Tag Archives: Melbourne

Kowloon House

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1A Triholm Ave, Laverton. Phone: 9369 4121

One of my fondest (tastiest) memories of my St Kilda years is of a modest little food shop at the Espy end of Fitzroy St.

Cleopatra’s was basically a takeaway joint, though a couple of tables meant it could just about pass for a restaurant – and that’s precisely how I used it on countless occasions over many years.

The family that ran it was delightful and friendly, and their Lebanese food was stupendously fine – I have particularly mouth-watering recall of the chicken skewers and housemade lemonade.

As that end of Fitzroy St became increasingly cluttered with slick restaurants, Cleopatra’s migrated up the road to full restaurant status opposite the Junction Oval. By then I’d moved west, so visits were few.

And then it was gone.

(If anyone knows if the family concerned is still in the food business, please let me know!)

Cleopatra’s and its fine food had, of course, nothing at all to do with the famed empress or the land she ruled.

The name, I’ve always presumed, signalled an earlier and less sophisticated era of Australian foodiness, when citizens needed to be hit over the head with signposts of the most basic and banal and not necessarily all that accurate kind.

Same deal with Kowloon House in Laverton – likewise, it has little or nothing to do with Kowloon. Although it does trade in fried noodles, laksas and tom yum dishes, it’s another Filipino hot spot.


We’d already checked out Kabayan Filipino Restaurant in Cairnlea, and we’re very much looking forward to the Philippine Fiesta at the Melbourne Showgrounds in a couple of weeks.

So my solo trip to Kowloon House, which I’d spied on my many commutes by train to Geelong, on a typical Melbourne spring day (pelting down with rain) was more by way of tuning up.

It’s a cheerful and welcoming place, and whatever it’s dependence on clientele that prefers other southeast Asian dishes, it’s clearly Filipino at heart – as a bain marie of defiantly funky-looking stew dishes and array of groceries attest.

Once again I was confronted with the choice between bain marie and grilled dishes, opting for tapsilog, a rice-based dish that seems to be a breakfast meal that has come to have wider applications.

I liked it a lot.

The garlic rice was fluffy and flecked with egg. The fried egg was perfect. The marinated beef (I forgot to ask what exactly it was marinated in) was black, tough, chewy, but went real well with the little bowl of soy sauce-laced vinegar provided for dipping. And the little bundle of pickled papaya salad added another touch of piquancy.

It was a meal of happiness but also one of dubious healthiness!

The takeaway/catering menu of Kowloon House lists a revolving cast of daily specials: Tapsilob, halo-halo, pinakbet, sisig, caldareta, chicken adobo, monggo, dinuguan, ginatang langka, medudo, okoy, sinigang na baboy, turon.

Having just finished, ahem, digesting Google/Wikipedia explanations for most of them, I realise my Filpino food journey has a long way to go!

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Flash With The Gran No.2: Mercure Welcome Melbourne Hotel

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Grandma Pauline, cousin Kaye, mum Deborah, son Bennie and son/dad Kenny.

265 Little Bourke St. Phone: 9639 0555

Our second splash-up dinner was at the Mercure, on Little Burke between Swanston and Elizabeth.

It’s my mum hotel of choice when visiting Melbourne.

Bennie’s mum, Deborah, objected to my description of it as a “budget hotel” – and she was right to the extent that this ain’t no backpacker establishment.

It’s a clean, non-nonsense, few-frills place – and one in which you wouldn’t expect to get anything beyond serviceable food.

I’m happy to say that summation was grandly trashed – the meal we all (Grandma Pauline, Bennie, his mum Deborah and I) enjoyed was rather thrilling – and certainly much better and smartly priced than we’d had the previous day in the much more swish and pricey Waterfront.

The hotel’s restaurant, The Louden Kitchen & Grill, continued the transit lounge vibe, having the sort of utilitarian and temporary feel you might find in an upmarket eatery in a large train station.


But food was super – and we’d all recommend it for anyone wanting some Mediterranean-styled tucker at very affordable prices, with a bonus to be prized – this is a mostly unknown, unstoried and tranquil space that quietly goes about its business just a few metres from  the hustle and bustle of Chinatown and the CBD.

This time Bennie was in luck – and he wasted no time in ordering the burger. Described as a “lamb burger with tzatziki, grilled onion, Greek romesco” ($15.5), it was hight, wide, handsome and tasty. Bennie ran out of eating juice halfway through, having eaten Lord knows what while galavanting around the CBD all day with his Kiwi relatives.

Pauline and Deb both ordered rump steaks ($32), and both gave their meat the big thumbs up. The mains at The Louden come with a side dish of choice from a list that contains some of the most appealing things on the menu. In the girls’ case, the baby roast vegetables were a wonderous jumble of bean, beetroot, baby turnip, snow pea and carrot, while the potato fritters were a couple disappointing cakes of the hashbrown variety.


My baked blue eye ($28)  looked modest of proportion but was oh-so-yummy. It was cooked just right. I appreciate the skill that takes. The accompanying tomato chilli relish was a bit of a trickster, too, looking dull and lifeless but having a sweet tang that brought the sublime fish even more to life. My side dish – the Greek salad – was also fine, its feta cheese having disintegrated to just the right degree to act a further dressing for the cakes, toms, red onion and olives.

Desserts of rhubarb fool tart, gooseberry and elderflower ice cream with hazelnut crunch ($12)  and chocolate and hazelnut flourless torte brought a satisfactory full stop to a meal that delighted us – and one that seemed to have added charm given that was far superior to what I at least imagined we be presented with.

Ahhh … so nice to have attentive dinner companions, no?

Pho Hien Saigon

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3/284 Hampshire Rd, Sunshine. Phone 9311 9532

Pretty much everybody, I would guess, who cavorts in the playground of western suburbs cheap eats has what I think of “single-dish restaurants” filed away in their mental Rolodexes.

Smack in the middle of Footscray’s Viet enclave, is in an eatery that backs on to the Market That Doesn’t Allow Cameras – it does a perfectly fine non-pho lineup of soup noodles and rice dishes. But that’s never why I hit the place. Nope, I go there for just one reason – the Vietnamese stewed beef. It’s a marvel – beef on the bone always meltingly tender, big chunks of carrot, served with egg or rice noodles – or both. Or served, just for a change, with a crusty bread roll. It’s always excellent but always different – depending on how old any particular batch of stew actually is.

There’s other places in the vicinity that do stewed beef, but none with the consistency or tastiness or restrained degree of fattiness.

Across the road is another Viet place that does a large number of dishes, most of them good, many of the damn fine – but there, one or both of us, inevitably end up ordering the tomato fried rice with diced garlic, or one of the variations thereof.

Both those places are waiting in line to be covered in greater depth in considerthesauce.net …

Right now, though, I want to rave about another “single dish restaurant”.

Sunshine’s Pho Hien Saigon is a straight-up uncompromising pho joint.

Its lineup is precisely what you’d expect – spring rolls, rice paper rolls, a handful of rice dishes and pho, pho and more pho.

The only sign of the unorthodox is the regular Sunday special of the stuffed pancake. I’ve had it a few times, but always find that particular dish turns to a handful of mush no matter where I have it.

I’m quite sure I’ve had pho and rice dishes at Pho Hien Saigon, but all that’s little more than a fading memory.

For it’s been years and years since I’ve ordered anything but the vermicelli.

The vemicelli comes in six flavours – grilled pork, grilled chicken, sugar cane prawn, shredded pork, spring rolls and combination, all $9.50, 50 cents more for the prawns.

I always go for the grilled chicken more commonly served with rice.

Atop the big bowl placed on my table is a big white pillow of vermicelli on which sits many strands of sweetly pickled carrot, spring onion, the crunchiest of chopped peanuts and a delicious slab of grilled chicken thigh.

I tip the entire contents of the bowl of accompanying sauce (fish sauce, garlic, sugar, lemon, chilli and more carrot) on to my meal and commence to mix it up. And – lo! – underneath the vermicelli is more delicious crunchiness in the form of lettuce, bean sprouts, mint and other herbs.

Jumbled all together, this is manifestly a triumph – it’s difficult to think of anything that is more tasty, healthy and affordable all at the same time. Aside from pho!

Pho Hien Saigon vermicelli is bigger, brighter, bitier, more colourful and lip-smkackingly fine than I’ve found anywhere else. Even if on the day I visit to take photos the chicken could have done with a minute or two more on the grill in order to acquire more of a charry barbecue flavour.

And I like visiting Viet central in Sunshine. As yet it doesn’t have the same diversity as Footscray, but the grocery shopping is beaut and at Sunshine Plaza there always seems to be underground parking to be had. It’s in the shade and it’s free. Parking – that’s a big plus.

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Kabayan Filipino Restaurant

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Shop 10/100 Furlong Rd, Cairnlea. Phone: 8390 1346

PLEASE NOTE: More recent review of revamped Kabayan can be found here.

We’ve spied Filipino groceries in Footscray, Braybrook and St Albans, but we’ve never been to the Philippines, and the only Filipino food we’ve seen ready to buy and eat has been that of two stalls in the food hall of the Market That Doesn’t Allow Cameras.

And that food, to cowardly us, has always looked more than a little daunting.

Happily, we had a brief conversation with Adrian of Food Rehab at the Food Bloggers’ Mad Hatter Spring Picnic regarding Filipino food, him telling us that the stuff can sometimes look ugly but taste terrific. He also suggested some dishes for newbies, but I wasn’t on the ball enough to take notes, and gave us the tip on this fascinating eatery out Deer Park way.

We’re happy to have made its acquaintance, and have had some tasty food there, but are still far from convinced we have any sort of handle on Filippino food.

On a weekend lunch, Bennie and I bypass the bain marie and opt for the simple grilled dishes – he ordering the chicken skewers with garlic fried rice ($10.50) and me the pork chop with ditto accompaniment ($9.50).

It’s already been a long day and we’re Very Hungry, so we top up with a couple of segments of Filippino sausage ($1.50 each) and an interesting looking slab of fried eggplant ($5).

Our main dishes are tasty but plain. Bennie’s chicken is beaut – and has a distinct Japanese teriyaki sweetness about it. My two pork chops are a little less tender, but no less toothsome. I suspect the charred rind and fat is meant to be treated as simply part of the meal deal, but I fastidiously set it aside. The rice is OK, but nothing particularly notable.

These two platters are very similar to the meat and rice dishes we find in Viet restaurants, or the Hainan chicken rice and nasi lemak of Malay places, with similar trimmings of cucumber and tomato slices but much less seasoning or spiciness.

Bennie gobbles up the smallish sausage segments, but I find them dull.

In some ways, the eggplant is the star of the day. What I presume is half a large eggplant sliced in half lengthways has been flattened and coated an extremely eggy batter. It all tastes good, and has that delectable smoky tang we associate with eggplant dips of Middle Eastern cuisines. It’s hefty for a side dish – something like a vegetarian steak, in fact – and seems to lend credence to the “ugly but good” theory.

As we amble away quite satisfied, Bennie opines: “That was like Asian food but not really!”

I know what he means.

We would have liked to have known more about the food we were ordering and eating (including the correct Filipino names), but the staff were busy and, perhaps, a little shy or taken aback by our interest. However, whatever our disappointment with our experience here, we are happy to confess it surely has at least as much to do with our ignorance of Filipino food as anything else.

Next time, we’ll revert to bain marie mode. On a previous visit, I’d had a ridiculously oily but otherwise awesome beef stew with spuds and carrot in a sweetish red gravy, and a minced pork concoction with peas and potato. Served with plain rice, the combo cost $9.

On the day of our grilled lunch visit, the bain marie hosts an interesting looking dish of beef tongue with a mushroom sauce, another of beef on the bone in a peanut sauce and a couple of fish dishes.

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Los Latinos

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More recent review here.

128 Mitchell St, Maidstone. Phone: 9318 5289

Bugger it – I hate getting beat by The Age, especially by just a day or so.

But that’s just the way it worked out.

The end of a rugged week of work and school, a Friday full of crap weather, the run home from Sunshine, after-school care and a white-knuckle drive to and from Geelong.

Approaching Ashley St, we pondered our options – home, Cartoon Network and A-League with Chinese delivered; home and then out again to eat (not really an option at given the weather); and then – inspiration! – why, heck, a slight detour and … we could check out the new Latino place we’d heard about.

And failing that, we could opt for the funky Chinese place in Mitchell St that had long been on our “to do” list.

Pulling up outside Los Latinos, we appraised once again the retail strip we had last checked out very early in the year.

The Chinese place was still there, looking just as enigmatic as ever.

So, too, was the Latin American bakery where we’d had empanadas and coffee.

As well, there a cool-looking antique/odds’n’sods shop that seemed well worth a look – on another day.

And right there in the middle was Los Latinos – even early in the evening open and inviting.

Nina Rousseau nailed it good – Los Latinos is, indeed, “a grand addition to the west”.

We left an hour later rete, replete and smiling after a meal of lip-smacking joy.

The menu is not long, but we opted for the dips and corn chips ($6), followed by a serve of pupusas ($10), not wanting to put to big a dent in our wallet.

And then we wrecked that plan by ordering a $3.50 bottle Jarritos guava fizz from Mexico. Oh well …

The corn chips were good and blessedly free of excess salt and ghastly chemicals. The dips – cheese, guacamole and what was described on the menu as “green tomatillo” but was actually, unmistakably red  – looked a touch on the meager side. But they went the distance just fine, and all were tasty.

Despite some familiarity with South and Latin American food, we were unfamiliar with pupusas. They are, it was explained, a righteously popular and ubiquitous staple of El Salvador. The same flour as used in tortilla is made into a dough, then small balls. Into a hole in each ball is inserted the filling – in our case, a combo of cheese, beans and pork. The pupusas are then gently flattened and pan fried.

The results were mucho delicious, amply filling yet light as well. They were served with a tiny jug of salsa and curtido, which turned out to be a spicy, tangy, pickled salad of cabbage and more (I suspect).

At $10 for a serve of four, these constitute a superb and cheap meal for one. But as we were sharing, we were still a little light on.

So we ordered another entree – chorizo and salsa ($6). It was another winner, though we could have used about double the number of small, if very fine, tortillas that were provided to mop up the hot salsa.

One thing this dish did do for me, however, is confirm that my ingrained habit of merely grabbing any old chorizo from the supermarket has got to go. This one had quite distinctive and oh-so-tasty seasoning and flavour. Not all chorizos are created equal, it seems.

The menu also features fajitas ($18.50), tacos ($10.50), tamales ($10), porcion de pollo (fried chicken with onions, coriander and lemon juice, served with rice and tortilla; $12.50), as well as the completo (Latin Hot Dog; $6.50) and nachos ($10).

God bless Los Latinos – it’s helping make what was one a rather bleak backwater into yet another western suburbs foodie hot spot!

You can read Nina Rousseau’s Age review here.

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Safari Restaurant

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159 Union Rd, Ascot Vale. Phone: 9372 7175

Yes, another gem in Union Rd – this one just as tasty, affordable and, in its own mesmerising way, just as exotic as Yemini Restaurant up the road a piece.

Like that joint, Safari Restaurant’s stock in trade is a roll call of meat, veg and carbs.

As such it seems an ideal place for those who find the very idea of tibs, doro wat, injera and other items bought to Melbourne’s inner west by the African diaspora a step too far or just too weird to even contemplate eating.

Describing Safari’s food as “meat and three veg”, though, does it a grave disservice – for this Somalian fare is much, much more delicious than that humble label implies.

Bennie and I have been regular visitors this year, but for my most recent lunch I was joined by my fellow DeadHead Kurt.

There was a little confusion while ordering, so we ended up both getting the $17 meal of lamb (hilib, on the bone, three pieces), rice (barris) and accompaniments.

This was overload for lunch, so it’s helpful to know that there’s a $15 version available, with the rice and meat coming on the same plate, and the same side dishes and vegetables provided.

But even at $17, our lunches fully qualified for a hearty western suburbs cheap eats thumbs up.

You see, at Safari meals come with what, in New Orleans and South Louisiana, is referred to as “lagniappe” – that is, “a little something special”.

In this case, that involves, first up, a long, cool drink – either freshly squeezed orange juice clinking with ice cubes, or a much sweeter and richer milk-based concoction that I personally find too cloying.

Second comes a bowl of soup.

Bowl of soup? That sounds miserable and woefully inaccurate to describe what is clearly the most delicious thing I’ve eaten this year thus far.

It’s a bowl of simple broth, yes – modestly seasoned with a little chili, coriander, lemon pepper and garlic. You may even find a few strands of meat, or the odd slice of carrot.

But at it’s heart this is simply, magnificently Essence Of Lamb As A Work Of Art.

Gosh, it’s good!

On to our main courses – and more magic.

The rice was plain, but brilliant –  seasoned, again with restraint, with garlic and coriander, and cooked in vegetable stock. Worthy of gleeful inhalation.

My three pieces of lamb, one of which was a cutlet, were tender, tasty and wonderfully free of fat and/or gristle  – not always the case with food such as this.

Completing the picture were some good salad greens and a goodly amount of a sensational pan-fried jumble of onion, carrot and capsicum, which was heaven with the rice and generous smears of the tangy chili sauce provided.

As a point of difference, Kurt split his carb order 50/50 between rice and spaghetti. The pasta was OK – but it was just pasta, and certainly not a patch on the divine rice.

After our wonderful lunch, we spent some time chatting to owner Mohamed Shide about his food, the restaurant, its multinational clientele and the story that brought him to Australia and, finally, his own eating shop in Ascot Vale.

It’s a long story that involves war, many years, separation from family and other trials and tribulations – the sort of moving odyssey that is so intrinsic to Australia.

So happy were we with our repast and our conversation with Mohamed that I gaily strolled away without paying. Happily, I also left my wallet on the counter, necessitating my return anyhow.

As I reclaimed my wallet and attempted to pay, Mohamed attempted to wave my money away – unsuccessfully.

Mohamed, my friend, that’s simply not what I’m about.

If by writing this I can can send a few more people through your door, that’ll be all the payment I could wish.

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The Circle Fruit Fiesta

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45-49 The Circle, Altona East. Phone: 9399 1026

We are relatively well serviced in the heart of Yarraville, but gosh I’d love to have an establishment like this right in our back yard.

Like Fresh On Young in Moonee Ponds is a supercharged green grocer and much more of a one-stop shop than your normal fruit and veg joint.

Unlike Fresh On Young, they don’t do meat, but have many other bases covered.

There’s a heap of dry goods – nuts and fruit and pulses and so on.

The pasta section alone looks like it could well challenge the famous aisle of pasta at Mediterranean Wholesalers in Sydney Rd.

The range of fruit and vegetables is fine, the herb section looking specially spiffy.

I bought fat, juicy white raisins and roasted almonds for our porridge/muesli, several packs of Opera Prima pasta for $1.30 each and makings for a big pot of pasta sauce.

The Circle rocks with Lebanese personality.

I also nabbed some fantastic Lebanese pies from the bakery a few doors up – spinach, spinach and cheese, and a particularly toothsome chicken and tomato.

In the other direction, the Lebanese butcher had a variety of snags, with the dark red Lebanese numbers certain to be the target of future exploration.

Far as I could see, though, there’s only one ATM – and it’s a $2.50 job!

On the way in from Blackshaws Rd, I passed Victoria Sweets and wondered, not for the first time, when the place’ll be open when I pass.

Thanks to Ms Baklover at Footscray Food Blog for reminding me about this very cool precinct!

Crumbs Organic Bakehouse

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170 Union Rd, Ascot Vale. Phone: 9375 4777

Knowing a birthday feast at Ebi beckons in the early evening, the familiar Middle Eastern/African meat ‘n’ rice options on Union Rd seem inadvisable.

I spy some scrumptious looking pizza slices in the window of Crumbs – they are calling to me!

The wholemeal base wages war with my knife and fork, but teeths and hands make easy work of it. The caramelised onion, mushhie and olive topping is sensational – sweet and salty and just right. My pizza is even more delicious than it looks.

And at $4, it’s a contender for the Cheap Lunch Hall Of Fame.

Crumbs is a beaut little bakery, done out in comfy style with formica tables and even lace table cloths. They’re not big on hearty or lunches – other than the ever revolving range of pizzas.

But they do a pretty good range of breads.

We like the sourdough and – especially – the fruit loaf.

Unlike some fruit loaves we know, this one is bread with some fruit in it – rather than the other way ’round.

But we like it.

Besides, it pays to have something on hand for breakfast when Bennie gets rolling eyes tired of porridge!

The range of sweeties is grand, ranging from a variety of cookies to brownies and so on. Mind you, a couple of the slices, packed with seeds and nuts, look more like health food than food … if you follow me.

A fine coffee, a peanut butter and chocolate cookie, fruit loaf to go and I’m out the door for $15.50.

Bargain!

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Cevabdzinica/Central Cafe

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Shop 26/1 Princess St, St Albans. Phone: 9310 7444

This business has closed.

Welcome to a taste of Bosnia in St Albans.

I reckon there’s a tendency for those of us who live close to the CBD to consider the term “western suburbs” as referring to – mainly – Footscray, Yarraville, Altona and a few others.

But those, of course, are just the start of Melbourne’s growing west – there’s a whole world out there!

Happily, Bennie’s place on the playing roster of the mighty West Footscray Roosters necessitated, in the winter thankfully now winding up, many trips into far-flung burbs we would never ordinarily visit. What an adventure!

It was one such Sunday outing that I noted Cevabdzinica down for future exploration.

It’s been open since February and is a dazzlingly bright, fluorescently lit place; it’s red and white style is something like classic American diner filtered through an Eastern European sensibility.

It serves snacky food, and not the heartier cabbage rolls, soups and stews that I had been mentally preparing myself for.

Undeterred, I asked for the hamburger combo; when told that was now unavailable, I settled for the grilled chicken with salad and bread ($12).

It was right tasty, too. The thigh meat was sparingly seasoned, juicy and tasty. It was topped with some grilled red capsicum while some salad bits and pieces sat alongside. The longish bread roll on which the meat was served was good, though a bit on the oily side.

We eat so much food that is heavily spiced that it was a pleasure to enjoy something so plain.

Nevertheless, there was little about my meal that spoke of any distinctive Bosnian flavour or characteristics. For that reason alone, I will likely return to sample the “chevaps” which are served five for $8, seven for $10 or 10 for $13 – and presumably with the same trimmings adorning them.

Bureks in meat, cheese and cheese-and-spinach flavours are available for what seems like a steep $6.

A post-lunch amble confirmed that is a neighbourhood that will be the target and many repeat visits.

For example, just around the corners is a place called  Saraj, the signage of which announces the availability of “Balkan food”. This being a Monday, the kitchen was closed, so I didn’t even to get check out the menu – but I did note that a $10 gulas was listed on the specials board. The gents relaxing outside cast suspicious glances in my direction as I came and went.  My tie-dyed Grateul Dead T-shirt might have had something to do with that.

For example, Alfrieda St, a wide thoroughfare packed with so many Vietnamese/Chinese eateries, butchers, fish places, groceries and so on that I’m a little surprised that it isn’t more regularly spoken of in the same breath as Footscray, Richmond and Springvale.

For example, Cafe U&I, a splendidly named mixed bag that is part Asian tucker, part ’70s coffee bar and part pasticceria – and where I had a perfect coffee.

For example, a Chinese seafood/yum cha establishment boasting the great title of Just Good Food. Can’t argue with that!

For example. dozens more groceries worth a look – not just Vietnamese, but also Indian, Filippino and even Pacific Island.

Southern Spice

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4/203 Ballarat Rd (cnr Gordon St), Footscray. Phone: 9317 3811

It was something of a surprise to discover this establishment had been open since 2003, given the hundreds of time we must have driven past it none the wiser.

Doing a blog, it seems, is somewhat akin to getting a new pair of spectacles – you see things differently, better, in more detail.

Anyway, my food-attuned senses went on high alert with the emphasis on “southern” – I had visions dancing in my head of chowing down on exotic specialties from the likes of Madras and Kerala.

Alas, the reality was more prosaic – “southern”, in this case means mostly the familiar lineup of dosa, upma, wada (vada) and idly.

But let us not become too ho-hum.

After all, it was only a few years ago that dosas and the like were a no-show on the western suburbs cheap eats radar. That we have become somewhat spoilt for choice is a cause for celebration rather complacency.


Despite its given address, Southern Spice actually sits on Gordon St, in a strip of shops buffeted by buses and cars. It’s a crisp and clean, with the obligatory Bollywood dance routines bursting forth from a telly up in one corner. The staff and service are friendly.

In order to get across as much of their food as quickly as possible, I fronted for the South Indian buffet ($12) that is featured every Saturday and Sunday for lunch.

It was a thing of advanced yumminess.

Laid out buffet style are dal, cauliflower curry, potato curry, sambar, upma, vada, idly and two kinds of rice. On an adjacent tables sits a big bowl of peanut chutney studded with evil-looking dark red dried chillies.

Dosas and – much to my giddy joy – puris are cooked to order. Oh, bliss!

I managed to resist the buffet tradition of letting my eyes get ahead of my appetite, modestly loading up a stainless steel plate as I waited for my four puris.

Peanut chutney.

It was all bloody delicious. The potato and cauliflower curries looked very similar, but tasted quite different, with the cauliflower having an extra tang. The dal was beaut, too, while the peanut chutney belied its fiery appearance by being a smooth, mildy-spiced, coconutty concoction – sort of like a runny South Indian peanut butter. The upma,  white and cakey and studded with curry leaves and mustard seeds, was a little bland, but fine dipped in the sambar.

The made-for-me puris were superb – and about a grease-free as puris can be.

Southern Spice also has a feature called Biryani Fridays, for $13 and from 6pm, with a lineup that includes chicken, mutton and egg biryanis, chcken fry, raita and so on.

The day before I roadtested the wonderful South Indian buffet, I had a simple thali of goat madras (on the bone), “bhendi” fry (a very dry jumble of peanuts, crispy onion and chewy okra), raita, rice and a single papadam. It was OK, but the spice levels were in Johnny Cash territory – not my thing these days.

A can of that Coca Cola stuff costs a very excellent $1.

Southern Spice is nestled amid a rather drab cluster of shops and eats places, only about half of which are currently operating as businesses of varying kinds. But the area is changing – there’s a Korean BBQ joint across the road that looks just about ready to roll, while a few doors up what was once a fish and chip shop is being gutted. Stay tuned...

Southern Spice is also something of a rarity – a western suburbs cheap eat that has its very own website, a simple but detailed job that can be found here.

Southern Spice on Urbanspoon



Seddon Fish ‘N’ Chips Shop

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154 Victoria St, Seddon. Phone: 9687 0407

We are fans of the new school of ritzy burger joints, with the Grill’d chain being a favourite.

Of course, if you really want to lash out you can go to a flash restaurant and pay way more than $20 for a burger, but those sorts of extremes seem absurd. And what use is a burger around which you can’t get you hands?

We find the Grill’d burgers and chips real tasty and well worth the price.

Sometimes, though, it’s just right to go down the path of your more orthodox Aussie burger – the kind of thing served up by your local fish and chip/burger establishment.

It’s amazing how different the taste and flavour is from the more American-style offerings of Grill’d and its ilk. It’s almost like a whole different kind of food. Still good, sometimes great, but different.

One of our locals did the job for us.

It’s a bright and clean no-nonsense takeaway shop, with seating available on stools that front the window.

Our order of burgers (cheese and bacon cooked; onion and tomato uncooked), chips and the obligatory can of that Coca Cola stuff cost $17. Doesn’t seem that cheap does it? But the same deal at Grill’d would cost at least $10 more.

The chips were ungreasy and good, but not great. The burgers were a fine example of their kind – not particularly filling, but just perfect for a pre-Grand Final lunch.

Hello Gelo

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15 Anderson St, Yarraville. Phone: 9078 5696

Does ice cream lose the taste factor after a single scoop?

Do tastebuds become so frozen that subsequent scoops become gratuitous?

Is scarfing multiple scoops an exercise in gluttony?

Why aren’t great minds working feverishly on the answers to these important questions?

Actually, while we love our ice cream and gelati, we almost always restrict ourselves to what are generally referred to as baby cones.

Taste issues aside, with gelati we reckon there can be too much of a good thing. I see cones and cups stacked with three or four scoops, and I’m puzzled how people can inhale so much of the sublime stuff.

Our single scoop habit fits specially well with Hello Gelo, as their kids cones tend to be a bit more generous than elsewhere – although it is a variable situation. And their kids cones cost a mere $2.50.

In several years of living in Seddon and Yarraville, we revelled in the wonderland of cheap, funky eating out options on our doorstep.

But it also bugged the hell out of us that a gelati fix required a drive to Williamstown, Sydney Rd or Lygon St. OK, sometimes the drive was fun, but still …

And then came Hello Gelo, now entering its second summer and the owner of which obviously contemplated the same unsatisfactory situation and decided to do something about it.

Hello Gelo does several of the things expected of a gelati joints – hot dogs, sundaes, those little Dutch pancake thingies, coffee, sweeties of various kinds – but when we’re there, we’re strictly on a gelati mission.

We like checking out the new flavours, of which there always seem to be two or three, even on our very regular visits.

Bennie holds dad’s apple pie and his own honeycomb crunch, while our very cool jazz chick neighbour Dulcie works on her blood orange.

The chilli chocolate is a fixture, as are fruity ices such as lemon, lime and blood orange.

We’ve had a few disappointments. The almond, for instance, tasted like plain old vanilla to me.

By contrast, another flavour that could have been too subtle to nail – apple pie – did indeed taste just like apple pie.

Another big plus: Hello Gelo operates a frequent flyer card scheme – buy seven and get one free.

And, yes, the card deal also applies to kids cones.

Excellent!

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Laksa King

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laksa4

 

6-12 Pin Oak Crescent, Flemington. Phone: 9372 6383

The old Laksa King was one of the places that spoke so eloquently of Melbourne food culture.

Not in terms of quality or high-falutin’ style or world renown.

Nope, its place was along the lines of Melbourne food personality – think Pellegrini’s, Stalactites, the bratwurst stall at Vic Market, the Waiters Restaurant and so on.

Unfortunately, Laksa King was also a dumpy old thing, drab and more than a little down at heel.

Moreover, we never ate there because – whatever it might have lacked in sparkle and swish – it was very popular, so whenever we were in the vicinity there always seemed to be a queue of six or more.

The contrast to the new Laksa King – around the corner, and adjacent the train station – could not be greater.

The new place is gorgeous!

It’s big and bright, packed with lovely wooden chairs and tables, and the many black T-shirted and on-the-ball staff scurry around on a polished cement floor while a you-beaut sign adorns the roof..

Given the substantial upgrade, it’s a pleasure to note that Laksa King has nevertheless kept its prices well within the cheap eats realm. Most single person dishes – ranging from Hainanese chicken rice to mee goreng – fall a tick or two either side of $10.

We’ve been twice in the past couple of weeks.

First up was a rather frantic Friday night, with waiting times for our main courses stretching out to about 15 minutes.

We got by in the meantime with a beaut lobak ($6.20), the crunchy bean curd skin encasing minced pork that also had a delightful crunch about it thanks to being studded with carrot and water chestnut. The achar (pickled vegetables, $5.20) was OK, but a little on the bland side.

We regretted our conservative choice of mains.

Bennie let his love of dumplings rule, and while his prawn dumpling noodles were fine – OK stock, OK dumplings, OK noodles – they seemed to lack a little zing.

My roasted chicken rice was lacklustre. The chook was dry, the rice passable, the soup OK and – worst of all – the chilli sauce tame and dull, while its expected partner of an oily ginger/green onion mix did not turn up at all.

Our return visit was made more agreeable by sticking to tried, true and a little more spicy, and by eschewing side dishes and soft drinks – keeping the price tag down to a very excellent $19.70.

The beef curry laksa ($9.20) was a brightly coloured bowl of more tender beef slices than we could eat and mild spiciness. Its highlight was a large and silky eggplant slice of magnificent flavour. I swear I’ll rue the day Bennie decides to dig eggplant!

The curry chicken noodles ($10.20) were also mildly spiced, with plentiful chicken and bok choy sitting on thin egg noodles that at first seemed as though they were going to require the attentions of a knife and fork, so enamoured were they of each other’s company. But there was plenty of gravy, which mixed with the noodles in a fine fashion to become a sort of Malaysian pasta dish.

Still, after two visits we remain underwhelmed.

Given the homely surrounds we mostly inhabit in pursuit of great cheap eats, it’s quite a thrill to send time in  a place that proudly boasts a bit of flash, a bit of a wow factor.

But the food, as we have thus far experienced it, leaves an impression of hedging its bets for the broadest possible reach in terms of customers. Of the four mains and two starters we had in two visits, only the lobak sparkled.

Nothing wrong with that – and the crowds vindicate such a policy. I’ll concede, too, we made rather conservative choices – but there’s not much further you can go on the menu.

But I can’t help but feel we’ll continue to find more fire and passion in the more humble likes of Vy Vy, around the corner on Racecourse Rd.

You can read more reviews of the new Laksa King at Jeroxie and Saint-ism.

Laksa King has been reviewed by The Age.

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Bay City Noodles & Cafe

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139 Ryrie St, Geelong. Phone: 5223 2135

The cheap eats situation in central Geelong is a mixture of dull and dire leavened with a couple of hot spots.

The suburbs of the city may be festooned with amazing eateries for all I know, but my work of necessity keeps me restricted to the 10-minute walk from the train station to my place of income generation and the brief lunch breaks I get.

So far I’ve found: All the usual franchises, as much food court crap as you could never want and several places of mixed Asian heritage and utterly indifferent food.

The high points are a half dozen or so Japanese joints of the ramen/udon/sushi rolls sort – they all seem much the same, and I’ve enjoyed the noodles I’ve purchased from some of them.

Best of all, though, is Bay City Noodles.

It’s a Vietnamese establishment that, presumably through necessity, feels obliged to cover several bases – so, for instance, you can get (if you so desire) Chinese dishes and things such as Singapore fried noodles.

The pho, rice paper rolls, spring rolls all work OK; the rice dishes less so.

But the real star here is another non-Viet dish – the curry laksa. There’s a seafood version available, but I’ve now had my preferred option – chicken ($10.50) – many times and have yet to be disappointed.

The broth is a tawny brown, rather than golden. In it are many of the usual suspects: Rice and egg noodles, tofu, bean spouts, chicken and so on. It’s fragrant and flavoursome; of mild spiciness; and topped with a gravy concoction of finely chopped onion.

I could quibble about the absence of fish cake, let alone any semblance of greenery – such as a sprig or two of mint, or some bok choy – but given the alternatives, that would be churlish.

This is a cheerful, homely (in a good way) and friendly eatery.

And judging by the heads-down demeanour of the many regulars – instinctively I know these folk are on the same wavelength as me – it could be that this is THE star of Geelong ethnic eats of the budget variety.

I’d love to be proven wrong!

Zam Zam Cafe Restaurant

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364 Lonsdale St, Melbourne. Phone: 9606 0109

Having been a city worker for a decade plus, I inevitably became familiar with  just about every nook, cranny, alleyway and greasy spoon in the CBD.

Those days are becoming a fading memory, so much so that a visit to the CBD has become a rarity, with the consequence that I am always surprised by the changes that have occurred since my previous train trip.

But this week, having an early morning business meeting in South Melbourne, I found myself standing on the corner Lonsdale and Elizabeth streets pondering lunch. One of the best things to ponder!

Stylish bento at while sitting at Kuni’s sushi bar? Nope, too far away and I was already a little foot sore. Coconut House up the road towards Victoria Market? Nope, not in the mood.

In the end, I settled on the closest option, an old friend from my city days, just up the hill towards Spencer St.

And it gave me a prime opportunity to test my theory that bain marie food – which goes with the territory of my price range – is best had just as it placed out. (Discussion of pros and cons of bain marie food can be found in the review and comments of Footscray’s Indi Hots at Footscray Food Blog) In this case, it was an early lunch at 11.30am.

Zam Zam is one of many dozens of cheap and cheerful Indian eateries that have proliferated in the CBD in the past decade or so, catering to lunch hour workers and students at any hour. I love them. When I first moved to Melbourne in the mid-’80s, Indian food almost always meant a la carte dining in a more formal setting, with the inevitable whack on the wallet. Places like Zam Zam trade on high turnover and low prices. If your timing is right, you can almost always find something good at just about all of them.

The downside is, of course, sometimes they can turn on some appalling slop! Buyer beware and all that …

My Zam Zam lunch was very good – and, yes, I reckon I did benefit from getting in so early.

The beef curry had a nice, dark and rich gravy, and its onion strands a really nice touch of crunch. The dal was beautifully yellow and studded with chopped coriander. A jumble of beans, carrot and – Oh, yes! – cauliflower provided more crunch, even if the only thing Indian about it was a smattering of turmeric. Colourful and OK rice, a plate of wonderously crunchy and grease-free papadams and a soft drink rounded out the package, which clocked in at $11.90 on the cash register.

Pretty good value and all very tasty, if mildly spiced.

Most meals are served on stainless steel thali plates. We’ve got a bunch of them at home, and we just love them for the Indian food that is one of our domestic mainstays. But they do have one drawback – they don’t hold the food’s heat at all, meaning bain marie tucker – often not particularly hot in the first place – is inevitably cold by the end of one’s repast.

But that, too, goes with the territory.

Read another view of Zam Zam and some amusing comments at We Do Chew Our Food.

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Saturday in the ‘hood

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Outstanding channa and puris, $7; shame about the plastic cutlery and ozone-rotting container.

Asian dog? Oh man, I gotta try me one of those!

Little Saigon Market.

Cavallaro’s

Babylon Restaurant.

Coffee and baklava at Babylon, $4.

Footscray Best Kebab House

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93 Nicholson St, Footscray. Phone: 9689 0777

Such a humble exterior, such a humdrum name … but behind both lies what is indisputably one of the landmark hot spots of the Melbourne eating firmament.

In fact, such unabashed fans are we of this establishment that we firmly believe it should be permanently lodged on the same list of Melbourne Sacred Sites that pays homage to the likes of the MCG, Hound Dog’s Bop Shop, Pelligrini’s, Brunetti’s, the Vic Market and so on.

No kidding!

The term kebab, of course, means different things to different people.

For many Australian, kebab is meat (usually lamb, and usually carved from a vertical spit), salad goodies and a garlciky yogurt sauce served in bread – pita or pide.

Indeed, some of the FBKH customers do just that.

(Kebab also means meat on skewers – which make satay sticks technically, if not nominally, kebabs.)

The FBKH has skewers, too – namely sublimely juicy and marinated shish kebabs of the lamb and chicken variety, and the minced, spiced lamb of the adana kebab.

Finally, it’s my understanding that kebab simply means meat – and that’s where the FBKH is at.

As already noted, some customers go for the pide sandwich with the fillings of their choice.

But the savvy, loyal and greatly numbered regulars – and we certainly count ourselves in that happy band – know better, and go for the preposterously fantastic plated meals.

Those regulars are a glorious and fair representation of rainbow Footscray.

There’s Mediterranean types, of course, but the FBKH is also a major hit with the local African community, while it’s fully part of the everyday routine here to see members of the various Asian demographics likewise chowing down.

The regulars place their orders at the front then grab one of the several and prized tables.

Prices have inched up over the years, and these days run from $10 for the small vegetarian to $22 for one-size-only mixed grill.

However, the large plates – except maybe for the ravenously hungered or plain old gluttonous – are fine for sharing, as many folks do. And that puts the FBKH firmly in the cheap eats bracket.

The meats are all superb.

The dips are good, too, but we have two outright favourites.

The beetroot is normally a lurid pink and comes with just the right blend of sweetness and earthiness.

The chilli dip, I find, is a little too spicy to slather on bread like the others – rather, used sparingly it is a crunchy, tangy taste sensation when used as a meat enhancer.

In terms of non-meat fare, the stuffed vine leaves are exceptional, with a firmly packed and tomatoey filling that is best inhaled cold. Combined with the falafels, dips and salads, we often go that route for the vegetarian plate.

The large meal of the day ($14, and featuring the quick and easy option of meat from the spit) was our review meal (4/9/10), with the beetroot dip on this day being an unusually restrained pink.

The lamb and chicken carved off the spit is of the layered variety – not the reconstituted, sausage-like meat also sometimes found in such places.

They’re both good, but the lamb is our favourite – crunchy, salty, crusty. Oh my!

Each plate comes with a cheerful, lemony salad jumble of red cabbage, carrot, lettuce, green onion, while we routinely also request the addition of a portion of the potato salad – oily, but divine!

Along with two dips of your choice is served a basket of  warm, fresh Turkish bread, while the large plates usually are also usually accompanied by a grilled green chilli, grilled large slice of tomato and marvellous rice with slivers of almond threaded through it..

Crockery and cutlery is real.

Service is friendly, but can be on the brisk side – this is only natural, as things can get a little insane in here during the lunch rush.

The FBKH is not open on Sundays, and not for dinner on the remaining days – which is probably just as well, given that the mall in which it is situated can be a mite scary after dark.

The Footscray Best Kebab House – it’s a treasure, and one of those rare places where genius is matched at every step by consistency.

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Yemeni Restaurant

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124 Union Rd, Ascot Vale. Phone: 9372 0854

It seems unlikely there is another Melbourne noshery in which the food is derived from a country as unknown as this one.

If you hear about Yemen on the telly it’ll be on one of those highbrow current affairs programs; and when you read about Yemen in the newspapers (broadsheets only, of course), the news will never be good.

None of which even hints at the country’s history and culture, of course.

No matter – such geopolitical concerns lie outside the realms of our focus here – how simply wonderful and wonderfully Melbourne that we have a slice of Yemeni food culture right here.

It’s a Yemeni restaurant called … Yemeni Restaurant.

It’s been open for 14 months, we discovered it soon after and we’ve been semi-regular visitors since.

As befits a country that sits at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, and adjacent the northern African nations of Eritrea, Somalia and Ethiopia, the food here will be oddly familiar to anyone who has trawled through any of the African joints gaily spreading through Melbourne’s west or who has partaken of the various longer-established Middle Eastern tucker options.

As well, as the cyber age follows the jet age, even regional food such as this boasts a touch of the cosmopolitan.

Thus the menu features fish and chips and pasta, while for breakfast there’s eggs various ways and the familiar foul.

Mind you, the opening hours are officially never earlier than 11am, so breakfast will be late if that’s the way you want to go.

Our usual order has been what I suspect is the standard Yemeni meal – mundi (meat and rice).

The lamb is on the bone, and has always been flavoursome and tender, although minus sauce or gravy. I love what places such as this do with the, ahem, more affordable meat cuts!

However, on my most recent visit (28/8/10), I was talked into trying the kebsa (chicken and rice, $12).

It was yummy!

A smallish but adequate leg and thigh were coated by and resting in a dark brown sauce/gravy. The multicoloured rice was studded with strands of fried onions and sultanas, while a jumble of salad bits completed the plate. Sitting to the side in little white bowls were creamy yogurt and a piquant salsa-like mash of green chilies.

The food is quite mild and not overly rich, but the chili concoction and yogurt do a fine job of providing zing.

We’ve also had a dish called mugelge – a sort of rich stew served with a flat bread called mullawah.

Others – such as the cous cous, falafel and Yemeni soup – await future visits.

The cutlery is metal and the crockery is real.

The owners tell me business is going well, and that they’re crowded and busy on some nights. For us – dropping in for a weekend lunch or an early mid-week dinner – we’ve mostly had the joint to ourselves.

The service is very friendly and the decor bog standard ethnic noshery – which is pretty much the place in the world where I feel most comfortable, outside my own living room, these days.

There’s a carpeted and cushioned area out back for a more stylish and traditional mode of dining.

Before stumbling upon this place, Union Rd was a thoroughfare we occasionally traversed in the course of going somewhere else.

These days it’s become much more of a destination itself.

There’s a somewhat similar and very good African place and an organic bakery that specialises in sweeties just up the road, along with a greengrocer, deli and butcher. A natty old-school Chinese place awaits exploration. More to come …

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Fresh On Young

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34 Young St, Moonee Ponds. Phone 9375 3114


Young St is parallel to Puckle St, while Fresh On Young faces out on to the carpark adjacent Safeway.

This ain’t no supermarket – it may stock the likes of loo paper and laundry powder and so on, but not so that I’ve noticed.

On the other hand, nor is it a humble suburban fruit and vegie outfit. Nope, it’s more like a super-charged greengrocery.

In fact, the depth, breadth, colour and vitality of this outfit delivers much of the vibe of a visit to, say, Footscray market with very little of the jostling and hassles.

It’s a long building with a narrow street frontage, but it’s surprising how much they cram in there without ever engendering a cluttered or claustrophobic feel.

They have all the fresh fruit and vegies well covered, from staples to the more exotic, with specials to the front or outside.

The meats are all shrink-wrapped, but they cover a lot of bases there, too. We regularly pick up a six-pack of Italian pork sausages, which are as good as any we use for pasta sauces and seem more competitively priced than more specialist places. They even had goat when I dropped in a few weeks back.

The deli section down the end appears at first glance to be rather modest, but a look closer reveals they have all aspects of that covered, too.

There’s all the pasta, oils and vinegars and so you could want. I usually pick up some of the Motta or Lavazza coffee that’s on special, while down the front there’s also a pretty good selection of breads on hand – ranging from pide to sourdough.

There’s two checkout counters, one on either side at the front, and between them they can handle four shoppers at a time. I’ve always found the service quick and hassle-free.

Sadly, Fresh On Young is too far away from our Yarraville pad to be our regular one-stop grocery store. I wish!

Ripples Fish And Chips

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14 Margaret St, Moonee Ponds. Phone 9370 0800

I’ve grown quite fussy about my fish and chips. I can imagine a scenario or two wherein I might eat them takeaway-style. Maybe tossed from the fryer into one of those cardboard trays, thrown is a paper bag and then scarfed at an adjacent beach no more than a few minutes walk away.

But as for eating ’em after they’ve been wrapped in paper and toted home – well, no, we don’t do that no more. The result might have appeal for some, but for me by the time you get around to it, them fish an chips is steamed, rather than fried. Just like home-delivered Cantonese food – in fact, home-delivered food of most kinds, including pizza.

I’m also quite a fan of the new-school fish and chip joints (and burger enterprises) that are now scattered across Melbourne.

Let’s face it – this isn’t the kind of food that any of us wants to live on, or even eat regularly.

So when I indulge, I want it good and I don’t mind going the extra yards – and paying the odd extra dollar.

In all regards, Ripples – in a strip of eateries right across from the Moonee Ponds train station – hits the spot.

Inside, it’s all spotlessly clean and gleaming formica and chrome.

They do such things as grilled this and cajun that, but I’m not interested.

The coleslaw is your typical Aussie routine – that is, swimming in mayo – but less so than in your average chicken shop. It’s pretty good, actually, and the cabbage/carrot/onion combo is crunchy and pleasingly on the fresh side.

The chips are always hot and likewise crunchy.

A recent visit (21/8/10) for fish, chips, coleslaw, tartare sauce, can of coke clocked in at $14.10.

On his single visit, Bennie had his usual burger-with-the-lot-minus-egg, pronouncing it just fine.

And here’s the clincher – Ripples staff not only bring your meals to your table, they bring REAL cuttlery and REAL crockery with them.

In the new world of fish and chips, one in which the oil is presumably changed a lot more often than on a yearly basis, that’ll get my vote and my money every time.

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