Tag Archives: Werribee

Werribee gets a pho joint

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Pho 128, 72 Watton St, Werribee. Phone: 8742 3128

Our plans for a long overdue first visit to a Seddon Indian place are nixed upon learning there’s parent night at Bennie’s new school.

So timing is of the essence – there are places in Werrribee we have yet to try, but their turnaround times are an unknown quantity, so we head for the town’s relatively new pho joint, Pho 128.

We wonder if it will deliver pho-house quality without the critical mass of Footscray, Sunshine or St Albans.

Pho 128 certainly looks the part, with Bennie even opining, “This looks like it’ll be good”.

But a closer inspection reveals the sort of approaches no doubt necessary in a location such as this.

There are no Vietnamese names for the dishes, for instance.

And there’s even “pho seafood”, with crabsticks.

Having earlier resolved to test Pho 128’s benchmarks – a bowl of simple, straightahead pho and one of the rice or vermicelli options – we let our curiosity run free and cave.

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Bennie’s beef stew has the correct flavour, even if it is rather tame, and the beautifully tender chunks of beef (off the bone) and carrot.

But the liquid is viscous, and perhaps even thickened, in a way you’ll never find in the likes of this Footscray institution‘s bo kho.

As well, the rice noodles are thick and white, rather than thin and transparent.

Still, Bennie likes it.

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My Vietnamese chicken curry is likewise not quite as expected.

It’s a much darker colour than the classic chook curry found at this St Albans’ fave; the gravy is thicker, too, giving the dish an almost Japanese vibe.

As ever with Vietnamese chicken curry the proof is perversely in the potato chunks – and these half-dozen or so are very fine indeed, curry-coloured to their very core.

The meat is boneless, a tad on the tough side but quite tasty.

Not meeting expectations fostered by familiarity with the west’s hardcore Viet hubs is no sin and we’ve enjoyed our quick, pre-school function meals.

But we can’t help but feel we may have well and truly goofed by not sticking with the original pho-and-rice scenario.

 

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Something very fishy in Werribee

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These barramundi – by the far the biggest CTS has ever laid eyes on – are two to three years old.

MainStream Aquaculture, 73-79 Lock Avenue, Werribee

As an investment banker, Boris Musa was on the board on MainStream Aquaculture in Werribee.

He liked the company and what it does so much, he signed up and is now managing director and chief executive.

And wears jeans and a polo shirt to work.

“I have a couple of expensive suits in the wardrobe that I never wear,” he says with an easy smile.

In the process, he’s moved from Hawthorn to Seaholme – so his transformation into a Westie is complete!

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The old-timers seen in the top photo are named after the company’s shareholders.

I am fascinated as he talks me through the company’s operations and then gives me “the tour”.

The private company was formed in 2003 and has 40 or so investors and a staff of about 20, two of whom are involved in the marketing side of things.

It sells “seed stock genetic material” – barramundi that are about 20 to 30 days’ old – for export.

And it sells mature barramundi, as “quality food fish”, for the domestic market.

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The company has three export sectors – the Middle East, South-East Asia and the US.

The company relies on pure water from an aquifer 300 metres below the company’s Werribee property. And, yes, they pay for that resource.

One of the company’s local customers is a venerable Footscray institution.

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About 60 to 70 per cent of the company’s trade is in live fish, be they large or small.

But it also sells chilled whole fish and value-added products such as smoked fish.

The fingerling exports are handled two different ways.

Fish bins with oxygen regulators are designed for wide-body aircraft and can carry quarter of a million fish.

Oxygenated plastic bags in foam containers on pallets are capable of storing far fewer fish but present a more flexible option, as there are far more flights available in terms of non-wide-body planes.

Boris is participating in the 2014 Ride to Cure Diabetes – see his story and/or make a donation here.

The MainStream website is here.

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Thali, burger and chips

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Sri Murugan, 27 Watton St, Werribee. Phone: 9741 9656

Sri Murugan is a first restaurant adventure for Rathi and Vellayan.

They’ve been up and running for about five weeks, bringing their native Sri Lankan food to the party and combining it with your regular fish and chips and burgers, the ins and outs of which the previous, Greek management imparted to them before splitting and leaving the lovely, friendly couple to their own devices.

Based on our swell Sunday lunch, we reckon they’re doing a pretty good job of handling both aspects.

The place unmistakably bears all the hallmarks of its origins as a genuine, old-school Aussie chippery and burger bar, yet the menu is also festooned with Sri Lankan dishes.

We have a four-way bash at quite a wide bunch of it.

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I’m happy to let Bennie have his way and the lad does real good with his burger pack of one with the lot, chips and a can of drink for $8.

Unlike our previous outing with this style of burger, this one is a glorious hands-on delight, with real beefy meat patty, gooey egg and all the bits and pieces you’d rightfully expect.

The chips are hot and OK in an average sort of way, but the burger is an outright winner.

As Courtney opines: “Sometimes it’s just got to be a fish and chip shop burger!”

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Two vadai (90 cents each) served with coconut chutney are a delight – softer and more moist than is often the case, they’re liberally studded with green chilli. The masala vadai ($1) doesn’t impress quite as much.

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Likewise, a three-piece serve of idli ($6) goes down well with the same chutney and a portion of thickish sambar/dal.

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Rice and curry turns out to be a lovely looking thali.

The star without doubt is the lamb curry, which is coconutty, rich and delicious.

The chick peas are good, too, and have a similarly hefty chilli whack.

The vegetable serves – one of cabbage, the other a mixed concoction of zucchini, beans and carrot – are way overcooked but suffice.

Still, at $8 – and especially if the vegetables were replaced with a dal of some sort – this is a bargain.

In admirably curious spirit, Courtney and James get busy thumbing their mobiles to find out about kothu rotti, and order a couple based on this Wikipedia entry.

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The first, lamb kothu rotti, is the darker and heavier of the pair.

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The second, egg kothu rotti, is both kinds of lighter.

But both are damn tasty, stuffed with all sorts of vegetables and chopped rotti, and with a whiff of wok hei about them.

They are a very satisfying feed, coming across as something like a superior Sri Lankan version of fried rice.

We’re all impressed with the food, service, our ability to enjoy such a wide-ranging meal and the sublime hipness of finding such a cool mixture in the west.

We’d actually started the day meeting up at a foodie pub up the road apiece, but have no regrets about adjourning – based on a CTS reader tip (thanks, Martin!) and mutual gut instinct – to this multi-approach joint.

We wish them well.

Werribee, we’re happy to reflect, is becoming a happy hunting ground for us.

 

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Weather-proof smiles in Werribee

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MiHUB Cafe, 12 Synnot St, Werribee. Phone: 9731 7877

The Consider The Sauce men are on a mission.

We’ve been told by our “eyes and ears” in the area about a cool little Sri Lankan joint in suburban Werribee.

But we get waylaid by other plans as we’re tooling through the Werribee CBD.

As we’re passing it, I say to Bennie: “That’s MiHUB Cafe over there …”

His immediate response is: “That’s where I’d like to go!”

But, but, but … his dad has the scent of the unknown and possibly delicious in his nostrils and is in a hunting mood.

But then again, OK, let’s do it your way, Mr Five Bowls.

Whatever the imperatives of new places and blog posts, I know fully well enough by now to relax and chill when appropriate, to let Bennie have his way – sometimes he evinces wisdom far superior to that of his father in such matters.

And the Sri Lankan place will still be standing by the time we get there.

Since first writing about this marvellous Sundays-only migrant-based operation, I have returned to MiHUB Cafe just for the sheer pleasure of it, but this is Bennie’s first visit.

He ends up enjoying it just as much as I do.

Bennie takes my adamant advice and goes for the gado gado ($5).

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He loves it a lot.

And it’s as I recall – a lively mix of vegetables, tofu and hard-boiled egg topped with superbly rich, dark and spicy peanut sauce unlike any found on your typical restaurant gado gado around Melbourne.

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My own plate of mixed curries with rice ($10) is less all-round successful, with the two vegetable dishes being somewhat forgettable.

The beef rendang is a winner, though.

And the highlight is a beautiful chicken curry, light on the spiciness but ultra-fragrant with lemongrass.

One problem with eating outside on such a chilly day – everyone present is pretty much rugged-up – is the food tends to go cold quickly.

But really, food is just part of the story here – the smiles and the friendliness are weather-proof.

While we’re lunching, any number of people wave hello with big smiles or come up and chat to us about, say, a Malaysian village planned for Broadmeadows or a planned venue move for the MiHUB Cafe operation itself.

We’ll keep you posted about both.

 

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MiHUB Cafe

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MiHUB Cafe, 12 Synnot St, Werribee. Phone: 9731 7877

(See a later story on MiHUB Cafe here).

MiHUB Cafe has lived at other places and on other, more numerous days of the week.

But it’s been at its current address in Werribee for about a year and is, for the time being, open only on Sundays – from about 10am ’til 3pm.

My visit is absolutely guaranteed to be the first of many.

There are kids running everywhere.

Everyone is smiling. Everyone is friendly.

The food is great.

The people are even better.

All up, this glorious community initiative – in the courtyard of a brick house that is Migrant Hub HQ – feels pretty much like the very essence of what Consider The Sauce is all about.

Today there are stalls selling incredibly cheap Indonesian, Singaporean and Chinese (congee) food.

At other times there have been and will be the likes of Indian, Pakistani and even Tongan tucker.

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Chicken curry with roti ($6) makes a fine start.

The curry looks on the mean side quantity-wise, but is surprisingly filling. It’s quite oily mind you, but the gravy is rich, sticky and delicious, while the meat on the two small drumsticks comes from the bones easily to complete a curry that is quite unlike any I’ve had in a south-east Asian eatery.

Heading here from Yarraville, I’d been quietly hoping for home-cooked food – as opposed to restaurant food.

It seems I’m in luck in that regard.

Potato curry puffs ($1.50 each) are crisp and delightful.

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Two of the lovely people I meet are cafe manager/cook Nora and Migrant Hub president Walter.

She’s originally from Malaysia, he from the Philippines.

Walter explains to me the cafe is just part of what the hub does in working to help migrants of all sorts make their way in Australia.

Part of that is not just about familiarising them with Australian ways but also the ways of other migrant communities – and the cafe seems like an ideal way to facilitate that particular objective.

Walter also talks with me about the health issues facing migrant communities.

These include bringing with them from their countries of origin cooking styles often based largely around a scarcity of meat and landing in an affluent country where it’s easy for just about anyone to eat more (too much) meat and other prized (unhealthy) ingredients.

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The curry and puffs have done for me food-wise, but no way can I say “no” when Walter organises a plate of gado gado ($5) for me.

It’s the spiciest gado gado I’ve ever eaten.

It’s also – by quite a considerable margin – the BEST I’ve ever eaten.

Chewy omelette, tofu, potato, bean sprouts, cucumber, carrot and half a hard-boiled egg are smothered by a superb, dark and sticky peanut sauce.

Wow, it’s good!

I’ll diet tomorrow – honest!

 

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Nathu’s Sweets & Cafe

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Nathu’s Sweets & Cafe, 126 Watton St, Werribee. Phone: 9741 6622

Samosa sandwich?

That’s a new one on us!

We’re told it’s a Gujarati specialty.

There’s two kinds of chutney – mint and a tamarind number – each spread on one of two slices of plain white slice bread. (I suspect anything heavier or more politically correct simply wouldn’t work.)

And there’s another kind of seasoning we’re told has something to do with chick peas.

Whatever – our $3.95 sanger is a delightful winner.

So unexpected, so delicious!

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Nathu’s has been open only a few months and is a welcome new addition to a stretch of Watton Street already liberally dotted with Indian and other Asian eateries of various kinds.

But based on our lovely sandwich and our other, more predictable luncheon choices we’ll be back real soon.

It’s done out in typical cheap ‘n’ cheerful Indian cafe fashion, although at first glance it appears to be a sweets specialist, with mouth-watering trays of the ultra-rich Indian variety on display.

But with lunch appetites humming, we zero in on the savoury/snack side of the menu.

This numbers more than 20 items, including dosas, bhel puri, idlis, parantha and rice ‘n’ dal.

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I order chole bhature … because I almost always do.

Besides, it’s a real keen way to guage a place’s general, all-round prowess.

This example ($9) is brilliant in every regard.

Fresh, light, ungreasy breads that emit steam when torn asunder.

Really good and plentiful chick pea curry of mild spiciness.

Nice spiced yogurt

Even the red onion slices mixed with fresh green chilli and a light touch of commercial pickle are quite a cut above the unadorned, blunt onion slices that often accompany this dish.

Hot stuff!

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And we order gol gappe ($5.95 ) out of curiosity and because this is the only the second time we’ve seen them served in Melbourne.

These, too, are super.

The “gols” are super crisp, leaving us to pour in the tamarind broth served on the side to join the potato, chick peas and chutneys awaiting within.

They’re gone in a flash!

We grab four pieces of malai (dark) gulab jamun in syrup for home and depart happy as can be.

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Shadowfax Winery

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Shadowfax Winery, K Rd, Werribee. Phone: 9731 4420

Much earlier in our western lives, visits to Werribee Mansion became a regular thing.

Often such visits involved a meal chosen from the bar menu of the mansion hotel followed by a lengthy ramble around the lovely grounds and gardens.

That practice has fallen by the wayside as different places and attractions, as well as different circumstances, have seen us find new ways of living in the west.

Thus we have yet to review the mansion bar food, let alone the much more pricey main restaurant, though CTS has had a look at nearby Wyndham Cache Cafe and TeaPot Cottage Cafe.

Today, though, on a lovely, overcast yet far from gloomy day, it’s time for a visit to Shadowfaxy Winery.

Down a beaut tree-lined gravel road we find the rather imposing and angular metallic winery building, with the cellar door and restaurant at one end.

Despite there being space aplenty for us in the attractive, roomy dining, room, this time out we opt for the outdoor alternative.

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Close by a number of largish communal tables, there’s a herb garden, vines, a chook house and picnic rugs scattered over the lawn.

The menu – you can check it out in its entirety here – has a nice list of starters for $10-$20, pizzas for $20 and larger plates in the $20-$30 vicinity.

The mussels, pizzas and prawns we see around us look very toothsome, but we are happy with out sharing choices.

The beetroot, rocket and fetta salad (top picture, $9) is fabulous, with the glistening beetroot cubes – some of them the palest pink – nestling among good-quality leaves and creamy cheese, all adorned with just the right level of dressing.

Given the amounts of beetroot and fetta we consume at home, you can bet I’ll be attempting this dish at home soonish.

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Our tasting plate of “cured meats, seasonal vegetables, ricotta, polenta chips, house made grissini and focaccia” is a mixture of just OK and outstanding.

The salami and prosciutto suffice but are not particularly memorable, while the small splinters of grissini seem like little more than a garnish.

The standout component is the lemony ricotta, which is simply gorgeous smeared on the very fine bread.

Chargrilled courgette is a smoky wonder that puts the chewier and slightly bitter eggplant in the shade. The pickled, roasted red capsicum goes good with all.

Given the pricing of the rest of the menu, the $22 fee for our tasting plate is fine, but it is a little light on in terms of feeding the two of us – even with the salad.

However, all is fixed when we are brought an extra serve of bread for which we are not charged.

As we are paying for our meal, the staff inform us that new management has been running the show for about four months, there’s a new chef, the food is “a lot better” and that Saturdays are usually much, much more hectic than we’ve experienced.

The service has been fine for us, but it seems that if you’re contemplating a weekend visit, booking may be just the ticket.

As with previous visits to the mansion, our post-meal activity involves a walk around the grounds – in this case the sculpture garden and homestead buildings “behind” the mansion rather than the groomed prettiness of the mansion gardens proper.

We’re not sure how this works.

Entry to the gardens costs an admission fee when they are accessed through the official entrance, yet patrons of both the mansion eateries and the winery seem to have unpaid access.

Perhaps this annoys the hell out of Parks Victoria.

And perhaps the mansion hotel management and winery think it’s a fine arrangement.

 

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Wyndham Cache Cafe

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Wyndham Cache Cafe, 1 K Ave, Werribee South. Phone: 9742 1526

The first official day of spring is supposedly later in the week, but it sure feels like today should be so anointed.

The sky is mostly blue, studded with big, white fluffy clouds.

The sun is shining and for the first time in a long while – too long – I am not rugged up in the heaviest jumper I can lay my hands on.

Perfect, in other words, for a relaxed spin to a location I think of as one of the west’s country sojourn’s when you don’t really want to go bush.

It’s possible to get a country vibe going from the western suburbs with relative ease and in short time – think the wonderful Point Cook Homestead, for instance, or TeaPot Cottage Cafe at Werribee South.

Wyndham Cache is a rather quirky and charming – in its own way – cafe/restaurant about a kilometre past the turnoff for Werribee Mansion.

An outgrowth of a long-established polutry business on the same site, it does breakfast and lunch seven days a week and dinner on Fridays.

The ambiance seems to show the influence of the joint’s association with a small business of another, eggy variety entirely, with two sets of electric doors leading through to a rather clinical canteen-style dining room, its severity leavened by lovely country vibe service and a plentitude of photos depicting historic people, places, buildings and scenes from the area.

The menu ranges from wraps, sandwiches such as BLT ($14.50) and four salads at about $16 up to mains starting at $17.50 for the wagyu burger and going on to the likes of  pan-fried salmon ($22.50) and steaks for $25.

It’s a clever menu.

Unfortunately, in the rolled-dice gamble that is table-for-one dining I come up empty-handed.

There’s reasons why I very rarely order a steak sanger – and this one ($16.50) now joins that list.

Regulation white sliced bread, routine cheese slice, OK caramelised onions, some rocket and a tiny portion of meat – it’s mightily underwhelming.

It’s about what I would expect from a corner takeaway establishment for significantly less.

But the chips are good and hot, and I gobble each and every one.

That I have been lumbered with such a mediocre lunch is galling, because I see other tables with what appear to be fine meals – fish and chips, antipasto platters and even the dreaded and much over-rated wraps all look good.

And it’s hard to believe the burger – at just $1 more – could be so shabby.

Oh well – still worth a return trip with son in tow.

Check out the full menus at the Wyndham Cache website.

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Golden Grill Turkish Restaurant

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Felafel plate at Golden Grill Turkish Restaurant in Werribee.

Felafel plate at Golden Grill Turkish Restaurant in Werribee.

Golden Grill Turkish Restaurant,  38 Station St, Werribee. Phone: 9741 7101

A dry argument, dry like wine?

Neither, but this is a story of dryness.

Golden Grill in Werribee had been on the radar for a while.

Somehow, I’d picked up the vibe that this was more than just a quickie kebab joint.

But every time, for quite a while there, I was in the vicinity, it was closed.

Today I’m in luck.

A bunch of uniformed chaps are bustling through the fag end of the lunch hour.

The marinated meats in the display at the front look succulent, as do the displayed sweets.

Out the back, Golden Gill becomes a real-deal Turkish eatery.

There’s lovely wooden furniture of a certain age – not antique, but not shiny new either.

There’s travel posters of Turkey – a couple of which I even recognise from them playing a similar role in our beloved Footscray Best Kebab House.

Also adorning the walls are newspaper clippings about the restaurant and photos of staff posing with happy customers.

It’s all good, it’s all familiar and it all augurs well.

So, as you can see, I am most favourably inclined towards Golden Grill.

So what goes wrong?

I order the felafel plate ($15.90).

Before then, however, I indulge in one of the place’s stuffed vine leaves ($2.50).

This is big and hard – making me think that for once it may have been better to have my dolma cigar heated through.

But all is fine once I’m into the eating of it – the tomato-infused rice has that distinctive, familiar tang. It’s delicious!

The felafel plate price is quite high, but I figure the gauge will be in the results.

The felafal balls themselves are large and also quite hard. The flavour is fine. But – oh dear – they are so dry that eating them becomes a jaw-taxing chore.

Perhaps my eggplant dip, which has no smokiness but a nice garlic/lemon thing going on, will help ease the way?

Nope.

Claggy is the word.

If it’s possible for a dip to be dry, then this is dry.

I turn for help to the salad bits and pieces – which include some tabouli.

All is crispy, crunchy and fresh – but unadorned to the point of austerity.

My meal cries out for some moistness – specifically a generous hand with the olive oil and lemon juice.

Maybe next time the gorgeous-looking marinated meats spied on the way in!

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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.

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Bikanos Sweet And Curry Cafe

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 Shop 3/70 Watton St, Werribee. Phone: 8742 6450

Well within my lifetime Werribee will be folded quietly into metropolitan Melbourne.

On a sunny Friday afternoon, though, it has the feel of a bustling country town.

Except for the traffic congestion – that’s of big-smoke class already.

And the eateries – there’s far more cheap eats destinations than you’ll find in a similar-sized burg up-country, up-state.

It’s apparent Werribee hosts  significant Indian population. There’s groceries and eat shops, and a few restaurants that seem to be of the flash variety.

Happily, I snag a park right opposite my destination – Bikanos.

This is my first visit, but I’ve already set my mind on ordering a vegetarian thali, should there be one.

There is.

It costs $15,

What? I’ve seen thali prices of that order and more before, but only in the swankiest of operations. The $15 is about $4-5 more than I’m currently paying in and around Footscray.

A quick Plan B is required. Having noticed a number of photo display non-menu dishes in the front window, I inquire about the pricing of the chole bhature.

It’s $7.50, I am informed.

That’s more like it.

For variety’s sake, I also order a serve of onion bhaji ($5).

These aren’t quite as good as those we inhale at Vanakkam India, but get real close.

It’s a big serve; the batter is mostly ungreasy; and the onions are cooked through but maintain a nice degree of crunch beneath the batter. A gooey tamarind syrup accompanies.

Whatever wariness I harbour about the price of the thali is banished by the brilliance of my chick peas and fried bread.

This is the best, most awesome example I’ve had in these parts of this tremendous snack/breakfast dish.

It makes me very, very happy.

The creamy yogurt is spiced with flavours that I can’t identify but that are nevertheless tantalisingly familiar.

Bikanos boss man Ashok Bal subsequently tells me it’s a mix of garam masala, black salt and roast cumin. Yum!

My two bhatoora – a slightly heavier version of puris – are so fresh they are filled with air and look like tanned bladders. They are light and delicious.

The chick peas, too, are perfect – nicely al dente and residing in a gravy that is slightly salty and with a mild chilli kick.

Ashok tells me the seasoning is a matter of cinnamon, cloves, black cardamom, cumin, bay leaf, garlic ginger.

So fine is the magic of these three components that I completely ignore the raw onions shards and pickle. Maybe next time.

As I’ve enjoyed my late lunch, a succession of Indian locals have come and gone – this a popular haunt.

The shop has a display of fine and fancy looking Indian sweets. Appealing, but I inevitably find them too rich for mine.

I do wish I’d grabbed, before departing for Geelong, a small bag of the spiced cashews arrayed with other savoury snacks.

Maybe next time.

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