Category Archives: Places we like to eat at

Turkish cuisine and limousines

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Platinum Cafe, 36 Macaulay Road, North Melbourne. Phone: 0497 849 411

Platinum Taxis has been in residence at Macaulay Road for many years.

From No.36 operates a wide range of vehicular services – not just your humble cabbies but also airport and hotel pick-ups, limos and all the resources that drivers need to do their jobs.

The current Platinum Cafe set-up, however, has been in-house for just a few months.

 

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Bennie Weir practises his psycho stare; Nat Stockley photographs food.

 

After our very good pal Nat Stockely realises things have taken a Turkish turn at Platinum, we waste no time in convening a North Melbourne lunch date.

Bennie and I are hoping for good, cheap fast-food, perhaps something a little more exotic, perhaps an alternative to the Embassy Taxi Cafe in terms of midnight-hour munchie outings.

Sure, the menu (see below) does include burgers, toasties and the like.

But wow – we find a whole bunch more than that!

 

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The joint is being run by Nadia and her friend Ozen (both pictured at top) and also Lev.

Nadia knows her way around Turkish food, having worked for a Deer park eatery of that genre for more than a decade.

But what she and her pals are turning out in North Melbourne is mostly not Turkish restaurant food.

 

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Instead, Platinum Cafe is providing home-style cooking of the kind your favourite Turkish mum prepares.

On the day we visit, we’re told to “forget” the specials board (see below) – I would’ve certainly opted for the lamb roast.

Instead, we three converge on the bain marie and proceed to enjoy a mighty feast.

 

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My plate stacks up thusly …

Very good Turkish rice with orzo.

Patlican kebab (eggplant kebab) – one of the best eggplant dishes it’s ever been my pleasure to devour, the slippery, delicious eggplant mixing it with lovely lamb cubes.

Mucver – fritters of spud, carrot and egg that are wonderfully chewy.

Sulu kofte – Marble-size balls of cracked wheat (quite like gnocchi) and chick peas in a rich soup based on a lamb stock.

The cracked wheat balls are more tender than they appear but along with the chick peas constitute a meal in themselves and would probably be better enjoyed as such.

The soup, however, is great.

 

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The plates of Nat and Bennie are similar save for the addition of a vege-and-chicken dish with cheese sauce of Nadia’s own devising.

 

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Platinum Cafe also boasts a range of dolmas, including stuffed capsicums, and sarma such as vine leaves.

We get a plate of the latter and enjoy them very much.

They’re served how we like ’em – cold.

They’re quite delicate and have a nice smoky flavour. Nat even reckons there may be meat of some sort involved though Nadia tells me that is not the case.

 

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Also provided to our table is a very good salad of finely chopped vegetables, tomato, pickles (both cuke slices and cornichons), olives and fetta – such a shame it barely gets a look in as we explore the rest of our meals.

Our meal deals – including our plates, the stuffed vine leaves, the salad and cans of drink – costs us each an awesomely cheap $17.

 

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Nadia tells me about the 90 per cent of the drivers who come in are of Turkish extraction – sounds very high to me! – but that there are also drivers from Greece, Italy and East Africa. From all over, really …

For all of them, I suspect, the Turkish homecooking served at Platinum Cafe is both welcome and somehow familiar, no matter from where they hail.

Nadia also warns us that when we return, the line-up of home-style dishes will almost certainly not be the same.

We wouldn’t have it any other way!

Platinum Cafe is open from 6am-8pm on week days and from 8am-5pm on Saturdays.

 

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Food on sticks – Afghan Master Kebab for Footscray

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Afghan Master Kebab, 131 Nicholson Street, Footscray. Phone: 9396 0201

Team CTS bowls up for the opening party of BigWest an hour after advertised start time and find the whole shebang and everyone involved is pretty much just getting over the rain.

What to do?

Eat!

So we adjourn to nearby Nicholson Street and the recently opened Afghan Master Kebab, a sister restaurant to the popular eatery of the same name in Sunshine.

 

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Sister Restaurant?

More like identical twins.

The menu line-up (see below) appears to be the same, save for the addition of such stuff as fish and chips.

Mind you, the Footscray edition is done out in perfectly fine and plain cafe style that in no way matches the flamboyant interior found up in Sunshine!

 

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Three of us choose the mix kebab ($13.99) and a delight it is.

Four skewers – two of superbly juicy chicken and one each of the minced kebab kobida lamb and the diced lamb cubes of tikka kebab.

They’re all wonderful.

Elsewhere around town, in restaurants that vary from Greek and Turkish to barbecue, it’s easily possible to pay significantly more for meat that is not so fabulous.

As in Sunshine, acceptable yet largely superfluous salad bits and two dipping sauces accompany.

The chilli and mint number is a doozy while, here, the yogurt dip seems a bit more tangy and has a richer dairy flavour.

 

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Our meals come with heaps of the wonderful Afghan Master Kebab bread – a bit like naan but chewier and just right slathered in the sauces.

 

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After a slightly underwhelming experience with chargrilled chook earlier in the week, it’s a giddy pleasure to inhale the Master Kebab half chicken ($14.99).

A bit pricier … but THIS is charcoal grilled chicken.

 

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On an earlier visit, I’d tried the chicken qorma ($12), one of a handful on non-grill offerings on the menu.

It’s nice enough, mildly seasoned and of generous serve.

But if anything, it serves only to reinforce the notion that food on sticks is the way to go here.

 

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Diwali with Suneeti

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Consider The Sauce never takes for granted the heart-and-soul situations that open up for us because we do what we do.

 

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A year or so ago, for instance, I spent an entire day with our wonderful friend and fellow blogger the Urban Ma and her family, preparing and then eating a fabulous Pinoy feast.

 

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This one is a bit like that …

 

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I met Suneeti when she and some pals were guests at the CTS Feast held at Curry Leaves, the fabbo Sri Lankan eatery in Sunshine.

 

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We sat at the same table, got talking and soon discovered that when it comes to sub-conintental eats – and what’s hot and what’s not so much in the western suburbs – we are very much on the same page.

 

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All of which led to the question: Would Bennie and I like to be guests at her family’s regular Diwali bash in their Sunshine home?

 

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Yes!

 

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And what a fine time we had!

 

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We enjoyed meeting a varied bunch of lovely folks.

 

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This was not you hardcore devout Hindu Diwali party – the assembled guests and family were from all over; there was meat and alcohol, though not a lot of either.

 

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The food?

 

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OMG – sensational!

 

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Mildly spiced, as befits a gathering at which there are numerous young children, but still just so very fine.

 

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Thanks, Suneeti!

 

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And, yep, we’d really like to return next year!

This story and these photos are published with Suneeti’s happy approval – she was too busy to take pics so is looking forward to this post as a memento!

 

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The chook burger wins

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Manok, 351 Somerville Road, Yarraville. Phone: 9315 1440

As previously reported right here on CTS, Manok replaces the long-standing chook shop on Somerville Road on the small shopping strip at that road’s intersection with the Princes Highway.

Team CTS has visited twice now and had enjoyable meals on both occasions.

But we recommend keeping expectations in check.

Even with the new Manok crew on deck, this remains a chicken shop – albeit with a few twists – and fast food is the go.

The service is fine and we love and applaud that our in-house meals are served on enamelled plates with metal cutlery attending, though takeaway customers get styrofoam.

 

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Our biggest hit by far is the chicken burger ($10, top photograph).

Bennie orders this and I’m envious.

He loves every mouthful.

It’s a simple thing – pulled roast chicken mixed with house-made peanut sauce and placed between the bun bookends with coleslaw.

How good does it look?

This is the sort of creation that could see Manok develop a bit of cult and end up on lists.

 

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The chips ($3.50) that come with Bennie’s sandwich are fine, fresh and hot.

 

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That makes them a step above those that accompanied my burger on an earlier visit – these were just OK.

The beef burger ($10, $1 extra for bacon) was pretty handy, too.

Much better than you’d routinely get in chicken shops across the city, though I did wish for a bit more charred beef flavour.

 

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And the chicken?

There’s a choice of two – regular and lemon grass.

Both CTS pal Marnie and I go for the latter, with the above-pictured half chook and salad costing $12.90.

I find it enjoyable but a bit average.

I’d like a bit more flavour oomph from the chook – I end up wishing I’d ordered the regular and got the crusty, salty taste explosion that goes with old-school chicken shop poultry.

The Greek salad is acceptable.

But with this sort of chicken in this sort of setting, I’d much prefer to have a good coleslaw on hand.

Marnie is a long-time reader of CTS and we’ve been working towards actually meeting up for some time – sometimes these things can take a while!

She has filed the following:

“Hey Kenny, thanks for inviting me to help check out the place. It was lovely to meet you both. The chook was good but I think I needed some sort of dipping sauce to go with it. Something traditionally Filipino would be ace. Paying for nearly $3 (!) for gravy is a bit insulting IMO … I still think I prefer Pier Street charcoal chicken shop in Altona in terms of juiciness, tastiness and value for money though.“

Nice to meet you, too!

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Kiosk by d’Asporto – photo shoot for The Age

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Read The Age story here.

Right from the time we got a nice reader’s tip that something good was happening at Williamstown Beach, Consider The Sauce has been following the doings there with high interest.

 

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Not just because stuffing the lifesaving club’s kiosk with really good Italian street food is such a fine idea but also because the lovely crew from Pizza d’Asporto is up to their necks in making it happen.

 

 

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As well, such a brilliant idea is it that selling it as a “Just Opened” feature for The Age was a breeze with that rag’s food editor Roslyn Grundy.

 

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Today’s the day for the photo shoot.

 

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I don’t expect to be playing a particularly active role – but it is my story and besides, you know, it’s fun.

 

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Claudio, Antoinetta, Ros, myself and everyone else involved has been most fervently hoping for fine, sunny weather.

 

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That we don’t get.

 

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But Melbourne being mercurial Melbourne, we’re all pretty happy with the overcast but warm, windless conditions.

 

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Oh yes, it could be way worse.

 

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Figuring the photographer was booked for 1.30pm, I’m a bit shocked to bowl up at 1pm to find the shoot already underway.

 

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I am also aghast that the kiosk is chockers with all sorts of beautiful food and that all hands are on deck – when the official opening is still a week away.

 

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But while it’s likely only two pics will be used to accompany my yarn, truth is this is also a handy trial run for the entire Kiosk by d’Asporto operation.

 

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I have a nice old time chatting to all and sundry as photographer Wayne, his wife, Nicole, and Antoinetta get the business done with professional aplomb.

 

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Then we eat!

Read The Age story here.

 

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Music mates but no silverside for me

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Royal Standard Hotel, 333 William St, West Melbourne. Phone: 9328 2295

Before Consider The Sauce – before the domain name had been bought, before I’d begun to get to grips with the wordpress blogging platform and the whole blogging deal – one of the ideas I had was to combine on my site food AND music.

Wisely, I think, the food prevailed – though regular readers well know that my musical passions pop up every now and then in cameo appearances.

And that was that, I thought.

After a lifetime of writing about and broadcasting music – and chasing the groove both locally and in the US – my love of music had become a private deal.

And I’m mostly comfortable with that.

But a year or so ago, I noticed good pal and former colleague Lee was contributing to a Facebook group based around music and mateship.

I read with interest.

The I started offering up the odd interjection.

Then I joined.

 

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It’s been great.

I don’t fire up in terms of extolling what I’m digging nearly as much as some – generally speaking, about once  month I let loose with a rambling rave about my current faves in terms of funky old soul or country or jazz or cajun or swamp pop or whatever.

(The recently amassed pile of vintage stuff from Cuba, Soweto, Haiti, Columbia, Peru, Ghana, Congo, Ethiopia, Benin, Nigeria awaits raving!)

I confess to feeling somewhat out of step with the group’s general leanings – too many white blokes with guitars and a whole lotta rock of the kind with which I don’t generally roll.

But here’s the thing – as with my previous online musical communions (Blue Note Bulletin Board, All About Jazz, Jazz Corner, Organissimo – all but the last now gone to the internet graveyard), and locally at the late, lamented Hound Dog’s Bop Shop, specifics of individual tastes matter not.

Because what I really enjoy is not mostly the music being discussed but the passion with which the group members address it and the (often tall) stories that accompany.

 

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Something I’ve always been adamant about when running CTS is that when the opportunity arises, hitherto digital relationships should be put on a real-time face-to-face basis – and we’ve had some wonderful folks come into our lives through doing so.

So it is that with a good heart that I bowl up to the Royal Standard in West Melbourne to meet many of the denizens of Music4Mates for the first time.

We have a fine time over beers and tucker.

So for the company, the generous spirit, the stories and the bullshit, I say thank you to Lee, Warren, Saskia, Andrew, Brett, Baz, Steve, Diane and Johanna.

The Royal Standard is a very much old-school inner city boozer – no pokies, live music, metaphorical sticky carpet and a heap of different beers.

The food (see menu below) is suitably old-school, too, and priced accordingly.

I don’t keep track of what everyone is eating …

 

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… but I note that Steve’s (Aussie) burger ($20) looks very much the goods.

With beetroot, of course!

Extra points for crawfish shirt grooviness.

 

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My own bangers and mash ($19) are fine, with the snags being of better quality than I’d normally expect and the mash and onion gravy also good.

Could’ve lived without the salady bits, though.

 

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As ever when confronted by such a menu line-up, I’d cast around for the specials board, on which – in this pub today – silverside has been listed as the roast of the day.

Silverside? Roast?

Whatever … turns out that Brett snagged the last serve of the day – and I’m envious.

How good does that look?

 

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‘Rescued’ food in a Carlton pub

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Wendy Hargreaves with FareShare CEO Marcus Godinho and The Lincoln publican Iain Ling.

Fairshare “Rescued” Dinner, The Lincoln, 91 Cardigan Street, Carlton.

FairShare is a very worthy organisation that “rescues” food that would otherwise go to waste and feeds it to hungry people to the tune of about 25,000 meals a week that are distributed to charities.

Its “Rescued” dinner was one of those special events in which I like to indulge every now and then.

Why not?

It ticked all the boxes.

Very good cause, (hopefully) great food and the chance to meet some fine and interesting people.

 

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I confess to having some doubts about the food.

How good can a meal be when it is produced solely from food that is about to be chucked out?

A conversation with FareShare CEO Marcus Godinho soon set me right.

Of course!

There are, it turns out, very many ways in which food falls through the gaps, particularly when it comes to logistics and bureaucracy.

So the food we eat, particularly with the likes of Frank Camora helping out in the kitchen, is excellent and enjoyed by a sell-out crowd that appeared to have taken over all the dining spaces at the Lincoln.

 

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People-wise, the highlight for me is sitting down and chewing the fat – so to speak – with Wendy Hargreaves.

Wendy, a FairShare ambassador, is a fellow foodie about town – check out her website here.

In many ways, she and I are poles apart in our approaches and tastes – but the story of our overlapping interests is a bit more delightfully messy than that.

 

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You see, Wendy and I actually shared office time in my final days at the Sunday Herald Sun.

So awful was that time, for me anyway, that I have no recollection of meeting or talking with Wendy back than – at all.

For several years, however, we have been chatting, sparring, gossiping and laughing courtesy of Facebook.

 

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So this was a lovely chance for the pair of us to compare notes face to face- and lo, unsurprisingly, we found we have a rather complex array of connections and stories in common.

Ears could – or should – have been burning!

Sharing our table were another Fairshare ambassador and foodie/media personage of note, Dani Valent, along with Karen, Carl and David – they were fine company.

The food?

Oh, it was grand!

(See small menu below.)

The highlight?

The slow-roasted Flinders Island lamb shoulder with asadillo, cauliflower/grain salad and an (unadvertised) stew of chickpeas and spinach.

 

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A Taste of Poland in Sunshine

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A Taste of Poland, 3/1B Bell Street, Sunshine West.

By Erika Jonsson

I’m a compulsive list-maker.

When I was in year 12 someone stole my study diary and wrote, “breathe in, breathe out” on every page, clearly amused by the idea I might not do it unless it was written on a list.

They weren’t far off the mark, really.

Most days I find myself creating a new list, from birthday present ideas a year out to playgrounds and cafes I’d like to visit.

Travel and lists go hand in hand for me – I have lists of places I’ve visited, countries I’d like to visit, cities I might otherwise forget to consider next time we are planning a holiday.

Travel and food also go well together in the western suburbs, where it’s possible to circumnavigate the globe without venturing far from home.

My family loves trying foods from previously unexplored cuisines, ticking off countries at every opportunity.

We’re racking up a pretty good tally – and we haven’t even made it to the Jamaican place in Yarraville yet.

So when my husband told me he was adding a new country to the list I was intrigued.

When he turned off Glengala Road in Sunshine West I was beyond curious.

 

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Consider The Sauce has already documented my love of dumplings, so when we pulled up outside A Taste of Poland it’s fair to say I was thrilled.

It’s an unassuming café attached to a small Polish grocery stocking everything from large jars of dried porcini mushrooms and pickled vegetables to chocolates and sweets.

The menu is small and exceptionally well priced – the most expensive meal on the board is $13.

We ordered a plate of potato and cheese dumplings (which I felt certain would be a winner with my two sons), pork with salad and chips and Polish sausages with cabbage and bread.

The lovely lady at the helm asked me which salads I wanted from the array of jars – I chose red cabbage salad and also ended up with a mix of cabbage, carrot and capsicum.

 

 

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The pork was tender and tasty, though nothing I couldn’t make at home.

The preserved salads were delicious and I added the cost of a couple of jars to our bill so I could enjoy them at home, too.

Five-year-old Joe and my husband both enjoyed the sausages, but the hands-down dish of the day was the dumplings.

No surprises there.

 

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One-year-old Hugh especially loved the creamy, smooth filling.

The dough was easy to eat and not the slightest bit tough.

 

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The dumplings are made fresh then frozen – you can buy them to take away from the freezer along with items such as croquettes and white borscht.

My coffee afterwards was quite satisfactory and my boys loved their jelly-centred chocolates as a treat.

Our three dishes plus a coffee, a juice and a soft drink came to about $35 and I also grabbed my jars of salad, pasta and dark chocolate to take home.

There is nothing fancy about A Taste of Poland but there doesn’t need to be, especially when you can feed four for less than $10 each.

I’ll certainly be returning for another dumpling fix soon.

CTS Feast No.13: Xuan Banh Cuon

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Ang, Xuan and Carson.

 

To book for this event, click here.

Xuan Bang Cuon is a fabulous eatery.

Now look, I’m guessing a bit here – but I reckon it must rank among the top handful of Vietnamese restaurants in the southern hemisphere.

I have no way of knowing for sure, of course, as I don’t plan on trying them ALL!

But still … it’s high time Xuan Banh Cuon and CTS got together for a feast.

And so it shall be!

It’s not just about the food, as terrific and distinctive as it is, with a strong north Vietnamese bent.

(Yes, you can order pho here but …)

It’s also about Xuan and her family and the joy they derive from serving Vietnamese food their way come what may.

Here are the details:

CTS Feast No.23: Xuan Banh Cuon,
232 Hampshire Road, Sunshine. Phone: 0422 810 075
Tuesday, December 8, from 7pm

Cost: $25

Menu

Appestiser sampler plate for each guest consisting of:
Pho cuon thit bo – sautee beef wrap in fresh pho noodle
Banh goi – Vietnamese puff
Cha mrc hai phong – northern squid cake

A choice of ONE of the following for each guest:
Bun rieu cua ca – slightly tangy vermicelli soup with tofu, crab paste and fish cakes
Banh da do tom thi cha – prawn, pork and homemade fish cake soup noodles
Goi du du kho ba – papaya salad
Banh cuon nhan (co cha) – pork and prawn steamed rice paper roll

Dessert:
Rhach dua rau cau – homemade coconut jelly

To book for this event, click here.

Westie eats goss

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Manok is sub-titled “for the love of chicken”.

It takes over the location of the formerly long-running charcoal chicken shop at 351 Somerville Road.

Google tells me this address, part of a small shopping strip at the intersection of the Geelong road, is officially in West Footscray – but most of us will more sensibly think of it as being in upper Yarraville.

I visit on opening day and find Phillip very busy.

He tells me he’s been a chef all his life, having done his cooking stuff at numerous Asian restaurants around Melbourne.

 

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At Manok – Tagalog for chicken – there’s an accent on Philippine chook.

 

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The marinated chicken (Bannockburn free range) is joined by regular charcoal chicken as well as wings marinated in brine and Philippine herbs.

Other than that, Phillips is mostly offering fast food – including hamburgers – that aims for classier, fresher and healthier than offered by your average takeaway joint.

 

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The salads, for instance, look like they’d be right at home in a swish cafe.

As well, Phillips tells me roasts and grind the peanuts for his peanut sauce and makes his own sweet chilli sauce.

We’ll do a double-banger chook/burger review in due course.

 

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The food/entertainment space on the ground floor of the St George Theatre apartment complex in Yarraville has a short-term tenant.

The Far Fetched Designs crew has moved in for the summer after having already enjoyed locations in Anderson and Gamon streets, as well as Brunswick, for their lovely pop-up crafts operation.

I’m told, however, that the space is under long-term lease to the same outfit that handles The Pint of Milk in Newport and Mezmez and The Pickle Barrel in Williamstown and that some time earlyish in the new year will see some action.

 

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Meanwhile, Patrick and Jill of Spice Bazaar Cooking School in Seddon have bought the Victoria Street premises that houses their operation.

Jill tells me that they’re re-organising their spice storage and moving things around a bit but that class capacity will increase.

 

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Meal of the week No.24: Woven

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Can a shake be a meal?

A case for the affirmative can certainly be with the Green Tea Mega Shake made with pride at Woven.

It’s not on the menu at the Yarraville establishment (175b Stephen Street) so you need to ask.

One of these babies costs $15.

The ingredients?

Hello Gello vanilla ice cream
Nutella
Green tea KitKat
Kenko matcha tea
A doughnut
Milk
Double matcha cream
House matcha soil
Matcha shortbread biscuit

The verdict?

Hmmm, not bad.

I like that it’s not cloyingly sweet.

The green tea thing is definitely interesting.

Definitely an experience worth pursuing by westside foodies.

At least once.

We were tipped to this mega project by Consider The Sauce reader and friend Bazoo.

His supposed partner in crime failed to make it so he “did” the whole thing himself, bringing on a bout of self-flagellating self-loathing that almost tipped him over the edge.

The Green Tea Mega Shake?

It’s a sharing thing.

 

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Best Indonesian

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The Uleg, 312 Sydney Road, Brunswick. Phone: 9388 8606

Our friends Nick and Marketa have asked us to join them on a Friday night at an Indonesian joint they’re keen on.

After long weeks of work and school, we’re not exactly bursting with enthusiasm as we hit the road, anticipating – and finding – a handful of bottlenecks along the way from Yarraville to Brunswick.

Our energy levels have hardly been boosted by the Facbook message I’d received from Marketa the previous night: “The portions are small and take a bit of time to arrive so have a little something before dinner!“

What?!

But make the trek we do.

And end up being oh-so-glad we’ve done so.

The Uleg is the bomb.

It serves the best Indonesian food I’ve ever had.

Now, that may not be saying all that much at all.

But … the food here has high levels of homemade personality and soul, downhome refinement and distinctiveness I’ve never before encountered in an Indonesian eatery – and that we rarely encounter in eateries of any Asian persuasion.

It earns the top-shelf Consider The Sauce accolade – we wish it was in the west!

 

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The Uleg is located on a portion of Sydney Road that is these days heavily hipsterised, though as with almost the entire length of the road there are many good and/or interesting eating options around.

Uleg’s longish dining room is lovely in wood and has the feel of a place that has been around for a while.

The service we find to be as warm and personable as the food.

The menu (see below) has about a dozen entrees in the $4 to $9 range.

Mains number about 50 and average about $13.

Save for a handful of snapper and barramundi dishes for around $17 and $24 respectively, they’re all configured as single-person dishes though that doesn’t deter all of us from tasting everything on our table.

 

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Long wait times?

Our entrees turn up smartly.

But it’s true that our four mains arrive in a procession with up to about five minutes between them.

I’m led to believe there’s minimal staff in the kitchen and, besides, the wait times are no problem whatsoever considering the quality of the food.

Small portions?

Well, no, not really – though I know what Marketa means.

The serves aren’t food-court, cheap-eats ginormous – but they’re more than adequate.

But that quality’s the thing, right down to the hand-made condiments.

Besides, we order freely, eat very well and end up paying a most excellent fee of about $25 each.

 

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First up – freshly squeezed lime juice over ice ($4).

So very, very good!

Bennie and I do two of these apiece.

There’s probably enough sugar involved to rival the canned soft drinks we habitually slurp with spicy food but this stuff nevertheless rocks our world as a tart, lip-smacking alternative.

 

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Fried calamari is the most expensive entree at $8.50.

It’s fresh, tender, very lightly battered and good without being spectacular.

 

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Tahu isi ($5.90) is two very enjoyable big cubes of fried tofu stuffed with beans sprouts, carrot and so on, and served with a very sticky soy sauce.

 

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Nasi goreng ($9.90) we share.

It’s excellent, with fine wok-charred flavour and good-size chunks of chicken.

On to our mains!

Iga goreng ($11.90, top photograph) is beef ribs served with Balado sambal.

Oh my, this is wonderful!

The meat is tender and comes from the bones easily; there’s fat but it’s easily discarded.

The flavour-packed meat harmonises beaut with the chilli mash.

 

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Chicken “Crunch” A.K.A ayam penyet ($11.90) is good, too, though it turns out to be the most mundane of our dishes so stiff is the compeition it faces.

The chook maryland is fine enough and is adorned with fried garlic flakes.

 

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Beef rendang with roti ($10.90) is another trumph.

We often find restaurant rendang to be OK but dull.

This one is not like that – it sings with hand-mixed spices and deft cooking.

 

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Finally, ox tail soup ($11.90) – bit of an odd man out that nevertheless fits just with our other selections.

It’s bigger than it photographs.

It’s salty in a good way.

It’s like a cross between two Vietnamese dishes – beef pho and on-the-bone beef stew.

Just without the star anise.

It has a heap of fat but also a heap of fall-apart-tender meat.

And submerged in there is a plump, deep-fried “potato cake” – no, most definitely not your typical Aussie F&C shop potato cake.

This one has spud cubes encased in a rich batter, the whole flavoursome and disintegrating at just the right pace as the soup eating progresses.

How I feel as we happily skip into the night, having had our weekend kickstarted in the most wonderful way: “Sorry for ever doubting you, Marketa – you’re a gun and a pal!”

 

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Meal of the week No.23: Shri Annapoorna

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shri1

 

A new Sri Lankan eatery on Ballarat Road?

That makes three.

And never mind the new or newish Sri Lankan arrivals in Werribee – see here and here.

What’s going on?

Well, in the case of Shri Annapoorna (290 Ballarat Road), not that much.

Customers, so far as I can ascertain, don’t get freshly made rotis, hoppers, string hoppers or lamprais here.

Instead, the choice is restricted to the dozen or so offerings in the bain marie.

Such humble, basic eateries are fewer in number these days but I reckon still have a place.

 

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I eat well at Shri Annapoorna.

As I do so, I see a number of food-laden trays depart out the entrance, so I figure catering is where this place is mainly at.

But it’s not that I want for fellow customers – I think there’s fairly hefty Sri Lankan population in and around this Braybrook neighbourhood.

My mixed plate is very Sri Lankan, very nice.

Good beef curry.

The familiar and spicy dry-cooked potatoes – a true Sri Lankan staple.

A mildly seasoned mushroom concoction – like many such mushie dishes, it looks black/ugly/unappealing but tastes good.

What looks like a typical dry coconut chutney I’m told has jackfruit in it – and, I think, fennel and/or fenugreek.

Not bad for $8.

 

 

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Flaming Tarneit

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Flames Charcoal Chicken, 14 Lavinia Drive, Tarneit. Phone: 8360 3029

Hoppers Crossing guitar lesson done, we’re headed up Morris Road to Tarneit – in a sufficiently reckless mood that a regulation, delicious but naughty feed from a chook shop will go down nicely.

But we’re quietly hoping for something better – something even more tasty and perhaps even a more healthy.

A touch of the Middle East perhaps?

Flames Charcoal Chicken looks out upon on Wyndham Village Shopping Centre, home to a recently arrived Dosa Hut outlet, and is right next door to the recently reviewed Somalian joint, Ya Salam.

Turns out this Flames shop is one of four – there’s two others in the west and one in Bundoora.

I’m told the others run are more your typical charcoal chicken shop routines.

 

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But the Tarneit establishment – oh happy day! – does indeed sport a heavy Middle Eastern influence.

There’s wraps and rolls in the mix – but there’s also good salads, pickles and meat on sticks waiting to be grilled.

What we have is fine – significantly better than average fast food and but not quite up to the standards of a full-on Lebanese place.

The prices, though, are very low.

It’s set out rather nicely as a restaurant proper, our meals are served on wooden platters and we use real cutlery.

 

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Bennie chooses the “chicken with the lot deal” ($16.90).

There’s three kinds of grilled chicken on hand – regular, chilli and (Bennie’s selection) lemon and garlic.

His chook is fine, though not displaying much by way of the two listed seasonings.

All the rest – yogurt dip, pickles, chips and very though very tasty tabouleh – is good.

 

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My shawarma meal ($12.90, top photograph) comes with the same accompaniments, save for chips.

I wish there was more lamb off the spit – and would happily pay for it.

Because this lamb is wonderful – tender, profoundly tasty and skillfully seasoned.

Locals will surely love having Flames around.

It delivers a tasty, above average fast-food hit at good prices.

 

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New jewel for Racecourse Road

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somali10

 

New Somali Kitchen, 284 Racecourse Road, Flemington. Phone: 8589 7631

There are a handful of African establishments on Racecourse Road, one of our favourite food destinations.

But mostly they seem content to keep themselves to themselves and their communities.

New Somali Kitchen – located in what for many years the strip’s charcoal chicken stalwart and, more recently, a short-lived burger joint – presents a more welcoming mien.

It’s done out in white tiles and dark wood and looks a treat.

Oddly enough, on my two visits so far, my fellow customers have been overwhelmingly from the Somali community!

I’ve found the service to be prompt and good.

The menu (see below) is admirably tight and very affordably priced.

 

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A plate of warm salad ($13) I see being scooted off to another table inspires me to order likewise.

Initially, I am taken aback that mine is not drizzled atop with bright, white yogurt dressing and the advertised pine nuts seem in very short supply.

But this is still very nice – the dressing is mixed throughout; there’s a heap of chopped, crunchy, roasted almonds; and the many leaves are fresh as.

The lamb – in the form of a many charred chunks – is a delight.

It’s tender and close to being free of gristle or bone.

 

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But the main game in mains at New Somali Kitchen – and the dish I’m guessing is ordered by at least half the clientele – is the NSK Classic ($10, $13).

This is the cheaper version – and a very good meal it iso.

The cooked-in-stock rice is marvellous and the fiery green chilli sauce is a piquant flavour hit.

The lamb is good – a bit on the gnarly side but nothing that anyone familiar with this kind of food is going to find unusual or unusually challenging.

Sadly, the accompanying lamb broth is unavailable for me this time around.

 

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New Somali Kitchen sports a nifty line-up of very cheap and wonderful sides such as sambusa, meatballs and these gorgeous and tasty bajeya – an African version of the eternal falafel ($4 for three pieces) made with black eye peas.

 

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Unlike many African eateries, New Somali Kitchen boasts a short list of house-made desserts – and they’re all good and well priced.

This cinnamon and cardamom cake ($4) is moister than it appears may be the case and anointed with yogurt.

 

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The “mango & yogurt dessert” and “Somali Affogato” (both $5) are equally enjoyable.

See Nat Stockley’s review here.

 

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Sri Lankan fusion in Werribee

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Fusion Ceylon, 27 Watton Street, Werribee. Phone: 9741 9656

Sri Lankan tiramisu?

What might that look and taste like?

Like this: Basically a regular tiramisu configuration but one made with sweet Sri Lankan coffee; spiced with cumin and cardamom; the usual sponge fingers joined by gingernut biscuits; and topped with cashews and chewy praline.

The textures are, well, pretty much pure tiamisu but the flavours are musty, mysterious and magical.

And happily, for my tastes, this SL tiramisu is far from overly sweet and actually nicely on the bitter side.

 

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It’s the creation of co-proprietors and co-cooks Isuru Madusanka and Chiran Hemadas at their new baby, Fusion Ceylon.

CTS has been to 27 Watton Street before, when it was being run as a game try at combining SL food with burgers, fish & chips and the like.

Since then, and before Isuru and Chiran arrived, it reverted to strictly fast-food under different management.

The place still bears hallmarks of its fast-food heritage but the lads have brought in some nice wooden furniture that gives the place a sweet cafe vibe.

Fusion is, of course, in food terms a much over-used and abused word, frequently denoting not much good at all.

These two blokes, though, have the background – many years between them working in top-shelf hotels – to cleverly, and deliciously, match the cooking of their SL culture with approaches a little more edgy.

Their menu (see below) is short but full of intrigue and of low prices.

Item: Chickpeas and sprats ($10) – stir-fried chickpeas with onion rings, chilli flakes, mustard seeds and sprats. The sprats, I’m told, a similar to the dried anchovies used elsewhere in Asia.

Item: Another dessert – this time it’s banana fritters … wok-fried bananas with treacle, macerated strawberries and vanilla ice-cream.

We stick with more humble dishes for our first visit yet are very satisfied.

 

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Nasi goreng a la Ceylon ($13) appears to be not much different from the regular versions, though Chiran tells me the spicing is different and they use basmati rice instead of jasmine.

But it’s all good – the rice is packed with a finely diced vegetables and chicken chunks and the gooey fried egg sitting atop is just right, as is the nicely charred chicken drumstick.

The prawn crackers are, as they always are, unnecessary.

 

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The same vegie mix is found on the noodles kothu ($10), which come from the specials list.

As with the more traditional roti kothu, in which roti is finely chopped with the other ingredients, here the noodles get the chop treatment.

And instead of chicken or pork, mine is served with lingu – house-made SL sausages that draw on a Dutch heritage.

 

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Chiran and Isuru make them with chicken or pork, vinegar, cumin, cardamom, nutmeg, pandan leaf and curry leaf.

There’s one snag on top of my kothu and pieces mingled in.

The sausage is distinctive and quite tangy – but not in the least confronting.

 

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The kothu noodles are served with what I’m told is a “mixed meat gravy” for adding as I eat.

It’s very nice and tasty lubricant.

Meanwhile, it seems you can take the chefs out of five-star hotels but taking the five-star hotels out of the chefs can take some adjustment.

As we have been talking , I’ve had to rather sternly – but amid all-round laughter – request of Chiran that he please, please cease referring to me as “Sir”!

 

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Newport brunch alternative?

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aths6

 

It’s about 10am at the Newport athletics tracks and the kids are jumping.

They’re also running, leaping, panting and generally having a ball.

 

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It’s the regular little aths meeting.

But as pleasing as this spectacle is, I’m here to check out the catering situation.

It’s great!

Is there better food – or coffee – at a Saturday morning kids sport gathering anywhere else in Melbourne?

I doubt it.

 

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It’s no surprise at all – the food, drinks and coffee here are being happily dispensed by Claudio, Antoinetta and their family – the same crew that runs Pizza d’Asporto and will soon be unveiling Kiosk by d’Asporto at Williamstown.

 

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There’s appropriately healthy little aths tuckers such as Italian “donuts” and bombolone but as well there’s …

 

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… more decadent stuff like fresh fruit salad and freshly squeezed orange juice.

Oh, yeah – and pizza slices.

 

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Best of all are really good-looking panini for $4 and stuffed with the likes of egg and pancetta, ham and cheese, and tuna tomato.

 

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Sadly, I’ve already breakfasted so make do with a lovely apple turnover and an excellent cafe latte – yes, Team Pizza d’Asporto has installed a very good coffee machine.

After strolling around a bit, I decide that (yep) one those paninis and another coffee would go down very nicely.

But by then it’s rush hour as competitors and their parents besiege the kiosk.

Darn.

 

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Westie eats goss

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westie36

 

Meet Rama.

He is the boss man at DAsian, the sprawling Indian eatery on Hopkins Street in Footscray, facing out over a carpark and towards Centrelink.

Rama is overseeing a major overhaul of the place that will see it renamed … Rama’s.

 

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Other changes will include:

  • The dining/entertainment to broken up into sections so the sprawling space is less daunting to prospective customers.
  • The introduction of an Indo-Italo pizza line – not uttapams but a real fusion of Italian and Indian.
  • Week-day thalis of six curries and naan for $9.95.
  • Weekend buffets with “the biggest range in the west” of 50 dishes plus salads. Note: CTS is not exactly sure this number of dishes is a great idea.
  • The rambling DAsian menu to be cut by at least half.
  • The eventual introduction of electronic ordering.

CTS is happy to see this Footscray food space being given new life and we look forward to taking Rama’s for a spin.

ETA: Tuesday, October 20.

 

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Manok is Tagalog for chicken – so it appears we have something to look forward to at the premises of the longstanding charcoal chicken shop in the small shopping strip on Somerville Road at the intersection with the Princes Highway.

Thanks to Roger Nye for the tip!

 

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In Altona, Two Bros On Blyth is undergoing upgrades that will see that crew providing what the sign in the window describes as “an eatery/bar which provides a social menu for your breakfast, lunch and dinner needs”.

 

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Around the corner on Pier Street, Ceylon Breeze is newly opened and bringing Sri Lankan food to Altona.

Actually, it’s a mix of SL and Indian.

The only online comment I have spied so far was glowing in its praise of the new place.

But CTS notes that the pricing is significantly different from other SL places in the west.

Beef or chicken kottu roti – described as “street food” on the menu – clocks in at $14.90, curries cost about $16 and vegetable chop suey costs $14.90.

 

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On Racecourse Road in Flemington, New Somali Kitchen has opened in the space recently occupied by a very short-lived burger joint and before that an old-school chicken shop.

New Somali Kitchen is done out in rather chic style with white tiles and lots of dark wood.

CTS has had lunch there – and, thanks to some new pals I made while lunching, tried all three of the luscious desserts – and found it all to be very nice indeed.

Check out Nat Stockley’s review here.

 

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Just up the road apiece, and right next door to the Subway outlet, works underway on a business that is to be called Mr. Pan Fry.

Dumplings?

Other?

We’ll just have to wait and see!

Meal of the week No.22: Dad & Dave’s

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dad1

 

For several years, our inner Yarraville lives involved me doing the train commute to the CBD.

It seems like a long time ago – and certainly the food and coffee situation in the village has changed considerably since then.

Wanting, along with hundreds and thousands of my fellow commuters, roadie coffees to enjoy, I was often disappointed by the available options.

Perfunctory service and mediocre brews seemed all the go.

In more recent years, Dad & Dave’s (27-29 Birmingham Street, 9314 3038) has undergone a makeover and has become a very nice cafe.

The staff members are on the go – very efficiently so – from the early hours, there’s a range of nicely presented food on offer and the coffee is fine.

I have grown very fond of the beef rasher and egg roll, either grabbed for lunch later on or eaten in-house for a lazy, quick breakfast.

Between the covers of a brioche bun are sandwiched a fried egg, a slice of good cheese, tomato relish and a beef rasher.

Beef rasher?

Maybe they come from this place.

They’re chewy, salty and delicious.

Better than regular bacon?

That’s a maybe!

Essendon yum cha – very good

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andy11

 

Andy’s Yum Cha House, 13 Napier Street, Essendon. Phone: 9370 9888

One member of today’s Team CTS grew up with yum cha.

She’s very open to all sorts of food experiences and has a cracking sense of humor.

But she reckons Andy’s – which has long been on the CTS “to do” list – is not really a real yum cha joint.

 

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I know what she means.

It comes across as your average humble suburban Chinese eatery.

And certainly there are no yum cha trolleys whizzing every which-away.

 

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But – and it seems I am somewhat alone in this assessment among our Sunday lunch table of four – I find the terrific meal we have at this Essendon yum cha outpost to be very good indeed.

 

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My worst case scenario had been that the dumplings offered here would display the telltale signs of mass production and have come from plastic bags, frozen and then steamed.

 

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But what we are served I find to be excellent.

 

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For this meal I become a somewhat slothful food blogger so don’t keep track of what we have and how much each serve costs us.

 

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Suffice to say that our dumplings – containing all the expected ingredients such as prawns, pork, coriander and more – evince a range of textures and flavours that I really adore.

 

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A high point is the greens with oyster sauce – it’s expertly done and easy to eat.

 

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We eat very well and the price ends up being a most excellent $15 each.

(This story has been sponsored by Moonee Valley City Council. But in all other regards it is a regular Consider The Sauce post – we chose the restaurant and when to eat there; we ordered what we wanted and paid for it ourselves; and neither oversight nor an editorial role were sought by the council.)

 

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