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tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21666410609164905852014-11-24T19:33:56.127+11:00Footscray Food BlogWhere to eat at the best restaurants and cafes in Footscray, Seddon, Sunshine, Yarraville and the western suburbs of Melbourne.Lauren aka Ms Bakloverhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-2166641060916490585.post-23695535206624237042014-11-05T12:36:00.000+11:002014-11-05T12:36:46.162+11:00New dishes at Sapa Hills, FootscrayI've been trying to think of a fancy way to say it. But sometimes the simplest is the best. I love Sapa Hills. Let me count the ways.

I've always felt a certain connection to Sapa. It opened not long after I started blogging, and despite being Footscray Vietnamese restaurant number 5,002 (or that's what it felt like), quickly became one of the most popular in the strip.

I love the food but I equally love the staff and the way they put paid to the taciturn Asian waiter stereotype. They are really friendly and always appreciate one's feeble attempts to pronounce Vietnamese words.

I should do a quick disclaimer here, but it's not really much of one. I have written about Sapa Hills a number of times in published articles, and they were an integral part of the Rickshaw Run earlier this year. But they are probably also my most blogged-about restaurant (this will make post number four) - I write about them because I genuinely love them.

Recently a number of new dishes have popped up on the menu, so this time, the beef in vine leaves got put to one side and the crab spring rolls ($13) stepped in. These are similar to Sapa's Ha Noi-style spring rolls in that they are wrapped in rice paper, not wheat wrappers, making them devilishly crackly. You can definitely taste the crab in the mix, along with rice vermicelli and black mushroom. Nice but I'd be just as happy with the bo la lot.

Just a simple vegie soup ($5.50) to contribute to my five a day. Simple, cleansing, mighty fine.

Some old dishes have made way for the new, but Sapa would never, ever take off this one. It's practically their raison d'etre. It's bun cha Ha Noi - two types of marinated, chargrilled pork (strips and little patties), with tangy dressing, rice noodles and herbs ($13). Layer it in a bowl, douse with dressing and eat. So incredibly amazingly wow.

I really wanted to try the green apple salad with crocodile fillet and the fish with Hanoi-style fresh tomato sauce, but the new dish we went for was the lamb cutlets in honey pepper sauce ($25). This was awesome - the lamb really tender, rich, sweet and completely gnaw-able. Underneath was a lovely saute of spring onion, regular onion and lettuce that had soaked up all the lovely stock and juices. I prefer my broc a bit crunchier though - this was pretty soft.

I went back another day for a classic - beef fried rice noodle (dried) ($12). Always look for that "dry" or "dried" in brackets (or "khô" in Vietnamese) to get the right dish, otherwise you will get a thick, glutinous sauce. I am mildly obsessed with this dish. It has only the slightest lick of sauce but the flavour is so concentrated. A lot of it comes from the char of the searing hot wok it's cooked in. This is a Cantonese-style dish and can be found in various guises from Hong Kong to Singapore (where it might be known as beef hor fun). Sapa's version is excellent.

A lot of Sapa's magic comes from owner Long. He is a total professional and an all-round lovely bloke. It's always wonderful to see a successful small business, but I'm extra happy to see Sapa doing so well, because I think Long and his wife Ha genuinely put their hearts into what they do. And that is something you may not be able to smell or touch - but it's something you can definitely taste.

Sapa Hills

112 Hopkins Street, Footscray

Phone: 9687 5729

Lauren aka Ms Bakloverhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-2166641060916490585.post-30206073896790842262014-11-04T07:56:00.000+11:002014-11-04T07:56:38.140+11:00Plume, MaribyrnongI find midweek yum cha so deliciously naughty. It's like an afternoon nap, or a bath before noon.

Plume, just outside the Highpoint shopping complex, do yum cha daily.

Things started off well with really good ham sui gok. Very delicate fried skin gave way to soft glutinous rice dough, with a sweet pork and mushroom filling.

But Plume had peaked too early. All the dumplings were just all right. The siu mai (prawn and pork were OK, very chunky, perhaps too much so. The har gao (prawn) and prawn and chive were mushy.

Didn't like the char siu bao - the pork and sauce had an odd, overly floral taste.

Ordered these prawn rice rolls which were soggy and just looked like they had no love in them.

We didn't have dessert. I didn't have high hopes. And that is what the fish are for, anyway.
Lauren aka Ms Bakloverhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-2166641060916490585.post-83120885593464505082014-10-23T17:46:00.000+11:002014-10-23T17:46:24.952+11:00Brother Nancy

You know those stories about women who go turn up at the doctor's with a touch of heartburn, and the doc tells them they're nine months pregnant? Who the bloody hell are they, I want to know. How can you withstand forty (plus) gruelling weeks of cankles, mood swings and twelve wee breaks a night without noticing that something was cooking in the oven? (Obviously I do not adore being pregnant!) But I kind of feel like one of those completely oblivious (and perhaps lucky) chicks when I was told there was a new cafe opening on Essex Street. The Essex Street I drive or walk down at least once per day. How could I have not known?!

Of course, if you have a bath and a baby pops out, that would be somewhat of a shock. Realising there is somewhere with a classically trained French chef and Proud Mary coffee just a hop, skip and a jump away was equally a shock - and just as equally a delightful one. WeFolk, meet your new family member, Brother Nancy.

Firstly, I LOVE the name. So fresh and cute! Although there are a few Melbourne cafe tropes like succulents in jars and a communal table, the interior doesn't have a cookie-cutter Melbourne cafe feel. There's a real freshness in the slightly unusual wooden chairs, the interesting parquet-style woodwork on the bench, and the little pops of green on the clock, the stools or the espresso cups.

Now, Melbourne. I know you probably want to see some #yolkporn. You probably want to see some smashed avo. (Maybe you don't. I know I couldn't care less if I ever ate another serve of sodding smashed avocado with effing Meredith feta.) But - Brother Nancy have BEEF TARTARE. That is crazy impressive for a cafe in the deep heart of West Footscray.

It is also one of my favourite things in the entire world, and this one was incredible. It's 100% raw beef, and here it's given a little bit of an Asian spin by being ever so gently spiked with sesame and Thai basil. I know people like to go on about food being sexy, which normally I absolutely cannot stand - what is sexy about a cake? A bowl of pasta? - but this beef tartare was so silky, so smooth and supple, it was a seriously sexy meal. My only complaint is such a studly dish deserves a plate mate with a bit more personality than mesclun mix (I told this to the owner - in between swoons).

The rest of the menu is really interesting. There are some potential crowd-pleasers (like the "fish and chip burger - brioche bun, cos, aioli") but there's also a watermelon and tomato gazpacho, and the "Chapin breakfast" with fried plantains, scrambled eggs and black beans. The chef, Jordi, is French, "has travelled the world" and has previously worked at Philippe Mouchel's PM24. His specialty is desserts. Ooh la la!

I had a chat with very proud dad Leigh. He has a background in design, and lives locally. He said he is determined to keep prices reasonable (the tartare was $14.50, which is crazy good) and also to make families feel welcome. (There are kiddy breakfast options like a soft-boiled egg and a ham & cheese toastie.)

Coffee is Proud Mary and quite good - maybe could have been a touch less hot, just to let the sweet milk really mingle with the evidently quality coffee. But this will still be the first of many.

Leigh, Jordi and team are open tomorrow prior to their official opening day, this Saturday at 7am. Go easy on 'em, WeFo!

Brother Nancy (Facebook page)
182 Essex Street, West Footscray
Hours: Wed-Mon 7am-4.30pm (closed Tues, but check this with them!) Lauren aka Ms Bakloverhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-2166641060916490585.post-37534856377529638662014-10-17T11:29:00.000+11:002014-10-17T16:36:52.435+11:00COMING SOON - Nuevo Latino, West Footscray + Barkly Village ShowcaseRemember Besito? For newer WeFolk, this was a Colombian cafe that was open for about a year a year or so ago, and brought beautiful white corn arepas and Five Senses coffee to Barkly Street. Sadly it closed (for family reasons, I believe). But we are going to get another chance to bring some South American sunshine into our lives (and bellies) - Nuevo Latino is opening soon!

So, here's the goss. Nuevo Latino will be opening soon in the old Cafe Bianco premises. The folks behind it are the Rodriguez family, namely brothers Salvador (aka Sal) and Juan, plus their mum. They are originally from El Salvador and have run a successful Latin American catering business in Melbourne for a number of years. Sal tells me they are the official caterer for a number of Melbourne's central and south American consulates. That's a pretty big endorsement!

Sal tells me they are really excited to take up residence at Bianco Cafe. "We loved the vibe of Phil, the previous owner, who would feed the poor by giving soup," he tells me. In the same spirit, Nuevo Latino will have a suspended coffee scheme (a voluntary system where you can pay in advance for someone in need's coffee - read more here). "We still want to keep that community feel," says Sal. In terms of decor, a graffiti artist is coming from Colombia to decorate the beer garden with "an Aztec or a Mayan feel".

And the menu? It's not locked down yet, but Sal told me of inspiration from "Nuevo Latino"-style cooking from Miami, which embraces a modern spin on traditional central- and south-American recipes. His partner is Japanese, so there might be some Japanese-El Salvadorean fusion going on!

Neuvo Latino's big launch is on November 6th, but if you can't wait till then, you should check out the Barkly Village Showcase, happening on Wednesday October 29th. This has been put together by Col Cameron, local resident, comedian and MC. He runs the Barkly Village Facebook page and says, "I created the page because I live close to the short strip and felt that it could be so much livelier. My dream is to have all the restaurants regularly posting their specials for locals each week. I also want the restaurants to work together on events to liven up the area."

Tickets are $60 and include:

* A three-course dinner, with each course at a different Barkly Village restaurant. It's a lucky dip, with punters learning the location of their first restaurant two days before the event, and then being guided "to their second mystery restaurant and the same for dessert". Participating restaurants include 540 on Barkly, Thai Angels, Hyderabad Inn, Akshaya Sweets and Chat, Magic Momo Kafe, Gusto at Barkly and Nuevo Latino.

* A donation to Soulhouse Men's Cooking Program, a cooking program run by the West Footscray Neighbourhood House which "responds to a keen interest among local rooming house men in coming together each week to develop their skills in the kitchen in order to provide nourishing meals, both for themselves and others".

PLUS

* All restaurants will be hosting live entertainment...

* Nuevo Latino will serve savoury and sweet tapas throughout the night to all patrons as they move between restaurants and courses...

* Non-restaurants on the strip will be contributing prizes and gift bags to be won throughout the night...

* Two Birds in Spotswood will bring their "mobile brewing station" !

To purchase tickets, head to TryBooking. I have no financial association with this event - I just think it's a great idea.

Also make sure to like Barkly Village on Facebook to stay up to date with the strip. You can also get all the news and updates from Nuevo Latino right here.
Lauren aka Ms Bakloverhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-2166641060916490585.post-88592153709549612382014-10-13T11:57:00.000+11:002014-10-13T11:57:02.460+11:00COMING SOON - Littlefoot bar, Footscray
Westies - buckle up your boots. A bar in downtown Footscray is COMING SOON!

Il Paesano, the rather down-at-heel pizza shop, is currently being transformed into Littlefoot. This new bar will feature acoustic live music, "high-end bar food and share plates", "boutique and craft beers", wines and cocktails!

The brains behind the 'foot are Stuart and Liana. They are residents of the inner west, own The Idea Collective in Nicholson St (a creative co-working space) and previously ran Bebida Bar & Cafe in Smith Street (2003 to 2013, and shown above).

Stu and Liana are really passionate about the area and all the riches on offer. Stu was one of my amazing Rickshaw Run volunteers this year, coming down three times over the weekend (including once at the last minute) and eventually running one of the rickshaw-pulling teams.

They say: "We have a love and respect for the many cultures in the past and present of Footscray and our menu will be influenced by and pay homage to them... We believe a hospitality venue should enrich the area it is in. It is fed by the community but also strengthens, supports and nourishes it."

The name is inspired both by the above - "little Footscray" - but also reflects Stu and Liana's commitment to sustainability and minimising their environmental footprint - "little footprint".

But when, when, WHEN you say? The permits are slowly chugging their way through Council but the goal is late November.

I cannot wait to see these guys put the foot in Footscray! Bring it on!

https://www.facebook.com/littlefootscray
Lauren aka Ms Bakloverhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-2166641060916490585.post-34333519599458296632014-10-10T14:26:00.000+11:002014-10-10T14:26:48.859+11:00501 Receptions, Footscray

Have you ever wondered exactly what "a touch of class" could be?

I have walked past 501 Receptions maybe 1000 times in the years I've lived here, but I've never been inside. That is...

UNTIL NOW.

Would you like to join me?

Well, are you?

The occasion was one of Women of the West's regular "Ladies' Nights". WOW is two local women who put on great evenings for local lasses, as both a way to let your hair down AND raise money for local not-for-profit organisations. This night's dosh went to Women's Health West in Barkly St, Footscray, who work promoting women's health and offer services to those experiencing family violence.

This is very commendable. But I can't help it - I couldn't stop nerding out about finally being inside the big 501. It really is a working reception place!

Our $70 ticket bought us unlimited booze, entertainment and three courses of fine 501 fare.

Some antipasti (which were fine)...

...followed by some hoopla...

...and then the main event! Sue me, but I thought this was actually pretty yummy! I'm a sucker for a roast of the day.

Here we are mid-shimmy. Really fun, daggy disco dancing with "Cathy's Crazed Institute of Disco". I loved that 90% of people got up on the dance floor!

Things were a bit hazy by this point, but loved the cupcakes from Cupcakes by Paolo, and I do love a good Lindor Ball.

Well done to organisers Michelle and Sarah, who looked amazing in matching lace bodysuits and made putting on a big event look easy. The night embodied what I love about my fellow women of the west - we're generous, gregarious, and don't take ourselves too seriously. And as for 501 Receptions - I can honestly say that it does indeed have a touch of class!

Check out Women of the West's Facebook page to stay up to date with future events. I have just discovered that 501 Receptions has a website, which you can check out right here! Also, Women of the West have a new event happening soon - deets below. I'm not associated with these guys - I just like what they're doing!

Lauren aka Ms Bakloverhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-2166641060916490585.post-80190075537826618512014-10-07T12:41:00.000+11:002014-10-07T12:43:01.105+11:00Kebab Surra, FootscraySo on the last day of the school holidays, I had my friend's daughter E here. I told everyone to pack up as we were going out for lunch. "GOLDEN HORSE! GOLDEN HORSE!" shrieked E with delight. No, we can't go to Golden Horse (a local yum cha joint), I explained - we needed to go somewhere for Mummy Lauren's work. "It is a place that does meat on sticks, rice and bread," I explained. E looked at me for a while. "That......is......the......SAME AS GOLDEN HORSE!" she squealed with delight. I have obviously been missing the kebab, rice and bread trolley at yum cha for years!

I do love this kid - she was the same with whom I had this exchange a while ago:

"Lauren, do you write and take pictures of food?"

"Yes, I do!"

"So does that make you a food blobber?"

"......Why, yes. Yes, I do believe it does."

Anyway, we set off to our meat-on-sticks meal - destination, Kebab Surra.

This is a "Persian" restaurant that has just opened in Barkly Street, Footscray on the old site of Shebelle. What was dark and moody has become bright, white and very functional.

Sure, the decor may not move you, but you will start swooning immediately when the scent of charcoal and sizzling meat hits your nostrils.

Here is Muhammad and the place where all the magic happens. Long metal skewers threaded with meat are placed over this pit of gently glowing charcoal.

About half of the menu is varying combinations of kebabs - chicken, meat or mince - with (again) various combinations of rice, salad and bread. The "Special Kebab Surra" meal ($14.99) seemed a sensible place to start. The kebabs were just gorgeous - smoky, juicy, beautifully marinated. Lovely delicate basmati rice...

...house-baked flat bread (kind of like Turkish bread, but much thinner and therefore more crisp in parts - I spied the tandoor-like oven out the back)...

...and really simple but good, crunchy salad with a thin yoghurt dressing.

Do you like dumplings? Of course you like dumplings - you live in Melbourne! (If you don't, I am very honoured you are reading this blog. Hi Uncle Thom in Colorado!) Although they're most strongly associated with Asia, many cultures around the world have dumplings and olden-days Persia (more on that later) is no exception. Their incarnation is called mantu or mantoo, and they are something I've always had an odd relationship with. People have raved about them, but every time I've tried them I've been a bit underwhelmed. They've been nice but not mindblowing.

Well - Kebab Surra's mantoo ($13.99) are COMPLETELY OFF THE HOOK. Now I see what all the fuss is about. There's saucy lamb mince and yellow split peas, very loosely bound in a wonton-like yellow skin, drizzled with tangy tomato and yoghurt and dusted with dried mint. These are AMAZING. Although it doesn't say so on the menu, I think they come with bread and salad.

I had a chat to owner Ali after our meal. When Kebab Surra say "Persian", they mean the cuisine of the border regions of modern-day Iran and Afghanistan. He's very proud of his new business and he totally should be. I think you can really taste the love in the food.

I was raving about the mantoo and he said that that is their specialty, and it is a particularly Afghan-style dish. Another house specialty according to Ali is the qabuli polo. The menu reads: "Rice steamed with lightly fried sultanas, carrot slices, oil, along with lamb qorma cooked with tomato, spices, garlic, onion, and served with naan & salad". Ali explains that it's incorrectly described as coming with lamb qorma, but it actually comes with a lamb shank. And vegetarians - there is a traditional vegetarian mantoo dish arriving any day now - I am really, really keen to try this!

One quick note - there is a bit of discrepancy between the printed menu (scanned below) and the one on the wall. Plus, I think you get bread with things, even though it's not mentioned on either menu. Don't get yourself in knots - if you're not sure what comes with what, ask!

So E, we did not get to go to Golden Horse. But we still got to eat dumplings - AND meat on sticks.

Kebab Surra (Facebook)
241 Barkly St, Footscray
Phone: 0470 665 359 or 0470 227 824
Hours: Mon-Thurs 9am-9pm, Fri-Sun 9am-10pm

Lauren aka Ms Bakloverhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-2166641060916490585.post-71675763608332235332014-09-19T10:51:00.000+10:002014-09-19T10:55:39.158+10:00HealThy Self Co., YarravilleDo you know what a "crunchy mama" is? In Australia, we might say "hippie mum", but it doesn't really translate. Like GMO canola seeds drifting on the wind, crunchy mamas have taken up residence in every nook and cranny of the inner west. You can spy them being trees at creative dance workshops, burning up Facebook in various bulk-buying food co-ops, and carrying a baby on the back while gestating one on the front.

Don't come after me with handmade pitchforks. I speak with love because I am a crunchy mama too. Not nearly as crunchy as when I had my first baby (no cot, no pram, made my own ring sling, made my own cloth nappies AND MADE MY OWN BABY BUTT WIPES) but I'd still consider myself somewhere on the crunchy scale.

Image by Amber Dusick from the blog Crappy Pictures. Used with thanks per FAQ terms.

Speaking of which, you HAVE to check out Crappy Pictures' "Scale of Crunchy Mamas". It goes from level 1 ("Plans to breastfeed, owns a Baby Bjorn") to level 9 ("Can sew an entire quilt in one night by the light of handmade beeswax candles while sipping tea made from homegrown chamomile in a mug that was hand formed from clay mined from her backyard. While nursing"). Ba ha haaaa!

So I'm probably somewhere in the middle of that scale. But I think I just got a whole lot more crunchy after discovering Heal.Thy Self Co.

This is a new cafe in Yarraville which is basically like stepping into an Instagram feed. The menu is radiant with superfoods. We're talking kombucha tea, kale smoothies and raw vegan cheesecake. It's a little slice of San Fran in Ballarat Street.

I have been hearing a lot about kale (and if you haven't either, you must live under a rock) but I still don't really "get" it. I've tried to cook with it but it tastes like horse feed. Finally I get a crunchy gold star, though, as I tried Heal.Thy Self's kale smoothie ($9) - and loved it!

This 'un has greens, banana and a whole host of ingredients I had to google after the fact. There's "super greens powder", raw vanilla protein powder and maca powder in the mix (maca powder is a dried, powdered form of a root from Peru, purported to have fertility, antidepressant and bone-strengthening qualities). Actually, I just realised it doesn't actually say it has kale! But surely I still get a gold star for drinking something that shade of emerald. It was really nice - sweet but with an earthy, vegetal undertone.

My friend A decided to "be kind" to herself with the eponymous "be kind" smoothie ($9), with mixed berries, banana, lucuma powder (a dried powdered Peruvian "superfood" fruit), coconut, filtered H20 and "raw wild berry fermented super protein powder". Yum - and it matched her handbag! Instagram-approved.

Heal.Thy Self do a brunchy-lunchy menu of things like a raw choc chia parfait (chia mousse, activated buckinis and coconut yoghurt) or toasted sandwiches with roast veg and cashew cheese. If that all sounds too Jesus sandal, there is a smashed avo option or a good old ham and cheese toastie (with grass-fed butter, of course).

We went the choc-ana bread ($12.50) which was pretty awesome. Loved the "choc nut & seed butter", which was sweet without being cloying, and went perfectly with bananas and honey.

But we LOVED the raw vegan raspberry cheesecake. I'm assuming it was made with silken tofu. It had a fabulous mousse-like texture, wasn't too sweet and was bursting with real raspberry flavour. I would have loved it if the base was more crunchy to add some contrast, but it was still delicious.

Detoxifying dandelion tea (actually a blend of dandelion, wattleseed & cinnamon, $4.50) - the staff had a timer behind the counter to register when it had brewed sufficiently before serving.

I had the same thing but in latte form ($5) with the recommended oat milk. This was delicious - spicy, slightly (and not unpleasantly) bitter and creamy all at once.

I really like this place. I only have one teeny grumble. Most of the staff were lovely and sunny, but there was one who was a bit stern/business-like when we first walked in and were dithering about wondering where to sit, how to order etc. It's probably not something I'd care about in any other cafe, but given how the concept and the menu just radiate health and happiness, I think it's really important for everyone to be on board with big welcoming smiles and attitudes.

Heal.Thy Self Co. is a great thing for Yarraville, which has been eclipsed by Seddon in the last few years as the cool place to be in the inner west.

Going back to Amber Dusick's "Scale of Crunchy Mamas", she talks about how "people attempt to self-righteously out crunch one another... How we awkwardly fumbled around subjects like vaccinations or circumcision or extended breastfeeding and tried to fish out each other's stance on it. Back in those early months, every decision felt like it defined us".

I first mentioned nine levels in the "Scale of Crunchy Mamas", but there are actually 10. A level 10 crunchy mama "does most or all or some assortment of the above levels but they don't give a crap about what anyone thinks. They aren't keeping track and they've outgrown the labels. They certainly don't preach to others or judge people about their choices. They're just doing their own thing".

Image by Amber Dusick from the blog Crappy Pictures. Used with thanks per FAQ terms.

A level 10 crunchy mama is a diamond. To my friends A and A - and anyone out there expecting a child, or parenting little ones - may you be strong, confident diamond mamas.

Heal.Thy Self Co.

26 Ballarat St, Yarraville

Phone: 9687 3330

Hours: Mon-Fri 6.30am-4pm, Sat-Sun 7.30am-4pm
Lauren aka Ms Bakloverhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-2166641060916490585.post-27320036629032981722014-09-15T16:51:00.002+10:002014-09-15T16:51:43.675+10:00Snow Tree, FootscraySo someone was talking on Twitter about the new frozen yoghurt place opening in Seddon, and someone else directed them to the blog, "...and now it's a fucking froyo place". Go check it out, but it's basically before-and-after shots of places that were "business X" and are now frozen yoghurt joints. What rancour! I thought. Who could get grumpy with frozen yoghurt? So swirly, sweet and studded with delicious toppings - why, if unicorns poo, they must poo frozen yoghurt.

But seriously, as far as I can gather, the blog "[tracks] New York's downfall" by tracing the closure of diverse small businesses in favour of corporate frozen yoghurt chains. There may be more frozen yoghurt joints around Melbourne than ever before, but I don't think we're at quite the same level of small biz displacement.

Indeed, Footscray seems to have been a particularly hostile environment for species froyus yoghurtus. Yogurt House gave it a crack but didn't succeed. And then came Snow Tree, who did waffles and frozen yoghurt.

I have no idea how successful the sweet offerings were, but for whatever reason, Snow Tree have decided to turn their attention to a new menu of savoury Korean food.

It's not the best location - right next to a noisy bus stop - but inside it's surprisingly quiet and peaceful. The slightly whimsical, mismatched decor is endearing if a bit odd.

The lunch specials are total bargains. This bibimbap was $12 and came with three side dishes, salad, miso and Korean chilli sauce.

Bibambap is kinda the equivalent of Korean meat and three - or rather, seven - veg. The meat n' veg in question are all really simply seasoned with maybe some sesame oil, salt and pepper, and it's served on white rice in a searing-hot stone bowl, which is meant to crisp up the rice around the edges.

This was my meal, but I have such massive food envy of the bibimbap that I have forgotten what it was called. I think it was only ten dollars, so at least I could revel in my gold coin savings!

As well as miso, side dishes and salad, mine was a "bit of everything" with tempura vegies, crumbed prawn, spring roll, coleslaw, beef stir-fry of sorts and lots of nice rice.

'Twas all good, cheap and satisfying. A good little option to have in Footscray when you're tired of pho for lunch. And there was no room for dessert - froyo or otherwise!

Snow Tree

12/119 Hopkins Street (entrance on Leeds St), Footscray
Lauren aka Ms Bakloverhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-2166641060916490585.post-50815650969429309692014-08-21T17:05:00.001+10:002014-08-21T17:05:34.386+10:00Co DoSo...the other day I queued for a table at a restaurant. Big whoop, you say. These days, that's about as Melbourne as trams, four seasons in one day, and bagpipes at Flinders St station (if you're old enough to remember them). But this wasn't at some hidden-entrance, underground hotspot serving Chinese-Mexican fusion (don't laugh, there actually is one in Melbourne) - this was at a Vietnamese joint in Sunshine.

And it was totally worth it.

So I'm stealing my own thunder a little - let's back up. Co Do opened in late June with a seemingly crazy mission - to add another Vietnamese eatery to Sunshine's already well-stocked Hampshire Road.

If the name sounds familiar, that's because Co Do has also operated for many years quite happily in Victoria St, Richmond. Their specialty is bun bo Hue, a chilli-lemongrass beef soup from the old imperial city of Hue in central Vietnam. But it soon became apparent that's not all they do well.

The first time we stopped in, we did have to wait a not unpleasant ten minutes or so for a table. It was chockers.

People get so intimidated by Vietnamese menus, and I get it. But once you've eaten in a lot of Vietnamese places, you'll begin to see that each menu has a couple of unique dishes that aren't part of the usual 1000 or so. They are the ones I always gravitate to first.

Case in point - these "pork and prawn cake in banana leaf" or banh bot loc. These were really quite unusual - unwrapping each fat little parcel (you don't eat the outer leaf) revealed a fat, semi-opaque bundle of gummy tapioca flour, surrounding well-seasoned prawn and pork. I'm not selling them very well, but they were pretty cool. A very interesting and (I dare say) street food-style dish you don't see very often on restaurant menus.

Another "banh", this time banh beo. These are mini steamed rice cakes topped with dried prawn that's been whizzed up into a crumble. This is a Hue specialty. These were much less peculiar than the former offering and really quite good, lovely doused in a lot of seasoned fish sauce. Another one that's almost never seen here in Melbourne.

Do be sure to check out the specials ("Dac Biet") on the papers on the walls. They're in Vietnamese but that doesn't preclude you from ordering them (as some people seem to feel) - I knew what most of them were but the waitress was happy to explain the couple I didn't. And don't stress too much, because most are in the menu itself. This is one - rare beef coleslaw, or goi bo tai chanh if I remember correctly. The beef has been "cured" in lemon juice, similar to ceviche. A fantastic riot of flavours and textures in this one, and perhaps not as cloyingly sweet as some other coleslaws can be.

But the number one order was this banh xeo. Translated as "Vietnamese pancake", this is something I've had a somewhat tempestuous relationship with, as the more I eat, the more I'm reminded how much better they can be. These filled pancakes always run the risk of being gluggy and soggy, and a sorry amount in Melbourne are.

This one was a standout winner. The batter really tasted of coconut cream, and the filling (which we first thought was a little sparse) revealed itself to be judiciously proportioned, so that every bite had the right proportion of creamy mung beans, just-wilted bean sprouts, whole prawns (yes, you eat the shells - crunch crunch - don't be scared!) and cooked pork. ZOMG. (Pro tip - open up the pancake and spread the filling out a bit, so you get more even distribution.)

To eat, cut portions with your spoon, place in a piece of lettuce with an embarrassment of herbs, and spoon dipping sauce over. HEAVEN. Amazing banh xeo, and only 15 dollars. And no boring iceberg in sight - all the greens were really crunchy and unusual!

I went back the following week, and it was looking like we'd have to queue again, when a friendly lady offered to let us share her table. This turned out to be a huge score. She used to be in the restaurant business and has been coming to Co Do weekly to try more and more goodies, so enamoured she is of the food.

Time for the signature dish - bun bo Hue. This soup is made with a broth rich with lemongrass and chilli, and normally has an absolute butcher's bin of offal on top. Co Do do a version with just sliced rare beef for those wimps among us. This was delicious. The lemongrass is really there, giving it an almost tom yum flavour - but more beefy. The noodles were big fat rice noodles, almost like rice noodle spaghetti.

My favourite part, though, is the big pile of chopped lettuce and red cabbage for you to throw in, which you should do liberally. (On the left above, under the basil - the basil and bean sprouts are for the pho.) If you've done pho, if you've done hu tieu mi - it's time to try bun bo Hue. And this is where to do it.

But - the pho! Normally I avoid pho unless it's a pho-specific restaurant. But this was off the hook. The broth was so good - a great balance of salty and sweet, and with intriguing herbiness. Fantastic. I only got to snaffle a few bites as this was hot property of a pho-obsessed child, but I am SO going back for this.

PS: Make sure you put some of the Vietnamese "saté sauce" in a dish to dip your meat in. It's the sauce in the glass bottle on the table, with a spoon through the lid. The one here is really dried prawn-y - yum.

My lucky tablemate had also raved about the Vietnamese yoghurt here. She explained that one of the owners makes it and "you cannot find better". I got some to take away. Now sweet yoghurt's not really my thing, and this was very sweet. It had a fabulously delicate texture and the slight funk that sometimes accompanies sheep or goat's milk. Not my thing but I could tell it was good, if you like that sort of thing.

The majority of the places you read about on these fair pages are places I very much enjoy - and then promptly go on to never revisit (or only do so once in a blue moon). It's the unfortunate reality for me, as I'm always driven to find new and exciting eats, and am bounded by both budget and expanding bum. A small proportion, though, become regular haunts. Sunshine's Co Do is definitely going to be one.

Co Do
207 Hampshire Rd, Sunshine
Phone 9939 0850
Open 7 days, 9am-10pmLauren aka Ms Bakloverhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-2166641060916490585.post-65725553891025811772014-08-06T12:22:00.000+10:002014-08-06T12:22:23.623+10:00Nami SushiOh, nori roll, what did Australia ever do without you? As grabbable as a potato cake and as pseudo-healthy as a Boost juice. Every second toddler I see at Highpoint is clutching an avocado roll in their chubby fists.

Footscray now has a schwank sushi joint in the form of Nami Sushi, just opened on Paisley Street. I love their groovy design!

You've got your regulars, like tempura prawn and avocado. But then there are a few quirky characters - sundried tomato, cream cheese and avocado, anyone? And there are cool "inside-out" rolls with the rice on the outside.

There are also some really funky layered rolls, like the one above on the left, with a nice slab of salmon on top. The verdict? I really enjoyed both rolls. My only complaint is they were quite cold. I'm not sure how Sushi Sushi et al do it, but their rolls are always at a good temperature that makes the nori not too chewy and the flavours all wide awake. (Yes, yes, I know all about the other thing they found in one of the Highpoint stores' rolls that was also very much wide awake.) It's probably a hard line to walk with government food safety regulations, I'd imagine. The secret is probably fast turnover, which I think will become Nami's reality very soon.

The menu online looks very cool but at least as far as I gathered, not everything was available just yet. They've even got a sushi pizza, which I don't even know how to describe, looking at the picture on their Facebook page. I hope they get the brown rice sushi happening soon. (Yes, I am a big hippy.)

At this stage there are tables and chairs but no specific eat-in trimmings. It would be great to have plates rather than having to eat out of the takeaway boxes. But for now, can I revert to being one of those nori roll-loving toddlers and exclaim... Nami Sushi? Nummy sushi!

Nami Sushi
3 Paisley St, Footscray
namisushi.com.auLauren aka Ms Bakloverhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-2166641060916490585.post-72673589935092315622014-07-31T15:04:00.001+10:002014-07-31T15:04:12.451+10:00Laksa KingThis is a sponsored post. See bottom of post for full disclosure.

I don't know what I've done. I didn't blow my nose on a tablecloth. I didn't leave a 5-cent tip. Somehow, I've offended the restaurant gods, as my run of bad luck continues. The curse's latest incarnation was at one of Gordon St's Indian joints, where a nothing-special entree segued to just-okay mains. At least we enjoyed the naan - until, under the napkin lining the basket, we found an old chicken bone lurking. I'm not making this up!!!

So I knew that when this blog post had a deadline, there was no time to go sailing into unchartered waters. I needed something truly time tested. Enter Laksa King.

If you don't already know the story, Laksa King used to be a tiny hole-in-the-wall joint in a dingy arcade. They did a cracking laksa. I have no idea what the rest of their food was like, and I don't think anyone else did either - you ordered the laksa and that was that. A few years ago they moved around the corner and underwent a massive transformation, from tiny storefront to the big, glitzy shebang that it is now.

There was a lot of argy-bargy at the time about whether or not it had gone downhill, and I really can't comment, as I never went enough to perceive any noticeable difference. Since then, though, it's become one of my favourite places for reliably delicious Malaysian food.

It is ALWAYS busy in here. The above photo was taken on a Monday night. I love eating in busy places - the rush, the buzz. Laksa King have a lot of staff so service is never a problem. (You do eventually get booted out if you sit and chat for an unreasonably long time after your meal, without buying any more food or drinks - I speak from experience!)

Loved this homemade tofu with mushrooms ($15.80). The tofu was awesome - a big, wobbly serve, almost like a savoury pudding. It was deliciously rich with an almost eggy taste - really not like the usual blandness folks associate with tofu. And on top, loads of interesting mushrooms, from little clawlike clutches to nice meaty pieces of shiitake.

Well, with something so healthy, of course we had to have something OTT. I know these wasabi prawns ($20.80) aren't very Malaysian but hoo boy, they were good! The prawns were really big and bouncy with crunchy batter and sweet, only slightly hot wasabi mayo. Given the quality of the crustaceans, it's good value, too.

Here's a few highlights from other Laksa King voyages. This was a chef's special, and the second time I had it, it wasn't on the specials menu but I asked if they could make it. It's scallops with veg and "volcanic salt" - big crystals of smoky, rich, black salt. I love this dish. Try asking and perhaps you shall receive!

This is what my kids usually share between three - prawn dumplings with egg noodles ($10.80). The stock is tasty and if not MSG-free, then very low. Lovely dumplings, few token bits of veg - perfect.

And yes, it's the old Baklover standby - salted fish and chicken fried rice ($11.20). Don't order that stuff with peas, carrots and BBQ pork - give this a try. You don't need anything else on the table, it's that good.

So if you feel like you're on a losing streak - restaurant-related or otherwise - head to the King. I guarantee you'll come out feeling like a winner.

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

This is a sponsored post for the Australian Mushroom Growers' Association "Mushroom Mania" campaign. In their own words: "Each July Australian Mushroom Growers run a foodservice campaign called Mushroom Mania. The campaign rolls out throughout Australia and encourages the community to eat out in July, to enjoy healthy mushroom meals."  I was paid a flat sum for my writing which did not include meal expenses. I was free to choose where to eat and the restaurant was not notified before nor after about this post. Australian Mushroom Growers and Laksa King have not sought nor been given any editorial control of this post.
Lauren aka Ms Bakloverhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-2166641060916490585.post-13854404374304859672014-07-19T08:09:00.000+10:002014-07-19T08:09:18.525+10:00Two Birds' NestThey say to discover new lands, you must lose sight of the shore. My friend J has recently become my devoted culinary co-explorer. Rather than bloated merchant seaman buffeted by the Urbanspoon tradewinds, we're like rangy pirates, plundering every backwater and secluded cove for obscure comestible treasures.

Recently, though, we've had a run of bad luck. There was the hipster Korean that ravaged our wallets but failed to put any wind in our sails, and elsewhere, the tofu, chicken and salted fish dish that didn't just look like what the cat dragged in, but something it dragged in, mauled, gnawed on and threw up. We ended up huddled in the lee of Nhu Lan, gnawing on our emergency banh mis, quite lost for words.

So I knew that when I sent that next text - "fancy trying X next Thursday night?" - that X had better not just mark the spot, but bloody well hit it. Enter Two Birds' Nest.

Just a stone's throw from Spotswood station, brewers Jayne Lewis and Danielle Allen have set up their new digs, where they brew their signature Golden and Sunset ales. Drop in and you can not only have a gander at all the shiny beer-making kit, but prop at the bar and order a freshly brewed pot. (I'm being quite literal - the IPA we tried had just finished brewing that very day!)

But these birds have chosen to feather their nest even further by letting Casey Wall curate the menu. Casey is one half of Rockwell and Sons, which is one of my top reasons to cross the river. He's a North Carolina native who's done time at joints as fancy as Le Cirque in New York and Cutler & Co in Fitzroy. In the case of Rockwell, this translates to rib-sticking American goodies like fried chicken or devilled eggs, done with care and panache.

We pulled up a stool at one of the communal tables and got nibbling on Parmesan shortbread and goats curd Oreos ($9), which were brilliant. Regular Oreos go great with milk, and these Oreos go great with beer. Here at the Nest, you can sample Two Birds' own brews plus guest taps, and there's wine and boutique spirits, too.

We swooned over this Kentucky beer cheese on crisp, well-oiled rye bread slices ($12). This stuff was incredible - a blend of Vermont cheddar, cream cheese, Sunset ale and spices to make a gooey, bitey spread that was totally amazing.

There are four sandwiches for mains. We're talking what Casey calls the world's greatest grilled cheese, with bacon jam and smoked scamorza cheese, or a very interesting proposal with pressed broccoli and vintage cheddar. But today it had to be the smoked pulled pork with red slaw ($16). I know every man and his dog is doing pulled pork these days, but this is the real deal. You have to try it - it's out of this world!

It was the brisket-and-bacon "5-Chile Chilli" for me, topped with a little house-made creme fraiche ($18). Rich, dark, spicy and fabulous. This 'un is perfect with the "Taco Beer", which has been brewed with a little corn, plus a sprinkling of lime and coriander! I could definitely taste the corn, which gave it a fresh, popcorny spark. Yum.

Two Birds Nest is just a few hundred metres from Spotswood station, or if you accidentally get on an express like we did, you can also easily walk from Newport - it's a ten-minute stroll. There are more seats in the actual brewing room. Another specialty on the menu that we didn't try is the cheese platter, with matched beers - there's even a proper cheese cabinet so every wedge is at the perfect temperature.

So if like us, you navigate the world by the tum, Two Birds Nest isn't just safe harbour. In terms of your tastebuds, it's like docking at Rio when Carnaval is on. Set sail on the good ship Metro and come and visit!

Read more here at The Crafty Pint, or cop a sneaky peek at the current menu here!

Two Birds' Nest (@TheTwoBirdsNest)
136 Hall St, Spotswood
Open: Thurs 4-10pm, Fri 4-11pm, Sat noon-11pm, Sun noon-10pm.Lauren aka Ms Bakloverhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-2166641060916490585.post-79176638554800701052014-07-15T09:43:00.000+10:002014-07-15T09:43:35.856+10:00Ras Dashen

So Ethiopia has thirteen months of sunshine, or so the poster on the wall tells me. Yet when the winter chill sets in here in Footscray, it's the food from this land of eternal summer that I start craving.

The poster in question is on the wall here at Ras Dashen, just one of Footscray's Ethiopian eateries. It doesn't look much from the outside - indeed, you might wonder if it's even open, it looks so dark - but I highly encourage you to step in.

We ordered the vegetarian combination which is everything you see (bar the pot in the centre) for a rather staggering $10. Red and brown lentils, beans, cabbage and carrot...all delicious, albeit rather unusually served room temperature. In the middle was our order of doro wot ($10), chicken pieces cooked in an intense, deep maroon sauce made with very slow-cooked onion and berbere spice. It wasn't crazily loaded with chicken pieces, but it's the sauce that gets me going more than anything.

The prices are pretty fabulous. If you want a good intro, I'd get the veg combo plus number 5 (the Misto - two different mincemeat curries). Maybe add in a doro wot if you've got three people dining, and a tibs if you've got four. I like to think of tibs like stir-fries - they're a bit drier than things with "wot" in the name, which tend to be wet and saucy.

You might look at an Ethiopian menu and think it all sounds the same. I can remember going to a Mexican restaurant in the US for the first time 10+ years ago and reading "tortilla, sauce, cheese... tortilla, sauce, cheese..." It all sounded like exactly the same dish reworded 20 times. Obviously I couldn't have been more wrong. Keep experimenting, ordering, trying and you'll soon have your favourite dishes locked down.

I do rather love the ginger tea served in many of Footscray's African eateries. It's super spicy, sweet and delicious.

Like nearby Konjo, Ras Dashen will do traditional Ethiopian coffee without the whole ceremony (other places usually reserve it for large bookings and charge quite a bit of money). Love that they still serve the jebena (pot) along with the traditional incense. I've got a post brewing (get it?) about Konjo and Ethiopian coffee, so stay tuned to learn a bit more about this tradition.

And while we're on the subject of bad puns - Ras Dashen. Dash in!

Ras Dashen

121 Nicholson St, Footscray

Phone: 9687 3293
Lauren aka Ms Bakloverhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-2166641060916490585.post-66566440832021135302014-07-12T18:26:00.000+10:002014-07-13T09:30:45.582+10:00Hawker fare at MiHUB CafeAs I tugged on my uggs, I was waiting for that call. As the wind howled outside, I was waiting for that ding. I had invited six fearless foodies to join me at an outdoor "hawker centre" on the windiest, most bone-chilling Friday night of the year. It is a testament to everyone's total devotion to the tum that not a single person piked!

MiHUB in Werribee has been on my radar for some time but it was a tip from reader Sukie that pushed it to the front of the queue. She wrote telling me of "an outdoor Malaysian hawker centre... We went for the 1st time last night and thought I was back in Asia from that first whiff of the air. Satay skewers, nasi lemak, mee rebus, char kwe tiaw, little Malay cakes".

Now, if that does not make you excited - you need to check for a pulse!

So that's how I found myself tearing down the highway, dressed in so many clothes that Bryan called me a ketupat (wrapped rice cake thingy), which I think is Singaporean for "you look like the Michelin Man". :-P

According to the Star, Werribee's Migrant Hub was started by Walter Villagonzolo, a migrant from the Philippines. Its front yard houses the MiHUB Cafe, a social enterprise for new migrants. Since January the Malaysian community has been at the helm, offering hawker-style food at low, low prices.

The way it works is you nab a plastic table and then go and see what takes your fancy. I had rallied Daniel and M, Bryan and Fatbee, and Jo and The Angmoh to stage a full-scale assault on the menu. When we got there, we all ran around like schoolkids, squealing and pointing at everything.

I really liked the satay ($10) - chicken or lamb, with really good satay sauce. The idea is that in between bites of juicy meat, you stab bits of cucumber and compressed rice cake with your skewer and swizzle them in the sauce. Now, if only they could invent spoon-shaped cucumbers...

Lontong was awesome - a light, coconutty broth with hardboiled eggs, spongy tofu and more compressed rice cake. It was lukewarm, which we felt might have been authentic given the usually tropical clime in Malaysia. The temperature didn't translate as well to a windy night in Werribee, but the flavour was all there.

I LOVED the char kway teow, with proper smoky breath of the wok, really springy prawns and fantastic wide rice noodles. It's cooked on a gas-powered wok right under the marquee. And...only eight bucks! This is the thing I'd go all the way back for.

Mee rebus was a new one for me, with a thick, sweet sauce and Hokkien-style noodles. I found the sauce too sweet but Daniel reported that's how it's meant to be.

Quite liked this curry with roti jala. I've also had these lacy pancakes at Chilli Padi in Flemington 100 years ago, where I liked them better - I found MiHUB's a bit plain, with no crispy bits.

Otak otak or spiced fish mousse in banana leaf were pretty good (three for $5). You unroll them and eat the little sausage-like delight inside.

As this bowl of laksa was passed around, anyone looking above shoulder height only would have thought it was a competition about who can do the best grimace. It was very peculiar, tasting strongly of curry powder rather than the classic laksa paste-y flavours of fresh lemongrass and chilli. Give this one a miss and try something more exotic!

The murtabak got a big tick from me. This is essentially a stuffed roti, panfried on both sides to get nice and crispy. Most times I've had it, it was just a bit nothing, but this was spicy, warm and delicious. (I can't recall the filling but I think it was lamb and spicy potato.) Oh and re the prices, I didn't write any down (too hard when trying to stuff food in mouth at top speed), but most things are eight dollars. YES. EIGHT DOLLARS.

Teh tarik was the perfect thing to warm up our claw-like fingers...

...and although it didn't have that super-authentic teh tarik tannic taste, it was hot, frothy and good. (The bubbles come from the milky tea being poured from jug to jug from a great height, aerating it.)

Finally, we raided the dessert selection. A lot of these sweets suffered from being served in the frigid conditions - they would have been a lot softer and more delicate in 30-degree heat, rather than 10. The best was the yellow fellow in the middle, which had a layer of durian-flavoured custard over some kind of sticky rice.

Super-sleuth reader Sukie reported that the best times to go are Friday night and Sunday brunch.  (Maybe do proceed with caution though in terms of Sundays for the rest of Ramadan, as many observant Muslims will be fasting during daylight hours, so the cafe's hours or offerings could be limited. Just me speculating but it might save you a fruitless trip! Give them a call on the number below perhaps to check.)  Do get in quick as there's no telling when the space will rotate to another community group.

In the end, the wind got so fierce we had to leave, so worried we were that our marquee was about to take off Wizard of Oz-style and whisk us away to Penang.

Actually, now that I think about it - and the problem with that was...?

PS: You can also check out Bryan's wrap of the night right here!

MiHUB Cafe
12 Synnot Street, Werribee
Phone: 9731 7877Lauren aka Ms Bakloverhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-2166641060916490585.post-50182532048514519522014-06-27T08:26:00.002+10:002014-06-27T08:26:46.570+10:00Sunshine Devonshire House Tea RoomsNow, I love a good burger. But back when I first started eating burgers, "brioche" was a mythical food that only existed in French class - like Orangina. Jal-a-peenos? What the bloody hell is that? Pass me the tinned beetroot and pineapple. Pickles? Those things only existed at Macca's, and for the sole purpose of throwing them against the wall.

And don't get me started on the prices. We found one in Carlton the other day that had hit fifteen bucks, made all the more insulting to this dinky-diehard by being on a damper roll. (I haven't had this burger. I'm sure it's lovely. But $15?!)

What if I told you I could time-travel you back to 1989? What's the first thing you would do?

Meet Sunshine's Devonshire House tea rooms, your friendly local teleportal back in time. It's a charitable venture of the Uniting Church in which it is housed. According to the pseudo-gothic wording on the wall: "Devonshire House is a venture of social concern instituted by the Sunshine Methodist Church. It is in the main staffed and maintained by volunteers. If any profit is gained it will be directed to youth and welfare services in the area".

All good, although how ANY profit could be gained from these prices beggars belief. CHECK. THEM. OUT. Sausages, egg n' chips for $5.50? Soup, five bucks? A "tomato and bacon special", which is certainly worth taking a punt on for a mere seven dineros?

Here's your lovely hamburger & salad ($7!) with a small side of chips ($1.20!) The salad! The cheese triangles, tinned beetroot, hardboiled egg and iceberg! The tinned pineapple chunks! Bless their cotton socks.

And here's mine - a "baconburger" and chips ($8.50! Yes, every price hereafter mentioned includes an exclamation mark). Behold its wobbly-yolked glory! It was bloody delicious. I had to have a little sniffle halfway through, it brought back so many childhood memories.

There's a big outdoor area that you can sit in on a nice day. Another friend had told me about this place ages ago, having reported that she brought a group of mates and their kids here for her birthday. She shouted them all lunch, player that she is, which ended up coming to about $35 - FOR EVERYONE. (!)

I am dying to try the "Devon Latte". I may be a born-and-bred Aussie, but even I don't know what that is. I bet it involves whipped cream, a saucer with a doily and a glass with a handle. (Google doesn't help - top result is a Mr Devon Latte from Quebec.)

Or maybe next time the "Spin Q" will be on offer. It took me a good while to work out what the heck this is. I think I've got it - spinach quiche! For $2.20!!! (Yes, that deserves three excy marks.)

I would like to quickly say that if I catch anyone bashing this joint on Urbanspoon for things like using caterer's margarine, Home Brand teabags or not having posh salt, I will give you a Chinese burn. It is obviously not that sort of place. Ditto any service quibbles. The Queen doesn't like mean people, OK?

Sunshine Devonshire Tea Rooms

34 Devonshire Road, Sunshine (between the kindy and the church)

Open 10.30am-2pm Monday-Friday (last orders at 1.30pm)

Lauren aka Ms Bakloverhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-2166641060916490585.post-72283699257343105032014-06-25T16:33:00.000+10:002014-06-25T16:33:24.703+10:00Singapore...with kids

Last January I had a most delightful week by myself in Singapore. It's a hot and steamy place where eating is the national sport, and hence it suited me to a T. I spent a glorious week stuffing myself with roti prata, fried noodles and kueh, with occasional interludes wandering around atmospheric neighbourhoods and guzzling lots of Tiger beer.

As things would have it, my husband had been working there this year for a few months, so my three kids and I decided to meet him on the tail end of the job and spend a couple of weeks there. They say if you have no expectations, you'll never be disappointed, but I couldn't help but fantasise about my children's sparkly-eyed delight at the moustachioed roti man twirling each tissue-thin pastry sheet. I imagined them exploring the wet markets and temples with wide-eyed wonder. I daydreamed about them gobbling down bowls of spicy laksa and clamouring for extra blood cockles in their char kway teow.

Things did not work out that way.

The first few days, I dragged my sluggish troupe of tiny travellers from temple to teahouse. Instead of "wow", I got "wah". It was too hot. Their feet hurt. They wanted to go back to the hotel and watch Cartoon Network. Glorious golden-domed mosques got barely a glance, but when they found the knock-off Pokemon cards for sale? Call in the riot squad!

And they would not eat ANYTHING. Confronted with a nice plate of beef hor fun, either they made like cranky clams and clamped their mouths shut, or they went into defensive centipede mode, curling up and promptly going to sleep.

And again.

And again.

Yes, I know. I remember my husband gently trying to explain to a crying me years ago that it was unreasonable to expect a 2-year-old to eat home-made pad Thai, even if I had made the tamarind paste myself. But when food, travel, culture and language are your biggest passions, and it turns out that your children's pinnacle of enjoyment in a foreign country is pressing the lift buttons - seriously depressing stuff.

Some major recalibration was required. My kids are voracious consumers of Vietnamese food in Footscray and I assumed their love for pho and com tam dac biet would translate nicely into wonton mee and chicken rice. For whatever reason, it didn't.

Golden Mile Food Centre was right near where we were staying. There we found a Japanese stall, and the kids really enjoyed their teriyaki salmon, tangy coleslaw, white rice and miso...

...while I got a much-needed serve of greens with very good kway teow mee.

It was also here that I failed to purchase this deep-fried cheese sandwich, which I shall regret for the rest of my days.

Smoky satays from East Coast Lagoon Food Village got a tick...

...while the adults swooned over gooey, wobbly oyster omelette from Song Kee Fried Oyster.

Loved this white carrot cake from a stall a few doors down from Song Kee Fried Oyster. Child #1 was inconsolable when she heard she had missed out on carrot cake due to protest sleeping. I did not choose to enlighten her Singaporean carrot cake is neither cake as she would know it nor made of carrots, but rather a steamed cake of rice flour and radish that is then bound and fried with eggs.

Perhaps enticed by thoughts of mythical Singaporean carrot cakes, the spawn deigned to try ice kacang, and promptly fell in love.

Instead of historical walks, we went on waterslides, the cable car, and saw 4D movies...

...had our feet exfoliated by "doctor fish" in Chinatown...

...went to the Night Safari, and to the supertrees at Gardens by the Bay. And you know what? It may have been all been cheesy family fun, but it was genuinely really awesome.

And much as I wanted the kids to fall in love with Nyonya pineapple tarts, I just let them like what they liked (namely, giant boxes of donuts). "It is what it is," say the Irish. Why not just enjoy it?

And you know what? Once I let go, magical things started to happen. My eldest decided she wanted to try crab, so we ventured into Geylang, Singapore's red-light district, where JB Ah Meng's Crab House lies. I'd been taken to this rough-and-ready, back-alley eatery by Bryan's gorgeous, generous parents when I'd first visited Singapore. Eating in the grungy, "locals-only" laneway, gorging myself on incredible seafood and huge mugs of Tiger beer over ice - it was one of the best food experiences of my life.

I ventured back with trepidation. Why return to an experience that was so perfect the first time around and risk ruining the memory? But it was crazy, amazingly good. Yes, two of the kids refused to eat anything, but the eldest devoured so much white-pepper crab. What an amazing first crab experience.

Here's a crab shot...

...incredible, garlicky "la la" or clams...

...and scrambled eggs with tomato and black fungus. I could eat this kind of food every day.

On the way home, we stopped at a durian stall...

...and while only one out of three kids tried the "king of fruit", we ended up three for three when it came to mangosteens! I predict lots of these in lunchboxes for the rest of the year.

(The durian verdict? It's bizarre. If you don't know, this giant spiky fruit has a distinct aroma that is somewhere between cooking gas and overripe fruit. Other people report it smelling like rotten cheese or smelly feet. It's so intense that in many Asian countries, it's banned from subways or planes. Some of the eating around it seems almost mythical - one fellow durian-eater that night mused misty-eyed that "no two durians taste alike" - almost like they have souls!

The taste is very floral, like overripe papaya or mango, but it's the texture that's the oddest thing - like pate or cream cheese. We got a tip which was to keep a segment of the spiky shell, fill that with water and then use that to rinse your mouth out so you don't have durian breath. Such a fantastic experience, although we did stink out the whole hotel room with our leftovers and had to leave the do-not-disturb sign on all day while we blasted the AC to try to clear the scene of the crime!)

Part of letting go was also hiring a babysitter for quite a few evenings so we could go do what we wanted (namely, eat copious amounts of things, with optional ending up at the Thai disco). A highlight was the White Rabbit, inside an old church in the lush Dempsey Hill area, and which has got to be one of the most romantic eateries anywhere on the planet. I conveniently submerged my ethics under a few raspberry martinis and we had a pre-firing squad-style dinner of oysters, Maine lobster, foie gras, and a how is this thing not a cornflake yet-amount of days-grain fed steak. Such an incredible evening - we even got to see a marriage proposal!

But perhaps in the same style of subverted expectations, one of the most delicious things we ate wasn't even Singaporean. Right near where we were staying was the Golden Mile Complex, also known as "Thai Town". This is a somewhat down-at-heel shopping centre crammed with Thai discos, karaoke joints, restaurants and travel agents, complete with cockfighting on the teev.

It was here that we found a mookata spot, which is a Thai hybrid between steamboat and Korean-style BBQ.

You're given a heaping platter of vegies and meats - marinated pork, liver, chicken, calamari, fish balls, crab sticks and mini hot dogs - and the surrounding "moat" is topped up first of all with a very weak chicken stock. A burner is turned on underneath and as you sizzle marinated pork, chicken and more, all the juices run down off the domed, ridged cooktop into the stock.

In the bubbling brew you might poach an egg, cook some of the noodles, or swizzle some mushrooms and greens. It condenses down more and more until finally, stuffed fit to bursting, you scoop out the now viscous, rich brown liquid, which tastes like distilled daydreams.

And how did this meal go down? The kids ate all the mini hot dogs. I ate all the prawns, and my husband ate all the liver.

Everyone was happy.

Lauren aka Ms Bakloverhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-2166641060916490585.post-56178530200225237012014-05-28T11:00:00.000+10:002014-05-28T11:00:22.840+10:00Rice Pho & Rolls - banh cuon in FootscrayThe amount of Vietnamese words I know I could count on two hands. I know that "bo" means beef and "ga" means chicken. "Chay" means vegetarian, "mi" means egg noodles and "cam on" means thank you.

Now, all these words might signify delicious things, but there's one word you should definitely have in your repertoire. It's "banh", and is associated with things that are starchy, bread-like and pretty much always extremely delicious. I'm talking:

* Banh mi (crunchy Vietnamese sandwiches, pictured two above from Banh Mi Boys)

* Banh khot (mini coconut pancakes, shown above sizzling streetside for the 2014 Rickshaw Run!)

* Banh xeo (giant lacy pancakes stuffed with filling)

* Banh kep la dua (warm coconut-and-pandan-flavoured waffles - find them in Little Saigon!)

Here's an amazing banh platter from Thanh Ha 2 in Richmond, with banh cuon, banh duc, banh bot loc and banh beo!

But my absolute favourite banh is - banh cuon. You might know these semi-opaque, gossamer-thin rice flour crepes from Xuan Banh Cuon in Sunshine. I am delighted to report that Footscray now has a first-rate banh cuon provider, too!

Let's back up a little. Rice Pho & Rolls has just opened right near the corner of Droop and Hopkins Streets, Footscray.

While not as hip as Co Thu Quan or HM Quan, it certainly has a similar contemporary feel. I usually associate statements of "no MSG" with Anglified suburban Chinese restaurants, but Rice Pho & Rolls makes a similar claim that they use no MSG anywhere on the menu. So far, so good.

The menu is small - just one page - and dominated by chicken, either in pho or as Hainan chicken. There's a kid-sized pho that is particularly excellent at $4. I know the pic doesn't look like much, but this is fantastic chicken soup. Bright, fresh and cleansing, and all the more amazing for no MSG.

But of course, I only had eyes for one thing - the banh cuon ($10). They are made here (I checked) and they are FANTASTIC. They're rolled up with a little pork and prawn, and I think the filling has a more delicate flavour than XBC's, which occasionally can be a little strong on the pork. What I really loved, though, was the little bowl of hot soup alongside. This had a piece of springy Vietnamese sausage and a melt-in-the-mouth meatball with black fungus, but it was the broth that was the star. Squeeze in some lime, add a little garlic and chilli, and it's the most delicious, tangy, soothing thing to sup.

This is fantastic banh cuon and up there with XBC's offering. The only thing it falls down on is the accompanying salad - just chopped iceberg, mint and coriander. Some more variety would take it to the next level. But still - you HAVE to try this.

Prawn, pork and taro spring rolls ($5) were good. (I hardly ever order these - I don't think there's much between them anywhere you go!)

Bo luc lac - diced beef with capsicum, onion and "saffron rice" ($12) - was pretty good. While I was there, I ran into Win from the Sunshine Business Association, who happens to be a friend of the owner. The no-MSG thing is fair dinkum, and Win reports his mate (the owner) is very into cooking really home-style food. I couldn't get this straight from the horse's mouth because the proprietor had left work early, as he and his partner had had a baby that day!

This is an exciting restaurant and one to watch. I look forward to exploring the menu a lot more.

Rice Pho & Roll (Facebook)

151 Hopkins Street, Footscray
Lauren aka Ms Bakloverhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-2166641060916490585.post-37516456803693750032014-05-16T15:29:00.001+10:002014-05-16T15:29:31.484+10:008 Bit
"Want some of my burger?"

"Is it Mr Burger?"

"No..."

"Is it Mrs Burger?"

This conversation took place between my 4-year-old and I in downtown Droop St, just an hour or so ago. Yes - we were in the 'scray, talking about not banh mi, but burgers. And we weren't shivering in the lee of a truck - we were in a real bricks n' mortar burger bar.

HYPERVENTILATING YET????

You should be, because 8 Bit has officially thrown its doors open today, and has brought a new style of dining to Footscray that I am very, very excited about.

The theme is old video games, which is played out in some of the burger names ("1UP" mushroom burger, anyone?) and in the awesome table number thingies.

I could never play anything on Nintendo harder than Mario Bros - I just used to mash all the buttons with my fingers and occasionally my character would do something awesome. In the face of so much menu awesomeness (smoked frank with bacon, grilled onions and BBQ sauce, anyone? Crispy chicken burger with slaw and Sriracha???), I kind of applied the same theory to choosing our meal.

Oh em gee. So delicious. I went the classic 8Bit with Cheese, which was great. The burgers are cooked on a griddle and the patty had a great crust on the outside. Nice pickles and the now-classic brioche bun... Yum.

But the fries! These were bury-your-face-in good. Covered in melted cheese sauce with quality chopped bacon - they were sensational.

Can we reflect on the prices? I think they are crazy reasonable. $8.50 for a burger, plus $3 for a side of beer-battered fries - that's way cheaper than Grill'd, and loads better.

Lest you go howling about "hipsters" taking over the neighbourhood, you should know that two of the three partners behind this enterprise are Footscray boys, born and bred. The other is from Geelong, so he's got westie wings too.

Anne, who had brought her lovely bub in pram in, was kind enough to let us share her table. The staff were super lovely and accommodating to the mum and little one, even bringing him a bickie when he got a bit over it all. When this mama is similarly over it all, I intend to rely on 8 Bit just the same way - hopefully there will soon be some voddy to tip into those strawberry cheesecake shakes!

8 Bit

8 Droop Street, Footscray

Open daily, 11am-11pm

Lauren aka Ms Bakloverhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-2166641060916490585.post-74663031962008788952014-05-02T09:36:00.000+10:002014-05-02T09:36:12.196+10:00Roti Road

"May the road rise up to meet you," goes the old Irish blessing to the weary traveller. The road I have in mind, though, isn't going to get a chance to "rise up" to meet anybody - it's about to get hit with a stampede.

Roti Road is a brand-new Malaysian-Chinese restaurant that has just opened in Footscray on the site of the old Yummie. It's had an epic makeover, complete with glossy wood, red banquettes and green-leaved potted plants dotted throughout.

We were wandering by, perfectly content with our dinner plans at an old favourite, when we saw that it was open for business. Wild horses etc etc. Thus you'll have to forgive the quality of the camera phone photos on this instance - I was a bit underprepared!

House-made roti with three dipping sauces of sorts (sweet and almost smoky chicken curry sauce, a lovely dal, and jammy sambal). This roti is unreal. The whole plate is $5.90 (YES) and you can add a very excellent chunky lamb (or beef, or chicken) curry for an extra $4. This roti rivals Mamak - seriously, you have to try it.

Just some good old salt-and-pepper squid in a noodle basket. This was done well.

These chicken dumplings looked gorgeous on the menu (indeed, most things do - they're beautifully photographed) but I found them a bit lacking in flavour and juice. A bit of soy and vinegar, though, and Bob's your uncle. The little "webs" aren't attached to the bases but are separate, which is unusual.

We were busy gorging ourselves when suddenly, an upbeat dance track came on and the stereo got turned up. We peered about, wondering what was going on, but the staff were all looking at the floor with knowing smiles. Suddenly, out of the kitchen bounded a chef, twirling and flipping a tissue-thin sheet of roti pastry like pizza!

He popped and locked his way through the whole track, all the while spinning his roti in the air, while the patrons whooped and cheered. It was so unexpected and so joyful. Apparently this happens every evening!

Can you find the roti?

One half of Roti Road is David Tran, who is the son of Yummie head honchos John and Annie Tran. Devotees of their dumplings can rest easy that yum cha is still on offer daily until 3pm. I had a quick chat to David after our meal and he confirmed that their head chef is Malaysian, and everything is made here from scratch, from the roti to the laksa paste.

Speaking of which, here's what you have to look forward to!

David shouted us this Matterhorn of a dessert - roti with condensed milk and icecream. Completely OTT fun.

Roti Road is officially opening today, Friday 2 May. I love the decor, which feels smart but not slick. The food is really good and I can't wait to try more. The toilets need some TLC but I believe that was meant to be happening over the last few days, plus some more artwork going on the walls. Oh, and it's BYO for now but a licence is in the works.

No need to divert to Flemington, Footscrazies - when it comes to Malaysian food, we can go our own way now!

Roti Road (Facebook)

189-193 Barkly Street, Footscray

Phone: 9078 8878

Lauren aka Ms Bakloverhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-2166641060916490585.post-15928331459500874762014-04-24T14:02:00.002+10:002014-04-24T14:10:53.700+10:00Footscray Rugby Union Club and the Bulldog BurgerIf I had to buy a beer for everyone who helped out on the Rickshaw Run - well, let's just say we'd be on a baked-bean diet that week. The way the westie community pulled together to pull it off was just amazing. I do need to say a special thank you, though, for a very special collaboration between the Rickshaw Run and the Footscray Rugby Union Club.

Photo by Luke Mears

When these guys came on board and agreed to staff an entire shift, I offered to write a post about the club on Footscray Food Blog. What I didn't know was how perfect a fit the club would be for the Rickshaw Run, and how genuinely happy I'd be to spread the word about them.

So read on for more about this dynamic, friendly grass-roots club - plus a very cool, very westie foodie connection, and how you can get a piece of it!

Photo courtesy of FRUC's Facebook page

Footscray Rugby Union Club was founded in 1928. The Dewar Shield is the premier Victorian rugby competition, fought out between nine teams who represent 125 years of rugby in Victoria. Footscray currently have senior men's teams contesting at this top level.

Photo courtesy of Footscray Rugby Union Club

Footscray also has a junior pathway program that starts with kids aged 6 to 10 who learn the game in a fun and safe environment while building on their motor skills and coordination. There are U12, U14 and U16 rugby teams that compete against other teams across Melbourne.

Photo courtesy of Footscray Rugby Union Club

FRUC's women's teams are comprised of three independent rugby clubs, with a strategic viewpoint to grow the game across the western suburbs of Melbourne. They include Brimbank, Footscray and Melton rugby clubs. There are currently six women's teams contesting this season, with FRUC's team - the Western Districts - having been very successful in preseason fixtures.

You don't have to be an expert to come and play. The club currently has four different grades, which means that everyone can find a level at which they're comfortable. Leki Sisifa of FRUC explains: "We have rugby teams to cater for players looking to push for higher honours to the weekend warriors hoping to throw the ball around with some friends. Footscray Rugby Union Club is happy to accept players of all shapes and sizes regardless of skill level. We are a very inclusive club".

Photo courtesy of FRUC's Facebook page

Rugby Union in Victoria obviously plays a very far second fiddle to AFL, but to me, there's something good in that. The Rebels (Melbourne's state-level rugby team) are required to play in comps for clubs that are at Dewar Shield level. To me, this means more genuine involvement between top-level players right down to kids just starting out.

Photo by Luke Mears

Footscray Rugby Union Club's volunteer representatives got so many positive comments from guests on the Rickshaw Run. They made such a great impression that they even got a mention in Federal Parliament!

And that foodie connection? Sean Donovan of the Station Hotel (on the right) is a keen player for the Footscray Doggies, and the Station Hotel is a proud sponsor of the club!

Sean has been instrumental in creating Footscray Rugby Union Club's signature home-game offering - the Bulldog Burger. For a mere $8.50, you get a Station Hotel-quality two-hander - a beef patty, pickles, bacon, cheese, mustard, mayo and ketchup on a brioche bun.

It's drip-down-your-arms good!

The next home game is this Saturday 26 April at Henry Turner Reserve at Footscray Park. Everyone is welcome to come down and enjoy the game. The fixture is 3rd grade at 12 noon, 2nd grade at 1.30pm, 1st grade at 3.10pm and 4th grade at 3pm. The Bulldog Burgers start sizzling at about noon. There's also beer for sale from Broo, brewed on the Mornington Peninsula. Love that it's in tinnies!

Photo courtesy of FRUC's Facebook page

From my own experiences with my kids' sports, running a sports club is darn hard work. In my dealing with FRUC, I've been genuinely impressed with their professionalism and commitment to the club.

If you're interested in being part of FRUC, the club invites you to please come along and check them out. Keep an eye on their active social media channels (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram) for game dates and also check out their new website, complete with lots of videos. You're also welcome to give the following folks a call with any questions:

Junior Co-ordinator - Jessie Treherne (0425 742 736)

Seniors/Club Secretary - Andre van der Schee (0458 911 000)

Western Districts (women's division) - Zerlina Dyer (0432 033 776)

Photo by Luke Mears

One more reason to join - the Station Hotel do the after-training meals for players! We're talking spicy bolognaise, steak sangers, and sausages with mash and onion gravy. PS: Did you know the Station has a blog, complete with the recipe for their lick-the-plate-good bearnaise sauce???

YOU'RE WELCOME.
Lauren aka Ms Bakloverhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-2166641060916490585.post-25797532801690217032014-04-21T15:30:00.002+10:002014-04-21T15:30:29.068+10:00Golden Horse yum cha
What are the three sweetest words in the English language?

"I love you"?

"Marry me, please"?

I say they're...

"YUM CHA DAILY" !

The Golden Horse has just opened on possibly Footscray's best corner site, and is ready to feed you these sweet nothings seven days a week.

There aren't many small yum cha restaurants like this around. Usually when a yum cha place is small, it means no trolleys, or a very small range of food. That's not the case here. Golden Horse have a great range of dim sum, and it's not dumbed down - I spied chicken feet, pork ribs, tendon and silken tofu with prawn.

The small space does mean it's tricky to get a table of exactly the size you require, which means you might have to share a table. I felt pretty sorry for the couple who had to share an eight-seater with me and my three grotty kids, but luckily the first trolley hit within seconds of sitting, so I could plug them with food straight away.

Shu mai, or "the ones with the dot on top" as they're known in our family. They're made from prawn and pork with a wonton wrapper enclosing the bottom and sides. These were really chunky and quite awesome. Love how you get four to a basket rather than the usual three!

An equally generous serve of har gao or prawn dumplings. Great.

Ridiculously amazing pastry - short, flaky, feathery and totally melt-in-the-mouth. It was curled around a jammy BBQ pork filling. Pounce the minute you see these come out of the kitchen.

These prawn noodle rolls are one of my favourite things - big noodle sheets (like lasagne sheets) flopped around prawns. Pro tip - attack these with an empty bowl, ie, not one full of soy sauce. The sauce with these is really light and sweet and deserves to be enjoyed on its own.

Crisp prawn rolls, I believe wrapped in rice paper, served with a little dish of mayo. Also try the very similar golden brown-coloured variety, where the prawn is wrapped in fried bean curd skin (those ones come with a violently coloured yet delicious sweet-and-sour sauce).

Forgo the standard jasmine and order some chrysanthemum tea. It has a fresh taste, a little like chamomile but much more gentle.

Ham sui gok, aka "football dumplings". These have a glutinous rice flour batter around a filling - normally pork mince and a bit of mushroom.

These ones had a pretty filling with chopped pork and a little (what I think is) Chinese chive. With the perfect crisp exterior and warm, slightly gummy interior, they were great. Try these with chilli sauce.

Wasn't a fan of these panfried dumps - they were not hot enough. Honestly, I'm never a huge fan of this type of dumpling (jiao zi) at yum cha. If you want fried dumplings, go order a whole plate for ten or so bucks at 1+1 across the road.

This squid obviously never skipped leg day. Even though these calamari tentacles were really big, they weren't tough, and the light coating was great.

Just enough room for char siu bao - fluffy steamed buns with a warm dob of BBQ pork in the middle.

Something to keep the kids quiet while I go to pay the bill (which, for all of the above for a very greedy adult and three kids, came to $61.80)...

...and after paying, I got chatting to Barry Diep, whose family restaurant this is. All the yum cha is made in house. There are some serious dumpling smarts going on here - one of the chefs is the ex-head chef of a Gold Leaf restaurant, and was coaxed out of retirement to saddle up the Golden Horse. (Barry's uncle is one of the owners of the Gold Leaf chain, which includes Sunshine's Gold Leaf - a big favourite of mine.)

Barry's dad is also a chef at the Golden Horse. He did his formal training in Hong Kong in the 1970s with an apparently very highly regarded chef of the time, and one of his fellow students was the current head chef of Laksa King. He has been cooking since he was eight, including up and down the length of Vietnam. As such, Barry reports that he was exposed to French techniques and ingredients. His signature dish is snow crab with foie gras. CAN YOU SAY HELL YES?!

Dad's other specialty is his XO sauce. Barry kindly gave me this little pot to take home and try, while the kids all got a mango pudding each. The sauce is a knockout and the puds were all fantastic - they had tiny little real mango bits in them.

I really like the Golden Horse. Eating yum cha in a big dim sum barn can feel like you're on a conveyer belt, but this is a really friendly little place. This site is an iconic one for the suburb, and it feels so right to have a big, busy yum cha restaurant full of people right here in the guts of the 'scray. I love that everything's made here, and afterwards the insatiable salt/MSG-induced thirst that normally attacks me after a yum cha session was nowhere to be found. Can't wait to come back in the evening and try the a la carte stuff.

You could say Footscray is now a one-horse town, and I think it's all the better for it.

Golden Horse

Cnr Hopkins and Leeds Streets, Footscray

In case you missed Friday's post - Footscray Food Blog's next round of independent tours is now on sale! Get the dates and details here...
Lauren aka Ms Bakloverhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-2166641060916490585.post-75609224637440376332014-04-18T10:51:00.000+10:002014-04-21T15:27:07.734+10:00Footscray food tours - new dates!

Footscray - it's a wonderful place. I don't know what my favourite is - these sort of prices...

...this way of restocking the drinks fridge (it's sugarcane, for sugarcane juice!)...

Photo by Nat Stockley

...or these lovely friendly faces.

Photo by Nat Stockley

Whether you're a newer resident or an old hand keen to find some new favourites, I would love you to join in the next round of Footscray Food Blog's Footscray food tours. My tours are completely independent, hosted by me, with small groups and packed full of information, stories, and delicious treats!

I have two itineraries for you to choose from. The Footscray Fresh Food Ramble is a market-based tour loaded with shopping tips and samples. If you're a newer resident who feels a little intimidated by the markets, or if you're simply curious about where to buy avocados for not $4 each, but $4 per kilo - this is the tour for you.

Hobsons Bay City Council booked a private tour based on the Fresh Food Ramble, in which I introduced a group of lovely Karen people to cheese for the first time! It was a smash hit - they bought Footscray Market Deli's entire stocked of washed rind!

Photo by Nat Stockley

Or maybe you'd like to explore Footscray's amazing multicultural community - and what better way than stomach first? On my Streetwise Snacks tour, we'll say g'day to the fantastic friendly folks in our amazingly diverse community while sampling their tasty wares. Think Somali street food, burek two ways, delightful desserts and more!

About the Footscray Fresh Food Ramble, Sasha from Yarraville said: "I had a ball on the Footscray food tour with Lauren. The markets have been on my doorstep for years but I just didn't have the knowledge or confidence to utilise them. Ever since the tour I have been back at least twice monthly and I am loving the quality and the prices! Lauren is really knowledgeable and passionate about the markets and the produce and I picked up a lot of good tips from her."

...and about Streetwise Snacks, Brett and Jenny from West Footscray said: "The tour is such a great way to explore the many hidden treasures of Footscray. Lauren took us to all the best spots and gave us plenty of tips on what to keep an eye out for... A must for any worldly foodie (and those of us wannabes). You certainly won't be left hungry! So much food!"

ALL THE IMPORTANT DETAILS:

Footscray Fresh Food Ramble

DATES: Friday 2 May, 11am

DURATION: Minimum 1 hour

GROUP SIZE: Maximum 10 people

PRICE: $40 (plus 30-cent booking fee)

INCLUDES: Drinks and generous samples

NB: This tour is suitable for babes-in-arms or young toddlers, but due to the group size, please pop them in a carrier (eg, Baby Bjorn or Ergo), not a pram.

HOW TO BOOK: CLICK HERE TO GO TO MY TRYBOOKING PAGE.

Streetwise Snacks

DATE: Saturday 10 May, 1pm

DURATION: Was 1.5 hours - NOW 2 HOURS!

GROUP SIZE: Maximum 10 people

PRICE: $80 (plus 30-cent booking fee)

INCLUDES: Enough snacks to constitute a generous lunch!

HOW TO BOOK: CLICK HERE TO GO TO MY TRYBOOKING PAGE

I also run private tours which can be tailored to your requirements - they make a fantastic team-building opportunity for businesses and brilliant gifts. To find out more, get in touch with me on 0438 583 808 or email@example.com.

Come on and dive in!
Lauren aka Ms Bakloverhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-2166641060916490585.post-73744173554505269412014-04-16T08:58:00.002+10:002014-04-16T08:58:13.792+10:00French Baguette Cafe

The new French Baguette Cafe has taken so long to open - maybe, I don't know, a good year - that after a while, the Eiffel Tower in its logo started to look to me like a big middle finger.

Now that it's open, I think the Eiffel Tower in the middle actually makes the initials look less like "FB" and more like "FAB" - so I met up with a few folks to see if it lived up to its name.

It's really big inside, with large comfy chairs, including a few on a raised dais. On a Saturday morning, it was full of folks enjoying coffees and a good old chinwag.

We hot-footed it straight to the banh mi. There are all the classic fillings like mixed ham, meatballs and fish cake, plus grilled options including chicken, pork and (unusually) beef. The rolls are particularly big - I think a good 5 cm longer than Nhu Lan's - and only $3.50.

The bread wasn't quite right for a banh mi. Proper banh mi bread should be ridiculously crunchy on the outside, and with the middle gooshing down to almost nothing as soon as you apply some pressure to take a bite. This was a big more dense, perhaps closer to an actual French baguette. But the fillings were good, and service was with a smile. I'd happily grab another if I was nearby.

I did spot quite a few peeps enjoying bo kho, Vietnam's answer to beef stew - big chunks of fall-apart-tender beef plus some tatties in a tomato broth. A small bowl plus a roll will set you back just seven bucks.

Coffee was pretty good. The milk wasn't silky enough and there was too much foam but the underlying shot was well pulled. I've seen the barista before at Cafe Cui.

French Baguette also have a giant stronghold of cakes in the middle of the store, which you are encouraged to pillage, armed with a tray and tongs a la Breadtop.

This is a particular hit with the kiddos, as you can imagine.

Most of the cakes are on the big side and a bit OTT for my taste, but I did spy some Greek-style baklava that I've filed for future use. Fun fact: Do you know why my pseudonym when I first began blogging was Ms Baklover? When my husband first moved to Melbourne from Chicago, he became hopelessly enamoured with baklava. In fact, he became a bak-lover. We started our own food blog about the best baklava in Melbourne. I think we only ever did one post before I deleted it (I think I was worried about eating too much - HA. HA. VERY FUNNY, 8 YEARS AGO ME) but the name stuck!

French Baguette are still finding their feet. It was a bit of a struggle trying to pin down eight clean glasses for water for our group. I also think they need table numbers on sticks rather than the little rounded ones that sit flat on the table, as right now staff need to roam the whole place looking for you to deliver your coffee.

To me, it has a feel like Balha's in Brunswick - a multi-age, multi-ethnic hangout where you go to eat cake and coffee. There's even a mezzanine level.

I love this sign. FB, I really hope the last line comes true for you.

French Baguette Cafe
Cnr Albert and Barkly Streets, Footscray
Lauren aka Ms Bakloverhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-2166641060916490585.post-60281339242473618162014-04-05T12:04:00.000+11:002014-04-05T12:04:30.912+11:00Sunshine Phở Fever 2014Disclaimer: I attended Sunshine Pho Fever as a non-paying guest.

I first got bit by the bug in 2013. Despite plenty of booster bowls throughout the year, the minute the invite landed on my desk, I felt the fever take hold yet again. I was off to Hampshire Road to sample some of the finest soups Sunshine has to offer - presented as part of Sunshine Phở Fever.

It was Phở Fever's second year, presented by the Sunshine Business Association as part of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival. The 2013 series was particularly epic, involving three huge bowls of phở, so this year's promised to be tweaked a little, adding other liquid refreshment alongside the signature soups.

We kicked off at Sao Cafe, where we scored our choice of Vietnamese cold drink. My taro bubble tea was fine but really, filled as they are with grass jelly cubes and chewy tapioca balls, these drinks are a meal in themselves. Should have gone for a cafe sua da - but post-Rickshaw Run, I needed all the sleep I could get!

Simon of Brimbank Council and Win of the Sunshine Business Association were welcoming and informative hosts...

...and after a short chat, we divided into two groups and were led us to our first stop - in my case, Phở Hien Saigon. A recent SBS Feast competition voted the phở here the second best in Victoria. (The winner? iDo Kitchen in Albert Park - now closed, apparently!)

Owner Cung has had his restaurant for five years and in the last year has taken over the shop next door, doubling its size. The phở recipe was originally his uncle's, but Cung has tweaked it in response to his customers' desire for a "less intense" flavour and a clear stock.

This is really good phở. In some broths you can really taste the spices - the star anise and cinnamon - but Phở Hien Saigon's is milder and "cleaner". Isn't it a pretty bowl, too? "You do eat [with] your eyes," said Cung.

The broth here is a combination of beef and chicken stocks, made separately and combined to serve. See the sugar canister on the table? That's full of chilli oil. I normally have this on the side to dip my meat into, but at Phở Hien Saigon, it's particularly good added to the broth itself.

A short stroll down the street and we headed into Thuan An.

Here, Julie explained that her family's phở was neither strictly northern or strictly southern, but rather was adapted to "please both regions".

The table was beautifully set with some of the secrets of the phở pot - rock sugar for sweetness...

...and spices, including star anise, cumin, cinnamon, coriander and black cardamon. At Phở Hien Saigon, the broth bubbles for 12 hours, while at Thuan An, it's an 18-hour simmer. Julie explained that each spice is added at a specific time point to draw out precisely the right amount of flavour. These aren't all the spices that go into the mix, either - there are more, used in smaller quantities but no less important.

Thuan An had blanched and trimmed their bean shoots for us, which was a very nice touch. Next door are two small bowls of chilli sauce and hoisin sauce. People sometimes squirt these into the broth, but you're not really meant to - the idea is you dip your meat in them sparingly.

Julie explained that in Vietnam, phở is often a breakfast dish. It's served in much smaller portions than here in Australia. She reports that when folks head here fresh from Hanoi or Saigon, they are staggered at the size, particularly at Thuan An where the soup is served in enormous square bowls.

I thought I'd go wild and crazy and have a phở dac biet, which is phở with all the "bits" - brisket, beef ball, tendon and tripe. In the end, I just like good old sliced beef and sliced chicken, though. Thuan An's broth wasn't to my taste - I found it really sweet. But what I did love was the sliced beef in this bowl - super thinly sliced and full of flavour. Julie explains that Thuan An use scotch fillet (Phở Hien Saigon use round). She says to come back and try other beef-based dishes, like the bo luc lac or diced beef with garlic - her parents are meat wholesalers so they know their stuff.

Next - what a treat, a peek in the kitchen!

I don't know if I can call this a "pot" of phở. More like a paddling pool's worth!

So much freshness. I really need to come back soon and try more from the menu.

As we walked to the next spot, I swear I heard our bellies sloshing. It was time for our last stop - Nhi Nuong (2 Sisters).

The sisters in question are Yen and Elizabeth, who as well as being passionate cooks, make up a talented musical duo. They perform at the restaurant occasionally - you might catch them on a Friday or Saturday night.

Elizabeth explained that the tea here is different to the standard jasmine you get elsewhere. It's pandan tea, imported from Vietnam. Apparently people come to Nhi Nuong just for the free tea!

As well as beautifully carved fruit, we had really good beef in betel leaves (the betel leaves home grown in Queensland and specially sent down, apparently) and excellent, thick spring rolls. Big points for inclusion of fish mint on the plate! (PS: You can read more about this and other unusual Asian herbs in this piece I wrote recently for The Age.)

Elizabeth's daughter Daniella joined in to serenade us while we munched...

...and then it was time for a long, cold glass of sugarcane juice. This all-natural soft drink is made by feeding sugar canes through a wringer. Elizabeth explained that back in Vietnam, kids would be given sections of cane to chew, particularly as they were waiting for dinner. (Kind of like a Vietnamese Milky Way - won't ruin your appetite!)

Sunshine Phở Fever was a lovely evening, from the tangible pride of the business owners to the delicious food. I was sitting near Paul from Kew who commented that eating phở like this is "like comparing shades of white". In isolation, there isn't much to differentiate an ivory from a cream - but put them side by side and you can see the variations. Likewise, I loved being able to eat different bowls of phở in such close proximity to each other, which is so useful in pinpointing exactly what your phở palate says. And mine says - when it comes to phở, Sunshine is spoilt rotten.

Even if you think you can't stand hearing Gangnam Style one more time, watch this vid, featuring some of Sunshine's finest eats - it is an absolute cack!
Lauren aka Ms Bakloverhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com