Tag Archives: Kensington

Going the whole chook

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Frying Colours, 520 Macaulay Road, Kensington. Phone: 9939 9679

Frying Colours does Korean food with an upbeat, swish attitude.

The long room, which formerly housed a noodle shop, has undergone a substantial refit that cleverly combines a hip suaveness and the feel of a more traditional Korean cafe, especially thanks to the old-school wooden tables.

On a Friday night, the place is humming.

The staff are everywhere and very good at their jobs.

The open kitchen/servery takes about a third of the space.

We’re very happy that our food arrives in approximately the same amount of time it takes us to work what we are going to order – bravo!

For tonight, Team CTS numbers four, so we expect to make merry with the menu.

We do.

Everything we have is good.

There’s a couple of major hits and a minor mis-step that has more to do with our ordering than the food.

Just for fun and to experience as much of what’s available as we can, we order a couple of skewered starters.

 

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“Mouth-watering chicken skewers” ($3 each) are good in a kind of Korean satay fashion.

 

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Eggplant skewers ($3) are way better – they’re tender, juicy and with immense smoky eggplant flavour. We’ll be ordering a stack of these next time.

 

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We order a whole fried chicken. They’re $32; $19 for half.

There’s something enormously liberating and reckless about ordering a whole fried chook – or the equivalent bits there-of.

We split our order 50/50 between “spicy” and “sweet soy” (there’s also “original” available).

Our selections turn our expectations upside down.

Expecting the sweet soy pieces to be the more moist, we find them instead to be the most like orthodox fried chicken. They’re fab.

The “spicy” pieces, by contrast, are moist with a glaze that seems almost Chinese. The spice levels are modest for this table-full of western heat hounds.

But still, this is great stuff and the other big hit of the night.

We’d do it again in a flash.

We’ve accesoried with “wasabislaw” ($5) and kimchi ($5). Both are good and well-priced for the serve sizes.

 

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Bulgogi hot pot ($36) is one of a handful of dishes to share.

It’s of a more traditional Korean bent, with sweetish stocky broth, sliced beef, two kinds of onion, heaps of glassy noddles and some nice slithery mushrooms.

It’s nice enough but is, we suspect, not really what this place is all about or well worth visiting for.

Christine eloquently sums up our collective feelings: “This would seem really good if we hadn’t ordered the chicken!”

We reckon stuff such as the fried chicken or the “FC mixed grill” to share ($40) are the go here.

On the way home, we make a West Foostray stop for peanut butter and vanilla ice-cream courtesy of tonight’s dining companions. They’re both so very, very fine. The ice-cream AND the companions.

Check out the Frying Colours website, including menu, here.

 

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Garden delight in Kensington

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White Rabbit Record Bar, 176 Bellair St, Kensington. Phone: 9376 5441

Always been music crazy – and always will be.

But have never been much of a record collector, not really.

Sure, I’ve gone through the occasional phase of accumulating a few originals 45s and 78s along the way.

But for me it’s almost always been about the music, not its format.

Hence these days, in a collection of several thousands CDs, the larger part – and certainly the portion I enjoy with most zeal – comprises releases of music originally released on 45s and 78s and even cylinders anywhere from the 1890s to the 1970s.

It’s all digital but it’s all old, too.

So while being sympathetic, I’ve never a been a member of the cult of vinyl.

Which perhaps explains why early on in our westie life I mentally dismissed White Rabbit as a vinyl hangout that offered nothing much more than a cool space and an option for coffee or wine.

What a surprise then to discover there’s much more to the place – a full kitchen and a lovely back garden setting included – and that that’s been the case for a long while.

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As well, in the process of enjoying a lazy mid-week lunch, we’re delighted to find that among the staff members is gentle pooch of a certain age named Jessie, whom we enjoy getting to know while we await our food.

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From the specials board, Bennie chooses the B.L.A.T. ($12.50).

It has all the appropriate bits and pieces and does good for him, even if it doesn’t have him metaphorically clicking his heels with glee.

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Chosen from a trio of antipasto-style plates, my falafel-based outing ($17.50) has winning points and some that I could happily do without.

The Turkish bread, for instance, is regulation but nicely toasted – making the crackers and wafers a tad superfluous.

The falafel balls are warm and quite good, as are the salad bits and mixed olives.

But the oil-drenched bowl of roast capsicum and cheese distracts.

The best aspect of my lunch are the house-made dips.

The houmus and another based on rocket, coriander, garlic and more are mildly flavoured but very tasty.

I suspect we could’ve chosen our lunches more wisely – perhaps the specials board spinach and fetta borek would’ve wowed us, and we’d for sure be interested in checking out the beef burger with “chunky potatoes” I saw listed a few days prior if the opportunity presents in the future.

But in terms of relaxed vibes, lovely setting and warmth of welcome, we consider our belated discovery of the White Rabbit riches within a fine thing indeed.

White Rabbit Record Bar on Urbanspoon

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The Rusty Fox

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All smiles on opening day – (from left) Rusty Fox crew members Jennifer Galea, Kim Scott, Rebecca Creighton and Manuel Santeiro.

The Rusty Fox, 501 Macaulay Road, Kensington. Phone: 9372 1218

It’s very early on opening day for the Rust Fox, a brand new and ultra-chic “old-style provedore and locally driven deli” on Macaulay Rd.

As such, we’re happy to leave a closer examination of the food available – both eat-in and take-home – for another day.

Which isn’t to say we’re not tempted by the list we spy that includes, among other lunchy and brunchy items, Vietnamese chicken coleslaw and a simple sandwich of leg ham, cos lettuce, cheddar and Dijon mustard.

But we make more than do with a very excellent cafe latte, a hot chocolate and a couple of crunchy, buttery chocolate and walnut cookies.

Bennie’s hot chokkie adventures can range, often within a single week, from magnificent to thoroughly unmemorable. So we’re happy to report the Rusty Fox is very definitely of the former category.

The Rusty Fox fit-out is a true delight, capped off by a number of murals by street artist Kaff-eine.

We enjoy our beverages and munchies in the back garden space.

Front of house has a single table in the window area and a number of stools cuddling up to the servery/bar area.

Between the eat-in menu, the blackboard list of available meats and cheeses, a refrigerated area containing soups and the like, and a wall adorned with house-made condiments and other tasty items, it seems the Rusty Fox crew have put a lot of thought into making the best use of the space available to feature a lot off high-class foodiness.

 

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Fifty-Six Threads Cafe

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This guest post has been written for us by Consider The Sauce pal Peppy/Karen. You can read her reviews at Urbanspoon here – as you’ll see, she’s very much on the same page us! Thanks for the cool company, fine conversation and the write-up!

Fifty-Six Threads Cafe, 56 Derby St, Kensington. Phone: 9376 6885

This one is a diamond in the rough – newly opened Fifty-Six Threads Café sits at the bottom of the imposing brown public housing block on Derby St in Kensington.

The name is a combination of the street number (56), with the “Threads” representing all of the different cultures and communities entwined like thread – very fitting for the latest social enterprise by AMES in conjunction with Urban Communities, in which the “main objective is to provide employment and training opportunities for new migrants”.

How good is this?  Get a good feed and help those who are new to our shores obtain hospitality skills!

After following Consider The Sauce since moving to the area 12 months ago, I finally got around to telling Kenny how much I liked what he was doing in his blog. Less than a week later we had arranged to meet to check this place out for lunch.

Both Kenny’s blog and Footscray Food Blog have been favourites of mine since moving to this side of the city and they have helped me to discover the amazing places to eat and go to on the west-side, so I am honoured to be able to contribute a review to CTS.

What is nearly as important as the food to me is the service, and this place won me over as soon as I walked in – very friendly and welcoming.

Nothing seemed like too much trouble and I think they were genuinely interested in making sure that we enjoyed our meal there. The fit-out is full of timber and cool suspended lighting – honestly, you could be at any of the fancy new cafes in the area sitting in the sun-drenched dining area.

Now on to the food!

The menu is split into two sections, All Day Breakfast and Weekly Specials.

Sadly the chick pea chips had sold out (cry) so Kenny went with the chick pea, bacon and thyme broth ($8) and I went with the Beetroot tamarind and dill spring rolls ($12).

I must admit I did have a bit of food envy when Kenny’s huge bowl of chick pea goodness arrived – it was a generous serving of bacon and vegetables cooked with garlic, carrot, onion and of course chick peas with two slabs of sourdough just waiting to be dipped in.

However, when my spring rolls arrived I think we both ordered winners.

The substantial cigar-sized spring rolls were filled with chards of rich beetroot that the chef tells me were cooked in a sauce consisting of tamarind and rosewater syrup – I will be on the lookout for a bottle of this when I’m in the Asian grocers next time.

I have a crop full of beetroot at home that I need to use and this was such an awesome way to cook it.  The pastry on the spring rolls was crisp and flaky, the salad was fresh and the orange segments were a great addition.

I love a good mayo, too, and could have probably done with 10 of those little pots as it tasted so good.

I also had a latte, which was from the Social Roasting Company – couldn’t fault it.  They also have a coffee loyalty card system there as well – bonus!

I would be lying if I said I didn’t want to go and check it out for breakfast and lunch the next day, so I dragged the husband out for a snack.

We shared a 56 Threads Breakfast ($15) and the pita bread pizza with chorizo ($8).

OMG you must try this pizza out – it was a cheesy, meaty, saucy plate of awesome.

The breakfast was everything it should be – well cooked and runny poached eggs. Oh and the red onion jam – far out loves it sick – all big breakfasts should come with a serve of this.

And don’t think I didn’t take home a freshly cooked almond and apple muffin, a little slice of baklava and a plum jam tartlet – all amazing.

I wish there were more homemade goodies to take home – I bet those chefs out the back have lots of awesome recipes for cakes and slices – or maybe I just came on a day where they were cleaned out of the cakes.

I honestly just love this kind of initiative that supports the neighbourhood – sometimes I feel that I don’t do enough when it comes to being an involved citizen of my new community.

I wish I had more time and money to give.

When I went to pay (by the way, they accept Visa/Mastercard) I had to double check the amount due – after the quick (bad) calculation in my head I could have sworn I needed to pay more.

The guy behind the counter tells me “it’s not all about the money”.

Amen to that!

It was lovely to meet up with you for lunch Kenny, hopefully more of us western suburbs food addicted bloggers can get together again soon!

Fifty-Six Threads Cafe on Urbanspoon

Kenso Kids Every Thing Shop

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Kenso Kids Every Thing Shop, Eastwood St, Kensington (outside Kensington Station).

What a gas it is making the acquaintance of the entrepreneurial spirits behind the Kenso Kids Every Thing Shop.

On this lovely and warm autumn afternoon I find (from left) Finn, Henry, John and Archie taking care of business, with their other partners – Greta, Marcella and Bessie – occupied elsewhere.

They tell me they’ve been in business for about a year, having moved from their home across the way to a beaut spot right outside the Kensington train station.

They tell me their enterprise provides pocket money but that they’ve also been “reinvesting in the business”.

They sell their own homemade brand of lemon cordial – 20 cents a glass or about $1 a bottle depending on size.

It’s a nice but rather mildly flavoured brew, quite sweet but a long way removed from sweet and sour extremes of lemonade of US or Middle Eastern extraction.

They sell the lemons, too, along with herbs from the backyard and eggs from the chooks.

The lads tell me that in deepest winter time it’s a matter of waiting for a fine day.

Today, though, they fully expect to be on the job still when the Richmond and Melbourne fans start returning from the MCG.

I like these guys’ style!