Monthly Archives: March 2015

Meal of the week No.6: Ebi

5 Comments

f&c

 

The dinner hour for CTS and, we suspect, many other bloggers and foodies is somewhere between 6pm and 7pm.

For some, this is the legacy of having – or having had – very young children.

Perhaps “available light” has something to do with it.

I’ve even heard of bloggers who only do lunch for that very reason!

But a big part of it for us is … we’re hungry for food, hungry for adventure.

So 8pm seems way too late, especially on a work/school night.

The Mediterranean post-sietsa 9pm or later?

Unimaginable!

Early evening dining also means missing rush hour and always getting a seat.

In the case of tiny Ebi in West Footcray, that latter point is no small thing.

Entering by myself and taking a seat at the bar, I go through the usual routine … look at the display cabinet, consult the blackboard menu, peruse the regular menu, before saying …

“I’ll have fish and chips thanks, John – large!”

John: “How did I know you were going to say that?!”

Me: “Hmmpf! You must have other regulars who always order the same thing?”

The genial, chrome-domed Ebi host the proceeds to count off a long list of regulars with whom he is on first-name terms and their invariable choices – “fish three ways”, vegetable balls, udon, bento and so it goes.

Everyone gets their own groove on at Ebi …

Kiwi connection in Sunshine

5 Comments

ka1

 

Ka Pies Bakehouse, 250 Hampshire Road, Sunshine. Phone: 9939 7512

You can buy Kiwi-style Ka Pies all over.

But where they are made is at 250 Hampshire Road.

But 250 Hampshire Road is also home to Bro’s Choice, a humble cafe that – naturally – sells Ka Pies!

It’s a straightforward place and about far from hispsterdom and smashed avo as it’s possible to get and still be a cafe.

I’m happy to call it home for half an hour as I sample my choice of pies.

Yes, I have two – at $4.50 a pop each.

Smoked fish pie is delicate, subtle and very nice.

Lamb roast pie is some kind of magic.

Yes, it tastes of lamb.

But more than, it tastes like ROAST lamb!

How cool is that?

With it sheep meat, bits of spud, carrot and corn, and gravy, it’s very, very good.

I take home four cold pies for further exploration with Bennie – two apiece of hangi pie (with smoked pork, kumara and potato) and pork and watercress.

I’m knocked out to find the price of the cold ones is a real fine $3.50.

Bargain!

And significantly less than the prices listed on the Ka Pie website, never mind delivery costs.

So Bro’s Choice would seem to be logical destination to stock up on these goodies.

We’ll be doing so.

Ka Pies may not have the same heft or all-out richness as Pure Pies but they taste just as good and are a whole cheaper.

 

Bro's Choice Cafe on Urbanspoon

 

ka2

ka3

A fine pub experience at the right end of the CBD

2 Comments

spencer6

 

Hotel Spencer, 475 Spencer Street, West Melbourne. Phone: 9329 9116

Once upon a time, long ago, pre-Bennie, pre-blog, I dined at Hotel Spencer when a record company picked up the bill.

At the time, IIRC, it had forged something of a reputation for hearty pub food, including offal and the like.

So Bennie and I are happy to accept an invitation to dine there and see how it’s going these days (full disclosure below).

The answer is: Very well.

The new bosses, Wes and Hennie, have been in the house for about two years.

There’s quite a lot of residential tucked away down here either side of Spencer Street, and Wes tells me with enthusiasm about their regulars and locals and the good things that are happening in the neighbourhood.

 

spencer2

 

It’s a gorgeous place, particularly the dining room.

To my spectacularly untutored eye, there is something of the art deco about it, but Wes tells me the place was built in 1850.

The upper floors are taken up by backpacker accommodations.

The menu is very keenly priced, with just one dish clocking in at above $30 and quite a few mains below $20. It has many typical pub dishes but also a few things more unusual.

 

spencer3

 

The vegetarian antipasto platter ($18) makes a fine and light start for us.

The arancini are chewy in the middle, crusty on the outside and anointed with a periperi sauce that leaves my lips all a-tingle.

Bennie loves them.

Bennie doesn’t like zucchini.

Nevertheless, I persuade him to try the chargrilled zuch slices, so good are they!

Yep, he digs them.

The eggplant doesn’t quite pack the same flavour punch.

The hose-made chutney, olives, roasted red capsicum and mozzarella with pesto are all fine.

 

spencer4

 

One I spotted bobotie ($22) on the menu, I was always going to try it.

I’ve done some beforehand homework on what is sometimes referred to as “South Africa’s national dish”, so am a little perplexed by what I am served.

It’s drier than I am expecting and has lentils.

Turns out, this is the Hotel Spencer gluten-free interpretation, hence the lentils instead of the traditional milk-soaked bread mixing with the beef, and I’m told, curry powder, turmeric, cinnamon, coriander, salt, pepper and chutney, with more of the latter on the side.

It all is tucked under an eggy custard topping that makes it a little like moussaka.

Likewise in terms of gluten-free, “cauliflower rice” replaces regular rice – it tastes good!

I enjoy my bobotie, and I am intrigued by it.

Would I order it again?

Hmmm, not sure!

 

spencer5

 

I am so busy contemplating my main, and eating it, that I plain forget to quiz Bennie about his chicken burger ($16), though the mouthful I sneak tastes good to me.

But as we later walk back to our car, and are discussing our Hotel Spencer experience, he opines without prompting: “I liked my chicken burger – it was really good!”

Good enough!

 

spencer8

 

For dessert, we go with the “Treat Yourself” platter ($19), which has samples of all on the menu.

There’s a crunchy bread pudding, a croissant pudding that has Bennie humming with joy, a milk tart and house-made chocolate ice cream.

It’s all very good and quite the bargain.

 

spencer7

 

We’ve loved our visit to Hotel Spencer and envisage a soon-come return to check out the very attractively priced specials.

Added bonus for those coming from the western suburbs: For a mid-week dinner, there’s stacks of parking.

Check out the Hotel Spencer website, including menu, here.

(Consider The Sauce dined at Hotel Spencer as guests of management. No money changed hands. We ordered whatever we wanted. Hotel Spencer management did not seek any editorial input into this story.)

 

Hotel Spencer on Urbanspoon

 

spencer1

Meal of the week No.5: KItchen Samrat

1 Comment

samrat2

 

The perpetual blog-driven need for the new and interesting can mean old reliables are overlooked.

But as it happens, this very mid-week lunchtime I am in the mood for Indian snacky stuff.

And I am in Footscray.

So I step through the doorway of Kitchen Samrat (36 Leeds Street) for the first time in years.

I am surprised and delighted to find the place has gone from shabby to somewhat chic.

 

samrat1

 

It looks like a proper Indian restaurant now.

There’s even real cloth napkins, the classy effect of which are rather diminished by there being some dried food crud on the bench seat I initially choose.

The menu is longer and also more proper, and includes a number of good-looking banquet options.

Perhaps a lingering and wide-ranging CTS meal here is warranted.

But I spy with delight that the quick lunch items such as cholle bhatrua at Amritsari kulcha ($12) are still in the house.

The latter is just lovely – chick peas, butter knobs, pickle, onion and two wonderful breads stuffed with potato, coriander and spices.

Footscray eats goss

13 Comments

footgoss4

 

Changes are afoot in Nicholson Street, Footscray.

Pho Ta (above) and …

 

footgoss3

 

… Babylon have both closed.

Asking around, the best I could discover in terms of reasons was along the lines of “problems with landlord”.

These closures are a shame as both joints added diversity to a colourful part of Footscray.

 

footgoss5

 

Over in Hopkins, Snow Tree has set itself up for soon-come visit by the CTS team by the agency of a much more attractive fit-out and a much longer menu – including fried chicken!

 

footgoss6

 

The Dancing Dog building will be auctioned on Saturday, April 18, at 1pm.

There is a meeting being held tonight (Wednesday, March 25) with a view to making a stab at keeping the property out of the hands of developers.

For more details, check out the Permaculture Out West Facebook page.

 

footgoss2

 

Meanwhile, up in West Footscray, what was once Gusto will soon become Dosa Corner.

According to the always reliable Barkly Village Facebook page: “Gusto will be replaced by a South Indian Style Restaurant. Ex chef from Dosa Hut across the road.”

We wonder if there will be any point of difference between the new place, Dosa Hut and the neighbourhood’s other Indian eateries.

Truth is, though, Dosa Hut is usually busy so maybe it’s not an issue.

 

footgoss1

 

Dosa Hut itself is growing, with the opening of a branch in Tarneit at the Wyndham Village Shopping Centre.

I suspect our Tarneit readers are doing cartwheels.

Very excellent – bank on it

4 Comments

ovest25

 

Ovest, 572 Barkly Street, Footscray. Phone: 9687 7766

Ovest has been open a while by the time Team CTS visits.

Every time I’ve passed by in recent weeks when the place has been open, it’s been jumping.

So our hopes are high – especially those of my friends, who live just a black away and for whom this shapes as a welcome local of the non-Indian variety.

Our hopes are fulfilled, and in terms of the food well exceeded.

 

ovest26

 

Here’s the bottom line – we have one entree, one side, one pizza, two mains, one dessert, two glasses of wine and a soft drink.

The bill comes to just cents above $40 each.

What an absolute ripping bargain!

We’ve booked at 6pm on a Sunday night – which may have been a mistake as it’s family rush hour, the joint is very noisy and the service is a little scrappy, but not enough to cause any alarm.

When I amble back to my car, post-dinner and after having picked up a wonderful loaf of freshly baked bread from my companions’ place, Ovest is a lot more placid.

The dining room looks a treat and it’s a wonderful thing that this old bank is playing host to such vibrant life.

 

ovest21

 

Coleslaw of cabbage, pear, radish, lemon and parmesan ($12) is a real big serve of yum.

At first, I wish for a little more salt and flavour bite, but by the end I come to love the rather perfumey flavours.

 

ovest22

 

Saganaki kefalograviera, sherry vinegar-soaked currants and pickled onions appears modest of portion but is so rich that three of us are happy.

The cheese has a marvellously toasted and salty crust.

 

ovest24

 

A mushroom pizza with taleggio, caramelised onion and fior de latte ($20) is very, very good, its many fungus chunks having a real meatiness about them.

 

ovest23

 

Tuna nicoise ($26) is a stunner and very generous to boot.

Underneath that handsome slab of fish lie spud discs and heaps of superbly creamy mayo.

My roast of the day (top photo, $25.50) is a simple but good-sized snapper stuffed with lemon.

The fish is lovely but it’s the accompanying salad/salsa that makes this dish sing – the clever addition of pickled chilli discs adds not just random exclamations of heat but also a just-right tartness.

The good, hot chips are served in such quantity that there’s more than enough for us all to share – but then, that’s true of everything we’ve enjoyed.

 

ovest27

 

By the time dessert selections are to be made, we’re stuffed.

So to speak.

So two becomes one with three spoons.

Panna cotta of yogurt, vanilla and strawberry jelly ($10) is just the sort creamy dream you’d expect and lasts all of about, oh, five seconds.

The jelly is a delicately-flavoured delight.

My pals are stoked.

So would I be if this “local” had just opened a minute from my front door!

 

ovest28

MiHub rocks it again

2 Comments

mihub413

mihub410

 

Consider The Sauce is happily falling into the happy routine of always, whenever possible, attending MiHub functions at the Laverton Community Hub.

Where else would we want to be early evening on a Saturday once a month?

But I suspect there is a limit beyond which reader endurance and loyalty should not be prodded in terms of recording each event.

There’s a fine line between giving context to food reviews and stories by interweaving other aspects of our lives into CTS on the one hand and overdoing it on the other.

 

mihub46

 

So this may well be the last MiHub story for a while … although I will for sure continue to post MiHub notifications on the CTS FB page and continue to recommend all and sundry give MiHub activities a go!

As I posted on FB yesterday: “Yum food, delicious people!”

 

mihub45

 

The “pop-up market” in this case was a part of Diversity Week, so there was a heap of people and a heap of food.

The theme was ostensibly Malaysian – but there was also Middle Eastern sweets, Indian tucker and Afghani fried chicken.

 

mihub42

 

I ate well and widely.

And I just loved meeting and talking with all sorts folks.

This time around they included CTS readers …

 

mihub44

 

… Sara and Sharon …

 

mihub47

 

… and Roopi and Jaspreet.

 

mihub412

 

As well as my Star Weekly colleague Karen, her hubby Chee (on the right) and their friend Sharil!

 

mihub49

mihub48

mihub43

mihub41mihub411

 

Chook joint for Footscray

1 Comment
ogrill10

 

O’Grill, 149 Princes Highway, Footscray. Phone: 8307 0153

O’Grill is a new fast-food chicken place tucked into the service road just a block or so up from the Plough.

We like the idea of this sort of place in this sort of location – there’s pretty good parking capacity for one thing.

The menu is mostly chicken-based, well-priced and ostensibly of a Tex-Mex bent.

(See menu and prices below.)

The meal four of us have there is OK – but we for sure reckon some tweaking here and there could make it an outright winner.

 

ogrill4

 

By common acclaim, the hit of the night is this black bean salad.

Doesn’t look too tempting, hey?

But it is delicious!

Underneath the beans is a generous jumble of red onion, tomatoes and coriander, all of it liberally dressed with a really good green tomato salsa.

 

ogrill6

 

Chips?

OK but could definitely be crisper.

 

ogrill7

 

Corn?

OK but not much sight of the lime chilli dressing.

 

ogrill9

 

Chicken wings?

Not “buffalo wings” – and thanks to one of my buddies for deepening my understanding of exactly what that means (deep-fried for starters) – but quite nice anyway.

 

ogrill5

 

My two companions who go the burger route note a mismatch between the large buns and the less-so chicken.

Basically, too much bread!

My other companion goes, as I do, for a half chicken and like the burger eaters comments that the breast meat was a tad dry.

Yes, we know it’s hard getting that right.

And while me and my pals might prefer thigh meat in just about all applications, I’ve been told frequently by restaurant folks that there are a significant amount of customers for eating outlets of all kinds that demand breast meat … no matter what.

 

ogrill8

 

I have no such problem with my half chook though there is little by way of the spiciness or smoky chipotle vibe I have been expecting.

Perhaps most of all we’d recommend some greater delineation between the various chicken options and an understanding that the people who come here looking for a feed are almost certainly well used to food that is super-charged in the flavour department.

But we’d also recommend giving this place a go – there’s a heap of other stuff on the menu.

Try the black bean salad when you do.

 

ogrill2

ogrill1

Wot’s hot in Willy

1 Comment

shelly6

 

Consider The Sauce loves Williamstown.

We love being there, throwing frisbee there and going for drives around the bay.

But it’s also true we’ve long been a little underwhelmed by the food available there.

But we keep on trying.

Our destination upon departing Yarraville for a feed – into the hinterlands of Footscray, Seddon, Sunshine and beyond, OR turn left and head for Willy, Newport, Spotswood and Altona – usually pretty much comes down to a metaphorical coin toss.

But that’s just us … Williamstown CTS readers, friends and potential pals we meet along the way almost invariably tell us, with heartfelt sighs, they wish their local eating-out options were better.

And yet … in  recent months we’ve had some truly magnificent food in Williamstown.

It’s true, you won’t find the same spicy diversity as in other western suburbs realms.

And you will pay more – but not that much more.

Here’s what Willy food has put a skip in our step in recent times …

 

pizza5

 

Pizza d’Asporto, Rifle Range Shopping Centre, 71 Kororoit Creek Road. Phone: 9397 2033

Can’t be beat, we reckon.

Fabulous pizzas, pastas and salads – and, perhaps even more importantly, a friendly welcome that makes you feel like regular even when you’re still to become one.

See story here.

Pizza d’Asporto was also the joyous location of a recent CTS Feast – read the wrap-up here.

 

santo15

 

Santorini, 1 Parker Street, Williamstown. Phone: 9399 8520

Superb Greek on a lovely heritage Williamstown building.

The marinated lamb shoulder “shaved off the spit” is highly recommended.

See review here.

 

mez5

 

Mezmez, 42 Ferguson Street, Williamstown. Phone: 9397 8804

Nutella doughnuts.

Actually, there’s much more to be had at this swell Ferguson Street cafe, including salads and more with a zippy Mediterranean outlook.

See earlier stories here and here.

 

prince8

 

Prince Albert Hotel, 149 Douglas Parade, Williamstown: 9397 5117

Delightful pub on Douglas Parade that manages to be both elegant and casual.

Excellent service and a killer rib eye with superb extras all part of the deal.

See review here.

 

shelly5

 

Shelly’s Beach Pavilion, 26 The Esplanade, Williamstown. Phone: 9397 7878

The new venture that has taken up residence in what was Sirens has been visited just once by us but we were impressed.

See review here.

Meal of the week No.4: Xuan Banh Cuon

Leave a comment

xuan1

 

Xuan Banh Cuon in Sunshine is a firm favourite of CTS, one we wish were able to visit more often.

So it’s nice to be greeted with smiles all round when we do.

Today – and while Bennie is making happy with his usual chargrilled pork with vermicelli – I get to play with two new additions to the menu.

Actually, we have tried the green papaya salad with beef jerky before – in a picnic setting.

Here, in the restaurant itself, it’s every bit as good – crunchy AND chewy, tangy and completely awesome.

It’s a lot wetter (i.e. more profoundly dressed) than the above photograph indicates.

Even better, this small serve ($6) is ample enough for Bennie to get a good taste as well.

Remarkable bargain!

And who doesn’t love it when roasted peanuts crown such a dish?

(The large size costs $10.)

 

xuan2

 

And how about this – banh goi or Vietnamese puff ($2)?

I could describe this as a Vietnamese version of your regular curry puff – but that would be doing it an injustice and would not be particularly truthful, either.

The deep-fried outer is crisped to a tee and delicate.

The loosely-packed innards consist of prawn, pork, vermicelli, mushroom, carrot and daikon.

And a lot of amazing.

See earlier story here.

New crew at Willy Beach

1 Comment

shelly6

Shelly’s Beach Pavilion, 26 The Esplanade, Williamstown. Phone: 9397 7878

Our lunch adventure destination was a Willy pub we’re told does a real fine Sunday roast meal.

We soon discover that the pub in question does do a Sunday roast – but only for dinner.

So we end up at Shelly’s Beach Pavilion somewhat by default.

No matter – this replacement for oft-derided Sirens has been high on our radar anyhow.

As it turns out, given the happy hubbub that is in evidence, I’d say we’re lucky to snag a table for the two of us.

 

shelly5

 

I have an open mind about this new venture.

I’ll be trying hard to not let the knowledge that it is being run by an “events company” colour my impressions.

Though I confess that upon reading the menu several weeks earlier my heart sank a little when I spied the inclusion of a cliched “trio of dips”.

The place’s interior and most-excellent patio appear little changed but the furnishings, zippy, apron-clad staff and the professional service give the place a swish feel.

We dine off a real tablecloth and use real serviettes.

Could it be that this signature, landmark western suburbs venue is finally getting the eating place it warrants?

Our verdict, based only on a simple, light and very nice lunch, and the deftness with which we are served, is: Yes.

 

shelly1

 

Spaghetti vongole ($26) has all it needs – heaps of garlic, oil, breadcrumbs, chilli and clams.

If the resultant dish falls a little short of really impressing, it’s nonetheless rather nice.

The clams themselves are plentiful, gorgeously tender and delicious.

 

shelly3

 

Our pizza of tomato, rocket, prosciutto, tomato and cheese is good for its $19 asking price.

The toppings are excellent, though they do slide from the base with slippery ease.

Regular readers will know we now favour a nearby outfit that does excellent pizzas, a wide range of them, for very good prices.

But we’ll not be turning our noses up at a pizza pie of this calibre, especially given the lovely beach-side setting.

 

shelly2

 

A garden salad ($8) of fine leaves and baby tomatoes is a good accompaniment.

It’s to Shelly’s credit that they are having cheapo “special” nights away from the regular menu in a bid to win over regular, local customers …

On Wednesdays, there’s pizzas with a beer or wine for $15.

And the Tuesday $20 steak deal doesn’t sound too shabby, either.

As well, they’re doing breakfast – though going by their website, not for real early starters.

Regular sourdough toast goes for $7 and a “double” bacon and egg roll with gruyere for $15.

Smashed avo with goats cheese AND poached eggs sells for what sounds like a good-deal $14.

So … our inaugural visit to Shelly’s has done more than enough to encourage a return.

Our total bill comes to $61, which includes two $4 Cokes.

Check out the Shelly’s website, including menu, here.

Great Greek in Willy

7 Comments

santo14

 

Santorini, 1 Parker Street, Williamstown. Phone: 9399 8520

On the eve of our mid-week dinner at Santorini, I spend some time checking out the restaurant’s website and menu – and hatch a plan.

I will, without blushing, hijack the ordering for our table of five.

As it turns out, one my companions, Jacqui, the Urban Ma, has received advice that puts her mindset in the same place as mine.

Says Jacqui: “My friend said to me, ‘Whatever you do, don’t have the dips, don’t eat the bread!'”

Indeed, why bulk up on those reliably nice things when, as non-paying guests (see full disclosure below), we can order whatever we desire?

Why not make the most of the opportunity by ordering elsewhere?

So we do!

 

santo13

 

We – Jacqui, hubby Wes, son Daniel, Bennie and myself – proceed to enjoy a spectacular Greek feed in a lovely Williamstown building.

Built in 1850, the triangular building was once the local post office, and looks out on the bay as it does so the then postmen (and women?) could observe when the boats were incoming.

The interior is elegant yet casual, the service spot on.

 

santo2

 

Had we gone the regular route with dips or one of the banquet choices, we would never had tried the simple yet amazing horta ($10) – greens, lemon and olive oil.

This chicory looks plain, eats delicious.

 

santo1

 

Fasolakia ($12.90) is another green and healthy treat, with its beans, spinach, feta and toasted almond slivers.

 

santo5

 

Our three-starter line-up is completed by the spuds.

What can I say?

How about: “OMG, OMG, OMG!!!”

Really, these humble tiganites patates ($7.90), pan-fried in olive oil, oregano and “kalas salt”, are so so simple yet so very yummy.

So much so that none of us mind at all that quite a few more of them turn up as “trimmings” for our main selections.

 

santo4

 

Chargrilled prawns ($34.50) and …

 

santo7

 

… kota souvlaki (marinated chicken cooked over charcoal, $26.50) are good, solid, enjoyable Greek fare, though the chicken is a tad on the dry side.

But they are well and truly aced by …

 

santo8

 

… the arni gyros of marinated lamb shoulder “shaved off the spit” ($28.90).

This is fabulous stuff that well and truly destroys my some-time belief that the only difference between the food to be had at your typical souvlaki shop and that from more swish Greek restaurant proper is the price.

Wrong!

You’d be very lucky indeed to find lamb this good, this crusty, so unfatty, so joyously enjoyable in a takeaway joint.

What’s more, it’s an impressively big serve.

With its spuds, pita bread and tzatziki, and with the addition of a salad on the side, this would make a perfectly satisfying and affordable meal for two.

Our lamb is unanimously voted the hit of the night.

Along with them spuds!

 

santo6

 

Our mains have been suitably accompanied by a good horiatiki salad ($14.90).

 

santo11

 

Did we leave room for dessert?

Yes.

Loukoumades are smaller than those I’ve eaten in the past but they are nicely chewy and really nice.

And in Bennie’s world, deep-fried = good.

 

santo12

 

Galaktoboureko is even better, it being a semolina custard sandwiched between filo pastry – this is a sort-of Greek-style vanilla slice, but less sweet and cloying.

Check out the Santorini website, including menu, here.

(Consider The Sauce dined at Santorini as guests of management. No money changed hands. We ordered whatever we wanted. Santorini management did not seek any editorial input into this story.)

 

santo15

santo3

santo10

Meal of the week No.3: Blok M

2 Comments

blokm1

 

In the city on medical matters – very good news as its turns out – and checking out the “little” streets and laneways around the Flinders Street end of Elizabeth.

Wow, there’s a lot going on, a lot of new action happening.

Many of the places I observe are doing great business and appear to be serving many different kinds of food I’d be very happy to try.

But they’re all so busy!

That’s not in the least bit appealing.

So that’s why I choose Blok M, just up the hill little at 380 Little Bourke Street.

I peruse the pleasantly dog-eared and lengthy menu.

There’s some dishes of which I’ve heard; many more of which I have not.

I choose nasi campur, which is described as “mixed vegetables served with grilled chicken and oxtail soup” and costs $9.50.

The wait time is longer is than I expect but no stress – I’m not in any danger of missing my appointment.

My meal arrives and it’s as pretty as a picture.

Good rice.

Sweet, salty oxtail broth – like an Indonesian version of pho.

A jumble of cabbage and carrot that is like an unpickled achaar.

A chicken thigh that seems cutlery-resistant at first but which turns out to be perfectly cooked and tender, the sweet glaze making it resemble Pinoy-style chicken.

Ahhh, what a fabulously and perfect random surprise and delight – a really fine ten-buck feed!

If I worked in the CBD, I’d be checking off the Blok M menu items one by one until I’d gone through the whole lot.

 

blokm2

A terrific Willy pub

1 Comment

prince5

 

Prince Albert Hotel, 149 Douglas Parade, Williamstown: 9397 5117

Consider The Sauce has got a lot of advice from doctors in the past six months.

Some of it has even been about food.

One of them, for instance, a Williamstown local, spoke admiringly about the Prince Albert, its $12 burger nights and its perpetually $15 parmas.

Bennie and I stuck our noses in one Sunday night, really liked the vibe of the place and vowed to return, though we did dine at our fave pizza joint that night.

Then, a few weeks later, the following arrived by email:

“Hi Kenny, I’ve recently discovered your Blog & Facebook Page. I am Michael, one of the new owners at the Prince Albert Hotel in Williamstown. I took over this pub four months ago alongside my father in October, and would love to invite you down for a meal on us to check it out and see what you think and if it’s worthy of a blog post, which I hope it would be.”

Why sure, we’re into that!

(Full discolsure below …)

On the night we visit, I find out that Michael and his dad have little or no pub or hospitality experience, though Michael did work at the Prince Albert for 10 months or so before the pair took the joint over.

Perhaps that fresh-faced approach is no bad thing, as I reckon these guys are definitely doing something right.

 

prince4

 

There’s a casual bar area and there’s a beer garden.

But it’s the slightly more formal dining room that knocks me out.

This has an elegant ambiance, without being stuffy.

We have a lot of good foodie pubs around us these days but a newish sheen is often part of the deal.

At the Prince Albert, I feel like we are soaking up the love from a comfy yet spiffy local, the whole deal accentuated by the very good black-clad, relaxed staff.

The four of us share two starters …

 

prince2

 

Chicken and sweet corn croquettes with avocado and tequila dip ($16) are daintily crisp on the outer, rich and gooey on the inner, though there seems only the mildest chook or corn flavour to me.

The dip is OK but not, IMO, a very good match for the croquettes.

 

prince1

 

Salt and pepper squid ($14) is likewise dainty and fresh but is under-seasoned by the rights of our four palettes and their utter familiarity with highly-spiced food of various Asian varieties!

But wait … we’re just getting started and things get better for us.

Lots better …

 

prince7

 

The recipient of the seafood linguine ($26) likes her choice plenty, telling me that with it absence of tomato it is a bit different from what she might expect in a swish Italian eatery but still very enjoyable.

I’m surprised to see unbidden grated cheese atop the pasta prawns but my pal is fine with that as she likes it that way.

 

prince8

 

Two of us choose the top-of-the-line rib eye steak ($34), mine with a basket of fine chips, red wine jus, a good slaw and equally fine and fresh rocket, cucumber and tomato salad.

 

prince9

 

My meaty companion gets the same slaw but opts for mash and asparagus.

Wowee, this is the best steak I’ve had for a long, long time.

It has a just-right but suitably subtle charred and salty exterior and is cooked perfectly to the requested specifications (medium rare).

It’s perfect!

There’s a heap of places where you can get an equally great chunk of beef, of course, including in the west.

But the great thing here is that Prince Albert steaks come complete; there’s no need to top up with extra sides.

The accompaniments are all terrific and make this something of a bargain.

 

prince6

 

Our visit coincides with Tuesday’s $12 burger night, so predictably that’s what Bennie chooses to do, getting the $12 sandwich as opposed to the $24 job that’s on the regular menu – we’re told they’re very similar in any case.

He likes his burger but is a bit “meh” on it, telling me the relish doesn’t “do much”.

I dunno, mate – it looks mighty fine to me.

Could be it’s time for this young man to start thinking about what other food is available to him.

Could be a case of too many burgers!

We four share two desserts …

 

prince11

 

Eton Mess ($12) looks like a disparate array of components but the raspberries, passionfruit, meringue and ultra-rich cream work together to very yummy effect.

 

prince12

 

The waffles ($12) are also tasty, though I do wish the very good brought-in ice cream and strawberries had been served to the side in order to preserve waffle crispiness for our eating pleasure.

As ever, Consider The Sauce partaking of food for which we don’t pay is no impediment – and never will be – to an honest appraisal of our experiences.

But the minor quibbles mentioned above should in no way be seen as detracting from our enjoyment of the Prince Albert, the esteem in which we hold it and the super night we’ve had.

We wish it was our local!

And I reckon we’ll be back soon … if only so I can try that burger for myself and see if Bennie’s “meh” should have rightly been “mighty”!

(Consider The Sauce dined at the Prince Albert as guests of management. No money changed hands. We ordered whatever we wanted. The Prince Albert management did not seek any editorial input into this story.)

 

prince13

prince3

prince10

Bits and pieces

4 Comments

What’s in a name?

Consider The Sauce, for instance!

The truth is, CTS was chosen – and the domain name registered – quite some time before this blog made its debut.

There was never any hesitation.

Most people, when they learn of it for the first time, are variously intrigued or appreciative.

By and large, I am very happy with my decision about my blog’s name.

It’s a little clever and classy.

By not tying me down to a specific geographical, it allows me to cross the river without fear of being trolled.

And it allows me to bang on about berets and barbers, son and surgery and a lot more.

But I do sometimes wonder how different things would be, how CTS would have evolved and how different I might be perceived as a blogger, had I chosen a name such as Western Suburbs Food Blog!

No matter – I suspect that in the long run, CTS as a moniker will be an outright winner and one of which I will always be proud.

****

Don’t forget the CTS guest post competition – see details here.

As it stands, a week after announcing the competition, there have been no entries at all!

So if you can bash out a few words and/or bang off a couple of pics on your phone, and submit them to CTS, your chances of winning lunch for four at Woven cafe in Yarraville are very, very excellent!

****

Our pals at La Morenita/Latin Food & Wines are holding a Feast.

This is not an official collaboration with Consider The Sauce – though yours truly will be playing a hosting role on the night.

But we are happy to endorse what we know for sure will be a great night.

Ribs? MMMmmmmm …

No trybooking set-up this time – book by phone or dropping into the Berskshire Road shop.

mayfeast

****

Have you been following the wild and rapidly unravelling saga of “super blogger” Belle Gibson and her blog/foundation The Whole Pantry?

See the latest story here.

I confess that as a journalist, news junkie, blogger, foodie and one of the cancer afflicted, I find this to be a train wreck from which it is impossible to avert my eyes.

I know this:

Consider The Sauce has been involved in running three low-key, small-budget fundraisers – two of them last year.

In each case, and utterly regardless of my own financial situation, the idea that the money raised was somehow “mine” for a period of time never entered my head.

In each case, the money raised – minus, in the two most recent cases, a few minimal dollars in trybooking fees – was transferred to the recipient charities immediately or within a few hours or days.

I purchased tickets for all three events for Bennie and myself.

And this …

In making decisions about my own cancer treatment, I never for a moment entertained what are rather crudely labelled “alternative therapies”, although a couple of people did try to nudge me in that direction.

Like choosing Consider The Sauce as a blog name, that die has well and truly been cast and the surgeons’ scalpels have done their work.

Such decisions are fully personal, of course.

But I do seriously wonder about the harm proponents of such therapies can do – especially one who finds herself in the kind of strife Ms Gibson is now in.

Meal of the week No.2: Bax Food Co

Leave a comment

bax22

 

After having already hit Gamon Street’s fab new Jamaican eatery with a largish group that pretty much ran through the entire menu, I’m excited to be taking Bennie there.

And I know just what to order to press my teenage dude’s buttons.

Mine, too.

BBQ pork ribs, jerk Piccapeppa chicken wings, BBQ corn, cassava chips.

It’s a lip-smacking feast for two moderately hungry lads.

The chicken wings, at $9, strike us as a bargain.

The superb chips provide affordable bulk.

Between the slaw with both meat choices and the corn, there’s enough veggie action going on.

Even with a couple of $3 soft drinks, we pay a very good $41.

As we amble back on to Gamon, energetically flossing our teeth, Bennie opines:

“That’s the best food I’ve had in Yarraville.”

I’m inclined to agree with him.

See earlier review here.

Visiting Helen

4 Comments

helen11

 

My colleague and pal Helen has been absent our office for a couple of weeks, so I inquire if she’d like a visitor.

I have an ulterior motive – truth is, I miss her wicked.

It feels odd to be driving the same road as took us up this way to acquire the Black Devil but, of course, Helen drives this way and that every working day.

When she is working.

I drive on past Kyneton and, after a few misturns, find the spread with the white picket fence.

My friend’s house is a big, cool thing from the 1880s.

It’s gorgeous.

 

helen3

 

Bennie and I have been the lucky recipients of Helen’s generosity in recent months in the form of plums and nectarines.

But I am little prepared for the richness or depth of the goodness she has at hand on her amazing spread.

There’s … several varieties of apple, mullberries, strawberries, raspberries, a gazillion herb varieties, tomatoes and much, much more.

 

helen1

 

Helen’s sister – one of them – Fiona turns up.

I am delighted to learn she also is lovely, mad and funny.

 

helen8

 

Fiona has brought Middle Eastern-style salads from one of her faves, Cliftons Cafe.

Together with some backyard stuff picked from this spot and some sweet treats I’ve brung from Berkshire Road, we feast.

 

helen7

 

I’d initially suggested that Helen may have been sick of being house-bound so a visit to one of the local eateries could be the go.

But this is much better – I feel privileged to partake in such a beautiful setting with such fine company.

 

helen6

 

I take home a box of lovely quinces.

The two poached eggs I have for dinner are as free range and organic as eggs get.

 

helen9

helen5

helen4

helen2

Good bento, great price

1 Comment

chiba24

 

Chiba, 19 Hall Street, Moonee Ponds. Phone: 9326 0248

Consider The Sauce has checked out the smaller, takeaway-oriented Chiba joint on Puckle Street – it was, mind you, many moons ago – but never the Chiba proper on Hall Street.

I am gently encouraged by this blog’s very fine pal, Nat Stockley, who works in this neighbourhood and who has explored its nourishment offerings in forensic depth.

Chiba, he opines, offers good, solid Japanese food at good prices.

He is, as ever, entirely correct.

I order for a mid-week day-off lunch, following Nat’s suggestion, the bento.

There’s nothing adventurous about it – but it is a fine feed well done.

And at $15, it’s super cheap – especially considering it is served to me in a full-service Japanese restaurant.

You’ll pay the same – or more – in less salubrious settings and get no service for your trouble.

 

chiba21

 

Good miso soup, with just green onion and tofu cubes, gets proceedings underway.

 

chiba22

 

The bento itself has …

Four pieces of salmon sashimi.

A very mini mini-spring roll and two pieces of nicely-crumbed and deep-fried white fish.

Mildy flavoured and rather finely-diced chicken teriyaki.

Rice.

Just OK tempura consisting of three parts vegetables and one part prawn.

If anything, the shredded cabbage under the fried fish and spring roll is the highlight, anointed as it is with a tangy, whizzed dressing of carrot, vinegar and seasonings.

Nice!

A simple fruit offerings of bite-sized cubes of three different varieties melon completes my meal.

Check out the Chiba website here.

Westie barbers No.2: Aurelio

5 Comments

buzz1

 

Buzz Barbers, 547b Barkly Street, West Footscray.

The CTS story on Chris the barber at the Circle in Altona was well received, giving me the confidence and desire to occasionally profile these fascinating characters scattered across the west.

Next up – Aurelio at Buzz Barbers in West Footscray.

Aurelio gives me a superb buzz cut, a real professional job including eyebrows, for $10.

He’s been in the house for about seven years but tells me his corner shop has been home to one barbering operation or another for about 40 years.

He inherited the chairs.

He’s my kind of barber, preferring to keep his prices as low as possible with a view to encouraging return and regular customers.

 

buzz2

 

His place is done out in classic old-school barber style.

As he works, we have a great old chat about the western suburbs, his Italian background, Italian food and the ebbs and flows of the barbering business.

Aurelio was born in Sicily but came with his family to Australia aged two, and was raised in the Moonee Ponds/Ascot Vale area.

He comes from a family of boilermakers.

We both chuckle ruefully when I suggest there has been a long-declining demand for boilermakers in the western suburbs.

He tells me I have a nice, round head that is well suited to the clean-shaven, shiny, bald look.

“If I did that, I’d look like a crim!” he says.

“You already do!” quip I.

“I know,” comes the quick retort. “But imagine how much worse it’d look without hair!”

 

buzz3

Guest post contest; fabulous prize!

Leave a comment

wov8

 

Consider The Sauce has run about a handful of guest posts but quite frankly I’d like to see more.

Having said that, I fully understand that regularly reading and enjoying a food blog is something quite different from getting sufficiently organised to eat, enjoy, record and write-up a meal for blogging purposes!

As well, I suspect that what is a near daily routine for me may actually be a little daunting for some.

Nevertheless, I really hope at least a handful of CTS regulars – or even lurkers – might rise to the a bait an enter our Guest Post Competition.

To sweeten the pot, I have a fabulous prize to offer …

The winner of our Guest Post Competition will receive a super prize – lunch for four courtesy of our friends at Woven in Stephen Street, Yarraville.

The prize will consist of lunch for four in the form of one juice or cold drink, one hot drink and one main course lunch dish per person. Value: $100 (approximately).

Here are the competition guidelines:

Entries close on March 31.

Send entries to kennyctsblog@gmail.com

The winner will be announced – and published on CTS – soon thereafter.

There are no length requirements – anything from 100 words up to, say, 1000 will be fine.

Posts/stories can be about anything to do with food in the greater western suburbs of Melbourne – not just restaurants and cafes but also markets, shops, whatever. Even a picnic down by the river!

Entries do not have to be a straight review of a business but can take all sorts of forms – a story about getting your kids to love multicultural food, for instance. Or maybe an essay about how your neighbourhood’s foodie face has changed and evolved over the years.

Photographs are not a requirement but will surely help your chances.

In keeping with the CTS ethos, entries that go for the unusual or obscure – or that come at a familiar subject from a fresh angle – will be given more weight than stories about, for instance, the likes of Laksa King or the Station Hotel.

Good luck!