Tag Archives: cheap eats

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.

Sims Footscray

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The deli section at Sims in Footscray is a winner.

Sims Footscray, 511 Barkly St, West Footscray. Phone: 9687 2117

The Footscray branch of Sims doesn’t get quite as much of our time or money as it used to.

Other places – the Circle in Altona, Sunshine Fresh Food Market, the combo of our local Yarraville IGA and the Village Store a few doors along – tend to get our shopping action these days.

Still, it proves useful still on occasion – it often depends where we’re heading home from.

Will the big boys squeeze Sims out?

According to a very short article at Wikipedia, the Sims family package of supermarkets is now down to two – Footscray and Werribee.

Stores in Hoppers Crossing and Sunshine have been sold and rebadged under the macPlus Retail Group banner.

The two remaining Sims stores are affiliated with IGA in some way, but I seriously wonder how the Footscray branch is going to deal with the growing pressure of rapid growth – the store backs on to Bunbury Village – and the arrival of the big boys.

The Highpoint development project currently being erected will house a new Woolworths supermarket, and just up the road from Sims there’s an Aldi and a Coles at the Central West.

We like the range of Black & Gold sweeties at Sims.

Sims stocks Bickfords cordials – bit not the bitter lemon flavour! Grrrrr …

They do stock muesli basics, though. The white sultanas and roasted almonds for same are obtained from Sunshine Fresh Food Market.

Sims often has pretty good specials. I’ll be interested to see how these super cheap Italian tomatoes scrub up.

For a store that has quite a robust Mediterranean flavour, the range of oils and pastas is on the humdrum side.

For some splendid reason, the Footscray Sims just about always has really cheap red capsicums.

I love the way the smell of them getting blasted in the oven fills up the house.

Peeling and seeding roast capsicum is one of those Zen things – you’ll end up with a puddle of mush if you’re in any way cranky, impatient or hasty.

So soothing to just let your fingers ease the seeds and skins away!

The deli section at Sims is definitely one of the store’s strengths, with a really excellent range of cheeses.

The meat section is no great shakes, but there are quite often specials on items that are approaching the date they’ll have to be disposed of.

We tried a couple of these rather fine-looking but affordable pizzas … and found them to be not very good at all. The Village Store in Yarraville has a different and better brand.

I’ve often been frustrated when being unable to find fresh coriander at Sims. And then, when I do find some, I find it’s $3 a bunch!

The bread and specialty biscuit arrays don’t do much for us, but we like the range of rolls and buns for work and school lunches.

The ATM comes in the flavour of free – for my cards, anyway!

In some ways, that we don’t use Sims so much these days is a little sad for us. It’s just the right size – you know, not too big, not too small.

And it’s eccentric and and has a heart, unlike its corporate competitors.

Long may it remain open!

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

Gerry’s Pittes

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133 South Rd, Braybrook. Phone: 9311 9383

Exchanging dough for baked dough at Gerry’s Pittes – “First & best in Australia since 1969” – is an odd experience even by the sometimes quirky standards of the western suburbs.

I’ve been alerted to Gerry’s and the wisdom of investing in some of his bread, by Consider The Sauce friend Rich, who wrote:

Ever done fresh Gerry’s Pittas from the factory/shop front in South Road, Braybrook? Just down from that Viet place (Quan Viet) you covered a little while back. $7ish for a fresh bag of 20! Awesome for pizzas and brilliant with a lil’ butter and pan fried for a minute, a tiny squeeze of lemon goes well too. They’re open early till about 3 or so during the week … I know its a lot but thing is you can freeze ’em and they still come up well after 20 secs in the micro. They freeze well for me … but @ $7 for a bag of 20 … and the fact they have made me salivate in a ridiculous manner for many years – it’s worth the gamble.

Suzy, another Consider The Sauce buddy, chimed in, too:

You should check out Gerry’s Pitas in the same strip. Ring the bell to buy direct best Greek pitas going.

So here I am, standing in front of a plain, unwindowed shopfront in Braybrook.

I do as the signage instructs me and depress the busted-up bell.

A minute or so later the door is opened by a flour-dusted bloke who utters a few words in Greek to me then inquires in English what it is I want.

“I want some pita bread.”

“How many?”

“How do you do them?”

“Bag of 20 for $7.”

“OK.”

The doors closes, preventing me from inhaling any more the of delicious baking aroma coming from inside or trying to get peek of the operation, leaving me somewhat bemused.

Have I ever gazed upon a flour-stained footpath before?

I don’t think so.

A few minutes later, the bloke is back.

He takes my money, gives me my bread and makes change.

Surely, since this operation has been in operation since 1969, this guy is too young to be Gerry?

I ask him.

“No – I’m the supervisor,” he says before briskly consenting to having his photo taken and closing the door once more.

This transaction has been singularly lacking the sort of warmth I value so much, but that’s kind of neat in its own way.

If or when you ever have a late-night kebab from one of the kebab shacks/caravans, I reckon there’s a pretty good chance this is where its wrapping will have come from.

But saying that seems like doing these breads something of a disservice.

The freshness is the thing.

My breads are still warm when I get them home a few hours later, and when opened the bag emits a tantalising reminder of the previously enjoyed bakery aroma.

It’s a lot heavier than Lebanese-style pita. Eating one straight out of the bag is quite a lot like eating ordinary bread.

This is certainly value for money, with half of them going straight into the freezer.

I like Rich’s idea of giving them the frypan treatment. That’ll go sensationally well with the Greek salads that are among our favourite meals.

And with quite a hefty density, I can see them standing in for the supermarket rotis, parathas and naans we’ve been seriously unimpressed by whenever we’ve tried them.

One’ll get a test run with tonight’s dal.

And I know Bennie will love them a whole lot more for school lunches than the breads and rolls that have been our routine to this point in time.

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.)

Meals on wheels III

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Yuma cha advertising on a western suburbs bus.

 

Parked at the Yarraville bus terminus … my kind of vehicular advertising!

Such a little thing, but one that would have been unthinkable 20 or 30 years ago.

And another eloquent signpost on the way to a melting pot city, melting pot country and melting pot world.

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.

Matsu Hashi

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388-390 Queens Parade, Fitzroy North. Phone: 9482 3388

We pay far too much – certainly more than we’ve planned on – for too much food.

This is largely our own fault.

With our wits about us, we may have realised that – of course – banquet menus are priced per person.

But our wits are elsewhere, left somewhere behind us as we rode the Capital City Trail from Flinders St station, alongside the Yarra, past the Collingwood Children’s Farm and Abbotsford Convent and onwards.

Unfortunately, somewhere past Dights Falls the terrible signposting – or, more to the point, total lack of signposts – led us astray, requiring a long, sweaty and boring ride along Heidelberg Rd before we make Queens Parade. Oddly, everyone thinks of this as Clifton Hill yet officially it’s Fitzroy North.

We hungrily check out the available options with some dismay – mostly a whole lot of lookalike cafes and a couple of fish and chip shops.

The we spot it – a Japanese restaurant!

It looks like the real deal, too – sushi clock, handsome wooden sushi boats lined up behind the sushi bar, music ranging from highly synthesised Asian pop to classic, timeless Richard Clayderman orchestral pap.

Whatever happened to Richard Clayderman? I wonder if his music has ever been a fixture of cheap, middle-of-the-road (of course!) Asian restaurants in other parts of the world?

Hindsight will tell us we would’ve been much better of with the standard ($14.80) or deluxe ($18.80) bentos from the lunch menu. Or one of the rice/don bowls – about $10 with bento soup.

But we’re a little addled from our long ride, so much fresh air and sunshine, even if it is a perfect day for a bike ride.

So we go for the chiba banquet at $32. It’s one of four that range up to $60 per person.

We both distinctly recall – Bennie adamantly so – our waitress saying: “One chiba banquet to share?” – and us both nodding eagerly in agreement.

But it’s obvious once our parade of food starts arriving that we’re in for the full whack when it comes time to pay. (There’s no EFTPOS here, by the way, but credit cards are fine.)

This sort of spread at $16 a head would be incredible, surreal, ridiculous – even if a single person portion was shared.

At $32 each, though, it’s less impressive.

It’s a fair price for the quantity, but there’s an unevenness about the flavours and textures that’s disappointing.

The miso soup is outstanding – just the right kind of hot and offering plentiful greens, mushrooms and tofu. To my delight, Bennie is getting pretty hip with chopsticks these days and even slurping up tofu – though the mushies remain a step too far. All in good time!

The sushi rolls are just OK, and disappointingly make prominent use of that dastardly seafood extender stuff. The best thing going here is the non-commercial and very tasty pickled ginger.

The gyoza – two each – are likewise just OK. Maybe this the kind of Japanese food is what’s required for your standard suburban establishment, but we’d like a bit more zing.

And so it goes with the harumaki. The spring rolls are fresh, hot and grease-free, but the filling seems more carrot and far less of the advertised seafood. That’s how they taste, anyway.

The tempura – one each of prawn, pumpkin, zucchini and carrot – is another highlight. It, too, is hot, fresh and unoily.

The serve of beef teriyaki is huge. The beef is tender but tasteless.

We’ve often found at other Japanese places the quickly cooked mess of bean sprouts and other finely sliced vegetables is a real knockout; here it is – like it’s cattle collaborator – bland and even a little on the bitter side.

Being no fan of green tea ice cream I have no idea whether our serves are of in-house derivation or a commercial product. In any case, Bennie happily downs both generous serves.

So, yes, that’s a lot of food – even for $32 each.

Our earlier exertions have whetted our appetites so we effortlessly eat just about everything that is put before us, although beef and side vegetables defeat us.

But we’d not go out of our way to eat again here.

Especially when our western suburbs home patch has the likes of Ebi Fine Foods and Ajitoya doing such grand things when it comes to Japanese food.

So cool – the west has become something of Japanese tucker hotspot!

Refreshed after our lacklustre lunch, we rejoin the Capital City Trail – past Nicholson, Lygon, Royal Parade, the zoo – mostly donwhill – and on to Dynon Rd.

 We make it home without assistance from the Met.

The Matsu Hashi website – including PDF of entire menu – is here.

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Dragon Express

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28 City Place, Sunshine. Phone: 9312 6968

City Place is on the other side of the tracks from what we generally consider Sunshine when thinking food.

The other side of the tracks, that is, from the likes of Classic Curry, Sunshine Fresh Food Market and Pho Hien Saigon.

Last time we cruised the short span of City Place to see if anything was “happening” it was a case “keep moving right along, folks, nothing to see here”.

But there is a new kid on the block – Dragon Express – the existence of which we have been alerted to by a number of positive reviews at Urbanspoon.

That website’s reviews have become something of an entertaining diversion – not so much the many postings, I hasten to add, of Melbourne’s food bloggers, who mostly try to maintain some sense of balance and even objectivity.

The “user reviews”, on the other hand, are often visceral, emotional outpourings of ordinary customers, many of whom feel hard done by.

Screaming caps are very much the go, along the lines of …

“THE MANAGER FROM HELL!!!!!!”

“EVERYTHING WAS RANCID – AND THAT WAS JUST THE STAFF!”

“DO NOT EAT HERE – WORST FOOD IN THE UNIVERSE!”

OK, I made those ones up – but you get my drift.

As entertaining as such, um, “reviews” can be, it is impossible really to tell the well-meaning and sincere from those with nasty and unfair axes to grind.

The handful of reviews for Dragon Express, by contrast, seem believable and well-judged expressions of delight. They speak of great prices, yummy food and excellent service  – so we are hopeful of a ripping start to our new year of blogging.

We enjoy immensely a ripping start to our new year of blogging at a lovely joint that has been going about seven weeks at the time of our visit.

Dragon Express is ostensibly a Chinese eatery, but like so many such places at the budget end of the market it hedges its bets by offering diversity to its customers via Malasyia with the likes of mee goreng, laksas and nasi goreng.

We are delighted, too, to note two harbingers of good food – white tiles and hand-written signs on the walls announcing various specials.

The service is fantastic and cool water keeps us away from the drinks cabinet and within our tight budget.

Our normal routine would find us heading straight to the laksas and the like but today we take a different approach and order two “chefs specials” – stir-fried green vegetables ($9) and spicy chicken ribs ($11).

The greens – mostly snow peas, bok choy and broccolini – elicit moans of pleasure from both of us, even if our request of garlic sauce finds the high level of oil used has no place to hide. We love every crunchy mouthful so much it is only with some reluctance we turn our attention to the chicken.

We’ve had better chicken ribs but these are still very fine – plentiful, ungreasy, totally moreish but lacking a little in the spice/chilli department.

Given the righteous healthiness of our breakfast, post-brekky endeavours in the garden before the day became too hot and likelihood of delightful austerity in the form of a crunchy Greek salad topped with fetta for dinner, we forgive ourselves the indulgence of our lunch and enjoy every lip-smacking mouthful.

“I could eat that a millions times,” opines Bennie as we depart very happy chappies.

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Closing Yarraville’s Ballarat St – what say you?

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I was interested to read in The Age about the plan to close Yarraville’s Ballarat St between Murray and Canterbury streets for up to three months from January.

I’m not sure about this at all! What about parking? What about Anderson St? Does it just get left to get even crazier?

Or will closing Ballarat St effectively close Anderson St to vehicular traffic as well?

The closure is on the block directly outside the Sun, but being intimately familiar with the area and its intense traffic flows, I reckon the following quote is debatable: ”The area to the north (of Anderson Street) outside the Sun Theatre is not a central traffic route.”

The closure of such a small portion of the street with unknown but potentially severe ramifications for the surrounding area seems iffy.

This just doesn’t seem very imaginative – or good value for money.

I’d be happier to consider the complete closure of Ballarat AND Anderson streets – big upsides all round and not much greater downside.

Without doing a head count, I’m pretty sure there are more Anderson St traders than there are on Ballarat St – so why choose the latter over the former?

And I can certainly understand the concerns of the non-Ballarat St trader: “I sympathise with those cafes not getting $50,000 spent on beautification on their doorstep.”

I once exchanged rather angry words with a tour bus driver who was attempting to take his Very Large Vehicle across the train tracks and along Anderson St.

“It’s none of your bloody business,” he shouted at me.

Uh, buddy, I live here – it most certainly IS my business! 🙂

Phong Dinh

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152 Hopkins St, Footscray. Phone: 9077 9098

A couple of previous incarnations at this address – one of them Korean – came and went without us taking them for a whirl.

Going by the good trade they are doing this Monday lunch time, it seems a good bet that Phong Dinh will be around a good deal longer.

It’s a lovely room, cleverly using some of the more upmarket vibe of several of its Viet neighbours yet still playing the role of affordable noodle house, a fact attested to by the menu prices.

The colour scheme is a bit darker than your standard noodle joint, though, and the effect is calming and tranquil.

As well, there’s a semi-alfresco area containing a handful of tables from which observing the street hustle and bustle is no doubt a lot of fun.

My can of soft drink is presented alongside a tumbler packed with ice cubes – always a nice touch.

You’ll find pho here, but the list is a lot broader than that – there’s a heap of interesting noodle and rice dishes.

The “hu tieu mi”, which precedes the restaurant’s name in its signage, denotes a focus on rice and egg noddles, in soup or dry with soup on the side.

Bun thang ($9) is described as Hanoi chicken soup with vermicelli.

From what I’ve been able to discover, it’s a northern dish rather than one specifically associated with Hanoi.

And while there is some chicken – poached, small pieces, some with fiddly bones – it is matched and more in terms of quantity by the traditional ingredients of slices of splendidly eggy omelette that is both yellow and white and Vietnamese pork loaf (cha).

One seemingly knowledgeable source I found says the stock should be a mix of chicken and pork, but this – as far as I can tell – is chicken only, delicious as it is.

The accompanying plate of greenery includes not only the sprout-and-herb combo that comes with pho but also lettuce and cabbage of both white and yellow varieties.

This all adds some handy crunch and colour to a dish that needs it.

It’s a beaut lunch but very mild of flavour.

I usually leave the addition of lemon juice until near the completion of most soup noddle dishes I order; here it goes in early on – along with slices of fresh red chilli – to give it all a bit of a boost.

Still, the lighter touch is a winner for situations in which more meaty options may be a matter of too much of a good thing.

Phong Dinh strikes me as a very handy addition to the range of Footscray Vietnamese eateries.

You can Ms Baklover’s review at Footscray Food Blog here.

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Consider The Sauce Top 10, 2011

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Everyone loves lists!

We love lists!

Our Top 10 for 2011 should not be taken to be in any way definitive.

If we did it again next week, the results would quite likely be quite different.

Nor does it necessarily include our favourite and/or regular eating houses, or even our most memorable meals for the year.

It’s just 10 things that caught our fancy and made our tastebuds sing for one reason or another.

The most shocking about our list is that there is no overlap at all with the equivalent list drawn up by the restaurant critic of The Age. Poor thing – how did she ever miss all this Good Stuff?

What are your highlights?

In no particular order …

Barkley Johnson antipasto platter

We could get this divine offering tailormade if we so wished, but we prefer to leave it up to the staff. That way we may get marinated pumpkin, which Bennie likes but dad doesn’t, but we also get the marinated sardines (as above) – a surprise that delighted. But some things are standard – always a very good dip, three or so incredible cured meats, several different kinds of olive, marinated vegetables, a stuffed vine leaf and more. Always with just the right amount of bread. As a light/medium meal for two, it’s brilliant at $21.

La Morenita new sandwiches

We love ’em all and the extra variety they add to one of our fave haunts – especially the the chacarero ($5) of steak, cheese, tomato, mayo, greens beans and hot green chilli.

Heather Dell coconut tart and jam slice

Mmmmm … classic and sensational old-school sweeties.

Classic Curry gol gappe

Despite our passionate liking for Indian snack food, we’d never come across these before trying them at Classic Curry in Sunshine, so have no way of knowing how good they are by comparison. But we love the fun of them and the tamarind tanginess.

Cafe Advieh baklava

We like your standard baklava, too, but this is different and better – rustic, chunky, fragrant with spices, delicious. They do excellent salads and dips, too.

Hyderabad Inn dosas

Most of all we’re grateful the dosa experience is now easily available in the west, and we’re happy to frequent any of the places that sell them and similar food. But Hyderabad Inn remains our choice for quality and diversity of combo deals and the like.

Broadmeadows Station Kebab House lamb shank soup

We have yet to make the trek to Broadmeadows so Bennie can have a crack at this ambrosia. When we do, he’ll love it in a slurping, joyous kind of way – guaranteed!

Yoyo’s Milkbar feijoa lollies

Where have these been all our lives? We love the pineapple chunks, too!

Pace Biscuits

Leo is our go-to man for divine and affordable choc-covered cookies, cookies in general and nougat.

Affordable bananas

Now they’re going for well under $2 a kilogram, the nightmare months of insane prices of well above $10 are starting to fade. Yay!

Kebab Shops In Melbourne – An Architectural Survey

Funky, fantastic Melbourne ethnic food finally gets the sort of academic scrutiny it deserves.

Africa Taste

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124 Victoria St, Seddon. Phone: 9687 0560

It’s something of a shock to realise how long it’s been since we went African.

We’ve been pleasantly distracted – Indian, Asian, kebabs and all sorts of other stuff.

Nor have we got around to enjoying Africa taste and blogging on it, despite the fact we were regulars even before CTS lumbered into their cyber air.

So tonight’s the night.

The place has undergone some natty renovations. The kitchen has been moved further to the rear of the building. There’s a bigger counter area and more room for hungry folks, though Africa taste remains comfy rather than roomy.

Sadly, it seems the days of us waltzing up any old time we like and grabbing a table are gone.

Even on this Monday night we are lucky to grab an unbooked early table.

We presume this is to do with the booking of two separate birthday groups, but later learn this is pretty much a standard situation on any night of the week.

It seems bookings are the go here now, not that we resent any success Africa taste has earned.

We love the food, the points of difference from Footscray’s African eateries and the fact it’s closer to our home base. The relaxed charm seems to have faded away a little, but we can live with that.

Our standard order on most of many previous visits has been chicken or lamb tibes and the Africa Taste salad – a magnificent jumble of leaves, tomato, cucumber, onion and crunchy spiced pita bits.

Tonight, at dad’s insistence, we venture further afield.

We’ve been a bit wary of some menu items previously, fearing an uncomfortable level of stodginess.

We are delighted to proven so wrong by the  Genfo African Fufu (Gnocchi, $10.95).

The gnocchi of toasted barley flour are plain yet delicious. Some of them have a little crunch, though there is little or none of the chilli mentioned on the menu. Instead there is a rich brown gravy and a big dab of cream.

It’s much more filling than it looks, and we are glad we went without the $5 option of extras such as chicken, lamb or fish.

Bennie, extremely fishily ambivalent as he is, is somewhat unimpressed by the inclusion of Spicy Fish Tibes ($13.50) in our order.

But even he, injera in hand, likes the viscous and spinach-infused gravy that is very garlicky and, like the gnocchi, lacking much of a spice bite despite the menu description and the clearly visible red flecks.

His dad loves the many and generous chunks of butterfish that are tender and mild of flavour.

It’s a fine meal and a bargain at $24.45.

And it’s swell knowing there are still several dishes on the menu that await exploration by us.

But we know now that future visits will require a little more premeditation than has been our impromptu habit.

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Mishra’s Kitchen

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A more recent review can be found here.

Mishra’s Kitchen, 18 Wembley Ave, Yarraville. Phone: 9314 3336

As we approach the Wembley St shopping trip that has previously left us untroubled in an way, we have contingency plans.

After all, the basis for our dinner – to be shared by Kenny, Bennie and neighbour Rob – is based solely upon my spotting a week earlier what purports to be an Indian restaurant in what is a plain old sandwich shop by day.

Our hopes are not particularly high.

Our downbeat wariness is given a swift kick in the bottom as soon as we enter the door.

Transformation!

This is indeed an Indian restaurant – albeit a humble one that doesn’t try to hide its daytime non-Cinders gig.

More importantly, the welcome from the eager staff is wonderful.

So much so that as we are nutting out the menu and ordering, and it becomes clear that Rob has less experience with tandoori oven rituals than us, I ask if our mate can witness up close and personal the making of our naan order.

The chef – Mr Mishra himself – obliges by not only explaining the whole process to Rob and Bennie but also by giving Rob crack at making his own naan.

Marvellous!

To keep the costs down, we go without starters or snacks and soft drinks, staying with the water. In doing so, we have what I suspect is much more like your average Indian family meal than an outing replete with samosas and the like.

We do good, ordering bhoona chicken (“in medium spices and pot-roasted with ginger and tomatoes”, $11), jhinga Madras (“South Indian spicy prawns curry with mustard seeds and coconut milk”, $14) and mixed vegetables ($9), joined by plain rice ($3), plain naan ($2) and tandoori roti ($2).

Mixed vegetables and bhoona chicken.

Jhinga Madras.

What a wonderful feast we have, with a marvellous combo of varying colours, textures and spice levels.

The difference between our most recent and rather unhappy experience in taking our Indian food habit slightly upmarket and this lovely dinner in a restaurant a mere three weeks old is stark.

The vegetables come in a mild, creamy sauce (cashews, maybe?) and include mushrooms, peas, cauliflower, green beans, fried onion strands and potato.

For Rob and I, this is our pick of the night, with the individual vegetables cooked through but holding their shapes and flavours. Lots of mushies!

About four medium-size prawns for each of us come in a sharper sauce that has the advertised mustard seeds and a tantalising whiff of a spice more exotic than usual that defies my analysis – despite asking the chef the dish’s particulars. That’s how it goes in Indian eateries sometimes!

Bennie loves the chicken, but to me it is merely a good chicken curry.

Taken as whole, and with two fine breads as accessories, our meal is an outright winner.

So is the cost – a mere $41, which is both outstanding and ridiculous.

What a find this place is.

How happy the immediate neighbours – not blessed with an excess of eating out or even takeaweay options – must be.

And how emblematic of the west, in an excellent way, it is that Mishra’s Kitchen joins the likes of Cafe Centro and At 43 in making do and doing great with what is at hand, even if that means making a premises undertake different duties by day and by night.

AND we got a parking spot right outside.

I reckon that’s quite enough, thank you very much, of newspaper stories lauding the livability of Melbourne’s west and other such like preposterous notions.

Hrrrumpf!

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