Eat Like Ushi

I remember the surprise at the quality of food and drink at one of Melbourne's best cafes when I came here out of convenience back in December 2009. Back then it appeared out of convenience as I had just moved into the area. After the expanding reputation, the long waits for tables on weekend brunches and the easy opportunity to eat here at off-peak times, I've been back probably more than any other eatery in the world.

Much of the draw is the exceptional Soy Chai Latte which has set the benchmark for me all over the world. Sweet, milky and a strong hit of ginger. I've never been to India so I'm not sure how the original tastes, but this is how it should.

On this particular occasion we opted for the French Toast and Pumpkin Fritters. French Toast was crusty with sweet soft core. I'm not one for French Toast generally but this was clearly better than the average.

I wasn't a fan of the Pumpkin Fritters honestly. They had a chewy texture and tasted a little bland. Not the best option here but not enough for me to forget all the memorable dishes in the past.

Next time I would order the Chai Latte for comfort and wash it down with any of the delicious Porridge, Roasted Mushrooms on Toast, Lamb Open Sandwich all of which have been my staples for the past few years. Enjoy the cosy cafe and strangely elegant atmosphere.

One late evening just before Christmas I was wondering around Victoria Street by myself looking for dinner. I ended up being distracted by some friends coincidentally there and so by the time I tried to eat dinner it was already 9pm. I sought out Jinda Thai (it was closed for the holidays), Arisoo (closed already), Seoul Soul (about to close) and walked past a few slightly open Vietnamese and Laotian places all on the verge of shutting down. Hmmm. The options were limited. I hadn't been to Jaidee Thai before but it was still serving, small enough to be cute and not mass producing food, and seemed like I could get some peace in there.

- Som Tum Thai Bpuu (papaya salad with Thai pickled crabs) $11
- Guay-Tiew Jaidee (rice noodle in beef stock with tender beef) $8.5

The food was very nice. The beef noodle soup was a bargain for the price and although not as complex in terms of spices and herbs, a comparable alternative to the pho surrounding the area. The papaya salad was medium spice - much too hot for me and I reaffirmed my previous dislike of crabs in the salad as being crunchy bits of shell and not palatable. Next time I would get mild or no chilli at all in the dishes.

A few weeks later I found myself having dinner there again this time in a more controlled time fashion. For the second time over the holiday period I tried Jinda Thai only to realise they were (still) closed. The decision came between my old favourite ISpicy 2 (although not having eaten there since 2011) and Jaidee. My dining companion hadn't tried Jaidee before and so it was set.

- Crying Tiger (chargrilled marinated beef with pepper & garlic sauce) $14.9 - a bit of a letdown with reasonably tender beef but not much flavour. The sauce was fine but nothing that special to me;
- Pua Toa Fu Makhru (stirfried beancurd, eggplant, garlic, chilli, basil) $13.9
- Steamed Barramundi (with garlic & chilli in spicy lemon sauce) $26.9 - I usually get whole fried fish at Thai restaurants (since I don't like deepfrying at home) but opted for a healthier version this time. It was a nicely cooked fish, not dry and with good sauce to complement the coconut rice.

Milk tea was a fluorescent bright drink quite sweet but not sickeningly so.

Overall I prefer the meal dishes at Jinda Thai or ISpicy 2 and would opt for their next time. However I'd definitely go back for the cheap beef noodle soup.

There's always been 2 pho places in Victoria Street that I visited - Pho Chu The (one of my favourites but the longest walk) and Pho Hung Vuong 2. On Christmas Day there were always going to be limited eating options, but the reliable Asian work ethic means Victoria Street is as good as any (and apparently why the Jews in America all eat Chinese food for Christmas).

I saw I Love Pho 264 have many articles talking about how much people enjoyed their food - David Chang was a notable name in there. But for some reason the articles all stated Pho Chu The. It wasn't after a little reading that I discovered both these places are run by the same people. Why they have both of these restaurants a couple of doors down away with different names escapes me.

The pho is good, the articles admit using "just a bit" of MSG. The meat is fine and the brisket has very little fat which is great. The 3 colour drink is fine but there's probably too much ice even though at least it is shaved finely.

Best of all, they accept credit card - I'll be back.

I've found myself a favourite new traditional Korean food place in Melbourne. Honestly I haven't been to that many, but Arisoo has taken over Seoul Soul as my local in Abbotsford and so until I find another I'll be happy here.

I'd walked past a few times and it was good to see some diversity opening in Victoria Street instead of the endless similar Vietnamese cuisines. There's even a Singaporean place near eLounge which I thought the area was missing for a while. One of the things that attracted me to Arisoo in the first place was the offer of fried chicken, which Seoul Soul doesn't have. Chimac has it too but for some reason it seems to be closed quite often when I'm around and the normal Korean dishes appeal more to me than Chimac's fusion Mexican fare.

I've started drinking sikhye (Korean rice punch) at most places which here reminds me of a sweet barley drink. In other places it tasted more cinnamon like horchata. The Korean meal tradition of giving out lots of little accompaniments is preserved here with tangy kimchi, beanshoots and some crunchy vegetables.

- Kimchi Pancakes with onions & soy sauce $10 - nice crisp outsides with chewy middles. These were fine but I don't tend to be much of a pancake person generally;
- Vegetable japchae (stirfried sweet potato starch noodles with mushrooms, chives, carrots & onions) $13 - I really like the distinct chewy gummy texture of sweet potato noodles. No others I've had are like it and I'm a growing fan;
- Spicy soft tofu stew with seafood $15 - delicious piping hot broth to ladle over rice with small bite-sized pieces of seafood;
- Original & soy garlic fried chicken $17 - very good crunchy outsides and lovely thick sauce on the soy & garlic. I preferred the flavoured over original but either is fine. I'd be interested to try the seasoned (spicy) but I do tend to find spicy KFC too hot for me generally.

The food is extremely good. I probably wouldn't get the pancakes again (they usually aren't my preference) but any of the other 3 dishes along with the hot stone bibimbap or tteokbokki rice cakes would be perfect.

I was there at the start. That's what the hipsters say apparently. Well considering I lived above the cafe there aren't many who can say they were there before me. Before the crowds. Before the next door area opened. Before the staff changed over (however many times). All the way back in 2009 when my housemate said "the cafe downstairs is actually quite good" and I'd then stop in for a meal after night shifts (I'd usually hold off passing by Proud Mary, Fatto Mano, Arcadia, Birdman and De Clieu but succumb by the time I got home.

Does anyone remember the blonde guy with curly hair who kept a pen behind his ear?

In any case, over the past few years away, I think I'd noticed the standard wasn't as good. Perhaps the menu hadn't progressed whilst so many other new cafes had come. They still served the best chai latte full of ginger flavour but the food was less inventive.

During mid-2015 I found myself returning there. Eggs in Hell (grilled polenta, spicy chorizo ragu, poached eggs, fior de latte & basil) $19.5 was a nice new dish with clean flavours, nice chorizo sauce and polenta serving as the new bread. It was good and may have reigned in a new chapter.

Fast forward to January, when an unexpected visit to Melbourne left me needing a pick-me-up breakfast and another new dish caught my eye - Chilli Scrambled Eggs (fried chilli & soybean scrambled eggs on toast, pickled shiitake mushrooms, crispy shallots, chilli oil, fresh coriander & pork belly) $23. Now this dish is sensational - strongly flavoured oils, salt and chilli rolling together and complemented by coriander. The pork belly is crisp, tender and full of flavour. I had it twice within a week on two separate visits to Melbourne and both were memorable. Considering the dish is relatively Asian inspired, I'm not sure how the bacon option would go.

I'd only order this dish if you like strong flavour - I've heard it may be too potent for others with more sensitive palates.

Welcome back Three Bags Full.

At the Victoria Street Lunar New Year festival last weekend, one of the foods on offer that caught my eye were burgers. This was for 3 reasons - almost all the rest of the food places are Asian, they had black bun sliders on offer, and they gave out samples of their quite tasty housemade onion rings. On the day I had one onion ring, but didn't have the stomach space to try the burgers.

It seemed that on one of my last Victoria Street trips for a while that I'd try this burger place to see how it stood in the world/Melbourne. I also wanted to know what was added to create a black bun (I thought I read charcoal but that can't be right...)

Pistachio icecream/gelato is my favourite and my benchmark for taste in all gelato places in the world. I was really excited to see a pistachio shake available and expected it to be essentially pistachio gelato blended with milk and hopefully some crushed or whole roasted pistachios in there. Unfortunately the shake tasted like vanilla with minimal nut flavour (and that's me trying to convince myself it was there). I wonder if they forgot what flavour I ordered (my receipt says pistachio) or if it really is that subtle...

- Housemade Onion Rings with On It Sauce $6.90 - seemingly grilled then fried in thick crisp batter and really quite nice. Sauce was a tangy, mildly spicy sriracha mayo to me. It was probably a bit too much batter for 1;
- Blackbeard (soft shell crab, sriracha, slaw, coriander, tangy hero sauce, black bun) $13.90 - quite a small crab with a reasonably creamy body but legs that were very hard, crunchy and seemingly well overfried. The black bun itself didn't really seem to taste of anything much, certainly nothing special.

I think I made a mistake of ordering the Blackbeard considering there aren't many soft shell crabs that impress me these days (especially when they are in burgers or buns/baos), and I limited my selection just wanting to try the black bun (ordering something just because it looks cool is also not the best idea). The onion rings were fine but too much for me. The lack of pistachio flavour in the shake means I wouldn't order it again, as disappointing as that is.

I'd still go back once more to try what I think would suit my tastes better: the Classic (to check their baseline) or Popping Jalapeno Patty burgers with fries and a different shake (green tea, chai tea or even macadamia).

02-2016

Armed with the knowledge of my previous post, I found myself back at On It. The noisy roadworks along Victoria Street made the entire area devoid of customers but noisier than ever.  Luckily it was partially drowned out by the ambient music, which reminded me of early 2000s Next Blue with Jay-Z, Beyonce and Shaggy amongst others.

- Popping Jalapeno burger (popping jalapeno beef patty, American cheese, red onion, lettuce, coriander, hero sauce, hit me hot sauce) $13.90 - this burger was infinitely more enjoyable than Blackbeard. The bun was soft and lightly grilled for additional texture and the other flavours came together well including the nice tang of jalapenos. The sauce wasn't particularly hot, but that's ok by me. I'm not sure what a "popping jalapeno" patty is - it was essentially a thin beef patty with sliced jalapenos and held together by a blanket of melted cheese. The patty isn't particularly thick which goes against the modern trend of fatter medium-rare patties;
- Garlic & Basil Fries $3.90 - really good fries with crunchy outsides and hot centres seasoned with what I assume is salt, garlic oil and crispy flakes of fresh basil;
- Small Green Tea Shake $4.90 - definite green tea flavour made a big difference over the pistachio disappointment. It was reasonably thick and sweet enough.

Looking at the remaining menu items, today's meal would probably be my choice for next time. I'm curious about the smashed patty and fried chicken burger though. I think I'm happy to forego testing other milkshake flavours.

I haven't actually eaten at Thanh Nga Nine before. Even after living in Abbotsford on & off for 4 years I've walked past countless times but never inside.

Other than Vietnam, before Pho Phu Quoc in Canberra (http://eatlikeushi.posthaven.com/pho-phu-quoc-canberra-09-2014) I hadn't actually had a meal of shared dishes in a Vietnamese restaurant. But they changed this and I started to think about somewhere to go for this in Melbourne.

Recently Victoria Street had their annual lunar new year street festival and amongst the typical fare of bo la lot and the rice square dish with fried eggs was a little gem - spit-roasted pork with salad served on a roti. This was exceptional from the juicy flavoursome pork, the crunchy contrast of vegetable textures, the tart and salty sauce and the warm chewy roti.

I don't think they'll serve this on their restaurant menu but I'm going to have to try their shared dishes now and hope for the best.