Tag Archives: western suburbs

Meal of the week No.29: Hellenic Hotel

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hell32

 

After participating in the opening rituals of Hellenic Hotel, I am super keen to try on the joint’s upstairs bar $15 daily specials.

So much so, I bound up the mid-week stairs.

The bar area – excluding verandah – is quite compact, featuring three tables for two, a couple of tall tables with stools and a communal table, also with stools.

The bar menu (see below) features a range of snacky-type dishes through to those with a bit more heft, such as 1/4 HH chicken for $17.

There’s a daily special allocated for each day (also on the menu below) – and based on the excellence of my Wednesday beef stifado, I definitely want to try them all.

My beef stew is marvellous.

The serving is of a good size and the sticky stew features not only heaps of very good beef chunks but also halved baby onions and carrot.

They all sit atop a bed of barley that is puffed up yet still nicely chewy.

Topping all is a fistful of of fennel salad that provides nice contrast.

It’s a delicious lunch and very good value for $15.

 

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Wonderful impromptu Italian

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Pier 71 Bar e Cucina, 71 Pier Street, Altona. Phone: 9398 8598

Bennie and I have an engagement in Altona – the launch party for a new place.

In truth, we’re not sure how – or if – this will work for us.

It’s a week night with school and work the next day, and it remains to be seen whether CTS will get enough of a look-see at the food to generate a story.

We get through the security cordon, stride up the stairs and find that, nope, this isn’t for us – it’s all about people standing around drinking, Bennie’s in his school uniform and we just don’t feel comfortable.

This place will have to wait for another day.

So around the corner we go, still chasing a dinner feed, to throw our lot in with Pier 71 Bar e Cucina.

This turns out to be an ace move on our part, as this very cool Italian has until now escaped our notice, even though it’s been around for a couple of years.

It’s all about casual Italian – something along the lines of Ovest in West Footscray or Mascalzone in Williamstown: Big on pizzas, pasta and salads, not so gung-ho about steaks and pricey seafood.

 

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The place is roughly split into three areas – a communal table at front, what amounts to a long hallway of both booth and table seating adjacent the kitchen/serving areas, and a flexible alfresco area out back.

We eat very well and find the service and timing fine for a busy mid-week night.

 

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Pizza Napoletana ($17.90) is as good as we could hope for – simple, very fine and expertly done.

There’s stacks of anchovies – good for me, not so good for Bennie!

 

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The chips that accompany our “hamburger (Italian style)” ($18.90) are superb – hot, crisp, plentiful.

The fried discs of chorizo atop seem something of an affectation to us, though, and our first conclusion is that we’d be happier if that effort had been put into putting more heft into our burger, which seems rather smallish for the price.

Bennie makes rude comparisons with the burgers we get elsewhere, but after eating I conclude he’s being unfair – because, as is so often the case, this eats bigger than it looks.

 

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And it is indeed in the “Italian style” – the meat is much more finely minced than is the case with burgers generally, be they old-school Aussie or the American style.

It’s a delight with its capsicum, onion, mozzarella and sauce.

We go for it in terms of indulgence by sharing the tiramisu ($10.90, top photograph).

It’s a dreamy, rich fantasy – much stiffer in terms of consistency than we’re used to, the booze-tinged cream a thing of grinning decadence.

Check out the Pier 71 Bar e Cucina website, including menu, here.

 

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Phi Phi 2 … cool for lunch

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Phi Phi 2, 31a Alfrieda Street, St Albans. Phone 9077 2466

Following a superb dinner enjoyed by Bennie and myself at the flash, new Phi Phi 2 in St Albans, it’s a pleasure to return for lunch with the Urban Ma.

What a hoot!

It’s almost like experiencing a different restaurant – a matter, well, of day and night.

Mind you, the number of patrons is fewer – word that Phi Phi 2 is offering a welcome point of difference from the rest of the St Albans precinct may be taking a while to get around.

But the staff are many and on the ball.

The menu (see below) is succinct and like nothing I’ve ever before seen.

Asian-fusion?

Maybe – but if so, quite different from that being excellently purveyed by West of Kin in Braybrook.

Some dishes are outright Asian in concept and execution; others have European/Western breeding imbued through with Asian flavours.

We start with a couple of serves of bao ($8 per serve).

 

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They’re both very good, with pungent (wasabi?) dressing.

Though the pork belly duo (above) are a bit tricky to eat on account of the piggy bits being difficult to bite through; cut them up in the kitchen, I reckon.

 

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The duck duo – labelled “Quack Attack” on the menu – is bettter, the duck being moist and perfect.

 

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Jacqui’s “Mother Ducker” ($14) – sliced roast duck risotto with bacon, mushroom and pumpkin cooked in duck broth – is fabulous.

And a prime example of the aforesaid combination of Western themes imbued with Asian flavours.

 

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My fish burger ($12, not on the menu but joining the “Dark Night” beef burger) is fine – though I should’ve asked for the cheese to be omitted.

The fish – hoki, I am informed – is lovely and joined by onion rings and dressing in a black bun.

It is, as you’d expect eyeballing the above photo, a very messy thing to eat.

But is very good.

 

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My understanding is that Phi Phi 2 is serving lunch Mondays through Fridays but that may change because of the day fare’s popularity.

 

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The Urban Ma is enjoying her lunch; her daughter seems a whole lot less impressed with proceedings – particularly with the photographer.

A BBQ dinner of two halves

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Chinese BBQ, 301 Racecourse Road, Flemington. Phone: 9376 6929

With I Love Dumplings having successfully transported itself down the road to the old bank building on Racecourse Road, its old premises have duly become Chinese BBQ – though they are both run by the same management, going by the receipt I receive for our meal.

Its is, clearly, dedicated to Asian-style BBQ – though this is more strictly in the Chinese tradition … as opposed to the Viet vibe of the superb meal Bennie and I recently enjoyed at Phi Phi 2 in St Albans.

I am looking forward to a good mid-week feed in which I can ponder the differences!

For company I have CTS trooper Marns, a woman of robust appetite and great sparkle.

 

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The menu (see below) is roughly divided into two parts – skewers and BBQ.

We’re told the minimum for skewers is $20 so we order freely – shrimp, calamari, lamb, chicken, Chinese cabbage, enokis, broccoli, lotus root.

They cost per skewer ranges from 50 cents to $2.50.

From the regular BBQ we order ox tongue ($15), corn ($6) and potato ($6).

 

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The latter follow the arrival of the glowing coals for our BBQ set-up and very sesame dipping sauce, kimchi and marinated sprouts.

Then we’re off …

It’s heaps of fun.

 

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The ox tongue, frozen so it can be thinly sliced, cooks the fastest, and is a treat.

The vegetables take quite a bit longer and I am a little dismayed to that some of the spud slices initially turn black.

But it all comes good in the end, the potato browning up nicely and the corn being delicious.

In fact these humble husk discs turn out to be one of the highlights of our meal – so good to have barbecued corn that is also juicy.

Such is not always the case!

Then it’s on to our skewers … and it’s at this point that our meal and evening goes a bit nutty, maybe even a bit haywire.

 

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The skewers are brought to our table all dunked in a bucket of what we take to be some sort of marinade.

We quickly make happy by throwing some on the grill.

Only to be immediately told – no, no – that’s not how you do it.

The skewers, we’re told, have already been cooked out back – steamed, apparently – and are ready to go.

Oh.

That would explain, perhaps, the flare-up when Marns puts some of the meat skewers on the grill.

We’re a bit non-plussed but soldier on.

Some of what we have – the Chinese cabbage, the lotus root – is far from impressive.

Some – the easily-peeled shrimp, the broccoli – is good.

The broth/soup/marinade in which the skewers have been bathing has oil, chilli (mild by request) and no doubt many other ingredients, the nature of which I am unable to learn from the staff because of language issues on my part.

The lusty, musty and only (for me) partially attractive seasoning recalls in large part some of the flavours much earlier enjoyed – again without being much the wiser – at a Moonee Ponds hot pot joint.

 

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Look, the confusion can be largely attributed to us – it says plainly on the menu (if in rather small type) that the skewers are “hot & spicy pot” food.

On the other hand, it seems very natural that customers only a little familiar with this kind of food, such as we two, would grab a table at an eatery with “BBQ” in its title and “skewers” on its menu … and put the two together in our minds.

No harm done and we have an otherwise enjoyable meal.

But the dunked skewers haven’t provided the sort of charred, smoky tastes for which we came here.

Perhaps a bit more explaining of the place’s food and ordering routines by the staff to new customers is needed here.

Our meal, including two cans of soft drink, comes in at a very reasonable $60.

 

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Meal of the week No.28: Shinmai Tasty

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shinmai22

 

Returning to Shinmai Tasty (44 Edgewater Boulevard, Maribyrnong, phone 9317 3830) for the first time since hitting the place with a gaggle of pals, I am intent on nothing more than quiet, solo lunch away from the cold.

Most of all, I am intent on having – again – the place’s fabulous soy udon soup chicken.

Instead, I am seduced by the menu’s other wok noodle dish – garlic and ginger prawn yaki udon ($18.50).

Topped with bonito flakes, it tastes every bit as delicious as it looks pretty – though in truth, I detect little by way of the advertised ginger or garlic.

It matters not!

The tips-on prawn tails number five – they are fat, fabulous and of great flavour; they have that terrific prawn poppy thing going on in spades.

The udon noodles, joined by spring onion, capsicum pieces and onion slivers, are covered in a sticky and quite oily sauce.

It’s an excellent lunch in an excellent place.

Once again, I marvel at how a newish establishment – with its cosy decor and magnificent artwork – has created such an attractive and welcoming western suburbs hidey hole.

Great food, coffee? Industrial strength!

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Container Cafe, 4/2 Roussos Place, Truganina. Phone: 0466 148 762

Across the great swathes of the industrial/commercial west, there seem to be cafes at least every couple of kilometres.

These days, all but the most rigourously old-school seem to make some effort to provide a variety of food.

Some of it is even healthy – salads and the like.

Still, some habits die hard and there are traditions to uphold.

Recently, at the cafe nearest to the Star Weekly Keilor Park office, I saw a trucky being served a mountainous bowl of extremely creamy pasta carbonara.

His pasta was topped, at his request, with a large amount of roast pork – and crackling!

 

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And I reckon most of these hundreds of places would cop complaints if the stalwart potato cakes and deep-fried, nuggety-hard dimmies weren’t on hand.

Despite all this, I am nevertheless expecting something different from Container Cafe, even though it is set in the industrial wilds of Truganina.

This place is being run, after all, by the same crew responsible for the very cool Yarraville cafe Woven, which has been turning out fine tucker for a few years now.

But upon entering the place for the first time, what do I see?

 

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Yup, potato cakes and dimmies.

Turns out, in this sort of joint in this sort of place, some things just have to done.

The Container Cafe lads came to this conclusion during research that entailed checking out the competition for many miles round – and just like that competition, they, too, will be opening at 5am.

But as I look around the “container”, I discover plenty of good signs that this is not just another tradie-style eatery.

For one thing, space dictates that there is no bain marie here – so most everything is prepared fresh.

In a heated display cabinet on the counter, there are Ka Pies!

 

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And alongside the cafe-regulation HP Sauce is a range of hot sauces.

Finally, there is the Container Cafe menu (see below).

Wow!

Plenty of carb/grease standards should they be desired – but plenty else besides, including a hot line-up of burgers and sandwiches with high degrees of Woven DNA running through them.

 

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My southern fried chicken burger ($11.50) is a killer – maybe even the best chook burger I’ve eaten.

The thigh meat is crisp on the outer, and oh-so-very juicy and delicious on the inner.

My outstanding burger is completed with terrific rough-cut slaw, very good melted cheese and pickles.

The crinckle-cut chips ($3.50) are hot and fab, though a tad too salty even for salt-addict me.

 

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The Cuban sandwich is another outright winner – superb value for $10 and getting extra points straightaway for being made with the appropriate, Cuban-style bread.

The innards are wonderfully gooey mix of melted gruyere, pickles, pulled pork and ham.

 

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My cafe latte ($3.50) is beaut.

From what I’ve seen on two visits, Container Cafe is already a hit with workers in the surrounding area – and why wouldn’t it be?

In finer weather, though, I fully expect to see this place attract a wider crowd from a broader area.

There’s a heap of outdoor seating that will make Container Cafe a fine food destination and parking is a breeze.

And the food, and the attention detail and pricing, certainly take care of business in  style.

Though you can get dimmies or potato cakes if that’s your go.

As well, as a post-lunch drive brings home to me, while residential Truganina is still some distance away from Container Cafe, and on the other side Dohertys Road, there is a lot of construction going on, meaning a lot more people looking for affordable good food and coffee.

And neither are thick on the ground in Truganina to date.

Container Cafe is open 5am-3pm Monday-Friday, though that could change depending on demand; EFTPOs facilities being installed this week.

 

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Late-night burger spot rocks

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danny4

 

Danny’s Burgers, 358/360 St Georges Road, Fitzroy North. Phone: 9481 5847

We’ve just seen and heard Bennie’s first major league jazz show – tenor saxophonist Pharoah Sanders at Bird’s Basement.

It was a thrill to see a jazzman of such stature, someone who has been reaching for sky (and God) for a long time, and even Bennie was impressed.

It was, however, something of a perfunctory show with plenty of empty seats, especially of the pricier variety right in front of the band (ours, the next price tier down, were off to one side but superb).

Perhaps, even with an artist of such calibre, two shows a night for five nights is stretching it – even in a great jazz city such as Melbourne.

In any case, our show was the late one and now we’re out and about on a Saturday night and the obvious question arises.

I ask it: “Burger?”

Bennie nods his head in an eager agreement.

 

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So we head to one of Melbourne’s famed late-night spots – Danny’s Burgers in Fitzroy North.

I’ve been known to hit Danny’s every year or so when the late-night munchies strike.

Tonight, about 12.30am, it’s busy without being crazy, either in terms of patron numbers or their demeanour.

After we’ve ordered, Bennie tells me he, too, has been here – though I have no recollection of such a visit.

Invariably, I’ve found to food to be adequate here – good for filler but not something I’d pursue in more normal hours.

This time, we do much better.

We both order the Double Stack number with two patties, lettuce, raw onion, double cheese and “special” sauce ($10).

 

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They’re winners!

Perhaps, as Bennie opines, the difference is the inclusion of pickles – but these really are fine burgers.

The beef seems more beefy than that I recall from previous visits.

The overall vibe of our burgers is unusually and enjoyably somewhere between the Aussie-style outings I’ve had here in the past and the more Merican-style of the many new-wave burger places around town.

I’m not sure what the “special” sauce entails, though it does seem to be not-your-standard-tomato sauce.

Thankfully.

 

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The chips here are always excellent.

Burgers, chips, two cans of fizz and we’re out of there after grabbing some spare change from $30.

Good deal!

 

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Beautiful food, beautiful place in Seddon

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Fig & Walnut, 11-13 Bellairs Avenue, Seddon. Phone: 0433 574 194

Consider The Sauce has long admired the twin rows of old shops on either side of the tracks near Seddon station, on Bellairs Avenue and Pentland Parade.

We’ve often wondered what the street scenes must have been like when those shops were in their heydays.

And we’ve sometimes mused how lovely it would be to see some street life returning to the area.

Of course, almost all the properties concerned have been turned over to purely residential uses in the subsequent decades.

And who could blame those who live there from being sensitive about and protective of their quiet neighbourhood?

Fig & Walnut proprietor Vera told us, as her cafe was coming together, that she did indeed have to put some serious and sincere effort into winning over the locals.

She did so – and I’m betting they’re all rapt about having this business on their collective doorstep.

Because Fig & Walnut is a stunner.

 

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The old shop has been done out in bright and open style, with the wooden ceilings and brickwork retained.

 

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The eating spaces include the front room of the next door shop and the lovely garden out back has a cute-as-a-button cubbie house.

But all that’s just the start …

The vibe here is bustling and cheerful.

And the food, based on our first visit’s meals, is marvellous – and those we eyeball that are headed elsewhere look, some of them, even sexier.

There’s breakfasts and lunches and two soups.

Given a superficial glance, the menu (see below) may seem to be mostly made up of variations on the cafe theme.

But the results bespeak skill, imagination and inspiration way beyond that …

 

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Bennie’s pancakes ($18) are a fantasia of colours and flavours.

The gluten-free pancakes themselves are shaped more like burger patties or fat cookies – and taste kinda grainy yet also marvellous.

They’re attended by maple mascarpone, saffron-poached pear, grilled figs, berries, passionfruit and more.

 

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There’s three salads on the menu, any of which can be supplemented by protein portions such as poached coconut chicken, eye fillet or salmon.

I feel no need to do so when ordering my roasted winter root vegetable salad ($16.90).

How good does it look?

It tastes even better, the perfectly cooked vegetables doing a sensual tango with turmeric yogurt and rocket pesto, both of which are delivered in perfect quantities to lube things along nicely.

Reads like cafe food, priced like cafe food – but delivering like a flash re$taurant.

 

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Vera “shouts” us flourless orange cake ($6.90) and …

 

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… chocolate brownie ($4.90) to go with our excellent coffees.

They, too, are wonderful, the brownie seeming to have some choc pudding DNA in its make-up.

Next time for me?

The insanely gorgeous-looking zucchini-and-haloumi skewers I see heading for another table.

Or maybe the Greek lentil soup with apple cider vinegar Vera tells me is her fave …

The cool Fig & Walnut logo was designed by local creative Liana Lucca-Pope from Hello Idea, also responsible for Littlefoot Bar’s brand identity. See the Hello Idea website here.

 

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Seriously sexy Asian BBQ

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phiphi26

 

Phi Phi 2, 31a Alfrieda Street, St Albans. Phone 9077 2466

First I heard there was a new Korean place on Alfrieda Street.

Then I heard it was Asian-fusion.

Then I heard it was a new branch of one of our fave St Albans eateries, Phi Phi.

Then I saw the photos on the new place’s Facebook page and … I remained somewhat confused.

But it doesn’t take long after ascending the stairs of Phi Phi 2 for all to become clear to me and Bennie.

Phi Phi 2 serves a limited range of curries and salads. It has a lighter, tighter lunch menu.

But the night-time action is overwhelmingly about cooked-at-table BBQ and hot pots.

And given the hot pot variation is freely available at a couple of nearby joints and more broadly across the west, almost all customers go the BBQ route.

We do, too – with abandon and, ultimately, great joy.

 

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Phi Phi 2 replaces a long-standing Vietnamese eatery.

It’s been done out in dark wood, with most of the seating being in the form of booths that line the long room. There a trio of tall, small tables at the front windows overlooking Alfrieda Street and a couple of bigger tables at back for larger groups.

There’s an army of staff doing great stuff on the night we visit and we find the service to be grand.

Phi Phi 2 has been open about three weeks and is already proving popular – and with good cause.

How popular?

Our allocated “cooker”, Jensty, tells us some staff members regularly come in here on their rostered days off – just to eat!

The BBQ cooking/food here has its roots very deeply in South Korea but much of the seasoning/sauces/marinades and approach come more directly from Vietnam where, Jentsy tells us, this kind of cooking is very popular.

We seriously consider ordering from the “chef’s special” list (see menu below) the cooked-in-the-kitchen “charcoal chicken feet” but decide that eight foots would skew our meal-for-two too radically in one direction.

Instead, we start with two dishes from the entree list.

 

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Crispy tiger prawns ($12.90) are cocooned in crunchy noodles that shatter upon being chomped. The prawns are very good dipped in the accompanying (cocktail?) sauce.

 

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BBQ lamb ribs ($10.90) look like they’re a very big serve – but they are just four, as they are resting of a fluffy bed of greens.

Still, they’re fine – fatty, as expected, but with great flavour.

We happily munch like carnivorous rabbits on the marinade-seasoned leaves as we await the main BBQ action to unfold.

 

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First we are provided some sides ‘n’ stuff – a green salad and bowls of kimchi and pickled bean sprouts and the like.

It may not be saying a whole helluva lot – but this is the best kimchi Bennie and I have ever had.

Maybe not purebred Korean-style but just marvellous – not very spicy, the cabbage more finely chopped, a strong tang of ginger in every mouthful.

We are provided several more complementary bowls of both the kimchi and the sprouts as our meal progresses.

As well, we are each provided three dipping sauces for the BBQ goodies – soy/miso, a mild chilli with a strong lemongrass component and a tamarind.

 

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Here’s what we order for our sooper-dooper BBQ feast: Pork belly (salt-chilli marinade, $12.90, above photo), ox tongue ($9.90) and chicken thigh (Thai marinade, $11.90).

 

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And we also get a splendid vegetable and mushroom combo ($14).

 

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The glowing coals are brought to our table and then it’s on!

 

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Jensty tells us that staff members are allocated a couple of tables each to handle the cooking.

We appreciate that. We’d rise to the challenge of doing it ourselves, no doubt, but we’d be a bit nervous about it.

It’s all about timing – and she does it with skill that is almost nonchalant.

 

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The vegetables take a good deal longer than the meats, but it’s all fantastic.

The meats are charred nicely and without exception every mouthful is succulent.

Bottom line – this is some kind of nirvana for meat eaters.

Bennie rates the pork belly the highest; I love the ox tongue the most.

The vegetables are all terrific, too – three different kinds of mushroom, okra, pumpkin, eggplant, corn.

The one lapse – and the only quibble of our entire evening – are the chat spud halves. They’ve been partially boiled before hitting the grill, but still present as a little under-cooked and even (perhaps) out of place.

 

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We conclude with a couple of scoops of green tea ice-cream ($6) that has been brought in, is perfectly nice yet is probably excess to requirements.

 

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Take the ice-cream and a couple of lovely mocktails off our bill and the damage for food alone is $72.50.

That strikes me as a bargain for a feast of this quality and quantity.

Certainly, we have paid significantly more for way less impressive meals in regulation Korean eateries.

It’s a lovely thing to see some flash on Alfrieda Street!

(This post has been sponsored by the St Albans Business Group. However, Consider The Sauce chose and paid for the food involved and the STBG neither sought nor was granted any access or say in the writing of this post.)

 

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Lovely Italian, great fun

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Impasto Forno Antico, 157 Military Road, Avondale Heights. Phone: 9331 1111

The long-awaited – by us anyway – spuntini bar and gelateria extension of Impasto Forno Antico in Avondale Heights is up and running and we have a ball getting acquainted.

It’s all done out in sleek greys and wood; very Italian and cheerful.

And, as is only to be expected, things are a little chaotic for this Saturday lunchtime.

 

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In these ways – general vibe, style, food, people – it reminds us a bit of places such as Brunetti’s; except this is more personable.

The menu (see below) is split into sections – antipasto, paninoteca, soups, insalati and semi-freddo.

 

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We by-pass the good-looking panini – even though, as a pal points out, the bread and rolls here are a main event all by themselves.

And when I see a fellow punter at our communal table getting into the beef brodo, I somewhat regret not going the soup route.

But we end up being very happy with our selections …

 

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For Bennie, polpette al sugo – a good number of lovely meatballs in a rich tomato sauce.

 

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For me, a simple vegetable fritatta – lovely and light and just what I desire.

Both our meals are served with salad – a tomato/cucumber number for him, a fennel/orange for him, and we order a side of roasted spuds just because … they look like the could do with some more colour but taste like a dream.

 

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Because of the combos we’ve ordered, I am not sure of the specific pricing of our lunch – suffice to say, it’s all very affordable.

This is not flash restaurant Italian food – it’s just simple fare done well.

We could, mind you, live without the old-school squirts of reduced balsamic that adorn all our plates.

 

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Gelati?

In winter?

Of course!

Our small tubs (top photo, $4.50) of prickly pear for him and pistachio for me are superb, capping off a cool lunch at what is sure to become a regular haunt for us.

 

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On the way out, we grab some of that fine bread and a pizza for that night’s dinner from the extended shop next door.

 

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Hellenic Hotel unveiled

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hell23

 

Hellenic Hotel, 28 Ferguson Street, Williamstown. Phone: 9393 1000

Yes, the new George Calombaris establishment in Williamstown is up and running.

The “soft opening” Consider The Sauce attends is loosely dedicated to “media”. It follows one the previous night for family and friends and will be followed the next night by another for locals.

 

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Star Weekly reporter Benjamin Millar documents the action.

 

I enjoy running into a few pals, but each invitee has chosen their own timetable and there is no communal seating, so this just like a busy (normal) night and plays a dual role of fine-tuning the restaurant and its food.

 

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My dining companion, Star Weekly sales gun Rochelle Loney, and I go for the “Feed Me” set menu that retails for $49.

In some ways, this is a bit lazy of us and I later regret not taking the opportunity to explore the a la carte menu in more depth.

But it does make things easy for us – and, besides, what we are served is very much the kind of thing I suspect many-perhaps-most customers here will want.

 

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What we get is pretty much plain, straight-up Greek food – and I say that as no criticism.

It all ranges, in my opinion, from good to very good to outstanding.

 

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Warmed Mount Zero olives – lovely.

In my world, the paler and less fishy is taramosalata the better it becomes.

This is a luscious verging-on-white delight served with slightly fluffy chargrilled pita bread.

 

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The black sesame lavosh and granny smith slices and puree top the saganaki with elan.

But the saganaki is just OK – maybe it’s simply not my thing.

 

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The HH grain salad with pulses, nuts and herbs is a cool, moist and topped with creamy smoked yogurt.

 

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“Heirloom” carrots with fenugreek and almonds are sweet and flavoursome.

 

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The Hellenic Hotel rotisserie chicken …

Normally, I’d expect to see greater depth of colour and way more turbo-charged seasoning.

But this is superb.

Of the two pieces we are presented, I get that with the breast meat.

To my great happiness, it is moist and delicious – which speaks highly of the quality of the chook and the skill with which it has been cooked.

 

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Greek rice pudding – risogalo – is topped with rhubarb and candied pistachios.

It’s a fine way to complete our meal. I like that its sweetness is restrained.

Consider The Sauce will visit Hellenic Hotel again soon to see how the $15 upstairs bar daily specials shape up!

 

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Calombaris social media manager Danielle Poulos with Mandy and Sammi from Mama Knows West.

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Westie eats goss 15/6/16

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Opposite Little Saigon market in Byron Street, Footscray, a huge concrete edifice is going up, removing – temporarily at least – precious carparking capacity.

At first, I think it looks like it’s going to be a carparking building but find out otherwise when I make inquiries at the site office.

The bloke-in-charge tells me: “It’s going to be an airport. Domestic at first, but if that works they’ll go international …”

Haha – right.

Here’s the actual go: Shops on the ground floor and four levels of carparking above them; no residential.

 

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Also opposite Little Saigon, in Nicholson Street this time and in the Westville Central building, the Vietnamese joint District No.1 has a “notice of lease and re-entry” proclamation in its window. No one has any luck in this location …

 

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In Little Saigon itself is a newish Vietnamese “dessert house” that is also serving some savoury snack-style dishes.

 

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At the other end of Nicholson Street, and on the other side the mall, Ras Dashen will be closed for renovations until late July.

 

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A few months back, it looked to be like the Korean eatery Snow Tree had closed – but the tobacconist next door assured me otherwise.

Now, though, the bare look inside, the grubby windows and the “for lease” sign tell a sadder tale.

 

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In Barkly Street, a few doors up from Lentil As Anything, there are signs of life – blocked-out windows – at the shop formerly home to Afghan place Kebab Surra.

I’m told by a staff member at the nearby shoe shop that she’d heard it is destined to be a “Vietnamese pizza parlour”.

Hmmmm …

 

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The Bao Bros have settled into a comfortable and popular routine at Littlefoot even as the opening date of their premises proper at Maddern Square gets closer.

In addition to their scrumptious bao, they are also offering up these unique “cheeseburger spring rolls”!

 

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Behold! There is a new enterprise coming at …

 

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… the cavernous restaurant premises in the Lakehouse building at Edgewater.

I wonder if it’ll have a more successful or longer time of it than the previous effort?

 

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Kiosk by d’Asporto continues to trade through the winter months.

Bennie and I certainly pick the right time to give it a go – a chilly yet fine and windless day.

It’s a lovely scene – heaps of happy, chilled-out and rugged-up folks, almost as many dogs as seagulls and smiles all round.

 

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From the specials board, Bennie has the salt and pepper calamari ($13), while I opt for …

 

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… the linguine marinara ($14).

Both are excellent – and superbly priced!

 

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Bennie asks about my pear and ricotta tart ($7) …

“Hmm, dunno, mate – maybe somewhere between great sex and crack cocaine?”

 

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His own mixed berry and chocolate muffin ($5) is the goods, too.

It’s the sort of thing that gives truth to the cliche that muffins were invented so people could fool themselves they’re being virtuous while eating cake …

Burger brilliance

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Bao & Pot Cafe, 2/1 Military Road, Avondale Heights. Phone: 8528 2275

How many times have we whizzed by Bao & Pot Cafe?

Very many.

Part of the problem has been that when we pass by, we’re always headed elsewhere.

And part of it, too, is that the cafe is located right where Canning Street becomes Military Road – it’s on an uphill bend often hectic with traffic and not at all conducive to dithering.

Then, about a month ago, I was stopped at that strip of shops for caffeine purposes when I wandered down and stuck my nose in.

Immediate thoughts: “Wow – this is something! Something we need to check out!”

A few weeks after that, I returned.

 

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Bao & Pot Cafe serves a very handy line-up (see menu below) of Vietnamese and Vietnamese-influenced dishes that range through breakfast to more substantial lunches and sweets.

Yes, there’s pho, vermicelli, rice and banh mi – but there’s also just as many dishes that embrace Vietnamese flavours and ingredients in imaginative ways, and all at prices that stay cosily within the realms of cheap eats.

No fussy “fusion” price tags here!

For my lunch I had the turmeric brioche lemongrass beef burger with a potato twist.

It was my first experience with these twist thingies – and I was not impressed.

It just seemed like greasy rubbish over-seasoned with some horrid, sweet take on chicken salt.

Ugh.

The burger was something else – wonderful lemongrass flavour, though it did seem a little over-priced at $14.50 in terms of the substance delivered.

Still, I’d seen enough to treat my visit as mere reconnaissance and so happily return with Bennie for a more seriously enjoyable appraisal of this fine neighbourhood cafe.

And Bennie, of course, goes the burger.

 

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And this time, it’s a brilliant offering in every way – even if, apart from a couple of mouthfuls, I am experiencing it through his eyes and mind.

The difference this time is that the burger has two patties instead of one, meaning it’s a real-deal, two-handed meal.

The meat is housed in a gorgeous turmeric brioche bun – they’re made here daily.

In there, too, is a very good slaw and “spiced-apple tomato relish”.

The meat is wonderful – very burger, very chewy and delicious, yet with super lemongrass flavour.

 

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Huzzah!

This, we reckon, is right up there with the very best burgers Melbourne has to offer – and we reckon all burger fans should try it at the first available opportunity.

Oh yeah, the same potato twist thing skewers Bennie’s burger and he loves it.

Each to his-her own, I guess; personally, I’d prefer some fries or even some salad or pickled vegetables.

But that burger … wow.

 

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My own crispy skinned chicken with tomato rice ($12) is no slouch of a dish, either, though more along the lines of your regular Vietnamese tucker.

It’s all excellent – moist and steaming rice, fried egg, pickled carrot strands and beautifully cooked and easily boned chicken.

The only disappointment is being served sticky, commercial sweet chilli sauce in a place where care and pride about details and ingredients is so much otherwise in evidence.

I learn from proprietor Anna that this is simply because it is what most of her Western customers want, and that a more appropriate (for me anyway!) fish sauce-based dipping concoction is available.

 

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I discover, too, from Anna what is behind Bao & Pot Cafe’s unique approach and the meals that eventuate from it – she is of Vietnamese heritage but was raised in Hong Kong.

That explains, for instance, the presence of bao on the menu – and in the joint’s name.

 

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And that explains, too, our dessert of “house-made Hong Kong waffle” with fine brought-in chocolate ice-cream and cubes of Asian-style jelly ($10.90).

There’s nothing sophisticated about this – just simple, good ingredients combined in just the right proportions.

It is wonderful.

 

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Hellenic Hotel – sneak preview

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hell3Like many folks in the west and across Melbourne, I have watched the long-running birth of George Calombaris’s Hellenic Hotel in Williamstown with interest.

On a professional level, I have been somewhat ambivalent.

On the one hand, this is obviously a significant western suburbs food story, so therefore of great interest to Consider The Sauce and its readers.

On the other, Consider The Sauce is used to operating in something of a parallel universe to the bubble that is Melbourne’s officially designated “food scene”.

So it would not have surprised me had the opening of Hellenic Hotel come and gone without CTS being involved in any way at all … and that would’ve been fine.

But an email from Danielle Poulos changed all that.

Danielle is the social media manager for the Calombaris empire.

She is also someone with whom I have a previous history – we worked together many times on arts/music stories when I was heavily involved in the Sunday Herald Sun’s entertainment coverage.

That all seems a long time ago for one reason – it is!

But somehow, we have remained in touch … so I was delighted when her email lobbed and our lives once again overlapped.

We very soon after met for coffee, and the best part of 20 years melted away …

But my paramount question remained: Did Hellenic Hotel and those who sail in her want to be OF the west – or were they to be merely IN the west but with hearts residing elsewhere?

With Danielle replying that the former was most definitely the case, it’s down to business we got …

I will continue to take Hellenic Hotel as it comes – but there’s no doubt that having a highly and fondly regarded pal as my point of contact is making a huge difference!

 

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Hellenic Hotel head chef Josh Pelham (right) works with his kitchen crew a week out from opening night.

Hellenic Hotel, 28 Ferguson Street, Williamstown. Phone: 9393 1000

There is about a week to go before Hellenic Hotel opens to the public – opening night, Friday, June 17, is already booked out – and the air of excitement is palpable.

I get a contact high just by hanging out with Travis McAuley (Hellenic restaurants general manager), Nikki Reid (Hellenic Hotel manager) and Danielle Poulos (Calombaris social media manager) as they give me “the tour”.

For them and everyone else involved, the pressure is on – but there’s a lot of fun and satisfaction to be had, as well.

 

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Travis and Nikki unwrap the new crockery.


The Ferguson Street premises is certainly much changed since I last stuck my nose in about four or five months previously.

And those changes amount to way more than some new furniture and a pretty paint job (mostly white and blue, as you’d expect).

There has been some major infrastructure doings going on here, including installation of a lift and substantial provision of “facilities” and office space upstairs.

The downstairs area – the dining room of the restaurant proper, which will seat about 100 people – is today buzzing with tradies applying last-minute touches and tying up fit-out loose ends.

The place is also buzzing with dozens of newly employed young staff doing training.

Greek training.

Coffee training.

Ouzo, wine and cocktail training.

And training in the Calombaris ethos of “philotimo”, “kefi” and “meraki”.

I’m told about three-quarters of the font of house staff of about 25 are locals.

 

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Hotel Hellenic head chef Josh Pelham is involved in the training process, as well.

He’ll be overseeing a kitchen staff numbering about 12.

There will be much overlap, menu-wise, with the Hellenic enterprises in Brunswick and Kew – but each of three has its own special focus.

In the case of Hellenic Hotel, that will be on food emanating from the kitchen’s rotisserie oven.

 

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Upstairs, the bar – seating about 80 people – will sport a more relaxed vibe.

The “bar menu” will basically be the starter menu from downstairs, though bar patrons will be free to order from the full list should they wish to do so.

Up here there will also be a $15 daily special – now that sounds good! – as well as Greek-based music on Sunday afternoons.

Hotel Hellenic will be open every day from noon.

 

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The rooftop bar is very much a work in progress.

Travis tells me they’re hoping to have this area up and running come summer.

 

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Whenever it does open, the views will be spectacular …

My current take on Hellenic Hotel and the locals is this:

There is, as you’d expect, a high degree of interest.

Much of the interest is of the enthusiastic variety – both from people excited about eating in the new venture and from local businesses wishing, hoping for an all-round boost.

Some of the interest is passive.

And some, a smaller amount, is cynical and even resentful.

Again, this is no surprise and is something of which these folks are aware.

For what it’s worth, they appear to me to be sincere in their desire to engage with the locals – and win over the unpersuaded.

To that end, one of several pre-opening events being held next week has been put aside for them.

 

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West of Kin: Winter menu

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West of Kin, 17 Lacy Street, Braybrook. Phone: 9317 7553

West of Kin in Braybrook has quickly established itself as something of a star.

And it continues to defy the cynics by making “Asian fusion” something that works and delights.

I know, because I respond in the affirmative to an invite for Consider The Sauce to be guests of management again in order to try out the new lunch/brunch menu (see full disclosure below).

But instead of resorting to the usual routines in such cases, for the first time (and not the last) I throw open the invite to CTS readers through the blog’s Facebook page.

And the prize goes to … reader Lisa, who rocks up for Saturday lunch with brother Phong, sister Nikki and the latter’s daughter, Jasmine.

A more interesting, gregarious and talk-happy crew I could not dream of – so I thank them sincerely for joining me!

Given we are effectively five hungry adults, and that the new lunch/brunch menu is as compact and succinct as that which greeted CTS on its earlier visit, it’s no surprise we give the list a very solid workout.

Here’s what we enjoy in the course of our lovely meal:

Lap cheong and beetroot arancini with scrambled egg ($8, top photo) are muffin-like treats that are both delicate and chewy – and a very vivid purple inside.

 

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The Hunan-style sticky lambs ($8) are fine – and a holdover from the previous menu.

 

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Japanese croquette with red capsicum and pea and mint relish ($5) is crunchy on the outer wonderfully molten in its core.

 

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For sides, there are beaut, crunchy and unoily wonton fries ($6) …

 

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… a very good Asian slaw ($6) and …

 

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… and kimchi ($6), though this gets a little ignored because of the profusion of food with which we are presented.

 

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The big hit of the day is the prawn burger ($28).

Served on a “steamed black brioche bun”, the patty is chopped-up prawn that nevertheless has the same pop and texture and flavour as the whole variety.

It’s the same clever, and delicious, style that we found in the prawn toast of that earlier meal.

The burger is attended by another bowl of wonton fries, “yuzu” mayo and pickles.

This is a winning twist on “burger”!

 

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The recipients of the egg noodle ramen with braised pork belly, slow-cooked duck egg, nori and spring onion ($19) and …

 

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… the “Korean rice bowl bibimbab” ($18) of braised semi-dry mushrooms, pork, carrot, daikon and more enjoy their meals.

But both seem a little on the routine side when contrasted with the fantasia of sharper flavours and colours that surround them.

 

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The soft-shell crab bun mei with lemon-cured spring onion and gochujang mayo ($14) is a sexy treat that is necessarily light of weight – and is thus gone in a flash.

 

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The master stock shredded duck with egg noodles, fried quail egg and all the trimmings ($28), another survivor from the earlier menu, goes down well – particularly with Jasmine!

But it does seem a little on the dry side to me.

 

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Desserts?

We try all three!

Panna cotta with scorched fruit and saffron syrup ($12) and …

 

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… the choc mousse with freeze-dried fruits and mint sugar ($10) are just as smooth, tasty and wonderful as we expect them to be.

 

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The Taiwanese pineapple cake with yuzu granita ($9), however, is an enigma that leaves us a little bemused.

Maybe the word “cake” leads us to expect more – or, at least, something different.

This has good pineapple flavour but seems more like a “slice” that loses out somewhat on the perhaps unfair basis of visual perceptions alone.

There’s no doubting that granita, though – it’s brilliantly tangy flavour explosion!

As ever, I have endeavoured here to be honest – even when the food is provided without money changing hands.

So … yes, a couple of flat spots.

But nevertheless, West of Kin impresses me – and my new friends – as something special.

My understanding is that the heritage factor prevents signage – but that just makes West of Kin even more of a slinky, oh-so-Melbourne gem.

It’s a gorgeous place to spend some time and the staff and service are very good.

(The Consider The Sauce crew dined at West of Kin as non-paying guests of the management. CTS chose the food involved and West of Kin neither sought nor was granted any access or say in the writing of this post.)

 

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Fishy delights

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Serenity Blu, Shop 4/29-35 Lake St, Caroline Springs. Phone: 8390 1700

A few days after eating at Serenity Blu, a friend asked what there was to write about a fish and chip shop.

Turns out she was not familiar with the new-school F&C joints that have come on the scene in the past decade or so – somewhat in tandem with the similar burger places.

For her, fish and chips meant wrapped in paper and always takeaway.

The places we like, by contrast and featured many times here on Consider The Sauce, are quite different.

So what do we seek or want from flash F&C places?

We want a nice, bright, clean setting.

We expect to eat in-house.

We want cooks/chefs who look like they know what they are about – if they’re dressed smartly, so much the better.

 

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We like seeing a nice line-up of at least a couple of good salads.

We most definitely expect to use real cutlery to eat food that is on real plates (or, in the case of Serenity Blu, boards).

We want to see a good range of seafood available, both grilled and fried.

Most of all, we’ve come to expect to be able to get fish, chips and salad, well presented, for under $20 – that is, at least $10 less than the same meal would cost in a restaurant proper or pub.

Serenity Blu, a new operation in Caroline Springs housed in what was formerly Ocean’s D’Lish, scores well on all those counts.

 

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Though we’re equally happy to see they are enough grounded in F&C tradition to offer potato cakes and chips with gravy!

My mid-week lunch companion is Conan of the Yo India Food Truck, a Caroline Springs local.

As we talk shop and other matters of mutual interest, we enjoy a very nice lunch.

 

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Conan chooses the grilled salmon with chips and salad ($17.50).

The fish is well cooked through but still very good.

 

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My flathead fillet with chips and salad ($16.50) is every bit as fine.

The fish is well battered and cooked, and of a good size.

In both our cases, the chips are good but fall short of great.

My coleslaw – the serve is smaller, by my choice, than would’ve normally been provided – is fresh and lovely.

Perhaps the biggest surprise is Conan’s quinoa/melon/grape salad.

Normally, I’d be suspicious of anything so redolent of hipster wellness, but this really does taste wonderful.

 

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Serenity Blu is the baby of Aydin.

That’s her in the middle, with nephew Tarkan on the left and son Yakup on the right.

Tarkan has previously worked at Nobu and that sort of breeding shows in the food preparation and presentation at Serenity Blu.

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Perhaps I should keep a closer eye on Caroline Springs.

In some spare time I had before meeting Conan, I spied restaurants of the Japanese and Malaysian varieties that I did not know were there.

Then, in the shopping centre proper, I ran into Jacqui The Urban Ma and her kids.

Finally, as I entered Serenity Blu itself, I met Natalie Galea Ahmet.

Natalie runs Garden of Eden Photography, and through that has somewhat accidentally fallen into doing social media work for eatries she has shot – including this one!

It was through contact she made with a Star Weekly colleague that I learned about this new F&C place.

I love how connections work.

 

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Photo: Garden of Eden Photography

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Westie eats goss 29/5/16

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The punt taken by CTS friends Marco and Maria in moving their Latin Foods & Wines from Sunshine North to much bigger premises up the road in Deer Park appears to be paying off and then some.

The scenes witnessed by me a few weeks back could accurately be described as cheerful bedlam.

 

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They’ve secured the services of Chilean-bred chef Arnoldo and consequently the eat-in food on offer is expanding beyond the usual, fabulous sandwiches.

 

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That includes a simple breakfast menu Maria assures me is true-blue South American!

 

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This weekend I tried these pork ribs with chilli mash and cabbage salad ($26.50) – one of the very best meals I’ve enjoyed this year.

These are not you barbecue-style ribs; rather they’re oven-cooked and seasoned with sage and cumin.

Very piggy, very delicious.

The mash is very mild in terms of chilli but superbly done and the cabbage salad, with a dob of guacamole on top, is a tangy dream.

As you can see by the hand-written, there’s a bunch South American specialties still be tried.

 

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Ballarat Road in Braybrook is showing plenty of signs of increased food activity to follow on from West of Kin and Shri Annapoorna.

Located between a massage shop and a pop culture collectibles place, newly opened Burgernomics appear to be attracting hordes of the ever-reliable burger curious.

 

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Further towards Sunshine, and on the same side of Ballarat Road, Sada Bahaar is being prepared for delivery of its Pakistani and Indian fare.

 

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Something cool and exciting is coming to Seddon – in the row of former shops adjacent to the station on Bellairs Avenue.

Consider The Sauce hopes to run an interview/profile with owner/proprietor Vera before the opening.

 

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On Racecourse Road in Flemington, the shop formerly home to I Love Dumplings – which is these days in the old bank building a few doors along – is now home to a place simply called, as far as I can tell, Chinese BBQ.

 

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The properties that formerly held a couple of Asian places and the mall at the end of which was once Green Tea and (before that) Laksa King sadly remain vacant.

 

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Further toward the railway line, it appears Pho House will soon have some competition in terms of hardcore Vietnamese offerings.

 

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Also on Racecourse Road, long-running socially aware Streat cafe has permanently moved on.

 

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The chicken shop on Whitehall Street – the chicken-salted chips of which are highly regarded by a couple of members of the CTS Panel of Experts – is for sale.

The property includes the chicken shop and three flats.

 

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The bar area of the Station Hotel appears to be still in a state of some disarray following their fire calamity – but according to the pub’s Facebook page, they’ll be reopening on Friday, July 1.

Meal of the week No.29: Bollywood Sweet Bazaar

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Bollywood Sweet Bazaar has been open a couple of months at shop 2/49 Synnot Street, Werribee, specialising in “pure ghee sweets” and a colourful Bollywood theme.

But they do savory snacks and the like, too.

Top of the list is this puri aloo sabzi for $9.

How good is it for $9?

Three rather doughy but very nice puris, a runny but good chick pea curry, yogurt adorned with puffed rice, pickle and a super potato/onion curry seasoned with mustard seeds, curry leaves and fresh coriander.

It’s a righteous, bargain-priced flavour blast.

I’m betting the two pieces of chocolate barfi I depart with are the good, too!

 

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Nice Indian mix, great prices

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Chutneys, 8/1 Elgar Road, Derrimut. Phone: 8361 7588

There’s Indian food in the Derrimut area, but this new place Chutneys is worthy of celebration because it’s the first of its kind there.

No butter chicken at this place.

But there is Indo-Chinese, biryanis, dosas, chaat dishes, uttapams and thalis – all at very cheap prices and served up in friendly cafe-style premises (see menu below).

 

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Vegetarian thali hits the spot with its recipient, CTS pal Marnie, who works her way through the lot …

Sambar (as served with dosas), dal, a suitably mushy vegetable curry with good knobs of cauliflower and a very good dry carrot curry.

There’s raita and a papadum joining the rice and the deal is sealed with some good, sweet halva.

Nice job for $10.95.

My vegetable uttapam ($10.95, top photograph) is just as good.

The “pizza” is fresh, hot and moist in its centre, and goes just right with the same accoutrements served with dosas and idlys.

 

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On an earlier visit with the Nat Stockley crew, our choices run to the Indo-Chinese portion of the menu.

The prawn noodles ($14.95) are a highlight – fresh, light and expertly cooked with as little oil as the kitchen could get away with.

 

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The pepper chicken ($11.95) is another good ‘un and very tasty.

 

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For our other choices we select from the “wet” Indo-Chinese options with somewhat mixed results.

The chilli fish ($13.95) is lovely, but …

 

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… the chilli chicken ($11.95) and …

 

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… gobi Manchurian ($11.95), while also enjoyable, have a certain sameness about them in terms of seasoning, texture and flavour.

Still, these are small quibbles given the prices and location.

Chutneys will doubtless become very popular.

Memo to self: When ordering Indo-Chinese, stick with the dry option!

 

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OMG Indian sweets

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Kumar’s Sweets, Shop 3, 85 Mount Derrimut Road, Deer Park. Phone: 8361 7303

After my story about Kumar’s Sweets was published in The Age in October, I thought that was that … next!

However, in the subsequent months, Kumar’s Sweets has become a firm favourite of CTS – meaning it’s high time it had a highly justified post of its own right here!

 

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Look, at Kumar’s you can get typically rich staples of Indian sweetdom, such as barfi or gulab jamun.

You can get, too, a line-up of savoury snacks – often, salty and spicy; always delicious.

 

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But we what REALLY like is a tight line-up of gorgeous and jewel-like Indian sweets largely based on little more than nuts and dried fruit.

That’s right – they could even be loosely labelled as “healthy”; but these are about a gazillion light years in every way from your dreary “health food bars”.

Ugh.

 

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Nope, these – including the wonderful cassata in the top photograph – are something else.

Very highly recommended by CTS.

 

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