Tag Archives: western suburbs

Gerry’s Pittes

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133 South Rd, Braybrook. Phone: 9311 9383

Exchanging dough for baked dough at Gerry’s Pittes – “First & best in Australia since 1969” – is an odd experience even by the sometimes quirky standards of the western suburbs.

I’ve been alerted to Gerry’s and the wisdom of investing in some of his bread, by Consider The Sauce friend Rich, who wrote:

Ever done fresh Gerry’s Pittas from the factory/shop front in South Road, Braybrook? Just down from that Viet place (Quan Viet) you covered a little while back. $7ish for a fresh bag of 20! Awesome for pizzas and brilliant with a lil’ butter and pan fried for a minute, a tiny squeeze of lemon goes well too. They’re open early till about 3 or so during the week … I know its a lot but thing is you can freeze ’em and they still come up well after 20 secs in the micro. They freeze well for me … but @ $7 for a bag of 20 … and the fact they have made me salivate in a ridiculous manner for many years – it’s worth the gamble.

Suzy, another Consider The Sauce buddy, chimed in, too:

You should check out Gerry’s Pitas in the same strip. Ring the bell to buy direct best Greek pitas going.

So here I am, standing in front of a plain, unwindowed shopfront in Braybrook.

I do as the signage instructs me and depress the busted-up bell.

A minute or so later the door is opened by a flour-dusted bloke who utters a few words in Greek to me then inquires in English what it is I want.

“I want some pita bread.”

“How many?”

“How do you do them?”

“Bag of 20 for $7.”

“OK.”

The doors closes, preventing me from inhaling any more the of delicious baking aroma coming from inside or trying to get peek of the operation, leaving me somewhat bemused.

Have I ever gazed upon a flour-stained footpath before?

I don’t think so.

A few minutes later, the bloke is back.

He takes my money, gives me my bread and makes change.

Surely, since this operation has been in operation since 1969, this guy is too young to be Gerry?

I ask him.

“No – I’m the supervisor,” he says before briskly consenting to having his photo taken and closing the door once more.

This transaction has been singularly lacking the sort of warmth I value so much, but that’s kind of neat in its own way.

If or when you ever have a late-night kebab from one of the kebab shacks/caravans, I reckon there’s a pretty good chance this is where its wrapping will have come from.

But saying that seems like doing these breads something of a disservice.

The freshness is the thing.

My breads are still warm when I get them home a few hours later, and when opened the bag emits a tantalising reminder of the previously enjoyed bakery aroma.

It’s a lot heavier than Lebanese-style pita. Eating one straight out of the bag is quite a lot like eating ordinary bread.

This is certainly value for money, with half of them going straight into the freezer.

I like Rich’s idea of giving them the frypan treatment. That’ll go sensationally well with the Greek salads that are among our favourite meals.

And with quite a hefty density, I can see them standing in for the supermarket rotis, parathas and naans we’ve been seriously unimpressed by whenever we’ve tried them.

One’ll get a test run with tonight’s dal.

And I know Bennie will love them a whole lot more for school lunches than the breads and rolls that have been our routine to this point in time.

Meals on wheels III

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Yuma cha advertising on a western suburbs bus.

 

Parked at the Yarraville bus terminus … my kind of vehicular advertising!

Such a little thing, but one that would have been unthinkable 20 or 30 years ago.

And another eloquent signpost on the way to a melting pot city, melting pot country and melting pot world.

Highpoint: Into the belly of the beast …

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Part of the current cooling system at Highpoint shopping centre.

 

Coming from a mechanical engineering and airconditioning background, centre manager Scott Crellin is happy to confess that the Highpoint cooling system is his kind of “thing”. He says that while the existing system is about 15 years old, it’s still significantly more efficient than rows of single-unit rooftop units, as still seen in many smaller and older shopping centres. He tells me the system servicing the $300 million extensions will be significantly better again.

Western suburbs musicians and artists – Scott Crellin is interested in hearing from you.

Scott is centre manager of Highpoint.

His phone number is 9319 3320.

This invitation comes near the end of a wide-ranging conversation I have with Scott and centre development manager Mark Pheely.

While they have stressed at every opportunity the commitment of the centre and parent company GPT to community engagement and sustainability, they are happy to confess they are largely unaware of the depth and breadth of western suburbs arts culture and that there is plenty of scope for new ideas and new people.

“We’d love to be looking at more live performance events,” Mark says.

Our meeting is the result of a letter I sent to Highpoint lamenting the colossal wastage inherent in centre food courts’ use of plastic cutlery and crockery.

Scott, as centre manager, sent a nice reply detailing the centre’s efforts to be good guys and issuing an invitation of a meeting and tour.

Centre manager Scott Crellin and development manager Mark Pheely with the Highpoint development plans.

Of course, no amount of sincere talking or a close-up look at the inner workings of the centre are ever likely to turn myself or anyone else – including several Consider The Sauce visitors who posted rather caustic comments – into paid-up members of the Highpoint fan club.

Nevertheless, I enjoy hearing the two men talk about the challenges the centre faces and their pride in working for GPT.

I may never be an outright Highpoint lover, but it is a significant institution in my community, one that won’t go away if I pretend it isn’t there.

And my engagement with Highpoint could well go deeper if some of the many musicians I know live in the west were to start providing some cool sounds there and gain some paying work in the process.

How about a Highpoint Music Festival?

For many people, I suspect that what they tell me will fall firmly into the “Well, they would say that, wouldn’t they?” category. But all I can do is report what I am told.

I am fascinated talking to these two blokes about their work and the often competing demands – consumer, shareholder, legislative – they confront on an almost daily basis.

They both firmly believe their company is far advanced in terms of sustainability of rivals such as Westfield.

The Highpoint development project.

 

Regarding the existing centre, they find themselves mostly looking at areas where they can have an impact in an establishment that has been around since the mid-’70s and a business that was formulated many decades ago when cars were big, petrol was cheap and recycling was unheard of.

They feel hampered, too, by the absence of local recycling infrastructure.

Regarding the specific issue of plastic implements and plates in the food courts, I put to them a question posted by Consider The Sauce visitor Janet: Have they done both a life-cycle analysis and a benefit-cost analysis of real crockery and collective washing?

The answer is yes – about five or six years ago.

At that time such a move was deemed unviable but they concede that perhaps it’s time to address the issue again.

As with so many other things – car safety and pharmaceuticals, for instance – it seems the existence of technology and processes is by itself not sufficient. The tipping point only comes when a move forward becomes firmly viable and, indeed, necessary in a business sense.

“There are limits to what we can do,” Mark says. “The Trade Practices Act means we can’t actually force tenants to use proper crockery. The tenants that do so, that’s their decision.

“A change like this would involve decisions about who pays. And with the fast-food market being super price sensitive, the difference between a $10 meal and a $11.50 meal is really significant.”

Centre management has some oversight jurisdiction over menus, but other than that the individual food court tenants run their own businesses as they see fit.

I am a little surprised and somewhat heartened to learn that despite the “same-iness” of food offerings from centre to centre, almost no pre-prepared food is brought in to Highpoint.

I tell them that from a perception point of view, the departure of Borders and Angus & Robertson has made – for myself and many others – Highpoint seem like a much more unpleasant place.

(There is, by the way, a new but very small bookshop called The Last Page in the same wing as Target.)

They rue the departure of Borders, but rightly say it was out of their hands.

They concede, too, that any replacement on a significant scale is unlikely given the turbulence the publishing industry is experiencing.

As in hospitals and the like, the lines are used to delineate different kinds of recycling.

Highpoint is one of about 18 centres run by GPT around Australia.

On site there 30 or so GPT staff, about 300 service staff covering areas such as security, cleaning, pest control and landscaping. The centre has about 400 stores.

A $300 million development project is currently underway.

This will see stores under the David Jones and Woolworths banners, 100 more individual traders and extra parking for 100 cars.

Stage 1 – comprising a full-line Woolworth’s supermarket,  Fresh Food Market, community spaces and carparking with Park Assist technology – is scheduled for completion late this year.

Stage 2 – two-level David Jones, 100 retailers including premium fashion, children’s precinct and 1000 new car spaces – is scheduled for completion in early 2013.

Development manager Mark becomes noticeably more animated when talking about the opportunities presented by the new project.

He says that on every level – electricity usage, recycling, airconditioning and ventilation, lighting and more – the new development will be a vast improvement on the existing structures.

A customer survey discovered that overwhelmingly people want the new developments to be something that “reflects the west”.

To that end, Mark is overseeing the use of more natural materials, including bluestone, timber, artwork and furnishings.

I finish my Highpoint visit with a Highpoint lunch – non-plastic variety, of course – before elbowing a couple of kids aside to have my photo taken with Homer.

Noodle Land

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74 Watton St, Werribee. Phone: 9741 8331

The main drag of Werribee is surprisingly rich in cheap eats potential.

Within a couple of blocks are a number of Indian restaurants, including Bikanos, purveyors of fine chole bhature.

There’s a handy-looking fish and chip joint, a couple of charcoal chicken shops and a variety of cafes.

As well, there’s a couple of mixed noodle places – like the recently reviewed and fine Dragon Express, I suspect they’re both Chinese-based but have wider-based menus that dabble in South-East Asia.

Certainly that’s precisely the case at Noodle Land, which I choose for my Sunday lunch, fuel for my first night shift in Geelong after a two-week break.

Inside are all the usual food photographs, a table of locals who look like regulars happily fanging away and – unusual for such establishments – the cricket on TV.

Even better, there are newspapers.

Being a veteran newspaperman, I take special and perverse delight in reading newspapers I haven’t paid for, even if they are a day old and particularly if they still include the foodie bits and pieces.

Perfect!

I start with a trio of chicken dumplings ($3.50).

Far from being aghast at their khaki green skins, I take them to mean these babies are made on the premises.

They’re quite delicate and tasty, though like their chook cousins, chicken sausages, they have no chicken flavour at all.

Pickled cabbage and carrot – of the kind often found served with Vietnamese vermicelli and rice dishes – on the side is a nice touch.

Hard-won wisdom tells not go with roti with my beef rendang ($10.50), so I go with rice instead.

Quite predictably, this will never make the grade in the Malaysian hot spot of Racecourse Rd and environs in Flemington, but it’s actually pretty good.

It’s very mild, but the gravy is plentiful and of fine taste, and the meat is tender and almost fat-free.

We’re so lucky to be surrounded by incredible and uncompromised food so close to our home that it’s tempting to get a bit sniffy about such fare.

But certainly, I’ve had much, much worse, ahem, “curries” in places of Chinese derivation

If I lived in Werribee, I’d probably be a regular at Noodle Land.

As it turns out, I’m partial to having a feed after having put myself a few kilometres closer to my work duties in Geelong, so the occasional stop in Werribee will likely continue to be part of my routine.

It just may take a long while to get a handle on what’s hot and what’s not.

Noodle Land on Urbanspoon

Oriental Charcoal BBQ

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110 Hopkins St, Footscray. Phone: 9687 0421

It’s a happily busy Saturday lunchtime in Footscray central and the many Vietnamese restaurants hereabouts are doing grand business of varying degrees.

Yet oriental Charcoal BBQ goes unloved – except for us!

As our meal winds down, we reflect that it’s a shame, for we have had a fantastic meal in good company at a truly fine bargain price.

More to the point, we’ve enjoyed food that defies any tendency to stereotype this part of Footscray as Vietnamese through and through.

It’s been of food unlike any of us have specifically tried before.

Truth is Bennie and I have been only moderately inspired by Ms Baklover’s otherwise excellent review at Footscray Food Blog.

The tipping point came with a comment left there by James, also a regular visitor to Consider The Sauce.

He writes:

This place is GREAT! I went tonight with a friend – both of us have worked in Northern China. It’s just like the food we used to eat on the border with North Korea. All absolutely delicious (although as Ms Baklover suggests the plastic wrap is kind of weird!). We had 12+ dishes and paid about $50 in total! Amazing. And it’s BYO. Mo Vida, watch out for Chinese tapas!

It was such a lovely family experience too – we were made so welcome – the grandparents, parents and 6-month-old grandchild were all there. Such a memorable night.

That’ll do us – and thanks for the tip both of you!

Bennie and I are joined today by two other frequent Consider The Sauce visitors, Bruce and Maddy, meaning we can enjoy a wide-ranging repast.

We muddle through the ordering process yet end up with a really well-balanced meal.

By general consensus, we avoid offal such as giblets, hearts and livers, yet magically find that Maddy’s no-red-meat requirements require no compromise to our order at all.

Cabbage and vermicelli ($6) appears at first blush as though it’ll play a similar role in our meal as a serve of Vietnamese coleslaw. Instead, this is a much less crunchy dish, and much less robustly flavoured.

The cabbage seems to be only from the heart of the vegetable, so tender is it, yet it mixes well with the slithery noodles. The dish has the same sort of vinegar/sesame oil taste as the delicious bean sprouts often served at the beginning a Japanese meal. The charred chilli discs offer only the most mild of spice kicks.

By general acclaim, the most loved dish of the day is spicy salt and pepper tofu (photo at top, $12.80).

This has the same sort of seasoning as more frequently had by us all with chicken ribs or calamari – finely diced green onions, capsicum, salt, pepper.

The plump tofu pieces are either crunchy or extra crunchy on the outside, the innards smooth and squishy.

It’s super yummo!

We order a plethora of skewers, all of which cost about $2 a pop. We get a nice range of textures and flavours, although all come with cumin seasoning.

The BBQ capsicum and onion and the BBQ green beans work well for all of us.

The lamb likewise for the three boys and the chicken for Maddy.

The BBQ sausage is, as far as we can tell, nothing more than your standard hot dog – but still tastes pretty good after it is imbued with that barbecue flavour!

The single mis-step is BBQ beef tender.

Using the menu photo as a gauge, we expect skewers of a cut of juicy if rather fatty beef.

Instead, we get – of course! – tendon.

There’s nothing truly unpleasant about these, but they are awfully chewy and a step too far for us.

“Like the worst calamari you’ve ever had,” quips Bruce.

Back on track, the fried pork dumplings ($9) are another outright winner.

They’ve been pan-fried, the bottoms are delicately crispy, the tops tender but firm and the filling tasty and hot, if mild of flavour.

By this time, the staff have realised we’re not only about having a fabulous lunch but also about writing about it … so insist on providing us with more food to sample on the house.

Any discomfort on our part at this eventuality is swept aside by the enthusiasm and pride of the staff.

Veggies combination ($6) has cucumber, peanuts and chewy tofu skin that looks like cabbage but is nothing like it, all dressed in a similar concoction to the cabbage and vermicelli that now seems a long time ago. It’s OK but by this time I suspect we are confronting “food fatigue”.

The BBQ steamed bun is nice enough – Bennie loves it but it seems like toast to the rest of us.

The BBQ fish balls are what you’d expect, yet by this time we are tiring of the ubiquitous cumin-heavy seasoning.

Even without the “sample” dishes and taking into account a couple of non-bullseyes, we are well pleased with our lunch.

We’ve eaten superbly well for a sensational and low price, yet none of us feel bloated or over-full.

And it seems that more by luck than expertise, we’ve got a handle on how to order here – a bunch of “food on a stick” options, cool salad, main dish and dumplings, all for the sharing.

Oriental Charcoal BBQ offers a real tasty alternative in Footscray central.

And thanks to Maddy and Bruce for the fine company!

Cup & Bean – coffee nirvana in Yarraville

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Cup & Bean’s Tim is a serious coffee dude.

20 Wembley Ave, Yarraville. Phone: 0459 075 207

Cup & Bean proprietor Tim doesn’t see himself as coffee zealot or crusader, but there’s no doubt he’s passionate about his coffee and his new venture in Wembley Ave, Yarraville.

Right next door to very good Indian establishment Mishra’s Kitchen, Cup & Bean pays homage to the premise’s previous incarnation as a greengrocer by stocking a limited but useful range of fresh produce.

For the time being, the food offerings are being kept simple – sandwiches, pastries and the like – with Tim keeping an open mind about it and welcoming customer feedback.

The in-house bean brews have a much more singular focus, though, with Tim ushering me behind the counter to show how he uses a “double group handle” – often used to make two coffees – to create superb efforts at $3.60 a pop.

Tim has a coffee pedigree that includes stints with the Jasper brand and what he refers to as “multiple site management”, which is why he’s having such a grand time being hands-on in his own enterprise.

He is sourcing his beans from Geelong outfit Cartel Coffee Roasters while his compostable takeaway cups and lids come from PLAnet Cup.

I have two coffees as we visit and talk – one an ordered and paid-for cafe latte and the other a gratis “demonstration” model of the same genre.

They are both excellent – just the right temperature, creamy and intense without being bitter or too strong.

Excellent? Actually, they’re perfect.

Cup & Bean is a lovely space.

At the front are comfy old armchairs, including a rocking nursing chair, and a growing collection toys.

In the centre of the room, a large communal wooden table is surrounded by similarly personality-laden chairs of a more upright variety.

The walls are adorned with lovely paintings.

Cup & Bean is open 7.30am-4.30pm Monday to Friday and Saturdays from 8am-1pm.

Cup & Bean on Urbanspoon

Bretzel.biz

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25A Vernon St, South Kingsville. Phone: 0401 218 677

Les Sullivan is adamant – the term pretzel is nothing but an Americanisation of bretzel.

He likens it to a reference he once found to Dutch pretzels.

After a suitable amount of head-scratching he realised this, too, was an Americanisation … of Deutsch pretzels!

He laughs when I tell him the story – actually mostly an urban myth, but it rings true – that movie execs were forced to change the name of the movie The Madness of King George III for the American market.

I mean, who’d want to see it when they hadn’t already seen George I and George II?

Les, a South African, met his German wife, Annette, in his homeland some 35 years ago. He was an anti-apartheid social worker, she a mission worker arriving from Namibia.

Eventually, they moved to Australia to escape the brutal insanity of apartheid and the seemingly slim chances that anything there would ever change.

They’ve been at their Kingsville address for about a year, having before that run their bretzel business in Geelong.

As markets in and around Melbourne came to make up more and more of their business, they simply got sick of going up and down the highway.

As a Yarraville/Geelong commuter, I can sympathise!

They can sell up to 500 bretzels at a single market in a day.

Bennie and I have already eaten a beaut Vietnamese lunch, so share a simple cinnamon/sugar bretzel ($4), with a cafe latte for me and a hot chocolate for him.

Cinnamon/sugar bretzel.

 

It’s a subtle sweet treat when compared to, say, pastries and strudels from other parts of Europe. The sugar ‘n’ spice blend is just right and the texture of the bretzel itself both tender and chewy.

More flashy variants are available for $5, including one stuffed with Nutella and topped with choccy sprinkles.

Les explains that the sweet bretzels differ from their standard salted colleagues ($3) through the inclusion of milk and sugar in the dough.

The standard bretzels are made of just four and yeast.

Because of the authentic use of the term bretzels with a “B”, the Sullivans find a lot of customers get them confused with bagels.

It’s simple – bagels are boiled, bretzels are roasted.

“We are very passionate about our product,” Les says. “It’s not deep fried, it’s healthy and it’s different.”

Their simple German-style cafe attracts customers coming to the area specifically for a bretzel fix. They often leave disappointed, as the Sullivans are often at market, as they say.

They also win walk-up trade thanks to the proximity of the Famous Blue Rain Coat, which is right next door, and Motorino, which is a few doors up.

They’re always happy, however, to make coffees if on the premises and getting stuck into their substantial prep work.

Our brews were fine.

Phoning ahead would seem to be the right idea.

The Bretzel.biz Facebook page has all the details, including their market commitments.

Shishka Cafe

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71 Pier St, Altona. Phone: 9398 8580

This restaurant is now closed.

Authentic Lebanese food in Altona?

You bet!

We’d been alerted to the arrival of Shiska by flyers at the Lebanese Bakery at The Circle, also in Altona.

Foolishly, I’d neglected to take one with me and promptly forgot the name of the new venture.

Its newness – it only opened its doors about a month before Christmas – defied my online sleuthing, so as we amble up Pier St we are living in hope that dad has got the details right.

And there it is – right between a Viet place we’ve never tried and pretty good-looking charcoal chicken shop.

We’ve always found Pier St a bit of non-event in the fang stakes, but things are looking up.

We’ve enjoyed another fine day for cycling and another fine ride – under the bridge and around the bay, with the wind at our backs.

We stopped at the pier in Williamstown to have a chat with Julian.

He’s set up shop with a handful of quadricycles.

This is his first day and he has yet to snag a customer.

We wish him well!

We are certainly not without favoured options in our greater neighbourhood when it comes to kebabs, dips and salads of a Mediterranean nature, most notably at Footscray Best Kebab House and Flemington Kebab House.

But when it comes to the moreish and distinctive flavours of Lebanon, all we’ve found is Cedar Grill in Newport. We enjoyed it, but in truth it seems more set up as a takeaway joint doing good trade in pizzas, burgers and – yes – kebabs.

Based on our very fine lunch, Shiska is the answer.

The decor is a bit daggy, while menu items such as chicken parma and chips and some main courses that seem to fall into the Aussie contemporary bag show only wisdom that relying only on Lebanese customers  may not be sufficient to ensure success.

Even though Altona seems to be a stronghold for folks of that persuasion.

But there’s enough Lebanese specialties at the right sort of prices to warrant Shishka serious consideration.

Bennie goes for the very good value of the $9 kebab wrap and can of soft drink.

He loves every mouthful. He adores it. He rates it 9 1/2 out 10, but that may have something to do with the fact he got exactly what he wanted.

His dad orders the foul ($12) and the eggplant dip ($7).

When compared to the $7 foul at Al-Alamy, this may seem a bit steep – but it’s a big serve, and when combined with the dip, pickles and other bits and pieces it make for a ripper $19 meal for two.

Shishka Cafe brings a Lebanese flavour to Altona.

The beans and chick peas are served whole, swimming in their juices and olive oil.

We mash ’em up and they go just right with the cucumber slices, black olives, pickled turnip, mint sprigs, tomato pieces and green onion strands – it’s plain, honest food and a delight to inhale.

The dip, topped with more olive oil and pomegranate seeds, looks like humus but has a nice texture and lemony flavour.

It’s a lovely feast, and even though Bennie has already scarfed his kebab he, too, indulges in the Lebanese vegetarian delights, making our order about right.

Next time we’ll be interested to check out the likes of the falafel (six served with pickles and pita for $10), kibbeh ($20) and chilli, coriander and potato salad, while the $25 platter of lamb, chicken, three dips and rice may also be a winner.

The kofta plate of three skewers with dip and “parsley salad” costs $15 and there is a kids’ menu of calamari, fish bites, lasagna or nuggets for $7.

The service is fine and friendly and we are not charged extra for more pita bread.

Dragon Express

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28 City Place, Sunshine. Phone: 9312 6968

City Place is on the other side of the tracks from what we generally consider Sunshine when thinking food.

The other side of the tracks, that is, from the likes of Classic Curry, Sunshine Fresh Food Market and Pho Hien Saigon.

Last time we cruised the short span of City Place to see if anything was “happening” it was a case “keep moving right along, folks, nothing to see here”.

But there is a new kid on the block – Dragon Express – the existence of which we have been alerted to by a number of positive reviews at Urbanspoon.

That website’s reviews have become something of an entertaining diversion – not so much the many postings, I hasten to add, of Melbourne’s food bloggers, who mostly try to maintain some sense of balance and even objectivity.

The “user reviews”, on the other hand, are often visceral, emotional outpourings of ordinary customers, many of whom feel hard done by.

Screaming caps are very much the go, along the lines of …

“THE MANAGER FROM HELL!!!!!!”

“EVERYTHING WAS RANCID – AND THAT WAS JUST THE STAFF!”

“DO NOT EAT HERE – WORST FOOD IN THE UNIVERSE!”

OK, I made those ones up – but you get my drift.

As entertaining as such, um, “reviews” can be, it is impossible really to tell the well-meaning and sincere from those with nasty and unfair axes to grind.

The handful of reviews for Dragon Express, by contrast, seem believable and well-judged expressions of delight. They speak of great prices, yummy food and excellent service  – so we are hopeful of a ripping start to our new year of blogging.

We enjoy immensely a ripping start to our new year of blogging at a lovely joint that has been going about seven weeks at the time of our visit.

Dragon Express is ostensibly a Chinese eatery, but like so many such places at the budget end of the market it hedges its bets by offering diversity to its customers via Malasyia with the likes of mee goreng, laksas and nasi goreng.

We are delighted, too, to note two harbingers of good food – white tiles and hand-written signs on the walls announcing various specials.

The service is fantastic and cool water keeps us away from the drinks cabinet and within our tight budget.

Our normal routine would find us heading straight to the laksas and the like but today we take a different approach and order two “chefs specials” – stir-fried green vegetables ($9) and spicy chicken ribs ($11).

The greens – mostly snow peas, bok choy and broccolini – elicit moans of pleasure from both of us, even if our request of garlic sauce finds the high level of oil used has no place to hide. We love every crunchy mouthful so much it is only with some reluctance we turn our attention to the chicken.

We’ve had better chicken ribs but these are still very fine – plentiful, ungreasy, totally moreish but lacking a little in the spice/chilli department.

Given the righteous healthiness of our breakfast, post-brekky endeavours in the garden before the day became too hot and likelihood of delightful austerity in the form of a crunchy Greek salad topped with fetta for dinner, we forgive ourselves the indulgence of our lunch and enjoy every lip-smacking mouthful.

“I could eat that a millions times,” opines Bennie as we depart very happy chappies.

Dragon Express on Urbanspoon

Closing Yarraville’s Ballarat St – what say you?

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I was interested to read in The Age about the plan to close Yarraville’s Ballarat St between Murray and Canterbury streets for up to three months from January.

I’m not sure about this at all! What about parking? What about Anderson St? Does it just get left to get even crazier?

Or will closing Ballarat St effectively close Anderson St to vehicular traffic as well?

The closure is on the block directly outside the Sun, but being intimately familiar with the area and its intense traffic flows, I reckon the following quote is debatable: ”The area to the north (of Anderson Street) outside the Sun Theatre is not a central traffic route.”

The closure of such a small portion of the street with unknown but potentially severe ramifications for the surrounding area seems iffy.

This just doesn’t seem very imaginative – or good value for money.

I’d be happier to consider the complete closure of Ballarat AND Anderson streets – big upsides all round and not much greater downside.

Without doing a head count, I’m pretty sure there are more Anderson St traders than there are on Ballarat St – so why choose the latter over the former?

And I can certainly understand the concerns of the non-Ballarat St trader: “I sympathise with those cafes not getting $50,000 spent on beautification on their doorstep.”

I once exchanged rather angry words with a tour bus driver who was attempting to take his Very Large Vehicle across the train tracks and along Anderson St.

“It’s none of your bloody business,” he shouted at me.

Uh, buddy, I live here – it most certainly IS my business! 🙂

Phong Dinh

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152 Hopkins St, Footscray. Phone: 9077 9098

A couple of previous incarnations at this address – one of them Korean – came and went without us taking them for a whirl.

Going by the good trade they are doing this Monday lunch time, it seems a good bet that Phong Dinh will be around a good deal longer.

It’s a lovely room, cleverly using some of the more upmarket vibe of several of its Viet neighbours yet still playing the role of affordable noodle house, a fact attested to by the menu prices.

The colour scheme is a bit darker than your standard noodle joint, though, and the effect is calming and tranquil.

As well, there’s a semi-alfresco area containing a handful of tables from which observing the street hustle and bustle is no doubt a lot of fun.

My can of soft drink is presented alongside a tumbler packed with ice cubes – always a nice touch.

You’ll find pho here, but the list is a lot broader than that – there’s a heap of interesting noodle and rice dishes.

The “hu tieu mi”, which precedes the restaurant’s name in its signage, denotes a focus on rice and egg noddles, in soup or dry with soup on the side.

Bun thang ($9) is described as Hanoi chicken soup with vermicelli.

From what I’ve been able to discover, it’s a northern dish rather than one specifically associated with Hanoi.

And while there is some chicken – poached, small pieces, some with fiddly bones – it is matched and more in terms of quantity by the traditional ingredients of slices of splendidly eggy omelette that is both yellow and white and Vietnamese pork loaf (cha).

One seemingly knowledgeable source I found says the stock should be a mix of chicken and pork, but this – as far as I can tell – is chicken only, delicious as it is.

The accompanying plate of greenery includes not only the sprout-and-herb combo that comes with pho but also lettuce and cabbage of both white and yellow varieties.

This all adds some handy crunch and colour to a dish that needs it.

It’s a beaut lunch but very mild of flavour.

I usually leave the addition of lemon juice until near the completion of most soup noddle dishes I order; here it goes in early on – along with slices of fresh red chilli – to give it all a bit of a boost.

Still, the lighter touch is a winner for situations in which more meaty options may be a matter of too much of a good thing.

Phong Dinh strikes me as a very handy addition to the range of Footscray Vietnamese eateries.

You can Ms Baklover’s review at Footscray Food Blog here.

Phong Dinh on Urbanspoon

Consider The Sauce Top 10, 2011

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Everyone loves lists!

We love lists!

Our Top 10 for 2011 should not be taken to be in any way definitive.

If we did it again next week, the results would quite likely be quite different.

Nor does it necessarily include our favourite and/or regular eating houses, or even our most memorable meals for the year.

It’s just 10 things that caught our fancy and made our tastebuds sing for one reason or another.

The most shocking about our list is that there is no overlap at all with the equivalent list drawn up by the restaurant critic of The Age. Poor thing – how did she ever miss all this Good Stuff?

What are your highlights?

In no particular order …

Barkley Johnson antipasto platter

We could get this divine offering tailormade if we so wished, but we prefer to leave it up to the staff. That way we may get marinated pumpkin, which Bennie likes but dad doesn’t, but we also get the marinated sardines (as above) – a surprise that delighted. But some things are standard – always a very good dip, three or so incredible cured meats, several different kinds of olive, marinated vegetables, a stuffed vine leaf and more. Always with just the right amount of bread. As a light/medium meal for two, it’s brilliant at $21.

La Morenita new sandwiches

We love ’em all and the extra variety they add to one of our fave haunts – especially the the chacarero ($5) of steak, cheese, tomato, mayo, greens beans and hot green chilli.

Heather Dell coconut tart and jam slice

Mmmmm … classic and sensational old-school sweeties.

Classic Curry gol gappe

Despite our passionate liking for Indian snack food, we’d never come across these before trying them at Classic Curry in Sunshine, so have no way of knowing how good they are by comparison. But we love the fun of them and the tamarind tanginess.

Cafe Advieh baklava

We like your standard baklava, too, but this is different and better – rustic, chunky, fragrant with spices, delicious. They do excellent salads and dips, too.

Hyderabad Inn dosas

Most of all we’re grateful the dosa experience is now easily available in the west, and we’re happy to frequent any of the places that sell them and similar food. But Hyderabad Inn remains our choice for quality and diversity of combo deals and the like.

Broadmeadows Station Kebab House lamb shank soup

We have yet to make the trek to Broadmeadows so Bennie can have a crack at this ambrosia. When we do, he’ll love it in a slurping, joyous kind of way – guaranteed!

Yoyo’s Milkbar feijoa lollies

Where have these been all our lives? We love the pineapple chunks, too!

Pace Biscuits

Leo is our go-to man for divine and affordable choc-covered cookies, cookies in general and nougat.

Affordable bananas

Now they’re going for well under $2 a kilogram, the nightmare months of insane prices of well above $10 are starting to fade. Yay!

Kebab Shops In Melbourne – An Architectural Survey

Funky, fantastic Melbourne ethnic food finally gets the sort of academic scrutiny it deserves.

Africa Taste

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124 Victoria St, Seddon. Phone: 9687 0560

It’s something of a shock to realise how long it’s been since we went African.

We’ve been pleasantly distracted – Indian, Asian, kebabs and all sorts of other stuff.

Nor have we got around to enjoying Africa taste and blogging on it, despite the fact we were regulars even before CTS lumbered into their cyber air.

So tonight’s the night.

The place has undergone some natty renovations. The kitchen has been moved further to the rear of the building. There’s a bigger counter area and more room for hungry folks, though Africa taste remains comfy rather than roomy.

Sadly, it seems the days of us waltzing up any old time we like and grabbing a table are gone.

Even on this Monday night we are lucky to grab an unbooked early table.

We presume this is to do with the booking of two separate birthday groups, but later learn this is pretty much a standard situation on any night of the week.

It seems bookings are the go here now, not that we resent any success Africa taste has earned.

We love the food, the points of difference from Footscray’s African eateries and the fact it’s closer to our home base. The relaxed charm seems to have faded away a little, but we can live with that.

Our standard order on most of many previous visits has been chicken or lamb tibes and the Africa Taste salad – a magnificent jumble of leaves, tomato, cucumber, onion and crunchy spiced pita bits.

Tonight, at dad’s insistence, we venture further afield.

We’ve been a bit wary of some menu items previously, fearing an uncomfortable level of stodginess.

We are delighted to proven so wrong by the  Genfo African Fufu (Gnocchi, $10.95).

The gnocchi of toasted barley flour are plain yet delicious. Some of them have a little crunch, though there is little or none of the chilli mentioned on the menu. Instead there is a rich brown gravy and a big dab of cream.

It’s much more filling than it looks, and we are glad we went without the $5 option of extras such as chicken, lamb or fish.

Bennie, extremely fishily ambivalent as he is, is somewhat unimpressed by the inclusion of Spicy Fish Tibes ($13.50) in our order.

But even he, injera in hand, likes the viscous and spinach-infused gravy that is very garlicky and, like the gnocchi, lacking much of a spice bite despite the menu description and the clearly visible red flecks.

His dad loves the many and generous chunks of butterfish that are tender and mild of flavour.

It’s a fine meal and a bargain at $24.45.

And it’s swell knowing there are still several dishes on the menu that await exploration by us.

But we know now that future visits will require a little more premeditation than has been our impromptu habit.

African Taste on Urbanspoon

Mishra’s Kitchen

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A more recent review can be found here.

Mishra’s Kitchen, 18 Wembley Ave, Yarraville. Phone: 9314 3336

As we approach the Wembley St shopping trip that has previously left us untroubled in an way, we have contingency plans.

After all, the basis for our dinner – to be shared by Kenny, Bennie and neighbour Rob – is based solely upon my spotting a week earlier what purports to be an Indian restaurant in what is a plain old sandwich shop by day.

Our hopes are not particularly high.

Our downbeat wariness is given a swift kick in the bottom as soon as we enter the door.

Transformation!

This is indeed an Indian restaurant – albeit a humble one that doesn’t try to hide its daytime non-Cinders gig.

More importantly, the welcome from the eager staff is wonderful.

So much so that as we are nutting out the menu and ordering, and it becomes clear that Rob has less experience with tandoori oven rituals than us, I ask if our mate can witness up close and personal the making of our naan order.

The chef – Mr Mishra himself – obliges by not only explaining the whole process to Rob and Bennie but also by giving Rob crack at making his own naan.

Marvellous!

To keep the costs down, we go without starters or snacks and soft drinks, staying with the water. In doing so, we have what I suspect is much more like your average Indian family meal than an outing replete with samosas and the like.

We do good, ordering bhoona chicken (“in medium spices and pot-roasted with ginger and tomatoes”, $11), jhinga Madras (“South Indian spicy prawns curry with mustard seeds and coconut milk”, $14) and mixed vegetables ($9), joined by plain rice ($3), plain naan ($2) and tandoori roti ($2).

Mixed vegetables and bhoona chicken.

Jhinga Madras.

What a wonderful feast we have, with a marvellous combo of varying colours, textures and spice levels.

The difference between our most recent and rather unhappy experience in taking our Indian food habit slightly upmarket and this lovely dinner in a restaurant a mere three weeks old is stark.

The vegetables come in a mild, creamy sauce (cashews, maybe?) and include mushrooms, peas, cauliflower, green beans, fried onion strands and potato.

For Rob and I, this is our pick of the night, with the individual vegetables cooked through but holding their shapes and flavours. Lots of mushies!

About four medium-size prawns for each of us come in a sharper sauce that has the advertised mustard seeds and a tantalising whiff of a spice more exotic than usual that defies my analysis – despite asking the chef the dish’s particulars. That’s how it goes in Indian eateries sometimes!

Bennie loves the chicken, but to me it is merely a good chicken curry.

Taken as whole, and with two fine breads as accessories, our meal is an outright winner.

So is the cost – a mere $41, which is both outstanding and ridiculous.

What a find this place is.

How happy the immediate neighbours – not blessed with an excess of eating out or even takeaweay options – must be.

And how emblematic of the west, in an excellent way, it is that Mishra’s Kitchen joins the likes of Cafe Centro and At 43 in making do and doing great with what is at hand, even if that means making a premises undertake different duties by day and by night.

AND we got a parking spot right outside.

I reckon that’s quite enough, thank you very much, of newspaper stories lauding the livability of Melbourne’s west and other such like preposterous notions.

Hrrrumpf!

Mishra's Kitchen on Urbanspoon

It’s disgusting

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Dear Highpoint,

We don’t have much reason to visit your shopping centre, especially now that Borders is no more.

However, today I was up there to get a Medicare rebate, and to save myself another stop on the way home I had lunch in the food court.

Not bad, actually. Well, passable anyway. Noodles, beef curry, five-spice calamari for under $10.

Like the many other hundreds of hungry shoppers, I ate using plastic, disposable cutlery from a plastic, disposable plate.

The more I thought about it, the more depressed I became.

Depressed thinking about the no-doubt thousands of meals served at your two food courts every day. Seven days a week. Year after year after year.

I have no objection to your establishment being a high altar of consumerism. I can and do go there myself.

But the disposable plastic ware that comes with your food delivery is a waste of epic proportions.

Frankly, it’s disgusting.

And even if it is all legal and proper, truth is it is morally wrong.

Is there not a better way?

Can your management, parent company, whoever not think of the bigger picture and be a better community citizen?

Whatever pain, financial or otherwise, that is endured while fixing this ridiculous situation will – in the end – more than repay itself in terms of goodwill and the ability to say: “It was hard – but we did the right thing.”

Cheers, Kenny Weir, Consider The Sauce

Philippine Fiesta

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Melbourne Showgrounds Grand Pavilion

Having missed the previous year’s Philippine Fiesta through illness, and having only heard about this year’s bash the previous night, and having somewhat lethargically got myself out of the house and into the rain, it’s a pleasure to be striding towards the showground’s Grand Pavilion, where – happily – the entire proceedings are taking place.

My pace picks up as I hear the music and inhale the tantalising aromas caressing my nostrils.

Inside, the entire pavilion is hazy with smoke from barbecues.

Sweetness!

Who needs dry ice?

The fiesta has been going a good few hours already, will continue quite late into the night and on into the following day, but there is a good size crowd on hand already.

There’s all the commercial stallholders you would expect – travel, insurance, immigration services, real estate and more.

But your blogger, of course, heads straight to the food section.

It’s not as big as I expect, but more than big enough, with all the stalls – maybe about 10 in all – all doing a roaring trade.

Except the Spanish paella folk, who seem to be suffering from attention deficit disorder. Such a shame, as their goodies look the goods.

As if almost in an unintended rebuff to them, I start my afternoon’s eating with a serve of paella and chargrilled chicken from one of the Filipino stalls for $10.

The rice is good, the chicken better – chargrilled to a crispy outer and juicy as can be, although pretty much unseasoned.

All the tables adjacent the food area are packed, so I make do with some plastic storage containers out the back of the coffee caravan set-up. Despite its deliciousness, I leave much of the chook uneaten in the knowledge I’m up for some serious grazing.

By far the most popular food item are the barbecue skewers – there are at least four places selling them.

I grab a pork number for $4 and feel a bit shattered.

It looks insanely delicious, but it’s SO fatty. In this sort of context, such a thing would not ordinarily disturb me. But in this case, the fattiness is as much a textural thing as it is flavour or health related. That I don’t like pork belly – at all – may give you some idea of my dismay.

I see people all around me happily consuming skewers – pork, chicken and beef – that appear to be meatiness defined in a way mine is not.

Oh well!

It’s time for time out from food, it’s time to take in some of the more cultural aspects of the fiesta.

At the entertainment stage, I quickly surmise that it’s mandatory for female Filipino pop singers to wear dangerously elongated high heels.

Gwen Zamora (pictured above) sings two songs, the first pleasingly close to the sunshine pop so close to my heart.

However, as the entrants in the Miss Philippine Fiesta of Victoria and Charity Quests and the Mrs Philippine Fiesta of Victoria and Charity Quests strut their stuff, I quickly learn that vertigo high heels are pretty much the all-round go.

Except, maybe, for the wrestlers, none of whom appear to be Filipino, be they male or female.

High heels may be part of their private lives, but they put on a good show anyway.

Even a sport fan and pop culture creature such as myself normally finds “wrestling” of only the most passing interest.

But it’s surprising how visceral, loud and – yes – violent it seems when you’re standing a few feet away.

More food!

I order a serve of callos.

It’s only when the deal is done that I fully realise the contents of what I am about to consume.

Thus this, of all places, becomes the first time EVER I have tried tripe.

I don’t like the tripe; I don’t really dislike it, either.

But a lifetime of wariness is a big hurdle.

I push it all to one side and enjoy the remaining stew of  pork, chorizo, greens beans, peas and chick peas.

I have room and money for one last hurrah – churros!

These are much less chewy and of much less substance than I am familiar with.

So light, so very evil and so very delicious with the chocolate dipping sauce – and truly perfect with a brew from the Three Beans Coffee folk.

It’s my best coffee for the week by a mile – bravo!

I have a ball at the Philippine Fiesta.

But I am by now accepting of the fact there is something of a disconnect between me, my tastes and Filipino food. There are numerous dark, lusty and mysterious dishes at the food booths that I don’t even consider.

I suspect that at a similar event hosted by the Indian community, just for instance, I would not feel a similar distance.

But that’s cool, too!

Flemington Kebab House

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301 Racecourse Rd, Flemington. Phone: 9376 2767

This Flemington institution didn’t get a write-up in the whiz-bang new book on Melbourne kebab shops, but it certainly would’ve been a worthy inclusion.

It’s never been at the top-tier of our choices for such food, as there are options closer to home.

As well,  the last time Bennie stuck our noses in the door the prices had crept up, and the previous dad-only visit had left me feeling a little shortchanged in terms of quantity.

So it is with much interest and a little wariness that I enter for a midweek dinner.

The place has had some simple renovations done. It’s homely. Tiles, photos of Turkey – the pics tug at my heart. From what I’ve gathered over the years, Turkey is right at that the top of the list of countries worth visiting for foodie reasons as well as friendly people and drop-dead gorgeous scenery.

As my dinner ritual unfolds, I relax in the knowledge that the previous disappointment can be written of as little more than a blip.

This kebab joint is at the top of its game and my meal is excellent.

A kebab wrap will cost you $9.50 here.

Meal platters range from non-meat for $13 up to mixed grill for $21.

My spread of lamb from the spit, two salads, two dips, rice and bread clocks in at $15.50.

There’s only one size, which is a bit of a blow – my plate could feed dad AND son.

The meat is tender, perhaps not crusty and crunchy enough, but light on the fattiness.

The chilli dip is of a pleasant spiciness, fine and fresh and tangy, and goes fantastic dab by dab with the meat.

The babaghanous lacks the smokiness that tends to come with coarser versions, but its smoothness is full of lemony, garlicky tang.

The rice is good, the salad of lettuce, cabbage, carrot and so on nice and crisp.

The other salad – of red capsicum, leaves, olives and even a couple of cubes of fetta cheese – seems a little excess to requirements.

I envy Flemington residents having this place ready as a groovy go-to option to the many Asian eateries surrounding it.

Flemington Kebab House on Urbanspoon

Cafe Noodle House

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Level 1, Building M, Victoria University Footscray Park Campus. Phone: 9919 4339

It’s a little odd to be navigating the corridors and stairways of Victoria University – a mere day after doing much the same at Melbourne University while tracking down a very cool book on Melbourne’s kebab shops.

Your blogger bypassed tertiary education entirely, heading straight from high school to newspapering, and have never for an instant regretted doing so.

Weirdly enough, I did spend a lot of time on the campus of my hometown university while still at school. The reason was simple – that’s where a better class of rock ‘n’ roll, and even blues and folk music, was to be found and heard.

Much, much more recently, Bennie’s swimming lessons have seen Victoria University become part of the family routine, such regular visits alerting us to the existence of Cafe Noodle House.

It’s one of several food outlets scattered around the campus, and like some of its competitors it takes something of a jack-of-all-trades approach.

So while it’s ostensibly an Asian affair, it stocks and sells sandwiches, muffins, wraps and the like.

The bain marie offerings hold little appeal, although the beef curry I observe being served to a fellow customer looks worth a try.

I focus my eyes and appetite on the photographs of the made-to-order soup, noodle and rice dishes displayed behind the servery.

They all seem to be a buck or so below the prices demanded out in the real world, and cover all the usual bases – mee goreng, hokkien mee noddles, Hainan chicken rice and so on.

There are a few surprises, though, and it’s one of them that becomes my lunch.

Hue spicy beef noodle soup ($8.50), sadly, comes in a disposable plastic bowl.

It’s good without being sensational – pretty much par for the course when compared to other versions I have had of this dish in other places.

It’s got a nice chilly kick.

The very plentiful slices of fat-on beef are both chewy and tender.

Texture is added to the plump, white round noodles by lots of lettuce, which gets that cool wilted thing going as my meal progresses, and a handful of bean sprouts likewise stewing away under the noodles.

Maybe you’d not want go out of your way to eat here, but if in the vicinity it’s worth a go.

Kasim’s Indian Cafe, Sirens

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Kasim’s Indian Cafe, 44 Mason St, Newport. Phone, 9399 483

Sirens,  Beach Pavilion Esplanade, Williamstown. Phone: 9397 7811

It takes some cajoling to get Bennie off the sofa and away from the TV and PlayStation this Friday night.

In the end, we experience a role reversal – with Bennie energised by the magic combination of beach + boy and his dad wanting to head for home.

To get things rolling, though, I make a concession – instead of heading for the wilds of Deer Park or Taylors Lakes, we stick closer to home, intent on checking out a typical suburban Indian eatery, the windows of which we’ve peered through a number of times but never previously entered.

We’re interested in exploring the theory that by mostly limiting ourselves to the cheaper end of the Indian spectrum – at, say, Consider The Sauce favourites such as Classic Curry in Sunshine – we are depriving ourselves of an occasional repast that is richer, sexier and more celebratory.

So it is with metaphorically loosened wallets that we hit the Willy road.

Our straightahead Indian meal is indeed more expensive than our usual – but not by a lot.

We’re hungry and waste no time in ordering lamb bhuna gosht ($13), aloo gobi ($11.50), plain nan ($2.90) and rice ($4), and “kuchumber salad spicy” ($4).

We suspect Kasim’s, with its plain but nice enough dining room, does most of its trade in takeaway. We’re the only customers, but as we are paying and leaving a young couple saunters in followed by a Muslim family comprising mum, dad, two daughters with iPads and son with PSP/DS.

We hope they have a better time of it than we do.

Our meal is edible.

We eat it.

But – oh dear – it’s truly spectacular in its mediocrity.

The salad – a mix of finely diced tomato, lettuce, cucumber and carrot – is not in the least bit spicy.

The aloo gobi seems like leftovers.

The bhuna gosht meat is tender, has textural variety courtesy of green capsicum and onion, and is the best thing going in our meal.

The nan is very average for the price.

The final bill of just a touch over $40 is fine for two mains, three side dishes and two cans of soft drink, but our wallet-loosening experiment is a failure.

Did we order the wrong dishes? Any Kasim’s regulars out there?

It’s still early in the night and Bennie is happy enough to humour his father’s interest in sweeties and coffee/hot chocolate.

The esplanade/beach precinct of Williamstown used to play a major role in our outings, one that has faded.

Mind you, we’ve never taken the plunge by getting on the fang at Siren’s, daunted by the high prices and the fear its fare will tainted by the same fodder indifference that infects nearby Nelson Parade.

It’s all very well to say that as food bloggers we should keep open minds and chance our arms on occasion, but as full-fare payers we are tugged, too, in the other direction, towards caution and conservatism.

Tonight, the place is close to packed and very busy. But still, we fear that has more to do with the superb beachside location than anything coming out of the kitchen.

What we have done many, many pleasant times is hit Sirens for coffee and Greek-style biscotti – and that’s just what we do tonight.

It turns out to be a thrilling half-hour or so.

The proximity of beach and sand brings Bennie alive.

There’s a classic Willy sunset on hand, thunder clouds and lightning in the other direction, and a rainbow between them.

The floor manager is bemused by our insistence on doing coffee imbibing out on the deck because everything is sopping wet.

That’s cool, mate, we’ll stand.

The choc-dipped bikkie is less impressive than we recall from previous visits; the shortbread number much better; our hot drinks are very good.

As dad calls stumps on the outing, Bennie shouts from water’s edge: “I want to stay here!”

Sirens By the Sea on Urbanspoon

bowlz @ the deck revisited

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Yarraville-Footscray Bowling Club, 339A Francis St, Yarraville. Phone: 9314 4530 ‎

The previous dad-only visit to the Yarraville-Footscray Bowling Club for a mid-week lunch in more or less deserted premises had been an enjoyable affair.

But despite comments to the contrary, truth is it would be hard-pressed to win return visits.

That’s all changed with the coincidence that the club shares a carpark with the McIvor Reserve venue for Bennie’s cricket practice, also just off Francis St.

After a hard day of commuting, school ‘n’ work AND cricket practice, what could be better for a couple of blokes than a simple, leisurely amble from sports field to bowls clubhouse?

Not much, as it turns out.

Tonight the club seems a little more lived-in, with tables occupied here and there and more customers arriving as we wait for our meals then eat them.

Much of the bistro food seems pitched, priced and presented somewhere between our local pub and its near-neighbour, Cafe Fidama.

In the case of our two main meals, that is to prove an ideal combination of wallet damage that’s bearable and food that is a notch above your average budget pub fodder.

But a keen appetite is upon us so we splurge on a bowl of almost-instant-gratification chips ($6).

They’re good, fresh, hot, unsoggy, well-salted and completely unnecessary – but what the hey!

Bennie’s steak sandwich is a sight to behold – a meal for a man, or a growing 10-year-old who loves a challenge.

Stuffed into a long ciabatta-style row are steak, egg, tomato, bacon, caramelised onions and some greenery.

He loves it, leaving just there merest stub of bread.

He tells me to describe it as “AWSM”.

The accompanying spud wedges may be par for the coarse (sic), but they’re ridiculous and horribly seasoned with some dodgy spice mix. Wedges should be banned, their use-by date being some time last century.

Maybe it’s possible to request the fine chips instead of wedges on the dishes that include them.

Happily, the sandwich is so big it’s all that’s required and keenly priced ($17.90), too.

My roast chicken with vegetables and gravy ($16.90) hits the mark just fine as well.

The half-chook is tasty, although personal preference would’ve lent it a slightly more browned appearance and texture. It’s tender, too, with the inevitable dryness in the breast meat more than taken care of by the rich, dark gravy.

The roast spuds are good, the carrots and parsnips a little tough at the core, and the pumpkin gag material – for me anyway!

Our meal is beaut, the convenience of the club’s post-cricket practice location matched by casual pub-style tucker a nicely judged step up in refinement from bar menu fare and well worth the asking price.