Category Archives: Places we like to eat at

Goodness gracious!

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Karomi, 15/1 Duncans Road, Werribee.

Karomi is a cute cafe just of Watton Street in Werribee’s CBD.

Here you can get a range of sandwiches, toasties and sweet treats (see menu below).

 

 

But there is no doubt that the main action at Karomi – and the desire of 99 per cent of the place’s patrons – concerns the wonderful Greek doughnuts mostly known as loukoumades.

Here they’re called lokma – and you can have them, if that is your thing, with a variety of toppings such as M&Ms, Oreo and Kit Kat.

Nah.

Bennie and I go for the classic ($10 for 10).

We love them – golden orbs with crisp exteriors and hot, airy interiors.

They are swimming is syrup imbued with crushed/chopped pistachios.

Our cafe latte and iced coffee are just right, too.

 

 

 

Bougatsa boogie

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Fig & Walnut, 11-13 Bellairs Avenue, Seddon. Phone: 9687 2665

Fig & Walnut is one of our locals, one of our regulars.

But, a little sadly, that regularity is mostly confined to grabbing Saturday morning coffee on the way to our kung fu rendezvous in Carlton.

Today, though, there’s no class scheduled, so we sleep in a bit and resolve to hit Fig & Walnut for lunch.

Actually, it’s not lunch so much we’re desiring – our outing is more centred around the bougatsa that is invariably displayed on the front counter when we’re getting our takeaways.

But those in-and-out visits are never the right time for this sweet business, so we’ve resolved to fix that.

 

 

With custard on our minds, we ignore the menu and go for what we figure will be lighter items from the display cabinet.

Bennie’s sausage roll ($9.90) looks solitary and humble, but is beaut and then some – a really top, meaty effort and a bigger meal than it appears.

He is nevertheless envious of my bacon and egg pie ($9.90).

Normally he is not interested in anything that smacks of hard-boiled egg.

But this chunky slice is sensational – just like mum’s!

Except that in this case the bacon is layered through in fabulous quarter-inch slices.

(No photos of this item – I took a bunch, but they’re all blurry. Bad food blogger!)

 

 

As well, we’re presented with a complementary dish – chilli scram ($19.50).

Yes, they know we write about food and stuff.

This is an intriguing outing with a cake-like mound of egg scramble topped by fried enokis, miso mascarpone, pickled chilli and more.

There’s a whiff of ginger in there.

Very good!

After a savoury segment more hefty than we’d planned, we maybe should’ve been less gung ho about the bougatsa.

But, no, we order two slices ($7.90) with top-notch coffees to match.

What can I say?

This is sweet treat heaven – but not too sweet; rather demure in that regard, actually.

And the slices are BIG – half of each goes home with us to be lazily consumed over the next couple of days.

 

We bustle to the Hustle

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Hot Dog Hustle, 252 Ballarat Road, Braybrook.

Well golly and gosh – haven’t we been very good boys!

CTS HQ has been awash with vegetables, salads, legumes, unmeaty pasta dishes and all manner of righteous eating for what seems like weeks.

Now I reckon it’s time to go a bit crazy.

I say to Bennie: “C’mon buddy – we’re going!”

Says he: “Where???”

“It’s a surprise – one you’ll like!”

Hot Dog Hustle, a Braybrook-based food truck operation, has been on our list for yonks – it’ll be a pleasure to tick this one off our to-do list.

It’s a dim and drizzle early evening, so we are happy to find some rudimentary – and covered – seating is available for our dining pleasure.

Bennie orders the “Furi” ($12) and its teriyaki sauce, caramelised onion, jalapeno, spicy mayo, Hustle mayo, chilli flakes, furikake and shichimi peppers.

Two mouthfuls into his meal and the Bennie verdict is in.

It’s supremely unequivocal.

“This is truly great,” he enthuses.

But he is a little envious of my bulgogi cheesesteak ($15) and its sliced steak, caramalised onion, grilled capsicum, melted cheese and Hustle mayo.

And so he should be.

This is magnificent!

It’s an awesome fast-food feast packed with a variety of intense flavours.

The sliced beef is tender, easily devoured and tasty.

A “free” fried egg is included with each of hot dogs and the fries and onion rings ($5 each) are good accompaniments, though the latter constitute a rather small serving.

The hot dogs themselves are far from the top-notch smoked kind we have at home, bought from Andrew’s Of Yarraville, but they’re quite adequate for the food here.

Seeing the Hod Dog Hustle pics on FB, I had been wondering how customers eat such creations when the toppings outweigh the dogs and buns beneath.

And the buns are the real fluffy hot dog kind – a far cry from the Vietnamese banh mi baguettes we use for hot dogs and kranski at home.

With their hands?

Nah, don’t think so – I reckon they do what we do and go the knife and fork.

Check out the Hot Dog Hustle website here.

Yarraville dumpling zone

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Chi Bao, 46 Anderson Street, Yarraville.

Greater Asia is as vast as Yarraville’s village is tiny.

Nevertheless, in our 15+ Yarraville years, we have tried a goodly number of local eateries of one Asian persuasion or another.

Sometime it’s been great.

More often it’s been just OK.

And sometimes it’s been dreadful.

Yet heading to Chi Bao – the village’s spanking new dumpling emporium – we are cheerful, optimistic.

But nor are we weighted down with high expectations.

We figure we’ll be doing fine if we get something of similar standard to what we might be served at Highpoint or Pacific Werribee.

 

 

So we are consequently ecstatic, thrilled and quite happy about the quality and deliciousness of our lunch.

The menu does play it a little safe in places – after all this is not central Footscray, Sunshine or St Albans, where hardcore can be a viable business plan.

So the Chi Bao menu has, of course, fried rice, but also Shanghai fried noodles, spring rolls and even sweet and sour pork.

But in the food we enjoy there is not slightest sense of gentrificated compromise, even if the pricing appears to be a tad higher than we’d pay for similar food in Footscray.

And we appreciate that our chosen dishes do not all arrive in a flurry – the wait times denote the care evident in our food.

 

 

Up first is the simplest of salads ($7.80) – cucumber with the lightest of applications of a vinegar sesame dressing.

It’s cool and just right.

 

 

Salt and pepper tofu ($6.80) appears, at first blush, to be rather pale and unappealing.

But in the eating it is superb, the tofu pieces delicately rendered and imbued with a spot-on level of salt.

 

 

The chilli dumplings ($16.80) are 10 steamed pork-and-cabbage parcels luxuriating in house-made chilli oil.

The dumplings are every bit as good as we could wish for.

But what really excites us about this dish is the funky, rich, sticky and spicy chilli oil.

It’s not in the danger zone, but is very much an improvement on the weak, pallid, watery versions we have been served elsewhere.

 

 

Our beef and celery pan-fried dumplings ($15.80 for 12) arrive freshly turned out of the pan and sporting a lacy bottom.

These, too, are superb – though we detect little or no difference in flavour attributable to the presence of celery over cabbage.

The dumplings at Chi Bao are colour-coded to make identification by the staff easier when it comes tom look-a-like dishes.

So the chicken dumplings, for instance, have some turmeric included.

In the case of our beef-and-celery dumplings, the grey-with-black-dots colour scheme is thanks to black sesame.

Chi Bao is a hit.

It is happily occupying a niche in Yarraville that obviously needed filling.

 

More banana leaf yum

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Shri Annapoorna Srilanakan Restaurant, 290 Ballarat Road, Braybrook. Phone: 8528 0064

We wrote about Annapoorna several years ago – a short piece based on a single, solitary meal.

But thanks to a weekend Facebook post – thanks, Chee Chin Lee! – Nat and I front up for Sunday lunch to see what changes have been wrought.

There’s new management and a new approach.

We’re told a written menu is in the works and that at dinner time the full regalia of South Indian/Sri Lankan tucker as channelled through Malaysia is available – think idlys, noodles such as mee goreng, house-made rotis, dosas and so on.

For lunch, we can have a banana leaf meal from the bain marie … or nothing.

But that’s fine by us as that’s what we would’ve ordered anyway!

 

 

The routine is familiar – the basic (vegetarian) meal costs $9.50, with most customers adding protein as chosen from the whiteboard.

 

 

I append my leaf combo with chicken curry ($6) and enjoy my meal heaps.

All is most enjoyable.

The cabbage retains some crunch – not always the case in such places and with such food, where cooking down is often the norm

The dal is studded with vegetables and the eggplant is as silken as it looks.

 

 

Nat happily goes the fish curry ($7) route for his add-on – the sea creature, pomfret, is surrounded by okra.

I envy him his wise selection – it looks better than mine.

 

 

Cafe does a soul strut

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Sadie Black Cafe, 31 Perth Avenue, Albion. Phone: 9312 1869

We’ve taken our time getting to Sadie Black in Albion.

But since it opened, we have followed its story on Facebook and had to suppress the drool as an endless parade of eats pics unfolded.

So we find it no surprise that we eat well when we do finally visit.

Nor are we surprised to learn that Sadie Black has become first-rate joint of the neighbourhood nirvana variety.

 

 

It’s a happy and delicious place.

 

 

And this gorgeous back garden will be a popular spot in the warm weeks and months to come.

 

 

Bennie is a bit meh about his SB burger with fries ($17).

This is perplexing – it looks bloody fine to me.

And tastes that way, too.

He does give a hearty thumbs hoist to the very fine Istra bacon ($2 extra).

He voted at the last federal election. He’s done with school, save for a few exams. The future is his.

So on the drive home, I suggest he may want upgrade his menu choices with a more wide-ranging and less burger-teen philosophy.

 

 

There’s not the slightest equivocation when it comes to my pig and potato croquettes ($18) – this is wonderful in every way.

The croquettes come with beaut roasted cauliflower, pickle slices, a mustard sauce and toast.

 

 

Beneath the crisp exteriors, the tubby parcels explode with the flavour of ham hock meat and peas, all immersed in a roux gooeyness.

 

 

We’d already ticked this lunch off as a dessert dead cert on the basis of the obvious pride the cafe takes in its baking and sweets.

We are not disappointed.

 

 

This upside down pear and berry pudding ($7.50) is a joy that has us grinning and smirking.

How lucky are we?

The coffees we have with it are very good.

 

VenU – a study in good eating

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VenU, Level 1 Building D, corner of Nicholson and Buckley Streets, Footscray (enter restaurant via Albert Street). Phone: 9919 8708

Tertiary education and other training and teaching institutions – and their people – have become ever more entwined in western suburbs life.

And, of course, some of this training and education involves courses and (mostly) young people looking to pursue careers in the hospitality industry.

They include those taking part in the Victoria University Polytechnic’s VenU restaurant for the next month or so – until early December.

The students man every part of this enterprise from the kitchen through to front of house.

 

 

After enjoying lunch there as a guest (full disclosure below), the CTS verdict is in.

It’s really, really good!

It’s super affordable!

It’s licensed!

You should go!

There are representative menus below.

Lunch and afternoon tea are available on Tuesdays.

Lunch and (early) dinner on Wednesdays.

For more details phone, 9919 8708; online bookings can be made here.

For lunch, I am joined by Megan and Denise from the VU marketing department and we have a very nice time.

 

 

The first surprise comes in the dining room.

Instead of the canteen-like vibe I am expecting, VenU is a real-deal restaurant with snappy, on-the-ball staff (students) and even linen napkins.

The food?

We have everything offered in the lighter fare found on the day’s lunch menu – and it’s all lovely.

 

 

Owing to countless unfortunate incidents in my childhood, pumpkin is pretty much my least favourite vegetable.

But the VenU pumpkin soup with cooconut ($5) wins me over – completely – with ease.

 

 

My housemade potato gnocchi with a “cream reduction” ($12) look like they’re they’re going to be oh-so-stodgy.

They’re far from it – they’re light, fluffy and delicious.

Though I do consume only as much of the rich sauce as is necessary to enjoy the pasta pillows.

 

 

My companions enjoy their seared pork belly with pickled vegetables ($12) and …

 

 

… roasted onion and goat cheese tart with red pepper relish and greens ($12) every bit as much.

The apple strudal with vanilla cream ($4, top photo) is a cracking dessert dream.

The cafe latte I have with it is excellent.

(Consider The Sauce dined at VenU as guests of the management and we did not pay for our meals. We were free to order whatever we wished. VenU management neither sought nor was granted any input, oversight or pre-publication access to his story.)

 

A village vibe for Brooklyn

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The Brooklyn neighbourhood bordered by Cypress Avenue, Princes Highway and Millers Road is a sweet residential backwater.

But it deserves and needs its own cafe.

And now it’s getting just that.

We’ve long admired the row of old-school shops on Eames Road, just of Millers Road.

In the past year or so, we’ve usually checked them out when parking prior to eating at Parotta Station, which is just around the corner on Millers. (NB: The prices have gone up a bit since that story was published!)

 

 

Dennis Ngo is busy setting up his Eames Avenue cafe, to be known as Chapter One Brooklyn.

“The food I’ll be serving will be toasties, baguettes, pastries and cakes – so simple and quick for those on the go,” he says. 

“I’m hoping this place will bring the residents of Brooklyn out and know that there is somewhere they can meet while out walking their dogs or even out  bike riding. 

“I’ve been on the industry for over 10 years now and worked for many cafes. Customers have told me that there is no good coffee shops in the area so I would really love to put Brooklyn on map and make it a great place to go. 

“As well help out the other businesses next to me and work along side each other.”

 

 

The cafe will be located in what was once the home a family day care establishment.

 

 

And those other businesses?

Well, one of them is a barber – and not just any barber either.

Famous hair cutter Doug Howie is here after being a long-standing institution on Williamstown Road and, more recently and briefly, on Francis Street.

 

 

Doug has, of course, brought with him to Brooklyn his magical collection of, well, stuff – and there’s plenty of room for it in his new digs.

Doug gives me a $25 hot-towel shave while I’m there.

 

Westie eats goss 17/10/19

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A&L Gugliotta and Sons Butchers has been operating at 314 Blackshaws Road, Altona, for 50 years.

Nick Gigliotta (on the right) has been working there for as long.

These days he does his meaty magic there with brother Nick and six other staff.

This is a proudly old-school butcher shop where everything is done on the premises.

 

 

The place has just unveiled a whole new look and upgrade, better enabling the team to showcase such delights as the range of sausages, the quality of which is familiar to CTS.

 

 

There’s room, too, for a nice line in high-class pasta and sauces.

 

 

Just around the corner and a few blocks away is what used to be Altona Fresh.

The wonderful shop has a new name – Second Ave Grocer.

 

 

I figured the name change was probably down to trying to make the place’s renown part of the greater western suburbs, rather than just Altona.

But smiling Phil tells me that’s not the case.

He says with a laugh that the only people who called it Altona Fresh were those visiting from the other side of the river.

“All our other customers just say, when they’re on their phones in here, ‘We’re at Second Ave’,” he says. “So when we were upgrading our systems, we thought it was the obvious thing to do!”

Since first writing about this food emporium, it has become a weekly regular for the CTS household, including brunch last weekend for the regular Saturday kranski barbecue outside.

 

 

The Mid-East food presence in the western suburbs has received another lovely lift with the arrival of Oscar’s Teta in Spotswood.

Located at 143 Hudsons Road, just of Williamstown Road, Oscar’s Teta boasts a wonderfully welcoming dining room.

 

 

The menu is pretty much straightahead Lebanese – which is a fine thing, we reckon.

 

 

CTS is very much looking forward to taking the Oscar’s Teta food for a spin.

 

 

Opening this Sunday, October 20, is Le Petit Cafe Rose at 229 Somerville Road, Yarraville.

 

 

Taking over the premises formerly occupied by Happy Maree, the place will be doing a nice line in cakes, muffins, sandwiches, croissants and the like.

 

 

Now operating at 67 Berkshire Road in Sunshine North is burger joint Coal Workshop.

It’s in the shop once home to Latin Foods & Wines.

The burger, onion rings and fries CTS tried were good, solid efforts.

Cafe high point

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Rustica, Highpoint.

The existence of a branch of famous Fitzroy cafe/bakery Rustica at Highpoint came as a complete surprise to us.

But, asked to meet friends there, we are eager to try.

Highpoint Rustica is located well away from all the other centre’s food outlets and courts, in the newer, swisher part of the centre.

It’s easy to forget it’s in a shopping centre – and that’s a fine and no doubt deliberate thing.

There’s indoor and outdoor seating – well, sort-of outdoor!

The staff do an admirable job and the pricing is thereabouts in comparison with other western suburbs cafes presenting food of similar quality and sophistication.

 

 

The not so good first.

My slow-roasted garlic and rosemary lamb baguette ($19) looks the part with its greens, pomegranate, pickled onion and garlic labneh.

But it is dull, lacking the zing the ingredients so strongly suggest.

The best bit is the side serve of potato salad.

 

 

In some ways, the menu disturbs with its long-winded and extravagant lists of ingredients for many dishes.

The dish called Smashed Peas ($20), for instance, stacks up thusly: Beetroot cured salmon, snow pea tendrils, radish, zucchini noodles, puffed wild rice, goats whip, beetroot hummus and poached egg on quinoa-soy-linseed toast.

Tendrils?

Ha!

But this is a winner and I love every mouthful, wiping the plate clean.

To my cynicism-fuelled surprise, ALL the ingredients/flavours fit just right.

The egg is superbly done.

The fish is mild of flavour but very good.

The greens and salad bits are of prime freshness.

I’d order this again without hesitation.

 

 

The Spiced Chickpea Falafels ($19.50) are equally fine.

The good falafels are fat and a little dry.

But that’s no problem at all when they’re keeping company with roasted zaatar carrots and cauliflower, pickled red cabbage, pomegranate, more of the beetroot hummus stuff and grilled ciabatta with zaatar seasoning.

It’s a colourful jumble of joy, full of crunch and taste tingles.

The coffee here is excellent.

And I’m told by one who knows that the likes of their almond croissants and cronuts are to live for.

 

A crackling good meal

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Mama Lor Restaurant & Bakery, 187 Watton Street, Werribee. Phone: 973 106 78

Some newspaper coverage at the start of the year tried hard to posit food from the Philippines as a sort of next-big-thing in Melbourne.

We reckon that’s something of a stretch.

Nevertheless, out here in the west there ARE three new or newish Filipino food places – in Burnside, West Footscray (yet to open) and Werribee.

The latter is the subject of this story.

Consider The Sauce has a somewhat ropey history with Filipino food, as long-time readers may recall.

A lot of that has had to do with bain maries – and the supremely unappealing, limp and ugly food that frequently resides in them.

There’s a bain marie at Mama Lor, but that’s only a side interest here, one for quickie lunches and takeaways.

For this eatery is a full-service real-deal restaurant, a sister for the identically named establishment in Sydney.

On the Friday night we visit, they’re well into a protracted “soft opening” period.

It’s all very happy, full and bustling, with the staff zipping around and taking care of business well.

Does a meal with friends, one of whom is from the Phillippines, change the CTS outlook in regards to Filipino food?

Yes, mostly, with one mis-step detailed below.

 

 

Our two “barbeque” pork skewers ($3 each) are perfect, juicy, smoky and lip-smackingly fine.

 

 

Kare kare ($19) is a beef stew in a peanutty sauce, with green beans and eggplant on board for the journey, too.

There’s some hefty chunks of good meat in there, and the shrimp paste on the side adds flavour interest.

 

 

Bitter melon?

Been there, done that – usually served from the aforementioned bain maries.

Not impressed.

But we go with Maria’s suggestion.

This dish, amapalaya with dilis ($15), certainly looks the part – vibrant green, NOT swimming in some gray gravy, studded with onion, anchovies and tomato.

Sadly, it’s awful – or, at the least, not to my taste.

But even Maria screws up her face in distaste.

Bitter melon that’s TOO bitter for a born-and-bred Philippines native?

 

 

Chicken lomi ($15) is much, much better.

This chicken noodle outing, which appears to be loosely based on the familiar viscous soups of Chinese heritage, is stuffed with chicken, still-crunchy cabbage and all sorts of other goodies.

 

 

The highlight of our night – for myself certainly, but also I strongly suspect for my friends – is the lechon belly/roast pork (we go the large for $23, but it’s also available in $12 and $45 sizes).

Oh, yes!

This is wonderful – and a dish to which most tables in the place appear to be gravitating.

Either that or the chicken equivalent.

The roast pork is plentiful and devilishly flavoursome, with only the very meatiest pieces displaying any dryness.

The equally plentiful crackling is superb, upping the sin quotient by another several notches.

The sauce on the side?

I thought it would be gravy of some kind – but it turns out to be a nice, grainy apple sauce.

It goes well with the pig meat, but it would’ve been nice for it to be warm. Though maybe cold is the tradition here.

It’s real nice to see a restaurant proper of Philippines heritage open up in Werribee and others also on the go or soon coming across the west.

See the Mama Lor website – including menu – here.

 

Ripper meal, $15

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The Brotherhood Yiros + Grill, 99 Buckley Street, Seddon. Phone: 9689 6318

It’s the same conversation every Saturday – very enjoyable it is, too.

Finish kung fu in Carlton, head in a vaguely in a westerly direction and discuss what to have for lunch.

This week, Bennie is pumping for Somalian in Flemington.

I’m not much in the mood for detours, let alone review material; home is calling.

So we settle on somewhere around Seddon, with parking to be the deciding factor.

As a fall-back option, Bennie suggests – as I know he would – Brotherhood.

I’m fine with that – I love their food.

But.

Two yiros for us two.

Chips on the side seem both excessive and essential – but we always order them anyway.

And two cans of fizz.

All that stacks up at about $40.

That’s fine for such good food.

But this is not a restaurant – so we end up eating on the footpath.

I don’t mind that – but it does sometimes make the $40 admission fee seem a bit steep.

But as we approach the famed yiros outlet, Bennie points out a sign that changes everything – our lunch, our day and quite likely future Saturday lunch arrangements.

 

 

In an investment in drumming up some brisker lunch business, Brotherhood management has introduced a special deal – one yiros, side of chips and a can of drink for $15.

Oh, yeah!

Our kind of deal.

The various posters say the deal will be around until the end of October, but we receive a strong hint it may be of longer duration.

Even better, we’re told a permit has been gained for some tables on Buckley Street, so a higher level of dining comfort is imminent.

 

 

As it turns out, this Saturday feed is the best we’ve had here yet.

The chips are so good, crunchy and hot that we’re grinning and eating simultaneously.

Even the chicken salt fails to dampen by glee.

When it comes to the yiros wraps, happiness turns to outright giggling on both our parts.

Maybe it’s because we’re among the day’s earliest customers, but our yiros are stuffed with the most wonderful lamb – much of it crunchy, crisp and salty.

Oh my – so very, very fine.

Obviously, in the CTS family we talk and think a lot about food.

But in this case, our constant celebratory post-meal chatter lasts all the way along Victoria, Charles, Gamon and Fehon streets and until we’re home.

According to their FB page, the Brotherhood crew serve lunch on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

 

Yarraville gelati

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Augustus Gelatery, 175 Somerville Road, Yarraville. Phone: 9315 314

The first things Consider The Sauce looks for when trying a new gelati/ice-cream joint are unusual or intriguing flavours.

We find one at the Yarraville shop of the rapidly expanding Augustus chain – dark chocolate gelati.

So dark it is, it looks like tar!

We both find it to be very, very good – and very chocolate-y.

The pistachio that makes up the rest of my twin-scoop cup is just average.

Bennie finds the same with his strawberry cheesecake.

Other than the dark choc gelati, we find most of the other Augustus flavours to be of no particular interest to us and …

… there appears to be an accent on pastel adventures!

What else?

Price per scoop?

Here it is $5 for a single; we reckon our double scoop deals for $6.80 are well priced.

Baby/kids cones?

Not that we can see – and the staff members are dealing with an ongoing kiddy/holiday rush when we’re in the house.

Sometimes we find ice-cream/gelati places don’t advertise the fact they serve smaller serves.

And sometimes that’s all we feel like!

Coffee?

No.

Yarraville Augustus is apparently a hit and is sure to remain so through the forthcoming summer.

But it’ll probably be a some-time location for us as we stick to firm and long-time favourites in the village and in Kensington, the latter at which we can get great coffee, too.

Burger bounty

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5 Districts NY, Unit 5/2 Thomsons Road, Keilor Park. Phone: 9193 6616

A black and rather brutal-looking building in a brand new industrial estate in Keilor Park may not seem like a place for some choice eating.

Bennie certainly thinks that’s the case.

So he is surprised – truth be known, I am, too – that 5 Districts is actually doing quite brisk trade during a Monday lunch session, humming along straight after AFL grand final weekend.

That Monday lunch business and a close watch on this new establishment’s social media in the past few weeks would seem to vindicate management’s commitment to this location – it’s a winner in a broader neighbourhood obviously crying out for just such a venue.

 

 

There’s a lot of room inside, including a variety of eating spaces, communal tables, stools and chairs.

The upstairs/outdoors area is already a hit at the wind-down end of the week with locals and employees of the many nearby businesses.

Based on an early menu seen by CTS while getting up a preview story a couple of months ago, we have been expecting a much more lavish menu including dude food heavyweights such as ribs and fried chicken.

Instead, we discover the menu (see below) has been pared back for the settling-in period.

That’s fine by us – burgers it is.

 

 

Bennie’s Piggy Smalls ($17) – with heaps of excellent shredded pork and equally generous quantities of apple slaw – is a doozy and goes down right fine.

 

 

In some ways, my selection of the place’s basic burger – the County Classic ($14) – is even more impressive.

With beef, cheese, bacon, leaves, tomato and “Districts special sauce”, this is your regulation burger done very well.

The fine cow patty, excellent, is surrounded by be equally good ingredients.

Nothing flash – just sturdy, tasty simplicity.

 

 

We find sides of fries with our burgers ($4) are good rather than great – it is very early in the week and the day, so we refrain from being too judgmental.

We do enjoy dunking our fries in the various hot sauces available – and find a tub of the mildly-spiced, house-made concoction as good as any of them.

5 Districts NY gets the thumbs up from us!

 

Kites soars

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Kites, 1304 Centre Road, Clayton South. Phone: 9544 0046

In recent years, Consider The Sauce has adopted a more measured pace – and that has meant eating places outside the western suburbs have not been written about with the same frequency.

Though we continue to cross the Maribyrnong – passports in hand! – for dining pleasure.

But Kites in Clayton South cries out to be covered – because this is the second time in as many months I have made the long drive to dine there to sup with famous food devourer Nat Stockley.

So here we go!

 

 

Kites is a bright and white cafe serving top-class Sri Lankan food.

There’s little or nothing here that Nat and I haven’t seen and consumed before – it’s just that everything seems a bit more quality, a bit more beautifully prepared and presented than in many similar joints we have enjoyed.

It is really, really fabulous!

 

 

Choice of protein and vegetables comes from a display of fine-looking pots of goodies.

 

 

Guests then customise and complete their meals by choosing their own additions from a lovely ranges of condiments and sides dishes.

The result in both our cases is a combo of one meat and three vegetables (top photo) that is simply great eating – including beef of much classier quality than we are used to in such environments and even some good okra.

The price?

We are billed $10.90 each – ridiculously cheap!

 

 

Kites is one of a handful of Sri Lankan businesses on this intriguing strip of Centre Road.

Also there is Harry’s Factory Outlet, which turns out to be a very good supermarket of Greek heritage.

 

 

After our Sri Lankan lunch, I end up heading home with some taramasalata, borek and a smoked, orange-scented Greek sausage.

 

Gami whammy

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Gami Chicken & Beer, Sanctuary Lakes Shopping Centre, Point Cook. Phone: 7379 7288

We’ve had us some fine fried chicken of late – notably at fine Korean establishments in Laverton and Williams Landing.

Among the feedback we received following those two stories was a robust suggestion we check out the fried chicken served by the Gami chain.

OK, we’re up for that – even if we are always going to have a natural affinity for smaller and/or family businesses.

So off we toddle to Sanctuary Lakes Shopping Centre and the newish Gami outlet there.

This is not a neighbourhood into which we stray often – but today we’re happy for the change.

 

 

The Gami outlet is not in the centre proper – instead it is perched alongside Point Cook Road.

Inside, it has many of the hallmarks and vibes of a fast food eatery – and even looks a little like the tarted up interior of a shipping container.

But this is a real-deal restaurant, with good table service during a medium busy lunch rush.

We choose from the separate lunch list (see below) and its tighter, slightly cheaper roll call of dishes from the main menu.

On the menu proper there are plenty pf options – salad, stews and so on – that do not involve deep-fried poultry.

 

 

After ordering, we are presented with two small, complementary dishes to keep us busy.

Sweetish pickled radish and … does anyone know what these stubby Korean versions grissini are called?

In any case, they’re a nice time filler.

 

 

A small side of chips ($4.50) are hot, good and just a little on the chewy side.

And, yep, that’s regular tomato sauce.

 

 

Bennie is happy with his Gami chicken burger and chips ($15.50).

It has good, crisp chicken and a heap of crunchy cabbage.

 

 

But I suspect he envies my half boneless chicken ($18, dinner price $19.50) and its mix of thigh and chicken pieces.

And so he should – this is fabulous fried chook, every bit as good as that provided by the two Korean restaurants cited at the start of this story.

Some of the breast pieces are tending towards dry, but not unforgivably so, and this is also a generous serve, bigger than it appears at first glance.

Alongside is a very fine and spicy dipping sauce.

There’s also more of that fresh and crunchy cabbage, anointed with a mix of mayo and, yes, that’s regular tomato sauce.

I’m pleasantly surprised at how well this lubricating duo works.

 

Superb Japanese food

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Kingyo izakaya, 12 Margaret Street, Moonee Ponds. Phone: 9372 8585

Some Consider The Sauce stories are succinct and full of brevity.

Others are long-winded, going off tangents to explore side and back stories.

Neither scenario should ever be taken as an indication of quality, enjoyment or passion – or lack thereof.

This Kingyo izayaka review, for instance, will be briefish – yet this is some of the very best Japanese food we’ve had in a long, long while.

It is superb.

It’s all about way more than good cooking – it’s also about quality ingredients and, most of all, extremely beautiful presentation.

This joint, with its simple and elegant dining room, is a sister eatery to I Dream Of Sushi just up the street.

Nat and I choose from the lunch menu. Both lists can be found below.

 

 

My “chotto plate” is a ripping bargain at $24.

How good – and gorgeous – is this?

Lovely housemade pickles – a rarity in any Japanese place.

Sashimi with regular pickled ginger.

Ridiculously luscious stewed eggplant.

A crisp panko-crumbed spud-and-eggplant croquette.

Excellent agedashi tofu and delicious gyoza with stuffing far superior to most.

Rice and top-class miso soup.

Wow.

 

 

Contemplating a hefty evening meal to come, Nat goes with the lighter sashimi set for $20 with equal delight the result.

We’ll be back – Bennie will love this place.

And so will you.

 

Westie eats goss 20/9/19

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In Seddon, the interesting life story of the old servo on the corner of Charles and Gamon streets is getting a whole new chapter.

 

 

The building is being given a substantial makeover, as is the inviting garden area outside.

New management will continue with the Charles & Gamon name.

 

 

Consider The Sauce’s source – my accountant Ross, actually, he being one of the partners in this new enterpise – says folks should think along the lines of “pizza, beer and wine”.

 

 

Coming soon to Barkly Street is Filipino eatery Chibog West Footscray, sandwiched between a barber shop and Bawarchi.

The posts on the joint’s Facebook page seeking staff describe it as “aiming to bring a mixture of modern and traditional Filipino cuisine to the public in a laid-back gastro pub setting”.

 

 

Yarraville has a brand new, shiny gelati outlet.

The shop at 175 Somerville Road, joins sister Augustus outlets in Pascoe Vale and Essendon.

 

 

Also new to Yarraville – at 13 Anderson Street – is Mabu Mabu.

Described on its website as a “Torres Strait owned and run business with an emphasis on using fresh, seasonal and native ingredients to create beautiful dishes that bring people together”.

The menu – also on the website – lists such intriguing dishes as kangaroo tail bourguignon with native thyme and pepperberries and island fried chicken burger with pickled sea succulents, seaweed mayo and taro chips.

 

 

The aim of the crew behind Grazeland – the food precinct/theme park slated for erection in the vacant lot next to Scienceworks – to be open some time this summer appears to be on the overly ambitious side going by the non-activity at the site.

When contacted by CTS, a Grazeland spokesman said: “We are still waiting for our permit. Nothing else to update but we will keep you posted.”

 

 

Down at the Cotton Mills in Footscray, swish and new Gathered Cafe will soon be joined by Broadford & Barnett, which will inhabit the premises of the long-time cafe/takeaway shop at the mills’ entrance.

Vietnamese Seddon

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Miss An’am, 86a Charles Street, Seddon. Phone: 9048 4283

Consider The Sauce drives Charles and Victoria streets in Seddon so often that there is always the chance we’re taking them for granted.

The same holds true for CTS and other western suburbs roads and streets.

An informal business meeting is profound proof of us not seeing the forest for the trees.

Miss An’am had been blithely considered by us, if at all, as just another inner-west cafe.

But as soon as I walk through the door, I know I am way wrong.

Sure, Miss An’am IS an inner-west cafe – and the coffee is great.

But the perfumed air tells me immediately there is something else going on here.

I smell Vietnam – Vietnamese food and Vietnamese cooking.

Unmistakable.

 

 

Sure enough, the menu (see below) tells a tasty tale.

Along with some regular cafe fare, it lists banh mi, coleslaw and paper rolls.

 

 

But me and Bennie make a beeline for the two dishes on the specials list – though we suspect they are pretty much permanent fixtures.

For him, “authentic Vietnamese beef bourguignon” ($15).

This is, of course, the familiar bo kho.

And a good rendition it is, too, tender carrots chunks matched by plentiful beef cubes in a thinnish broth topped by coriander, the lot aided and abetted by baguette slices.

 

 

For me, pho ga ($16).

This is unusual in that the bean sprouts have already been added – and it looks a little light on.

Not so!

It’s a beaut version of another Vietnamese staple and more substantial than it appears.

The shredded chicken is delicious and plentiful.

The “with Miss An’am recipe” aspect?

Well, that just may be the significant black pepper inclusion and a broth that has a pronounced lemongrass tang, both of which add a welcome a refreshing twist.

Miss An’am is a cosy, cheerful place, with a lovely back dining garden and happy staff.

Vietnamese tucker AND great coffee – this here is a winner and no doubt a cherished “local” for regulars.

 

Back in West Footscray

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Bawarchi Biryanis Melbourne, 551 Barkly Street, West Footscray. Phone: 9394 2200

In its now near decade-old life, Consider The Sauce has gone through various cycles and obsessions.

For instance, a few years back, we were all over Somalian food and the Flemington outlets and lovely people who provide it.

Not that we’ve turned our back on Somalian food – Bennie and I had a super feed at Mama’s Cuisine just last week.

But in terms of CTS stories, it’s fair to say our focus has moved.

Likewise with Indian food and restaurants, especially those in West Footscray – was a time when we seemed to be methodically ticking of the Barkly Street eateries on a weekly basis.

So it’s good to be back – with CTS A Team member Bennie Weir and Nat Stockley in tow.

We’re here at the invitation of Santhosh Xaveir, proprietor of Bawarchi Biryanis Melbourne (see full disclosure below).

And we’re in familiar surroundings – the premises were formerly a dosa place and, before that, those of Hyderabad Inn, which was written about by CTS on several occasions and was the venue for the first-ever CTS Feast.

 

 

This Bawarchi is tied in terms of nomenclature and branding to a parent company/chain with many restaurants in the US.

I had presumed, though, this would not extend the Melbourne branch’s kitchen and menu.

I am wrong, according to Santhosh – the Melbourne restaurant duplicates, or tries to, the food at all the other branches.

Is this an issue?

I don’t think so – such standardisation gets dicey and worse when junk food unfood is involved.

Indian tucker?

No problem!

And so we eat – choosing an array of dishes of the wide-ranging Bawarchi menu.

 

 

We start with vegetable hot and sour soup ($6.50).

Like all such soups in Indian places with Indo-Chinese food, this is loosely based on the chicken/corn soup style found in Chinese eateries, though this one is more runny, less viscous.

It’s good – but what does surprise us is the heat level.

This is too spicy – mostly from pepper, we suspect – even for us three experienced chilli fans.

 

 

Staying in Indo-Chinese mode, we try gobi Manchurian ($10.50) – deep-fried cauliflower.

Bennie and I like this a bunch, Nat less so.

There’s just enough crunch in the vegetable coating, after being doused in the tangy sauce, to keep dad and son happy.

 

 

A sizzler platter of chicken tikka kebab ($17) is also good, though a bit on the dry side.

 

 

Another sizzler platter – this time of tandoori pomfret ($32) – is the undoubted hit of the night, full and positive proof of the ugly-but-good theory.

Actually, better than good.

There’s a heap of fish flesh in there on both top and bottom of the bones – and it’s all firm yet far from dry, with an earthy, trout-like flavour.

As is often the case, the shredded cabbage into which the juices of the tandoori chicken and fish have dripped, is a nice, delicious bonus.

 

 

Two garlic naan ($3.50) are superb – hot, fresh and glistening with melted ghee.

 

 

Finally, given the name of the place and our three-way fondness for biryani, we have to make sure the rice is nice.

It is.

Gongura goat dum biryani ($16.50) is fine, with all the bits and pieces in place – goat on the bone, tender enough and coated in sorrel; good, darkish rice; half a hard-boiled egg; gravy and raita.

Check out the Bawarchi Biryanis Melbourne – including menu – here.

(Consider The Sauce dined at Bawarchi as guests of the management and we did not pay for our meals. We were free to order whatever we wished. Bawarchi management neither sought nor was granted any input, oversight or pre-publication access to his story. Does anyone actually read this stuff?)