Footscray Food Blog

Addis Abeba

2012-01-27T08:00:00.000+11:00

With the exception of the fabulous, boundary-bending African Taste, the Ethiopian restaurants of Footscray tend to toe the line of their traditional cuisine. The differences and variations are still there, but rather than the brash contrast of primary colours, the differences you note are subtle, like the gradations of red in the sky of a shepherd's-delight summer night.

I like many for different reasons but a firm favourite is Addis Abeba. It's owned and run by Bitsat and Tesfaye, an Ethiopian celebrity couple of sorts - she's a famous traditional singer and he is an actor, writer and director. The interior of the restaurant is homely and warm, the dusky scent of frankincense hanging thick in the air.

Vegetarian combination, $12

I can never go past the veg combo. This is served the traditional way, heaped directly onto the injera on a colourful platter. From 12 o'clock, soft yellow lentils; meltingly soft cabbage; Bitsat's own creation, potato with berbere; rich red lentils with berbere spice (my favourite); potato and carrot, yellow with turmeric; and nutty, toothsome brown lentils. If you have room, spring for the salad which is really delicious with a lemony dressing.

Special tibs, $12

Special tibs are so good - tiny pieces of very tender lamb, cooked with onion in butter and scattered with green chillis for crunch and punch. The doro wat is amazing too. This celebration dish of chicken and eggs cooked in deep red berbere spice is only available here on weekends and Addis Abeba's is my favourite version anywhere in Footscray. Bitsat explains the onions must be stirred continously for hours or they catch and create a burnt flavour. This is the only version I've tried that doesn't have just a hint of slightly bitter charred onion.

Plenty of injera for pinching up each greedy mouthful. I also love the injera on the bottom of the platter which has soaked up all the juices.

Addis Abeba very kindly hosted us for the photo shoot for this article. Bitsat is gorgeous - the journalist told me he didn't like African food but with cheeky persistence she wouldn't let him leave until he ate at least one bite, explaining that in Ethiopian culture if you don't eat someone's food, it's a grave insult. Trust me - you can't stop at one bite, and the only insult will be the way you bump both sides of the doorway as you stagger out, newly rotund but oh so delightfully stuffed.

Check Addis Abeba out in Epicure. Thanks for the lovely company, Lauren of Corridor Kitchen!

Addis Abeba
220 Nicholson Street, Footscray (n.b. not Addis Cafe which somewhat confusingly is next door)
Phone: 9687 4363
Hours: Lunch and dinner daily

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Laksa Bar, CBD

2012-01-24T08:00:00.000+11:00

My husband migrated here in 2006. He brought a fresh eye to Melbourne - looking for something to do, he would exclaim, "Let's go get an Italian ice [gelati] and walk along the Yarra!" Um, people who live here don't do that - much to our detriment in fact, as it's indeed a lovely thing to do. For dinner, he loved to go to "Chinatown", usually to eat Singapore noodles with gusto, much to my chagrin.

I love going into town now. I still get a buzz now going in on the train, seeing the Heavenly Queen gazing benevolently over the Maribyrnong, then screeching round the bend from Spencer Street, high up all Bladerunner-like. This visit I found Little Lonsdale particularly lovely to wander up, from QV and the State Library to this peaceful block with spreading trees...leading up to Laksa Bar.

This place has been getting a bit of buzz and for enticing reason. They purport to offer eight regional variations of laksa. In a laksa-mad city, this seems a particularly smart business move.

The fitout is smart, if a bit concrete bunker-like, with exposed bulbs and silver-shiny industrial trimmings. Order at the counter where candlenuts and cinnamon quills are displayed in apothecary-like glass bottles, hinting at aromatic alchemy in the kitchen.

Satay tofu (entree), $5.80

Lovely, juicy cubes of lightly-fried tofu with refreshing onion, cucumber and pineapple, nestling under a cosy cloak of "generation recipe" satay sauce. This was quite yummy, very sweet and tangy with tamarind, although not all that peanutty.

Nasi lemak with house sambal and fried chicken, $11.90

Nasi lemak ("rich rice") is coconut rice with trimmings, including crispy anchovies and peanuts, perhaps some fried chicken or fish, and plenty of sambal - house-blend chilli sauce. All the components of this were promising. The coconut rice was luscious (not at all like gluggy suburban Thai joints - this was light, the grains were separate and it melted in the mouth). The ikan bilis and peanuts gave fantastic crunch and the garguantuan chicken drumstick was tasty. I liked the sweet sambal, despite it not being very hot at all, although apparently it wasn't very "correct" by Malaysian/Singaporean standards.

Asam laksa, $13.90

This famous dish from Assam features mackeral, tamarind and tomato for a tangy, fishy, spicy, dark soup. This was a disappointment, overly sweet with no mackeral flavour and really tasting just like tom yum. The (presumably defrosted) ginger flowers had an unpleasant flaccid texture. Jo and Bryan, Singapore food connoisseurs, agree that one of the best Assam sauces in Melbourne can be found on White Lotus' mock fish, of all places!!!

House curry laksa (seafood), $15.90

The moment of truth! We stared. We spun the bowl. Cue giggles. Fried wonton skins, a chopped fried egg, a wedge of lemon, battered fish? The toppings are certainly untraditional, save for the generous helping of cockles, tiny blood-coloured crustaceans that are an essential element in authentic Singaporean-style laksa and char kway teow. The broth was very mild, extremely creamy with warming spices like cinnamon and cumin but no chilli heat or seafood flavour (we did ask for the menu's promised "higher level of spiciness" but none ensued). The bowl was so chockers with noodles (half yellow Hokkien, half rice vermicelli) and toppings that there wasn't much broth to sample at all.

Bryan's authentic home-made Singapore-style laksa - drool over it here
You can also read about authentic Singapore laksa here

I don't really know what to make of this laksa. It is like craving chocolate mud cake - dark, dense chocolate cake, where the fork cuts through it just like a spade through rich, dark loam. The "give" of the chocolate ganache icing on top - swipe it through a little cream for rich, luscious perfection. To order chocolate mud cake and then be presented with a chocolate sponge with cream in the middle, perhaps covered in chocolate shavings. "Oh," you say. "This is nice, but I really wanted thick, rich mud cake." "Well," replies the waiter, not unkindly, "that's how we do our mud cake". You see my quandary - it was well made but not laksa as I know it!

On leaving, I could see a chef in the open kitchen gently shaking candlenuts into a commercial food processor. I do believe they make the spice bases, the sambal and the sauces from scratch. While the satay tofu and nasi lemak were good, in the case of laksa, I'm just not sure it really does what it says on the tin.

TOM YUM LAKSA??!! That's like having Christmas Easter eggs! Oh wait - don't tell me they've done that already?

You might like to follow me on Twitter (@msbaklover)

Check out Bryan's recollections (and much better photos) and Temasek's cheerful and positive thoughts

Laksa Bar (Facebook)
1/108 Little Lonsdale Street, Melbourne
Phone: 9663 1941
Hours: Mon-Fri 11am-10pm, Sat & Sun 5pm-10pm

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Elceed

2012-01-19T08:12:00.001+11:00

ALCIDE IS IN NORTH MELBOURNE!!!!!!!!

*Whisper* Oh..... *cough* you mean as in ELCEED - a totally cute new cafe, not the totally cute werewolf. Right, ahem... Excuse me. *Straightens pearls*

Continuing the Queensberry Street awesome cafe trend, Elceed more than exceeds at fabulous coffee and gorgeous brunch-y things whipped up in the open kitchen.

The back room uses lots of white to lift the room away from the old tiles - they could be daggy but against all that gloss, they start to seem almost retro. Orange pops to create a vibrant yet still welcoming vibe.

There's lots of little touches that belie a thoughtful hand, like the vintage teacup sugar bowls and tiny flowers on the tables. Service is efficient and friendly.

Truly fantastic coffee, an absolute steal for $3.20. Gorgeous, silky milk, sourced with a fair price for farmers from Jonesy's Dairy.

Pea and broad bean smash with mint, ricotta and poached eggs, $14.90

This was a symphony in green - garlicky yet sweet smashed peas and broad beans smushed on good bread, with sunny, oozy poached googs on top. The snow pea tendrils tasted outrageously healthy yet were moreish, perfect licked with some good olive oil. My only suggestion is ditch the phallic pepper grinder and equip each table with a mini version. I love cracked pepper but feel like a doofus while the waiter stands there grinding and grinding and grinding...

Sweeties are also a go go, as well as daily fresh juices if you feel like something cleansing.

(Menu posted with permission - subject to change)

There's much to love about North Melbourne's newest cafe. OK, so there's no buff Bayou-bounding werewolves, but I reckon the "candied prosciutto" on the menu could equally prove a pearl clutcher.

You can read more about Elceed from Ellise @ Charles Whyte - thanks for the tip Ellise!

(Alcide is from HBO's True Blood, if you haven't had the pleasure of watching it yet!)

Elceed (Facebook)

610 Queensberry Street, North Melbourne

Phone: 9326 8648

Hours: Mon 8am-3pm, Tues-Fri 7am-4pm, Sat 8am-4pm

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Nhi Huong (2 Sisters)

2012-01-16T08:00:00.000+11:00

You may have seen on Twitter the hashtag #firstworldproblems. You know, like, "so annoying that I have to clean up before my cleaner comes". There's another level which is #firstworldbloggerproblems. "Oh, I am so behind in my posts - just can't keep up with all the meals I have out!" "Darn, I forgot my camera. *Roll eyes* Have to use my iPhone then!" "Gah, why do my kids always order the same dish? So annoying!"

Another is, "Sigh, I can't go back to that great restaurant because I "need" to try somewhere different." Well, when the restaurant has a makeover - voila, instant solution to #firstworldbloggerproblem! Nhi Huong (2 Sisters) are the new residents at the site of Pho Phi Truong. I'm unsure if it's just a name change - they still use the old Pho Phi Truong menus, but have a new takeaway menu.

Bryan, Billy and I love eating family-style, which of course means I have to bring my often irritating children. It's not family style without kids rocking the table, spilling their water and stabbing each other with toothpicks! I know I complain about them but big screen TVs magically transform my children from sped-up ferrets to slack-jawed lumps.

Pipis with XO sauce

A special of the house, pipis with XO sauce. They were fresh and quite delicious but there was a confoundingly enormous amount of cornflour-bound dark sauce. They're better just licked with sauce so the dried seafood and ham of the XO sauce can really shine. Still, I loved soaking up all the sauce with the accompanying Chinese donuts.

Muc rang muoi

Yummy salt-and-pepper squid, presented on fried noodles. The batter was thicker than usual which was tasty but pretty naughty. Loads of lovely zingy salt.

Bo tai chanh (rare beef with lemon coleslaw)

The beef here is wafer-thin, as for pho, marinated in lemon so that it is just barely cooked, cured in the acid as in ceviche. This was pretty good - points for the inclusion of rice paddy herb - but the dressing was very much on the sweet side. I love piling coleslaw on the prawn crackers to make Vietnamese tostadas.

Lau De (goat hot pot)

The main event - goat hot pot! Atop a portable stove bubbled a pot of chunks of goat, taro, tofu and beancurd skin. Plenty of green vegetables came alongside including chrysanthemum leaves and mustard greens. We were advised to order egg noodles and they came in a lightly oiled tasty tangle. Also accompanying were tiny dishes of intense garlic and preserved tofu dipping sauce.

Here's Bryan doing uncle hot pot duties. The broth was thick with taro yet mild and tasty. We build little bowl after little bowl with noodles, cooked vegies, goat/taro/tofu and a tiny bit of the OTT garlic sauce. I don't get my money's worth with goat, though - the point is partly the interplay of texture between meat, fat and skin, but I only eat the (deliciously tender) actual meat.

I love steamboat/hot pot, it's such a fun, dynamic and communal way to eat. My fellow food bloggers are also such lovely people to eat out with; as well as being tolerant of my kids, they're always pushing the envelope. What should we order - we want everything!!! Now that's a #firstworldbloggerproblem I don't mind having.

Nhi Huong (2 Sisters)
255 Hampshire Road, Sunshine
Phone: 9311 6522

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Dragon Express

2012-01-13T08:00:00.000+11:00

We went on lots of long, meandering road trips as kids. We ate lots of bowls of chips with vinegar and lots of toasted cheese sandwiches, the cheese becoming progressively more plastic the closer you got to central Australia. Occasionally we'd eat at the local Chinese, always with a "mysterious Oriental" name like Crystal Pagoda or Emperor's Garden. I remember these restaurants having lots of wood panelling or dark bricks as well as apricot napkins folded into peacock shapes, and the food always being great - lots of cornflour, sure, but fresh veggies and lots of them. The closer you got to the interior, the more likely the table was set with knife and fork, and once when we ordered tea it came in a teacup with saucer.

Dragon Express has opened to brighten up a fairly shabby Sunshine sidestreet and upon entering, it's a bit like going back in time. Alongside wood-panelled walls, tables are set with placemats with wispy imperial motifs. Forks and spoons are carefully set and in the middle of each table are salt and pepper shakers alongside the soy sauce.

The pride in this new business is evident, from the pressed uniforms, lucky red napkins folded with military precision, the very personable service and the fact that everything is spotless.

Home made chicken dim sims, $2.50

Homemade chicken dim sims were quite good with a fresh, peppery filling, reminiscent of South Melbourne Market's epic dimmies.

Sesame prawns, $3

Sesame prawn toast, minced prawns smushed onto white bread that's drenched in sesame seeds and deep fried. If it couldn't already get so (deliciously) retro, check out the carved carrot! Love it.

Malaysian sotong, $14

Dragon Express has a mega menu of your choice of meat, vegies and sauce but I am always drawn to the chef's specials, many of which here have a Malaysian flavour. "Malaysian sotong" was fantastic - big juicy pieces of pineapple-cut squid, deep fried in light batter, augmented by crispy snow peas. The sauce was light in flavour yet pleasantly thickened in texture with creamy egg and chilli zing. I have no idea if it was authentic, but it sure was tasty.

Singapore prawn, $14

Singapore prawns were also the business - quality fresh prawns in lots of lovely eggy sweet tomato gravy.

Stir fried green vegetables, $9

It's not so hard to eat your greens when they are tasty like this. Plenty of crunch and loads of garlic which surprisingly wasn't all that pungent.

DE Special Hokkien Noodles (chicken), $9

They need to dial up the dragon's breath on the Dragon Express Special Noodles - they lacked wok hei, the authentic "charred" texture and flavour good wok-cooked noodles should have, tasting almost simmered in the thick sweet soy sauce.

Some may sneer at all these retro touches - the carved carrot, the pointy napkins, the salt and pepper - but they remind me of my childhood, and they are all done with care and a sense of pride. The food is super fresh, tasty and the service is very personal. You can stop by for lunch where half a main (beef, chicken or pork) and rice costs a staggering $6.50.

May the coming year of the Dragon bring many happy returns to Dragon Express.

Thank you very much to Kenny of Consider the Sauce for the great tip!

COMMENT UPDATE - Blogger have rather fortuitously just yesterday instituted a reply system, so I can now reply directly to your comments. Yay!

Dragon Express (Facebook)
28 City Place, Sunshine
Phone: 9312 6968
Hours: Mon-Fri 11am-3pm, 4:30pm-10pm, Sat and Sun 4.30pm-10pm

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Noodle Kingdom

2012-01-11T08:38:00.004+11:00

Street theatre - statue people, pan pipers, pavement chalk artists and now, noodle makers!

Noodle Kingdom, originally of Preston, is probably best known for its handmade noodles. In late 2010, their Russell Street store was slammed with an enormous fine for multiple food safety breaches. Undaunted (and hopefully with some better food handling practices and/or more monitoring), they have remodelled Swanston Street's Chinatown Dumpling Restaurant into a reportedly six-storey pagoda paying homage to floury delights.

The dining room is far removed from other function-over-fancy establishments. A banquette lines one wall, making for comfy reclining. High above the room at the bank, a dumpling maker in pressed white hat watches benevolently over the room full of marble tables, lit by lantern-like lights.

Chicken, prawn and pork dumplings, $6

These look the business but golly, what thick skins. They were thick to the point that the dumplings almost seemed like buns - we're talking half a centimetre thick here. The filling was tasty but not all that juicy.

Dry-fried french bean, $14.80

These were all right, not the best I've had. The mince was quite coarse and there was little flavour other than soy sauce. Vegetarians, always beware this dish as the menu description rarely mentions the pork mince it is flavoured with and it's often filed under "Vegetables".

Stir-fried chicken with nuts and veg (hand-made broad noodle base), $16.80

My sister had gone here with a group of about 10 and everyone unanimously agreed her choice, above, was the best. Say no more! This was indeed pretty unreal. The noodles were fantastic, wide and flat like fettuccine, with unparalleled al dente bite and seductive slipperiness. I think the chicken chunks were deep fried. Peanuts gave lots of fabulous crunch and we loved the mild heat of the fat red chillies. Moistened with a little soy, it was a great dish.

So far, the noodles are the drawcard here for me. There are many different shapes and styles to try, including in their beef noodle soup which is apparently a specialty. The decor is quite lovely (although the toilets were filthy) and big points for Mountain Goat and Little Creatures beers on offer. With Noodle Kingdom opposite the fantastic Dumplings Plus and the buzzing Taiwan Cafe, Asian food on Swanston Street is starting to get exciting!

P.S. Sooper-dooper new comment system now installed where I can reply to your comment in a "thread" so no more of that cumbersome "Bob - yes! Sarah - absolutely!" old Blogger style replying. You can also sign in with Facebook and Twitter. (If you log in via Facebook, click "Don't Allow" when it says Footscray Food Blog wants permission to post as you. I don't want that at all but don't know how to disable it!!)

UPDATE: Had to uninstall less than sooper-dooper comment system - it flicks back to Blogger comments occasionally it seems and if someone comments through that, it deletes all the new comments in the new system. *sigh* Hopefully I can find another program that's more consistent.

Noodle Kingdom
264 Swanston Street, Melbourne
Phone: 9650 1818
Hours: Daily lunch and dinner

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Merry Christmas

2011-12-20T19:27:00.000+11:00

consumerism (i God)

by Mike Reed (aka my dad)

(model is my brother)

My house is a mess, my kids are permanently jacked up on sugar and my jeans won't do up - it must be Christmas! I keep trying to write a post but my eyes glaze over like Christmas ham. I'm taking a break and will be back in the New Year.

Thanks for reading in 2011 and in particular, thank you very, very much if you took the time to leave a comment, write me an email or even just "like" a post on Facebook. Stephanie of The Elegant Sufficiency quotes blogger Shuna Fish Lydon:

“We blog, you comment. Your comments are our fuel, our reason to go on posting, our food for blogthought … the salt on our meat, the eggs in our souffles, the chocolate sauce on our ice cream.”

I know I sometimes suck at replying to comments and emails but they do make blogging so much sweeter and more rewarding. So please don't ever be shy - even if you completely disagree, your voice is an important part of the conversation.

We have just finalised our Christmas menu today - Sourdough Kitchen croissants for breakfast with Andrew's Choice ham, lots of gorgeous fat prawns, a big free-range pork roast with crispy taters, pumpkin and grilled asparagus, followed by plum pudding with custard and ice cream. Christmas may be nauseatingly consumerist in the leadup but the day, at least for us, is always such a welcome celebration of fantastic food and family.

See you in 2012!

Lauren

Okonomiyaki (aka Japanese pancake)

2011-12-13T08:00:00.014+11:00

Okonomiyaki (Japanese pancake or pizza) is one of my favourite things. I wish I could say I discovered it at a quaint wayside inn beside a bubbling brook, somewhere beyond Tokyo, but in fact I first ate them at Highpoint. These thick vegie-rich pancakes are my shopping centre saviour - made daily, sort of healthy and meal-size for about $4. When Ajitoya opened in Seddon, giving us a western suburbs counterpart to Fuji Mart or Suzuran, I gathered up all the ingredients to make okonomiyaki at home - and you can too!

You will need:

(Makes two pancakes - recipe adapted from Visual Recipes)

* 1 cup okonomiyaki flour (available from Ajitoya). This is superfine white flour seasoned with dried seafood and other goodies. You could possibly vegetarian-ise or frugal-ise it by seasoning white flour yourself (with maybe powdered mushroom, garlic powder etc?)
* 3/4 cup dashi (Japanese bonito stock) or water. I recommend Spiral Foods dashi above (available from KFL Supermarket in Flemington) which does not have MSG. You really don't need to use dashi as the flour is seasoned, but I love the extra flavour!
* 1 egg
* Roughly 1/4 cabbage, finely shredded (you may need more)
* 1 carrot, grated
* Neutral oil eg rice bran
* Japanese tonkotsu sauce and Kewpie mayo (pictured below)

Whisk dashi and eggs together (ignore the two eggs - I was doubling the recipe)

Add flour.

Whisk till smooth.

Add cabbage and carrot. You want it really thick - when it goes in the pan, it needs to sit in a clump, not spread out like a regular pancake. Just keep adding and mixing until it is a good, thick mixture like the above.

Heat a frypan, add oil (about 1 or 2 Tb) and add a big dollop of mixture. Push the sides in a bit so it's nice and circular. You could make more pancakes that are less tall, but I like the contrast between crispy ends and soft, doughy middle.

It is hard to get the timing right so you don't burn the sides or end up with an uncooked centre. I experimented by adding the mixture in on high, cooking for a couple of minutes then turning it down low. After about 5-10 minutes, flip and repeat. You need the top and bottom to be crispy but the middle cooked. I stuck a knife in and if batter was still welling up, I kept cooking. Eventually a tiny bit of batter still looked wet, but I took it off the heat, left to stand for 5 mins and it was done upon eating. Each pancake probably take about 20 minutes total to be done all the way through. Sorry to be vague - I am really much more an eatie-foodie than a cookie-foodie!

Put pancake on plate and take tonkotsu (fruity BBQ-style) sauce and Japanese Kewpie mayo (sorry about crusty, well-loved bottle)...

...quickly squeeze squiggles over in perpendicular fashion. Serve with greens (preferably dressed with addictive creamy toasted sesame dressing, also from Ajitoya).

Yuuuummmmmy.... The cabbage becomes soft but doesn't have any stinky boiled cabbage smell. The pancake is soft in the middle yet tantalisingly crispy on the edges, while the BBQ sauce and mayo combine to give it creamy, tangy flavour punch. You can cut it into wedges and sell it to the kids as pizza and mine absolutely love it.

I think really authentic okonomiyaki is a bit different - some have topping cooked onto it while in the pan (hence Japanese pizza) while others have bonito flakes and other goodies on top. I like my simple version though, and it does beat the Highpoint version!

Local identity Nick Ray (of the Ethical Consumer Guide) is putting together a new project called Local Harvest. Among other things, it will comprise a directory of sustainable food links such as food co-ops. community gardens, pick-your-own schemes, all aimed at connecting you with your food on a more grass roots level, bypassing the handful of multinational corporations who control a lot of our food. They need funds at the moment to meet their fundraising target to get off the ground - see widget to the right, or check out the website.

Sourdough Kitchen

2011-12-08T09:24:00.000+11:00

Sourdough, wood-fired, free range - all these buzzwords have been criticised as being yuppie, floaty concepts that will be gone in the next chew-and-swallow of the food trend cycle. The thing is, the artisan, slow-food model has been around a lot longer than industrial innovations like quick-rise yeast or factory farming. Once upon a time, all bread was sourdough. Home bakers discovered that if they left flour and water to ferment and "catch" wild yeasts, it would produce a risen loaf with a pleasant sour tang. It was only closer to the industrial revolution that yeast was isolated from its wild form, where every house's sourdough starter would be slightly different, and standardised.

In the news recently, a major bread manufacturer has announced an "innovation" in which new additives will mean bread will remain fresh for up to 14 days. This makes me want to throw up. Thank goodness then for all our local bakeries and suppliers - Natural Tucker bread from Footscray Market Deli, Hausfrau (bread from Noisette), Waldie's, good ole Bakers Delight (closet pullapart lovers, hands up) and my personal favourite, Sourdough Kitchen.

This is where the old Bowerbird boutique used to be in Seddon and I love the quiet, cool vibe inside. The terrazzo floor is quaint and strangely soothing as you lean back against dove-grey walls, accented by peasant chic handmade lace doilies.

Everything here is sourdough, from the white casalinga made with organic flour to vegan tray-baked pizzas, fat fruit buns and (no kidding) sourdough croissants. The bread range begins with classic casalinga and earnest wholegrain before dallying into spelt, sultana and rosemary, and pepita-studded pumpkin territory. The more standard loaves are available by the half which is a fantastic way for smaller households to never be out of fresh bread.

Latte, $3.50

Great coffee made with Genovese that rarely disappoints.

Pork and fennel sausage roll, $5

The menu is small but confident. The generous pork and fennel sausage rolls are truly the best in Melbourne! Sweet pork mince is augmented by the occasional aniseed zing of fennel seeds, rolled in luscious, buttery puff pastry. An abundance of sweet homemade chutney arrives alongside.

Pizza, $5.50

Three types of square-cut, tray-baked pizza all get the vegan tick. Here we have wafer-thin potato and rosemary on a chewy sourdough base. A scattering of salt flakes could take it to the next level.

Sandwiches, $7.50

Hearty, freshly-made sandwiches on thick-cut bread. Here, bitey cheese complemented tasty pastrami and tangy baby pickles. Delicious. Did you know that Sourdough Kitchen are very community-minded, supplying local food co-ops and donating excess bread to the Western Region Health Centre?

I am hopelessly enamoured with Sourdough Kitchen's pain au chocolat - light croissant dough rolled around a Callebaut dark chocolate stick. The croissants are also fabulous, the sourdough starter giving them a faint but tantalising sour tang. Sourdough is healthy, ergo, sourdough croissants are healthy. Right? Right?

* Okonomiyaki recipe coming next week!

Sourdough Kitchen (Facebook)
172 Victoria Street, Seddon
Phone: 9687 5662
Hours: Tues-Sun 8am-5pm (open Christmas Eve 2011 until 5pm!) - CLOSED MONDAYS

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Pho Phi Truong

2011-12-02T09:05:00.000+11:00

My plan of expanding my children's tastebuds is working...sort of. They have moved on from grilled chicken to pork chop on broken rice, but they are now all so obsessed with it, they all insist they want it. Unfortunately, the photo-hungry food blogger in me is always trying to convince them to order something else!

Pho Phi Truong is a great place in Sunshine to feed their obsession. It specialises in pho (apparently MSG free?!) but also has a full menu, right up to banquet-style live seafood. I like the decor - modern but not cold, still with a bit of welcoming kitsch.

Grilled pork shop, shredded pork, egg, pate, broken rice $9

A fine example of com tam dac biet - crisp marinated pork chop, a well-fried egg, a slice of pork/noodle "cake", a tangle of bi (shredded pork skin) and a few pickled vegies. My only complaint was that the pork chop was very thin. The kids loved it though.

Shaking beef red rice $9

Great bo luc lac or "shaking beef". This is cubes of beef, quickly "shaken" in a searing wok with just a little garlic and soy, maybe a bit of onion or capsicum. This beef was really tender and tasty and had just a lick of sauce, the way we like it. Billy wondered if the garlic might be a bit too overpowering, but I liked it. Garlic fiend, moi?

Seafood coleslaw $18

One of the high points of Vietnamese food for me is Vietnamese coleslaw. It's just heavenly with lightly pickled, sweet vegetables like shredded carrot and white daikon radish, lots of fresh mint and coriander, the crunch of roasted peanuts and golden fried shallots and your choice of protein. This seafood coleslaw was superb, with fabulous fresh calamari, good prawns and yummy, thinly-sliced fish cake. Coleslaws are often relatively expensive, sometimes up to $29. I'm not sure why, maybe they're a sharing thing for a whole table.

Salt and pepper chicken ribs, egg rice $10

After disappointing fried chicken recently at Mr Lee in West Melbourne, these chicken ribs were sublime. The chicken was really fresh and juicy, covered in tongue-tingling, ultra-crispy batter that was just divine. If you get in quick and pick off any fresh chilli before it soaks in, the kids love these. They came with white rice cooked with a little egg (not seen this before).

Vietnamese white coffee (iced) $3

My fix - Vietnamese iced coffee. Wakes you up like a cold shower! Pho Phi Truong have pandan tea as standard in the thermoses on the tables. It's very floral and a gorgeous South Vietnamese touch.

Ooh, eyeing off that dau hu nhat rang muoi - salt and pepper tofu. Oh yeah! Goi ga farm is coleslaw with free range (ie, "farm") chicken. Bo tai chanh is a great dish, kind of like Vietnamese "crying tiger" salad (a Thai dish) but the beef is cured in lemon juice before being served in a salad like the coleslaw above. If you can help with any other translations, or if I have my canhs and chanhs confused, let me know!

Pho Pi Truong
255 Hampshire Road, Sunshine
Phone: 9311 6522
Hours: 7 days, 9.30am-9.30pm

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Chilean empanadas at La Morenita

2011-11-25T06:44:00.001+11:00

I love backstreet suburban shopping strips. Like little rockpools, they foster small, unique shops. On unremarkable, semi-industrial Berkshire Road in North Sunshine, La Morenita is definitely the pearl in the oyster.

The sign on the windows still points to the old occupants, but inside La Morenita remains a hub of the Chilean and wider South American community. A range of Latin American grocery products are on offer, from yerba mate, a herbal infusion beloved in Uruguay, real paprika-rich chorizo sausages and other smallgoods, and bundles of thick dried seaweed or cochayuyo used to make very rustic Chilean dishes.

Stop in for a surprisingly decent coffee and a caramel-stuffed sweetie or loosen the belt for some homestyle Chilean sandwiches. Order at the counter and then settle down while your meal is whipped up out the back.

Empanadas can be a light meal or entree. Their edges lovingly folded up, they can be baked and filled with beef mince, olive and hardboiled egg or mildly-spiced chicken and tomato. Alternately my favourite are their fried cousins, melty with cheese, the pastry golden, crisp and bubbly.

Chorizo and cheese empanada, $3

Hello sailor! Gorgeous little morsels of rich, smoky chorizo sausage with golden stringy cheese in a crackly pastry shell.

Sandwich #9, $5 ($5!!!!)

This sandwich was unreal - great bread filled with wafer-thin, tasty steak, lightly-cooked emerald-green beans, gooey cheese, tomato, mayo and extra green chilli relish. The mayo mixed with the meaty juice, soaking into the tender bun, while the chilli gave a tangy, delicious kick.

If you can bargain with your stomach to find some room, try the fabulous house-made sweets. The alfajores are shortbread biscuits sandwiched together with deep brown caramel sauce then rolled in coconut. Or try the ones filled with more caramel and spread all over with glossy white meringue.

Viva La Morenita!

La Morenita Latin Cuisine (Facebook)

67 Berkshire Road, North Sunshine

Phone: 9311 2911

Hours: Tues-Wed 11am-5pm, Thurs-Fri 8am-5.30pm, Sat 8am-5pm, Sun 8am-3pm

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Chilli India

2011-11-22T08:00:00.000+11:00

Billy and I got very excited recently about the "Supper Market" opening in the basement of the new Westville Central development. We began daydreaming of the clang of wok sang on huge, blackened wok, great licks of flame being thrown in the air lighting up the faces of the hawkers, the scent of wok hei rising up the escalators. After a minute I raised my eyebrow though. "Um... I reckon they mean supermarket."

Well, at least I have Chilli India. Tables crammed into the tiny passageway leading into Melbourne Central, buzzing late at night, it's as close to an authentic hawker centre I'm gonna get anytime soon!

The only eat-in area at Chilli India is sort of outside, yet under the covered walkway. It's packed with students, smoochy couples and big families tucking into silver-trayed thalis. As we sat, there was a non-stop, steady stream of hungry people queuing to order at the register. You can still have friendly, efficient table service and they will bring you booze from the main Chillipadi next door.

Right next to the register is a huge flat-plate BBQ where this rockstar chef whips up dosa and freshly-made roti before your beady eyes. MMMMMMM!

The drawcard here is not only the freshly-made Malaysian-Indian street food but the biryani. Commenter Make Best West had informed me that the biryani at Dosa Hut is far from the real deal and indeed "the worst biryani I ever had. I can say that because I hail from the land of biryani (Hyderabad) and this place is making a mockery of such a beautiful cuisine. Authentic biryani is light in spices and has a nice balance of important ingredients such as yoghurt, mint, lime and golden-coloured fried onions - none of them could be found in this version. This lame version was floating with chillies, cloves, star anise, cardamom, cinnamon and less-meat-more-bone cheap meat."

Special Hyderabadi dum biryani (chicken)

I am always up for being corrected and when the suggestion is this good, I am profoundly grateful. This was a very special biryani. The rice grains are totally separate, non-greasy and underneath are pieces of supremely tender marinated chicken. I still detected hints of spice but it did indeed have a lemony fragrance. It came with pots of sweet raita and an almost peanutty sauce. As we sat, waiters brought out brass pot after brass pot of this obvious crowd favourite. The chicken could get a bit bony but the flavours were all there.

Chilli chicken

I love Indian-Chinese food - it is a total mindf**k. Confronted with battered meat or vegies in sauce that looks like bland suburban Chinese food, your head says no, but your heart asks, "Why does it taste so bloody good then?" Indian-Chinese takes the battered nuggets and thick sauce of "bad Chinese" and switches it up with heaps of chilli, tang and spice in true Indian style. This was delicious, really spicy and zingy with green onion and ginger.

Vegetable avial with plain roti and roti Chenai

Avial is a very southern-style curry with fresh vegetables, coconut and yoghurt. This was delicious with fresh, tender broccoli, beans and carrot. The sauce was thick and creamy but not naively, suburbanly so and highlighted with curry leaves and mustard seeds. The breads were fantastic - the Chenai was flakier, more pastry like while the plain was like a well-fried chapati. I find it very hard to eat roti now unless it has been made fresh in house.

I know the Chillipadi brand often divides opinion quite sharply but I thought this meal was fab. Everything was fresh, cheap and tasty, it had a real buzz and we had great, friendly service. I might be cynical about the soon-to-open "Supper Market" but Chilli India is a great street-style option in the meantime.

Chilli India

Menzies Alley, Melbourne Central
Phone: 9669 3866

Hours: Mon-Tues 11am-3.30pm, Wed-Sat 11am-3.30pm, 6pm-10.30pm

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Oriental Charcoal BBQ

2011-11-14T08:00:00.000+11:00

A friend of mine has a trick of how to make her kids eat anything - chop it up small and stick a toothpick in it. There's something about eating food off a tiny stick that kids just love. It extends to adults too, I guess - satays, kebabs, devils on horseback and Dagwood Dogs! Oriental Charcoal BBQ has just opened in Footscray, poised to capitalise on our love for meat on a stick.

There's still some remnants of the old Vivid Star here like a forlorn star mobile hanging from the ceiling, but the space is now watched over by huge, festive red hangings featuring traditional motifs.

The range of BBQ choices is mouthwateringly vast - BBQ sausage, garfish and chicken heart. Vegetarians can choose from lots of different vegies including two types of mushroom and mantou, Northern Chinese-style steamed bread.

Veggies combination

An interesting range of cold salad dishes are on offer. The menu has pictures which is fantastic, as it can help you get a sense of a dish and try more interesting things. This variation on the classic cucumber salad included cucumber, boiled peanuts and tofu skin in a sweet, chilli hot, vinegar dressing. It was quite good but I think I prefer the classic cucumber-only dish.

Platycodon salad

We chatted to the owner about this intriguing vegetable. He said it was a type of root and that he got "platycodon" from the Oxford dictionary. Investigating further I believe it is also known as Chinese bellflower root or in Korean as doraji. It was traditionally a foraged food, dug up in the fields and has a place in herbal lore as an anti-inflammatory used for coughs and colds. It was delicious, the dressing thick, spicy and very tasty, reminiscent of Korean chilli paste. The sesame seeds and coriander provided delicious angles for the hot flavours to bounce off.

Lamb skewer, $1.50

If you order one or two BBQ items, be aware that they come out one by one. I couldn't help but thinking they looked like surgical specimens on their silver tray lined with plastic! The lamb was great, juicy and smoky and the cumin flavour was actually quite mild. A table nearby were literally ordering these by the two dozen.

Enoki mushrooms, $2

Pleasantly stringy enoki mushrooms, threaded and lightly dusted with cumin - yummy.

Squid, $2.50 and "green beans", $2

Tender and tasty squid and seasoned, crunchy snow peas were also delicious.

BBQ chicken bone, $5

The menu read, "Charcoal BBQ chicken bone is the most popular BBQ food in Northern China. For those like traditional Chinese BBQ food and drink beers, this is absolutely a good choice". Sounds like my kind of thing! Unfortunately though, it's not a mistranslation - it literally is chicken bones! I have no doubt this is traditional and well-loved but it took a lot of determination to prise off the tiny slivers of meat and suck all the sauce off. Not one for this gweilo family (although Grandpa ate it all) but the skewer-hungry table ordered this and attacked it with gusto. Unless you are hardcore, go for the "softbone with meat" on the same page which I think is boneless chicken.

Eggplants in Sichuan sauce, $10

I thought this might be spicy eggplant with a sticky, jammy sauce a la Dainty Sichuan but it was a more homestyle dish of silky fried eggplant and tasty slivers of pork. It wasn't spicy at all but was soothing and comforting. Although I think it is traditional to have this much oil, it wasn't my favourite part of the dish.

Boiling pork dumplings, $8/15 pieces

Unfortunately these were rather overcooked - the skins had lost that lovely al dente texture and had become mushy and gluggy. Fried are the go for next time.

If you are curious about mainland Chinese food, Oriental Charcoal BBQ is a good place to start. The skewers are yummy and a variety with some salads would make a great meal. The menu is small and easy to navigate with a few braised dishes, noodles with helpful photos and various very traditional stir-fried dishes like beef with bitter melon or pork belly with pickled vegetables. I would be interested to hear how you find it!

Oriental Charcoal BBQ
110 Hopkins Street, Footscray
Phone: 9687 0421

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Cafe Ancheto

2011-11-09T10:39:00.003+11:00

Have you seen this wonderful map of the world at night? It sparkles with little baubles of light created by urban metropolises, which contrast with swathes of peaceful, midnight blue. Brightly-lit South Korea, of course actually on a peninsula, is rendered an island against North Korea's darkness, while the Himalayas provide a stark boundary between booming India and the peaceful Tibetan plain.

If you will indulge me, you could compare this to a map of great Melbourne coffee. Sydney road and surrounds sparkle all the way to Coburg, and South Melbourne glows. Heading west it's patchy, although Seddon and Yarraville glitter proudly, but once you hit Braybrook it's pretty much a Saharan desert for awesome coffee. That is, until Ancheto.

Hidden away on the southern side of Sunshine, Ancheto is in the old Euro Masonic Hall. It's run by the new owners of the Hall, Bob and Aneta, and is only open Saturday mornings.

Let's get this straight - this is not "pretty good", "satisfactory" or "acceptable". This is seriously awesome coffee! They use Sensory Lab beans and the owner Bob really knows how to work the espresso machine. Just gorgeous - smooth and balanced, the foam silky and with body.

Eggs ($8), mushrooms ($2), homemade hash brown ($3)

The menu encompasses well-loved eggy breakfast classics with Eastern European touches, like ajvar relish and cevap skinless sausages. Sunny yellow free-range scrambled eggs were perfect with well-buttered sourdough toast and juicy, fat mushrooms. The homemade hash brown, made with grated potato, was crispy and delicious.

Step inside to check out the homemade cakes. The old cloakroom has been turned into a tiny kitchen. The owners are lovely. They explained how they got sick of travelling to Seddon and Yarraville for a great cafe, so decided to start their own, focussing on awesome coffee as the base and letting it grow from there.

The main hall is full of retro chairs and tables, perfect for spreading out the Saturday papers. They occasionally have theatre performances here too.

Ancheto has plans to open Sundays and possibly even Friday nights. Bravo, and welcome to the neighbourhood! Long may they glow as a much-needed beacon of great coffee in the wider west.

Thank you reader Jo for writing to me with this great tip!

Ancheto

93 Hampshire Road, Sunshine

Hours: Saturdays 9am - 2pm

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Quan Viet, Braybrook

2011-11-02T08:00:00.001+11:00

My friend wrote to me recently with a scandalous confession. "I have never eaten Vietnamese food before," she confided. "Will you teach me?" Absolutely!! Where else better to do it too than her new local Quan Viet which has opened on the site of an old chicken shop in South Road, Braybrook.

Sometimes when something is the only "one" in an area, you worry they have no bar to meet. Not so here - the food is unreal and there are heaps of interesting regional specialties from the southern part of Vietnam's eastern coastline. It's only small but the decor is lovely, contemporary yet colourful. With six kids between us, we made so much mess and noise but no-one minded a jot.

Some rocket fuel to get the tummies rumbling. J remarked that Vietnamese coffee tastes like Tootsie Rolls - I have to concur! Don't suck it down too fast, let the ice melt a little to create a long, cold drink.

Nem cuon Nha Trang (Nha Trang grilled pork patties rice paper rolls), $9

These are a house special and a delicacy from Nha Trang in south-eastern Vietnam. They are freshly rolled with chargrilled nem nuong pork patties (very springy from the baking powder and very finely ground pork used), a skinny, crunchy spring roll with a little spring onion inside, and plenty of fresh herbs and vegies. The sauce is totally new to me. It was orange, smooth, mild and lip-smackingly good! We asked and were told it contained pork - maybe this is it. These are fabulous in flavour and in texture, with juicy, smoky meat, the crunch of the roll and the sweet, cool vegies. See here for a home-style banquet of these rolls.

Banh hoi dac biet (sugarcane prawn, grilled pork & spring rolls on angel vermicelli), $12

Poor J - I was torn between wanting to show her the classics and selfishly wanting to try unusual things! Luckily Quan Viet offers this fantastic combo which means you can have your spring rolls but eat your sugarcane prawns too. Take a cup of lettuce, fill with herbs and a "mat" of very fine vermicelli (they come in little squares), lay with your choice of spring roll, sugarcane prawn (prawn mince molded around sugarcane and fried/grilled) or excellent, smoky, juicy grilled pork. Roll up tight and dip in fish sauce. The classic Vietnamese flavour combo - superb.

Com bo luc lac (Shaken beef on rice), $9

This was J's favourite dish of the day and indeed it was excellent. It's called shaken or shaking beef for the motion of the searing hot wok as you quickly toss cubes of beef back and forth. The beef here was really tender and juicy. To be really authentic, it doesn't come with a thick cornflour-based sauce but the beef juices just speak for themselves, soaking into the classic tomato-red rice. Here it was served with a dipping sauce made with just freshly-squeezed lime into a mix of salt and pepper. Really great.

Com tam dac biet (broken rice with pork spare rib, shredded pork, eggloaf, fried egg), $9

The Vietnamese everyman's meal - the most classic everyday lunch. It may or may not come with a bowl of chicken broth but will come with a bowl of seasoned fish sauce for dousing. The egg here was gorgeous with a runny, sunny yolk, atop a generous serve of broken rice. The pork chop was delicious, big and meaty with a tasty, sweet marinade.

Com chien cua (Crab meat fried rice), $11

I spotted a couple having a plate of this to themselves each. It was fantastic - rich and tasty with soft shreds of egg and pieces of sweet, good quality crab meat. This sort of fried rice isn't really for covering with another meat-based stir fry, but for enjoying on its own merits.

Banh khot vung tau (Vung Tau Crispy Mini Rice Cake), $9

I went back with another friend recently to investigate more regional specialties at Quan Viet. These are teeny little patty pan-sized steamed cakes made from coconut milk and rice flour (see here for a recipe). Each is dotted with a juicy niblet of prawn and (I think) sprinkled with prawn floss (essentially ground dried prawns). They taste just like mini banh xeo (Vietnamese pancake). Roll up in lettuce with mint and pickled carrot and dip in classic seasoned fish sauce - a flavour and texture sensation! These are very rarely seen on Melbourne restaurant menus - Alan enjoyed some at Richmond's Thanh Ha 2.

Mi ga chien don (egg noodle with crispy chicken), $9

When we came here originally, we totally neglected the other side of the Vietnamese food coin - all its soups in their sweet, sour, herbaceous or chilli-slicked glory. This is a naughty favourite of mine - a bowl of egg noodles in flavoursome chicken broth, with a crispy fried chicken Maryland on the side. Oh my! The chicken was awesome, the skin crackly and gorgeous and the meat succulent. The noodles didn't rock my world though - I think they were dried rather than fresh, which is perfectly acceptable but I love that springiness fresh mi (egg noodles) have.

I loved my meals here and really dig the neighbourhood vibe. There are still more unusual goodies to check out on their menu like tom hoa tien, conical spring rolls apparently known as "rocket shrimp rolls", filled with crab and with a prawn tail poking cheekily out one end. Lucky Braybrook residents can wander here on a summer's evening, and even if it's not within walking distance, I reckon it is worth the trip.

Check out Kenny's recent visit here.

Quan Viet - Facebook - see menu below

103 South Road, Braybrook

Hours: 7 days, 10am-9pm

Phone: 9312 1009

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Bittersweet perspective

2011-10-29T15:43:00.001+11:00

One of the truest things I have come to know about motherhood is that the days can feel like years, while the years go by like days. Early motherhood was not easy for me. I started out with no pram, no cot but a homemade sling, a pile of flat cloth nappies I had made myself in bright pink cow print, and oodles of idealism. When told we couldn't be realised from hospital unless we had a car seat installed, we said no problem - we were going home with the baby in a sling on the train!

It wasn't easy though. I struggled with no sleep and being in the middle of my degree, the frustration of my life being on hold for this tiny, irrational being who inspired such terrifying extremes of emotion. Old ladies would stop me and between reprimanding me for not dressing my child warmly enough, instruct me to "treasure these times, they grow so fast". I would only nod in a sleep-deprived haze and had no idea what they were talking about.

When I moved to the western suburbs, I hardly knew anyone. Days would stretch out in seemingly interminable boredom. Then I found Hausfrau and nearby Fels Park. Now the parks throughout the municipality are being upgraded, but many used to be pretty crappy five years ago. Modern Fels Park was always guaranteed to be full and you could perch on the sandpit and have someone to talk to, even if it was nothing more than that banal, ritualistic "And how old is she?" question. I guess "how many times have you lost it so far today?" is a bit personal!

So Hausfrau was a refuge for me during those times. It is grown up enough to feel like you are not totally compromising yourself in the cafe equivalent of a McDonalds playground. The coffee is old-school Genovese and usually great (the boss, in pink Euro housewife-chic kerchief, makes the best coffee).

I love their mini cakes which are perfect, just enough for a child or an adult, especially when you are still wearing threadbare maternity clothes a year later!

Hausfrau helped a lot and things got better. My babies turned into curious, delightful toddlers and funny, effervescent preschoolers. I met wonderful, like-minded people and made an amazing community here in Footscray.

My children still frustrate me. I lament the lack of spontaneity, endless sisyphean cleaning and a feeling of moving through molasses, that it takes so long to cook a meal or leave the house. I still complain about stupid things. Then suddenly an incredibly brave friend's baby daughter is diagnosed with leukaemia and everything just seems to fall away in total insignificance.

J, it is all so unfair. You are so positive and always have been through everything. When you are ready for a coffee and cake delivery (mini or maxi!), just call.

South American Bakery

2011-10-25T08:00:00.004+11:00

In the fabric of our wonderful multicultural Melbourne, the South American community may be a less immediately-obvious thread, but it is no less lustrous than others. Indeed, the South American bakery in North Sunshine is a real sparkler.

There's something about tiny, tucked-away shopping strips that seems to attract South American places here in the western suburbs. Panaderia Sud Americana is nestled in North Sunshine on a quiet backstreet and fills up with members of the Chilean, Argentinian and neighbouring communities getting their sweet fix.

There's a good range of bread that's somewhat reminiscent of French, with stubby baguette-style bread, as well as round, hamburger-like rolls with rustic fork marks on top.

The real drawcard for me, though, are the sweets. They feature lots of pearlescent meringue, whether crisply coating biscuits that in turn sandwich intense caramel sauce or spread gently to enclose huge sponge cakes.

A huge part of the pantheon of Chilean sweets is manjar (known in Mexcio as dulce de leche), a home-made, heavenly, thick caramel sauce. Here it comes swirled in tiny homemade donuts, piped into horns and wedged between shortbread biscuits. Don't try to snaffle these in the car on the way home - you will be covered in crumbs and icing sugar and it will be a dead giveaway!

They make all their own pastry here, including puff pastry that features in some seriously impressive mini danishes. Custard features in sweets too, but I prefer the caramel. Sweet tooths are not the only lucky ones with a small range of empanadas, pastie-like turnovers filled with cheese and/or ham.

DO YOU NEED ANY MORE CONVINCING?

South American Bakery

76 Warwick Road, Sunshine North

Phone: 9364 8302

Hours: Tues-Sat 8am-6pm, Sun 8am-2pm

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Ajitoya - Japanese in Seddon

2011-10-21T08:00:00.002+11:00

Hara hachi bu is a Japanese saying that advises one to eat until "80% full". This mild form of calorie restriction is said to be one of the secrets of the particularly long-lived residents of the Okinawan archipelago in southern Japan. Similarly, there is an Islamic teaching which advises that the best diet is 1/3 food, 1/3 liquid and 1/3 air. Whatever the health benefits, it is also simply pleasurable to eat mindfully, and there's something in particular about Japanese food that just gets you in the zen zone.

Ajitoya ("secret shop") has just opened in Seddon where the old Mareenie deli used to be and I foresee a rosy future for this bright and bubbly little place. They have a great Facebook page where they share their meals of the day and respond to requests and comments with genuine hospitality and infectious delight.

There's also a colourful, well-ordered, tempting Japanese grocery range with sweet little hints for buying and cooking.

Sushi rolls ($2.80) are unreal, served on gorgeous earthenware. The brown rice avocado rolls on the left were a bit of a revelation - the brown rice was surprisingly soft and faintly nutty, not at all what I would have expected. The nori is springy and tender and the salmon spanking fresh, rolled with just a tingle of homemade wasabi.

Now, the rolls here are smaller than the ones at Highpoint, but you can't argue with the quality and besides, this way you get to try more flavours! Crispy chicken was good and the inari, sushi rice stuffed into sweet beancurd skin pockets, was a kid hit.

Many of the sit-down meals come as a "set" with your choice of "osozai" deli salads from the cabinet. They are just so pretty, like little rockpools filled with colourful sea creatures. We loved these soba noodles, perfectly al dente with a little vegetable, Japanese mayo and teasing sprinkle of chilli. Salmon tataki was delicious, cooling and centring - sashimi-grade salmon seared momentarily before being accented with sesame and soy.

A set comes with your choice of dish (tempura, karaage fried chicken, agedashi tofu and so on), rice, miso and osozai salad. The miso was perfect, little soybean paste swirls billowing up from the bottom of the bowls, concealing tender tofu squares.

This tempura was excellent. Traditionally it is served on paper as here to demonstrate the chef's skill in making it almost totally non-oily. We got super-fresh fish, calamari, long green beans and a delicate wafer of pumpkin. Loved the green dipping salt!

Everything here is very authentic, so it is very possible our so-so verdict on the agedashi tofu was our overseasoned palates craving salt and sugar, rather than a failing of Ajitoya's. The squares of tofu were soft and the seasoning was very mild and subtle. Freshly grated ginger on top lifted the dish.

I was feeling the Ajitoya love so very much, I wanted to carry on the Japanese theme at home. The grocers in Footscray do have Japanese product sections but they only have the standards and you have to watch the use-by dates. At Ajitoya, I found this fantastic specialist flour for okonomiyaki (Japanese pancake), all-natural and seasoned with dried seafood and vegetables. With fruity okonomiyaki BBQ sauce and Kewpie mayo, we had the fixings for a great dinner to match our lovely lunch.

Winner dinner - took less than 30 minutes to make, was easy peasy, packed with vegies, kids loved it and it used up the half-head of co-op supplied cabbage that has been languishing in the crisper, accusingly haunting my dreams. If you want the recipe, tell me :) Salad was gorgeous with creamy, sweet sesame dressing, also from Ajitoya.

Well, this is yet another day I didn't eat til 80% full, but I sure did enjoy the extra 30%.

Ajitoya (Facebook page)
82 Charles Street, Seddon
Phone: 9687 1027
Hours: Tues-Fri 11am-7pm, Sat 9am-5pm

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Shanghai Street Dumplings

2011-10-17T08:00:00.009+11:00

There was an interesting debate on the Melbourne food bloggers' Facebook group recently about queuing for food. More restaurants are now doing a no-reservations policy where it's first in, best dressed. This can create long waits which put people off, but personally I don't mind it. More time to catch up and chat while the anticipation grows... More drinks at the bar! In some ways it's more democratic - everyone has to wait their turn.

I do love Hu Tong but have not been there for eons, although not for lack of trying. Spontaneous dumpling cravings lead to me dragging people up there only to be constantly turned away for not booking. Especially as these gorgeous daylight savings evenings just keep rolling in, I am just as happy to join the orderly line at Shanghai Street when the xiao long bao craving strikes.

Shanghai Street is a functional shop serving dumplings and "mini juicy buns" that has swooped in to capitalise on the collective swoon Melbourne has for xiao long bao in particular. As Nina Rousseau writes, husband and wife team Min Shi and Wayna Zhu have much experience making dumplings back in Shanghai. You may indeed have to queue but both times I have been, arriving at 6pm meant that we first waited five minutes and the second time walked straight in.

Homemade traditional steamed Shanghai xiao long bao (pork), $8.80

Xiao long bao are a type of steamed dumpling from eastern China. The classic version is made with pork mince with gelatinous meat stock that upon heating melts to create the magical experience of a dumpling filled with hot soup.

To eat, place in spoon, pierce with tooth or chopstick and allow the soup to drain out before slurping. OH SO GOOD - it's almost like the stock has been double-cooked, once on its own and secondly upon steaming and melting, it has picked up more intense porky flavour from the filling. The minced filling itself is clean-tasting, gingery, soft and consistently textured. These are really fabulous - hard for me to compare to Hu Tong as it's been so long, but really, really great.

Homemade steamed Shanghai xiao long bao (veg), $8.80

An interesting feature of the menu is xiao long baos of many sorts - crab and pork, chicken and pork, even panfried. These vegetarian ones were interesting - a carefully-made filling of lovingly chopped greens with a little rice vermicelli and occasional umami pops of shiitake mushroom. Normally I only get vegetarian dumplings fried as the nondescript filling needs to be offset by some oily crunch, but these were good steamed. No classic xiao long bao soup but good nonetheless. Sorry no mid-bite shot in which you would have seen the vibrant, emerald-green filling!

Pork & prawn wonton in chili oil with peanut & sesame butter sauce, $8.30

Fantastic pork and prawn wontons. While the xiao long bao filling was pillow soft, here the filling was bouncy yet still juicy with chunks of prawn in slippery, seductive wrappers. They came in a light broth just tinged with chilli oil but with the interesting addition of "sesame butter" (like tahini!) and chopped peanuts. A taste sensation - the springy, juicy prawn with delicate, silky pastry, complemented by dobs of rich, thick sesame paste. Hard to describe but I think an absolute classic.

Fried pork dumpling, $8.50

The classic jiao zi dumpling - these can come either boiled or fried. These fried pork examples were pretty good. The filling was honest and of good quality, minced pork with visible ginger and spring onions. The skins were good with appreciably crusty bottoms, perfect dunked in a little black vinegar. They weren't overly juicy though - I think I might prefer the super-crispy, rich and juicy ones at Dumplings Plus.

Homemade golden sesame seeded bacon & spring onion cakes, $4.50

Oh lordy, these were awesome. Short, flaky, lardy pastry enclosing little smidgens of bacon and onion, the top rippling with sesame seeds. Delicious!!

This place is pretty unreal. You can really taste the freshness, helped by the massive turnover every day. Each filling was unique, each skin texturally different and I was particularly impressed by the care evident in the vegetarian dumplings, which can often just be a cabbagey mush fest. The only drawback to the queue outside is you feel somewhat pressured to eat and leave - I must say never by the staff, who are friendly and professional, but I had a sense of pity for all the hungry people waiting outside. Nevertheless, my advice is to stagger your ordering as between chatting and eating, two plates of dumplings can cool fast and they are much better piping hot. Sorry people in the queue for delaying you further - but as you will find out soon, when it is this good, it's worth waiting for.

Thanks Billy and Dan for the original tip (via this post). Dan Kuseta is an all-round lovely, genuine person who has poured his heart and soul into Milk Bar Mag, "an independent guide to the best of Melbourne. Updated daily and covering everything from food to freebies to art to architecture, the Milk Bar is your cultural and creative guide to the city". Check it out!

Shanghai Street
342 Little Bourke Street, City
Hours: Mon-Sat 11.30am-8.30pm
Licensed and BYO (no corkage, woohoo!)
Cash only

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Phong Dinh Footscray

2011-10-10T08:00:00.007+11:00

Phong Dinh, specialising in hu tieu mi (rice/egg noodle) dishes, has opened on the seemingly ill-fated site that housed the short-lived Thai and Korean restaurants. Let's hope they have a long and prosperous future there, as the food is really promising.

LOVE the outdoor area. It's not a "true" outdoor area in the sense that you can't smoke out there and probably couldn't bring a dog, but you still get lots of lovely fresh air and feel somewhat more comfortable making huge amounts of noise and mess (...whether you have kids with you or not!)

Hu tieu mi tom thit (kho) - rice & egg noodles with prawn and pork (dry) $9

Hu tieu mi literally means "rice/egg noodle" and are a subset of dishes that can be made with either rice or egg noodles (or my favourite, a mixture) with some sort of topping/main ingredient, such as a piece of crispy fried chicken, wontons, prawn and pork, seafood etc. Some hu tieu mi dishes will say "soup/dry". "Soup" means that broth will be ladled on top to make a full bowl of soup whereas dry means the noodles will come as a sort of salad with a small bowl of broth on the side.

after mixing...

The prawn and pork hu tieu mi is perhaps the most classic in my opinion and while I love the soup version, a good "dry" (kho) is excellent - as is Phong Dinh's version. Here, a tangle of fabulously textured, pleasantly bitey clear rice and curly egg noodles are tossed with just a little dark sauce (I think dark sweet soy?) and then topped with good prawns, tasty sliced pork, a quail's egg, bean sprouts and a cracker "lid". This is dressed with just a little judiciously-applied sweet chilli sauce. Add a spoonful or two of their absolutely excellent broth, filled with pork mince, chips of pork fat and spring onion, and mix (Thanks Hung for the tip a long time ago). Slurp slurp, moan... Delicious!

Com tam bi suon cha trung, $9

Great com tam - a very generous serve of broken rice (rice once "broken" in two as a by-product of milling but now produced for its own merit, beloved for its different texture to whole rice) with a well-marinated, tasty pork chop, snipped for ease of eating with fork and spoon. The egg was divine with a runny yolk just begging to be popped. Great bi (shredded pork and skin) which I normally do not love, but this was really fresh, very meaty and you could really taste the intriguing, nutty flavour of the roasted rice powder. Lots of vegies, both pickled and fresh, lighten up what can be a meatfest.

Goi do bien (seafood coleslaw) $18.50

The only down point of the meal was the seafood coleslaw. These vary wildly in price and had been originally what I wanted for dinner. We couldn't get a spot at Hao Phong, where the coleslaws are all around $10 (looking at old pictures, I think they are smaller serves though). This was $18.50 and didn't really seem like a coleslaw than a mixed pickle with seafood... There was well-pickled carrot, daikon and onion, very sweet, with very little contrasting greenery and not enough crunchy shallots or peanuts. Still, the seafood was fresh and we did eat the lot.

A very promising new offering to the Hopkins Street scene. They are licensed which is handy and take cards albeit with some surcharges (none for EFTPOS). The menu does include all the classics like rice paper rolls, beef in vine leaf etc. Other menu gems I want to check out are mi siu cao (egg noodles with big prawn dumplings, usually only an off-cart secret of sorts at yum cha), Hanoi-style rice vermicelli soup and some good-looking barramundi in a clean tank, ready for eating with tamarind sauce or ginger and shallots.

I believe Phong Dinh either have or had an original restaurant in St Albans. I also saw what I think is a second Phu Vinh opening in Sunshine recently. Hu tieu mi shops rock!

Phong Dinh
152 Hopkins Street, Footscray

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Cong Tu Bac Lieu, Westville Central

2011-10-03T08:00:00.004+11:00

The Westville Central apartment and shopping complex has recently opened up the top of Nicholson Street, giving us lots of new nooks and crannies to investigate. Its flagship store seems to be the expansive (and expensive) Footscray Asian Buffet Restaurant, which in its short lifespan seems to have dramatically plummeting prices as the weeks have gone by. I think it is dear because they have all-you-can-eat seafood but if you don't really want to do nothing but pig out on prawns, the price has made it kind of off limits. They are down to $17.99 for an adult for a weekday lunch, though, so maybe it's worth trying.

Nha Hang Cong Tu Bac Lieu (or, "the long name place") is a dear little restaurant tucked away inside offering a Southern Vietnamese-influenced menu that punches above its weight.

I love the thoughtful decor and the menu is pretty cool too, with quite a few unusual dishes like Cha Ca Chien Com Chay or "fish paste on crispy rice", caramelised shrimp with pork and goat casserole. Sadly a lot of these more unusual things were not available that day - hopefully it was just a recently-opened thing.

Pandan tea comes as standard which is a refreshing, floral South Vietnamese touch.

Banh mi xiu mai, $10

A DIY sandwich with meatballs and pickled carrot and daikon. The meatballs were really good, pleasantly fatty and so juicy. They were so soft and tender, it somehow defies physics that they stay together. In hindsight this was probably a bit overpriced when the same thing, un-deconstructed at Nhu Lan is $3.80 but relatively overall it is still cheap.

Bun chao tom, $9.50

If you haven't gathered by now, I love bun salads. Minus the nuts and depending on what meat you choose, they are virtually fat free. Sugarcane prawns are a kind of prawn/fish paste formed around a sugarcane stalk and grilled/fried. This was a good version - the prawns were not as plump as say, Sen's but still really good. The salad was spanking fresh and I would wager the golden, thready shallots were fried on the premises.

Com Tam Suon Ci Cha Trung, $9

This was an excellent version of a classic. The pork chop was really tender and tasty with a not overpoweringly sweet marinade. The "cake" on the left is cha trung and it's a kind of steamed meatloaf made with pork mince, rice vermicelli noodles, black wood ear fungus and then topped with egg. You can see a recipe here (thanks to Wandering Chopsticks). Above is the bi or shredded pork skin with rice powder. This is a great option for kids as there are just a few token vegetables but they get to try a lot of different textures. It came with a delicious bowl of chicken broth.

Banh Tan Bi Soc Trang, $11

Billy had tweeted somewhat teasingly when he first had this that he had just eaten a Vietnamese dish he had never had before. If you know Billy, that is saying something! Indeed, these Soc Trang-style noodles are totally new to me too and they are fantastic. Soc Trang is a province deep in the south of Vietnam. Its original Khmer name was Srok Kh'leang meaning "silver depository" as it was the location of the Khmer (old Cambodia) king's silver treasury. It comprised thick, white, spaghetti-like bun bo Hue noodles, meatballs as featured above, salad, bi and crazy crazy COCONUT CREAM!

The coconut coated everything giving it all luscious slipperiness while the tangy tomato of the meatballs shone through. The coconut made it taste slightly Thai which might represent Soc Trang's location in the deep delta. I shared Billy's delight in this unusual and unique regional dish. See here for more info. Interestingly, the Bac Lieu in Cong Tu Bac Lieu's name is a neighbouring province to Soc Trang while Tra Vinh just down Nicholson Street is yet another neighbouring province.

I really hope NHCTBL's gaps in the menu are only temporary as it is so refreshing to find regional specialties among the sizzling plates. Meanwhile Westville Central's shops are slowly filling up. Next to NHCTBL is a bubble tea place that as well as pearl drinks, sells balut (fertilised chicken eggs). Cool!

See Billy's visits here.

Nha Hang Cong Tu Bac Lieu
Westville Central, 4/62 Nicholson Street, Footscray
Phone: 9004 2013
Hours: 7 days, 9am - 9pm

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New cupcake boutique from Cupcakes by Paolo

2011-09-27T09:27:00.000+10:00

Cupcakes by Paolo are evidently firm believers that "if you build it, they will come". Originally, these swoonworthy cupcakes sold on Saturdays only from the family Filipino takeaway shop at Footscray Market. It was quite a trip to browse the bain marie - oxtail in peanut sauce, spicy blood stew, cookies n' cream cupcake! The business has grown enough for them to open their own standalone store, now on truck-buffeted, windswept Ashley Street.

Despite the isolated location, the love is evident inside. Cupcakes by Paolo is a family business. The eponymous Paolo (seen here) is a third-generation baker and is assisted by his parents. They originally owned Masarap, the Filipino bakery in Churchill Avenue, and baked all the bread for their shop Lutong Pinoy in Footscray Market. Now they bake on the premises here in Ashley Street and still supply the bread for Lutong Pinoy's new owners.

There's a select range of large cupcake flavours. Check out the website for special orders including their mini cupcakes and to drool over all the flavours available.

There are two styles at Cupcakes by Paolo - rich, moist chocolate/red velvet bases and very light, sponge-like fruity bases. My favourite are tender chocolatey bases which are complemented perfectly by creamy swirls of frosting. My friend S loves Asian chiffon cakes and as such loves the light, fluffy texture of the fruity/vanilla bases.

A cupcake and a coffee is a pretty unreal $5. They're open from 7am if you need your coffee hit on the way to Tottenham station. The only hard thing is resisting a cupcake for breakfast!

Cupcakes by Paolo

28c Ashley Street, West Footscray

Phone: 9689 1983

Hours: Sun & Mon closed, Tues 7am-4pm, Sat 9am-4pm

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Eat and Love

2011-09-19T08:00:00.000+10:00

On a Wednesday night, Devonshire Street quiet as a tomb, we did have some trepidation pushing open the door to lonely heart Eat and Love - little did we know they would live up to their name. This little Indian, Bengali and Nepalese restaurant has only opened fairly recently and is full of promise.

The decor is sort of Queen of Hearts - quite sweet, very heartfelt. It's sparkling with lots of white tiles and mirrors which reflect the Bollywood movies playing on the flatscreen on the wall. Choose your angle so you don't have to watch yourself dribbling curry down your chin!

Non-veg momo (large serve), $8

At first glance the menu seems like a standard Indian restaurant menu, but there are hidden exotic gems. These non-veg momo are Nepalese dumplings in a kind of thick, almost pasta-like skin. They were tender, drizzled with a thin curry sauce and quite nice. Also try Fusion Cafe and Momo Bar in Footscray for good value momo.

Chicken vindaloo, $10.50

The chicken vindaloo was fabulous! Tender, fresh, carefully-cooked chicken in a gorgeous, well-balanced, spicy tomato-based sauce. It was not overly oily as much Indian restaurant food can be and indeed, Eat and Love's website assures that they use family recipes.

Palak paneer, $9

The worst examples of palak paneer (also known as saag paneer) are horrible, just rubbery cheese in a khaki-coloured pureed spinach sauce, with little more than acrid, dried-out ginger strips or a few token bits of tomato. This was not at all like that - the spinach was textured with home-style pureed tomato and just enough cream. Love the touch of authentic fenugreek leaves. Very pleasing indeed.

Raita, $2.50

Really loved this raita, thick and sweet with grated carrot. It was much more substantial than the watery versions that abound, and good value at $2.50 - hate how sometimes a tiny serve is more than $4.

South Indian rice, $4.50

Interesting South Indian rice with coconut powder, curry leaves, dried fruit and mustard seeds. Honestly, I covered this with so much lovely saucy curry flavours, I can't really comment!

Butter naan, $2

Pretty good naan, perfect for soaking up the last bits of vindaloo sauce.

We were so pleasantly surprised how much we loved our meal. The prices are right and when I called back later to check something on the bill, Jack whom we spoke to was a perfect gentleman. Definitely heading back to check out the Bengali/Bangladeshi meal for two, which includes traditional Eastern Indian tuna kebab, "chicken roast" (marinated, shallow-fried chicken apparently) and two varieties of biryani. Check out the website for menu, coupons and deals.

We came, we ate and we did indeed love!

Thank you Lisa via Facebook for the tip! I am trying a new map format - below the restaurant demographics below there's a link to my Google map. This way you can also discover nearby restaurants by navigating between the pins. Red pins are restaurants, blue are food stores. If any links are broken, let me know.

Eat and Love
20 Devonshire Road, Sunshine
Phone: 9311 9277
Hours: Tues-Sun, 5 pm - 10.30 pm
Corkage $2/glass

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Sweet Rice

2011-09-12T08:00:00.006+10:00

BIG HAPPY FACE! This is pretty much how I feel, having finally finished the final part of medical transcription (MT) course, my certificate IV in business administration. Remind me not to study anything again for a while...

...except a menu!

Come on, you didn't think I would grow out of my bad jokes while I was away? I think they are genetic. Anyway, Richard R kindly stopped by the Facebook page while I was on the break to give Sweet Rice a big thumbs up - "the yummiest, fresher best value Thai on this side of the Maribyrnong!"

This strip of shops is normally just a fly-by for us on the way to the beach. Sweet Rice is a little Thai takeaway that has a small eat-in area. It's a bit lonely at first but the staff were really friendly, bringing us chilled water and little paper cups for the kids and turning on gentle, percussive Thai tunes.

Green mango fish

It's cheap as chips with nothing on the menu over $12.90. On a small whiteboard are the specials including this fish with green mango salad. It was great - super-crispy battered pieces of really fresh fish with a fabulous, sweet salad of tangy shredded green mango, delicious whole dried prawns, red onion and lots of herbs.

Soft shell crab, $11.90

A Baklover family must-have - these are baby crabs which have a tender shell you can eat in their entirety. This was great, the crab chopped into two-bite sized pieces with crunchy, curly batter that was not at all greasy. It had a tasty sprinkle of onion and garlic.

Beef Masaman curry, $8.50

Massaman curries are from Southern Thailand and are apparently Muslim in origin (the name is thought to be a corruption of the word 'Muslim'). I wonder if they are Malaysian-inspired as they feature coconut milk and curry spices, not unlike a curry laksa. This was delicious - very sweet and mild with gorgeous creamy coconut, the beef slow-cooked to lusciousness and the potatoes and carrots totally tender. Ostensibly for the kids but they had to fight the adults for it.

Seafood pad cha, $11.90

This was a stir-fry of super-duper fresh seafood including proper fresh prawns, very tender pineapple-cut squid and more fresh, battered fish. The vegies were delicious, again very fresh - check out the authentic pickled green peppercorns too! The ingredients spoke for themselves, just accented by a little soy and chilli. My only quibble is there was a faint taste of gas that can happen when there is a LOT of flame used in cooking - I get it sometimes if I put too much oil on vegies or meat and then the BBQ flames up. Still, we finished the lot.

Jasmine rice, $2

Yes, I know this is a plate of rice, but it was so fragrant I had to mention it!

Sweet rice ice cream, $5.90

The eponymous sweet rice - glutinous rice wrapped around a purple preserved banana and steamed. Served here hot for eating with mango and coconut ice cream, oh my! The sticky rice was delicious, comforting and sweet like rice pudding. The ice creams were great, quite closely textured, the coconut tasting of rich coconut milk rather than the more grated coconut flavour you get in coconut gelati. Loved the contrast of the roasted peanuts and, at the bottom, slippery white syrupy fruits.

I will definitely be back here for Thai takeaway - it only takes a minute to get to straight down Geelong Road. Everything was quite mild and sweet which perhaps reflects its suburban market, but it was all very fresh, well-made and unbelievably cheap. There are lots of interesting things to explore on the menu like "king prawn chu chee" and "three flavour fish". I am pretty sure the couple who run it are Thai and they are delightful.

"The yummiest, fresher best value Thai on this side of the Maribyrnong!" - Richard, I think you may be en-Thai-rly right!

For Thai ingredients, check out Nathan Thai Video & Grocery, a dedicated Thai grocer in Footscray.

Sweet Rice

102 Millers Road, Altona North (map)

Phone: 9315 3691

Hours: Wed - Mon 11am-9pm (Tuesday closed)

Pause

2011-08-10T08:07:00.000+10:00

Thank you @fatbooo for the gorgeous photo - enjoying bun dac biet at Tra Vinh

I have a big deadline for some study I have been doing bearing down on me, so to spare you such posts as "Chicken and chips - to gravy or not to gravy?", I am taking a break. I have so many little gems I want to share but just haven't had the time to drive out to visit them properly, so this will give me a chance to catch up.

Thank you as always for reading, emailing and commenting, and see you very soon.

Dumplings Plus

2011-08-03T08:00:00.007+10:00

On a recent post, a reader left a link to a recent article in the Herald Sun which highlighted the shocking underpayment of a chef at Camy, much beloved for its notoriously abrupt service and dinginess but above all unbelievably cheap dumplings. We are aware of the need to seek out fair trade goods produced overseas but it is horrible to think that within Australia, workers are being exploited on the other side of the kitchen wall as we chow down on cheap food obliviously.

What is the answer? A boycott of Camy seems called for but what of the article's mention that "the case is being watched anxiously all over Chinatown with employees of several other eateries poised to take action over underpayments"? Who is underpaying staff, then? We really have no way of knowing. One way to at least make an informed guess might be higher prices, as opined by the reader, or perhaps a more professional and streamlined fit-out.

Dumplings Plus is far from a dingy dumpling den. It's on Swanston Street at the site of a long-closed Mary Martin bookshop and after that I believe another Chinese restaurant.

It's kind of lavish but understated inside with bluestone walls overlaid with minimalist but imposing latticework and red fabric decorations. Big toasty gold lanterns like ceremonial drums hang from the ceiling. All very Forbidden City.

The staff are young, have natty pink uniforms and there is a nicely-dressed maitre d' to seat you. A window allows you to watch the chefs delicately pleating dumplings (is this now de rigeur for any self-respecting dumpling joint?)

Pan-Fried Pork Dumplings (10 pieces), $8.80

So, compared to Camy (15 dumplings for $7.50), these are "expensive". Really though, I don't think you can bitch about $8.80. Compared to China Red (8 dumplings for $10.80), this is cheap. Does this mean fair wages were paid? I don't know. Probably more to the point, how did the (undoubtedly battery) pig live?

I will leave the talk of ethics here as sometimes it all makes you want to lock yourself in a dark room, but all these are really valid things to at least be mindful of. And besides, you probably want to know about the taste! In a word - unreal. Tasty, juicy meat, not-too-thick skins, crusty, crispy fried bottoms. They were fantastic! These seemed more similar to Cantonese jiao zi than the rounder Northern style at other places. My only complaint was they had evidently been put in the pan two by two which meant that some of the skins had ripped where they were joined, meaning that some of the lovely vinegary juice had been lost.

Fried String Beans with Minced Pork, $14.80

One of my all-time faves. Well-fried green beans with a scattering of pork mince that burst with soy and ginger flavour. This had a more dark soy than XO sauce flavour but it was delicious, albeit pretty salty. I would be happy with just this and rice.

Shanghai Style Stewed Pork Belly, $17.80

This was a bit of a clanger, unfortunately. The picture made it look like dong po pork, Hu Tong's version being a small ruby-red square of heavenly pork belly, cooked to melty perfection. This seemed really homestyle with chunks of braised belly and potato in a basic sauce. The pork was so strong though and tasted almost muddy. It was a bit like a Chinese version of bangers and mash - boring but OK if that's what you are after.

Grilled Pancake with Green Onion, $4.20

These are always good - fried dough, what could go wrong?

Given that Hu Tong is impossible to get into without a booking, Dumplings Plus is a winner in my book for walk-in, tasty and - yes - cheap dumplings. Their xiao long bao and prawn & pork wontons in soup also come recommended (I had bad XLB recently and have had to take a break from them). I will watch the outcome of the Camy case with interest and if that means I end up paying a few dollars more for my dumplings in the interest of fair wages, that is absolutely fine with me.

Dumplings Plus
269 Swanston St, Melbourne City (map)
Phone: 9663 8181

Dai Duong

2011-07-27T08:00:00.000+10:00

Oh, for a teleportal to the eastern suburbs, straight to the doors of Tai Pan. That is one thing we lack here in the west (well, as well as more trees) - a plethora of amazing yum cha options. In Footscray the options until recently were limited to Master and Yummie's. Dai Duong used to serve yum cha, stopped but since March has reopened. Now, I know you can go to Gold Leaf or Plume, but sometimes you just want something local. Is Dai Duong a good option?

Crispy squid

This was quite good although I do like the less-battered style at other places, Plume for example. The squid itself was tender and fresh.

Har gow

These har gow or prawn dumplings were pretty good. Other prawn combination dumplings were similarly tasty but often with quite thick, somewhat gluey skins. The scallop dumpling was too fishy for me.

Ham sui gok

These are my favourite - "football dumplings", pork mince inside an elongated shell of thick glutinous rice flour. Unfortunately these were too oily and the filling was quite meagre. They were also just warm which meant they had been fried a bit ahead of time.

Siu mai

If you have never eaten yum cha, go for these first. They are an accessible yet delicious introduction - a prawn and pork dumpling enclosed on all sides except the top with a yellow wonton wrapper. These were tasty but quite heavy.

Beef tendon

I have never had tendon before - well, not on its own! It was very strange - very gelatinous, like Vietnamese or Malaysian glutinous rice flour sweets. I can't say I enjoyed it but I am by no means an expert.

Cheong fun

These are long rice noodle sheets, kind of like lasagna noodles, flopped around a filling. The most common are BBQ pork or prawns (shown here) but you can do a special order with Chinese broccoli or long Chinese doughnut. These were pretty good. I love the thin, sweet soy these are served with.

Eggplant stuffed with prawns

You don't always see this at yum cha so I am always excited when it comes around. The eggplant is soft and silky (helped by being deep-fried!) and contrasts with the springy prawn mince. This was an OK version.

Char siu bao

These were cooked to order, the dough very delicate and soft. The filling was quite sweet and almost bacon-like in flavour - the pork inside was in very thin slices rather than the classic, chunkier filling.

Custard tarts

Great custard tarts, though! The pastry was very short and flaky, a little greasy but tasty. The filling was still warm and so comfortingly smooth. All custard tarts tend to be quite eggy which I am not a huge fan of but these tread a good line.

Dai Duong was all right. The service was good and they were switched on to the kids, bringing boosters and kids' cutlery without being asked. The spacious interior makes it a good option for families because you are not too cheek by jowl with other patrons. I still think Master is the best hyperlocal option though, although Yummie offers good value. Better still, saddle up and head out to Gold Leaf or Plume where your journey will be amply rewarded.

Check out Billy's recent visit to Dai Duong too.

* Newsflash - the wonderful, kitsch Shanghai Dynasty in the city have stopped doing yum cha! WAAAH!

Dai Duong
Cnr Hopkins and Moore Streets, Footscray (map)
Phone: 9689 9899
Prices from $4.50 per basket
Yum cha daily except Monday from 11am

White Lotus

2011-07-20T08:00:00.003+10:00

Mock meat. If you're a meat-eater, what's the point? It seems obvious, but consider - why walk when you can drive? Why grow vegetables when you can buy them from the shop? Because sometimes the less obvious option, that might initially seem like a mere conceit, is actually pleasurable in itself.

The White Lotus is a real Melbourne fixture. It is a genuine family-run business and all the mock meats are made on the premises. There is a strong tradition of vegetarianism in Buddhism, and Buddhist cuisine has evolved as a unique entity, focusing on creating mock meats out of "beans, taro, yam, gluten and flour by [the] chef Shirley Lee", to quote their menu.

So old school, I love it. Napkins in little hats, red lanterns, plastic flowers - almost the vision of a suburban Chinese restaurant. But instead of those restaurant's relative opulence, with dark carpet and fake gold trim, The White Lotus' white tiled walls give it a slight air of austerity.

Roast Vegetarian Duck, $19

The mock duck is anything but austere, however. I lifted a piece suspiciously to my mouth and felt my eyebrows rise in unison with those of my dining companions. It was really, really good! The "skin" was crispy and underneath had a layer of tasty "fat", just like real duck skin. The "meat" was juicy and rich - the main differentiating factor was that it lacked the grain that real meat has. But the taste! It actually tasted like duck but with no off-putting greasiness. I have no idea how they did it. The sauce was light, soy-based and the duck came on snow peas and bean sprouts. Divine! When we went to pay, we saw a family of four, three of whom all had their own individual plates of duck. It was that good.

Vegetarian Fish in Tamarind Sauce, $19

This tamarind fish won Cheap Eats' vegetarian dish of the year back in 2007. It is really incredible. Apparently the gluten is layered somehow to produce a very delicate, almost flaky texture, just like real fish. The crispy skin is made from a layer of beancurd over a layer of nori seaweed to give the scent of the sea. The sauce was fabulous of itself - very much like Assam sauce apparently, based on sour tamarind but mellowed with a little sweetness and perhaps tomato.

White Lotus Special Vegetable Combination, $16

These vegies were okay - the White Lotus uses no garlic, onion or anything else from the allium family and I noticed the lack of garlic in this dish. I also doubt they use MSG. Nevertheless this worked as a palate cleanser for the other two much stronger-flavoured dishes. It included interesting Chinese ingredients such as lotus buds, white fungus, black fungus and lotus root. The black fungus is often found in spring rolls - look for the little black strips

I really respect vegetarians. For me, meat is something of a carnal pleasure - I can't resist that charred, fatty, rounded mouth feel it has. I get really annoyed when Anthony Bourdain or other chefs bag vegetarians because to me it is a beautiful philosophy and something, try as I might, I don't know if I have the strength to maintain. In both Hindu and Buddhist cultures there are traditions of on-off vegetarianism which people may take up as a spiritual exercise. I like that idea.

Meanwhile, if you do eat meat, why bother going to White Lotus? Because the bottom line is, it tastes awesome.

P.S. Vegetarians and vegans, did you know there is a vegetarian yum cha place in Box Hill??

White Lotus

185 Victoria Street, West Melbourne (map)

Phone: 9326 6040
Hours: Thurs to Sat only, 6pm-10pm

Thien An

2011-07-13T08:00:00.002+10:00

Once upon a time, there was an unassuming little restaurant called Thien An. It huddled by Footscray station and didn't make a fuss. Then it moved across to road to more expansive, modern premises, trading mirrored walls for chaise longues in the front windows. Sunday papers gave it the thumbs up and its windows filled up with Anglo diners and many wannabe foodies, me included, turned their noses up. "That place must be too Anglified," we said, and lumbered off in search of dingier (and therefore more authentic) premises.

I did have one meal there that I thought was OK but on the whole, in the past I admit to having been a reverse snob about Thien An and actively bypassing it to look for less well-known restaurants. The thing is, diners can have a real herd mentality - everyone wants to know where "the good one" is, while there are actually usually multiple "good ones". I guess I didn't want to just default to Thien An simply because the decor is more appealing to Western/middle class tastes.

Billy and I were chatting and he said that the place his Vietnamese-Chinese relatives always recommended in Footscray was Thien An. Time to shrug off the tall poppy prejudices and give it another try, then! Three years after opening, rather than trendy, the decor is actually pretty out there. It's chintzy in an endearing way, with a marble-esque floor, an enormous 3D galloping horse artwork, a huge backlit chunk of amythest and giant country-chic floral installation suspended on the wall. A crazy chandelier, a neon-lit espresso machine, gilt-edged mirrors - it's a real bowerbird's nest of decor!

These pork spring rolls were pretty awesome, fat enough to have real meaty flavour. Ignore the busted-up one at the front of the picture. My daughter was mid-crunch but when she saw me pick up the camera, she put it back without being asked. Pity the children of food bloggers!

Big points for freshly-wrapped rice paper rolls. The wrappers come dried, like giant communion wafers and are rehydrated before wrapping. If they are stored for too long, the wrappers dry out again and become like leather. I prefer vegetarian rice paper rolls - I like bi (shredded pork skin) but I am not an enormous fan. These were well-made, though. Unreal vegetarian rice paper rolls for takeaway at Tan Truc Giang in Leeds Street.

The best part of Vietnamese food - all that wonderful crunch and flavour! Lettuces and herbs for wrapping our banh xeo or Vietnamese pancake. The bowls of clear sauce with shredded carrot and chilli are for dipping both the banh xeo and the spring rolls, while the rice paper rolls have a hoi sin or peanut based sauce. The small bowl of red sauce is lovely thick chilli sauce.

I really loved this banh xeo! The crepe is made from a thin yet rich batter of rice flour, coconut and turmeric, and it is then loaded with cooked bean sprouts, cooked yellow mung beans, prawns and pork. The pork here was thin slices, some of which had become crispy and almost bacon-like. You take sections, wrap in lettuce and dip. I thought this was one of the better banh xeos I have eaten as it was super crispy (many can veer towards gluggy) but Billy said it wasn't crunchy enough. I am excited there are crunchier specimens out there! Vegetarians, Thien An do a vegetarian version of this that comes highly recommended, as well as a tofu bun rice vermicelli salad.

This is not a common Vietnamese menu item so I was keen to try it. It's normally a breakfast food, made up of long rolls of noodle sheets (somewhat like yum cha item cheong fun) with Vietnamese smallgoods. Here there is cha lua, a very mild, springy pork sausage, and nem chua which is raw pork that has been cured with special pickling salts and spices. There's a snack version that all the Asian grocers sell - you can often see it next to the cash register, wrapped in bamboo with a raw garlic clove and chilli on it. I loved the noodles with crunchy fried shallots and cucumber, doused in seasoned fish sauce, but I am ambivalent about the mixed hams, not so much from Thien An but generally. My favourite banh mi is not the classic mixed ham but the hot offerings like BBQ chicken or pork. I am keen to try this home-style dish again, though.

The translation of this dish's name is "shaking beef" because it should really just be chunks of steak, quickly wokked and served with a small dish of lemon, salt and pepper as the only seasoning. Some places do a thick pepper sauce but this was traditional and quite perfect. The beef was just cooked, tasty and of good quality. The accompanying rice is traditionally flavoured with tomato. A simple dish done very well.

A home-style classic, fried rice with salted fish. The salted fish is dried, salted fish that is chopped and used in tiny quantities to give savoury umami zing to this simple dish. It comes with small pieces of chicken, egg and here, cooked lettuce which is surprisingly delicious.

Great BBQ chicken, a richly-seasoned thigh with plenty of crusty grilled flavour. Thien An differs to most local Vietnamese restaurants in its large, round, cafe-style crockery. The other thing that stood out was every dish, while balanced in flavour, had a real element of sweetness. This is a characteristic of southern Vietnamese cuisine.

Excellent custard apple smoothie! This really tasted like a light, delicate sorbet. It may be because custard apples have recently come into season, but it had a genuine custard apple flavour. We also tried an avocado smoothie which is totally OTT - avocado and condensed milk, oh my!

Great Vietnamese coffee too. The strong coffee is dripped through a customised filter onto a layer of condensed milk. You then whip this together with your spoon and pour over ice. It is such a heartstarter - I love it. Perfect for gearing up for an evening's work!

I am sorry I overlooked Thien An for a long time on the basis of one ordinary meal, and because they were "trendy". Their food is really good and they can hold their own with the Hopkins Street heroes.

Thien An
32 Irving Street, Footscray (map)
Phone: 9687 0398
Hours: 7 days, 11am-9pm

Pho Hien Vuong Pasteur

2011-07-06T08:00:00.001+10:00

Is there a food more versatile than pho? Supremely refreshing in hot weather yet warming in cold, much beloved for breakfast (or at least brunch), lunch or dinner. We are spoilt in Footscray with so many fabulous pho options, so much so that the "busiest is the best" rule doesn't strictly apply.

Hien Vuong Pasteur is right in the Hopkins Street main drag but could easily escape your attention. It seems rather dark from the outside and is never packed, yet multiple friends have recommended this sleeper cell of pho to me.

This is one old school pho joint. Daggy conference centre chairs, tiles, the hall of mirrors and the menu on the wall complete with mismatched stick-on fonts. I love Hung Vuong's neat and simple stainless steel but there's something comforting about this type of decor - like an old, stretched-out pair of trackies that are the daggiest yet comfiest thing to wear.

Fabulous pho! Some bowls tip the scales towards the aromatics, the scent of star anise or cassia predominating. Here, the rich, almost caramel beef flavour took centre stage. The meat was of excellent quality, arriving just pink and quickly transmogrifying to brown in the hot soup. The broth was simple yet deep in flavour and quite divine. When you can't handle the crush at Hung Vuong, Hien Vuong Pasteur will surely satisfy.

Hien Vuong Pasteur

146 Hopkins Street, Footscray (map)
Phone: 9687 9698

Hours: 7 days

Not wheelchair accessible

The Premises

2011-06-30T08:00:00.000+10:00

I had a conversation with an interesting person recently about the change in the way coffee in Melbourne tastes. No, I'm not talking about instant versus espresso but rather the coffee flavour and the milk consistency have undergone some sort of slow mutation. I remember when I first started drinking coffee, a latte was $2 and would often come with a serviette origami-d around it, I guess to protect your hand because it was so hot. Now in trendy cafes, the coffee is barely lukewarm and the milk has a silky consistency so there is almost no distinction between the froth and the coffee at the bottom of the glass - kind of like a coffee milkshake, as this person correctly opined.

The actual taste of the beans varies from the classic "espresso" taste of Genovese or other big name brands to very unusual flavours from the micro-roasters. The Premises in Kensington is very much this newer style of coffee.

I love the space - two shops have evidently been joined so that The Premises has two street frontages, hugging the florist on the corner. The aesthetic is gorgeous with old wood, school-type chairs, lots of open space and light. The staff are all lovely - no 'tude here.

Delicious, perfectly made coffee using Seven Seeds. The beans have a strange, almost smoky flavour though. It's almost like you can taste the oils on the beans. It's not unpleasant but gives the coffee another dimension.

And what of latte art? We used to love Flavours of Lakhoum in Richmond where the barista would draw women's faces in the froth, sometimes apparently trying to resemble the drinker. It seems a bit naff now but it was so sweet at the time.

A good ole bacon and egg roll, this one with homemade BBQ sauce. It was enormous, football-shaped and half was plenty for an adult.

Free range egg with "Newmarket bacon" (not sure what butcher or supplier this is?) - the bacon was sensational, really smoky and meaty. I do wish the roll was toasted, though, as there was a lot of bread and some textural variation would have been nice.

I wish I could give you a spiel about how "I always choose the bacon and egg roll/caesar salad/spring rolls to give me a benchmark of how good a place is", but I can't. Sometimes you just want what you want.

More great local coffee at the original "best cafe" in Kensington, Fruits of Passion. Their food is a bit stuck in the 00's but the coffee (Vittoria) is unreal.

The Premises

202 Bellair Street, Kensington (map)

Phone: 9376 7565

Closed Mondays

Sen

2011-06-25T08:00:00.001+10:00

Footscray is changing, but it's more a waltz than a sprint, with two steps forward and one step back. I was excited when Yoghurt House opened because it was something different, a diversification of the usual restaurant/hairdresser/chemist patchwork of our suburb. But then its neighbour Dimmeys shut down, creating a real black hole in Footscray's fabric. Yoghurt House got their window smashed, cut down their number of flavours and eventually shut their doors.

This is why the reopening of somewhat tired Ha Long into the new and groovy Sen is very exciting. Not because I have anything against mirrored walls and buckets of chopsticks, but because it is great to have choice. Now if you want a classier Vietnamese experience, there's no need to jam the doors at Sapa Hills.

Sen is different because the decor is understated and modern and the menus are a pleasure to hold and browse. The staff wear a smart pink uniform and there are no TVs. According to Billy, it was bought out by the chef of Ha Long, so one hopes that because this person has had experience in the restaurant, they knew what they wanted to change.

Banh hoi chao tom ("Sugar cane prawns with fine rice vermicelli), $12

Well, change not this, chef - it is unreal!! Banh hoi or "fine rice vermicelli" are little "mats" of very thin rice vermicelli noodles prepared somewhat like Sri Lankan stringhoppers in that they are formed by pressing through a sort of mincer and then steamed. They are traditionally hard to make so are a celebration food. Also here is chao tom or sugarcane prawns, a thick paste made of prawns and other seasonings, formed around sugarcane and grilled. It is so tasty and the sugarcane infuses it with a touch of sweetness.

To eat, take a noodle mat, some sugarcane prawn meat and vegies and wrap in lettuce a la spring rolls. Dip in the seasoned fish sauce - swoon-a-licious!

Bun moc ("Vietnamese rice vermicelli soup, Northern style"), $9

The rest of the menu has a northern Vietnamese bent, evidenced in this bun moc or pork meatball soup. Deb highly recommends the bun moc at Dinh Sonh in Little Saigon Market. Like at Dong Ba, you take the plate of lettuce, bean sprouts and red cabbage and tip into the hot broth. This ups the vegetable ante and gives a lovely fresh vegetable angle to the meal that pho sometimes lacks. The broth here was tasty, clear and refreshing, while the meatballs were yummy little flavour bombs of pounded pork mince and earthy black fungus.

Bun cha Ha Noi ("Rice vermicelli with Hanoian style grilled pork"), $12

Another Northern dish, grilled pork belly and pork meatballs as a DIY salad with vegies and vermicelli noodles. Just load up your bowl, tip over the thin, tangy dressing and dig in. I loved the thick, rich, dark soy marinade on the pork. This was quite good - I'm not sure a match for Sapa Hills' epic version but tasty nonetheless. The dressing differs from the typical seasoned fish sauce in that it is not as sweet and somewhat milder in flavour.

Bo La Lot ("Grilled beef in vive leaves"), $10

I am having some success with making my kids branch out from their customary grilled chicken and white rice with these bo la lot or beef mince in betel leaves. Kind of like a sausage roll! But green! These were pretty good - the mince was not too fatty and they were well seasoned. To eat, place in a piece of lettuce with herbs and pickled vegies (a nice and unusual touch) and dip in seasoned sauce. Pay $2 more and get the banh hoi version, I reckon. On learning these were for the kids, the waiter brought the dipping sauce without chilli especially for them.

Water spinach with garlic sauce, $12

Ha Long was reputed to have amazing Chinese broccoli with garlic and this water spinach or rau muong was divine! The garlic must have been poached or pickled somehow as it had lost all its acrid intensity and was just smooth and almost creamy in flavour, just like roasted garlic cloves. Some of the stems were a bit woody but overall, an great dish.

Com chien ca man ("Fried rice with salted fish"), $10

If you normally just eat combination fried rice, try something different with this fried rice with salted fish. The salted fish gives a delicious umami tang to the otherwise kid-friendly meal of white rice, lightly seasoned and tossed with egg, chicken and a little lettuce. Some of the pieces of salted fish were a bit chunky but the flavour was totally oh-yeah.

Ca phe su da, $3.50

Think there is no good coffee in Footscray? Think again. I love the jolt you get when you take the first sip of an excellent Vietnamese iced coffee like this one. Smoothies also got the thumbs up.

This is a great restaurant - they are very welcoming to kids and the service is friendly. Sadly they have none of their intriguing "Nem Sen" or lotus spring rolls as they cannot get the appropriate ingredient from Vietnam. The list of bun or rice vermicelli salads is particularly impressive - Billy has given them a big thumbs up as having best bun thit nuong in Footscray! (Stop by Half-Eaten to see more Sen deliciousness). And who needs a TV when you have fish?

Sen

74-76 Nicholson St, Footscray (cnr Nicholson and Droop) - map
Phone: 9687 4450

No wheelchair access

Touchscreens at China Red

2011-06-21T08:00:00.002+10:00

My friend M is the anti-cool. Years ago he buttoned all his shirts up to the neck until that became hip, when he defiantly unbuttoned them back down. The mention of perhaps a little product in his hair prompts snorts of derision. He refuses to drink lattes, insisting on more proletarian flat whites. Looking for dumplings in the city one night, Hu Tong booked out, I suggested with some trepidation we try China Red. "It's trendy though," I said warily. "It's got touchscreens."

China Red certainly still has a buzz about it. It's in the new centre in Little Bourke that also houses the fabulous Shanghai Dynasty, the mediocre Dragon Boat and Malaysian Jalan Alor that Bryan recently gave a gold star.

It seems a bit the poor man's Hu Tong with an open kitchen where you can watch dumplings being made plus a select range of said dumplings including xiao long bao, the soup-filled, floppy-bottomed little parcels Hu Tong has made Melbourne fall in love with.

It's deceptively large with a second, windowless lower level. You are packed in tight but I quite like the aesthetic - simple, clean lines and bold colours. Ordering is done via the touchscreens that hover above the tables. There's a full spread of dumplings plus various mainland-Chinese dishes like fried Szechuan dishes covered in whole dried red chillies and various sesame oil-dressed salad-type dishes.

In the end, we didn't get to use the famous touchscreens at all! We were in the middle of the restaurant and received regular menus. The ironic thing is that this most modern of Chinese restaurants has gone back to the "number system" of suburban Chinese eateries. Where once families called up on a Friday night to order "a 19, two 24s and a 63", at China Red the happy waitresses need the numbers not the names (I think because they must input via the same system as the touchscreens).

Stir-fried prawn with salted egg yolk, $22.80

I have always wanted to try a "salted egg yolk" dish. I am sorry to say but yuck, yuck, YUCK. The prawns were really good, juicy, fresh and butterflied, but I hated the sauce - kind of crumbly, sandy egg yolk bound somehow with light sauce. I hate hardboiled eggs so I don't really know what I was thinking. Not China Red's fault at all as I think this must have been well executed - I just hated it. The steep price made it ache all the more.

Shanghai "shao-long-bao", $11.80

We watched the chef making these as we entered. They do seem well made but they aren't as good as Hu Tong's, though. The mince seemed really fatty and the broth that came out did too, while Hu Tong's is much clearer and cleaner in taste.

Pan-fried dumpling, $10.80

I liked these a lot, though. The mince inside was tasty, not grainy or dry, and the skins were pleasantly thick but not doughy. They had gorgeous fried bubbly bottoms. With the provided dipping sauce of soy and vinegar - very good. They are so much more expensive than the usual 15 dumplings for an insane $7 or $8, though.

We were in and out in 20 minutes, I kid you not, but this simple meal with two beers and rice cost us over $65. OUCH!! I think if you choose wisely, you could have a good meal here. I am not that clued into mainland Chinese food to really pick well, though. I must add that the service was great.

So where else in the city apart from Hu Tong is great for dumplings? Hipness optional.

China Red

Shop 6, 206 Bourke Street, Melbourne (map)

Phone: 9662 3688
Hours: Mon-Thu 11:30am-10:30pm, Fri-Sat 11:30am-11pm

Wee Jeanie

2011-06-17T08:00:00.000+10:00

As we sat at Wee Jeanie, Yarraville village's newest cafe, there was a feeling of deja vu. On the next table, diners attacked sourdough bread topped with chubby avocado halves and a creamy rocket salad. Bryan ordered baked eggs with eggplant kasundi. "Hold on a minute..." I thought. "These guys are ripping off Cornershop!" My outrage was misplaced, however - Wee Jeanie is owned and run by the team behind Cornershop. Does this satellite stack up to the mothership, however?

Wee Jeanie has taken over the premises of the old record shop in Yarraville village, opening up their back courtyard. It's quite lovely to wander along the cobblestones alongside the quaint old station as the autumn leaves fall, before slipping into Wee Jeanie via the back door.

Inside it's classic Melbourne cafe chic - lightly-varnished wood, raw and whitewashed brickwork, creative light fittings (these ones made of preserving jars). It's a small space that the minimalist chic makes feel much bigger, with the kitchen behind the counter, a bench seat along one wall and tables facing it.

Coffee, $3.70

It must be said, we waited a long time to order and eventually went to the counter. (Bryan had been there for longer than me so it wasn't a case of my sneaking in the back made the staff not notice.) Coffees took a very long time and only arrived just before our meal. This is in contrast to the snappy service at Cornershop and indeed, most of Melbourne's better cafes, where immediately upon sitting and being given a menu one is asked, "A coffee first?" Made with chocolatey Coffee Supreme beans, a latte here was quite mild in flavour, good but not outstanding.

Vanilla rice pudding, $9

This was just gorgeous. I loved the duck egg blue bowl which made scooping spoonfuls of this lovely porridge feel like a little meditation. The rice was soft, creamy and not at all mushy. Sumac was an ingenious element which gave it citrus tang, while crushed pistachios created textural variation. The strawberries were just heavenly, plump and juicy.

Baked eggs, $12

Bryan's eggs were pretty good. The eggplant "kasundi" (a type of relish, apparently) was very heavily seasoned with cumin, perhaps too much so. I thought the eggs were overdone - the yolks were not runny. However, the feta was creamy and of good quality.

Wee Jeanie have just opened so they will undoubtedly take a while to find their groove. I don't know why they are doing identical dishes as those at Cornershop. Would it not be better to mix things up so that they are two unique places rather than just Cornershop Lite? Nevertheless, Wee Jeanie seems a good option for locals unable to find a seat at Cornershop bound for Planet Brunch.

Wee Jeanie
48 Anderson Street, Yarraville (map)
Phone: 9687 7187
Hours: Mon-Sat, 7.30am - 4.30pm

Not wheelchair accessible

Gurney Drive, West Melbourne

2011-06-14T08:00:00.000+10:00

Walking to Gurney Drive past window after window of happy people eating Korean BBQ, resist the temptation to text your friends "want beef ribs instead?" This small Penang-style hawker restaurant is worth holding out for.

Gurney Drive is apparently the name of a famous hawker centre in Penang, an island off the coast of Malaysia, somewhat near the Thai border. Penang is most famous for its Assam laksa which is a non-coconut-based laksa, dark and tangy with tamarind.

Penang Char Kuey Teow, $9.80

THIS HAS COCKLES. I repeat... COCKLES. Here in Melbourne, it seems these tiny molluscs are the most elusive feature of authentic char kuey teow. This version was unlike the Singaporean style which is much darker and richer from the dark soy used. This was lightly seasoned, had good chilli heat and really tasted fresh and lively. It was simply the sum of its parts, which were all good quality and so tasty. Thanks Wendy for the tip a while ago!

Combination hor fun, $9.50

This is a new favourite of mine even though at first glance it looks so unappealing with so much wet sauce on a small amount of noodles. The noodles here were the classic wide rice noodles, licked with wok hei and then buried beneath lots of thick, delicious, mild gravy. Very fresh prawns, calamari and fish cake featured and were divine with a little soy and fresh chilli.

Nyonya fish, $16.80

A heaping plate of rice flour-dusted, thin fish fillets, curled and crispy, doused in "Nyonya-style" sauce which was tangy with tamarind, ginger and tomato. This was well executed and tasty but I would try something else next time. I always think deep frying is wasted on things that then have a sauce over the top!

Sambal kang kong, $13.80

I must have been a water insect in another life as I can't get enough of this aquatic plant, kang kong or water spianch. It grows like a weed across Southeast Asia and has intriguing, tender, hollow stems. You can see huge bunches of it in the markets in Footscray under its Vietnamese name, rau muong. This was so fantastic - cooked with sweeter Malaysian-style sambal, heady with belacan and dried shrimp and with plenty of well-fried garlic. I loved it - I could eat this every day!

Gurney Drive was packed when we left with not a spare seat in the house, and for good reason. Two big thumbs up!

Gurney Drive

284 Victoria Street, West Melbourne (map)

Phone: 9329 6649

No Wheelchair access

Nepalese food in a Braybrook business park

2011-06-06T15:02:00.000+10:00

Food in a business park - what springs to mind? Bowling ball-sized muffins, hot dogs in a water bath? It did to me at least. Who would have thought the unprepossessing Cafe Centro on semi-industrial Ashley Street metamorphosed into a Nepalese restaurant by night?

These guys need to do some serious marketing. On a cold winter's night, the lights are dim and the entry concealed. No one would think to visit unless you had a hot tip (thanks Chris!) There's no helping the corporate vibe once inside but at least the cavernous space means the kids can run around without upsetting anyone.

The menu has Indian overtones but with some Chinese accents, reflective of Nepal's location sandwiched between India and China. Complimentary pappadums to start with a quite lovely sauce made from ground sesame, chilli and tomato.

Spring rolls, $5

These spring rolls were quite nice, evidently home made and served with a light plum sauce. The deep fryer needed to be a bit hotter as both these and the pappadums were a little oily.

Pakheta, $6.95

Pleasant chicken wingettes with a spice mix that was quite unique - I tasted cumin, turmeric, salt and pepper. One was a bit underdone, but Grandpa still ate it!

Momo veg, $6.95

I think momo are so cool - they are a bona fide fusion food and are so delicious. They look like Chinese dumplings but inside these vegetarian ones is a very Indianesque spiced, mashed vegetable filling. These were good but the steaming seemed inexpert as the skins had cooked unevenly and split in places.

Momo meat, $6.95

You can find good momo in Footscray at Fusion Cafe and Momo Bar. These meat momo didn't stack up to Fusion's, however. The filling was tasty with ginger but somewhat heavy and the skins had split. The price is also vastly incongruent - 10 for $8 at Fusion.

"Matar paneer" (sic), $11.90

Things picked up with the main courses. This was great aloo matar (incorrectly called matar paneer or peas with cheese on the menu). Unlike some more Northern-style Indian versions that have a thick brown curry sauce, the sauce was light, tangy tomato with a sprinkle of fenugreek leaves. I liked the addition of capsicum a lot. I actually got a child to eat this which is testament to how yummy it was.

Okra, $11.90

Excellent okra, diced and dry-fried with tomato, onion and chilli. This was simple and tasty with quality ingredients. Props that they had okra - in so many places when you order the more obscure vegetable dishes, they don't end up having them in stock. The menu says that "meals are served mild to fit local taste" - ask for spice levels to be authentic and you will be rewarded.

Goat curry ("mutton curry" on menu), $13.95

Boneless goat pieces in a very rich, thick curry sauce spiced with cardamon. This was good - some pieces of goat were fatty, others meltingly tender but I think that is authentic - the textural variation is part of the appeal and goat always seems very rich.

Chamre, $5

Oiled, seasoned saffron rice that was quite delicious. I liked the crunch of the cashews and peanuts. We had gorgeous, deep-lipped brass trays to eat our meals from.

Roti baber, $3.90 (2 pieces)

This was yummy roti, I think house-made, cooked as is traditional on a somewhat dry griddle so you get the contrast between the dark, flaky spots where it has touched and the tender pastry in between.

Masala roti, $4.95

Roti stuffed with spiced mashed potato. This is really a meal in itself rather than a bread to mop up sauce. The potato was thick, tasty, spiced with cumin and well seasoned.

As is often the case in Indian restaurants, the price here really added up fast once you add in all the entrees, rice and breads. I did really enjoy the main courses - it seems like really authentic food, not overpoweringly rich like some restaurant Indian that is so inflated with ghee and cream. The prices seem steep for the location and atmosphere, however. Next time it would be worth trying the thali-esque dhal bhat masu or dhal bhat tarkari ($15.95) for variety but lower price, or one of the banquets which start at $20 per head.

Cafe Centro

9 Ashley Street, Braybrook (map) - if coming from Barkly, go straight over Ashley and turn right at the security gate

Phone: 9396 1400

No Wheelchair access

"Family style" dishes at Sapa Hills

2011-06-02T08:00:00.006+10:00

Sapa Hills is barely 18 months old but it has become the people's favourite. While other restaurants, both old and new, lie fallow, Sapa Hills is buzzing. People wander down Hopkins Street, bottle of wine under one arm, staring benignly into the restaurants, murmuring "well, where do you think?" until suddenly they spy the polished concrete floor and are sucked into a vortex through the door. It's like the Stuff Middle-Class People Like textbook Vietnamese restaurant.

I know others are rankled by this, that less "trendy" restaurants don't get a look-in, and I agree that there is so much great food to be found elsewhere if you look past the decor. However, to me Sapa Hills have a winning formula - pleasant decor which appeals to Western tastes, spiffy, switched-on waiters, good food, a liquor license, EFTPOS and above all no bloody telly blaring A Current Affair, which is pretty much a buzz kill for date night.

Cha Gio Tom (prawn spring rolls), $7

Gorgeous prawn spring rolls, effortlessly crisp and filled with real prawn flavour - no mush here. More mint though please!

Bo La Lot (beef in vine leaves), $7

This is a specialty of Sapa Hills and they are really delicious. The beef mince used is pretty fatty but it is only a small portion. Wrap each dolmades-like log in lettuce and herbs, toss on some pickled cabbage and carrot, roll up and dip in seasoned sauce. Yummo!

Cua lot (salt and pepper soft shell crab), $12

The best - juvenile crabs with edible skins deep-fried in light batter. These were really meaty, the soft, faintly fishy flesh contrasting with the crunchy legs. Textural variation also comes from the bed of crispy noodles underneath scattered with red onion, red capsicum and chilli. Oh boy, so good. The kids ate the legs and thought they were fantastic.

Canh chua ca chem (Vietnamese sour soup with barramundi), $25

I have been wanting to visit Sapa Hills with a group to try their mon an gia dinh or family dishes. Deb had tried this soup a while ago and highly recommended it. The bowl was absolutely gargantuan and filled with half a whole barra, bean shoots, tomato, okra, pineapple and interesting melon-like traditional vegetables. The broth is divine - very much like Thai tom yum but far more sweet than hot, with more a tang than a sourness.

The three adults had three bowls each and the bowl still looked untouched! I really enjoyed it. A bowl or two was enough for me but I think this is the idea, that everyone in the family has a bowl or two plus other drier dishes.

Suon kho tho (pork ribs in soy sauce and pepper claypot), $17

Another family-style dish, a sizzling cast-iron pot filled with sticky, delectable chopped pork ribs. These were liberally covered in spring and very thinly-sliced raw onion and the onions' freshness and bite cut through the unctuous pork and rich sauce. With white rice - really yummy. Not good for kids though due to small bones and chewiness (I don't mean toughness).

Dau hu xao gia he (stir-fried tofu and bean shoots), $11

We recently had a family dinner at another Stuff Middle-Class People Like Asian restaurant, Blue Chillies in Fitzroy. The service and the food were divine but my sister and I ignored the duck and roti with peanut sauce to fight over the kangkong belacan or water spinach with shrimp paste. We wanted to try the water spinach with preserved tofu here but they were out. Never mind; this fried tofu and lightly-cooked bean shoot dish in a very light gravy was delicious.

For dessert, forgo the fried banana and try a smoothie. We had jackfruit and custard apple and they were fab. The jackfruit was vaguely reminiscent of mango while the custard apple tasted like banana and lemon. We also had Saigon 333 beers which were very good and only $5.

So I reckon good on Sapa Hills. The owner works on the floor and is really friendly and passionate. The waiter we had was gorgeous and instead of tittering at my hopeless efforts to say the menu items in Vietnamese, he slowly said each thing and encouraged me to pronounce them correctly. They are really the odd-one-out restaurant in Footscray - you can imagine them worrying if they should be opening in Yarraville or Flemington instead - but their gamble has paid off in spades.

So is Sapa Hills setting a trend for Footscray? Walking back to the car, we noticed the new "Westville Central" complex, on Nicholson Street facing Little Saigon Market, is almost completed. Peering in, among the vacant shops is a hairdresser (in Footscray? NO WAY! What next, a chemist?) and also the flagship restaurant, the enormous "Footscray Asian Buffet Restaurant - All You Can Eat".

RUN FOR THE HILLS!

Sapa Hills

112 Hopkins Street, Footscray (map)

Phone: 9687 5729

Hours: 10am-10pm, 7 days

No wheelchair access

Little Tripoli in Altona

2011-05-30T08:00:00.001+10:00

When I first moved to Footscray, I had been working in Thornbury and had spent many a lunchtime stuffing myself full of Lebanese pizza from nearby High Street and beyond. One of my first tasks was to find the local Lebanese bakery, if there was indeed one. Much fruitless Googling ensued until I finally came across a promising link on Google Maps to "The Circle" in Altona.

So one morning I navigated hesitantly under the West Gate and down Blackshaws Road until I came across this little oasis in the backstreets, a hub of the Lebanese community and a treasure trove of good food.

Starting at one end, Al Ameena butcher for lamb cutlets (the nice rack-of-lamb sort) for $20/kg. Other butchers, TAKE NOTE! It is bloody outrageous the $50/kg I have seen charged elsewhere. Kenny also gives Al Ameena's halal hot dogs a big thumbs up.

International Foods is a simply fantastic Lebanese and continental supermarket. One half of the shop is fruit and veg, the other is a very well-stocked and well-organised dry goods section, complete with aisles.

I could quite happily spend a good hour in here. Tahini in all grades and sizes, kitsch Eastern European chocolates, obscure Polish jams. I even used to buy bargain pomegranate juice here from Azerbaijan.

Love this - just as "regular" supermarkets have a choice between Tip Top, Sunblest, Helga's etc, here you can choose your favourite Lebanese bread. I personally like Kadamani or A1.

The chiller cabinets have all sorts of Middle Eastern cheeses including shanklish, a kind of aged feta rolled in herbs, haloumi and bargain yoghurt. Behind the counter the pine nuts are great value (or as good value as pine nuts can be). Recently International Foods have started selling pastries from the venerable Balha's of Sydney Road but the day I went they looked a bit tired. Stay tuned for a great local baklava shop.

Yes yes yes, the Holy Grail, the Lebanese pizza shop! I actually haven't been back to this one that much after discovering Amanie's in St Albans and they have evidently undergone some changes. There used to be a fish and chips/hamburger station in here too but that has been removed.

I have to say, I prefer it gone. Who needs a floppy hamburger when you have all this goodness to choose from? A good Lebanese pizza shop should have a small range of its offerings out, which are pies or flat "pizzas" folded into various shapes. These are then tossed into the long, flat oven which is absolutely searing in temperature, as evidenced by the mere 60 seconds it takes to have your choice heated up.

I highly recommend the kaak here, which is an almost bagel-like, sesame-seed encrusted roll filled with grated haloumi (you can see them in the picture above, at the front, in a little stack). A no less tasty but much less decadent option is the plain spinach, which this bakery do a great version of. The spinach is fresh and cooked with onion, allspice and perhaps sumac to make a fabulously tangy and healthy snack.

Last stop is Fruit Fiesta for gorgeous fruit and veg and a range of continental dry goods. There's a little cafe in the strip too called "Inner Circle" which I think is cute. It's the kind of place where everyone knows everybody and you feel compelled to take your empty cup back to the counter, just as everyone else does.

The coffee is unspectacular - get one from Spotswood on the way home, but first pull into Victoria Sweets which is just on Blackshaws Road.

When the Lebanese do something, they do it 110%. More glitz! More tulle! I love it - it's so OTT. Balha's in Sydney Road is the same, all glinty gold and the sweets displayed on enormous pedastals.

Everything is sold by weight, so start by asking for the type of container you wish to fill, whether a small box or a huge circular plastic plate to keep. Finding which type of baklava you like is trial and error. Greek baklava is very syrupy and almost soggy, whereas Lebanese can veer towards being too dry depending on the shop and the variety.

Phwoar, check out the chocolate baklava on the right side of the photo! One of my favourite Lebanese sweets is znoud. They are fat spring rolls filled with clotted cream, deep fried, soaked in sugar syrup and dolloped with more cream. Holy heart attack!

Here we have my favourite variety of baklava - triangular in shape and filled with a pine nut/cashew mixture (not sure but that is what it tastes like). On the left is harisa which is a dense cake of semolina. These were not up to Victoria Sweets' normal standards - the syrup had far too much rosewater for my taste.

Top marks though to this freebie shortbread I scored, stuffed with date paste. It had that perfect shortbready moist/dry thing going on with sweet, thick date paste in the middle. Does anyone (yasmeen?) know if this is maamoul or not? If so, I might be a convert as I normally dislike the more traditional date-stuffed pastries that I associate with this name.

I hope you enjoy exploring The Circle. Rayna recently lamented the lack of independent shops in the newer outer suburbs. I agree; nothing depresses me more than row after row of franchises. I love these unique shopping strips which have developed autonomously over time. Most of the shoppers here are older people - I hope that the young people in the area continue to keep The Circle alive.

Find a map to The Circle here.

Classic Curry Sunshine

2011-05-27T08:00:00.001+10:00

I was once told of life with small children that a day can seem like a year while the years seem like days. It is so true. Now that my kids are getting older, all those endless, boring days trying to entertain tiny babies seem a distant memory. What time is there to be bored now with the endless merry-go-round of kinder, swimming, playdates and so on? Stressed, perhaps, but not bored.

Time for a peaceful lunch to read the paper and take a deep breath. Classic Curry in Sunshine got the thumbs up from Kenny a while ago. Gotta love Sunshine - you can get a park right out the front in a free car park, which is more than I can say for Footscray at the moment.

It's surprisingly spacious inside. I was expecting an Indi Hots style fit out but it's much more restaurant like, albeit with plastic tablecloths. There's a full menu which you can peruse here. Prices are pretty unreal - all veg curries are $9 and all meat $10 with free basmati rice.

I'm a sucker for a good thali - this is a traditional Indian "mini-buffet" meal where you get rice, bread and three curries for a ridiculously low price. They always come on these silver trays which, as Matt Preston said, are reminiscent of prison riots.

A traditional Indian meal always has one wet and one dry element. Here was dal makhani which was satisfying and earthy - slow-cooked whole lentils, quite thick and with a good helping of chilli. Traditionally this dal would be left in the dying heat of the tandoor oven overnight to emerge thick and rich. Complementing this was a dry sabzi-style dish of perfectly-cooked potato and cauliflower, deliciously chilli-hot and spiced with turmeric, cumin seeds and dried fenugreek leaves.

The chicken was so flat, though. The meat was tender and of good quality - three slices of breast meat - but the gravy was, I hate to say it, reminiscent of condensed tomato soup mixed with cream. This is perhaps not inauthentic in a sense - Lizzie Collingham writes in "Curry: An Autobiography" that Chicken Tikka Masala, Britain's national dish, was created when a customer complained that his chicken tikka was too dry so the chef whipped up a gravy of tinned soup, cream and a few mild spices. Still, its lack of spice and personality was so incongruent with the other two quality vegetarian dishes.

In Indian restaurants, you will often see next to the till a little glass bowl of coloured things and seeds with a spoon in it. This is a traditional breath freshener and often incorporates fennel. Here at Classic Curry, there were sugar-coated fennel seeds on offer which are quite delicious, tasting a lot like liquorice.

I reckon Classic Curry deserve another chance. They have a few good meal deals like $35 for a "family pack" with mountains of food. A good stress reliever for a mid-week dinner, perhaps!

Classic Curry
Shop 3, Clarke Street, Sunshine (map)
Phone: 9312 6766
Hours: 7 days, 11 am til late

Can you help?

Oscar went missing on Saturday 21/5/11 from Adelaide Street in Footscray. He is 5 years old. He has black fur with white nose, paws, chest and belly. He was last seen wearing a purple collar with a bell, but no tags. He is desexed and microchipped. Any information greatly appreciated! We are offering a reward for his safe return.

Alice 0466 303 177 / 0466 408 032

Hot dogs at Costco

2011-05-23T08:00:00.000+10:00

People are very sensitive about grocery shopping. Allegiances can be as fiercely defended as those to football teams. Costco seems to inspire everything from ardour to disgust to benign curiosity. I have been a member since it first opened and truthfully was not sure if I would keep my membership at first. As time has gone on, the management has evidently responded to Australian buying habits and the product range keeps getting better and better. So, trolley loaded with free range chicken, organic milk and antioxidant-rich blueberries, what better for lunch than a Costco hot dog?

Yes, I know what you are thinking - how could you?? I blame nostalgia. Hot dogs are a huge part of the American summer experience. Just as you wander the backstreets of suburban Melbourne in summer and the unmistakable, sinfully-delicious waft of barbecuing el-cheapo breakfast sausages fills the air, the lure of an American hot dog is just as wrong and just as strong. The meat is highly processed and the bun that cakey, aerated McDonalds bread, but they put me straight back in Wrigley Field in Chicago, organ pipes playing between the commentator's snappy calls, the ivy rustling gently in the lakeshore breeze as a baseball game plays on.

Mmmm, $2.49 worth of memories. They are not quite the hot dogs I recall (Chicago is famous for its 100% beef hot dogs) but they are damn close.

I am ashamed to say I have partaken of other Costco food court delights. The pizza slices are gargantuan and I found them far too oily and (in the case of the cheese pizza) somewhat bland. The "Korean" "beef bulgogi bake" (yes, HOW CAN I CALL MYSELF A FOODIE) is far, far too rich - a kind of greasy calzone stuffed with beef, cheese and onion.

So what's in the trolley? Costco is really about discounting premium brands rather than beating generic prices, although in some cases it does manage to do that. This does mean that you have to buy a lot, ie, 24 muesli bars at a time, three-packs of shampoo or 1 kg frozen berries. It works for us but if you were a smaller household, you would need to weigh up the initial outlay, the expiry date and the boredom factor to consider if it would work for you.

Costco have always sold packs of Steggles or Baiada chicken pieces, plus whole Lilydale free range chooks. I have regularly left feedback asking them to stock free range fillets and one day received a phone call telling me that they would indeed do that. Unreal! Indeed, they are stocking more and more free range and organic lines which I think is reflective of the variety of people who shop at Costco - some come for the buckets of Maltesers, others for the wild Alaskan salmon. But everyone stays for the hot dogs.

Barbie Kitchen

2011-05-19T07:27:00.000+10:00

My new favourite - Barbie Kitchen!!!

Yes, I am KIDDING! It's not that type of Barbie Kitchen I'm talking about, it's this kind:

Chinese Spicy & Barbie Kitchen is a new Szechuan eatery that has opened in Flemington/Kensington (I get so confused which side of the street is which) and is already one of my all-time favourite restaurants.

Firstly the menus are gorgeous - big shiny pages with droolworthy pics and not so drool-y names like "saliva chicken" (better translated as "mouthwatering chicken"). So many non-Anglo restaurants have very perfunctory menu descriptions - you know, "chicken on rice" or "spicy fish" - that if you want to branch out and try something new, you're never sure if your dish will be big, small, swimming in chilli or full of offal. Barbie Kitchen's pics mean it's easy and exciting to try things you might not otherwise place a bet on.

The fitout is simple but it works - big, satisfying, hand hewn-look wooden tables with low, cushy chairs, perfect for adults and kids alike.

Themed tissue boxes, aesthetically-pleasing tableware and decor and the cleanest high chair this side of Chengdu. With all this relative luxury, it would be easy to assume that Barbie Kitchen is not authentic, too expensive or both, but far from it.

A complimentary appetiser - thick kelp-like seaweed dressed with chilli, garlic and a hint of sesame. Gorgeous! The menu here features traditional Szechuan dishes, what I think of as Northern-Chinese style fat white dumplings, as well as a whole selection of BBQ-grilled meats and vegies (the latter only available at dinner time).

Dry fried string beans, $14.80

This is a classic - well-fried green beans and pork mince with XO sauce, which is an umami-rich blend of dried seafood, Chinese prosciutto-like ham and chilli. This was a truly awesome version - sweet mince, fresh beans and lots of rich, satisfying, lipsmacking hum from the XO. It wasn't too hot for the kids who loved it (this is very easy to make at home although I don't deep-fry the beans! Fry garlic, brown pork, add beans, add couple spoons XO, season with soy and perhaps a little white sugar, done!)

Spicy eggplant, $12.80

This is a first for me and I am a total convert. The eggplant has been peeled and I suspect fried, to emerge velvety-soft, sweet, slippery and luscious. The sauce is pleasantly oily, sweet, with a hint of vinegar. If you want to know how good it was, my 3-year-old could not stop eating it. We had these with bowls of rice for $1 each.

Leeks, $3 per "string"

The first of our BBQ dishes - these were delish. I'm not sure what sort of leek they were as they seemed like a cross between a sping onion and a chive, but they were fabulous.

Lily mushroom pork, $2.50 each and squid, $2 each

These were both lovely - the "lily mushroom pork" (which I wouldn't have ordered but for the photo, which showed it as pork wrapped around enoki mushrooms) was a delicious contrast of textures and flavours, while the squid was tender and tasty.

Chilli, $1.50

All the BBQ dishes were dusted with a rustic chilli-and-cumin blend which was delicious and seemingly very un-Chinese, but it did get a bit same-same over time. In my opinion, just order a few select BBQ dishes and round out your meal with selections from other parts of the menu to get the most flavour variety. Perhaps the BBQ'd chicken skin next time? Take that, KFC Double Down "burger"!

Pork dumplings, $7 for 15!!!

LURVED these dumplings. They are really a huge step up from the likes of Camy - the meat inside is luscious and juicy, like Hu Tong's dumplings - no hard meaty nuggets. The pastry is just feather-light, not at all leaden or chewy as these can sometimes be. There's also a vegetarian option (which I always think are best pan-fried).

Steamed buns, $9.8 for 6

These are somewhat like xiao long bao but are juicy rather than soupy. The same sweet, tasty filling of pork and spring onion/leek-y vegetable. Apparently these differ in that they are made with self-raising flour, giving them a more bun-like consistency. I prefer the former simpler version. Still, these were delicious!

Laoshan Haisheng Pie, $2

Yum yum yum - again, the pork and vegetable filling, this time in a large pupusa-like parcel panfried and squished down. Super juicy, crispy - fabulous!

At the risk of being disloyal to my local non-Cantonese Chinese restaurants, 1+1 and Dumplings and More, Barbie Kitchen is, I have to say, far superior. I haven't had Szechuan food this good in years - I normally prefer Cantonese as it seems less oily and lighter/more complex in flavour, but this was unreal. I honestly can't wait to go back. Even if it had wonky chairs and greasy chopsticks I would love it, so the decor is the icing on the cake.

This is definitely my kind of Barbie Kitchen - although I do like that the Barbie has a glass of champagne on the counter - that much is realistic!

See Billy and Bryan for more thumbs up. Billy has a new address and look - check it out!

Chinese Spicy & Barbie Kitchen

311 Racecourse Rd, Kensington (map)

Phone: 9372 5218

Hours: 7 days, 11:30am-3:00pm, 5:30pm-11.00pm

Wheelchair Access
Level entry

Happy belated Mothers' Day

2011-05-15T14:14:00.001+10:00

The kids at my daughter's kindy had to write something about their mum and find a picture of her in a magazine:

Awww! I do hope though that this blog will be something for my kids to remember me by, so that they can know what their mother was like at their age some day (not 13, incidentally). I have a page now called "My Scrapbook" where I am keeping scans of various articles about the blog - you can see it above the date of this post, next to the word "Home".

I want to say sorry that I have been a really useless blog reader and commenter lately. I'm also sorry I haven't been replying to comments promptly - various family logistical issues mean that I have had to cut down on my "me" time. I appreciate you all still visiting and commenting so much though!

In other news, Footscray Food Blog has been selected to be archived in perpetuity by the National Library of Australia's web archive, Pandora. The archive "aims to build a comprehensive collection of Australian publications to ensure that Australians have access to their documentary heritage now and in the future". I am very flattered to be part of it - if only to be remembered as being obviously as hot as Venus Williams.

Pho Hien

2011-05-10T08:15:00.000+10:00

I reckon Sunshine rocks. Heaps of parking, lots of interesting restaurants and bargains galore in the various fresh food centres around. Sunday was quiet, at least until we worked out where everyone was - at Pho Hien.

Miss J had not only tipped me off about Pho Hien's Sunday special, banh xeo or Vietnamese pancake, but set a date for us to go there. Perfect! It took some wrangling to organise a table to fit us all but we were persistent. Behind us, the entranceway filled up with hungry would-be customers gazing balefully at others' bowls.

Banh xeo, $12

We had come for one thing - banh xeo or Vietnamese pancake, a huge crepe made with eggs, coconut milk and rice flour. It comes with a very impressive jungle of greens, from classic iceberg to bitey mustard leaves, European mint to "fish mint" which actually smells exactly like stinky fish.

Inside is so much textural and flavour variation, from soft cooked pork and white radish to slightly crunchy, shell-on baby prawns; the contrast of long, crisp mung bean sprouts and sweet, mashy cooked mung beans themselves. Take a lettuce leave, section a piece of pancake, roll it up and dip in seasoned fish sauce. Delicious! Now Luke Nguyen has been telling me for years not personally although I wish :p---- that you can eat the prawns with their shell on. Honestly, they are pretty good like this! The shell is not over-the-top hard or crunchy but gives textural variation to the soft meat inside.

Grilled chicken, $9.50

People ask, "How do you get your kids to eat in those restaurants?" Behold my secret, ye olde grilled chicken on rice complete with token vegetables. This chicken was yummo, very juicy, great drizzled with more seasoned fish sauce.

Sliced beef pho, $6.50 (baby size)

Persistence will pay off, though, and now my eldest loves "beef soup". The broth here is really sweet and mellow with perfect al dente noodles of irregular width. The beef is top quality, nice round slices. Each table has sweet pickled onions on it in a little jar - be sure to add some!

Spring rolls, $7.50

I read on a blog somewhere once that pho is just meant to go with spring rolls while bun bo hue with rice paper rolls. That is all the excuse I need, really. These were very good, almost rectangular in shape and ticking all the boxes for crispy, generously-filled and above all, tasty.

As we ate I saw people going out with huge silver roasting trays containing a banh xeo, along with a bag full of greens. I love that it's their Sunday special only - it makes me think they've put a lot of care into it.

Kenny highly recommends the bun noodle salads at Pho Hien too.

Pho Hien

3/284 Hampshire Rd, Sunshine (map)

Phone: 9311 9532

Hours: Mon-Sat 9am-8pm, Sun 10am-8pm

Wok Noodle

2011-05-06T08:00:00.001+10:00

Melbourne seems to be going through a Malaysian restaurant explosion! Flemington is turning into a downright little KL and there are new places popping up in the city all the time. Bring it on, I say! Seddon even has its own slice of the Malaysian carrot cake now with Wok Noodle.

Dumplings, $7.50

"Try the dumplings", insisted one loyal customer, so we did. Unfortunately these were somewhat overcooked so the pastry had become flaccid. The filling had decent flavour but I did not like the coarse texture. They were quite lovingly presented though on nice Japanese-style ceramic with a little garnish.

Roti with potato curry, $7

This was quite a tasty sauce, thick and rich. I was a bit spoilt after Chillipadi Mamak Kopitiam's unreal homemade roti and superb curries though, I have to say. The roti was a little doughy but quite nice.

Hainan chicken rice, $11.50

We were very excited to learn that this house special which is normally on weekends only was available, apparently due to a large dinner the previous night. Although the rice was tasty with rich ginger and chicken flavour, the chicken itself was somewhat lacking.

Char hor fun, $10.50

I have been so curious about this dish - lots and lots of really thick, lightly-coloured gravy on noodles. See the wonderful 3 Hungry Tummies for a recipe. This did have great flavour - tasty gravy, very thick but not gluey, with very, very fresh seafood and vegies. The wide rice noodles underneath though were really soggy - I would have expected them to still have some bite? Nevertheless I am new to this dish and not sure of the most authentic cooking method.

I so wanted to love Wok Noodle - it's close by and the proprietors are very personable. The thing is, everything is presented with care and flourish, the place is spic and span, the tables are set with flair and it is obvious that they really care about their food. It just didn't hit the spot for me. Perhaps I'm missing something, ordered badly or it was an off night. Have you been here? What do you think?

Wok Noodle
1/92 Charles Street, Seddon (map)
Phone: 9689 9882
Hours: Tues-Fri 10:30 am-10pm, Sat & Sun 11am-10pm, closed Mon

Wheelchair Access
Call to confirm (street seating available)

Sori Cafe - Japanese/Korean in Kensington

2011-05-02T08:00:00.006+10:00

Bloggers, how do you blog? I do so surreptitiously, self-consciously and am petrified of the day when someone tells me off. I also know I have only a limited number of years before my kids start to self-destruct from embarrassment when the camera comes out, so am making the most of it while I can!

Sori Cafe is a real neighbourhood treasure, an authentic Japanese/Korean cafe tucked away in Kensington. The kitchen is up a small flight of stairs at the back of the restaurant and (at lunch at least) the little ladies in gorgeous pressed aprons dart up and down, taking your order, running back up to flip the okonomiyaki, pattering back down with a bottle of water.

Complimentary banchan to start - traditional Korean tidbits eaten before the meal. Soft, surprisingly buttery potato and carrot; a tasty folded egg omelette; zucchini cooked with sesame oil (delicious - one to make at home). Check out the kid-friendly portion and crockery!

Fried dumplings (gyoza), $6.50

Little slippers of crunchy goodness, filled with soft vegie mash. The pastry is actually quite crisp like a cracker. The little side salad had a quite divine creamy sesame dressing. Delish!

Okonomiyaki (Japanese pancake), $6.50

Home-style Japanese pancake - a thick batter mixed with here shredded cabbage and a little diced octopus. This was just lovely - the tonkatsu or Japanese BBQ sauce was here a home-style relish, almost jam-like, which contrasted with the sweet, creamy Japanese mayo. These are my go-to shopping centre secret - they are tasty, filling, sort of healthy and usually cost about $4.

Hoedupbap, $16.50

Something for the last breath of summer - a warm salad of raw salmon and fresh salad vegies atop warm rice, the yin to bibimbap yang. Drizzled with thick, mild Korean chilli bean sauce and mixed up, it was simple, honest, refreshing yet satisfying. The miso was excellent, totally authentic. In recent times Sori Cafe seem to have shrunk their lunch menu to the classics, so visit at dinnertime to try the full menu including japchae, stir-fried sweet potato noodles.

Exterior - check. Food - check. Interior - we could not resist the sunshine and so had sat outside, so how to get this last shot? I put my camera on the counter, fumbling in my bag for my wallet while trying to corral the kids and hoping the moment would present itself. "Are you a blogger?" said the waitress. "Erm, yes, I am..." I trailed off uncertainly. "Don't worry," she winked. "So am I."

Sori Cafe

174 Bellair St, Kensington (map)

Phone: 9372 2025

Hours: Mon-Sat, lunch 11.30am-3pm, dinner 5pm-10pm

Wheelchair Access

Yes

Intermission

2011-04-19T21:49:00.001+10:00

Last Supper by Caroline Ierodiaconou (used with permission)

I am taking a break over Easter and will be back shortly. Thank you so much for reading; as any blogger will tell you, the payment is in the comments, emails and other feedback you give me and I appreciate every time you drop me a line.

Keep your eyes out around Footscray and West Footscray (and the city!) for beautifully haunting street art by local artist Caroline Ierodiaconou, whose piece is featured above. I love her work - it adds another dimension to the suburb I love, beyond the $2 shops and the hairdressers. My last count is five - can you find them?

Melbourne revolutionary craft circle action (used with permission)

In other arts news, local artist Rayna Fahey has just started a three-month residency at the EcoLiving Centre in Wyndham Vale. Rayna's work involves "traditional" embroidery with a subversive spin or larger-scale outdoor installations. She will be running workshops and other goodies so keep track via her blog to get involved.

The official From Cup to Crop campaign ended on April 14 but Plan International's work with vulnerable communities is far from done. My own personal challenge for the month has been to donate $3 for every meal I have out. $3 can feed one child for a staggering 10 days with Plan International's partnerships with various humanitarian agencies - the agencies source the food while Plan is responsible for storing and distributing that food to communities they work with in countries such as Southern Sudan, Ethiopian and Zimbabwe.

Lastly, I had wanted to do a hot cross bun roundup but tummy says yes, jeans say no! The cakey beauties above are from the Pie and Pastry House at 166 Churchill Ave, Braybrook. Also try Sourdough Kitchen (sourdough hot cross buns!) at 172 Victoria St, Seddon and Hausfrau, 32a Ballarat St, Yarraville. If you want a Easter egg tip, Cheaper Buy Miles in Nicholson Street Mall have bargain gourmet eggs, especially getting this close to Easter.

Have a very happy Melbourne Easter and see you soon.

-- Lauren aka Ms Baklover

Ghin Khao

2011-04-15T08:00:00.008+10:00

We want to go on a road trip, but where to go? For someone who really just wants to go on holiday to eat, touring Cunnamulla or Humpty Doo for the best plastic cheese sandwich is really not my idea of fun. Maybe we will go to Cabramatta and do a pilgrimage through all the favourite haunts of Thang Ngo of Noodlies, gentle soul and a-phở-ciado extraordinaire. I am so envious of Sydney's vibrant Thai food scene in particular - we really have nothing like it in Melbourne.

Ghin Khao came highly recommended for authentic Thai food. It's in the Swanston Street strip jammed with cheap, student-y and somewhat tasty food joints. I have had more noodle soups at Yoyogi and Gigi over the years than I care to remember. Does that older guy with the shock of fluoro orange hair still work at Yoyogi?

Now, we had gone from being unable to get a booking at Hu Tong to Ghin Khao so it was already on the back foot. For some reason I pictured a very different place than this quick snacky student bar. No music was a bit of a downer. It definitely has a real Thai presence though, from the handwritten note in Thai in the window to the gorgeous automatic prayer-like gesture of thanks the waitress did when she took our beer order. There's a room upstairs but it's a bit lacking in ambiance.

Vegetarian curry puff (kari puff pak), $6.50

These were good - very soft, delicate pastry but still with good crispy bite filled with a sweet vegetable filling. Swiped through creamy peanut sauce and gobbled up with a swig of Chang's beer - yum.

Chicken with fresh basil and chilli (gai phad bai kaprow), $10.90

I love Thai basil and chilli dishes - like the Vietnamese use of turmeric and dill, I found this at first such an odd combination for an Asian dish. It is fantastic, though. This was nice with very tender chicken but nothing on, say, Thaila Thai's.

Soft shell crab & spicy green papaya salad (pu nhim som tum), $15.90

Soft shell crab is a crab that has recently shed its harder exoskeleton and only has a very thin skin that is edible. Now that I have totally turned you off your breakfast, trust me, I am an offal wuss and I looove these. This was good but the batter was quite heavy. I much prefer the very light, salt & pepper-style batter in Vietnamese restaurants, maybe so I can kid myself I'm not eating something deep-fried. The green papaya had been prepared ahead, shredded and soaked for a while in a sweet, vinegary, hot chilli dressing. The other component of the salad was undressed standard baby lettuce mix. It was good but not great.

It may be Thai but Ghin Khao just reminds me of the other student joints along this strip - perfectly serviceable in terms of food but not a special destination or worth seeking out unless you were in the area. That trip up the Hume is looking more and more enticing...

Ghin Khao

242 Swanston St, Melbourne (map)

Phone: 9663 3345

Hours: Mon-Thu 11.30am-9.45pm, Fri-Sun 11.30am-10pm

Wheelchair Access

Very long, skinny and cramped

Dinknesh Lucy

2011-04-12T08:00:00.000+10:00

Winter is on its way. Juicy steaks on the grill give way to luscious braised chunks of chuck steak. There's nothing more pleasurable on a cold day than coming home to a house filled with the scent of chilli or pot roast emanating from the trusty slow cooker. Roasted pumpkin is such a pleasure too, the taste of autumn itself - rich, sweet and slightly musty, like piles of autumn leaves.

Ethiopian food is brilliant for cold weather in my opinion. I'm yet to find a "bad" Ethiopian restaurant in Footscray - they all have their charms. Dinknesh Lucy, next to Lentil as Anything on Barkly Street, is named after one of the earliest hominids ever found, unearthed in modern-day Ethiopia.

Here's the little dais dedicated to the coffee ceremony which you can book ahead. The green beans are pan-roasted before being ground, brewed and served. You can see/buy the green beans at Blue Peak Coffee and Nuts, next to Coles in Footscray Plaza.

My understanding of Ethiopian food is rudimentary at best but it can be vaguely divided into wet stews (wot are spicy, alicha are mild) and tibs dishes which are drier, like stir-fries. B and I couldn't decide between the yebeg tibes and the zil zil tibes. We asked the lady and she immediately said, "Yebeg tibes. Zil zil tibes, you might not like." So naturally we wanted the zil zil!

Zil zil tibes, $12

I have had yebeg tibes before and it is great - juicy lamb pieces dry-fried in clarified butter with onion and green chilli. Apparently the zil zil is partly dried meat - the pieces were long "steaks" that had been cut to open somewhat like paper dolls in a long zigzag. The flavour was fantastic, rich, aged, complemented by the tang of the onions and green chilli and with a fabulous charred flavour. The meat was so tender too yet hardened as it cooled, which is not a criticism - evidently the heat must "wake up" the fibres somehow and it kind of re-dries as it cools down again. Really fantastic - definitely one to order again.

Lucy Combination, $15

The chef's combination is always a safe bet in any Ethiopian restaurant. This didn't follow the exact dishes on the menu, which I didn't mind in the slightest. Starting from the bottom left-hand corner is "sugo" which is a meat stew not on the menu - rich and tomatoey. Going clockwise, bozena shiro, chickpea flour with beef pieces and berbere (tasty but quite salty), alicha wat, lamb pieces in a mild sauce with garlic and ginger (divine!) and in the middle, key wot, lamb pieces again with ginger, garlic and the addition of paprika-rich red berbere spice. On the right lay magenta beetroot and potato and turmeric-yellow potatoes, carrots and cabbage. All very individual, totally yummy, rich but not overpoweringly so.

Injera, Ethiopia's national bread, made by fermenting flour and then cooking on one side like a pancake - see Kenny's recent visit to Footscray's Lemat Bakery to see how. Just tear off pieces and pinch up the meat or vegies, like pita bread. My kids love it and I am happy to let them eat nothing but bread and save all the rest for myself! Eventually they get curious and ask to taste a bit of yours. This goes for rice at Asian restaurants or roti at Indian restaurants - it doesn't matter if they won't eat the whole spread, just start them off with the basics and you can build on it. Or not and leave it all to yourself, heh heh.

Love this place - we did not need both dishes; one would have sufficed and fed both of us for $12 or $15. That night we were served by three gorgeous women who had such snappy panache. Don't let the empty chairs fool you, it was relatively busy when we arrived. Dinknesh Lucy do live traditional music about once a month - give them a call to find out when the next night is on. Worth the walk, even on a wintery night.

Dinknesh Lucy

227 Barkly Street, Footscray (map)

Phone: 9687 6444

Hours: 7 days 11am - 11pm

Wheelchair Access
Level entry

A foul breakfast from Syria

2011-04-07T08:00:00.003+10:00

I remember being told at school, "Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit, and wit is the lowest form of intelligence". I thought it sounded so debonair, so Oscar Wilde, and liked to roll it around in my mind like a boiled lolly in my mouth. The truth was I didn't really know what it meant and now I probably agree with the former but not the latter. I don't know where my love of puns would fit on this scale although I think it would be fairly subterranean. Anyway, I find the most common transliteration of the Arabic "ful" or broad beans - "foul" - inordinately funny. These come canned and some tins read "foul medammes" (from mudammas, Arabic for stewed) which of course looks like "foul madams" and is rather amusing. Well, to me anyway. Moving right along...

Ful or dried broad beans are served many different ways across the Arab world, from the more Levantine whole version to thick, rich mashes in Egypt and Sudan, often mixed with red lentils aka masoor dal (masoor from Misr, Arabic for Egypt, hence "Egyptian lentils"). This is a recipe from my friend S who is a Kurd from Syria. It is a gorgeous, fast, healthy, vegetarian breakfast.

Ful
1 425g can broad beans
1/3 cup natural yoghurt
1 Tb (20 mL) tahini
30 mL lemon juice (about 1/2 lemon, juiced)
Salt
1 tomato, diced
1 clove garlic, crushed
Finely chopped parsley
Olive oil, about 1 Tb

Buy canned ful from any Middle Eastern-style grocer - these were from Big Trade, the supermarket in Footscray Market, but also try John's Nuts in Paisley Street. Tip out the liquid quickly but don't drain them fully (fully, LOL), rather, fill the can back up with water so you have about half juice, half water. Tip into a pot and heat slowly.

Meanwhile, make the sauce by mixing yoghurt, tahini and lemon, beating well to get rid of lumps and seasoning with a little salt. Incidentally if you add crushed garlic to this, you have the best-ever sauce for felafel wraps.

Put hot beans in bowl, top with sauce, sprinkle with tomato, parsley and garlic and drizzle olive oil all over. Eat with pita bread (buy it fresh daily from Masters Fruit & Vegie in Footscray Market or the halal butcher on the corner of Irving and Nicholson). We had actually eaten all the pita bread the night before - really fresh pita is so delicate and seductive, and really needs no sauce at all - so we made do with this fabulous ciabatta from Blu Cow Deli (made even more fabulous by costing $2.95).

Eating the ful with ciabatta reminded me of once in New York eating a very similar breakfast dish made with marinated chickpeas. I was at the home of a beautiful Lebanese family and early that cold winter morning, the father went out and returned with a huge bag of bagels. Eating traditional Jewish bread with an Arab salad, pinching up tangy, garlicky chickpeas with a poppyseed bagel, was just a small expression of a desire for sectarian harmony and a memory that has stayed with me ever since.