Monthly Archives: June 2011

Minh Hy Takeaway

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5 Northumberland Rd, Sunshine. Phone: 9352 8711

The not unpleasant demands of routine mean that in recent years the neighbourhood on the other side of Ballarat Rd in Sunshine has become profoundly familiar to us.

The other side that is from that of the shops and market-like activity and good food places such as Classic Curry, Maurya and Pho Hien Saigon.

This familiarity has enriched us with one of our favourites – La Morenita, the expanded eat-in menu of which is to be the subject of a forthcoming Consider The Sauce review.

But sadly, the neighbourhood has delivered very little by way of eating thrills, despite it being well endowed with the sort of the small local shopping strips we routinely treat as rich seams for food mining.

Which means we are thrilled to welcome Minh Hy.

And all kudos to Bennie Weir, and his blooming foodie sophistication and enjoyment, for proudly leading his father right to this fine little joint for a Sunday lunch.

It’s a small place, with only three in-house tables, one of them a two-seat affair, although there are several tables outside for your alfresco alternative.

The inside seating is all taken when we arrive, but thankfully after only a short wait we have a table to call our own.

There’s no menu, but the walls are festooned with the familiar hand-written signs in Vietnamese, the understanding of which we are very much still in prep stage.

Kudos then, too, to the ultra-friendly staff who are happy to take the time to talk us through many of the varied options.

Minh Hy has a buffet-type operation similar to that of Dinh Son Quan at Saigon Market in Footscray.

It is from here that Bennie chooses three serves with rice for $9, with a tasty chicken wing thrown in for good measure.

The lad fancies himself as a fan of all things squid and octopus, but in this case finds the squid involved in a stir fry with vegetables a little too chewy and rubbery for his liking.

The agreeably greasy serve of small-diced pork works fine for him, but the hit is the thin omelette with bitter melon.

His dad orders the seafood soup noodles (mi do bien), also at a cost of $9.

In truth, the lump of thin egg noodles in this is a tad uninspiring, but the three plump prawns are good mixed in with a handful of calamari pieces.

But the star is the broth, which smells and tastes like it’s based on a stock made with prawn heads and the like. Its bisque-like colouring backs up this theory.

We’re having so much fun that we indulge in a serve of one of the two rich-looking deserts on display in bowls.

Che ba ba – $3 for a bowl – has sweet potato, cassava, tapioca and more swimming in coconut cream.

After it’s heated up for us, Bennie loves its all-round squishiness; his dad is not so enamoured.

But the boy is not done yet. Despite just having slurped up desert, he also tucks into a steamed roast pork bun ($2.20) with relish.

All up, our meal – including two cans of soft drink – costs us a supremely cheap $26.

If our meals were of the journeyman variety rather than truly noteworthy, we reckon return visits – and a greater familiarity with the place – will assuredly provide more sublime highs in an establishment that packs in a surprising amount of variety into a very small space.

As we depart, Bennie opines that he fancies the spicy beef noodle soup. His father really desires a big serve of the lusciuous-looking chicken curry with a crusty bread roll on the side.

We are assured that Minh Hy is open from 7.30pm, which opens up all sorts of interesting brekky possibilities.

In the meantime, it’s been a pleasure to chow down at a friendly neighbourhood Viet joint that stands alone and far from the bustling strips of Footscray, Sunshine or St Albans.

Strangeloves

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As Rob and I talk with the Strangeloves guys as they prepare that night’s curry feast, Bennie makes himself scarce – I subsequently find he’s found some friendly locals to thrash at checkers.

577 Mt Alexander Rd, Moonee Ponds. Phone: 9078 3574

We experienced vicariously the trials, tribulations and satisfactions as our buddy Kurt and his business partner Michael set up shop in the hospitality industry with their Moonee Ponds wine bar Stangeloves.

We made a few visits soon after hung they out their shingle.

But as its primary focus is booze, it’s struggled to find traction for son-and-dad food adventures.

Throughout, though, as the pair have worked hard at establishing themselves, they have hosted special events such as tastings, organised a modest food list of tapas-style items and made it clear to their customers that they’re welcome to order in fare from the many surrounding restaurants.

More recently, they’ve introduced $10 curry nights for Sunday evenings, the first two comprising Jamaican goat curry and beef Madras.

So it is that we venture to Strangeloves on a chilly and blustery evening with the splendid company of our next-door neighbour Rob, himself something of a veteran stalwart of western suburbs cheap eats.

Strangeloves occupies a stretch of Mt Alexander Rd just down the hill from Puckle St.

The neighbourhood is cluttered with a  diverse range of eateries, some of which shape as potential Consider The Sauce features, some of which don’t, and some – such as the swanky Greek joint Philhellene – we’d love to try when an occasion comes along that warrants that kind of expenditure.

As well as eateries, there are a number of nightclub-style bars that we presume cater to a much younger and raucous crowd than us.

It is into this environment that Michael and Kurt are trying to carve themselves a prosperous niche, and by all accounts slowly succeeding, though one should never under-estimate the hard slog that starting such a business can entail.

Michael tells me they envisaged their customer base would be an older crowd looking for a quiet, comfy and cosy place to have a drink and socialise.

To that end, they boast a cracking wine list, while Rob – who is partial to imbibing Scotch – gives a big thumbs up to the whiskey list. There’s also a small but very hip range of boutique beers.

Happily, the customer demographic has developed an unforeseen bonus aspect, in that it seems there are also quite a few  20-somethings who find such a place offers plenty.

As Rob and I talk with the Strangeloves guys as they prepare that night’s curry feast, Bennie makes himself scarce – I subsequently find he’s found some friendly locals to thrash at checkers.

Curry night at a wine bar? I keep my hopes and expectations firmly in neutral.

Unnecessarily, for it turns out Michael is a dab and experienced curry cook – and the tucker they turn on for us is top-notch and quite unlike anything any of us has eaten previously.

The white rice is studded with grains of its black sibling.

The spiced potatoes are beaut, with the onions almost becoming part of the gravy.

But the highlight is the pork curry.

This features belly pork and two kinds of bamboo – the crunchy strands of the preserved variety and the spud-like chunks of the smoked kind, which has a somewhat similar texture to the canned bamboo shoots we’re all familiar with from Chinese food.

Health food this is not, but the taste and textures impress us no end. The chilli rating is kinda high, but Bennie and I both moderate the effect by pushing several small red peppers to the side.

And at $10, we conclude this is a primo cheap eat of a thoroughly and delightfully distinctive kind.

All three of us love the pleasant and convivial couple of hours we spend at Strangeloves, and we suggest getting along to one of the Sunday curry nights  is a fine thing to plan on – before the boys move on to something else.

A warning though …

The streets around this stretch of Mt Alexander Rd are a minefield of parking restrictions ready to trap the unwary and the hasty.

So keen were we to chow down, that all three of us failed to notice the “permit holders only” signs on the side street in which we parked, costing us a $72 fine.

We were in good company – there were at least four other vehicles in he same short street similarly pinged!

For the latest curries and details of others special events, you can visit the Strangeloves website or check them out on Facebook.

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Article in The Australian

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Here’s another mainstream press article on food blogging – this time in The  Australian.

Since we started our blog, I figure this is the third such article I have come across.

I always like reading them, but as someone who has a foot firmly in both camps, if that is the right word, I am also always bemused.

In this case, I was particularly taken with this paragraph concerning A.A. Gill, restaurant reviewer for London’s Sunday Times:

A.A. Gill, who was in Australia at the same time as White, is more direct. “I don’t read them; I would never read them,” he asserts. “As if I have the time.” For him, the notion that bloggers are doing it for free out of a “love for food” is a falsehood. “Of course they’re getting paid,” he says. “They go to all these events – that’s a form of payment. They get put up in nice places – that’s a form of payment. What they are effectively doing is funding their hobby and not doing it particularly well.”

And this one, with quotes from Natascha Mirosch, food writer for Brisbane’s Courier-Mail.

For many in traditional media, though, the encroachment of bloggers onto their territory is worrying. “I’d be wary about following their recommendations,” says Mirosch, “because you don’t know how reliable they are or whether they have their own agenda. Often bloggers don’t think they are bound by the same rules and conventions of journalism.”

As if so-called professional food writers don’t have agendas. And as if the food pages of regular newspapers aren’t larded with pieces fuelled by freebies and press releases. Ha!

As with the earlier articles, I simply don’t recognise myself or the bloggers I know.

For sure, these comments are applicable to some bloggers. But a long way short of all or even most.

As a blogger, I would wish for more perceptive and nuanced analysis of food blogging and its bloggers.

As an employee of mainstream journalism, I should probably know better.

For a significantly more strident discussion on The Australian article, check out the post at Fitzroyalty.

Maurya Indian Restaurant & Cafe

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58 Station Place, Sunshine. Phone: 9364 9001

“Special discount/offer for students & taxi drivers.”

It’s difficult to imagine words more profound, eloquent or enticing for the bargain-inclined food hound.

They can be found inscribed on the business card of Maurya Indian Restaurant & Cafe, a humble but – on the basis of two visits – terrific eatery in Sunshine.

With windows that gaze out on the busy comings and goings of buses and, beyond them and their passengers, the Sunshine train station, Maurya equals Wang Wang Dumpling in terms of vehicular scenery.

Such matters not, of course.

I’d been at least subliminally aware of Maurya for years without ever setting foot inside, deterred perhaps by a perception that it is too much of a low-key hangout for, well, taxi drivers to function as public-serving eatery.

Wrong! Although the service is low-key, perseverance is certainly rewarded.

As well, I gained the impression that not all items listed on the menu – there’s only one, stuck to the wall next to the servery and cash register – are always available. So consultations with the staff are a requirement.

The interior is typical Indian el cheapo cafe, with a nice comfy feel that made me right at home. In fact, it reminded me of Indian eats places in India, even if my sole visit to that country was a mighty long time ago.

Prices here are notably on the low side.

A whole tandoori chook clocks in at $12, two kinds of dal are $6.50, their chick pea cousin $7 and meat curries $9.

For my Saturday lunch, I settle on dal tadka, plain rice ($2.50) and a plain roti ($1).

I start though, wanting to get things moving into my mouth as soon as possible, with a samosa ($1).

I have only the most modest of expectations, so am delighted with my house-made pastry parcel. In addition to the expected spuds, peas and spices (including whole cumin and coriander seeds), there are a scattering of sultanas included. I love it.

My dal appears to be based mostly on red and aduki beans, and thus, to me, appears more like makhani than the tadka variety.

But in truth, it’s like neither I’ve ever had in any restaurant, anywhere.

For this is real home-made Indian food – as opposed to Indian restaurant food, with its more refined approach and fewer rough edges.

Unlike other restaurant versions I know, the onion is obvious, the chopped/shredded ginger both a taste and a texture. I detect coriander and cinnamon. The dish has a beaut slow-burn chilli hit that nevertheless never rises much above a click or two over mild.

I love this, too!

For such homely fare, my plain wholemeal roti is the perfect complement.

Including a can of soft drink, my lunch costs me $13.50, which I consider a grand bargain.

A day earlier, on my initial visit, I’d played safe and gone for one of my perennial requests in such places – “cholley bhaturey”.

The Maurya version cost me a superbly low $6 and was very good indeed.

The puris were hot and fluffy, although by the time I got to the second it had gone cold and stiff. The chick peas were fab, as were the attendant condiments.

Blimey – $6!

For the locals, they even provide a tiffin service!

Nasi Lemak House

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115 Grattan St, Carlton. Phone: 9663 1555

Is there a difference between health food and healthy food?

For me, the former conjures up images of alfalfa sprouts and boringly earnest bean casseroles.

The latter, I guess, is anything we eats that’s good for us.

My $10.90 curry laksa is very definitely neither.

The curry gravy is creamy and oily.

There are egg noodles only; none of your rice noodles here.

The only trace of greenery are scarce segments of green onion.

Gad, the chunky chicken pieces are even fried!

But it’s the best laksa I’ve ever devoured.

Well, at least since the last time I had a best ever-laksa.

Nasi Lemak House is a wildly and deservedly popular place a block from Lygon St that sells straight-up Malaysian food widely revered for its authenticity.

Given its location at uni central, it’s a regular student hang-out.

Subsequently, it can get a bit mad at rush hour.

Which is why I figure dead on noon on a public holiday Monday is good time to front up, with a visit to the neat secondhand bookshop around the corner in Swanston St to follow.

I’m right, as things are a little less frantic than usual, though by 12.30 the place is pretty much full anyhow.

At a table across from me, a big group of young chow hounds do like me and photograph their food. Are they bloggers, photography students, merely food nuts? I don’t ask.

I bypass the obvious – there seems to be several dozen variations on the nasi lemak theme, ranging from the straightahead with fried chicken drumsticks to an array of vegetarian options.

As well there are noodles such as char kuay teow; and ban mien, which is two-plate affair of Shanghai noodles alongside a separate dish of fishballs, chicken and vegetables in a chicken soup. Pretty good deal for $9.80! That’s for me next time.

But today it’s the laksa, and not for the first time, either.

It really is mighty, having the pungency and kick for which laksa aficionados crave.

It’s topped with a couple of papadams, which are good either still crunchy or soaked in the soup. In and around them are the fried shallots.

Further down, in addition to big chunks of the bone-free and incredibly tender/chewy chicken, are a couple of fish balls, delightfully soggy tofu, bean sprouts and probably some stuff I forget.

I fail to finish the noodles or the soup on account of being full and not wanting to spoil a fine lunch.

Nasi Lemak House is a Melbourne cheap eats classic, but it pays to time your visit to periods of what passes here for slow.

The Nasi Lemak House website is very good, with the photos giving a real sense of what the food here looks like.

Nasi Lemak House on Urbanspoon


Broadmeadows Station Kebab House

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5/1100 Pascoe Vale Rd, Broadmeadows. Phone: 9309 6626

A $7 bowl of soup worth driving all the way to Broadmeadows?

Well, actually, soup is not on my mind as I enter Broadmeadows Station Kebab House.

I figure it’s more a matter of dips, salads, falafels and stuffed vine leaves.

Upon entering, though, I see a couple of customers intent of bowls a rich-looking broth.

I discover that it’s lamb shank soup.

“That’s what I want!” says I.

I’d gotten the hot tip about this place while quizzing a fellow dad of one of Bennie’s rugby teammates about the eats scene in Broadmeadows. He reckons there’s many a fine place to explore, though in a more diffuse sense than we are used to around the Footscray and Sunshine.

How lucky we are that so many of our favourite eats destinations are crowded together in such glorious villages/precincts!

The Station Kebab House is positioned in a rather bleak setting, part of a large and ugly station set-up with cars whizzing by on Pascoe Vale Rd the only vista.

Inside, however, it’s a nice and homely Turkish restaurant to the rear, presumably a crowded and happy place to be at night, and the takeaway counter at the front.

What appears at first glance to be a light brothy soup is much more – in fact, it’s an elixir of joy!

For buried in the rich, smooth, heavily stock-infused broth are many pieces of impeccably tender and fat-free shank meat. The photo, above, does this masterpiece little justice.

So rich and filling and delicious is my soup that I barely use the lovely warm Turkish bread provided.

Unsurprisingly, too, I struggle with my small size vegetarian meal ($10), though it boasts highlights that match the soup in every way.

The cacik and eggplant dips are good without being sensational, as is the rice. The salad is the familiar mix of green, red and orange goodies; it’s fine.

But the single stuffed vine leaf and the two falafels? Oh my …

The warmed vine leaf is tender and juicy, and has the sort of lemony tang that only the best of its kind do. I subsequently discover from proprietor Ahmet that lemon is just part of the secret – there’s also mint, capsicum, tomato and, of course, rice and olive oil involved.

The falafel capsules are likewise state-of-the-art.

The outer coatings are crispy, the insides warm and fragrant and wonderful.

It’s a long time since I’ve had falafels so fine.

The welcome here is cheerful and welcoming.

I appreciate, too, the willingness of Ahmet and his family to discuss their fare; such is not always the case.

On the strength of their super dooper lamb shank soup, I’m betting the lentil soup is a killer.

Heck, I may even be tempted to tackle the tripe soup. Ahmet tells me they have regular visits by several “Australian” families bent on getting themselves some of it.

Apart from all the usual meats, pizzas, salads and dips, they also serve up hamsi.

These Black Sea little fishes are, I’m told, like anchovies and must be ordered in advance. The photo of them looks like a spread of tapas-style sardines.

So, yes – the drive to Broadmeadows is a small investment when the rewards are so rich.

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Novel Kitchen

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80 Ferguson St, Williamstown. Phone: 9399 8437

With a 4pm work start, a long ‘n’ lazy newspaper-reading caffeine-fuelled breakfast seems just the ticket.

First stop is a new and groovy-looking joint in Newport Bennie and I had noted the previous weekend.

As I enter, I realise it’s much bigger than it appears from outside. It’s jam-packed and noisy. Intensely so. The communal table in the middle is the domain of a big mum’s group and their offspring.

Erm, no thanks – maybe some other time when it’s not rush hour in Toddlerville.

Next stop is Casa Italica, but I soon depart when I realise they aren’t set up for the kind of brekky of which I am desirous.

So it is that by sheer randomness I find myself just a few doors along at Novel Kitchen.

And what a happy accident it turns out to be.

It’s a cosy but not exactly personality-packed cafe that specialises in organic goodies, more specifically take-home meals. The range of salads – many of them featuring pulses and grains – for $8 seem like a pretty solid deal.

But I have more immediate concerns on my mind.

From the breakfast menu I choose the $12 free range omelette with tomato, spinach and fetta.

It’s a thing of brilliance, with the filling ingredients abundant and in equal portions.

The omelette sits atop a slice of toast, the pair of them matching each other almost precisely in dimensions. Good job!

The fetta superbly adds some bite and tang, as does the tomato relish that sits with some nice rocket leaves on the side.

It’s a such a fine and harmonious package that the bacon I ordered as an extra seems out of place and a needless expense.

Two excellent coffees and a quick whip through one of the Melbourne rags on hand and I’m pretty much done.

Novel Kitchen impresses as a bit of a Willy secret and a tidy alternative to the more frantic and well-known options in the vicinity, regardless of one’s ardour for organic ingredients.

Maybe next time I’ll go for one of the daily soups!

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Peanut butter milkshake

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Snowballs Ice-Cream And Lollies,

320 Melbourne Rd, Newport. Phone: 9391 0711

After our visit to Snowballs a while back, and the subsequent blog post, one visitor strongly suggested we check out the peanut butter milkshake.

That seed planted in the dark recesses of Bennie’s noggin bloomed to the extent of regular reminders to his father that stopped a straw’s width short of nagging.

Still, when the time comes I am happy enough to help slake his milkshake lust.

The verdict?

“It’s the best milkshake I’ve ever had!” the boy enthuses – even if he does end up taking a goodly proportion of it home for later completion.

The peanut butter milkshake costs $5.

First in goes ice-cream specifically made, I am told, for milkshakes.

Then follow chocolate milkshake flavouring, smooth peanut butter and milk.

The result is nowhere as peanutty as either of us is expecting, but it is a very rich and heavy concoction.

I had nightmarish images of satay-flavoured gloop swirling around my brain.

I like the mild peanut/choc flavour well enough, but a couple of sips suffice.

Bennie, though, keeps on sucking till he is sated. Then completes the job soon after arriving home.

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Wang Wang Dumpling

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3/51 Waterfield St, Coburg. Phone: 9354 0294

Who needs leafy, scenic vistas or coastal views when you can gaze out on a Coburg parking lot?

Such an outlook may have a whiff of reverse snobbery about it, but nevertheless it reflects the kind of food we like to eat, the places we like to eat it in and the prices we like to pay.

Wang Wang Dumpling was noted down for do-soon exploration on a recent lazy afternoon spent exploring Brunswick Market and other interesting bits of Sydney Rd.

So it’s a pleasure to stroll in for our regular Saturday lunch outing.

The interior is actually rather swish considering the vehicular scenery.

We are happy to adhere to the obliging staff’s recommendations after telling them of our haste – not because we’re in hurry, but because we’re hungry.

We order dumpling in hot and sour soup ($9) and Shanghai fried noodle ($9.50).

The soup ‘n’ noodles combo is a doozy – and at the most tender of pinches could suffice as lunch for both of us.

Swimming in the viscous soup are 10 dumplings.

The soup is delicious – of mild spiciness, it’s chock-full of egg, tofu strands, mushrooms, chilli, peas and perhaps more.

The pork dumplings are sublime. They have a distinctive flavour, the nature of which I endeavour to discover as I pay, with no great success. Best I can say is pepper is involved.

The noodles are plainer, and thus complement perfectly the rich and spicy soup/dumplings.

Joining the noodles are fresh mushrooms, bok choy and tender beef pieces, the lot tossed in a soy and oil sauce.

The hand-made noodles themselves are the highlight.

Al dente, they are of irregular girth and very yummy.

This is a meal of many joyful slurps.

We are eager to return to explore the menu further.

Bennie likes the look/sound of the Shanghai duck seasoned with soy sauce. Kenny will happy to stick a pin in the menu, so varied and enticing are the myriad noodle and dumpling offerings.

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Blarney Stone Irish Pub

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35 Anderson St, Yarraville. Phone: 9687 2034

We’ve had a heap of meals at our local pub over the years.

None of them have been great, some of them have been good, some of them have been just OK, some of them we’ve said rude things about.

But where we were once rather dismissive of the pub fare on offer, we are now converts – of a sort.

The catalyst for this is a chilly mid-week night.

We feel like a break from the arduous work/school/eat/sleep routine.

We don’t feel like cooking. We do feel like a quick, cheap feed.

But nor do we feel like hopping in the car for a jaunt to Footscray.

So off we go to peruse our back-yard options.

After examining the bar menu at the pub, and going “Nah, not this time”, we stroll around the corner to Ballarat St.

We check out no less than five menus, and are dismayed to find them all beyond our mood or means.

We’ve become accustomed to the super-cheapness of Lebanese pizzas, so paying $16 or more for an Italian version doesn’t appeal.

Nor do we feel up to paying $24 for pasta.

And so on … and that’s just half the Ballarat St options, but I doubt the rest offer much variation.

Truth is, while Yarraville has myriad good food possibilities, it is sorely lacking the sort of choices that allow us to grab a quick and healthy bite for under $10 each – so easily had in Footscray.

Even at Nando’s or Burger Edge, the bill can exceed budgets, especially when a full-on meal is sought.

And the fish and chip shop lacks seating facilities.

So back to the pub we go.

It still has a metal sign that reads Railway Hotel under the Blarney Stone painted signage.

And therein lies its charm.

While it got swept up in the bloody silly Irish-themed pub syndrome that swept across Melbourne several years ago, nothing has changed.

Sure there’s a bit of Irish artwork around the place, and maybe a few more backpackers and travellers come and go, but basically it remains a well-worn home of a steady and loyal and mostly blue-collar crowd.

No pokies, but much beer and punting

As a holdout amid the solid yuppieness that surrounds it, the Blarney Stone/Railway Hotel is to be treasured.

And as such, applying any of our usual foodie standards – be they concerned with flavour, healthiness or pricing – seems both superfluous and ridiculous.

Even here, though, the bistro is a but rich for us, so the bar menu it is.

Bennie goes for the $12 burger – not for the first time.

This time around, it’s a tidy package that holds together well. It’s more in the style of an Aussie burger than its American counterpart, but he makes quick work of the lot, so to speak. All the chips follow likewise.

I order the chicken parma with chips and salad at a cost of $13.

This is less successful.

Disappointingly, the salad bits are little more the inconsequential embellishment.

The chicken is moist, but more like your typical chicken breast than a flattened piece of chook, parma-style. The very thin slice of ham add a surprising level of flavour and goes well with the cheese and bol sauce.

It’s an unusual option for me to pursue, so obviously I’m no expert. But I suspect it’d fall short of raising robust enthusiasm from hardened parma fans.

Still, it suffices. And the chips are fine.

Presumably, this could be ordered for $10 on a Thursday, which is Parma Night.

Tuesdays are anointed Locals Night and Wednesdays Pasta Night.

Our “local” will never be cherished among our favourites, but sometimes it’s just right.

And for dad at least, it is a handy stopover for a post-work or pre-footy beer.

Take it as it is or not at all.

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