Monthly Archives: April 2015

Yum cha in Castlemaine

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Taste of the Orient Yum Cha House, 223 Barker Street, Castlemaine. Phone: 5470 5465

Bennie and I are up Kyneton way to spend some time on Helen’s ranch – but first we’re checking out the Castlemaine market.

I’m impressed with the depth and breadth of the fresh produce and the likes of preserves on hand but it’s mostly lunch we’re after.

The best we see is an inside crew from one of the local Chinese joints doing what looks like some pretty good yum cha.

But there’s a queue and, silly me, we haven’t got enough hard cash on us to do the job.

So it’s in to Castlemaine proper we go.

 

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We amble around the town’s CBD but find it hard to get a good reading on what’s on offer.

After years of trawling through the west, it seems we have some sort of in-built wisdom that means we can assess an eatery very quickly – good, bad, yes, no, worth a shot?

Not infallibly, mind you, but reliably so.

In Castlemaine, it feels as if every place we pass will sell us a crappy BLT and take about an hour to serve it.

Sorry, Castlemaine!

So we hit an ATM and prepare to head back to the market.

 

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Just as we are departing I see it – the very same Chinese restaurant that is doing yum cha at the market.

It’s open and, yes please, that’ll do fine!

Vegetarian dims sims (top photo, $7.50) taste OK but seem to have the consistency of sludge and thus lack the sort of textural contrasts I am expecting.

 

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Organic pork and carrot dim sims ($7.50) are juicy with porkiness and very good.

 

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Deep-fried organic tofu ($6) suffers by comparison with more highly seasoned versions we get in Malaysian establishments but is still good.

 

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Crystal vegetarian dumplings ($7.50) have all the crunch and texture I expected from our other veggie selection and are excellent.

Steamed buns are mostly Bennie’s preserve, but even I completely love the …

 

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… free-range pork $4) and …

 

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… free-range chicken and ginger ($4) items we have here!

The latter is juicy, meaty and fragrant with ginger.

Both buns are light and undoughy.

We’ve had what I consider to be a top-rate and very affordable yum cha feed.

Bennie is somewhat less impressed – is he becoming a cranky, hard-to-please teen?

And it’s true my judgment could be subjectively coloured by the lack of anything else in Castlemaine that called strongly to us and the sheer delight of finding a classy yum cha emporium right here.

Still, with just a few minor quibbles, I consider that what we eat is mostly as good as anything we’d get in Melbourne places – and a whole lot better than we’d get in many.

Meal of the week No.6: Dosa Corner

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Consider The Sauce may end up doing a more substantial write-up on Dosa Corner, the new Indian place opposite long-established Dosa Hut on Barkly Street in West Footscray – when there are a tableful of mouths to feed.

In the meantime, here’s the goss.

Dosa Corner has been open about a week, there’s incense burning, the place is bright and cheerful, and the service good considering this is a snack-type joint.

The menu is quite long and super cheap.

There’s dosas aplenty, of course.

But there’s also chaat, uthappams, quite a few Indo-Chinese dishes, biryanis and a trio of sweets.

Get a load of the above-pictured pooris!

The freshly fried breads are a little smaller than usual but very good.

The gloopy dal/vegetable mix is excellent.

The other accompaniments are those that attend your typical dosas.

The price?

$5.

How’s that for a brilliant light lunch?

 

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Hardware overkill

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The is the new Bunnings that is rapidly nearing completion at the Footscray site of what was once the HQ for the Forges/Dimmeys empire.

As we were driving past yesterday, Bennie asked:

“Who is going to shop there?”

Good question, I reckon.

This behemoth will join newish Bunnings outlets at Altona and Highpoint.

There are others in Sunshine, Melton, Hoppers Crossing, Werribee Caroline Springs, Taylors Lakes and Essendon.

And of course, Bunnings has competitors – there’s Mitre 10, Masters/BCF and Home Timber & Hardware outlets scattered across the west, too.

Indeed, there is one of the latter just a few hundred metres from the new Footscray Bunnings location.

As anyone who has even so much as glanced at a television in recent years will attest, all these companies spend A LOT on advertising.

Their slogans are as embedded in our collective brain as deeply as any irritating pop song.

 

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I’ve heard it said that such edifices are what has closed down neighbourhood hardware stores.

I’m sure that’s true – there used to be one of the smaller variety in Anderson Street, Yarraville.

But it doesn’t explain the growth explosion of these mega-stores.

Mega-stores?

More like aircraft hangars.

Or aircraft carriers.

And I know the greater western suburbs are experiencing tremendous growth and a steep population increase.

But that doesn’t do it for me, either.

After all, these places are becoming so ubiquitous that they’re the hardware equivalent of 7-Eleven, Subway or Maccas.

What is going on?

Post-script: The answer to the above question – or some of the answers – are to be found in this very good piece from August last year in The Monthly.

Thanks to Amy for the link!

 

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Dancing Dog Diary No.2

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The Let’s Buy The Dancing Dog Pozible campaign went live last Thursday morning.

By early evening, it had accrued just over $1000 in pledges.

“OK – cool!” thought I.

A mere 12 hours later that figure had swelled to more than $30,000.

Wow!

How did that happen?

Easter has slowed things down, unsurprisingly.

But as of this writing – early evening on Easter Sunday – the pledge amount stand at more than $37,000.

Wow!

Maybe we can really do this!

In the meantime, the campaign’s Facebook page has been filled with enthusiasm and all sorts of exciting and inspiring link and stories.

Even to the most ardent optimist, however, it may still seem like a preposterous long shot.

So is there a point to all this if we fail to reach the required amount?

Oh yes there is!

As Katerina said in an email gee-up to supporters:

“Already, these meetings have brought people together and brought out all sorts of wonderful stories. Even if the campaign doesn’t win, it’s been worth it just for these moments. Come and enjoy the inspirational community spirit. And remember, even if we don’t get the money we need to buy the building, the better this campaign does, the more we are putting developers on notice that they will have a fight on their hands if they do anything really inappropriate.”

Personally, I am already enjoying the community goodwill and spirit being displayed by all and sundry.

And given the networks of connections and relationships that are being utilised, it’s unsurprising that some things are becoming nicely personal.

The best friend of my son, Bennie, is a lovely lad named Che.

When they first became pals, they were both attending the same Sunshine primary school and Che lived with his mum, Viki, and sister, Chela, in North Sunshine.

A few years back, they moved to Yarraville – and just a few blocks from us.

The boys’ friendship has deepened since then and yours truly is slowly, bit by bit, getting to know his mum and the family in general.

One thing I have learned through conversation and Facebook is that Viki is a really, really good singer.

What I did not know until #letsbuythedog is that she has a rich and intense history with the Dancing Dog.

Here’s what she posted for the Let’s Buys The Dancing Dog Facebook group:

“I love this place – I’ve spent many a Sunday afternoon here with the Westword poets. My kids love the cookies they serve. Our band has played gigs there and we made one of our video clips there. I hope this place can remain as a space where people make music/poetry/art/socialise as before. I don’t know if this helps in any way, but here’s a video clip we did, much of which was filmed at the Dancing Dog, the fact of which epitomises what it means to me and many others. The people at the Dancing Dog were very supportive when we made this.”

 

 

And here, just as a matter of record, is the Biggin & Scott video spruiking the building:

 

 

Remember: The auction is scheduled for Saturday, April 18, at 1pm!

Altona joy

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The House Of Beans Cafe, 25 The Circle, Altona. Phone: 0419 375 397

Bennie always showed more interest in the F&C shop at one end of The Circle’s shopping strip than I.

But that wasn’t hard as mine was pretty much zero.

My lack of curiosity continued when the premises became a cafe that – and here I am, judging a restaurant by its cover – seemed to offer little more than basic coffee.

So it is only happy circumstance – the Lebanese pizza shop up the road being closed – that forces me through the door to see what’s on offer.

My prior judgments based on appearances prove to be utterly false.

 

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In fact, House Of Beans serves a nice longish range of Lebanese food – think falafel, foul, hommos and the like – that puts it on the same footing as the fabulous Abbout Falafel House in Coburg.

And about that I am ecstatic.

Just think – no more driving to Sydney Road!

Unless we feel like a drive, of course.

For my first visit, I go for the “kefta in bread” ($6.50) and a small serve of fattoush ($7) (top photo).

 

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At first blush the kefta found between layers of lovely, toasted house-made flat bread appears to be very similar to the pinkish meaty smear found on your basic meat pizza up the road and elsewhere.

It’s nothing of the sort.

This is much more juicy, well seasoned and delicious – in short, it really is lamb kofta in a sandwich.

Marvellous!

The generously proportioned fattoush is wonderfully fresh but, if anything, the dressing is a little too lemony.

And regular readers will know that I really like a lemony dressing.

On the basis of what I’ve already, tried I am excited upon returning with Bennie.

Nahida helpfully explains the ins and outs of the five different varieties of foul on offer – basically they’re all variations on red beans, depending on the addition or not of tomato, tahini or chick peas – but we perversely go in the opposite direction.

 

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I let my young man have his way with an order of the most expensive menu item – mixed grill ($15).

It’s a ripper!

There’s a skewer apiece of kofta, lamb and chicken.

They’re all fabulous – heavy with amazing chargrill flavour, juicy and tender.

Throw in a good gob of hommos, some rice and the same good salad mix, and you’ve got a splendid meal.

 

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My falafel plate ($10) looks a little on the bare-bones side until the arrival of …

 

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… a fabulously tangy bowl of green olives, pickled cucumber and chillis, mint and onion with which Bennie and I both make happy.

The falafels themselves are fresh and yummy though a tad on the dry side for my tastes. Next time, I’m sure some yogurt will happily be provided to moisten things up.

 

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Nahida brings us some foul to try regardless of our regular order.

This one is an oily mix of red beans and chick peas that is slightly surplus to the rest of our meal.

But we enjoy most of it anyway.

I love how its plainness works in a harmony of contrasts with the various contents of our pickle bowl.

We love what Banjo (he declines to tell me from part of Lebanon his name comes), Nahida and their family have going on here and what they bring to the table in terms of swelling the depth of Middle eastern food available in the western suburbs.

We suggest you get there pronto – but take on board that House Of Beans Cafe is a lunch-only establishment.

 

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Our mission? Fried chicken!

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Snow Tree, 119 Hopkins Street, Footscray. Phone: 9689 0871

Consider The Sauce has been to Snow Tree once before when it was mostly a waffle/sweets place.

In the ensuing months I have been somewhat aware that the place has been evolving.

But it was only very recently that I noted that it now has a much more fetching interior and a much-extended menu.

Snow Tree has become a full-on Korean restaurant!

So it is that the same Team CTS of four rocks up for a feed.

Fried chicken is very much on our minds.

So at first we are shattered when we discover there is a big red cross drawn right through the fried chook section of the menu proper.

 

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No problem – it’s all on its own laminated card.

But at Snow Tree, it has to be said, the fried chook list, the lunch menu and the menu proper are difficult to navigate, with a confusing range of “sets” and options.

Hard to know just how to do it for a group of four.

We settle on a whole chook to share and a main with condiments each.

Yep, we’re in over-order territory but not by much.

One of our mains is forgotten, but the boo-boo turnaround is admirably swift and in no way detracts from our dinner enjoyment.

 

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Our whole chicken costs $29.

It’s just fine.

It comes with the requested “spicy” sauce and is festooned with chips.

Korean fried chicken has so rapidly become a bit of a craze that there seems to be heap of folks – bloggers and others – who are experts.

I am not one of them.

So I simply do not know if the chips and the masses of sticky sauce are traditional, normal or even acceptable.

For me, the chips seem redundant.

The sauce is spicy but makes for a supremely sticky – but not necessarily unenjoyable – eating experience.

The chicken itself?

Excellent.

 

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My spicy beef “rip” stew ($14.50) is a bit of a mixed bag.

The gravy/soup is not terrifically spicy but has a tremendous depth of flavour.

I love the way it works with the vegetables and some rice.

There’s heaps of beef rib bits with sizable meat chunks (and fat). But the meat itself is chewy to the point of closing in on inedible.

Dang!

 

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Bennie and Eliza both enjoy their “stone” bibimbap ($12), and I note with some envy that the rice bottom of Bennie’s dish is suitably brown and crunchy.

 

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Josh goes for the spicy pork belly on rice ($10.50) and I hear no complaints from him.

The kimchee, slaw, bean sprouts and roast potato cubes (we think that’s what they are) that accompany all our dishes are OK without evincing much finesse.

The above-noted forgotten dish aside, the service is good and the wait times about right for the dishes we have ordered.

All minor quibbles aside, we enjoy our time at Snow Tree.

It strikes us as a winning Footscray spot for Korean food that can cater for a quick ten-buck solo lunch or for more relaxed meals for larger groups.

And the menu is comprehensive!

 

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Dancing Dog Diary No.1

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Katerina Gaita and a few pals set the ball rolling to attempt saving the Dancing Dog building as a community space/asset little more than a week before the mid-week meeting I attend but the campaign is already gaining momentum.

I filled in the contact form – “How can I help?” – form on the new group’s website and have been duly contacted.

I proffer my services, suggesting that maybe – just maybe – I can offer some help by way of media savvy.

The truth is, though, I feel a bit redundant …

 

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… because the sale of the property at 42 Albert Street and the campaign to keep it “in the community” has already scored the front page splashes of BOTH local newspapers.

That’s impressive!

Katerina assures me, however, that this is because the story has captured the community’s imagination and not necessarily because of any top-rate media hustle by herself or anyone else.

Still …

You can read the Star Weekly story here and the Leader story here.

As well, The Age has also been busy in the form of story in its Domain section, which you can read here.

But time is short as the auction is scheduled for 1pm on Saturday, April 18.

 

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I am one of 13 people who attend the meeting in Seddon and one of only three blokes on hand.

I feel even more out of my depth when the complexities and work involved in setting up such a project – administrative, legal, financial, crowdfunding and more – are grappled with.

Luckily, we have among us a number of what I suspect are very capable community activists and it is all addressed, and roles and aims allocated and decided, within a couple of hours with a minimum of fuss.

There is wine and Easter eggs on hand to grease the wheels.

Everyone is on board but all those present, without exception, have busy lives and a gazillion other things to deal with.

My offer of putting Consider The Sauce at the campaign’s disposal is readily accepted.

So while #letsbuythedog has a Facebook group (see here) and a website (see here), CTS will work as a sort of clearing house – on a needs basis – for news, links to media coverage, stories, comments, conversations and notification of events, happenings and meetings.

Hopefully, we can all have some fun while we’re at it!

So why have I chosen to become in this when so many other similar campaigns have passed me by?

I’m not really sure, to tell you the truth.

I’ve certainly never been a regular habitue of the Dancing Dog.

I think it comes down to a comment left by regular CTS comment-leaver Jane on the Footscray eats goss post I put up a week or so ago:

“It’s going to kinda suck when Footscray is just another Yarraville…”

The group as whole, however, is determined that the campaign be promoted as community-positive rather than anti-development.

Check out the real estate listing for the property here.

Stay tuned!

Thank you, Footscray!

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Entries for Consider The Sauce Guest Post Competition were slow in arriving but in the end we got a goodly number.

All were good.

A couple were longer and more detailed than the winner.

But in the end, the honours go to Erika Jonsson for her eloquent and soulful homage to Footscray.

Congratulations and we hope you enjoy your lunch at Woven.

And thanks to all who entered!

 

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By Erika Jonsson

My four-year-old son’s fingertips are stained yellow.

He’s licked them clean but the turmeric always lingers in the beds of his nails for a day or two after an Ethiopian feast.

He loves eating with his hands, dipping tangy injera into brightly coloured stews or wrapping it around perfectly cooked meat.

Joe slides down from his seat and heads to the counter to pay – a responsibility he takes seriously.

“Don’t forget your manners,” I remind him as he walks away.

He proffers a $50 note and accepts his change.

“Amesegenallo,” he says.

The faces behind the counter light up – shock quickly becomes delight at the realisation a small, blond boy has just said thank you in Amharic, Ethiopia’s primary language.

“Thank you” is a powerful word in any language, but say it to someone in their native tongue when they are not expecting it and you can open up a conversation in an instant.

My son has spent the entirety of his short life in Footscray.

He loves to talk and he loves to make people happy.

So he says “cảm ơn” when he’s been eating pho; “terima kasih” at Roti Road; “shuk’ran” at Babylon (a favourite that

has now sadly closed); and “grazie” to Joe the barber for a handful of lollies after a hair cut.

He takes diversity for granted.

“How good does Kebab Surra smell?” he exclaims from across the road as he catches a whiff of charcoal and spice emanating from his favourite restaurant. “Can we have Kebab Surra for dinner please, please, please?”

I grew up in a household with plenty of culinary variety, but nothing like the world of choices Joe has on offer within a kilometre of our central Footscray apartment.

When we moved to Footscray, when I was pregnant with Joe, my friends and family were aghast.

Occasionally they still express concerns about safety or doubts over our inner-urban lifestyle.

I just laugh.

I’ve never regretted our decision to move to Footscray.

Every now and then I wish for more space, but the trade-off isn’t worth it.

Joe and I walk everywhere.

We eat out when we feel like it, and a family meal for three plus an increasingly hungry nine-month-old rarely costs more than $40.

We have a world of food right outside our door, and it opens up a world of possibilities when it comes to travel, friendship and cultural awareness.

Life tastes good in Footscray.