Eat Like Ushi

The diversity of Footscray food (beyond Ethiopian and Vietnamese) is still growing. Eventually there will be one restaurant for each cuisine. At the moment, there's a few pizza places but only really one pasta one (that I know of at least) and that's Fox in the Corn.

It's reputed for serving fresh pasta from a place in Williamstown. Given the recent fresh pasta eaten in Argentina (http://eatlikeushi.posthaven.com/la-mamma-pastas-and-salsas-puerto-iguaza-11-2016) and recently purchased from Prahran market (with exceedingly better results for home cooking than dried supermarket stuff), it was worth a try.

- Spaghetti with slow cooked beef ragu (with napoli & spring onion) $19.5 - the sauce was a bit of a letdown by being surprisingly very sweet. Perhaps too much sugar was added but it wasn't to my taste;
- 10" Chorizo pizza (with garlic base, petit picante, mozzarella & parsley) $17 - now this was delicious! Tasty pizza ingredients on top of a heavily garlic seasoned pizza base that is better than nearly any garlic bread of focaccia I've had in any Italian place. Wow what a flavour overload and I liked every mouthful of it;
- Buffalo mozzarella salad (with cherry tomatoes & rocket) $11.

The pasta may not have wowed me on this occasion but that pizza has certainly left an imprint in my memory.

The award of most obscure alleyway in Footscray (that you'd actually want to visit in the evening) has to be the one behind Conway, where halfway down a doorway leads you to a pizza place and a bar above it. There's no sign from either end of the street - you have to brave your way down and hope for the best, or wade through the smoke of people outdoor polluting the air.

Nonetheless it's pizza and drinks. With a Spice Girls theme.

Wannabe Warrick (napoli, shaved ham, mozzarella, artichoke hearts, olives, mushrooms, baby capers & oregano) $13 reads well but the flavours were quite mild. The crust is crisp like flat bread and could use a bit more thickness and chew. The ingredients were also skewed so one side had clearly more than the other - I wonder if this is because a large one was made then split between several orders.

More interesting (and disappointing) was the tabouleh $12 which I expected to have a large amount of parsley to turn it into the salad accompaniment. Instead it was filled with bulgur wheat and mixed with a few things but no (or barely any) discernible parsley. It was confusing.

Overall I don't think I had the best food experience here. If I were to go back, I'd try the Zig A Zag Ah with salami, fired peppers, chilli flakes and jalapeños (why didn't I get that this first time?)

One night a few of us couldn't decide where to eat in Footscray. Let's try something different. After much to-and-fro-ing, the 4 of us walked into First Taste. It was filled with Asians. After 10 mins of standing around being ignored, asking 4 different staff for a table (who all acknowledged then ignored us), we left. The food must be good there.

A week later, 2 of us ended up there on a quieter night. They advertise Singapore chilli crab and so that was ordered. The crab itself had some good meat and the noodles servings made the meal heartier (as usual). The sauce itself was odd though - it wasn't too chilli but was very sweet, which was unexpected. I definitely remember it in Singapore being more savoury and spicy.

Salted fish & chicken fried rice was a hefty serve and not too oily. There was occasional bits of salted fish but when you didn't get those, the rest of the rice and chicken was quite plain.

They seem to specialise in claypots, so maybe I'll try that next time.

I'm pretty sure Ovan's is quite new. I don't know how but it just appeared one day with a distinctively more modern design than the rest of the Vietnamese restaurants in Footscray. The inside partially reminds me of the reputation of Hoi An - designed to look authentic but really just a front for tourists. Ovan's does however seem to be quite authentic inside - the patrons I saw were Vietnamese, the staff are Vietnamese (and may not speak much English), and there was another review claiming issues of hygiene (which I only just saw). How authentic to Asia can you get...

In any case at about 845pm on a Monday, they were still open and willing to serve even though they probably close around 9pm. I like how the menu on the wall is only in Vietnamese. I like how the waitress commended me on my pronunciation of bun thit nuong. It's these little things...

The waitress heard me being indecisive and suggested that day's special of bun bo hue and the xoi. I wasn't in the mood for rice and she thought the bun thit nuong was better than the bun cha.

- Bun bo hue $11 - a nice clean and flavoursome broth with a bit of spice but could have used more. The noodles were thin soft circular ones and not the thicker more chewy hole in the middle that are typical;
- Bun thit nuong $12 - interestingly the nuoc mam sauce was much more savoury than the tangy version I'm used to everywhere else. Perhaps they are Northern and it is different there? The pork was intensely flavoured and absolutely delicious. I would have liked more herbs to really diversify the flavour;
- Che Thai $6 - a nice dessert with durian (on top, which I don't like) and bits of jackfruit, palm seeds, jelly and coconut milk. Next time I'd ask for it without the durian.

I thought the food was overall very good and definitely not inferior to the other places around. I'm very keen to try the Xoi next time.

07-2016 & 08-2016

I found myself there again twice in the next month. I managed to test a few more dishes and form more opinions. On both occasions the place was still quite quiet.

- Coconut pandan sticky rice with fried chicken $10 - the serve was quite small for 3 chicken wings on fluorescent green rice. It tasted ok but I suppose the dish couldn't find a place between savoury chicken and sweeter rice. I think a savoury chicken rice dish would be better for me (which they have as chicken rice from Ha Noi);
- Bun mam nem thit quay $10 - vermicelli served in its own bowl with a very flavoured pork mince slices and some herbs for balance. Quite nice;
- Bao burger nem nuong $4.5 - they have recently changed the price and so I thought it said $1.5. Sadly not. Now it is $5. It was a little bao and nothing worth getting again;
- My quang ga $10 - a bowl of soft wide noodles, boiled chicken and tiny prawns and a few peanuts thrown in. Overall a nice tasty dish.

I'm still a fan even though not all the dishes are my cup of tea. It definitely has some different things to the other places around and even though I can't say any are exceptional, the flavours are still nice.

How lucky is it in this current economic and Melbourne property climate is it to have this large a block of land in the middle of hip and happening Footscray? The shipping container thing isn't new to me (ie. Shoreditch) but it's good to see it in Melbourne and doing well. The space of Rudimentary is possibly the finest feature with indoor and outdoor seating, in addition to a vast amount of clean space to sprawl in the sun and tie up the pets/kids.

The soy chai was mildly spiced and slightly weak but at least wasn't overburdened by cinnamon/honey/sugar. It isn't a bad one at all.

Unfortunately on this late lunch day, the most interesting Braised Beans and Poached Kingfish were sold out. The white pudding intrigued me also to see how it compares to one of my favourite breakfast items in black pudding so will have to leave that for next time (with eggs and potato hash).

- Barley porridge (with grilled octopus, pickled vegetables, soft egg, rice crisp) $18 - a savoury dish with Asian elements of octopus, pickled ginger, nori and enoki. It was overall quite nice;
- Pork fillet (smoked kipfler potato, apple puree, braised lentils, jus) $22 - the pork is cooked beautifully with a soft slightly pink core and good seasoning. The smoke is easily discerned in the potatoes and the rest fill the dish.

The cooking is skilful, dishes creative and quite tasty - although I'm not sure I liked them enough to specifically go back for them again. I did think the serves are a little small for the prices too.

Next time I would order Braised Beans with chorizo crumb or otherwise Poached free range eggs with white pudding & mushrooms or potato hash (that would be quite an expensive egg dish in Melbourne at $19 with no vegetables).

It's not often I frequent a Malaysian place, although each time I seem to remind myself why some of the flavours put me at ease. The most recent places have been C&R in London (before the months long renovations) and Roti House in Canberra, with a special mention to Chef Lagenda closeby. I do have a place in my stomach for PappaRich but that's mainly to do with the Entertainment Book and their sweet drinks (most of their product is premade and even precooked... apparently).

Nonetheless as close as Lagenda is, Roti Road is even closer and walkable. I've heard some mixed reviews but on the whole informed their laksa is a decent rendition in town.

- Deepfried Squid Tentacles $7.8 - not too bad, a bit chewy, quite heavily salty, could have used more chilli;
- Curry Laksa Seafood $13.5 - a real Malaysian curry mee with strong flavour and only a hint of coconut. Not the Singapore or Thai laksa style that most people might be used to with the salty/sweet/sour combination, but a good straight forward Malaysian type. A small amount of seafood (squid, prawns) and some eggplant rounded out the ingredients;
- Roti Chanai with Ayam Masak Merah $10.8 - a nice wispy roti with a bit of chew to it. The chicken reminded me of tandoori and I'd opt for the rendang beef next time (as I feel that should be the roti default, but not my choice this time...).

07-2016

I came back again a few weeks later to try a few other things (no photos):

- Roti Telur & Bawang $7.9 - a roti made thicker with egg and onion, although I felt didn't add much to it. I prefer the simple roti from the first time;
- Har Mee $12.9 - I've always had trouble choosing between this lesser eaten dish, Assam laksa (which isn't on the menu) and laksa at any Malaysian restaurant. On this occasion the har mee had a thin clear soup with mild prawn flavour. There were only a few small prawns and some chicken. I preferred the thicker laksa (maybe a reflection of my recent tastes changing);
- Ipoh Fried Noodle $12.8 - also generally known as Ipoh combination hor fun. This was a good sized serve with nice ingredients and a very strong egg sauce. Not bad at all;
- Fish Head Noodle $12.9 - I'm usually having this as a clear thin sour(ish) broth, but this was a milky consistency (not strongly coconut that I could tell) with a little bit of tang. There were a nice amount of fried fish swimming within. I was pleasantly happy with this.

Next time I would order the Curry Laksa Seafood with the backup options of Fish Head Noodle (if I'm feeling healthier) or Roti Chanai with Rendang Beef (if I want bread and curry). I still am interested in testing the standard breakfast of Nasi Lemak and some of the sweet drinks, if I get around to it.

The Melbourne freakshake is real. After copying the idea from Patissez (http://eatlikeushi.posthaven.com/patissez-canberra-07-2015), the creation of exceptionally photogenic (although I didn't do a great job) dessert creations piled high into a sugar mess has taken over the world.

Funnily enough I didn't know Common Galaxia did these and it certainly wasn't my inspiration to come here for food twice. Nonetheless after seeing it on the menu, I had to try it once. The chocolate brownie with vanilla bean ice-cream, chocolate freckle, Mork chocolate and fairy floss $12.5 is an expensive piece for the eye. Overall the base liquid is less intense and more drinkable than the plain uninspired version at Patissez, but other than the brownie, the rest of the ingredients (freckle and fairy floss) only really serve for visual appeal. Perhaps Persian floss or more dark chocolate would be to my taste, but I won't order this again. If you want sweetness, I'd suggest trying the French toast as that is likely as sweet, looked sensational and would probably be higher quality.

On the other hand, the food is better.

- Crispy skin barramundi (with buckwheat, fennel, broad bean, chilli, tomato & basil salad with olive relish) $19.5 - a nicely cooked fish, very well seasoned skin, salty relish and some colourful salad for balance;
- Portuguese baked eggs (with tomatoes, bell peppers, beans, basil, fior di latte & spiced pine nuts) $17.5 - a very tasty dish with a more rounded flavour than the Spanish versions around town and served with nice dense slices of rye.

On that day the were out of the ham hock eggs benedict with spiced hollandaise $17, so I went back two weeks later to try it. I don't know if ham hock or the fact it was unavailable made me do it, but it wasn't as good as I hoped. The bread was good, the ham was reasonably soft and quite strong, but the hollandaise isn't for me.

Next time I would order the baked eggs or pine mushrooms for breakfast and any of the cooked options for lunch.

I'm slowly branching out from Footscray's Vietnamese and African places. There seem to be a good number of curry houses and Thai places especially when you include West Footscray, Seddon and Yarraville.

Thai Angels was the first to be tried simply due to an ok Zomato score (3.4) and the Entertainment Book.

- Roti Chanai (crispy and soft bread served with peanut sauce) $5 - roti was thin and quite firm and not chewy nor flaky which is my preferred texture;
- Deep fried quails (with garlic and pepper served on a bed of sautéed vegetables) $23.9 - quite expensive for 2 quails but they were ok;
- Red curry duck (traditional Thai red curry cooked in coconut milk & vegetables) $19.9 - mild curry although very little duck meat unfortunately;
- Thai omelette with prawns (filled with herbs served with dipping sauces) $19.9 - for some reason I expected an omelette similar to Korean or something bound with flour. This was an omelette in the plainest sense of the word and seemed to not have much additional flavour.

Overall I was a bit disappointed by the flavour and quality of the dishes especially as the price point was quite high. I'll probably try somewhere different next time such as the extremely nearby and well reputed Aangan (for Indian food).

I've never really had Vietnamese dishes out in Melbourne. My experience has largely been limited to noodles and banh xeo. Until Pho Phu Quoc in Canberra, I hadn't appreciated the homestyle flavours that probably fill my Luke Nguyen and Andrea Nguyen cookbooks. Now in Footscray I was looking for a good Vietnamese restaurant for dishes. The main contenders seem to be Thien An (a classic favourite apparently) and Sapa Hills (where two independent Vietnamese people who live/work locally have nominated).

3 colour drink was nice but a little too much ice and a bit too thick with the shavings.

- Fried squid with salted duck egg $18.5 - ever since Red Chilli Sichuan's prawns fried with salted duck egg I've been looking for an equally potent alternative. Although less flavoured here, still a decent offering and different to the typical salt & pepper & chilli versions;
- Mom's green papaya slaw with beef jerky $13 - a nice goi salad with the beef jerky adding a meaty flavour and chewy textural element. The halved peanuts do the same;
- Barramundi with soy bean & pepper in claypot $35 - opted for the family size in anticipation of takeaway. Nice soft fish, tofu and a dark savoury sauce. Not as good (and more expensive than) Pho Phu Quoc but still good and fine the next day for lunch.

I also tried the Pho here once which was very good - much less intense and a cleaner beef broth, perhaps reflecting the Northern style.

It's difficult to know whether to stick to the tried and true or venture out to the less popular other competing restaurants surrounding them. Who knows but it's safe to go back here.

My bao journey continues. From Momofuku to Yum Bun then throughout London, Europe, Bali and back in Canberra and Melbourne. Wonderbao (http://eatlikeushi.posthaven.com/wonderbao-melbourne-10-2012) has been the posterchild for bao in Melbourne and with its benefits and limitations, some new contenders is always welcome.

For some reason the place is only open Sunday-Wednesday. I'm not sure the rationale behind this but I would've thought since it's located in a bar that Thurs-Sat would be more prime but perhaps everyone goes to the city and not Footscray on those days.

Pork belly is the mainstay for bao but these guys do it differently. Instead of the usual hoisin, sriracha and spring onion, there's seems pulled and tastes strongly of soy-heavy masterstock. The beef brisket could be more tender and had a touch of Chinese medicinal flavour to it - luckily the chimichong sauce (whatever that is) brings an excellent tangy fresh element to it and nearly makes that dish.

I've been told the fish (in particular) and the chicken are the best ones so I'll have to try those next time. My favourites have always been the standard pork belly followed by duck (forget about soft shell crab) so I was a bit disappointed that these standards aren't there (but maybe that's to avoid the label of simply copying others).

The bread itself is lovely, big and soft and no complaints there. The bottom is much much hotter than the top (whatever that means).