A postcard from Footscray

I got the most lovely email the other day and felt it really encapsulated everything I love about Footscray.  I know I blog about the west, but reading through, I felt like I was seeing it with fresh eyes.  I couldn't wipe the smile off my face the whole email!  With the author's permission, I'd like to share it with you.  (I've added some links to the places either she or I refer to, and also some purty pics from my collection...)

Hi Lauren, Thanks so much for your reply...and don’t feel bad about the delay...  I can relate to that :-)

Thanks to your blog, I had the best day on Friday in the market and surrounds!  I drew myself a map and marked in all your suggestions, going first to the grocery market (your suggestion) across the road from the station...where I found the Red Boat fish sauce!  Sorry, can’t think of names and I’ve thrown out my bit of paper.

 

Pho from Hung Vuong Saigon, 128 Hopkins St, Footscray

As it was around midday when I arrived on the train from Geelong, I headed for the place you recommended for Pho (Huong Vien?)  Wow.  I had the beef & chicken one.  I’ll be back!

Then went looking for Mama Rosina’s, but couldn’t find it anywhere.  Never mind, found a little place selling grains and went in and asked them about Teff.  They told me I’d get it at Bharat Traders, 580 Barkly St.  As I was in Barkly St, I thought it can’t be too far.........!!!  Anyway, got my Teff...and found out I could get a bus back...thankfully! 

This was another lovely memorable part of my visit.  On the bus, I felt like I was a tourist in another country (not sure which one though...Vietnam, Nth Africa, India? :-) )  So many ladies offered me a seat beside them (taking pity on an elderly foreigner!)  I sat with a Vietnamese lady and struck up a conversation with her, then an Indian lady in the seat behind joined in, both offering to help with directions.  They were just lovely...  One of them even got off the bus with me and walked me in the direction of Mesnoy Bakery.

 

Meftuha from Mesnoy Injera Bakery "baking" injera at a festival in Footscray

So...I got my Injera!!  The two girls at Mesnoy were so friendly and helpful too.  When I showed them my Teff they rolled their eyes a bit and told me exactly what you said :-( * Never mind...think I’d already decided I wasn’t going to attempt it.  My son-in-law is going to though; he loves fermented stuff, so it won’t be wasted.

Anyway, I’ll try and shorten my story. I had a great time stocking up...well, as much as I could.  My fingers were nearly cut in half from the weight of my two shopping bags...and I had to get back to Southern Cross to catch the 6.30 train back to Swan Hill...finally home about midnight.  Put all but two pieces of Injera straight into dehydrator overnight.  Next morning, beautiful crisp Injera chips, which I’ve put in cello bags & sealed.

 

Misir wat (red lentils) at front left - I can't remember where I ate this but I wish I could!

For lunch on Saturday we had Injera (freshened in microwave), with the red lentil recipe that I found on Mesnoy’s website.  Yum!  But it was even better cold as a dip that night with Injera chips!!  Then on toast for breakfast yesterday morning!!  The recipe made heaps.  Half of it is in tubs in the freezer ready to have dip & chips again!! 

 

Can’t wait to go back...and take my husband.  Very doable from Swan Hill.  SH train passes through and stops at Footscray at about 10.30 am, then can pick it up again at about 6.45 pm without even having to go into the city!  What a day we’d have...BUT first stop next time will be to buy a shopping jeep...or two!! 

As you can probably tell...I’m still on a high! 

So...a big thank you again for introducing me to the culturally diverse culinary delights of Footscray! 

Thank you so much to Ros from Swan Hill for allowing me to share her delightful email.  She has really touched on everything that makes Footscray amazing.

* What I said re the teff was:  In terms of teff flour - it's not legal for export, so you cannot buy it.  The only exception is Bob's Red Mill which is an American company that produces teff flour (among others - coconut, amaranth etc).  It's available at health food shops and at Sims supermarket in West Footscray.  The catch is that that teff is apparently a poor grade so it's not very nice.  The Ethiopian community here in Melbourne don't use teff - they use combinations of corn, wheat, rice and sorghum flours to approximate the taste.

French Baguette Cafe

The new French Baguette Cafe has taken so long to open - maybe, I don't know, a good year - that after a while, the Eiffel Tower in its logo started to look to me like a big middle finger.

Now that it's open, I think the Eiffel Tower in the middle actually makes the initials look less like "FB" and more like "FAB" - so I met up with a few folks to see if it lived up to its name.

It's really big inside, with large comfy chairs, including a few on a raised dais.  On a Saturday morning, it was full of folks enjoying coffees and a good old chinwag.

We hot-footed it straight to the banh mi.  There are all the classic fillings like mixed ham, meatballs and fish cake, plus grilled options including chicken, pork and (unusually) beef.  The rolls are particularly big - I think a good 5 cm longer than Nhu Lan's - and only $3.50.

The bread wasn't quite right for a banh mi.  Proper banh mi bread should be ridiculously crunchy on the outside, and with the middle gooshing down to almost nothing as soon as you apply some pressure to take a bite.  This was a big more dense, perhaps closer to an actual French baguette.  But the fillings were good, and service was with a smile.  I'd happily grab another if I was nearby.

I did spot quite a few peeps enjoying bo kho, Vietnam's answer to beef stew - big chunks of fall-apart-tender beef plus some tatties in a tomato broth.  A small bowl plus a roll will set you back just seven bucks.

Coffee was pretty good.  The milk wasn't silky enough and there was too much foam but the underlying shot was well pulled.  I've seen the barista before at Cafe Cui.

French Baguette also have a giant stronghold of cakes in the middle of the store, which you are encouraged to pillage, armed with a tray and tongs a la Breadtop.

This is a particular hit with the kiddos, as you can imagine.

Most of the cakes are on the big side and a bit OTT for my taste, but I did spy some Greek-style baklava that I've filed for future use.  Fun fact:  Do you know why my pseudonym when I first began blogging was Ms Baklover?  When my husband first moved to Melbourne from Chicago, he became hopelessly enamoured with baklava.  In fact, he became a bak-lover.  We started our own food blog about the best baklava in Melbourne.  I think we only ever did one post before I deleted it (I think I was worried about eating too much - HA. HA. VERY FUNNY, 8 YEARS AGO ME) but the name stuck!

French Baguette are still finding their feet.  It was a bit of a struggle trying to pin down eight clean glasses for water for our group.  I also think they need table numbers on sticks rather than the little rounded ones that sit flat on the table, as right now staff need to roam the whole place looking for you to deliver your coffee.

To me, it has a feel like Balha's in Brunswick - a multi-age, multi-ethnic hangout where you go to eat cake and coffee.  There's even a mezzanine level.

I love this sign.  FB, I really hope the last line comes true for you.

French Baguette Cafe
Cnr Albert and Barkly Streets, Footscray

Amasya Kebab House

A little word association test for you.  Think bread.  Now think Footscray.  I bet you a bag of Olympic's finest you are either thinking of Nhu Lan's crusty French-style bread, or a supple round of injera.  But the bread that gets most overlooked in the 'scray is Turkish bread.  I'm talking big fluffy rectangles with lovely undulating tops, sprinkled with sesame seeds, just begging to be torn apart and swiped through some lovely tzatziki.  One of the best spots to pick some up is Amasya in Nicholson Street.

Amasya is run by Esen who makes all the dips, salad and bread in house.  You can buy a whole freshly-baked, slab-sized loaf for $3.50.  Don't ever let me catch you buying that horrible packaged Turkish bread from Coles - this is well worth the detour.

The fare is Turkish, from a Turkish bread-wrapped kebab to plates loaded with shish kebabs or felafels, dips and salads.

Meal of the day (small), $13

This is the staggeringly excellent meal of the day.  Two hillocks of shaved chicken and lamb from the spit - the meat is really tasty, not too salty or fatty, with loads of delicious crisp bits.  It comes piled up against your choice of two dips (there's yoghurt-based cacik, spinach, eggplant and more) and some lovely fresh salad, plus a basket of fluffy bread - all for a fabulous 13 bucks.  (PS:  You can take leftovers home, and vegos can get a similar spread but with felafels and stuffed vine leaves for $10.)

The other winning tip here is the pides.  Theses are long submarine-like loaves enclosing a filling - maybe cheese and spinach or lovely creamy egg and sucuk, a salami-style sausage.  They are a bargain for $4 or $5 and you can eat them in, too, making them a great pitstop snack.

Cheese pide, $4

I ordered some of these for a function and when ordering said I was happy to have them cold as I'd heat them up later.  "What time are you coming again?" said the fellow there.  "About 10," I replied.  "Oh, they'll be hot then - they will only just have come out of the oven," he replied.  That's fresh!

Amasya Kebab House

134 Nicholson St, Footscray

Phone:  9687 7032

A taste of east Africa in downtown Footscray

My friends looked after my kids the other day and brought them along to a birthday party at Dinknesh Lucy.  When I picked them up from the restaurant, I asked my eldest, "So, did you like the yummy African food?"  She looked at me and said, "Yes, and actually, Mum, it was Ethiopian food".  Touché.  I guess that's what you get raising kids in Footscray - they have a very keen sense of culture!

If you didn't already know, I run Footscray Food Tours in partnership with the CAE.  I've just begun running one that focuses on Footscray's rich repository of east African food and culture, in which we explore drinks from butter-infused coffee to hibiscus tea, herbal remedies from Sudan and street food from Somalia.  I thought I'd share with you a few snippets from the time I spent researching this tour!

When I was running a tour last weekend, someone asked me beforehand where they could buy coffee beans in Footscray.  The question threw me for a minute as I had to ask, "Roasted or unroasted?"  While coffee is often thought of as brown, shiny roasted beans, in Ethiopia the roasting part is an integral part of preparing coffee and hence they are sold in their light green, unroasted form.

This is Rozenn from one of my favourite spots in Footscray, Konjo Cafe, demonstrating a traditional coffee ceremony.  The green beans in the bowl in her hand are tipped onto the black flat plate which is above a brazier of charcoal and cooked until dark brown and beginning to pop.  They are then ground, placed in a "jebena" (the black pot seen at the bottom left) and brought to the boil.

The resulting coffee is probably closest to plunger coffee and is really good.  It's served black and usually sugar is added.  Rozenn's partner Abdi is from the southern Gurage people, for whom butter is a very important staple food and cultural element.  His tribe drink coffee with butter and salt added!  The butter is not as odd as you might think - it's almost like drinking coffee with cream, as is done in the States.

 

Depending on the season, Rozenn and Abdi might have some rue to add to your brew.  In Western culture this herb is most commonly seen in old "herbals" as an ingredient to some sort of poultice or another, but it is an integral part of the traditional Ethiopian kitchen.  It has a very strong, slightly smoky flavour - give it a try if it's available!

I attended Rozenn and Abdi's inaugural Food and Wine Festival event back in March which explored Ethiopian coffee culture (no, I don't have a posting backlog problem.  No, not at all ;) .  That's Abdi above serving some brilliant tibs (a chunky meat dish).  Konjo have great food and are best known in the community for their kitfo, which is a dish of raw mince mixed with spiced butter and served with plain homemade ricotta-like cheese.  You can have it slightly cooked if you're not game enough to try it 100% raw!

While coffee is Ethiopia's staple drink, its staple food is injera.  This unleavened bread begins as a batter that is fermented overnight (similar to sourdough).  It's then deftly poured onto a griddle in a snail shell shape to cook before being lifted off.  Above, Meftuha is showing us how it's done - she's the owner of Mesnoy, Footscray's oldest injera bakery, so she knows a thing or two.  I often see Mesnoy's delivery van when I'm criss-crossing Melbourne, be it in Clifton Hill or way out on the south-eastern, and always get a tingle of westie pride when I spot it.

But injera isn't just bread - it's cutlery and plate as well!  These lamb tibs were a particularly excellent version.  To eat, rip off a piece of injera, press into the little dish of mitmita (seasoned chilli powder) and grab a saucy chunk of meat.

These tibs were from African Cuisine, just a couple of doors down from Mesnoy and owned by Fasil who is just lovely.  I believe they have live music on Saturday nights.

Injera isn't only consumed in Ethiopia but across the wider east African region, including in Eritrea, Sudan and Somalia.  This is suqaar, a chunky lamb dish that is quite similar to tibs.  While here it was served with injera, at other Somali restaurants you might also see it served with spaghetti - a legacy of the failed Italian colonisation of east Africa, perhaps!  (I highly recommend the Somali fare at Safari in Ascot Vale, too.)

You can find this and other Somali dishes at Africa Lounge on Nicholson Street, which is run by the delightful Abdi.  Africa Lounge doesn't keep strict opening hours, so if you do fancy popping in, have a back-up plan - Addis Abeba next door is one of my favourite Ethiopian restaurants anywhere in the 'scray.

Or, take a wander back up Nicholson and try Khartoum Centre for some fantastic Sudanese food.  The menu here is on a big lit-up board behind the counter, and its diversity really speaks to Sudan's geographical position, bordered by Egypt to the north and (pre-South Sudanese independence) DR Congo, Uganda and Kenya to the south.

There are a great spread of chargrilled meats served with breads, salad and dips that have a Middle Eastern feel (see the shaia above - chunky, smoky lamb served with red lentil and yoghurt dips)...  Then there are more "African" dishes like this taglia, a minced meat and dried okra powder stew served between two leaves of injera.  (This dish is served with the injera closed over.  Don't do what we did and sit there staring at it, waiting for the rest of the dish for a good 10 minutes before we finally moved the top layer and realised there was food underneath!  Not my finest moment!)

In the last couple of years, owner Muhammad has expanded next door and recently begun baking his own bread - a delicious cross between pita and Turkish bread.  Here's his dad showing off the new oven!

I hope you've enjoyed this mini tour of Footscray's east African eateries.  My tour was recently featured in Time Out magazine, and you can read more and book via my website, www.laurenwambach.com.  I'll leave you with this amazing Burundian drumming troupe, as seen at Footscray's recent Emerge festival.  They were brilliant - the video doesn't do them justice!

American and Euro bakery delights at Candied

OK, Spotswood - sharing is caring.  Welcome to Candied, Spotty's new secret sweet spot!

This is a divine little bakery/cafe by Toula and Orlando, formerly of East Brunswick's Sugardough.  Sidle up to the cool concrete counter and you'll see a hive of activity out the back as luscious pies, croissants and cookies come to life.

The angle is Aussie bakery with Euro flair and an American twist.  There's inspiration from New York's Momofuku Milk Bar with "crusty brownie pie", wodges of dangerously dark brownie goodness with a salted pretzel crust.  More pie madness ensues with the apple pie shake - a piece of Mom's finest blended with milk till sippable!

And continuing the western suburbs' love affair with donuts, Candied offer these pleasure bombs filled with smooth American-style jelly or zuppa Inglese, Italian-style custard.

Beef pie, $5.60

Try pies like egg and bacon, silverbeet and cheese or good ole beef.  With house-made pastry and Toula's homemade tomato sauce, it's a totally awesome reincarnation of a much maligned Aussie classic.

Like North Melbourne's Beatrix, Candied are really proud of their commitment to their suppliers.  I love this trend - it makes me feel part of a continuum linking producer, provider and patron.  (And yes, I've seen the Portlandia sketch and I LOVE IT - you should watch it too!)

But lest we all take ourselves too seriously, get stuck into Candied's ker-azee soft serve, like this gorgeous banofee flavour made with real bananas and house-made caramel sauce.  Oh yeah!!  Flavours change regularly - check back for condensed milk, Milo and even peanut butter and jelly!

Candied is a bakery so there aren't loads of tables and chairs.  Grab a spot at the communal table, or park yourself on this low bench along one wall.  Leaning against the cool bricks, great coffee in your lap, it's actually strangely relaxing.

...and don't forget bread to go.  Lastly, if you want a super hot tip, put an order in for blue cheese croissants.  They're taking a sojourn from the menu but Orlando's happy to make them for you if you call ahead.  I'm not into blue cheese on its own at all, but these croissants are absolute corkers - the light sprinkle of blue goes deliciously crusty against all that buttery, flaky goodness, making a savoury flavour bomb that's totally irresistible.

Candied Bakery (Twitter)

81A Hudsons Road, Spotswood

Phone:  9391 1335

Hours:  Wed-Sat 7.30am-4pm, Sun 8am-4pm

Westie bits and bobs - a blog amnesty post

I'm writing this from Chinatown, Singapore.  Drums thrum and horns wail from the Indian temple down the street, and the air is thick with the smell of fat raindrops.  The Year of the Snake will soon begin, and I believe it's going to be a dynamic and exciting year for me.

But first I need a clean slate.  I admit I've been late to start back on the blogging train as all my half-finished bits and pieces feel like they're dragging me down.  Claire of Melbourne Gastronome has long been an advocate of the "blog amnesty", which is a chance to "post those stories you haven't quite finished; just the images, list the important bits in point form, do whatever it takes, just get the bloody things up so you/we can all move on" (via Eating with Jack).  In other words, I need a blog colonic.  With such an unsavoury image in mind, please now enjoy all this tidbits from the last month or so!

First up, a big shout out to Gamon Street's Advieh - a spot of sultry Middle Eastern flavour in a sleepy part of Seddon.

This well-hidden cafe makes tip top coffee.  They use Five Senses' Dark Horse blend - a rather aptly-named choice for this little-known gem!

It's a family business with handsome son on the La Marzocco and funky mum in the back whipping up Middle Eastern-influenced plates.  I love the combos, which might feature crusty felafel, wickedly good chicken shish or a mixed grill along with delicious, daily-changing dips and salads ($13.50 to $18).

Breakfasts are excellent too, with plenty of daily specials.  Advieh reminds me a lot of Flavours of Lakhoum in Richmond (now closed), which used to be my happy place in the early 2000s.  It'd be considered somewhat naff now, but the barista there used to draw faces on the top of your latte.  One friend took it back to the counter to check it was intentional - he thought he might have a contender for the Virgin Mary grilled cheese! 

Another cafe that's been there for a while but is new to me is the much-loved Jellybread in Barkly Village.  They were the first cafe on the strip and have a "secret" backyard oasis that is just heaven for parents and kids, including a vintage caravan the kids can set up house in, loads of ride-on toys, a sprawling lawn and more.

I thoroughly enjoyed this BRAT with Istra bacon and homemade aioli on Turkish bread made locally in Footscray ($13).  For kids there are creamed rice cups, organic yoghurt with poached fruit and two sizes of babycino.

Speaking of Turkish bread, get it fresh daily from Wally and family at Metro West Turkish Kebab House in Albert Street, Footscray (opposite the Coles plaza, on the same side as Savers).  It's $3 for a large or a mere $1 for a small and worth every cent.

Just around the corner is Sen, who really deserve more love.  They serve reliably tasty Vietnamese with a northern twist.

They're famous for their bun thit nuong or rice vermicelli with grilled pork.  For the ridiculous price of about $9, you get wickedly good charcoal-scented, marinated belly pork that's sliced thin so it's crispy like bacon.  I love their Vietnamese pickled vegies here, with big chunks of cabbage - so unusual and so delicious!

Sen are never all that busy but Hao Phong in Hopkins Street are perpetually so.

That evening we had muc rang muoi (salt n' pepper squid) and fried rice noodles, which were fine rather than spectacular, but this salted fish and chicken fried rice was fantastic.  Try the rice vermicelli version here too.

I've been thoroughly enjoying my avocado subscription with Barham Avocados.  For $36 a month, I get 12 glossy green emu eggs home delivered.  As the season has progressed, I've enjoyed Fuerte, Hass and just now received a box of gorgeous, grapefruit-sized Reed.  The season will be wrapping up in March, so get in quick if you want to try this beautiful fruit (just keep them in the fridge and take out progressively to enjoy perfect avos the whole month).

Sad news - the fantastic team at Rockfish are selling the business!  Apparently they need a break from their frenetic pace - they're a victim of their own professionalism and quality.  The hunt for great local fish and chips will therefore continue.  Meanwhile, we thoroughly enjoyed flake and chips from Top of the Bay in Williamstown.  I don't normally eat flake but this was tip top (the other option, flathead, looked somewhat dry and unappealing).

Grab your fush and chups and settle in at the park opposite to watch the boats and have girlie chats.  (PS:  They do have chicken salt - under the counter, like it's some sort of contraband!)

Whoa - I feel SO much better having gotten all that out there!  Hope you found something that tickled your fancy.  Next up - I dive into the Lion City, stomach first.  I hope you will join me for the ride!