Tag Archives: western suburbs

Very short Road trip

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Roti Road, Highpoint. Phone: 9317 4293

When Consider The Sauce and friends hit Roti Road in Footscray – see story here – we enjoyed a good feed.

However, subsequent visits failed to back up that good impression.

One such visit involved myself and Bennie and also involved, IIRC, nasi lemak and Hainan chicken rice – both dishes being of the very average variety.

Another visit involved myself alone and was prompted by the restaurant’s claim on FB that it had listened to its customers and lifted its laksa game. I found that not to be the case, or not according to my laksa tastes anyway.

Since then, we have – as you’d expect – avoided the place, save for a very occasional visit for the reliable, cheap roti canai.

And that’s why Roti Road is pretty much the last of the eateries at the new Highpoint dining area to be checked out by us.

Bowling up solo just before Christmas, I wasn’t exactly feeling trepidatious but I certainly had no high hopes.

 

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So I am surprised and delighted to find that my lunch – Hainanese chicken rice ($12.90) – is in every way wonderful.

Soup – hot and not too salty.

Condiments – chilli sauce and ginger mash just right.

Chicken – a big serve of beautifully tender and expertly boned meat luxuriating in cooking juices mixed with soy sauce.

Rice – stock-cooked and fine for the job at hand.

Really – one of the best versions of this famous dish I’ve enjoyed in recent years.

A more recent visit with two lads in tow fails to reach such heights but makes for a good lunch nevertheless.

 

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Six chicken satay sticks are the real deal, coolly priced at $9.90 and served with a sticky and flavoursome peanutty sauce on the side..

I am irked that I must share them with two teens.

 

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Mee goreng ($11.90) is a fine version of another staple dish – we like it a lot.

 

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Vegetable curry with rice ($11.90) tries hard but doesn’t really get where it should be going.

We like that there’s myriad green vegetables such as beans and broccoli involved.

Bbut the eggplant is cooked down to mush and the whole impresses as steamed vegetables with curry gravy added rather than as a from-scratch curry.

Still, it’s not a bad way to ensure vegetables are had in a setting where it’s easy to give them miss.

Roll up for jaffles? I’ll be in that!

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Little Garden Cafe, 407 Mount Alexander Road, Ascot Vale. Phone: 0410 922 242

Down behind a Mount Alexander Road florist is a cool, green space just right for a chilled-out lunch on a sunny Saturday.

It’s retro central – in the form of armchairs, sofas and more.

And retro, too, in the form of the kitchen and serving area, for which purposes a vintage caravan has been pressed into service.

 

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Given the tight space situation, it’s no surprise the food line-up is equally tight and also light (see menu below).

That’s fine by us – on the way here we mused over possibilities such as Somalian, Chinese BBQ meats and dumplings but the truth is we’re just not THAT hungry.

 

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There’s goldfish in the house; we see two.

We’re told six.

 

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Our jaffles arrive looking pretty as a picture.

 

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Bennie adores his Doori Time! ($8.50) with its chicken and cheese swimmingly soaked in a delicious, piquant and dark sauce. It’s unclear if the shredded chook has spent any time in a tandoori oven but it matters not.

This jaffle comes with a pot of raita – nice touch, that.

 

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My Brekkie Time ($8.50) is good, too, though doesn’t have quite the same sort of flavour hit.

The ham is indeed cut thickly and it works fine with the egg and sauce.

 

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Our matching $3.80 cafe lattes are spot on.

It’s worth signing up to the Little garden Cafe Facebook page, wherein specials such as a Beefy Slaw sanger of “succulent bbq pulled beef, creamy housemade slaw, mozzarella cheese, toasted on organic sourdough” are regularly listed.

 

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App zap brings fish and chips

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Consider The Sauce is skeptical about apps.

Sure, since belatedly joining the smart-phone world, I make daily use of a variety – gmail, wordpress, ColorNote, the ABC, my credit union.

But when it comes to our zeal for exploring the world and new things in it, apps – it mostly seems – are all about limiting choices and discoveries.

After all, apps are a closed world – you are limited to what the app creators/owners have included.

And then, of course, there’s the familiar joke – an app is someone wanting to sell you something.

However, we have been won over by Menulog.

Really, this app and the attendant service are beaut.

And we offer that endorsement freely and with no support or inducements from the company.

(A few years back, Menulog did try repeatedly to get me involved in doing promo work for them. The approaches were painfully inept:

“I am a major fan of your writing and thought you would appreciate if I send you a few ideas that might help you grow your audience:

1. Partner with other bloggers (I can give you some contacts if you want).

  1. Run a competition (do you need free prizes? Just let me know).
  1. Use infographics in your posts …
  1. Give back to the community: review your local restaurant and help them to promote their name (I can organize a free meal from them for you).
  1. Have you thought about having a guest post on your blog? Menulog can send some really fun editorial content and stats e.g. Top 5 takeaway meals in your city or even Top takeaway orders to cure a hangover.”)

So we have come to appreciate Menulog all on our own.

We’ve found the service and its cost and processes pretty much faultless.

OK, once – a few weeks ago – the delivery guy failed to include a can of soft drink.

But that’s it.

Getting food delivered is not something of which we’re REALLY big fans of – we much prefer getting out and about; meeting the people who make the food we love makes it taste so much better.

But sometimes it is just the ticket.

Inner-west favourites we’ve used Menulog on so far are Kitchen Samrat, Mishra’s Kitchen, Kenny’s Yum Cha House, Rizq Bangladeshi Cuisine, Motorino and Krishna Pait Pooja.

For this lazy Friday night, we’re taking a Menulog punt with one of our favourite westie fish and chip places – Dough! in Newport.

We’re usually rather fastidious about always wanting to eat F&C we’re they’re made – so we’re a little nervy about what sort of nick our meal will be in by the time it arrives.

 

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Our fears turn out to be completely unfounded – our food has, it appears, gone straight from the deep-fyers into a car and thence driven straight from Newport to Yarraville.

Everything is hot and fresh.

Two two big, handsome slabs of battered fish are wonderful.

Two serves of BBQ corn at $1.20 each turns our to be three slivers – they’re fine and juicy but it’s not clear how BBQ-ing has been going on with them.

The chips?

Those legendary rough-cut, warts-and-all chips?

“Wow – these chips are so great!” quips Bennie.

These are terrific fish and chips – and our meal has turned out to be much the same price (and better) as if we’d walked around the corner to Anderson Street.

With a $5 delivery fee and a 10 per cent discount for a first-time order, the total is $25.61.

Forgetting about the corn and getting a small serve of chips (which would’ve been ample) would get that price down to a very splendid $21.15.

Ordering a home-delivered meal from Dough! has also seen us not left to deal with the plastic containers that go with all other delivered food, save for pizza.

Another potential downfall?

I wonder if the delivery drivers, in general, are caught up in the same onerous work/pay/conditions situation as convenience store workers and Myer cleaners.

I’m very interested in some reader feedback on this.

Do you use Menulog?

Or another service?

If so, what have been your westside winners?

What – if any – have been the disasters?

Gelati fantasia in Kensington

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1565, 3 Gower Street, Kensington. Phone: 9376 1965

Tootling to Kensington to do a story on Kensington’s new gelati joint for The Age – see story here – I am envisaging little more than the profound pleasures of trying some excellent Italian ice-cold creaminess, meeting the people involved, writing about both and then maybe creating a subsequent post for CTS.

An enjoyable, satisfying day’s work, in other words, for a western suburbs food blogger.

I get all that in spades – and more.

 

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For what I discover is that the crew behind 1565 – brothers Adriano, Alfred and Alessio Acquaro and their mum, Joy – have strong family ties to Pizza d’Asporto and Kiosk by d’Asporto in Williamstown and Impasto Forno Antico in Avondale Heights.

Indeed, the canoli and the like that abet the 1565 gelati and coffee here are supplied by the latter establishment.

How wonderful to discover yet more of the connections and depth of food culture traditions that weave and wander across the west in all sorts of ways!

 

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1565, just off the commercial strip of Macaulay Road, is done in simple, elegant style.

It is named after year gelati was apparently “invented” in Florence.

If, on that basis, you’d expect an approach to gelati that is strong on tradition, you’d be spot on.

 

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But while staying within those parameters, the 1565 crew are doing marvellous things in terms of flavour diversity.

Sure, there’s vanilla, pistachio and coffee.

But there’s also booze in the form of rum and raisin, Prosecco and the sweet liqueur of No.43.

Then there’s poached fig, watermelon and mint, panettone.

 

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I enjoy a wonderful scoop apiece of ricotta and miele (honey) and Nutella with rum baba.

Like orange and fennel, that latter of my two is imbued with textures beyond creamy.

Bennie is equally delighted with his double-banger cone of poached fig and coffee.

1565 is open from noon until late seven days a week.

 

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For all of our 15 years in the west, five of them as food bloggers, we have frequently observed that the Macaulay Road strip looks like it should be a food and drink star.

But it’s never been that.

Under-achiever is a phrase that comes to mind.

Perhaps the arrival of 1565,  joining the cool Korean of Frying Colours up the road and with a new Italian place soon to be unveiled, heralds an upturn in Macaulay Road’s eats situation.

 

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Bao boogie @ Littlefoot

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The Bao Bros Pop-up @ Littlefoot, 223 Barkly Street, Footscray. Phone: 9396 1282

The Bao Bros are coming to Footscray.

They’ve secured a very interesting location.

But its unveiling is several months away.

In the meantime, they’ll be testing their recipes, processes and skills at that sublime monument to good times known as Littlefoot.

For details of how that pop-up-style project will unfold in terms of how and when, check the Facebook pages of either the Bao Bros or Littlefoot.

 

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Littlefoot’s Liana and Stu with the Bao Bros crew – Mickey, Kiet and Long.

 

If you look up “bao” at, say, Wikipedia, you’ll find the main reference is to the likes of pork buns familiar from yum cha.

The Bao Bros offerings, though, are by way of a Taiwanese variation in which the buns are turned into fat sandwich casings.

The idea, I’m told, is that the buns be so ethereal and lightweight that they virtually disappear and let superior ingredients shine.

On that account, Bennie and I reckon the Bao Bros score really well.

We loved their handiwork and were grinning right from the first mouthful when he and I joined a group of folks acting as guinea pigs for the Bao Bros bun line-up.

We reckon these make for a delicious fast-food experience.

The pricing will be in a very good $5 to $8 range, and maybe two for $10.

We tried all five.

Or, in my case, almost all five.

I didn’t make it as far as the tofu number (top photograph) but Bennie actually liked it the best, digging its crisp tofu, crunchy veg and dollops of pesto.

As for the rest …

 

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Pulled pork was, for me, top dog (or top pig) – salty, wet and with a bit of a spice kick.

 

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The beef was almost as good.

 

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The fish items were, too, very good, with crisp-battered fish, tartare sauce and dill.

 

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The fried chicken bao looked a treat but were the only ones that fell down on the job a little for us. The chook was beautifully cooked but rather flavourless, while the slaw could’ve been more finely chopped and had more dressing.

Those minor quibbles aside, we loved our bao!

See earlier Littlefoot story here.

 

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CTS reader Zelda (on the right) and her pals were on bao test duty, too, and were as impressed as we were.

Classy Italian in Essendon

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400 Gradi, 110 Keilor Road, Essendon. Phone: 9351 6690

Keilor Road has always appeared to us to hold much food promise – promise that largely goes unfulfilled.

The Mount Alexander Road end, especially, seems to be perennially drab.

So we’re happy and excited to accept an invite to dine at the swish, new 400 Gradi, an invite that came to us through a media colleague for whom it was not a good fit (see full disclosure below).

It’s entirely possible we may have gotten around to trying the Gradi Brunswick sibling.

The one at Crown?

Very probably not.

But a sexy new place in Essendon?

Oh, yes!

 

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The Essendon Gradi, on the ground floor of a newish apartment building, has high ceilings and two main dining spaces as well as stools at the bar.

Much is black and/or shiny.

 

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We find the service to be spot on, while our table in the main dining area affords us the wait-time pleasure of watching the open kitchen and its inhabitants in overdrive.

We’re in two days before Christmas and the place is VERY busy.

 

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Having watched the cured meats being sliced off in a neverending stream, that’s how we start – with 18-month prosciutto crudo di Parma Mornello ($15) with cornichons and caperberries.

It’s a delight to which some very good fresh bread is presented on the side.

We’re not paying so there are no financial factors stopping us from going for secondi such as slow-cooked capretto with lemon, paprika, white wine, tomato and olive oil ($30); or the Gradi porchetta with apple balsamic, cipollini and white cabbage ($35).

But it’s a hot day, we’re not much in the mood for meat – and we have our eyes on dessert.

So pasta it is for us.

 

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In the past year or so, Bennie has developed an interest in gnocchi.

I tell him the gnocchi di patate with 20-year-old balsamic, black garlic and sage butter ($24) he is about to eat here will likely be the best he has tasted.

And so it is, the gnocchi being delectably fluffy pillows caressed by simple, high-quality accessories.

 

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My seafood linguini with fish (salmon and white fish I’m told is snapper), prawns, clams, scallops, garlic, chilli, napoli sauce and herbs ($34) at first blush appears to be a standard offering.

But it’s a much superior outing, thanks not only to the quantity of seafood but also to its startling freshness.

Aside from needing – for my purposes – a bit more zing in the chilli department, its perfect.

 

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And so to dessert …

We have a cone apiece of the house specialty gelati – margherita.

Its sweet, sophisticated and very Italian.

But its no match for the tiramisu (top photograph).

This is a stupendous masterpiece.

All the expected flavours and textures are in place but there simply seems to be more heft and substance and all-round yumminess than has been the case with most of the other, many versions we’ve tried.

The only downside to what has been a very enjoyable experience?

During a busy, silly-season, pre-Christmas lunch session, the noise levels have been very high.

I’m told some soundproofing is on the way.

Next time, we’ll take those pizzas for a spin.

400 Gradi is open for dinner seven days a week and lunch Thursdays to Sundays.

(Consider The Sauce dined at 400 Gradi as guests of the management and we did not pay for our meal. We chose from regular menu and had no restrictions placed upon us in doing so. 400 Gradi management neither sought nor was granted any input, oversight or pre-publication access to his story.)

 

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Gelati pasta for lunch

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mill1

 

Gelateria Millefiori, 338B Keilor Road, Niddrie. Phone: 0457 404 041

Gelateria Millefiori is a new gelati place and I’m excited to be headed there for a taste.

Or several.

It’s lunchtime … but truth be known, I’m not that hungry.

So as I drive, I’m idly speculating as to the viability of a scoop or two as lunch.

With a coffee on the side.

As it turns out, Gelateria Millefiori has me covered.

For in addition to cones and cups of a juicy line-up of gelati, some panini and good-looking canoli, the menu (see below) boasts quite a range of glorified sundaes paraded as bona fide meals.

I choose the spaghetti al pesto ice ($9.90), which isn’t pesto so much as pistachio.

 

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Luckily, I spy my p-nut gelati being turned into pasta – on a bed of cream from a can!

Happily, they’re only too happy to start afresh for me!

 

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How is it?

Well, the pasta thing seems a bit of a gimmick, even though there are toppings of pistachio chips and syrup.

But there’s no doubting the creamy, rich, delicious quality of the gelati.

Most of the gelati flavours are familiar to me … but how about black chocolate and oro di oro?

The latter is, I’m told, based on the lemon custard used in Italian baking.

I have a taste of both.

Wonderful!

Check out the Millefiori Facebook page here.

(This story has been sponsored by Moonee Valley City Council. But in all other regards it is a regular Consider The Sauce post – we chose the restaurant and when to eat there; we ordered what we wanted and paid for it ourselves; and neither oversight nor an editorial role were sought by the council.)

 

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Yum cha by Kenny – no relation

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Kenny’s Yum Cha House, 34 Ferguson Street, Williamstown. Phone: 9397 8688

The premises recently occupied by Kenny’s Yum Cha House was previously, and for many years, a rather nondescript noodle shop we never tried.

A new family has taken over, headed by dumpling-making dad Kenny, and they’re doing very nice things.

I confess to having tried “hokkien noodles” a few weeks before Christmas and being unimpressed.

But then a home delivery of some of yum cha items – and very good they were – re-sparked my interest.

 

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So heading to Ferguson Street with two regular CTS companions, I am filled with hope.

But there is cause to be cautious in terms of optimism.

After all, normal expectations for yum cha goodies served in such a humble, corner store setting would normally fall into the realms of cheap, enjoyable but surely frozen and mass-produced dumplings and the like.

 

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What we enjoy at Kenny’s Yum Cha House is way, way better than that – top-notch yum cha that pretty much matches what you’ll find at any of the storied yum cha places around town.

In fact, this place sort of redefines yum cha and how it can work.

Yum cha doesn’t have to be Sunday brunch; it can also easily be dinner.

Great yum cha doesn’t have to involve trollies; it can just as easily be a la carte.

In truth, it can even be argued that ordering as you go is preferable.

 

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Finally, Kenny’s Yum Cha House proves beaut yum cha doesn’t have to be served in a vast barn; a smallish neighbourhood enterprise can do it, too.

Everything we have is good or better:

  • Pan-fried dumplings ($8 for five).
  • Pork dumplings ($5.50 for three).
  • Chive prawn dumplings ($6 for three).
  • Pork ribs in black bean sauce ($5.50).
  • Chicken feet in black bean sauce ($5).

Only the last mentioned are in any way less than excellent; they lack a certain spicy zing.

 

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As well, as we find that assessing a yum cha joint can at least partially be done on the basis of greenery, we order Chinese broccoli with oyster sauce ($12) – and that, too, is lovely.

 

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It’s been a rather smashing meal – cheap, easy, impromptu (we pay $16 per person).

And on a Monday night in Williamstown!

 

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Kenny meets Kenny.

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CTS – 2015 in review

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As ever, this list of Consider The Sauce highlights for 2015 makes no claims to being comprehensive or compiled methodically.

Ask the same questions tomorrow and the answers could well be different!

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Pizza pleasures

It’s a tie between Pizza d’Asporto (Williamstown) and Ovest (West Footscray). Of course, both these great places do a lot more than pizza – and both in their own inimitable style.

***

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Best non-westie meal

Moroccan deli-cacy (Brunswick East) serves incredibly delicious vegetarian food made with love and served with a smile. Just a “spoken menu” of a single mixed plate of amazing.

***

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CTS Feasts

Consider The Sauce Feasts are not held in just any old eateries – they are held only at places we love, and we love meeting our readers at them and celebrating the very best of western suburbs food culture. This year, events were held at Pizza d’Asporto (Williamstown), Curry Leaves (Sunshine) and Xuan Banh Cuon (Sunshine). As well, a wonderful fund-raiser was held in Williamstown Greek restaurant Santorini on behalf of asylum-seeker assistance group West Welcome Wagon.

***

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Sri Lankan

We continue to love our Indian food, including the eateries of West Footscray. But we love the added options afforded for Sri Lankan by Fab Delight and Fusion Ceylon joining our established favourite, Curry Leaves, in Sunshine. Even better, Fusion Ceylon offers something simple and affordable – Sri Lankan flavours mostly whipped up in woks.

***

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Coffee

Depending on circumstances, we drop in for our caffeine fix at regulars Dad ‘n’ Dave’s (Yarraville), Sourdough Kitchen (Seddon), Pod at Pid  and Brother Nancy (both West Fooscray) and Olive Oil and Butter (Kingsville). It’s not just about, coffee, either as we’re equally happy to eat at these fine places. And we especially love taking Olive Oil and Butter’s fabulous spanakopitas home for easy dinners.

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Pals

Consider The Sauce Simply wouldn’t exist were it not for wonderful friends, leavers of comments, providers of hot tips, attenders of CTS Feasts and many more who help us keep track of things in the west. But a special vote of thanks goes to Christine, Julian, Eliza and Josh for making CTS much more in-depth in its coverage of western suburbs food.

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Caribbean tang

Thanks to Bax Food Co in Yarraville for bring a cheerful, uplifting taste of Jamaica to the west.

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Middle Eastern

Bit by bit, the availability of good Middle Eastern food in the western suburbs improves. We love A1 Bakery in Essendon and House of Beans in Altona.

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The pies have it

Ka Pies in Sunshine turn out perfect, affordable pastry encased wonders that have become a home staple for us. Our favourites are the smoked fish, lamb roast, beef rendang, haka and pork-and-watercress.

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How sweet it is …

We love the sugary brilliance of the Indian sweets offered by Kumar’s Sweets in Deer Park and their Lebanese equivalents at  Victoria Sweets in Altona North.

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Bangladesh in Footscray

Rizq Bangladeshi Cuisine is bringing a lovely touch of Bangladesh to the west, offering a great alternative to our many Indian restaurants.

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Burger maddness

The western suburbs have not been spared the burger mania that has hit the rest of Melbourne. St Burgs in Edgewater impresses as the new guy on the block but we still dig Zigzag at the showgrounds and 8bit in Footscray.

***

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Fab Somalian

Joining the west’s robust African eating riches this year were the Somalian eateries New Somali Kitchen in Flemington and Ya Salam Cafe and Restaurant in Tarneit. Somalian food? Love that rice!

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Baked

All the goodies at Sourdough Kitchen in Seddon and Impasto Forno Antico in Avondale Heights are excellent. But we are specially fond of the fruity scrolls from the former and the ciabatta rolls from the latter.

Up In Smoke: Update

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Bennie and I had a look-see at how Up In Smoke is coming along a few weeks before Christmas.

There was no one around though it was obvious there was still much work to do at the location on the corner of Whitehall and Hopkins streets.

There still is but co-owner Shayne McCallum tells me they’re about a couple of weeks from opening.

I’m happy that Shayne is happy to show me around when I wander in after a fish-and-chip feed across the road.

 

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Here he is with Up In Smoke’s fancy $20,000 Yoder Frontiersman offset smoker.

Shayne and his colleagues will be selling regulation barbecued meats such as brisket but are keen not to be perceived as “the next barbecue place”.

To that end, expect to see things such as smoked vegetables.

Smaller dishes are tipped to be in the $10 range, with salads and sandwiches somewhere between $10 and $15 and a hefty meat-centred meal likely to be in the region of $25 to $3o per person.

 

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The main dining area, regular chairs on side of the tables and banquettes on the other, will accommodate about 60 punters.

There will be a more informal dining area opposite the bar, which will be pouring about 10 or so all-Australian craft beers.

 

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The currently bare area right outside the storage facilities is to be turned into a green-heavy garden area.

Current plans are for Up In Smoke to be open for until 11pm and for drinks until 1am.

Breakfast is another possibility – think toasted sangers, great coffee and maybe bagels.

 

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The adjacent shop will stock such basics as top-quality milk and butter as well as charcuterie goodies and smoking accessories, along with the same meats – in uncooked form – being prepared right next door.

 

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Taking Luxsmith for a spin

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Luxsmith, 5 Gamon Street, Seddon. Phone: 9362 7333

This Gamon Street address encapsulates the recent history of Seddon – and our own history in the west.

When we moved to Seddon, 14 years ago, there was not a lot of coffee stops so Le Chien became a regular.

It was a friendly place with basic food served and – to my delight – Blue Note jazz albums festooning the walls and on the sound system.

It changed hands and got bigger, taking over the TAB next door.

As the area – and the inner west – developed, it became just a very occasional stop for coffee.

We never did dinner there so have no idea how that was.

Now it’s changed again, having undergone a very zippy makeover and becoming a purveyor of what can accurately be called Asian fusion.

We do well do be served at all.

After all, seven of us have bowled up two nights before Christmas and the place is very busy.

But it’s a lovely night so we’re happy to take an outside table.

Things start slowly for us, with the our various drinks taking a while to arrive.

But once the food starts arriving, it does so in a steady flow.

There’s so many of us, we take something of an expansive approach, ordering all the mains and quite of a few of the small, medium and side plates as well (see menu below).

And happily and successfully, we put in double orders of some of the more appealing items.

Here’s what we enjoyed:

 

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Tofu glazed in pepper sauce with crispy shallots, chilli ($10) – nice enough but we quickly move on.

 

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Korean fried chicken wings with Asian slaw and red dragon sauce ($8) are excellent.

They’re hot and crisp and sauce is of just the right quantity and piquancy.

 

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Crispy pigs ears with five spice and hoisin ($10) are delightful nibbles that are both chewy and crunchy.

 

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Sichuan pepper lamb ribs with spring onion and ginger ($18) are outstanding.

They’re fatty, as ribs are, but the lamb flavour is a powerful kick.

 

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Miso-braised eggplant with smoked tofu, shiso (perilla leaves) and sesame ($27) is one of our larger serves.

It’s a sweet, slithery delight with grand eggplant flavour.

 

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Vietnamese lamb curry with potato, chilli and mixed herbs ($29) is nice, with plenty of lamb submerged in that gravy.

But it strikes me as being so mildly spiced as to be bland – and that’s even taking on board that Vietnamese curries are often of a mild bent.

 

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Snake beans and Asian mushrooms in oyster sauce, ginger, onion ($14) are a crunchy/slippery wonder.

 

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Whole fried baby snapper with, coconut caramel, crispy garlic and Asian herbs ($37) is OK but could use more sauce/lubrication as it comes across as quite dry, and that includes the herby covering.

 

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Rare-grilled hanger steak with kimchi puree, ssam sauce, butter lettuce and mixed herbs ($29.50) works a treat, with the beef beautifully cooked and having wonderfully charry flavour.

 

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Soft shell crabs with “traditional Singapore sauce” and grilled lime ($28.50), like the tofu we began with, fails our table’s sharing approach.

Soft shell crabs are ephemeral enough at the best of times; there’s simply not enough crabiness here to register among seven eaters.

The sauce inspires very little by way of comments one way or another from the two Singaporeans at our table, nor another who has lived on the island.

Every single member of our group regularly eats the cheap and cheerful western suburbs variations of the Asian food that inspires what Luxsmith provides.

Yet we all know that making direct comparisons between the two is like comparing apples and oranges.

But because of the pricing, it is unlikely to be the sort of place we’ll head simply upon discovering the fridge is bare.

Our next visit is likely to be to try the congees on the lunch menu!

Many thanks to CTS pals for allowing a social occasion to be photographed!

Check out the Luxsmith website here.

 

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Meal of the week No.26: Snow Tree

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Ever since visiting Snow Tree for dinner with friends, I’ve harboured the suspicion that it would make a better a lunch place.

Boxing Day is the time to find out, especially with Bennie still being in bed and playing Maximum Sloth to the max.

Footscray Central is, of course fully open and in working order – as it was on Christmas Day.

The full menu is available but I choose from the lunch deals list.

My spicy beef with rice, miso soup and three side dishes costs a very handy $9.90.

It’s good.

The miso soup is very pale and tasteless.

But the side dishes – bean sprouts, kimchi and three chunk of tender, tasty sweet potato – are fine.

With the rice come three more bits and pieces, deep fried and unannounced.

My spring roll is hot and rather nice but the crumbed item could be prawn or seafood extender.

The third of the trio is a flat tube that appears to filled with mince – and perhaps potato?

Under the fried goodies is some mayo-dressed sliced fresh cabbage with a couple of bits of pickled ginger that goes good with the plentiful beef.

The beef – also with cabbage, as well as carrot and other foliage – is very good indeed.

But it is very spicy.

So … not a masterwork of lunch by any means.

But for $10, a nice option to the many Vietnamese, Indian and other offerings at this location.

Meal of the week No.25: Kiosk by d’Asporto

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Getting all excited about the impending opening of Kiosk by d’Asporto at Williamstown Beach – including doing a story for The Age and then doing a blog story about doing a story for The Age – is all good and well.

But it’s not in the realms of proof-is-in-the-eating.

 

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So lunch it is for us.

We choose a beaut day for it – sunny but not hot, precious little wind and not too many people around.

There’s two tables adjacent the kiosk but we grab two of the stools right up close.

 

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Bennie has one the gorgeous-looking panini on display – pulled pork with Italian coleslaw ($10).

It’s fabulous!

The bread is fresh, the pork has great flavour and the slaw has nuts and dried fruit.

 

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I’m not sure how Italian the fish and chips ($10) are but I love them anyway.

It’s easy to do so as they’re hot and crisp and delicious.

The chunk of flake is of modest proportions but is all meaty perfection.

 

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Also freshly fried are the arancini – the larger ones of potato and cheese ($3 each), the smaller of a sort of rice-y bolognese with cheese ($1.80 or four or $6).

They are totally yummy taste balls.

 

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The fine display of sweet, baked goodies – and the coffee and the gelati – will have to wait for another day.

It’s only one meal – but Kiosk by d’Asporto really does feel like a game-changer for westside beachside eating.

Highpoint fried chook

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Nene Chicken, Highpoint. Phone: 9318 2843

It’s clear that western suburbs have bought massively into Melbourne’s mania for burgers.

The fried chicken thing isn’t quite as manic and our western neighbourhoods have mostly not risen to it charms.

There’s invariably fried chook on hand at charcoal chicken shops, such as the newish Manok, but it often seems like an after-thought. We are never tempted.

There’s fried poultry at westside Korean places such as Frying Colours and Snow Tree.

But as for any joints specialising in fried chicken of the American, or southern American, tradition … well, nope.

Not so far as we know.

 

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Nene is Korean, too, but we wonder on the drive to it if maybe it’ll constitute a western suburbs fried chicken hot-spot.

The utter folly of going to Highpoint on a 40-degree weekend day less than a week before Christmas proves to be of pleasingly little consequence.

The parking situation is intense.

But once we’re inside, things in general and all the people are surprisingly cool and civilised.

The Nene menu comes with so many variables, it takes us a while to work out what we think will work for us.

Here’s how, in the end, we order:

Kimchi chicken burger (9.95 – on a milk bun with salad, onion, dressing and kimchi with bulgogi sauce.

Regular original fried chicken ($10.94) – four pieces with coleslaw and pickled radish; upsized ($4.95) with chips and a drink.

Extra drink ($3.70).

This all pans out to $29.95 for a satisfactorily sized meal for Bennie and I.

 

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Bennie’s kimchi burger is probably our repast’s highlight – it’s a refreshing change from the many kinds of beef and chook burgers we’ve had this year.

He gives it seven out of 10.

 

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The chicken turns out to be five pieces rather than four – though it must be stated these are very small pieces.

It’s good and non-greasy without being in any way notable.

Despite the small sizes, I am happy for Bennie to have a couple.

His burger was good but it lasted all of a minute.

The cubed and sweetly pickled radish is nice; the coleslaw is rubbish – dry and tasteless.

 

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The chips are fine and there’s plenty for both of us.

Nene Chicken strikes us as being just OK – and a long way short of fried chicken nirvana.

And there are several better options close by in the new Highpoint food precinct.

But it’s still better than the usual Kind of fried chicken grease-fests Found at such shopping Centres.

Fine Indian in Hoppers with a late-night option

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Delhi Nights, 13 Old Geelong Road, Hoppers Crossing. Phone: 8087 0295

As with so many unassuming shopping strips, it’s easy to miss the row of shops and eateries across the road from Hoppers Crossing train station.

It has a cool cafe in the form of Corinthians and I’ve heard that the pies at Pauls Traditional Bakery & Cafe are well worth a try.

But Indian on this strip?

We’ve never before noticed it.

Even Bennie is surprised, as this is all familiar territory to him on account of this tangle of rail lines and roads being part of his daily school routine.

Turns out we haven’t really been inattentive as Delhi Nights has been open only a couple of months.

 

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It has all the hallmarks of being a good, cheap neighbourhood Indian eatery – plain but nice decor, a big display of sweets and savoury snacks, Bollywood on a big screen in the corner, a long menu and several tables of happy locals in for an early dinner.

Actually, perhaps the most notable thing about Delhi Nights is that it is open from 10pm through to 2am on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

At those times, a “Night Menu” (see below) of chaats and a half-dozen or so curries is in play.

 

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Wow.

How about that?

A late-night western suburbs curry joint in Hoppers Crossing.

I’m told the response to this innovation has been good.

The Delhi Nights menu covers all the expected bases, though the dosa and Indo-Chinese lineup is not as lengthy as those in most such places.

Best of all, from my biased point of view, the chaat menu extends to some sexy stuffed breads and the like – including aloo puri, pav bhaji, Amritsrai kulcha thali and aloo prantha thali.

 

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My gobhi prantha thali ($11.99) is the goods, with an impressive pile of breads stuffed with a crumbly cauliflower mix.

These, though, are very spicy to my way of thinking and tasting, so I make no use of the pickle on hand but make very happy with the raita.

 

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Bennie is very happy with his “dine-in” thali spcial ($11.99).

With this he gets his choice of a meat curry (lamb Madras is this case), a “chef’s choice” veg curry, a plain naan and raita.

The menu says he should also get saffron rice, as other customers are, but he worries not as what is in front of him is just right and he happily scoops up the lot.

All too often these sorts of thali deals seem to involve whatever tired curries happen to be lying around in the kitchen.

That’s certainly not the case here, with the chick peas in particular having a lovely freesh-cooked appeal.

The service has been fine and the papadums free.

 

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Nimble with the sangers

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Jack B. Nimble, 132 Mitchell Street, Maribyrnong. Phone: 9317 9792

The Mitchell Avenue shops are tucked away and no doubt of little interest to the traffic hordes scooting by on Ballarat Road and Churchill Avenue.

But there is quite a lot of residential in the area, including a bunch of students.

So it figures that cafe could and should do well on the strip, joining Los Latinos, a Vietnamese place and a South American bakery.

Jack B. Nimble is that cafe, replacing a long disused bakery.

 

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Jack is all done out in light wood and is a sweet place for lunch.

The longish breakfast list (see menu below) features all sorts of imaginative line-ups starring such ingredients as house-smoked fish, grilled asparagus, white pudding and cauliflour.

The lunch roll-out is much briefer – just a daily salad, two sandwiches and a pasta as on the blackboard.

So … we each choose one of the sandwiches at a fine $10 each.

A side of the salad can be had with sanger for $4.

We’re tempted as the mixed grain number on display looks fine – but the presence of pumpkin makes it a non-starter for us.

 

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Bennie’s roast beef with caramelised onions, sacmorza (a cow milk cheese) and tomato relish is a good one.

The beef is rare and the cheese is gooey.

 

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But my number with fish cakes, kale, cucumber and tartare is way better.

This is a superb sandwich.

It looks of modest proportions but has quite a hefty feel.

All the ingredients – including crisp-crumbed, delicately seasoned fish cakes and creamy tartare – sing in harmony.

Yes, even including the chewy kale.

 

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From the baked finery on the front counter, we choose to share an apple, nectarine and apricot muffin ($4).

It, too, is superb – more in your decadent cake department, moist and delicious.

Very good coffees round out a lovely lunch.

 

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Very extremely dangerous in Keilor East

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Blonde Chilli, 1/19 Webber Parade, Keilor East. Phone: 0402 331 022

It’s a well-known* fact that Consider The Sauce doesn’t just regularly check out the sprawling industrial/commercial estates of the greater west but also actively enjoys doing so.

We like finding out what’s at the end of any given street or boulevard.

 

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And there’s always the chance we’ll find food.

That doesn’t happen very often, mind you …

 

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But today’s outing is no aimless adventure, as we’re on the trail of a hot tip – so to speak.

 

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We check out the surrounding streets of a light industrial hub pretty much on the opposite side of the ring road from the Star Weekly office at Keilor Park, before zeroing in on our destination.

 

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The plain doorway and lack of signage don’t look at all promising.

 

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But inside we find a well-appointed, cozy room stuffed with hot sauce.

Lots and lots and lots of hot sauce.

 

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Welcome to Blonde Chilli.

The eponymous blonde, boss lady Belinda, is elsewhere but we’re made welcome and talked in a darn right friendly fashion through the store’s many spicy wares.

 

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Those wares are all about bottle after bottle of hot sauce.

 

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Though there’s some potato crisps, spice mixes and even jerky on hand.

 

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There’s quite a few sauces from Australia, with the rest being from the US.

Interestingly, there appears to be few or none sauces from the southern states, nor from the Caribbean – but we’re not complaining!

 

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Aside from the locked cabinet of limited edition and signed goodies, all the sauces are available for tasting.

So taste we do.

The taste buds on my tongue are shot after just four drops from four sauces.

In the end, we buy a bottle each of Volcanic Peppers’ Lava Hot Scorpion BBQ Sauce and Blair’s Beyond Death Sauce.

 

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And a couple of packets of crisps.

 

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Check out the Blonde Chilli website here.

The shop is open Tuesdays noon-6pm and Saturdays 9am-1pm.

* Snort!

 

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A deth in the park

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cur5

 

Curators Collective, 778 Mt Alexander Rd, Moonee Ponds. Phone: 9042 4560

Consider The Sauce visited the cafe in Queens Park several years ago – it was known then as Olivers Garden.

Had an OK meal.

Then promptly thought no more of the place.

Lately, though, we’ve got a hot tip that things have changed – management, name, food.

So we’re here on a lovely late spring day to check it out.

 

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In truth, and in terms of the building, furniture and all-round vibe, not much at all seems to have changed.

We take a nicely shaded table outside.

This is not our normal practice but there’s no wind and thankfully the pigeons at ground outnumber the flies in air.

The menu (see below) comprises a fairly typical cafe line-up.

We avoid the beef and chook burgers, and I prevail upon my son to choose something other than the Pork Bennie of eggs with pulled pork on a muffin.

 

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So he goes the reuben sandwich ($15), with chips extra ($3).

It’s a good sandwich, with lusty tang from the sauerkraut, good corned beef, cheese, mustard and pickles.

The chips are hot and fine.

 

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I scarf a good handful of the chips to compensate for the fact my farro & beets salad ($15.50) is undoubtedly the most insidiously healthy thing I’ve eaten all year.

Happily, it’s also extremely tasty.

The “beetroot three ways” seems more like three kinds of beetroot but they’re all delicious, mixing it in lightly dressed and grand style with spinach, blood orange, goat’s cheese and heaps of chewy grains.

After that, it seems only right to let Bennie off the leash to enjoy one of Curators Collective “Deth Shakes” ($12).

Ours (top photograph) is a grinningly evil and delicious mix of dark chocolate Oreo milkshake, chocolate, chocolate brownie, coconut, cream and Persian fairy floss.

It tastes real good.

I know … because Bennie told me so.

I didn’t try any of it.

Really.

Curators Collective is a very nice spot!

(This story has been sponsored by Moonee Valley City Council. But in all other regards it is a regular Consider The Sauce post – we chose the restaurant and when to eat there; we ordered what we wanted and paid for it ourselves; and neither oversight nor an editorial role were sought by the council.)

 

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Asian-fusion for Braybrook

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On Ballarat Road in Braybrook – right opposite La Porchetta – is a rather unlovely commercial edifice.

The new part houses a couple of furniture outlets and a gym.

At its glassy and more interesting and two-storied end are a childcare centre and the offices of a certain MP.

This building, as I’ve discovered through reader feedback to this post, has a venerable history.

It’s at that end, the official address is actually 17 Lacy Street, that West of Kin is taking shape.

 

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It is the baby of Andy (above) and Tram Tran, who run Kin in Chapel Street, Prahran.

But where that eatery is pretty much an orthodox Vietnamese place, it’s sister restaurant in Braybrook will be of the Asian-fusion persuasion.

Andy tells me there’ll be tapas-style dishes (priced $7 to $10, or three for $20), as well as offerings with Vietnamese, Korean and Japanese influences.

The menu will be developed by consulting chef Sam Pinzone, who has earned his stripes from his time working under Neil Perry at Rockpool, Jacques Reymond and most recently as executive chef at the refurbished The Rose Upstairs in Fitzroy.

 

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The location is a whirl of carpenters and fitting out at present, but Andy reckons they’ll be up and running in about a week.

West of Kin will be no humble ethnic eatery quietly slipping into the neighbourhood.

It’s going to be surprisingly large and very swish, encompassing in an L shape a bar/kitchen area and a more dedicated dining zone.

Those areas will wrap around a “beer” garden, while Andy says the place will be very friendly when it comes to kids and pets.

 

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Andy and Tram figure this is a good location – and I reckon they’re right.

In terms of eating/drinking, there’s not much to be had between Footscray (in one direction) and Sunshine (in the other).

In terms of eat/drinking any time after about 9pm any night of the week, there’s very little – aside from the nearby kebab shacks – for many kilometres around.

Andy and Tram live just a few minutes away so are well aware of all this.

Andy tells me he’s looking for ward to “doing something for the west” by opening a business that means his friends won’t have to travel to the likes of Brunswick for entertainment purposes.

Plans are that West of Kin will be open seven days a week for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and until 11pm.

Laneway slices

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Slice Girls West, 4 Yewers Street, Footscray. Phone: 9689 6260

Footscray being colonised by a sister restaurant of a successful outfit in Melbourne’s CBD?

Using an unfunny, punny name?

I am in a playfully suspicious frame of mind as Bennie and I march up Yewer Street.

Mind you, I have enjoyed driving here, then parking, as Bennie kept on trying to guess where we’re going.

Yewer Street?

The effect is that it’s more of a laneway – appropriately, Slice Girls West, too, has a laneway vibe.

 

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The eatery space is quite confined but is bright and bohemian.

Contrived?

Maybe a little – but it IS pretty cool.

(The much larger upstairs area is being developed as a bar.)

The service is dispensed with a smile and the wait times are fine.

Spice Girls West offers a handful of square pizzas, four sangers and handful of such things as a hot dog, nachos and salads (see menu below).

The prices are real low.

 

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The Who Do You Think You Are pizza ($12) is lovely with prosciutto, provlone, artichokes and basil.

One review I read before departing opined that the pizzas here are more your American style, with a more spongy crust than usually provided with your Italian-style thin-crust pies.

This is true.

 

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The Cubano sandwich ($14) impresses the hell out of us.

It looks a tad modest for the price but eats quite big.

There’s oozy cheese, ham, pickles, mustard – and pork.

Here’s the thing – this “Citrus Roast Pork” really does have a citrus tang to it.

We’ll back for more this one.

 

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