Safari Restaurant
Posted: April 27, 2012 Filed under: Places we like to eat at | Tags: African restaurants, Ascot Vale, cheap eats, Somalian food, western suburbs 1 Comment »
Safari Restaurant, 159 Union Rd, Ascot Vale. Phone: 9372 7175
It’s been far too long since we’ve sailed in the Safari – certainly at least since our early review of this fine Somalian eatery.
So long, in fact, we’re not even sure if it’ll be functioning as we remember on this Friday night with appetites inspired by some overdue winter outfitting.
The Consider The Sauce boys have been shopping and are hungry.
Happily, as we enter we discover everything is as we remember it. Indeed, the place seems busier than was the case on any of our previous visits.
The menu, however, seems to have been streamlined somewhat, but as we soon learn – to our complete and joyful satisfaction – the food is the same and just as good as ever.
We toy with idea of ordering Big Mandy Rice For Two ($32), but this is described to us in terms of being good for big fellas, very hungry.
So we back off and discover there’s a menu item just made for us – The Regular ($13).
This consists of a plate of Mandy Rice and your choice of lamb, beef, chicken steak or fish.
As on previous visits, our bowls of their incredible meat soup are brought before we’ve even placed our order proper.
This is a broth of lip-smacking sensations – spicy, heady with meatiness yet light on meat itself.
It’s simply wonderful.
Bennie’s chicken steak – hidden under a tasty array of grilled sautéed carrot, capsicum and onion – is more plentiful than it looks. The chicken meat is tending towards dryness but falls short enough of that to pass for tender, and has a wonderful charred-like flavour.
I like his chicken, he digs my lamb.
The sheep meat has form and structure yet is far from chewy and falls easily from the bones.
In both our cases, the rice is splendid – cooked in stock, spiced, every grain glistening.
As ever, our meals are helped along by long, tall glasses of freshly squeezed orange juice clinking with ice cubes.
Killer soup, terrific meat, sensational rice, just the right kind of vegetable accompaniment, freshly squeezed juice … $13.
This is a fantastic bargain.
The service here is friendly but efficient.
We can’t recommend Safari highly enough to anyone hankering for African eating a bit different from Footscray’s mostly Ethiopian fare.
Walia Ibex
Posted: March 19, 2012 Filed under: Places we like to eat at | Tags: African food, African restaurants, cheap eats, Ethiopian food, Melbourne, Sunshine, western suburbs 2 Comments »
Walia Ibex, 2B Clarke St, Sunshine.
It seems a little odd that the flowering of African culture and food that has occurred in the past decade or so in Footscray has not been mirrored in Sunshine or even slightly further afield St Albans.
Well, Walia Ibex – named after a threatened Ethiopian species – is making a start in Sunshine.
The place is kitted out in such a way that it could be interchangeable with any one of half a dozen African eateries in Footscray. No bad thing, that!
A lunch here about a year ago was quite nice, but more in the meat-and-rice Somalian tradition.
These days, the place is more like a proper organised restaurant, with a menu and all!
And the food is a whole lot more focussed – this is Ethiopian tucker through and through, with three different kinds of tibs, doro wot, kitfo and gored gored all featuring on the list.
All meals are a very reasonable $12.
I order the vegetarian combo – “yetesom beyaynetu” – not because it’s cheaper, it’s the same price as the rest, but because I don’t feel like a meaty meal.
The serve looks quite modestly sized but proves more than adequate for a lovely lunch. The single piece of injera is matched just right with the food in terms of proportion.
There’s lentils three ways - a dry and crumbly mix of small brown lentils studded with slices of fresh green chilli; smoother and wetter red lentils that look like they’re cooked with tomatoes but are actually made, I’m told, with a special “Ethiopian chilli powder” (it’s very mild and unspicy); and finally a luscious and turmeric-yellow mix that looks likes it’s made with moong dal or channa dal but which is described as being made with “African beans”.
I love the way these three pulse components complement each other with contrasting colours and textures and flavours.
A highlight is the gorgeously multi-coloured mix of beautifully cooked beetroot and potato – I wish there was a whole lot more of it – while the stalwart mix of cabbage and carrot is tender and just about as lovely.
This is plain, homely food and I love it. It’s a little less oily than similar fare I’ve enjoyed elsewhere, too.
Walia Ibex already has the feel of being something of an African community hub, with lots of folks coming, going, chatting.
If I lived anywhere nearby, I’d be there on a weekly basis.
Africa Taste
Posted: December 13, 2011 Filed under: Places we like to eat at | Tags: African restaurants, cheap eats, Melbourne, Seddon, western suburbs 2 Comments »
124 Victoria St, Seddon. Phone: 9687 0560
It’s something of a shock to realise how long it’s been since we went African.
We’ve been pleasantly distracted – Indian, Asian, kebabs and all sorts of other stuff.
Nor have we got around to enjoying Africa taste and blogging on it, despite the fact we were regulars even before CTS lumbered into their cyber air.
So tonight’s the night.
The place has undergone some natty renovations. The kitchen has been moved further to the rear of the building. There’s a bigger counter area and more room for hungry folks, though Africa taste remains comfy rather than roomy.
Sadly, it seems the days of us waltzing up any old time we like and grabbing a table are gone.
Even on this Monday night we are lucky to grab an unbooked early table.
We presume this is to do with the booking of two separate birthday groups, but later learn this is pretty much a standard situation on any night of the week.
It seems bookings are the go here now, not that we resent any success Africa taste has earned.
We love the food, the points of difference from Footscray’s African eateries and the fact it’s closer to our home base. The relaxed charm seems to have faded away a little, but we can live with that.
Our standard order on most of many previous visits has been chicken or lamb tibes and the Africa Taste salad – a magnificent jumble of leaves, tomato, cucumber, onion and crunchy spiced pita bits.
Tonight, at dad’s insistence, we venture further afield.
We’ve been a bit wary of some menu items previously, fearing an uncomfortable level of stodginess.
We are delighted to proven so wrong by the Genfo African Fufu (Gnocchi, $10.95).
The gnocchi of toasted barley flour are plain yet delicious. Some of them have a little crunch, though there is little or none of the chilli mentioned on the menu. Instead there is a rich brown gravy and a big dab of cream.
It’s much more filling than it looks, and we are glad we went without the $5 option of extras such as chicken, lamb or fish.
Bennie, extremely fishily ambivalent as he is, is somewhat unimpressed by the inclusion of Spicy Fish Tibes ($13.50) in our order.
But even he, injera in hand, likes the viscous and spinach-infused gravy that is very garlicky and, like the gnocchi, lacking much of a spice bite despite the menu description and the clearly visible red flecks.
His dad loves the many and generous chunks of butterfish that are tender and mild of flavour.
It’s a fine meal and a bargain at $24.45.
And it’s swell knowing there are still several dishes on the menu that await exploration by us.
But we know now that future visits will require a little more premeditation than has been our impromptu habit.
Addis Abeba
Posted: May 12, 2011 Filed under: Places we like to eat at | Tags: African restaurants, cheap eats, Ethiopian food, Footscray, Melbourne, western suburbs 1 Comment »
220 Nicholson St, Footscray. Phone: 9041 2994
Our normal early-in-the-week routine is all business – work, school homework, commuting and homecooked meals.
This week we break out for a Tuesday night foray.
It’s the bitingly cold start of a nasty cold snap, so the whole exercise could be deemed silly, but happily our first port of call is open.
Addis Abeba is a relatively new kid on the block in Footrscray’s collection of Ethiopian eateries, situated on a stretch of Nicholson St known for the presence of a venerable old stager of an Indian restaurant, the Taj.
The restaurant is done out nicely in a tranquil sort of green, the walls adorned with art work, photos and posters.
We’re the only customers and naturally gravitate to the table nearest to the glowing heater.
Dad’s happy to go vego, but the boy wants meat.
It seems the days of us ordering only a salad and tibs at Ethiopian places are gone – the staff advise us that, no, that won’t be enough. I shouldn’t be surprised – Bennie’s a 10-year-old rugby player whose appetite is expanding.
We order salad ($6), beef tibs ($12) and lamb key wet (wot, also $12).
At first blush, the tibs look a little pale and pallid – there’s little by way of seasoning or gravy. But Bennie loves ‘em, especially the onion strands.
The key wot is the hit of the night – nice lamb pieces swimming in an incredibly rich and oily/buttery dark red-brown gravy with that distinctive flavour of berbere spice mix prominent. The chilli hit seems to become greater as the meal goes on, but presents no problems for us
The salad is the usual jumble of leaves, capsicum, onion, green chilli and tomato. It’s very wet with a lemony dressing, but we like it a lot.
We eat almost all that is before us, including the injera on the serving platter and the extras on the side.
On an earlier visit on my ownsome, I’d had kikil – described as “lamb stew with special sauce sauted with onion and garlic”, it was actually a typically flavoursome broth, in which was submerged a meaty lamb bone. It was delicious, though $12 seemed a little pricey for a bowl of soup. It was beaut, however, to use injera with soup – the sponge-like texture, unsurprisingly, was just right for the job.
Based on our experiences to this point, Addis Abeba presents a fairly typical Ethiopian fare very capably, if without really knocking us out. Yet.
I’m keen to return to try the non-meat combo of pulses two ways and various vegetable dishes. It’s priced at $12, $15 with salad, $26 for two and $40 for three, which seems fair and sensible.
For breakfast there are the likes of foul ($8) and scrambled eggs ($7).
All other things being equal, Addis Abeba is likely to find long-term favour with us for being slightly removed from Footscray’s African hub, hopefully easing the car-park situation.
Khartoum Centre Restaurant
Posted: January 23, 2011 Filed under: Places we like to eat at | Tags: African restaurants, cheap eats, Footscray, Melbourne, western suburbs Leave a comment »
145 Nicholson St, Footscray. Phone: ?
Khartoum Centre is a popular place – groups of friends, young families and extended families come and go.
It seems the perfect place for Saturday lunch – especially after I had discovered a sensational new barber in “Little Khartoum Arcade”. So gentle, thorough, professional!
We’d been to Khartoum Centre once – for a nice falafel plate.
One young family near us is having fish with rice and salad, but most of the larger tables around us are tucking into big communal bowls of ful.
But we know that we’re going to be taking our pulses that night in the form of homemade dal, so we head off in a different direction.
There’s certainly a lot from which to choose. There seem to be no written menus – the food range is displayed in photos and lists at the end of the room, where customers place their orders adjacent to the kitchen. Unfortunately, the many intriguing photos have no captions, so it’s hard to place a dish’s name with its pic.
There’s Sudanese dishes, of course, but also an Ethiopian section, dips, salads, soups – and even a kids menu. A lot of the dishes seem to be close kin to those served by the likes of the Iraqi joint across the road and other Middle Eastern places.
Since our initial visit, we’d walked in and walked out several times, finding no one much interested in explaining the menu to us or taking our order. There seems to be an expectation that customers already know what they desire.
Today we soldier on – with an order of meat soup and mixed grill.
As expected, the meat soup, thoughtfully served to us in two small bowls, is a sibling to those found at our Ascot Vale friends Yemeni Restaurant and Safari Restaurant – meat soups in which nary a strand dead sheep is to be found but which are explosively, deeply meatly flavoured. But where those efforts are clear, tangy and spicy, the meat soup at Khartoum Centre is cloudy – but the depth of flavour is no less impressive.
The mixed grill is a delight.
Bennie declares the boneless pieces of fish – fluffly, light, mellow of flavour and with a soft (eggy?) batter – the best he’s ever had.
They share the plate with a handful of garlicky, pan-fried lamb cubes, some equally garlicky and charred pieces of chicken thigh and three similarly charred and tasty lamb chops.
Attending the lot are a small serve of finely chopped salad of tomato, cucumber and more, rice of no great distinction and good dollops of humus and cucumber/yogurt dip
(BTW, the Khartoum mixed grill was adjudged one Ms Baklover’s top five dishes when she was covered, with us, by Leader newspapers.)
The Khartoum mixed grill is a fine dish to share. Unless you’re a shearer taking your lunch break!
Satisfied, we arise to pay our bill. And discover that instead of the $3 listed for the soup, we are being charged $5. And instead of $16 for the mixed grill, we are charged $18. We don’t make a big deal of it, as at $25 including two cans of soda it’s still a fine cheap eat.
There’s so much food to explore at Khartoum Centre, but we’d feel happier about repeated return visits if we didn’t feel like we are somehow out the eatery’s loop. Maybe the fault is ours – maybe we need to be a little more assertive in such circumstances.
On the way back to the car, we meet the most friendly and beautiful tabby kitten. Gorgeous!
Awash
Posted: November 29, 2010 Filed under: Places we like to eat at | Tags: African restaurants, Awash, cheap eats, Footscray, Melbourne 6 Comments »
Shop 2, 46-82 Hopkins St, Footscray. Phone: 9687 1955
We don’t mean to celebrate the frequently wicked ways of the world, but we feel blessed nonetheless to be able to enjoy the diversity and flavours varied African tribes have bestowed on Melbourne’s west.
Only problem is, some of the nicer and more appealing places these days have pricing that marks them – for us – as likely venues for a night out and/or special occasion.
Not that the prices are in any way exorbitant – especially in contrast to “proper” restaurants of the classier category.
Adulis, for instance, is calling to us – particularly after a full-blooded endorsement by Ms Baklover at Footscray Food Blog.
But the prices are such that we’re saving that experience for a windfall day or something similar.
And that’s why we headed right next door, to Awash, for a cheap and cheerful Saturday lunch.
I’d dropped in the previous week and had been mightily impressed with the mixed non-meat sampler ($12).
This time around, though, Bennie as adamant: “I want meat!”
So after discussing the non-meat option with the staff, we ordered the meaty pea stew ($10) and a side salad ($5).
A little while later we were presented with … the non-meat sampler.
Oops! Communication breakdown among the staff!
To their credit, they repeatedly offered to replace our meal with the food we had actually ordered.
However, I was equally adamant that we’d make do with what had arrived. After all, the food had already been placed on the injera, so presumably would go to waste if we sent it back. No way!
And so it went.
Bennie overcame his disappointment at his non-meaty repast, and joined me in devouring the lot with glee.
There were pulses three ways – brown lentils and yellow split peas rather plain, and another lentil brew a rich dark red with just the right kind of chilli kick; all good.
The vegetables consisted of the familiar cabbage/carrot mix and a serve of the likewise familiar silverbeet concoction; all also good.
A bonus of going the non-meat route in an Ethiopian eatery is that the food uses enough oil/butter to get the job done, but falls way short of the very high levels found in many of the meat dishes.
I’m also often impressed with just how good the salads are at a great number of Footscray’s African restaurants. Usually there’s nothing whiz-bang involved – just incredibly fresh vegetables beautifully presented and anointed with a lemony dressing.
The Awash salad was a good one that upheld that tradition.
There was nothing remotely spectacular about our food – it was plain, but also wholesome and tasty. And at $17 for two, truly sharp on the pricing – a bargain, in fact, that required no troubling mental maths or hesitation.
Moreover, such was the warmth of the service – and the upfront and happy manner in which the ordering contretemps was handled – that we are looking forward to returning for the likes of their doro wat or tibs.
I remember the first time I tried injera – and found the rubbery clamminess of it rather unappealing.
All ancient history these days – injera has become just as commonplace, delightful and essential as a bowl of pho!
As we ambled over the road to Footscray Market, Bennie opined: “That was a mistake – but it was a good mistake!”
Safari Restaurant
Posted: October 14, 2010 Filed under: Places we like to eat at | Tags: African restaurants, Ascot Vale, cheap eats, Melbourne, Safari Restaurant, Somalian food, western suburbs 4 Comments »
159 Union Rd, Ascot Vale. Phone: 9372 7175
Yes, another gem in Union Rd – this one just as tasty, affordable and, in its own mesmerising way, just as exotic as Yemini Restaurant up the road a piece.
Like that joint, Safari Restaurant’s stock in trade is a roll call of meat, veg and carbs.
As such it seems an ideal place for those who find the very idea of tibs, doro wat, injera and other items bought to Melbourne’s inner west by the African diaspora a step too far or just too weird to even contemplate eating.
Describing Safari’s food as “meat and three veg”, though, does it a grave disservice – for this Somalian fare is much, much more delicious than that humble label implies.
Bennie and I have been regular visitors this year, but for my most recent lunch I was joined by my fellow DeadHead Kurt.
There was a little confusion while ordering, so we ended up both getting the $17 meal of lamb (hilib, on the bone, three pieces), rice (barris) and accompaniments.
This was overload for lunch, so it’s helpful to know that there’s a $15 version available, with the rice and meat coming on the same plate, and the same side dishes and vegetables provided.
But even at $17, our lunches fully qualified for a hearty western suburbs cheap eats thumbs up.
You see, at Safari meals come with what, in New Orleans and South Louisiana, is referred to as “lagniappe” – that is, “a little something special”.
In this case, that involves, first up, a long, cool drink – either freshly squeezed orange juice clinking with ice cubes, or a much sweeter and richer milk-based concoction that I personally find too cloying.
Second comes a bowl of soup.
Bowl of soup? That sounds miserable and woefully inaccurate to describe what is clearly the most delicious thing I’ve eaten this year thus far.
It’s a bowl of simple broth, yes – modestly seasoned with a little chili, coriander, lemon pepper and garlic. You may even find a few strands of meat, or the odd slice of carrot.
But at it’s heart this is simply, magnificently Essence Of Lamb As A Work Of Art.
Gosh, it’s good!
On to our main courses – and more magic.
The rice was plain, but brilliant - seasoned, again with restraint, with garlic and coriander, and cooked in vegetable stock. Worthy of gleeful inhalation.
My three pieces of lamb, one of which was a cutlet, were tender, tasty and wonderfully free of fat and/or gristle – not always the case with food such as this.
Completing the picture were some good salad greens and a goodly amount of a sensational pan-fried jumble of onion, carrot and capsicum, which was heaven with the rice and generous smears of the tangy chili sauce provided.
As a point of difference, Kurt split his carb order 50/50 between rice and spaghetti. The pasta was OK – but it was just pasta, and certainly not a patch on the divine rice.
After our wonderful lunch, we spent some time chatting to owner Mohamed Shide about his food, the restaurant, its multinational clientele and the story that brought him to Australia and, finally, his own eating shop in Ascot Vale.
It’s a long story that involves war, many years, separation from family and other trials and tribulations – the sort of moving odyssey that is so intrinsic to Australia.
So happy were we with our repast and our conversation with Mohamed that I gaily strolled away without paying. Happily, I also left my wallet on the counter, necessitating my return anyhow.
As I reclaimed my wallet and attempted to pay, Mohamed attempted to wave my money away – unsuccessfully.
Mohamed, my friend, that’s simply not what I’m about.
If by writing this I can can send a few more people through your door, that’ll be all the payment I could wish.
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