The new Phu Vinh

Not long ago Phu Vinh, Footscray's much-loved noodle bar tucked into the side of Footscray market, reopened with a swish new look.  Gone are the faded pictures of Phu Vinh's classics which used to abut the ceiling, and the tables and chairs got a snazzy overhaul.  Most controversially, as well as their old menu of selected classics, the new menu is much bigger with stir-fries and noodle dishes.  The real question on everyone's lips is whether any of Phu Vinh's culinary lustre got buried in the rubble of the reno.

  

Bo Lan Bot Muoi Ot, $14

If this Bo Lan Bot Muoi Ot or flour coated beef with salt and chilli is indicative of the calibre of dishes we can now expect, I am a post-reno convert.  Oh my God - I seriously daydreamed about this dish for the next few days!  Very tender beef pieces, fried in a light, almost eggy batter and tossed quickly with vegetables in a simple mix of salt, black pepper and chilli.  It doesn't sound like much but the ingredients were quality and the execution perfect.  With steamed rice and a sprinkle of fish sauce - unreal!!

Fried rice with salted fish, $11

I love this home-style dish - white rice tossed with chicken, egg and just a touch of dried, salted fish, crumbled or chopped into tiny pieces, giving it a fantastic aroma and unparalleled umami flavour.  You will also see vermicelli versions around town and they are also fantastic.

 

 Bo kho, $9

This is a favourite of Kenny's and George's - a rich beef casserole or soup.  Phu Vinh's version was made with beef ribs and big wheels of carrot, the beef shredding effortlessly from the bones.  I am pretty new to this soupy style of bo kho, my main experience being with the other thicker, perhaps more French-influenced syle (as made by Billy's dad as well as Tan Truc Giang).  This was much more like a soup and I think would have been better with rice noodles rather than our choice of bread roll.  Still, the broth was very rich, complex yet genuine with hints of tomato and cinnamon.  It came with a small dish of delicious chilli salt for dipping the beef.

Banh canh tom thit, $9

My new noodle obsession and hangover cure-all.  Banh canh, literally 'soup noodle' are very thick, chewy noodles very similar to Japanese udon.  Here they were in Phu Vinh's classic stock, garnished with sweet lettuce, garlic chives, spring onion and coriander.  The toppings were superb, really fresh - juicy pork mince, tender pork neck, a delicate butterflied prawn and a very fresh boiled quail's egg.  Liver may or may not feature depending on who is in the kitchen.  The broth is rich and quite punchy - I really do heart Phu Vinh's soup.  Carlin, I did ask them if they had pho as per your tip but they said they did not :(

Bun nem nuong, $9

Did Phu Vinh do bun (rice vermicelli) salads before?  Anyway, this was really very good.  Nem nuong are grilled minced pork patties or kebabs.  I have had both the coarsely minced pork style of these and the more processed, spongier style and both are great.  This was the springy, very finely minced style, scented with lemongrass and lots of lovely grilled meaty flavour.  The bun noodles were perfect with super fresh bean sprouts and other vegies.  It was very simple and quite delicious.  Phu Vinh do love sweet chilli and this did come with some drizzled on top as well as a bowl of the classic seasoned fish sauce dressing.  Just dig your chopsticks in, mix it all up and dig in.

There are still so many goodies to explore at Phu Vinh.  The best thing is, many of the big-menu restaurants have great dry stir-fried or BBQ dishes but unremarkable soups.  Because Phu Vinh was a soup and noodle place first, they have those basics down and can only get better.  Good on them for the gorgeous new reno and I hope it helps them attract some more of the evening crowd.  Reader Melissa sums it up perfectly:  No tissue box on the table but the pho and spring rolls were just as good as before. Hooray.

Phu Vinh
93 Hopkins Street, Footscray (map)
Phone:  9689 8719
Hours:  7 days from 9 am

Wheelchair Access
Level entry - bit squashy inside

Gusto at Barkly

"Oh, you will love it!" gushed the real estate agent.  "It is right near Barkly Village."  Barkly Village!  thought I, clasping my hands.  Couples strolling hand in hand past sidewalk cafes, cute shops selling objets, the jolly baker passing out a finger bun to every child that passed.  "Just turn left at the end of the street and you can't miss it."  Five minutes later, heads craning out the windows expectantly, we hit Geelong Road.  My husband and I looked at each other.  That was it?!

That was five years ago and Barkly Village has grown on me.  We lost our bakery and our bank, but Aangan has grown from a little seed of a shop to a great restaurant.  Perhaps inspired by its success, more Indian grocers and restaurants have moved in and every year the local Neighbourhood House runs a fabulous Diwali festival to celebrate our Little India right here in West Footscray.  We still have a proper old-school op shop as well as a great library and new street trees.

Still, there is much work to be done and hence the arrival of Gusto at Barkly - wine bar, cafe and gourmet pizza shop - was sweet water to the parched throats of West Footscray residents.  It's on the old site of Mama Theresa's, a fairly unremarkable traditional pizza shop which I think may have now moved to Newport.

The decor is classic inner-city cafe with exposed brick, communal table, interesting mags and lovely long-stemmed wine glasses.  I love the arty bulldog banner.  The owners are West Footscray locals and I feel that while Gusto may look like many other chic eateries around town, it's firmly grounded in the Western suburbs.

Eggplant chips, $10

These were great!  The eggplant was soft, meaty and amazingly not at all oily.  The crunchy coating was perfectly crisp and non-greasy.  Swiped through the garlic mayo, they were delish.

Greek salad, $8.50

This salad was substantial but lacked some zing - the feta was surprisingly quite mild (too mild for my taste) and the dressing was also a bit light.  While they were delectable whole baby ones, there were too many olives all clustered at the bottom of the dish - I mean probably more than 20!

"The Gusto", $15.50

Gusto's signature pizza was excellent - small pieces of roasted pumpkin that were not at all overpowering, mild goat's cheese, wafer-thin zucchini and sweet caramelised onion.  The pine nuts were a fabulous textural accent.  Despite the presence of ingredients that can easily become overpowering, like pumpkin and pesto, it was very well balanced, with a tasty, well-made crust.  An impressive five out of all of their ten gourmet pizzas are vegetarian.  Get in early as they do tend to run out of dough quite regularly it seems, based on both my own experience and what I have read online.

Latte, $3.30

Cheers to good coffee, too - a well-rounded, chocolatey blend from Coffee Supreme served at the perfect temperature.  The froth was a little sparse but it really was a very nice latte.  Gusto are soon to open daytime and have a spacious outdoor seating area perfect for those with pooches.

Sidewalk cafes - check.  Shops selling objets - there is a fabulous new shop called Post Industrial Design run by a local sculptor and his partner coming to the old computer shop, further down Barkly Street towards Ashley.  They will be opening later this month - watch that space!

Baker with finger bun - ok, not really.  Unless it were a sourdough bun, perhaps!



Gusto at Barkly
587 Barkly Street, West Footscray (map)
Phone:  9396 1755
Hours:  Tues - Sun 5pm - 10pm (til 11 pm Fri & Sat)
BYO only at this stage - $3 corkage per head

Wheelchair Access
Level entry plus spacious outdoor seating

The Polish Club

"Allo!" said the voice.  Odd, I thought - surely the Polish Club would answer with some sort of "Good morning, can I help you?"  "Er, is this the Polish Club?" I enquired hesitantly.  "No, is not Polish Club.  Is a Polish man!" said the voice, full of mirth.  Inadvertent Googling had turned up the wrong number but when I cheekily asked if he had the number of the Club handy, this kindly stranger was more than happy to oblige.  Hence was my first impression of Melbourne's Polish community - helpful, irreverent and quite charming.

Tucked down a nondescript road in an industrial part of Albion (just to the west of Sunshine) is the Polish Community and Recreation Club which houses a bistro serving up old-country favourites.

To order, one visits the cashier who produces a receipt to drop into the kitchen, which we duly hand over to a team of gorgeous old Polish ladies moving surprisingly swiftly as they dish up bowls of soup and plates of cabbage rolls.

"Soup", $3

Loving this classic chicken noodle soup.  The broth was quite mild, very honest, with lots of perfect al dente noodles.  A big grandmotherly-bosomed hug for $3!

 Tripe soup, $6

Thick but not too rich tripe soup.  Grandpa seemed to like this.  I did taste a little of the broth and it was very soothing.

Borsch, $5

No, we have not skipped to coffee and cake - this was the beetroot soup!  It actually tasted like warm beetroot juice, quite thin, with a lemony tinge as well as savoury undertones.  The pate rolls it came with were like a drier-style sausage roll.  Interesting!

Cabbage roll, $5

Insanely generous cabbage rolls for just five bucks each.  Big leaves of pickled cabbage stuffed with rice and minced meat, probably pork.  The sauce was somewhat like white sauce or cream of mushroom soup.  The family loved these although I did find them quite rich.  I would say half the patrons were tucking into these so they must be a particular favourite here at the Polish Club.

Polish sausage with cabbage, $7

This was the best sausage ever!  Its skin pierced with a little pop as a smoky, meaty scent was released and juices spread across the plate.  So yummy, rich, juicy and porky.  The cabbage was really delicious, cooked perfectly, not at all soggy or bland.

Beef gulash with gnocchi, $11

Very tender beef chunks with pillowy gnocchi in a rich beef sauce.  The execution was great but there's something about the paprika in gulash that I don't really like - it's a sweet paprika that is used, I believe, and to me it has the sickly sweet smell of bandaids.  If you like gulash, I am sure you would enjoy this dish.  The meat was certainly perfectly cooked and it complemented the well-cooked carrots and delicious cabbage well.

Pierogi with meat and cabbage, $9

Go, go, go there now just to eat these pierogi dumplings!  Al dente pastry with a tasty, lean meat and cabbage filling.  They have a delicious, interesting minced meaty kind of sprinkle.  MMMMMM!  A dollop of sour cream would take them to the next level.

Herrings, $4.50

I was so surprised that I liked this.  The herring was rich, pleasantly oily, like tuna turned up full blast.  This would be so delicious thinly squashed on some great bread.

  

I loved our lunch here.  It may not be the type of food I could eat every day but it was warm, hearty and delicious.  I could quite happily eat a bowl of chicken noodle soup and a plate of pierogi...or two.

Polish Sport and Recreation Centre

Address:  19 Carrington Drive, Albion (map)
Phone:  9363 3941

Hours:  Mon 5-8 pm, Tues closed, Wed 4-11pm, Thurs 4-8pm, Fri 2-11pm, Sat 9am-9pm, Sun 11am-8pm - CALL AHEAD AS HOURS CAN CHANGE

Wheelchair Accessibility
Ramp to enter.

Chu Nam Quan

I can pretty much justify anything even if it defies logic entirely.  On a 40 degree day recently, upon receiving a delectable tip from Marine about a winning bo kho, I swooned to myself, "It is far too hot to cook!"  Thus I justified strapping three pairs of sticky legs into the (albeit air-conditioned) car and shooting off to St Albans when we had a cupboard full of perfectly good baked beans and a drawer full of takeaway pizza menus.

There's a little eating place called "Chu Nam Quan", said Marine, eat there if you get a chance, it is delicious! Especially the Beef casserole rice noodle soup- to die for!  Thus we found ourselves at Chu Nam Quan, a wide rather than long Vietnamese cafe with salmon-coloured walls and lucky red and gold Chinese New Year decorations.

As well as a full menu, specials line the walls including some I recognise like de (goat) and bo la lop (beef in betel leaves).  Can anyone help me translate ga farm chat lot cai xanh, lau duoi bo thiem thuoc bac or ngu linh don tom?  (I'm sorry they are missing the accents; I don't know how to make the computer do them)  When I tried to put ngu linh don tom into my Vietnamese-English auto-translator, it came back with "foolishly miraculously the shell-fish collect", so I am thoroughly mystified!

Bun bo xao, $8

Bun bo xao xa ot or beef with lemongrass and chilli was one of the first Vietnamese dishes I fell in love with.  Bun rice vermicelli salads will have warm noodles, salad vegetables either fresh or lightly pickled as well as your choice of protein, be it sugarcane prawns (a type of prawn loaf grilled on sugarcane), grilled pork or even a special order of vegetarian spring rolls.  A bowl of seasoned fish sauce will be provided as a light, almost oil-free dressing.  Chu Nam Quan's beef and lemongrass was good, tender and juicy with a real lemongrass marinade.  I do like more wok hei or crispy, charred, quickly-wokked flavour.  The presentation was quite rustic with rough-hewn herbs and lots of crushed peanut but I would have liked more pickled vegetables though.

Hu tieu bo kho, $8

Until recently the only bo kho I had had was Billy's dad's amazing family recipe which is thick and rich, very much like the stew or casserole that its English translation would make you expect.  Another bo kho I had recently though was quite thin, like a soup.  This is not a bad thing, I would imagine, as restaurants usually give you a choice of a bread roll or noodles.  It was Marine's recommendation to have this feisty bowl of beef with hu tieu or rice noodles and it was a good call as it was the thinner style of bo kho.  Such full beefy flavour in a very rich broth redolent with tomato and cinnamon.  The beefy chunks were fork-tender, really fabulous although some were quite fatty.  The richness was complemented by the peppery, aniseed flavour of the Thai basil and the tangy raw onion.  Some tripe provided an unexpected bonus and was enjoyed greatly by my 19-month-old.  I must say this bo kho was very rich and indeed too rich for me but that is personal preference.  Good call Marine!

Bun cha ca, $8

Fish and dill is a traditional Vietnamese combo and when I first came across it, I was thoroughly surprised as it was a flavour combination I had associated with Northern Europe.  Deb recently cooked a very impressive cha ca or fish with turmeric and dill.  This dish was bun cha ca, a rice vermicelli noodle soup with (homemade?) fish cakes and dill.  It was fabulous and was a big hit with the kids.  Perfect noodles, really tasty broth with heaps of refreshing dill and thin, chewy, tasty fish cakes.  LeLe has a gorgeous family recipe here (be mindful of the great selection of Vietnamese pop tracks that play, if reading this at work!!)

Cafe su da, $3

The number one reason, though, to visit Chu Nam Quan is this amazing cafe su da or Vietnamese iced coffee.  I literally swooned upon sipping it.  Perfectly brewed, almost chocolaty coffee, marrying with the rich condensed milk perfectly.  The shaved ice rather than cubed meant that it melted just that bit faster, creating a long, cold, delectable drink.  I would go back to St Albans just for this coffee - it was that good.  Sitting out at Chu Nam Quan's al fresco dining area with a long, tall glass - delightful!

Next time I want to try the classic pork chop on broken rice which I saw some other customers enjoying and which came with that simple yet seemingly unattainable pleasure in most Vietnamese restaurants - a freshly fried egg with a wibbly wobbly yolk.  And as for my justification for coming to St Albans that evening, any guilt was assuaged by the pure pleasure of strolling up and down Alfrieda Street's pleasant, tree-lined expanse, full bellies and sweet coffee on the lips, as the cool change rolled through Melbourne and a collective sigh went up across the city.  Surely that must be the greatest pleasure of a Melbourne summer.

Chu Nam Quan
65 Alfrieda St, St Albans (map)
Phone:  9364 5880
Hours:  7 days from 9am

Wheelchair Access
Entry:  Level

Yogurt House

UPDATE:  Yoghurt House has closed down :-(

My father and I share a love of words - not so much great literature but rather cryptic crosswords and a terrible love of puns and silly sound-alikes.  Our mutual delight at the most tragic of these are so bad my husband calls them "[maiden name] jokes".  When I come up with one, he looks at me, rolls his eyes and says, "Hmm, the [name] sense of humour!  Better call your dad and tell him that one."  So in true [name] spirit, I present to you Yogurt House, which took up residence in the old optometrist's premises.  Was eye screen, now ice cream!

Are you still there, dear reader?  Sorry.  OK, I promise no more [name] jokes.  Yogurt House is a DIY soft serve yoghurt parlour that opened fairly recently in Footscray.  The decor is a bit odd - lots of bright colours and empty space - but Billy tells me it looks very much like trendy places in Vietnam.

Brendan put Yogurt House's taro yoghurt in his top 5 places in Footscray and surrounds.  Flavours change regularly and there's a mix of Western, like cookies & cream and chocolate, and Asian, like the aforementioned taro as well as green tea and...

Dun dun dun!  I love the echoes underneath, like a scream...  "Durian, nooooooo!"  Durian is a huge spiky tropical fruit loved across much of Asia that has a scent described as anything from smelly socks to rotten onions.  My mum used to buy wafer biscuits from Little Saigon in Richmond for our school lunch and we got the durian flavour quite often, but I must say those biscuits really had no strong durian flavour, just tasting vaguely fruity.  On the other hand, the durian yoghurt here at Yogurt House is pretty intense.  To me it tastes like really overripe fruit or like very rich, stinky cheese, neither of which things I like very much.

The idea is you take a cup from the stack near the window and just go down the line filling it up with whatever flavours you desire, just like a slurpee at 7-11.  You can have as much or as little as you would like.  There's a whole spread of toppings which again, you can add as much or as little as you like.  As well as sprinkles, lollies and Tim Tams, there are lots of fruits in syrup and various jellies.

Pricing is on weight with 100 g for $1.50.  I think it is genius!  Especially with kids, everyone can have the perfect portion.  I just wish they recycled the plastic bowls - am I a freak because I take mine home with me to put in my own recycling bin?!

Some of the flavours are hit and miss - I was not mad on the strawberry or the chocolate, they tasted too watery.  Coconut and the plain yoghurt flavour itself are great, as is the taro, which is purple and has an earthy flavour not unlike sweet potato.  I love frozen yoghurt much more than ice cream.  Why?  Because I'm cultured!

Yogurt House
Cnr Barkly St and Albert St, Footscray (map)
Open:  9am - 9pm 7 days, until 10.30pm Fri & Sat

Wheelchair Accessibility
Entry:  Level.
Layout:  Spacious. 

Samak Masqoof at Babylon

I feel a certain connection with Babylon Restaurant in Footscray.  I was behind the owner in a queue at the Council when he was putting in his last bits of paperwork to get the go-ahead to open.  His enthusiasm was infectious and still is, and I'm so glad to see they are still going strong in their expansive Nicholson Street restaurant.

Babylon's menu roams from a simple kebab sandwich and Coke for $6.50 to a whole spit-roasted lamb with side dishes, home-delivered, for $220.  It's popular with everyone, from office workers grabbing a quick bite to men lounging with endless cups of tea.

See the trident on the main sail of the ship?  That says Allah, the Arabic word for God.  The cursive nature of Arabic writing means that it can be plied into various shapes to literally make pictures out of words.

Many Middle Eastern homes and restaurants have these kind of images decorating the walls.  They are various Quranic verses - I like the chilli one!  People throughout the Muslim world have folk traditions relating to different verses, such as special ones to read during labour or to read in each room of a new house.

After our intense sheep's head experience last time we visited Babylon, we were keen to try something a little more pedestrian.  The lovely owner offered us another very traditional Iraqi dish, samak masqouf.  Normally this is by special order only here at Babylon but there was one already prepared for a large booking who came later that evening, so the owner let us have their fish while whipping them up another.

Back in Iraq this is a much-beloved dish served along the banks of the Tigris, butterflied and grilled, most traditionally over a charcoal or wood-fired BBQ.  It is rubbed with a special marinade which must include tomato, capsicum and perhaps tamarind as it was sweet, spicy and tangy.  The fish was very tender, separating in soft white threads, quite like blue grenadier.

The way it had been butterflied, however, meant that the bones were hard to avoid.  Ah, bones, that which divides East and West, it would seem!  Most Anglos I know just have a hard time with them, no matter what the animal.  I know in Vietnamese culture much pleasure is derived from navigating around bones, hiding as they do delicate little slivers of meat which are often the sweetest.  If you look at the goat carcasses in Footscray market for Vietnamese goat curry, they do indeed seem all skin and bone but it's that textural interplay (as well as the amazing flavours they lend to the curry's broth) that is the point.

Contrast this with my beautiful friend who lives near Cairo, whose Egyptian in-laws are absolutely horrified at the "waste" from the shreds of meat she leaves on her chicken drumsticks and wings.  I have also tried to convince friends that Chinese chicken that is red on the bone is absolutely fine to eat.  I don't mind bones that much but sometimes they become tedious after a while.

So we did enjoy our samak masgouf despite its boniness.  When I asked what kind of fish it was, though, I discovered it was qattan, a freshwater fish somewhat like carp that had been shipped frozen all the way from Iraq!  Holy food miles!  Add to that the fact that it is apparently an at-risk fish and it was a decidedly eco-sinful meal.  Nevertheless the exclamations of delight from the big Iraqi family dining nearby when the samak was ceremoniously presented made me remember my swoons of delight eating air-freighted Kingston biscuits in DC and London.  The taste of home is something you cannot quantify and is as important for mental health as vitamins and minerals are for physical.

Anyway, I would have been happy to eat this fabulous rice on its own, each grain so separate and tender, mixed as it traditional with small ma'akarona or vermicelli fried in butter, spiced with cardamom and studded with sultanas and green peas.

A simple and delicious salad was another worthy accompaniment, dressed lightly with lemon and sumac, a dried, fruity red berry.

Babylon have great bread, quite like Turkish bread - soft as a pillow inside, full of bubbles and with a tender crust.  The black seeds on top are nigella or love-in-the-mist seeds, also often seen on Turkish bread.  They have a very subtle aroma and are used across the geographic crescent stretching from Indonesia to the Middle East to India.  They are imbued with much mystical power in the Middle East and I have a lovingly-written homage to them composed by a friend in Arabic, which one day I will translate and share with you.  For he, a Kurd from Syria, they are as much the taste of home as Babylon's samak masgouf, its sheep's head barche and lamb shank tashreb are to Melbourne's Iraqi community, and I am so grateful to have a portal here in Footscray allowing me to step even just momentarily into their world.

Babylon (map)
Address:  152 Nicholson Street, Footscray
Phone: 9689 3323
Hours: Open 7 days

Wheelchair
Entry:  Ground level.