Category Archives: Places we like to eat at

Hot Wings

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134 Ferguson St, Williamstown. Phone: 9397 0146

Want to know what Australia eats on a Saturday night?

Forget your fancy pants cooking and lifestyle shows, glossy magazines, newspaper reviews, food guides and food blogs.

Sit, instead, at one of the few inside tables at Hot Wings in Williamstown at the start of rush hour … and watch an amazing, ceaseless flow of customers come and go.

These are not groups of teens fuelling up for a night of movies or mayhem, or couples of any age grabbing dinner on the way home from a day out.

Nope, almost without exception these are parents popping in to grab obviously family-sized meals for family-sized families.

Think of this same scene unfolding at all the good chicken shops across Melbourne, then Victoria and then Australia – it’s amazing to contemplate.

There’s no doubt this is spectacularly unhealthy food.

But I doubt it’s any worse than, say, fish and chips, which seem to have acquired a patina of righteousness in the past decade or so, or the unfood of the franchises.

I doubt even that a chicken shop feed is much more of a no-no than the kebab and dips approach, or the whole five-course deal at a French establishment.

In any case, these places are hugely popular – a mainstay, for better or worse, of the Australian family food routine.

I’d love to know more about them.

When did they start? Where did the inspiration come from?

Are there equivalents in other countries, apart from the fried chicken of US fame?

You still find quite a broad spectrum of people running such businesses, but my impression is that these days they are dominated by folk of the Chinese persuasion.

And then, too, there’s hybrids – chicken ‘n’ pizzas, chicken ‘n’ burgers, chicken ‘n’ F&C, chicken ‘n’ kebabs, chicken ‘n’ the lot.

There’s nothing hybrid about Hot Wings – it’s a classic of the genre.

It’s all here – the scalloped potatoes, deep-fried chicken if you’re perverse enough to desire such, the gravy, the salads.

A couple of the salads look like they’ve been mayonaised to death, but there’s a decent looking Greek salad and even – wow! – a tabouli.

When the mood strikes me for this kind of food – about once a year – I prefer to head for the shop in Racecourse Rd, Flemington, or some other place that does eat-ins with metal cutlery and real plates.

But as I chow down at Hot Wings, I have no regrets – as what I experience is a peak chicken shop meal.

Timing is vital in visits to such food outlets.

If, when you enter, a new batch of chips is on the way and the final, bedraggled remnants of the previous lot are sitting there looking unlovely, head for the door … walk around the block or go somewhere else.

Tonight, I’m in luck – the chips are fresh, hot and wonderful.

The downer of having to use plastic cutlery is substantially decreased by the juicy quality of my half bird – even the deepest part of the breast meat is moist, requiring no help from gravy or such like.

This, in my experience, is a rarity.

As is coleslaw that is neither gloopy with or drowning in mayo.

That said, this one doesn’t quite back up its good looks – it’s plainly on the dull and bland side.

Cheese kransky @ Andrew’s Choice

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Bennie's goes the snag at Andrew's Choice in Yarraville.

Andrew’s Choice, 24 Anderson St, Yarraville: Phone: 9687 2419

Plans for a more elaborate and distant post-cricket lunch have been nixed by some scheduling clashes, so we keep it simple, cheap and very close to home.

I know there’s plenty of folks who swear by Andrew’s and their meats, snags, hams and other goodies.

We’re some-time customers only, based solely on their rather steep prices. Mostly frequented for a treat only by us, though I do love their taramasalata.

The Saturday fry-up of cheese kranskys, a close relation to the sort of weekend sausage sizzles offered by the likes of Bunnings,  is another matter entirely.

There’s nowhere to sit and no soft drinks available, but the price is right – $4 a pop.

For him, one with Original Chutney and the browned onions sitting to one side of the grill.

For his dad, one with Original Chutney and mustard. The onions look a mite sad-sack to me.

Our lunches are served not in buns but in thin-sliced white bread.

The bread falls apart. The condiments quickly spread to the paper serviettes.

Our lunches are delicious.

Personally, I could do without the cheese.

I know there’s snag purists who think cheese shouldn’t have anything to with kransky or any other form of sausage.

Apart from as an extra, of course.

Bennie loves the cheese. Loves the onions, too.

He loves the way these sorts of snags go “pop”!

A quick stop at the greengrocer and we’re home inside 20 minutes.

The Grand Tofu

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Yong tofu goodies at the Grand Tofu in Flemington.

The Grand Tofu, 314 Racecourse Rd, Flemington. Phone: 9376 0168

A more recent review can be found here.

Restaurant experience or eat-and-run?

That’s what hungry hordes descending on Flemington may ponder, particularly if they find full-to-overflowing the fabled Laksa King and the already storied Chef Lagenda, both just around the corner, but still desire Malaysian food.

They’re likely to find themselves entering The Grand Tofu, being well fed in a beaut joint and deciding that Plan C is the preferred option after all.

I suspect that’ll certainly be the case with us.

At Laksa King, in particular, they try to do the right thing by having a staff member you to your table, issuing menus, returning to take your order – the whole nine yards, which is fine really.

But, honestly, sometimes all I want is a bowl of something. Now.

Actually, describing The Grand Tofu as an eat-and-run place is a little unkind as the routine is pretty much the same – but there’s an ease and immediacy about it that I dig..

Sure, there’s a wall of those photos and a robust lunchtime crowd that appears to agree with my positive assessment.

The place is kitted out with nice dark-stain furniture, mirrors and hand-written specials notifications on paper.

But the smiling service is every bit as obliging and efficient as that of their two famous neighbours, the prices appear to near-identical and The Grand Tofu appears to have all their bases covered … and more.

For there’s a lot to try here.

As well as lobak on the entree menu, they have dumplings and entree-size soups of four denominations for about $4.50

As well as all the expected noodle, rice, soup and curry offerings, there’s the likes of Penang king prawn noodle soup ($12.80) and even butter chicken ($16.80) – described as deep-fried chicken w/ chef special sauce”.

Gosh – what’s that all about, I wonder? Indo-Malaysian?

Yong tofu with curry sauce base at The Grad Tofu in Flemington.

And then there’s the yong tofu lineup, which I choose to constitute my lunch in honour of the place’s name.

The glistening, glowing spread is all made in-house, I am assured.

You can go with one of three pre-chosen combos of six pieces each to go with your stock, curry or tom yum soup and noodles.

Or you can be real daring and go custom-built.

Both versions cost a fine $10.

Which is what do by ordering lightly fried pork and seafood ball, seafood stuffed eggplant, chicken dumpling, prawn dumpling, stuffed chilli and chicken-stuffed doughnut with curry soup and rice noodles.

As you can see, I erred on the side of naughtiness in ordering, but I doubt the vegetable options here are any more healthy than the meat or seafood alternatives.

In any case, they’re all good.

The dumplings all have a nice sogginess going on by  the time I get to them.

I leave the eggplant until last, only to find it’s cooked wonderfully in the soup and is slippery slithery delicious.

The curry soup is no great shakes, but I’m heartened by finding a curry leaf, which I hope denotes it’s a house-made brew.

Besides, I get a nice kick from the stuffed chilli, which is both spicy and juicy.

The rice noodles are a nice alternative to the egg noodles I usually have with this sort of fare.

This a big meal – I don’t finish the noodles or soup.

I’m dead keen to return here with Bennie in tow – I like their style.

The Grand Tofu 3 on Urbanspoon

Carlton Chinese Noodle Cafe

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Wok action at Carlton Chinese Noodle Cafe.

 

Carlton Chinese Noodle Cafe, 157 Rathdowne St, Carlton. Phone: 9347 1739

This restaurant has closed down.

Carlton Chinese Noodle Cafe was among my first – maybe even the very first – experience with Asian cheap eats in Melbourne.

The place had been around 10 years before that, too – they hung their shingle out 10 years before I ever stepped through the door, opening for business in 1976.

Nothing has changed.

Oh sure, the prices have crept up – but you can still get a brilliant feed for $10.

The kids have grown up, but the main couple who run the place – he over the woks, she running about taking care of all the other business – seem as ageless as their restaurant.

I suspect there are locals who have been eating here – or taking away – on a weekly basis for decades.

There’s no doubt others, too, such as myself who once lived nearby, have moved on and out, but who still find it worth the drive.

The welcome is wonderfully friendly for all.

There are only three tables – two that can seat four at a pinch, and another that handles two diners.

Better, though, are any one of the half-dozen or stools at the bar, from where you can watch all the cooking action unfold.

It’s such a fixture and monument to great food – in my mind and doubtless the minds of the many loyal customers – that I find it extraordinary that there are no reviews of any kind for it at Urbanspoon and that I am able to find only one other blogger who has written it up.

The “Chinese” in the eatery’s name is a little misleading – yes, they do heaps of straight-up noodle dishes that can be described as Chinese, as well as won ton soups and so on.

But they also do the likes of mee goreng, Hainan chicken rice and laksas.

But here’s the thing – and what make this place and its food so darn magical …

Regardless of the original national identity of any of these dishes – Malaysian, Singaporean, whatever – the folk at Carlton Chinese Noodle Cafe do them their way, with individuality and personality, and caring not a whit for any traditions.

It’s almost as if this family restaurant has lived happily since its opening in its own space, going about its business in its own way as the city – and its food – has changed.

Just for instance …

The Singapore fried noodles – which I’ve been led to believe have only the most tenuous with Singapore in the first place – here come with a great brown dollop of peanut sauce on top that is quite unlike anything you’ll find in a Thai restaurant.

Similarly, the Hainan chicken rice is utterly like anything I’ve eaten under that name anywhere. Though, based on my one experience with it, I wouldn’t recommend it anyway.

One of fellow diners is eating a laksa that is a lurid yellow instead of the golden brown you’re more likely to find in Flemington.

Bennie loves the longish snack menu for one simple reason – they’re almost all deep fried!

Poppiah, sui mai (pork and beef), won tons, stuffed bean curd and more – they’re all good.

My two won tons (70 cents a pop) and a beef curry puff ($2.20) are sooper dooper crispy crunchy and astonishingly oil-free

This is a place of long-held routines, so I suspect that just about all those who come here have their favourites and mostly likely wouldn’t even think of ordering anything else.

For me, that’s the beef curry with noodles ($9.80).

It’s rare that in doing more than 200 posts for this blog that I’ve struggled to find the words.

But in casting about for the right ones to do this magnificent meal justice, I’m daunted for sure!

Like some dishes already mentioned, this a Carlton Chinese Noodle Cafe dish – and one that is quite unlike any curry I’ve had elsewhere around town.

You could say it’s sort-of in the Malaysian tradition, but without the coconut.

But that doesn’t quite nail it, either.

The gravy is incredibly rich and deep of flavour, but not at all heavy. It has a bit more of spice kick than found in most Malaysian places these days, too

The many beef pieces are almost totally fat-free and fall-apart tender.

And fall apart they do, as the eating progresses, adding to the richness of the gravy.

Likewise, my couple of potato pieces are tender and soaked in the magic.

Three pieces of bok choy sit atop, but soon they’re swimming in it, too, along with some chopped lettuce and bean sprouts buried under heaps of slippery egg noodles.

It’s brilliant!

You can order this with rice if you so desire, and there’s fine chicken curry as well, but I find the bone factor tiresome.

But how stupendously wonderful is it that what could quite possibly be Melbourne’s best curry meal is to be found in a humble Chinese noodle joint?

Carlton Chinese Noodle Cafe on Urbanspoon

Third Wave Cafe

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Third Wave Cafe in Port Melbourne.

Third Wave Cafe, 189 Rouse St, Port Melbourne. Phone: 9676 2399

Third Wave Cafe is a rather chic and appealing establishment a few blocks from the bustle of Bay St.

A casual glance may convey the impression this is just another nondescript inner-city cafe catering to workers of various kinds before, during and after their various employments.

Look just a little closer, though, and its apparent there’s a level of care and passion going on here – it’s in the various signs and it’s in the menu.

They’re serious about their coffee, they have a seriously good-looking line-up of paninis and – best of all – they have an interesting array of Russian dishes on offer.

I’ve been aware of this joint’s existence for a while, but have been in no great hurry to check it out.

But it scored a mention when I asked this blog’s Facebook buddies for suggestions of places to go for non-traditional breakfasting that goes beyond eggs-with-the-lot.

Breakfast is already done for today, but as Third Wave Cafe lies midway between a stimulating visit to Booktalk Cafe in Richmond and home, lunch is definitely on.

After I place my order, I feel a pang of regret as a couple of plates of Russian salad go passing by.

With the usual ingredients plus chicken and served with “artisan bread”, this looks seriously good for $13.

But my deal is done – meat blintzes ($16.50) it is.

Meat blitzes at Third Wave Cafe.

These look a little on the small side for the price, but I have a hunch that impression is going to prove deceptive and they’re going to reveal themselves as filling, if not hearty.

A bit like the looks of roti with curry at so many Malaysian eateries can slyly look skimpy!

I’m correct.

This is a really lovely lunch.

The blintzes and their filling are quite refined but at the same time quite filling.

The beef/pork mince is studded with very finely chopped onion and carrot.

The occasional whiff from the dill garnish and restrained dabs of the accompanying sour cream help every mouthful be an utter joy.

When my waitress asks how my lunch was, I truthfully and without hesitation say: “It was packed with awesomeness!”

The Third Wave blintzes also come in caviar, mushroom and cheese flavours, while other Russian items on the menu include borscht ($13.50), pelmeni (dumplings), syrniki (savoury pancakes, $14.50) and marinated shashlik ($20).

A Russian Sampler Plate of Russian salad, two types of blintzes (excluding caviar), meat dumplings and potato and mushroom torte costs $26.

I want to try everything … by the end of the week.

My cafe latte is pricey at $3.80 but very good.

The Third Wave Cafe website, including full menu rundown, is here.

Third Wave Cafe on Urbanspoon

Oliver’s Garden

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Oliver's Garden in Queen's Park, Moonee Ponds.

Oliver’s Garden, The Strand, Moonee Ponds. Phone: 9372 0438

The kiosk in Queen’s Park in Moonee Ponds is such a lovely setting that I wish it was closer to home – or, leastwise, that we had something similar.

The last time we visited was with our pal Kurt on the midway point of a longish Sunday bicycle ride.

If memory serves, our meal that day was BLT, nachos and a burger. Without reaching any great heights, they all did their job.

And also went some way to nullifying the truism that Melbourne does food in its parks about as well as it does bayside dining.

Truth is, I’m not even sure kiosk is the right term these days, as the eatery in question is operating under the name Oliver’s Garden.

For this week-day lunch, I’m in a burger mood, so am none too hopeful – the online menu, found on the establishment’s website, lists none.

But I’m in luck – though the news it’ll come in a Turkish loaf is unpromising.

Burger at Oliver's Garden ($14).

Initial impressions don’t do much to bolster confidence, either, as the beef patty looks way too small for the bun. And the $14 fee is starting to look a little on the high side.

But the hands-on experience is a winning one.

The chips are crispy, well-cooked, hot and very fine.

The burger meat belies its size by being full of beefy flavour and pretty much in the right proportions to its sandwich colleagues.

The dressing of grated beetroot, dill pickle bits and dill mayo is nigh on perfect in a suitably burgerish way, as is the fresh Turkish bread.

This is a burger meal that rates in quality, taste and price alongside the likes of Grill’d and Burger Edge.

Though my tiny bottle of that Coca Cola stuff for $3.50 is outlandish.

Oliver’s Garden does a range of breakfast dishes, focaccias, salads and a kids menu that ranges from $5 to $9.

On the day of my visit, the blackboard next to the takeaway servery hole lists a bubble and squeak for $13 that sounds real nice. 

Whizzing to and fro on our various adventures, it’s easy to forget this place and its lovely surrounds – and that’s our loss.

Even on a crisp, overcast day there’s a leisurely ease around the place of mums and children and ladies lunching.

Oliver's Garden on Urbanspoon

Atithi Indian Restaurant

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Atithi Indian Restaurant, 730 Mt Alexander Rd, Moonee Ponds. Phone: 9326 0482

Atithi is an Indian vegetarian restaurant that takes its name from the Sanskrit phrase “Atithi Devo Bhavah”, which means “Guest are God”.

We like that approach!

It resides in a stretch of Mt Alexander Rd near Puckle St in Moonee Ponds that often seems ripe for foodie adventures, but along which we find most places closed when we’re in the vicinity, Dr Strangeloves aside.

Earlier in the week, when passing by, we’d parked and gone for a look-see.

Our response to the restaurant’s motto, part of the outdoor signage, was damn near pavlovian.

“For Who Know Value of Taste.”

So eloquent, so adorable – this place went right to the top of our to-do list, and we’re back for real in just a few days.

On entering, we appreciate the whirring fans and AC on the job.

Both the walls and floor are tiled, while tables are dressed with cloth tablecloths and paper. It’s quite a nice , tranquil vibe.

Initially, we’re a little taken aback by the stern words placed at the bottom of each page of the menu warning us to be prepared for a half-hour 45-minute wait for a our meal.

We cover that base by ordering bhel puri from the Indian Street Food Menu – “Round puri, puffed rice and fine chickpeas noodles mix in onion, tomato, Fresh apple, beetroot, and potato served with chutney” for $7.

We know that in India such like as bhel puri are not ordered as part of a meal, but we often find ourselves ordering them as we are normally not in a position to adhere to afternoon snack tradition.

Bhel puri at Atithi.

This is less crunchy and crackly than I expect, but still a tangy way to get our dinner rolling. Bennie finds the raw white/brown onion quotient overpowering.

Mix veg sizzler at Atithi.

Mix veg sizzler – “mix vegies and pettish cooked in special tomato sauce serve in leafs bowl” ($15) – is a voyage into the unknown for us.

It’s super rich, gloopy and tasty.

Mixed under the cheese and tomato sauce is a jumble of a whole roasted green capsicum, corn kernels, peas, diced potato and carrot and more cheese.

It’s a huge serve – more appropriate for sharing among four people with a mix of other dishes.

This is much more than a tomato sauce, I subsequently discover when chatting to chef Mitesh Patel.

It’s actually a bechamel sauce made of, yes, tomato but also ghee, flour, milk, sugar, salt and pepper.

No wonder it seems so rich!

This sort of dish is not really Indian or Indo-Chinese – it’s more an Indian fusion sort of thing generated by Indian chefs working in Europe and returning home full of ideas and inspirations.

The mix veg sizzler comes from the continental section of menu, which also includes Pineapple/Veg Macaroni ($14) and Paneer Stick Sizzler ($17), which I presume must be even richer again.

From the Indo-Chinese dishes we’ve ordered hakka noodles – “Noodles cooked with special sauces and fresh vegetable” ($12).

Hakka noodles at Atithi.

This is OK, but seems a little on the pricey side. Bennie finds it too spicy, even though we’d said medium when asked.

The version enjoyed at the old Pandu’s benefitted from the having little bowls of vinegar and sauces soy and tomato on the side.

If there is an uneveness in our meal we’re happy to attribute it to a clumsy attempt to get to grips with a strange menu. More advanced navigation skills may have allowed us to choose more complementary dishes.

I’d originally envisioned basing our meal around one of the dosa selections, but the dosas are not yet available.

Perhaps we’d have been better off by gravitating towards the standard curry menu, which includes two kinds of dal, peneer and kofta dishes, and entrees such as pakoras. 

You can check out the Aitithi menu options at the restaurant’s website.

Nevertheless, we welcome the addition of a dedicated vegetarian eatery to our neighbourhood when often it seems Indian restaurants relegate vegetable dishes to after-thought status.

Atithi Indian Restaurant on Urbanspoon

She’s Thai – takeaway

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Friday takeaway dinner from She's Thai.

She’s Thai, 208 Somerville Rd, Kingsville. Phone: 9314 5556

Isn’t it some sort of bureaucratic insanity that sees kids start the new school year on a Thursday or Friday?

In any case, we’ve stumbled across the finish line of another week, including Bennie’s two-day week and my own commuting-and-driving routine.

We’re worn out and the house is out of food.

We’ve already been out on the fang once this week and will do so again some time over the weekend, so all we feel like is some quality sofa time.

It’s the perfect opportunity to take our local Thai joint, only sparingly frequented since our initial story, out for another spin.

Keeping the price down by cooking our own rice, going for two mains and ignoring the temptations of the entree list, we order red curry chicken and – wanting the crunch and zing of a stiry fry – the preow wahn, which is described as “sweet and sour using ‘royal cuisine’ style”.

Takeaway dinner from She's Thai.

Stir fry? Really?

Call it what you want – in our house we’ll call it soup.

Truly, our preow wahn is unlike anything we’ve ever come across before that has been even remotely stir fry.

The jumble of vegetables and pineapple is OK, but the gravy – soup! – is like a close cousin of the Cantonese sweet and sour.

A lame cousin.

Our red chicken curry is better, though fairly minimalist in terms of size.

What seems to be the same vegetable mix joins the chicken pieces is a gravy that separates out into its separate components.

Am I correct in assuming this signifies home-cooking, as opposed supermarket sauces and coconut milk overkill?

Aside from our stir fry being nothing we’d label as such and a disappointingly low level of spice and zing, our dinner goes OK but is still disappointing.

Surprisingly enough, that disappointment does little to dent our faith in the worthiness and integrity of She’s Thai.

Waiting to bat during the next day’s cricket match at Spotswood, Bennie calls it right: “It’d be better if we went there to eat their food!”

Not to mention relying on the staff for advice, making sure of much higher spice levels and more robust flavours, and maybe trying one of the handful of duck dishes.

And then there’s always the sticky and delicious massaman beef curry.

She's Thai - service with a smile!

She's Thai on Urbanspoon

Katik

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Chicken on skewer at Katik.

Katik, 349 Barry Rd, Campbellfield. Phone: 9357 9997

Katik is Plan B.

Plan A had been another establishment of Middle Eastern flavour a few kilometres away.

Our companion for our dinner adventure, Nat, had checked on the hours so we thought we were fine.

As it turned out, yes the place was open … but with only a limited menu to offer us.

That particular joint – that particular lunchtime joint – will have to await another day.

A hasty three-way conference sees us whizzing up to Barry Rd and to the strip recently visited by Consider The Sauce for a visit to Layla’s Restaurant.

Nat is a regular visitor to Consider The Sauce, a serial contributor to Urbanspoon and a devoted food hound – and we are delighted to make his acquaintance and enjoy his company.

Katik is a popular place in this neck of the woods, but we find the booth-style tables free as we enter and quickly set about choosing our meal.

Katik serves straight-up Turkish kebab shop fare, with perhaps a more restricted menu than we are accustomed to – three dips, some pies and a range of meats, either skewered or from the rotating machines.

Iskender kebab at Katik.

We order three plates – chicken skewer, adana kebab and iskender kebab – which proves to be just right for the three of us.

Perhaps it could be argued that serves are a mite on the modest size, but they are all just a notch under $10 and we certainly don’t leave hungry.

The chicken – oh yes! – has heaps of that charcoal grill flavour, but the meat is a little on the dry side.

The iskender kebab – sliced lamb doner kebab meat placed on a bed of Turkish bread and topped with tomato and yogurt – starts real fine but seems to become less appetising as our meal progresses.

Adana kebab at Katik.

The adana kebab – a single length of spiced, minced lamb extracted from a flat skewer – is lovely, with just the right kind of chewiness.

The flattish bread we enjoy, especially those pieces into which meat juices have seeped.

The carrot dip is just OK, the humus a good deal better in terms of flavour and the salad additions lacking appeal.

We have a good dinner, but I have a suspicion that Katik is a victim of it own success, with hectic turnover leading to a lack of finesse.

Which makes us all the more grateful to have Footscray Best Kebab House and Flemington Kebab House in our own backyard, especially when it comes to salad components and dips with real zing and presentation generally.

Katik Turkish Take Away on Urbanspoon

Amanie’s Bakery

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Omelette with "the lots".

Amanie’s Bakery, Shop 4/280 Main Rd, St Albans. Phone: 9364 5333

No matter where you head in Melbourne for your fix Lebanese pies and pizza, they remain some of the very cheapest and finest food available.

The shop at the Circle in Altona is our default Lebanese pizza shop, due to both its excellence and the neighbouring shops, several of which have become firm and regular favourites.

It has a limited range, though, and in terms of an enjoyable eating-out-in-public experience, it doesn’t get more spartan.

Sometimes it’s only natural to want something a bit more colourful and entertaining.

That’s why we also really like Mankoushe in Brunswick and Al-alamy in Coburg.

Both offer broader menus that include things such as dip and falafel platters.

And both are way up there when it comes to interest, human and otherwise, and entertainment.

Amanie’s Bakery in St Albans resides somewhere between those two approaches, both in travelling distance from Yarraville and overall vibe.

The decor and furnishings are your basic ethnic cafe stuff, but the food list has all the basics and a few other items as well.

Mr Amanie, who has been here about 10 years, is a cheerful and obliging host.

Tending the Amanie's oven.

I’m here today to buy pies for the coming week – and, of course, for lunch, for which I desire something other than pies!

So I order the omelette “with lots”, which is going to cost me $5.50.

I’m half expecting that this will be served as the scrambled eggs are at Al-alamy – with pita bread, tomato slices, pickles and olives on the side – but I’m up for whatever eventuates.

That’s all to the good, as what I receive is a sort of egg pizza, with the omelette spread on the base and studded with tomato, olives and capsicum.

It’s been dusted deftly with chilli powder, which delivers a nice and spicy glow to what is just the sort of light lunch I craved.

Ms Baklover gives her rundown of this bakery’s gear  here at Fooscray Food Blog.

Meanwhile, it continues to be a profound mystery to me why Lebanese pizzas and pies – and sundry other dishes at the places that serve them – are not more widely celebrated as a brilliant and magical slice of Melbourne’s food scene.

Sweet Grass Bonsai Nursery & Cafe

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Sweet Grass Bonsai Nursery & Cafe, 357 Barkly St, West Footscray. Phone: 0488 688 808

What was once a nursery is still so – but with a difference.

The commercial nursery that long resided at this address on this under-utilised stretch of Barkly St has become a beautiful bonsai garden and cafe.

It’s a calming oasis.

Even on a hot day, the temperature seems to decrease in the garden and adjacent seating area.

Having already visited the Sri Lankan grocer around the corner on the Geelong road, I’d dropped in to check the place out only to find there’s no food available.

An unsatisfactory lunch is had nearby before I return to truly luxuriate in and enjoy the setting.

Bonsai, of course, is a Japanese tradition, but the management here is Vietnamese and Buddhist, as some of the statutory reveals.

One of them tells me her partner is a landscaper whose passion is bonsai.

It’s his private collection – some of them seem surprisingly large to bonsai ignoramus me – that makes up the serenely designed garden that adjoins the cool, calm undercover seating area.

There are smaller, younger plants for sale in the rear section.

I ponder the mocktail list.

This is a document Bennie will no doubt study with intensity when the time comes.

Maybe a Dutch Treat – milk, cocoa, cinnamon and honey – will be his go.

Or maybe a Black Widow of vanilla ice cream, lime juice and cola.

The boy does love a sundae, after all.

They seem very reasonably priced at $5, but it’s a bit hard to tell without laying eyes on one and seeing how big they are.

I play creature of habit and order a cafe latte.

It’s fine.

I’ve had it good lately with fantastic coffee from diverse and non-standard cafe settings – Cup & Bean and Tico’s Drive Thru, for instance.

You won’t get a feed at Sweet Grass but it’s nourishment for the soul anyway.

Read another story on Sweet Grass at Fill Up On Bread.

Tico’s Drive Thru

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Tico’s Drive Thru has a stylish appearance.

Tico’s Drive Thru, 549 Geelong Rd, Brooklyn.

Tico is really on to a winner here.

Actually, there is no Tico.

The owner and proprietor of Tico’s Drive Thru is a cheerful and energetic chap by the name of Hugo.

Tico, he explains to me, is vernacular for Costa Rican – in the same way as Aussie or Yank.

Hugo is Costa Rican, having moved to Australia about 27 years ago, and so is his Di Bella coffee.

He’d owned the triangular site on the corner of Geelong Rd, Francis St and Millers Rd for about eight years with not much idea what he was going to do with it until he dreamed up his bustling coffee enterprise.

Having driven past so many times, it’s a little surreal to be watching him and his staff as the endless streams of cars and trucks whiz by in both directions.

Hugo tells me they’re nearing the end of the morning rush hours, but they still seem plenty busy to me.

Tico’s produces about 700 coffees a day.

Incredibly, they sell about 750 coffees every week day.

And of those, Hugo says, about 600 are regulars.

He may not remember the routine orders of all those 600 or so, but he certainly knows those of the half-dozen or so cars that have pulled in as we are talking.

Most small/regular coffees are priced at $3.

My cafe latte is excellent.

There’s little or no room for a customer to linger, as this is a dedicated drive-by operation – the confined nature of the property allows nothing else.

But Hugo says future outlets will hopefully cater to sit-down customers, too.

The next is planned for Essendon.

This, the first Tico’s, sells a basic range of cookies, but a doughnut machine is in the process of being installed and should be in operation in about three weeks.

They give copies of the Herald Sun to customers, the wireless EFTPOS service takes no longer than a cash transaction and there’s an on-site ATM.

I feel fatigued just watching the Tico’s crew in action.

The TeaPot Cottage Cafe

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25 Beach St, Werribee South. Phone: 0409 138 181

THIS BUSINESS IS NOW CLOSED

Is it possible to get a lunchtime feed in Werribee South?

This is my cheery challenge for the day.

My rudimentary online research bore little fruit – just unhelpfully vague mentions of a takeaway joint and some tea rooms.

And I can recall no eateries from our previous visits to Werribee South – and there were actually quite a few.

I find it interesting that even in our relatively short 10-year stint in the west, we have already gone through several phases – in eating and other contexts.

Gravy Train in Gamon St, for instance, and to a lesser extent Hausfrau in Yarraville used to be an almost daily part of our routine, for breakfasts and more.

But no more.

We’ve left the cafe habit behind, prefer our brekkies at home and save our pennies for much more interesting – to us – fare available for lunches or dinners.

Likewise, we were once reasonably frequent visitors to Werribbee Mansion, often availing ourselves of the light but tasty and affordable bar menu before gamboling in the lovely grounds.

Often, too, such outings would entail a leisurely drive through kilometres of large vegetable patches, around Werribee South and then home.

As was the case then, today finds me a surprised and delighted to drive through large areas of intense market garden activity before suddenly finding myself in a seaside holiday destination so close to Melbourne.

There’s a good-sized caravan park, outside the main entrance of which is the takeaway establishment, which I quickly verify is not for me.

There’s a coast guard station, a lagoon/estuary, jetty and play areas.

And then, just as I have almost completed a circuit of the entire burg, I come across the TeaPot Cottage Cafe.

This, of course, is the tea rooms business I had stumbled across online without discovering its real name or nature.

Its real nature is wonderful – this a charming, classic, old-school tea house!

As such, it perhaps behooves me to order something appropriate to such a setting – the scotch fillet steak burger or beef burgundy pie (both $18), for instance.

The breakfast menu includes “Eve’s Traditional Scottish Breakfast”, which shovels up potato scones, Ayrshire gammon (yes, I had to look it up), black pudding, Scottish sausage, Aussie eggs, baked beans and toast for $20.

Whew!

Had I a companion for the day, the ploughman’s lunch for two and for $30 would appeal.

But I chance my arm by ordering the beer-battered whiting ($18).

I enjoy sitting in overcast warmth at one of the outside tables, flicking through one of the local rags until my lunch arrives.

Oh dear! The salad bits are dreary and the tartare sauce is in the dreaded sachets!

The chips are better – a little under-done for my tastes, but they’re hot and taste fine.

The fish is better again – much better.

I’ve never been a whiting fan and certainly never order it when we’re out at one of our usual F&C haunts.

But this is really good!

What looks like a rather modest serve of four smallish pieces of fish is actually a surprisingly filling meal.

The fish is firm and flavoursome, and the slightly thick and chewy batter adheres to the fish admirably well. This all a bit chunkier than is usually the case with the sort of beer-battered whiting you find is flash F&C places or more expensive seafood eateries, but for me it’s a winning approach.

Even at $18, significantly above our normal F&C rates, I love my lunch, especially given the nice setting.

Back inside, I happily check out the classic tea-room decor, decorations and trimmings.

I don’t specifically recall laying my eyes on any doilies, but I’m sure they’re there somewhere.

I tell my host, Eve, and her staff (top photo) that their place not only reminds me of tea-room visit of my long-ago South Island childhood – it smells the same, too.

“I know,” says Eve.

My mum would love this place, for sure!

Eve also confirms what I had already suspected – the two-scone Devonshire teas with jam and real cream are the place’s best-sellers by a mile.

And no metric conversion necessary or even appropriate.

No EFTPOS available.

Teapot Cottage Cafe on Urbanspoon

Layla’s Restaurant

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327 Barry Rd, Campbellfield. Phone: 9357 6666

Ever been to Campbellfield?

Nor I have I – until tonight.

It seemed so easy when I set out.

A quick look at the Melway told me Pascoe Vale Rd, keep on going and eventually I’ll reach Barry Rd and my dinner destiny.

It turns out to be a fair haul, and when I arrive the Melbourne CBD skyline is not where I expect it to be.

But it’s pure pleasure, as I have this very afternoon I have picked up a new car.

The difference between my old, reliable 2004 Getz manual and the new 2008 Corolla automatic is amazing.

I feel like I’m driving a Rolls Royce – much better suspension and seating, much, much quieter.

Oh my!

I’m on the hunt for a kebab joint about which I’ve heard good things.

But when I find the correct shopping strip, I discover that particular establishment is in the midst of frantic dinner rush hour business.

No problem!

For what I also find is some sort of Melbourne magic.

In a space of about 200 metres there are at least half a dozen places serving Middle Eastern food of various kinds.

Several of them are kebab places.

But there’s also a chicken shop that nevertheless has photos of falafels and kebabs in its windows.

And even the fish and chip shop and the noddle joint announce they use halal meat.

I settle on Layla’s Restaurant.

There are a handful of customers making use of the outside tables, but I am the only customer in the interior, which is welcoming and cool, and in which I feel immediately comfortable.

I sure am hungry so order the biggest, most expensive item on the menu – the mixed plate for $13.

As my food is prepared, I get talking to Layla, who is Assyrian.

Patiently working around the language barrier – and that even though we are both speaking English – I am reminded that there is a big difference between the Assyrian people and Syria, and that the Middle East is far more complex than as presented in glib newspaper headlines and TV grabs.

My meal is real nice.

Two lamb skewers and one of chicken taste fine, but are a little on the dry side – so I love dipping the meat in the little dish of Layla’s homemade sauce. The sauce is a little salty, watery and sort of like a Middle Eastern curry concoction. Tasty!

The falafels are a pale tan inside, very mildly seasoned but fresh and very good.

I love the three kinds of pickle – chilli, turnip and cucumber.

The “hommos” is good but also a little on the dry side.

A fine meal I have, but I suspect at Layla’s I may be better off with more homely fare such as foul or some of the fine-looking Lebanese-style pies and pizzas.

On Sundays, the place serves baqela bel-dhin, which is described as “Iraqi beans, eggs and onions”.

I take the Western Ring Road home, listening to Billy Jack Wills, Tiny Moore and the boys rocking the house the whole way.

(The menus presented below does not represent current prices.)

Noodle Land

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74 Watton St, Werribee. Phone: 9741 8331

The main drag of Werribee is surprisingly rich in cheap eats potential.

Within a couple of blocks are a number of Indian restaurants, including Bikanos, purveyors of fine chole bhature.

There’s a handy-looking fish and chip joint, a couple of charcoal chicken shops and a variety of cafes.

As well, there’s a couple of mixed noodle places – like the recently reviewed and fine Dragon Express, I suspect they’re both Chinese-based but have wider-based menus that dabble in South-East Asia.

Certainly that’s precisely the case at Noodle Land, which I choose for my Sunday lunch, fuel for my first night shift in Geelong after a two-week break.

Inside are all the usual food photographs, a table of locals who look like regulars happily fanging away and – unusual for such establishments – the cricket on TV.

Even better, there are newspapers.

Being a veteran newspaperman, I take special and perverse delight in reading newspapers I haven’t paid for, even if they are a day old and particularly if they still include the foodie bits and pieces.

Perfect!

I start with a trio of chicken dumplings ($3.50).

Far from being aghast at their khaki green skins, I take them to mean these babies are made on the premises.

They’re quite delicate and tasty, though like their chook cousins, chicken sausages, they have no chicken flavour at all.

Pickled cabbage and carrot – of the kind often found served with Vietnamese vermicelli and rice dishes – on the side is a nice touch.

Hard-won wisdom tells not go with roti with my beef rendang ($10.50), so I go with rice instead.

Quite predictably, this will never make the grade in the Malaysian hot spot of Racecourse Rd and environs in Flemington, but it’s actually pretty good.

It’s very mild, but the gravy is plentiful and of fine taste, and the meat is tender and almost fat-free.

We’re so lucky to be surrounded by incredible and uncompromised food so close to our home that it’s tempting to get a bit sniffy about such fare.

But certainly, I’ve had much, much worse, ahem, “curries” in places of Chinese derivation

If I lived in Werribee, I’d probably be a regular at Noodle Land.

As it turns out, I’m partial to having a feed after having put myself a few kilometres closer to my work duties in Geelong, so the occasional stop in Werribee will likely continue to be part of my routine.

It just may take a long while to get a handle on what’s hot and what’s not.

Noodle Land on Urbanspoon

Oriental Charcoal BBQ

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110 Hopkins St, Footscray. Phone: 9687 0421

It’s a happily busy Saturday lunchtime in Footscray central and the many Vietnamese restaurants hereabouts are doing grand business of varying degrees.

Yet oriental Charcoal BBQ goes unloved – except for us!

As our meal winds down, we reflect that it’s a shame, for we have had a fantastic meal in good company at a truly fine bargain price.

More to the point, we’ve enjoyed food that defies any tendency to stereotype this part of Footscray as Vietnamese through and through.

It’s been of food unlike any of us have specifically tried before.

Truth is Bennie and I have been only moderately inspired by Ms Baklover’s otherwise excellent review at Footscray Food Blog.

The tipping point came with a comment left there by James, also a regular visitor to Consider The Sauce.

He writes:

This place is GREAT! I went tonight with a friend – both of us have worked in Northern China. It’s just like the food we used to eat on the border with North Korea. All absolutely delicious (although as Ms Baklover suggests the plastic wrap is kind of weird!). We had 12+ dishes and paid about $50 in total! Amazing. And it’s BYO. Mo Vida, watch out for Chinese tapas!

It was such a lovely family experience too – we were made so welcome – the grandparents, parents and 6-month-old grandchild were all there. Such a memorable night.

That’ll do us – and thanks for the tip both of you!

Bennie and I are joined today by two other frequent Consider The Sauce visitors, Bruce and Maddy, meaning we can enjoy a wide-ranging repast.

We muddle through the ordering process yet end up with a really well-balanced meal.

By general consensus, we avoid offal such as giblets, hearts and livers, yet magically find that Maddy’s no-red-meat requirements require no compromise to our order at all.

Cabbage and vermicelli ($6) appears at first blush as though it’ll play a similar role in our meal as a serve of Vietnamese coleslaw. Instead, this is a much less crunchy dish, and much less robustly flavoured.

The cabbage seems to be only from the heart of the vegetable, so tender is it, yet it mixes well with the slithery noodles. The dish has the same sort of vinegar/sesame oil taste as the delicious bean sprouts often served at the beginning a Japanese meal. The charred chilli discs offer only the most mild of spice kicks.

By general acclaim, the most loved dish of the day is spicy salt and pepper tofu (photo at top, $12.80).

This has the same sort of seasoning as more frequently had by us all with chicken ribs or calamari – finely diced green onions, capsicum, salt, pepper.

The plump tofu pieces are either crunchy or extra crunchy on the outside, the innards smooth and squishy.

It’s super yummo!

We order a plethora of skewers, all of which cost about $2 a pop. We get a nice range of textures and flavours, although all come with cumin seasoning.

The BBQ capsicum and onion and the BBQ green beans work well for all of us.

The lamb likewise for the three boys and the chicken for Maddy.

The BBQ sausage is, as far as we can tell, nothing more than your standard hot dog – but still tastes pretty good after it is imbued with that barbecue flavour!

The single mis-step is BBQ beef tender.

Using the menu photo as a gauge, we expect skewers of a cut of juicy if rather fatty beef.

Instead, we get – of course! – tendon.

There’s nothing truly unpleasant about these, but they are awfully chewy and a step too far for us.

“Like the worst calamari you’ve ever had,” quips Bruce.

Back on track, the fried pork dumplings ($9) are another outright winner.

They’ve been pan-fried, the bottoms are delicately crispy, the tops tender but firm and the filling tasty and hot, if mild of flavour.

By this time, the staff have realised we’re not only about having a fabulous lunch but also about writing about it … so insist on providing us with more food to sample on the house.

Any discomfort on our part at this eventuality is swept aside by the enthusiasm and pride of the staff.

Veggies combination ($6) has cucumber, peanuts and chewy tofu skin that looks like cabbage but is nothing like it, all dressed in a similar concoction to the cabbage and vermicelli that now seems a long time ago. It’s OK but by this time I suspect we are confronting “food fatigue”.

The BBQ steamed bun is nice enough – Bennie loves it but it seems like toast to the rest of us.

The BBQ fish balls are what you’d expect, yet by this time we are tiring of the ubiquitous cumin-heavy seasoning.

Even without the “sample” dishes and taking into account a couple of non-bullseyes, we are well pleased with our lunch.

We’ve eaten superbly well for a sensational and low price, yet none of us feel bloated or over-full.

And it seems that more by luck than expertise, we’ve got a handle on how to order here – a bunch of “food on a stick” options, cool salad, main dish and dumplings, all for the sharing.

Oriental Charcoal BBQ offers a real tasty alternative in Footscray central.

And thanks to Maddy and Bruce for the fine company!

Cup & Bean – coffee nirvana in Yarraville

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Cup & Bean’s Tim is a serious coffee dude.

20 Wembley Ave, Yarraville. Phone: 0459 075 207

Cup & Bean proprietor Tim doesn’t see himself as coffee zealot or crusader, but there’s no doubt he’s passionate about his coffee and his new venture in Wembley Ave, Yarraville.

Right next door to very good Indian establishment Mishra’s Kitchen, Cup & Bean pays homage to the premise’s previous incarnation as a greengrocer by stocking a limited but useful range of fresh produce.

For the time being, the food offerings are being kept simple – sandwiches, pastries and the like – with Tim keeping an open mind about it and welcoming customer feedback.

The in-house bean brews have a much more singular focus, though, with Tim ushering me behind the counter to show how he uses a “double group handle” – often used to make two coffees – to create superb efforts at $3.60 a pop.

Tim has a coffee pedigree that includes stints with the Jasper brand and what he refers to as “multiple site management”, which is why he’s having such a grand time being hands-on in his own enterprise.

He is sourcing his beans from Geelong outfit Cartel Coffee Roasters while his compostable takeaway cups and lids come from PLAnet Cup.

I have two coffees as we visit and talk – one an ordered and paid-for cafe latte and the other a gratis “demonstration” model of the same genre.

They are both excellent – just the right temperature, creamy and intense without being bitter or too strong.

Excellent? Actually, they’re perfect.

Cup & Bean is a lovely space.

At the front are comfy old armchairs, including a rocking nursing chair, and a growing collection toys.

In the centre of the room, a large communal wooden table is surrounded by similarly personality-laden chairs of a more upright variety.

The walls are adorned with lovely paintings.

Cup & Bean is open 7.30am-4.30pm Monday to Friday and Saturdays from 8am-1pm.

Cup & Bean on Urbanspoon

Phu Vinh

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248 Hampshire Rd, Sunshine. Phone: 9077 0502

The new Phu Vinh in Sunshine is not the sister restaurant of the operation of the same name in Footscray – it’s the daughter restaurant.

The friendly woman who takes our money and asks about how we enjoyed our meal as we depart tells us the Footscray “branch” is run by her parents.

The Sunshine venture, which opened just before Christmas, shares an almost identical menu boasting of its hu tieu specialisation, has the same semi-chic decor and vibe, and is tops in terms of kid-friendliness.

We’re happy to note that even on the stroke of a Monday noon that the place is quite busy – seems like Phu Vinh Sunshine has found its place in an intense Viet environment very quickly.

The service we receive is very attentive and prices for most noodle and rice dishes $10-12.

Sunshin'e Phu Vinh is a family friendly establishment.

 

We keep it simple and order what I suspect are two of the most popular items on the menu.

My pork and prawn rice noodle soup (hu tieu tom thit hoac mi tom thit, $10) has pork three different ways – hey, doesn’t that sound like the sort of thing they say in fancy high-falutin’ fine-dining places?

There’s thinly sliced pork, darker meat in thicker slices and chunks, and pork mince.

Sadly, my lunch offers up just a single medium-sized but tasty prawn.

I’m later told this is standard, but if I ever want an extra house-made prawn cracker to go on top there’ll be no charge.

Prawn issues aside, it’s a fine lunch, the slithery noodles, varied greenery and fresh, clear broth singing in harmony with the added chilli slices and lemon juice.

Bennie could not be happier with his “AWSM” vermicelli with shredded pork skin and spring rolls (ban bi cha gio, $10).

He cleans the bowl out and barely says a word as he eats.

Very unusual, that!

“Everything was good about it,” he tells as he peers over my shoulder as I write.

(I’m working on getting him in the blogging spirit of being a bit more specific in his foodie reflections …)

As we return to our car, we are delighted to see our story on Dragon Express posted prominently in that fine establishment’s widow:

Bretzel.biz

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25A Vernon St, South Kingsville. Phone: 0401 218 677

Les Sullivan is adamant – the term pretzel is nothing but an Americanisation of bretzel.

He likens it to a reference he once found to Dutch pretzels.

After a suitable amount of head-scratching he realised this, too, was an Americanisation … of Deutsch pretzels!

He laughs when I tell him the story – actually mostly an urban myth, but it rings true – that movie execs were forced to change the name of the movie The Madness of King George III for the American market.

I mean, who’d want to see it when they hadn’t already seen George I and George II?

Les, a South African, met his German wife, Annette, in his homeland some 35 years ago. He was an anti-apartheid social worker, she a mission worker arriving from Namibia.

Eventually, they moved to Australia to escape the brutal insanity of apartheid and the seemingly slim chances that anything there would ever change.

They’ve been at their Kingsville address for about a year, having before that run their bretzel business in Geelong.

As markets in and around Melbourne came to make up more and more of their business, they simply got sick of going up and down the highway.

As a Yarraville/Geelong commuter, I can sympathise!

They can sell up to 500 bretzels at a single market in a day.

Bennie and I have already eaten a beaut Vietnamese lunch, so share a simple cinnamon/sugar bretzel ($4), with a cafe latte for me and a hot chocolate for him.

Cinnamon/sugar bretzel.

 

It’s a subtle sweet treat when compared to, say, pastries and strudels from other parts of Europe. The sugar ‘n’ spice blend is just right and the texture of the bretzel itself both tender and chewy.

More flashy variants are available for $5, including one stuffed with Nutella and topped with choccy sprinkles.

Les explains that the sweet bretzels differ from their standard salted colleagues ($3) through the inclusion of milk and sugar in the dough.

The standard bretzels are made of just four and yeast.

Because of the authentic use of the term bretzels with a “B”, the Sullivans find a lot of customers get them confused with bagels.

It’s simple – bagels are boiled, bretzels are roasted.

“We are very passionate about our product,” Les says. “It’s not deep fried, it’s healthy and it’s different.”

Their simple German-style cafe attracts customers coming to the area specifically for a bretzel fix. They often leave disappointed, as the Sullivans are often at market, as they say.

They also win walk-up trade thanks to the proximity of the Famous Blue Rain Coat, which is right next door, and Motorino, which is a few doors up.

They’re always happy, however, to make coffees if on the premises and getting stuck into their substantial prep work.

Our brews were fine.

Phoning ahead would seem to be the right idea.

The Bretzel.biz Facebook page has all the details, including their market commitments.

Shishka Cafe

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71 Pier St, Altona. Phone: 9398 8580

This restaurant is now closed.

Authentic Lebanese food in Altona?

You bet!

We’d been alerted to the arrival of Shiska by flyers at the Lebanese Bakery at The Circle, also in Altona.

Foolishly, I’d neglected to take one with me and promptly forgot the name of the new venture.

Its newness – it only opened its doors about a month before Christmas – defied my online sleuthing, so as we amble up Pier St we are living in hope that dad has got the details right.

And there it is – right between a Viet place we’ve never tried and pretty good-looking charcoal chicken shop.

We’ve always found Pier St a bit of non-event in the fang stakes, but things are looking up.

We’ve enjoyed another fine day for cycling and another fine ride – under the bridge and around the bay, with the wind at our backs.

We stopped at the pier in Williamstown to have a chat with Julian.

He’s set up shop with a handful of quadricycles.

This is his first day and he has yet to snag a customer.

We wish him well!

We are certainly not without favoured options in our greater neighbourhood when it comes to kebabs, dips and salads of a Mediterranean nature, most notably at Footscray Best Kebab House and Flemington Kebab House.

But when it comes to the moreish and distinctive flavours of Lebanon, all we’ve found is Cedar Grill in Newport. We enjoyed it, but in truth it seems more set up as a takeaway joint doing good trade in pizzas, burgers and – yes – kebabs.

Based on our very fine lunch, Shiska is the answer.

The decor is a bit daggy, while menu items such as chicken parma and chips and some main courses that seem to fall into the Aussie contemporary bag show only wisdom that relying only on Lebanese customers  may not be sufficient to ensure success.

Even though Altona seems to be a stronghold for folks of that persuasion.

But there’s enough Lebanese specialties at the right sort of prices to warrant Shishka serious consideration.

Bennie goes for the very good value of the $9 kebab wrap and can of soft drink.

He loves every mouthful. He adores it. He rates it 9 1/2 out 10, but that may have something to do with the fact he got exactly what he wanted.

His dad orders the foul ($12) and the eggplant dip ($7).

When compared to the $7 foul at Al-Alamy, this may seem a bit steep – but it’s a big serve, and when combined with the dip, pickles and other bits and pieces it make for a ripper $19 meal for two.

Shishka Cafe brings a Lebanese flavour to Altona.

The beans and chick peas are served whole, swimming in their juices and olive oil.

We mash ’em up and they go just right with the cucumber slices, black olives, pickled turnip, mint sprigs, tomato pieces and green onion strands – it’s plain, honest food and a delight to inhale.

The dip, topped with more olive oil and pomegranate seeds, looks like humus but has a nice texture and lemony flavour.

It’s a lovely feast, and even though Bennie has already scarfed his kebab he, too, indulges in the Lebanese vegetarian delights, making our order about right.

Next time we’ll be interested to check out the likes of the falafel (six served with pickles and pita for $10), kibbeh ($20) and chilli, coriander and potato salad, while the $25 platter of lamb, chicken, three dips and rice may also be a winner.

The kofta plate of three skewers with dip and “parsley salad” costs $15 and there is a kids’ menu of calamari, fish bites, lasagna or nuggets for $7.

The service is fine and friendly and we are not charged extra for more pita bread.