy and overall it was too salty.  Despite being ravenous, I had to force myself to finish the last few mouthfuls overpowered by salt.

The pasta made me think of Basso, prompting me relive my lunch in my mind where I went to Basso instead.

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