FFB mega-post - Footscray pub goss, dumplings galore, and the FFB dish of the year!

To me, leftovers are like dominos.  Each skerrick, each tidbit does not get thrown out but joins the next meal in an endlessly delicious loop.  That bit of leftover rice is perfect mixed into a spinach and ricotta pie...and that last scoop of ricotta is perfect spread on a thick bit of toast, topped with frozen berries, and grilled till soft, warm, gooey and sweet.

The point when it gets a bit tricky, though, is when I'm going away for a while and need to clear out the fridge.  Sometimes it's kind of awesome - bacon, featuring in today's breakfast, lunch AND dinner! - but it's a real challenge making a dinner out of a manky end bit of cheese and a pile of cucumbers.

In the spirit of the fridge clean-out, then, I present to you a banquet of a blog amnesty post, bringing together all the treats and tidbits I've enjoyed over the last few months.  Join me in clearing out the virtual crisper drawer and making a gorgeous word salad out of it all.  Then we'll be ready to enjoy all the new and exciting treats that 2015 is set to deliver!

FYI, this post is going to be pretty epic.  Pretty much as epic as this oyster I ate!

It was from these guys and was amazing, going from minerally and sharp at first chew, to creamy and unctuous at the end.  'Twas et during a trip to Hobart which I just loved every minute of.

The food highlight (apart from the above oyster) was the degustation and matched sake at Three Japanese.  This place is proud to not do the usual sushi and teriyaki chicken thing, and to serve food that Japanese people would apparently go out to eat in Japan - not necessarily what westerners expect.  The sakes we tried were incredible and so varied.  If you thought like I did that clear sake was essentially metho, this is where to go to have your mind thoroughly blown.  Food highlights - chawanmushi savoury custard with sea urchin, and sesame-encrusted rice ball in sublime chicken stock.

I just have to show you where I stayed - a gorgeous Air BnB in West Hobart.  I love the architecture in Hobart.  The Tuscan toilet block units Melbourne is so enamoured with have not yet spread there, and long may they never.  Look at that roaring fire!  Not visible are the harbour views from every room in the house.  It was very hard to get on that bus to the airport.

But get on I did, back to the west.  Even giant oysters can't trump the yum cha at Gold Leaf Sunshine.  This continues to be my go-to, not just in the west, but anywhere in Melbourne.  (Recently tried elsewhere - Golden Dragon Palace, Templestowe [overpriced and yawningly average]; Me Wah, Hobart [strange, staid, expensive and unremarkable]; Tao Tao House, Hawthorn [exxy, boring].

Oh, Gold Leaf, I do heart you!

Speaking of dumplings, we recently decided to give Magic Momo in West Footscray another go.  The guys who own this place are so nice and are trying so hard.  In the last year or so they redid the whole menu to focus exclusively on Nepalese food.

A lot of the south Asian restaurants in West Footscray and surrounds have the atmospherics of a bus shelter.  Hats off to Magic Momo who have gone to some effort with colourful piccies and posters and nice tunes playing.

The momo here are really pretty good.  Here we have steamed, fried and in a spicy sauce.

We loved the lamb choila, with spicy, tasty chunks of lamb, spicy soybeans, and rice bubble-like "beaten rice".

Also had this vegetarian thali-style dish which we weren't mad about - everything on the plate needed more oomph.  Go, bring a BYO bottle and give Magic Momo a try.  I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

Over December we also really got into the Plough.  Scott Thomas, who used to run the Courthouse in North Melbourne and the Montague in South Melbourne, recently took over as head chef and the food has done a complete 180.

LOOOOOOVED these oysters with creme fraiche and fish roe!!!  Such an inspired combination.

We have eaten a lot of things on the menu now and are always very happy.  There are a few small misfires, like kipflers in duck fat that weren't crispy enough, or a millet salad that needed a bit more zing.  But on the whole, I think the food here is fab.  Congrats on snaring Scott Thomas and long may his steady hand steer this plough.

The other big news in the Footscray pub scene is that Sean Donovan has sold the Station!  This news was met with much devastation.  I have never blogged about it, but the Station is one of my most regular haunts.  We went back with trepidation to see if it was still any good.

Well, a rump like this does not lie.  Still as gorgeous as ever.  People think the Station is too expensive, but their entry-level steak is $28 (including chips, salad and sauce) and is bloody amazing.  A steak at most other pubs in Melbourne would be around the same price, and most are nowhere near as good.  Try it before you knock it!

PS: Did you know the Station do possibly the best pub kids' meals in Melbourne?  They're not cheap - about $18 from memory, which includes drink and ice cream - but much better quality than the normal crappy offerings.  And the ice cream had real vanilla beans in it.

Speaking of ice cream, you must try the green tea ice cream at Sapa Hills.  You met Long in this post and Ha, his wife, makes this ice cream at home for the restaurant.  It's delicious, richly flavoured, refreshing and not too sweet.  Totally going back to try the black sesame and coconut flavours.

I know our banquet table is beginning to groan, but let me just wedge a few more delicious treats into those gaps.  Just a few weeks ago we got back from an amazing two-week trip to Chicago, where my children proceeded to claim their culinary birthright in the form of Lucky Charms (cereal with mini marshmallows), ranch dressing, mozzarella sticks and other nutritionally disastrous delights.

The adults didn't miss out either, merrily scarfing Italian beef sandwiches...

...Pequod's special caramelised cheese crust Chicago-style pizza...

...and Paradise Pup's drip-down-your-forearms juicy burgers and fries with sour cream, bacon, and Merkts spreadable cheddar!!!  Some of these things we ate while watching Diners, Drive-ins and Dives on Food Network, which is kind of like drinking Bollinger when you're already completely pissed.  It was the most deliciously debauched two weeks ever.

But much as I love Chicago food in all its colon-blocking glory, it was yet again time to come home to treats like those at Co Thu Quan.  I continue to be completely enamoured with this fast-paced, cute-as-a-button and uncompromisingly Vietnamese cafe, tucked away inside Little Saigon market.

And it is here that I am delighted to present their banh trang cuon as the Footscray Food Blog dish of 2014.  These are rice paper rolls, made with either a different rice paper or a different process so that the skins are slightly crackly and tantalisingly al dente.  They're filled with julienned sour green mango, tiny dried prawns and spicy, rich beef jerky.  They are completely amazing, and just five bucks a plate.  Run, don't walk!

And so that concludes this pot luck of a post!  I feel refreshed and ready for all the delicious things 2015 will bring.  My fervent hope for Footscray is that as gentrification continues at breakneck pace, while we may be having lots of fun with what's new, let us continue to appreciate what we already have.  Will you join me in a cheers to that?

Dumplings in West Footscray and more tasty tidbits from around the traps

Sorry for the super long time between drinks, folks!  I have been really busy, and there are only so many things a girl can eat.  Although I did have a chuckle at this - it's pretty much my life!

Heh heh heh!

Anyway, I thought I'd make you a nice concentrated missal of all the goodies I've been chowing down on in the last couple of months.  Firstly, a shoutout to Tien, proprietor of Dong Que, hands down one of my all-time Footscray faves.

Dong Que do awesome coleslaws, from a prawn and pork with lotus root to this 'un, beef jerky with green papaya.

Their signature dish is bun ca thang long or turmeric-marinated fish served with lots of dill.  It's a northern Vietnamese specialty, related to bun cha Ha Noi (more on that later).  It's so popular that when you step into Dong Que, the air is redolent with gorgeous floral dill almost all the time.  To eat, you make a little DIY salad with noodles, herbs and fish.  If the supplied stinky anchovy sauce is too much, don't be shy to ask for the standard nuoc cham mam!

Dong Que were one of the stops on this year's Rickshaw Run.  I volunteered over a few sessions, as did the indomitable Kenny and Bennie from Consider the Sauce, as well as a number of FFB readers (big shoutouts to Chris, Mark, Jenny, Carolyn and Eve!)  We even had an awesome couple who had moved into Footscray barely a week before and liked what they saw so much that they signed up to volunteer too.

This is Eve who writes Conversation with Jenny who, despite her sylphic frame, managed to haul my ever-expanding person around one evening.  Thanks Eve!!  Footscray got some star power that night too with HaiHa Lee (next to me in the rickshaw), a long-time local resident and actor with many credits including Bed of Roses and Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries.  Her and partner Pier's go-to Footscray joint?  Not usual suspects Hao Phong or Sapa Hills - it's Tra Vinh!  Instant cred!

In other news, one day whilst roaming about, I found this little gem on the "other" side of Sunshine (near Dragon Express).

They sell gorgeous Polish cakes (I think by the slice) and plum jam donuts, plus take-home meals just like Babcia used to make.  (I had a Polish friend at school and I remember her mother pinching the skin on my forehead and saying, "STILL ROOM FOR MORE PIEROGIS!"  I think that's where my problems started.)  You can read more about Roli Poli over here at Pretty Wak by Amie Batalibasi, founder of Footscray's Colour Box Studio.

And while we're on the subject of dumplings, West Footscray's newest eatery opened just a few days ago!  It's called Magic Momo Kafe and it's the baby of Ravi (above).  Given the name, the four momo varieties are only a tiny part of the menu, which ranges from a big breakfast, to burgers or calamari and chips.  Everything is well priced, especially kids' options - from memory, pancakes with ice cream are about $4.

These chicken momos were yummy, the mince inside juicy and spiked with herbs, ginger and onion.  They can come simmered, steamed or fried, and Ravi said the steamed option is the most traditional.  We didn't get so lucky with the vegie version, which had collapsed somewhat.  Kenny and Bennie had better luck - theirs looked a bit plumper.  But surely all sins should be forgiven in the first week of opening!  (Magic Momo are at 588 Barkly St, West Footscray.)

What Magic Momo Kafe also have is a dizzying display of Indian sweets including four varieties of one of my faves, cham cham, which is almost like an eclair with a lightly-cooked gulab jamun-like exterior and a fudgy filling.  (It's the pink one above.)  They're all $2 each.

In other West Footscray news, Rino at Vari's Fruit & Veg has started offering seasonal organic fruit and veg boxes.  There are two sizes, $35 and $60, and you need to order by Wednesday for Saturday pickup.  He read me what was in both sizes and it's a very impressive amount of fresh organic produce.  You can also get eggs, and while I was there, Josh (aka, "the boss") and mum from Seven Hills Organic Farm came to drop off that week's order.  Boxes can also include Sourdough Kitchen bread (which Vari's actually sell fresh every day) and organic juice.  Call 9689 1491 for more deets.

West Footscray was pretty devvo that Andres and Shannon of Besito decided to hang up the arepa press, for family reasons.  The old site of Besito is currently under construction and is going to be the third Melbourne branch of Chawla's Indian.  According to their website, "Chawla's cream chicken was born not to die".  Yum, I think?!

Eat and Love

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



View Footscrayfoodblog reviews in a larger map

Nepalese food in a Braybrook business park

 

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