Monday, May 30, 2011

Little Tripoli in Altona

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.

Curry Circle 021

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.

Curry Circle 014

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.

April 2011 055

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.

April 2011 052

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.

Curry Circle 016

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.

April 2011 053

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.

Curry Circle 013

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.

Curry Circle 017

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.

Curry Circle 023

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.

Curry Circle 011

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.

April 2011 058 

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

April 2011 057

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.

April 2011 056

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!

April 2011 068

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.

April 2011 060

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.

15 comments:

  1. Ohh that pizza looks amazing.. I've never actually tried Lebanese pizza before, but I think you've convinced me! I love the idea of having all the good stuff encased in the dough!

    ReplyDelete
  2. SISTER, I DEMAND PAYMENT IN ZNOUDS NEXT TIME I BABYSIT.

    Yours Sincerely,

    Lizard

    ReplyDelete
  3. Interesting -- but given that all the places you list seem to be Lebanese, as opposed to Libyan, this should probably be called "Little Beirut"?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi anon - Tripoli is a large city in the north of Lebanon, for whatever reason it was what sprang to mind instead of Beirut. The Libyan capital has the same name.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Love this post! It's like discovering a whole new world just mere kilometers from my neighborhood! I think I'll def wanna check out The Circle. Don't think I've eaten Lebanese food before also!

    ReplyDelete
  6. A big "Yes!" to all of the above!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Sometimes I just crave a good felafel roll a la Sydney Road. I am missing this in the West, unless you can enlighten me.
    Great post. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anon, to be honest, I'm not sure! Perhaps try Babylon in Nicholson Street, or even Khartoum Restaurant opposite, although they would most likely do a platter, not a roll. I will keep my eyes out for you!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anon: My suggestion - Footscray Best Kebab House.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi Lauren! Of course, the name of the ma’amoul-like sweet is evading me. I think I’d just call it ma’amoul, but I’ll have to send this link to my mom – she will ID it and probably even provide a recipe.

    The rest of this post made me smile ear-to-ear. I haven’t had a good ka’ak in ages, and now I know where to get one. So excited to know there’s more than just Sydney Road out there (which I love, but who doesn’t like finding something new!)

    ReplyDelete
  11. You always find the awesome places in Western Melbourne. I will be in Sunshine in a week or so. Can't wait to revisit Abesha's!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Cooking my first middle eastern menu for a dinner party, and found the Circle just around the corner from my house. Thanks for your advice as I managed to get everything!! What a great city we live in

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's awesome! Yes, we are spoilt, aren't we? Hope you had a yummy dinner party!

      Delete
  13. I love this post!! I am always on the search for the perfect baklava. My ex was Turkish and his mum made the BEST baklava I have ever tasted. So now, I am constantly looking for something that measures up to that! I've tried Deniz Kebab house in Deer Park and the shop on Keilor Rd Niddrie... forget the name!! None are as great.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Neeno, have you tried Balha's in Sydney Road? Oh my God...so yummy.

      Delete

I love getting your comments! They're what make blogging worthwhile. Unfortunately, the amount of spam I get is obscene and it is so tiresome to have to moderate every comment, so I have had to turn on annoying word verification. I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but please know how much I love you having your say!

Related Posts with Thumbnails
Related Posts with Thumbnails