B’stilla

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 B’stilla, 30b Bray St, South Yarra. Phone: 9826 2370

B’stilla is a newish restaurant, on a back street parallel to Chapel Street and near the Jam Factory, that purveys what its website describes as “authentic Moroccan food”.

Strange part of town for me to be visiting, and a rather unusual (trendy) restaurant for me to be checking out.

But this is a Special Occasion.

I have been invited here to see what the food and the place are about by Danielle Gulacci, editor of  GRAM Magazine, to which this site has been a regular contributor and the owner of which, Prime Creative Media, will be paying tonight’s bill.

We are joined by her Prime Creative colleague Sarah and bloggers Sofia of Poppet’s Window and Ashley of I’m So Hungree.

So this an opportunity of a social and professional nature I am happy to grab, lessening somewhat the usual hand-wringing that accompanies acceptance of “freebie food”. Although you will find the mandatory “full disclosure” statement at the end of the story.

And as our food bill is already spoken for, I am omitting prices.

Although as you can see from the menu below, the pricing regime at B’stilla – especially given the location and the quality of the food – is actually very reasonable.

That is, about $6-$12 for starters, salads and sides, and in the mid-$20s range for the more substantial dishes.

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We gleefully eat a lot of food – perhaps, arguably, TOO much to sensibly assess – so I am not going to be forensic about discussing each and every thing we tried.

B’stilla seems quite a compact joint, with the indoor tables including a long, high communal table at which we set up camp and quite a few more outdoor seating options.

The kitchen seems positively tiny considering the high standard of what we eat.

As the five of us proceed with comparing notes about our blogs and our methods and get stuck right into some hilarious tales and gossip, the food starts rolling out …

Danielle has worked with all three of us bloggers on a regular basis, yet this is the first time she has witnessed any of us – or any bloggers at all, I suspect – “at work”.

As the dishes arrive, Ashley, Sofia and I simply click into quite a slick kind of choreography as we shuffle plates around the table and revolve them for the best range of shots before the demands of appetite kick in and food is actually eaten.

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“Grilled batbout flat bread, tomato lemon jam” makes a nice start. The bread is plain and soft, while the jam has lovely, lemony tang.

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“School prawns, whitebait, chermoula aioli” is beautifully fried and delicate.

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This is b’stilla, the dish after which the restaurant is named and which is described as “pigeon, duck, almond, cinnamon, saffron, egg”.

This is an unusual dish – for starters, it’s a savoury item that’s dusted with powdered sugar and cinnamon.

The pastry is crunchy, almost crumbly, while the filling is of mild but delicious flavour.

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“Confit chicken wings, pistachio yoghurt, pomegranate” is another nice dish, but by this point I am starting to feel a little underwhelmed.

The food we are enjoying seems to largely lack robustness of flavours and seasoning. But, happily, things are about to take a huge leap upwards.

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“Lamb shoulder, ginger, cumquat, parsnip, sumac” – ah, this is more like it!

The lamb itself seems to be only very mildly seasoned, but it’s fall-apart tender, crisp on the exterior and there’s more of it than first appears to be the case – enough for all five of us to share handsomely.

The parsnip puree is decadently smooth and the cumquats supreme on the tang.

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“Smokey eggplant, crispy garlic, sesame, coriander” is, as expected, a rough-cut salad that is a close relative of babaghanoush – and just like only the very best eggplant dips, it really does pack a wonderful smokey punch.

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“Cauliflower, pine nut paste, ras el hanout, herb” is a more ritzy version of a humble side dish we regularly cook at home. It’s fine and proves that cauliflowers and ovens really do belong together. And I’m not talking about au gratin!

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“Freekah, apple, celeriac, chard, green chili, almond” is a killer salad – fresh, light, all the ingredients in harmony. And, a little surprisingly, it provides the night’s biggest chilli hit.

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We try two of the three tagines available.

The seafood component of our “mussels, cod, squid, fennel, spinach, saffron” is impeccable – just so beautifully cooked! This is excellent value at $26.

But even this wonderful dish is trumped by the “fig, goat’s cheese, chickpea, root vegetables” tagine (top photo). This for me is the night’s food highlight – it’s really rich and deep of flavour.

We finally try a range of desserts, but truth to tell while they all taste lovely, they all pass in a bit of blur, so wide-ranging and prolific has our meal been.

Though the “fig leaf ice cream” that arrives as part of our three-scoop ice cream selection is a clear winner among quite a few!

A word on the music – it’s been as good as the food and service. At various times during the night, I hear New Orleans classics by Lee Dorsey, Earl King, Professor Longhair and Aaron Neville among much other more diversely tuneful fare. Though the volume level has been a little overbearing.

Would I return to B’stilla under my own steam and paying my own way?

Yes, in a heartbeat.

Thanks to Danielle for the invite, B’stilla for looking after us and Ashley and Sofia – love swapping notes with you guys!

Check out the B’stilla website here.

Our meal at B’stilla was paid for GRAM Magazine/Prime Creative Media. Our menu selections were a mixture of choices by our party’s members and the management. Editorial control of this post resides solely with Consider The Sauce.

 

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Gumbo Kitchen in Yarraville

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We’ve been slow to getting around to hitting this crew since they joined the influx of food trucks into the west – so tonight’s the night.

A previous encounter in Brunswick had been of an acceptable nature, although I did find the roast beef debris po boy sandwich somewhat on the dull side and not really “as advertised”.

So this time around I have no problem sidestepping the allure of the various po boys such as soft shell crab and shrimp and heading straight for the gumbo.

I’ve experienced some pitiful excuses for gumbo in my time in Melbourne – so I’m delighted to report this is not one of them.

In fact, it’s the best gumbo I’ve had in Australia that I have not cooked myself.

And, the clincher, it’s not some fancy seafood gumbo.

This is the king of gumbos – chicken and sausage.

Nor is there file or okra involved. The chicken is not fried first, as is the case in some of the more extravagant recipes or flash New Orleans restaurants.

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No, this chicken and sausage gumbo ($12) is plain old home-style cooking – the sort of gumbo you might find in any neighbourhood joint or bar in New Orleans.

Best of all, this is not a stew – this is a runny soup, which is as it should be.

There’s a dark roux and stock base, there’s the trinity of celery, capsicum and onion. And, my server Michael tells me, there’s your basic gumbo seasoning such as cayenne, oregano and thyme. And no doubt a few more.

It’s got that great, distinctive gumbo flavour and a nice spice hit.

There’s more than enough chicken chunks and sausage discs. The price seems reasonable enough given the quality of the gumbo.

Although you wouldn’t want to get thinking about the pho available just up the road or the $3 tacos being dispensed at the Reverence Hotel.

Bennie’s been at me for months that he wants to try gumbo, but I simply haven’t gotten around to it.

Next time he raises the subject, and presuming I remain uninspired to do the job myself, I’ll be more than happy to haul him along to the Gumbo Kitchen and say: “THAT’S gumbo!”

 

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Dessert Story

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Dessert Story, Shop 1110, Highpoint, Maribyrnong. Phone: 9317 3889

Pumpkin pie?

OK, I can get with that.

But red beans, taro, barley, lotus seeds and dried bean curd? With sugar?

Nup, not my thing.

While Bennie and I are often reading from the same page when it comes to food, and even non-food reading material, there IS a big gap between us when it comes to Asian beverages and desserts.

That gap is well illustrated by a post-movie visit to Dessert Story that is a sort-of dare to his father by Bennie, who has embraced this fare with gleeful zeal.

From what I’ve been able to discover, Dessert Story is an Australian company that has outlets at shopping centres and elsewhere across Melbourne, with one in Adelaide and many more no doubt to come.

They offer what they describe as “the best of Taiwanese and Hong Kong home-style” desserts.

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From the Taro Series, Bennie gets honey beans, coconut jelly and pearls ($6.80)

I sample each and every element of his dessert. The textures, the feel, everything about this seems so wrong to me – this FEELS like dinner!

Especially the beans …

“That is very, very weird,” says dad.

“This is very, very yummy,” says Bennie.

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My own mango pomelo sago in mango juice ($6.80) is a much more conservative selection, and one that accordingly tastes and feels like what I am used to thinking of as “dessert”.

It’s OK but doesn’t really rock my world.

I ask Bennie if I’m missing the point here – that to really get with the spirit of such fodder I should stop being such a wuss and go for the most outlandish dish I can find.

“Yep,” he says.

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Seaside Flatbread Cafe

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Seaside Flatbread Cafe, 34 Borrack Square, Altona North. Phone: 9391 6655

Since first spying the soon-to-be-opened Lebanese food emporium in Borrack Square, I have driven by several times to check on progress.

And I have driven away hungry and looking elsewhere – until this Saturday lunch time.

Such is my excitement, Bennie suggests I keep my expectations in check.

Fair call that – but one that proves unnecessary.

We’re told the place has been open for three days and that it’s been a “madhouse”.

The word is obviously out.

Pizzas and pies are going into the oven and out the door at a hectic rate.

Multiple customers are coming and going. A few are hunkering down at the outdoor tables. But most are getting their pies and pizzas and heading for home.

We plan on inhaling something from that sector of what’s available, but we’re happily hungry and determined to see what else can be had as well. We grab one of the two indoor tables.

Such is our extravagant lunching enthusiasm, we keep only a partial check on pricing.

But a quick scan of your basic Lebanese bakery items fully indicates how things are here –  your basic oregano pizza costs $1.50, a cheese pie $2.50 and most of the rest of the pizzas $4, including our kafta number with “minced beef, tomato, onion, parsley and spices”.

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It’s a fantastic, delicate bargain – the meat and seasoning topping does indeed boast that distinctive kafta flavour.

Other pizza and pie varieties include spinach and cheese, vegetarian, soujuk, meat, shanklish and labne.

Our spread of other and more diverse Seaside treats is just as good.

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The fattoush and cabbage salad are unavailable at the time of our visit, but the tabouli makes a fine substitute – it’s wet and lemony, which is how we like it. Salads come in $3 and $4 sizes.

The stuffed vine leaves are advertised as costing $2 for three, but they’re quite small so we are given four. They, too, are exemplary, with the al dente rice tightly bound.

Our hummus and babaghanoush, mild and smooth, are fresh and delicious.

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Often the outer, bulghur-based shells of kebbeh can be old-boot tough.

Joyfully that is not the case with our two $2 delights – the shells are refined and a dark brown to match the scrumptious inner filling of lamb, seasonings and pine nuts.

Gosh, they’re good!

It seems inconceivable that Seaside Flatbread Cafe will not become a home away from home for us, just as there are already so many devoted customers.

Bennie is straining at the bit to get back there to try the nutella pizza ($3).

Me, I’ll be seeking an opportunity to ditch the at-home muesli routine to try the Traditional Lebanese Breakfast of “egg, soujuk, labneh, cucumber and served with fresh Lebanese bread” ($9).

Seaside Flatbread Cafe is open from 6.30am-5pm Monday to Friday and 6.30am-2pm on Saturdays and Sundays.

 

Ebi Fine Food

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Ebi Fine Food, 18A Essex St, Footscray. Phone: 9689 3300

It’s been a while since we’ve been to Ebi.

And circumstances are similar to those of the previous occasion we wrote about the place – it’s post-football practice; indeed this has been the first practice for the 2013 season.

We’re actually headed for another option in Ashley St, but then we’re tootling up Essex St and the inevitable happens.

“Ebi,” says Bennie with a question mark and raised eyebrows.

Why not?

Besides, the lad has been proclaiming for a couple of weeks that his next foodie barrier for removal will be his resistance to fish.

Actually, he’s been able to enjoy salmon and some kinds of sushi for a while now. But big hunks of white fish and F&C in particular? Hmmm, dodgy.

And what better place than Ebi to put that hoodoo to bed?

As we enter, boss man John is fooling around with an app on his iPhone.

Called Manga Camera, it transforms photos into trippy B&W and places them in any one of what looks like about 100 manga-style frames.

It’s kooky fun!

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Bennie’s large fish and chips ($15) features two handsome pieces of john dory. I don’t try it, but gosh it looks magnificent.

Bennie hoovers it up. So much for THAT particular food phobia. Next!

The typically excellent chips I do help myself to, with the pair of us madly dipping them into the rich, gooey mayo.

Bennie’s meal is completed with usual fine salad of Japanese bits and pieces.

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My bento of grilled, salted salmon with mustard miso ($17) has those salad bits and more – pickles preserved and fresh; crunchy lotus root crisps; potato salad in the Japanese style; half a mini-eggplant smothered in a miso sauce; great rice … it’s all terrific.

The salmon is not notably “salted”, or not so I can taste anyway, and is quite well cooked by normal standards for this species. But it’s a long way short of overcooked and works a delicious treat with the tangy mustard miso sauce.

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John also lays on us a complementary serve of his famed vegetable balls ($5), the snack instrumental is getting the whole Ebi thing going in the first place.

Bennie’s an old hand at these and makes his pair do a remarkably quick disappearing act.

I like them but for me they don’t have much of a “wow” factor. And the gooey innards whisper to me “uncooked”, which I know is both unfair and untrue.

But there you go …

It’s been fabulous to visit an old friend.

As I say to John in an email exchange later in the night, blogging keeps us on the move and few places qualify as regulars.

Ebi is one we certainly wish were so.

 

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Our suburban newspapers – the elephant in the room

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My appreciation for and reliance on our suburban press for finding out what is going on in my community have both deepened significantly in recent years.

This process has been hastened by my metropolitan newspaper career fading to memory, at the very time those newspapers fight for survival and seem often to be pre-occupied with major sport, federal politics, shock/horror and click bait.

And, until recently, I was even working on either a regional newspaper (Geelong Advertiser) or its free, weekly “giveaways”, and even (more recently) for the proprietors of one of our three suburban titles.

As well, doing Consider The Sauce has really heightened my desire for information about what’s going on in the greater western suburbs. And I’m not just talking about restaurant reviews – reading the suburban press has hipped me to many festivals and community events, as well as providing information about local politics and so on.

So I am both intrigued and a little disturbed by events of recent weeks that have revealed to me a suburban press “elephant in the room” – how many, or how few, of these newspapers actually get delivered.

Here’s how it unfolded …

A few days before the Yarraville Festival, the festival Facebook page mentioned that there was a lift-out festival program going in that week’s edition of the Maribyrnong Weekly. Someone immediately replied that they hardly ever saw a copy of that publication.

On reflection, I realised this was very true for us, too! In fact, and speaking very subjectively, it seemed at that point like we’d seen any or all of our three suburban newspapers little more than a handful of times each in about six months.

So I made a phone call to register my unhappiness. You’ll be unsurprised to learn, given the way this story is headed, that the nice people I spoke to were and are well used to receiving such phone calls.

The upshot was that the following week I got a door knock from a representative of the company that distributes the Star and the Maribyrnong Weekly.

After discussing our specific non-delivery issues, I mentioned that as I’m in “full-on job-seeker mode”, perhaps I should be delivering these rags my own self.

One thing led to another, many phone calls were made and it was settled I would become a “walker” for a particular area of Yarraville.

For several reasons that I won’t address here, it all came to nowt – I pulled the plug without delivering a newspaper, let alone getting paid for it.

I will say, though, that my decision had nothing to do with the professionalism or competence of the various people with whom I dealt.

But it’s fair to say I now have insights into how and why getting these newspapers delivered is something of a logistical nightmare.

I have long assumed that non-delivery issues amounted to little more than a fraudulent scam perpetrated by the various distribution companies.

I now know that’s not the case – or not always the case.

The people I conferred with seemed to be doing their very best to deal with a complex operation that involves every neighbourhood being drawn up into sectors that are assigned to the available “walkers”.

Then there are the “walker” issues themselves.

Let’s face it – the pay is pitiful. Had I embarked on this new, um, career, I would’ve been paid at a rate unlike anything I have received since I was a pre-teenager. About $10 an hour, I estimate, and that’s if I’d been going like a bat out of hell.

So, as was said to me this morning, “this is not work that suits everyone”.

Nor, I was informed, is it viable to rely on such work for a living wage.

All this reduces dramatically the pool of potential “walkers”.

Finally, and inevitably, given all this – poor pay, hard work, the changing seasons and more – some regular “walkers” end up taking the sly, dishonest way out by simply not doing the runs for which they are claiming payment.

This is an unhappy state of affairs on several levels.

For one, my respect for the journalism and journalists of the suburban press is these days very high indeed.

They are covering – in some cases superbly – issues, people and events that simply don’t get a look in in The Age or the Herald Sun.

To cite just one example – during the recent local body election campaigns, from what I could see it was very much the suburban press that was on top of the issues and what the various candidates offered or were not offering.

For these journalists, and the sales staff who sell advertising space on the basis that their newspapers will be delivered, such non-delivery issues must be extremely frustrating.

Like many of my former colleagues, I got well used to fielding phone calls from angry and upset readers.

For many in our communities, particularly older citizens who may not have internet access or skills and for whom the daily papers are an unjustifiable expense, the suburban press is a cherished and essential part of life.

Finally, and perhaps most profoundly, it seems to me that our suburban press, and regardless of its corporate ownership, remains a vital ingredient of the glue that keeps our communities together.

And, yes, I believe that holds true even in a cyber age that includes Facebook and Twitter.

Am interested to hear about suburban newspaper delivery from Consider The Sauce visitors – good and bad both welcome!

Uncooked puttanesca sauce with short pasta

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This recipe is a simple, quick and cheap winner for summer – or for your typical heatwave!

And it’s another we’ve adapted from Michele Scicolone’s 1,000 Italian Recipes.

Vary the quantities to suit yourself.

We have it warm, with the tomatoes slightly cooked from interaction with the hot, moist pasta.

On this occasion, we used one punnet of tomatoes, a BIG handful of parsley, three fat anchovies, a single fat garlic clove and no capers.

Whatever you do, though, don’t be stingy with the olive oil!

The book lists salt, but we find the anchovies the care of that.

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INGREDIENTS

Cheery tomatoes

Anchovies

Flat-leaf parsley

Capers (optional)

Dried oregano

Extra virgin olive oil

Red chilli or dried red pepper

Freshly ground black pepper

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METHOD

1. Halve tomatoes and place in bowl.

2. Add to bowl finely chopped garlic and anchovies, oregano, chopped chilli and black pepper.

3. Mix.

4. Add hefty doses of extra virgin olive oil.

5. Mix again.

6. Let stand at room temperature for at least an hour.

7. Cook pasta, then drain while reserving some of the cooking water.

8. Add pasta to tomato concoction, then mix all ingredients together.

9. Add some of the cooking water if pasta is too dry.

10. Let sit for another five minutes so flavours can blend.

10. Serve.

Curry and chips?

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Sri Sri, 151 Bay Street, Port Melbourne. Phone: 9646 2025

Like its genial owner, Keith, the heart and soul of Sri Sri is, well, Sri Lankan.

But his new joint also incorporates elements of quality fast food and fusion/hybrid outlooks.

So while we can and do enjoy some really fine Sri Lankan tucker, at Sri Sri you can also have breakfast or fish and chips.

Actually, Keith’s only been up and running for a few weeks so is still finessing his offerings.

The fish and chips are likely to go and greater emphasis will be put on … curry and chips.

That dish is real big with the English and Irish backpackers, Keith tells us.

But we’re here for more traditional Sri Lankan fare – and we really dig what is put in front of us at Sri Sri.

The term “slider” seems to be a bit like “focaccia” – it can be whatever anyone wants it to be.

So we’re not quite sure what Bennie will get when he orders the eggplant slider ($6) from the specials list.

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What he gets is a sandwich made from two flatbreads that appear to be close relatives of the spring onion pancakes found in many Chinese eateries.

Between them is an oily (aren’t all eggplant curries oily?) delight of thin aubergine strips. The curry has a strong, smoky and bitter flavour from fried mustard seeds.

But Bennie loves it – a lot.

“This is very, very good,” he enthuses.

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Keith explains to us that creating, and eventually crumbing, the pancakes that go into the crispy beef panrolls is quite an involved process.

He concedes, too, that the end result looks remarkably like a Chiko Roll.

In any case, as far as Bennie is concerned his roll ($3.50) – with its filling of beef, potato, onion, coconut and spices – is another outright winner.

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From the Curry Choices list, my Hot Chick bowl is funky and fun.

Four small pieces of chicken are less cooked-to-falling-apart than I am used to with Sri Lankan curries, but the meat comes beautifully and easily from the bones.

The bright yellow dal is decadently rich and creamy with coconut.

There’s two chutneys – one the familiar bright orange and coconut number; the other a crunchy, somewhat bitter jumble of parsley, onion, green chillies and coconut that looks like tabouli. It isn’t.

And the rice is fine and light, too!

It’s a beaut lunch for $10.

Sri Sri has limited internal seating, but outside there’s five good-sized tables with comfortable bright red chairs.

Check out the Sri Sri website here.

 

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Rickshaw Run, take two

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Rickshaw Run, Feasting In Footscray/Melbourne Food & Wine Festival, Footscray Central

Sen, 74-76 Nicholson Street, Footscray. Phone: 9687 4450

Another day, another volunteer stint on the Rickshaw Run – is it really worth another story?

Well, yes, actually – as this proves to be quite a different experience, and in many ways a more enjoyable one.

I have Bennie with me for starters.

I’ve already warned him that he’s not big enough – yet – to manhandle a rickshaw with two adults aboard. But I figure he’ll be useful anyway.

Wrong.

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He’s quickly dragooned into oyster duty by Jessica and Aleshya, with whom he spends the rest of the night goofing off.

I figure his internal logic goes something like this: “Hmmm – hard choice. Follow my sweaty old man around or hang out with these two cool pop culture mavens?”

If he new what “maven” actually meant, of course …

Oh well – off I go, helping my fellow volunteers haul two groups of 10 guests around all the usual spots.

There seems to be more time this outing to get to know my colleagues.

Among them is Eve, who regularly posts on westie food haunts at Conversation with Jenny and with whom I swap notes for the rest of the evening.

And steering the rickshaws is notably easier as, early on a Sunday evening, the footpaths are much less crowded.

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The previous week, there had been only three of us sharing our complementary volunteer meal at Sen.

Tonight, there’s a whole table of us – including deputy mayor Grant Miles – and a jolly time is had by all.

When we first moved to the west, this place was called Ha Long and it was our habitual Vietnamese stop in Footscray, so it’s rather nice to be back in such familiar – if spruced up – surrounds.

Sitting next to me is Leo (short for Leonor), who is Filipino. So, of course, we discuss Filipino food and this blog’s ups and downs with it, before moving on to Korea and beyond.

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Several of those around me order diced beef with tomato rice.

It looks sensational, with oodles of fluffy red rice liberally flecked with egg, heaps of rough-cut pickles including cabbage and gorgeous, glistening beef that elicits many “oohs” and “aahs”.

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Bennie orders a really ballsy duck and vermicelli dish.

The soup that accompanies is REALLY unlike anything I have ever seen or tasted in a Vietnamese restaurant.

It’s dark, mysterious and – for me – cloyingly rich. Bennie ignores the mushrooms and slurps it up anyway.

And he raves about the rest of it all the way back to the car.

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I order banh mi bo kho (beef stew) with bread roll, but end up making do with the noodle version.

It’s good, but I suspect this is a rather new batch of stew in which the flavours and ingredients haven’t fully merged.

The no-bone, no-fat meat is wondrously tender, though, and I enjoy my bowl of goodies very much.

Will we be putting our hands up for Rickshaw Run duties next year?

You bet!

Sen on Urbanspoon

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Late at night with the truckies …

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Ports Diner Roadhouse, 420 Footscray Rd, West Melbourne. Phone: 9689 9975

As most Consider The Sauce visitors will know, cool late-night options are a tad thin on the ground in the western suburbs.

So when the midnight hour munchies strike, I habitually head for the relatively close and comforting charms of the Embassy Taxi Cafe in Spencer St.

However, there is a slightly closer alternative, one that promises to provide a similarly distinctive transport-related fast food fix – and the time to take it for a road test it is now.

This place doesn’t keep anything like the 24/7 opening hours of the taxi cafe, but I figure it’s worth a shot just to enjoy another unique Melbourne dining experience.

In the night-time shadows of the Citylink/Bolte Bridge, and with the ridiculous Big Wheel in the background, I pull into the vast parking lot.

There’s a lot of trucks here – and I’m pretty sure there always is.

As several come and go, I finally find a parking spot, next to another small car, where it seems there is a good chance my vehicle will not be crushed like a bug by some reversing behemouth.

Inside the prefabricated building I find your typical diner set-up, spick and span, and with press coverage of the joint on the walls and copies of Big Rigs newspaper at hand.

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There’s plastic containers of that night’s Chinese and pasta dishes in the bain marie, but I – of course – go the burger ($7 with bacon and onion) and chips route ($3).

Unfortunately, it’s all rather drab.

The burger patty is quite large, but appears to be a generic supermarket model. Certainly, it’s devoid of flavour or allure.

The rest of the burger is similarly unmemorable.

The chips are plentiful, hot and crinkle cut. They’re just OK, but are nevertheless the best of my meal.

No matter – I’ve enjoyed checking another personality-laden, one-of-a-kind Melbourne eating experience.

I’ll even consider returning – maybe for a steak sandwich or souvlaki.

After all, when the late-night munchies strike, a man’s gotta get truckin’ …

 

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Reverence Hotel

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Reverence Hotel, 28 Napier St, Footscray. Phone: 9687 2111

Just as with the now posh Station Hotel across the road, we never set foot inside the Reverence in its previous life.

Perhaps unfairly, we always had it stereotypically tagged as what a friend refers to as a “sooper dooper old man’s pub”.

Although, and as with preconceptions of another pub still standing up the road in Hopkins St, we figure you could throw in a few bikies and crims just for good demographic measure.

All that’s changed – and how – at the Reverence these days.

It’s a two-room music venue of high repute, though I suspect most of the music would be too much of a grinding, noise variety for me even when I’m in my most grungy moods.

But there’s food and more, too, with an accent on Mexican and pizzas.

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A big crowd is building for the Tuesday night trivia bash.

There’s a pleasant beer garden out back.

But most folks, including a lot of family groups, are just like me and here for the Tuesday $3 tacos.

Taco night means ONLY tacos, so sadly I am unable, on this first visit, to try more wide-ranging items from the menu, which you can check out at the pub’s fine website here.

So I order three of the four taco options available – chicken, chilli con carne and bean.

Tofu taco? No way!

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However, so sensational, so delicious are my tacos that not only do I struggle to resist the temptation to order another platter but I also feel sure next time around I’ll be ordering the tofu number just for the heck of it.

My tacos are topped with plentiful coriander, shredded red cabbage, a little red capsicum, corn and lime mayo, each taco dressed a little differently.

I anoint each one with some of the salsa provided and a hefty dollop from one of the variety of hot sauces on hand.

They’re all great, but if anything the bean number is the highlight.

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After my crash hot dinner, I enjoy another wander around – it’ a surprise and a delight. There’s many different rooms and spaces.

I meet ardent Consider The Sauce fan Lousie.

We talk food a bit but mostly about books and reading.

I leave her to finish the final 20 or so pages of Anna Karenina.

Tuesday tacos are served from 6pm to 9pm. By the time I split, at about 7pm, the bar queue to order them is longish, so an early arrival would seem advisable.

 

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Mama Bear

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Mama Bear, 526 Racecourse Road, Flemington. Phone: 9376 0386

In terms of location, Mama Bear really has it nailed.

Roughly equidistant from the coffee-and-more riches of Union Rd, the swell Asian smorgasbord on the other side of the railway line on Racecourse Rd and undistinguished Macaulay Rd, it really stands out.

Even better, unlike the situation on those three nearby strips, the parking here is unrestricted on both sides of the road. You may have to look for a wee while at weekends, but I doubt it’ll be any great problem.

Lovely exterior artwork, concrete floor, random yet stylish furniture, vintage signs, a high communal table with stools – yes, this is hipster cafe territory.

As you’d expect, breakfast is the big deal here. Heck, there’s not even a lunch menu – the post-noon fare falls under the heading “Brunch”.

The building was previously a Mexican joint the threshold of which we never crossed.

Co-proprietor Daniel tells me that ithe building’s first role was as a stables or some other equine-related business. He shows me the indentations where horses had gnawed away at the window frames.

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I love the display of $3.50 old-school slices and hedgehogs. Some are brought in, some are made in-house.

The non-breakfast line-up is compact and appealing, with all items sitting on or around the $17 mark.

There’s a pesto-based pasta, a blackboard risotto, a calamari salad and a beef cheek slider.

I go for the Angus burger.

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The orthodox in me yearns for something more usually related to burgers for accompaniment – coleslaw maybe, or chips. Or both.

But truth is, I am a fan of the rocket and fetta fad – and this is a good one: Fresh, lemony, tangy.

The skewered pickled cucumber is a crunchy, slightly sweet and delicately seasoned delight.

The beef patty looks modestly sized but is quite substantial. More importantly, it tastes fantastic. If only all burgers were this juicy! Maybe it could’ve done with a slightly heavier hand in the salt, pepper and seasoning department, but it’s still a very fine thing.

By the time the beef is all gone, I’m left with a handful of other ingredients – high-quality bun, shredded red cabbage that looks pickled but doesn’t taste like it, tomato, good and gooey cheese, mustard and mayo. But they’re all so classy, I enjoy consuming every last morsel.

Has my Mama Bear burger been worth the extra few bucks above what you’d pay for a basic sandwich at, say, Grill’d or Jus Burgers?

Yes.

To finish, a cafe latte is ordered.

It’s insanely excellent.

 

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Rickshaw duty

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Rickshaw Run, Feasting In Footscray/Melbourne Food & Wine Festival, Footscray Central

Being typically Consider The Sauce early for the 11.30am check-in time for my first experience of rickshaw pulling allows me the opportunity to get the inside scoop of these marvellous vehicles.

Deputy mayor Grant Miles, today in fluoro-vested blue-collar mode, tells me that after a long search, a single job lot of them were found in a small Chinese town, where they were dismantled and packed into a container for Melbourne.

Here they were re-assembled and fitted with bearings.

And now they’re a seemingly excellent and permanent fixture of the Footscray scene as the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival rolls around for another year.

This year’s Rickshaw Run sold out in a couple of days, but there’s still plenty of scope for volunteers, so I plan on making myself useful – and doing it all again in a week’s time with Bennie.

I’m told that in the previous year there were stacks of volunteers, so each rickshaw puller stayed with the same couple of guests for the whole run.

Today, there’s more to-ing and -fro-ing.

And even though the run travels no further than a block from the registration point near the corner of Leeds and Byron streets, a good deal of concentration is required.

A loaded rickshaw takes more grunt to get moving – and stop – than I’d figured.

And manoeuvering along crowded footpaths and avoiding clashes with people, especially children, and retail displays and signage is tricky.

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First stop for punters – even before they board their rickshaws – is D&K, where they feast on icy, freshly shucked oysters.

I never knew!

Apparently, this delicious trick can be done any old time – with prices ranging from about $9 to $13 a dozen depending on size.

I’m so there!

My first passengers are Cathy and Anita (top photo), who are followed by Wendy and Lucy, and then Mike and Dosh.

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I enjoy asking them all how their Rickshaw Run is going as the day progresses.

And I tell them: “If an oxygen mask should drop down in front of you, make sure you place one on your own face before doing the same for your children!”

First stop after oysters is Little Saigon Market, where guests get to sample such exotic treats as mangosteen, rambutan and dragon fruit.

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At Sen Restaurant, Rickshaw Run punters make their own rice paper rolls.

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At the corner of Hopkins and Leeds streets, they receive a massage while chomping on bo la lot – beef in vine leaves – and taking in some rowdy Vietnamese music.

I grab a skewer of bo la lot at $3.50 for myself. So good and chewy, with a heavy garlic hit and sublime chilli afterburn.

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From there, it’s on to Sapa Hills for bun cha Hanoi (grilled pork, noodles, salad and dipping sauce) at Sapa Hills and, finally, Dong Que for traditional spring rolls made with rice paper.

A big part of the day have been the wide smiles and guffaws of laughter coming from many amused locals as we’ve made our way around Footscray.

Maybe some of that’s due to the inherent post-colonial humour of having people with pale skin – in my case, very pale – hauling rickshaws around streets on which brown skin is very much the norm.

And for just a moment, on our last run along Hopkins Street, I see, hear and experience these so-familiar streets, sights and aromas through a visitor’s eyes.

So very, very cool!

Yet someone had said to me earlier in the day: “I’ve never eaten much around here – I’ve always been too scared!”

It’s been a fine experience.

Rickshaw Run volunteers still needed! Contact president@footscraytraders.com.au

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Salsa’s Fresh Mex Grill

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Salsa’s Fresh Mex Grill, Highpoint, 120-200 Rosamond Rd, Maribyrnong. Phone: 9317 4623

After expressing our somewhat surprising – to us – affection for the works of Guzman y Gomez, a friend suggested we check out Salsa’s, housed in the very same shopping centre.

So I did.

Unfortunately, it’s hard to resist making a direct comparison between the two fast-food Tex-Mex outlets.

For starters, while Guzman y Gomez is set up in such way as to at least make a handy grab at sustaining its own vaguely groovy ambiance, Salasa’s has no such luck.

It’s situated right out there, just another outlet in a giant, circular shopping centre food court of little or no soul.

As well, the menus of the two places are remarkably alike.

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Corn chips and guacamole ($4.50) are OK.

The corn chips may be crisp, but they are about as bland as corn chips can get – one extreme of corn chippery, with the toxic likes of Doritos at the other.

The guacamole is of the smooth, blended variety with some texture from red onion and a little tomato.

But it’s not as swell as the chunky stuff at Guzman y Gomez.

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My original beef burrito ($8.95) is a stodgy disappointment.

My fault – the use of the phrase “Texas beef” should have alerted me to the use of ground meat; I should have opted for a burrito that had real meat and black beans.

As it is, my burrito is very heavy on the rice with no discernible cheese element. I can see some fresh stuff like tomato and onion but can’t taste or feel it.

The “Texas beef” is OK – a bit like a cross between chilli con carne and bolognese – but just seems a little weird in a heavy-going burrito that goes unfinished.

 

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Pho Ta

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Pho Ta, 131 Nicholson St, Footscray. Phone: 9041 2607

Pho Ta is a bit of an odd man out on this stretch of Nicholson St.

There’s another Vietnamese place a few doors along, but otherwise the whole street – both sides of it – is a rainbow of African, Turkish and even Iraqi hues.

As well, the Pho Ta kitchen is open and right out there in the rear of the restaurant dining room.

When I comment to the boss, Tony, that as far as I’m aware it’s the only set-up of its kinds in Footscray, he quickly sets me right.

“Only one of in all of Melbourne!” he proudly proclaims.

On this, my second visit, I see someone at one of the outside tables served a huge plateful of wok-cooked rice noodles with various vegetables and (I think) meats.

Tony tells me that while it appears Chinese, it is an authentic Vietnamese dish. I promise to try it next time.

There’s signs on the walls advertising the availability of banh mi bo ko (Vietnamese beef stew).

And as I arrive, Tony is whipping up a couple of serves of quickly wok-fried diced beef and onions to go with tomato rice.

But mostly, this is a straight-up pho joint.

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On my previous visit I’d made the mistake of ordering a medium-size soup, and didn’t even get halfway through it.

This time, I get smart and order a small “sliced beef and sliced chicken” ($7.50).

It’s brilliant!

The broth is quite a deep brown and is equally deep of flavour.

MSG? Probably quite a lot, I suspect.

Care factor? Zero.

For a small serve, there’s a lot of meat.

The chicken is beautiful – no bones, gristle, fat or skin.

AND there’s two kinds of beef – already cooked, thickly sliced brisket and thinly sliced raw beef cooking in the broth.

The bean sprouts and herb components are of fine quality and – bonus! – there’s lime instead of lemon.

Could be we’ve found a new default setting when it comes to Footscray pho.

Check out Ms Baklover’s review here.

 

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Altona Fresh

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Altona Fresh, 62-76 Second Ave, Altona North. Phone: 9399 1390

At the launch of Feasting In Footscray, invited guests were provided with showbags of goodies, among which were copies of The Foodies’ Guide To Melbourne by Michele Curtis and Allan Campion.

At home, I proceeded to nonchalantly flip through the book, homing in – of course – on content concerned with the western suburbs, somewhat smug in the assumption that any such content would hold no surprises.

I was wrong.

Altona Fresh – what’s that?

Yet when I googled the address and checked out the street view, I realised we had driven past Altona Fresh in pre-CTS times.

The world looks very different these days, besides which the establishment’s exterior is a tad on the dull side.

So it’s a joy to set foot through the automatic doors and discover a true foodie haven.

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I enjoy chatting with Sandra, part of the family that has run the business here for 20 years and an earlier generation of which operated out the premises that continues as The Circle Fruit Fiesta.

It’s interesting to discover how the store’s product range has evolved as the area has changed.

So while there’s an undeniable Italian-ness about the place, there are, too, many products of a more rounded and diverse range.

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The Foodies’ Guide To Melbourne describes Altona Fresh as “being “like a mini-Mediterranean Wholesalers”.

It’s true this place is more compact than the famed Sydney Rd emporium, but I think the comparison does Altona Fresh a disservice.

There are, however, two major differences – Altona Fresh sells fresh produce and doesn’t sell alcohol.

More generally, though, the range and breadth of what is available here seems to match or equal anything to be had at Mediterranean Wholesalers.

Sandra tells me the fresh produce is these days taking up less space than previously, but what I see is of excellent quality and pricing.

For this first visit I only have a small shopping list, so this story and the photos that accompany it are necessarily a somewhat superficial look at what is sure to become regular fixture for us.

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I buy some Maltese sausages from the bustling deli section – $10.99 for snags that appear splendidly rich and highly seasoned.

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We’re not a big cheese household, but the Altona Fresh line-up impresses.

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And how about this swell array of olives and antipasti?

Check out the Altona Fresh website here.

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Spice Bazaar Cooking School

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Spice Bazaar Cooking School, 79 Victoria St, Seddon: Phone: 9687 2659

We’re at Spice Bazaar in Seddon for a Saturday cooking class and we’re both pretty excited about that.

Today’s subject, mezze and tapas, is not one perhaps that would’ve been our first choice, given Jill and Patrick cover such things as Moroccan, African, Persian, Greek, South American, French and Italian food.

But it turns out for the best – the recipes we cook are mostly simple with a twist of complexity here and there.

The food they help us and our fellow classmates prepare all has something of a “wow” factor, with only a single dish falling a little short. And even that tastes real fine – it just doesn’t have the desired “look”.

We met Jill and few weeks previously when we pressed our noses against the Spice Bazaar windows as a class was in progress.

She came out for a chat and a deal was done – a cooking class for the Consider The Sauce crew in exchange for a story and photos (full disclosure below).

But now it’s show time!

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Having discussed the subject the previous night, Bennie and I place our ourselves in different groups – basing our decision on the same reasoning that dictates it’s usually not a good idea to have parents teaching their kids how to drive.

So he’s in with Mick, Steve and John, who gain an extra helping hand from Jill.

I’m with Luke, Zoe, Deb and Viv.

The pace is so intense that we barely get to know our fellow classmates, but working side by side so companionably with these food-digging strangers is undoubtedly a high point of our day.

Another for sure is working in a big kitchen in which there is a never-ending supply of knives, bowls and gadgets, with a plastic tub nearby in which to toss items needing cleaning.

We start with the entrees.

Bottled green olives have their pepper stuffing removed using toothpicks before they’re re-stuffed with two mixes – one of onion, seasonings and marchengo cheese; and another of onion, seasonings and anchovies. It’s fiddly work but fun.

Then the olives are coated in flour, dipped in beaten egg, coated in breadcrumbs and deep-fried.

This is my first experience with deep-frying, and I’m surprised how easy it is.

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Prawn fritters are made using chick pea flour, paprika, a little chilli, fresh coriander.

These are shallow-fried using olive oil, and they, too, come together really well.

Patrick has already boiled a couple of octopi.

Our two groups marinate those suckers with olive oil, garlic, sherry vinegar and smoked paprika before they’re flash-fried for a few minutes.

Then it’s break time – and time to eat what we have so far prepared.

Wine bottles are opened as we dig in.

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The prawn fritters are sensational, have a great chilli kick and are more than a little familiar – the besan flour is what we get ordering onion bahji and pakoras when we go Indian.

The fried green olives are salty, crisp, ungreasy and superb – the equal for sure of similar olives we have on occasion ordered in eating houses.

The marintaed baby octopus fails to delight either of us. It’s well done but we find it just too oily and rich, perhaps because of the sherry vinegar. Maybe we should’ve immediately reached for some lemon segments.

By this time I’m feeling like a nap, but there’s no scope for malingering here.

We’re on to the main courses, two of which hardly pass as mezze or tapas. But who cares?

Two salads … one of orange, fennel and black olives; another of roast red capsicum, anchovies and capers.

Then there’s tagine of chicken cooked with pomegranate molasses and a spice mix called ras el hanout.

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For me, the most fun is preparing the paella using whiting, mussels, prawns, saffron, other seasonings and (of course!) rice.

I have eaten plenty of paella previously – but not, I suspect, particularly good paella.

This Spice Bazaar paella experience is so engrossing and gratifying that I’m keen to have a crack at home. After all, I know I can turn out fine jambalayas.

As with jambalaya, the arborio rise we use in our paellas doesn’t need constant stirring in the risotto manner.

And our group certainly achieves the prized crusty, crunchy bottom layer of rice sticking to the paella pan.

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Just before sitting once more at the dining table, we all help prepare the blackened Portuguese tarts, pouring the real-deal custard we’d prepared earlier into puff pastry shells.

Then we’re once more we’re eaters rather than cookers.

Bennie loves the chicken tagine most, but I find it a little too sweet for my taste.

The paella is easily the best I’ve ever eaten – delicious!

Though perhaps a couple of our classmates with hands-on Spanish paella experiences to boast of may not rate it so highly.

I am so full I only manage a nibble of both salads, but all our food looks and tastes fine.

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As we await our tarts, Patrick and Jill regale us with some humourous stories of classes past.

Hens parties during which many bottles of bubbly were consumed before the cooking even started.

A pyromaniac with a gleam in his eye giving over-the-top blow-torch treatment to a cream brulee – and then complaining about his cream brulee being burnt.

And so on …

Finally it’s tart time … sadly, due to vagaries of oven temperatures, these don’t look the part.

But, oh my, they certainly TASTE  the part.

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We leave happy, very full and a little on the exhausted side, fully reckoning a Spice Bazaar cooking class is as much fun as you can have in four hours.

The class has been skillfully well-paced and between them Jill and Patrick really inspire their pupils.

Check out the Spice Bazaar website for details about classes and various other activities offered by Spice Bazaar.

On Saturday, March 2, they will hold an open day from noon to 3pm to coincide with Seddon Festival – drop in for “a look at the cooking school, have a chat, or enjoy a tapas plate for $7, and wines by the glass”.

Bennie and Kenny were non-paying guests of Spice Bazaar, who provided us access to one of their cooking classes in exchange for coverage on Consider The Sauce. Spice Bazaar neither sought nor was given any say regarding the content of this post.

 

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Penn Thai

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Penn Thai, 208 Somerville Rd, Kingsville. Phone: 9314 5556

Penn Thai occupies the same space formerly occupied by She’s Thai.

The new management has spruced the place up a bit, we find the service and welcome a real positive and,  judging by the number of takeaway orders going out the door, they’ve already won many friends.

For my part, expectations are modest – along the lines of a good feed of wholesome, tasty suburban-style Thai food without the edginess or adventure that some of our more funky Thai-loving buddies habitually pursue.

But there’s a wrinkle here – one that shows the food doesn’t have to be explosively great for it to be part of a most excellent eating out experience.

You see, Bennie has mentioned his ever growing interest in Thai food several times in the past few weeks – so I am only to happy to encourage him.

And he really, really loves our mid-week dinner.

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In our attempts to have a broadly based meal, we do something that would no doubt make true Thai food cultists grimace – we order soup with tofu.

But our tom kha ($6.90) is fine, if a little on the mild side. Bennie loves the tangy broth, the chewy tofu actually adds a certain meatiness to proceedings and there’s stacks of other lovely vegetables.

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Satay chicken skewers ($5.90) are ordered solely with Bennie in mind.

Perhaps the glee with which he greets the rest of our meal indicates it’s time to start giving these a miss on future outings.

They’re OK, but I find them a little dry and tasteless.

But then, I always do.

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Massaman beef curry ($14.90) is the big hit of the night.

It’s runny, sweet and delicious.

The meat is superbly, fall-apart tender and minus fat or gristle. The spuds are equally good, while the peanuts and a few strands of carrot and red capsicum add texture.

“This is fantastic,” Bennie mumbles around serial spoonfuls.

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“Steam mix greens with oyster and sesame sauce” ($4.90) are good but as plain as can be. Lacking personality of their own, they quickly become just another element of the curry.

Penn Thai is open seven days a week and does home delivery.

 

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Cajun Kitchen

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Cajun Kitchen, 136 Elizabeth St, Melbourne. Phone: 0413 501 561

Cajun Kitchen is situated on a busy segment of Elizabeth St that has a plethora of joints such as Lord Of The Fries.

It looks the fast-food part so I am trying to keep my expectations realistic.

Regardless of whether I get cajun food here or, more cynically, “cajun food”, an affordable, reasonably tasty lunch will do me fine.

But it’s not easy.

Jambalaya is dish made OF rice, but here it’s a stew served WITH rice.

The best Mexican food I’ve ever had was produced in New Orleans.

But tacos in Cajun Country – Lafayette, New Iberia, Eunice and the like?

Not so much.

But Cajun Kitchen has tacos and even “cajun wraps”.

I do some research by asking to see the various sandwich meats residing in covered metal containers, and even sweet talk myself into a small sample of the gumbo.

It tastes rich, spicy, delicious and ungumbo.

So I go the po’ boy route.

I order my sandwich “dressed” in the New Orleans manner ($10.90) – that is, with tomato, lettuce and dill pickles, hold the coleslaw, thanks.

It’s pretty good, too.

Not a great sandwich, but a fair effort. Sloppy, but not too much so.

The bread is all wrong – long enough, but just not enough breadth.

Maybe that’s due to cost factors. The rents around are no doubt steep and overall the Cajun Kitchen pricing seems reasonable.

But the roast beef is juicy and flavoursome, and the dressing participants just right.

I’ll be up for trying other items on the Cajun Kitchen menu when I’m in the vicinity again. Even if the po’ boys would draw snorts of derision from the citizen of New Orleans.

 

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Rickshaw runners wanted …

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VOLUNTEERS WANTED FOR 2014 RICKSHAW RUN, TOO! SEE HERE.

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The Rickshaw Run has rapidly become a lauded tradition of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival.

The run takes guests on a tasty journey around Footscray central that takes in Little Saigon Market, making rice paper rolls, live music, a hawker stall and a six-course feast.

Unfortunately, this year’s event is sold out – but there is another way you can participate.

Become a rickshaw runner!

While the Rickshaw Run takes about three hours all up, actually pulling of rickshaws involves about 20 minutes.

The event is held every evening from March 1 to March 11, with daytime sessions on weekends.

A free meal is offered after each session to volunteers.

There is also a need for need for marshalls to facilitate people in and out of restaurants.

Interested?

Contact Ben on 0434 100 567 or president@footscraytraders.com.au