We used to be luckily enough to have the greatest fish & chip shop around the corner. It was a melée on Friday night in particular, the bench seat where you waited strewn with yellowing local papers, the workers behind the counter plunging baskets of chips into hot oil and flipping burgers in a complex dance. Recently it shut down and reopened as Ebi Fine Food, "Japanese fusion fish & chips". We have been meaning to try it for ages and this was the night.The greasy vinyl curtains and humming fridge have been replaced with a neat, dark-wood counter overlooking ...
Archives for “footscray”
Yesterday, I got around to reading The Ern Malley Affair, a book which has been sitting on my shelf for about 13 years (the original docket was inside).Few people would know about Ern Malley, the great poet who not only died young, but who never actually existed, and who was foisted onto a gullible art magazine editor as a somewhat cruel hoax in 1944.This hoax more or less marked the beginning of the end for that magazine, The Angry Penguins, and demoralised its editor so much that he wrote little poetry again.Such is the arrogance of youth perhaps.Ern Malley's poems, ...
Dear reader, I like to imagine you reading this blog just as I write it, with a plate of something at your side. Is it a delicate cup of tea with a shortbread balanced across the rim, or perhaps a bowl of spaghetti, dressed with a zesty tomato sugo? If this is the case, please navigate away now, perhaps to one of the other wonderful food blogs to the right, and return when you are suitably food-less, otherwise you may be food-less in another way less pleasant. Vegetarians, you may want to sit this one out.Is your snack over? Plate ...
A creative studio complex in the heart of the Footscray CBD. Great natural light. 24 hour access. Secure entry. Studios measuring approximately 4m x 6m @ $75 per week all inclusive. L1/101 Nicholson Street, Footscray VIC 3011 FauxPho is a creative space located in the heart of Footscray and overlooks the Footscray Mall. The space is facilitated by the fauxHappiness committee, which comprises FauxPho studio artists and local arts workers. Our aim is to provide a diverse and flexible platform for contemporary art practice and dialogue. We endeavour to nurture a robust and interactive space for arts workers and the broader community through our exhibition ...
1+1 = 2, right? A restaurant that is called, in part, "Dumpling Noodles", sells dumplings and noodles? Nothing overly exciting there. But this particular equation is a little more titillating than you might at first think, because the dumplings and noodles in question are actually Northwestern Chinese!In this region of China, home to the Muslim Uighur people, lamb is widely eaten, wheat is the staple grain and potatoes are also enjoyed. 1+1 Dumpling Noodles will turn all your preconceptions of Chinese food on their head! We started with the Spicy Salad ($6) - spanking fresh cucumber, spring onion and coriander in ...
There are two generations of Vietnamese restaurants in Footscray, Melbourne. The first emulates the tile-and-mirror-walled, cheap metal table joints of the streets of Saigon. The architecture sends a message that hosing down the walls could be a priority, the hall of mirrors effect suggests that the appearance of being busy is as important as really being busy. The second generation is identical to upmarket phở chain, Phở 24 with dark timber panelling, dark timber seats, white plates, the appearance that they’re one frappucino short of a Starbucks. In Footscray, both tend to serve the same menu; interior design is not ...
If you are going to eat a packet of chips, make it Magic Masala! These are extra spicy and totally addictive. As the back of the packet says, they "make your heart go DHAK DHAK"!From India Impex, Irving St, Footscray (between Nicholson & Leeds)
Popped into town to pick up some Kitchen Samrat for a lazy lunch. $16 for two curries and four naans (two with garlic).They now do dosas! These wafer-thin, crispy pancakes are made of a fermented rice and lentil batter. They're stuffed with spiced potatoes, eggs or cheese and rolled into a huge cigar shape. Looking forward to eating in soon so I can try them. Today we had Chicken Tikka Masala and Malai Kofta. The Chicken T.M. was great - pieces of chargrilled, marinated chicken in a thick tomato gravy, with onions and red capsicum. This dish is a modern ...
It was a perfect night for a walk, so B and I strolled leisurely through the back streets to dinner at Madhumoti. The decor is basic but sweet - little bunches of plastic flowers on the tables, and Nanna-style plates with water lilies on them. We started with the haleem, which was almost Indian chilli con carne - a slow-cooked, soupy stew of rice, wheat and lentils with chunks of meat. The grains had melded into absolute lusciousness, which was followed up by a massive kick of heat from lots of green chilli. One of my ...
So I had the idea for Shelf Gleaning a while back - a new section in which I "demystify" ingredients I bought in Footscray (but that you too could buy from your local multicultural grocer) and show you what to do with them. Twice I cooked the same chana dal with fenugreek leaves, and twice I was thwarted in taking a pic of the finished dish by arsenic hour. Man - kids and elegant, food-bloggy photography just do not meld. So I present to you, the harried parent's guide to dinner, gleaned from the freezer of Yummie ...
Roast duck? What roast duck? Oh yes, the very forgettable roast duck at Golden Harvest. I didn't even finish it, and I am a clean-your-plate gal from way back.Golden Harvest, 15 Leeds St, Footscray
I have been doing some reading on Vietnamese pork rolls or Banh Mi. During the French colonial period, fancy delis in Vietnam offered "French sandwiches" to the colonials. Over time, they were popularised throughout all levels of society, from the aforementioned fancy delis to mobile sandwich shops (a box on a tricycle), the peddlers (pedallers?) of which stuffed their rolls with plenty of cheaper and more Vietnamese ingredients such as herbs, pickled vegetables, cucumber and chilli. My source claims that the rolls were a status symbol, reminiscent as they were of the French. I wonder if ...
I often wonder how the Subway in Footscray makes any money, surrounded as it is by Vietnamese bakeries. How could anybody choose those pallid slices of "ham" or "turkey", wizened lettuce and claggy bread over the crusty, light, fresh, flavour explosion of a Vietnamese pork roll? Similarly, why put up with soggy-bottomed, oily, mystery meat pizza when the world of Lebanese pizza or man'oush is out there for the exploring. From your local makhbaz or Arabic bakery, man'oush might come spread with tangy za'atar (local Mid-Eastern oregano/thyme) or lahmi (lamb/tomato paste, sprinkled with lemon & chilli), or ...
1/7-9 Leeds St, Footscray (map) Phone 03 9687 2680 Despite all the bad press of late, I still have a soft spot for Footscray. Mel and I would often take day trips out west to check out the markets for exotic and strange ingredients, then forage for a bargain at Forges. But what I love most about this inner west enclave are the myriad of cheap eateries where, for a pittance, one can enjoy delicious Chinese, Indian, African and of course, awesome Vietnamese food. On this particular day, I had a craving for authentic Vietnamese noodle soup, not the MSG-laden kind that you find in the city. ...
Have recently discovered that drug dealers are delivering their drugs around Footscray on bicycles.This is not really surprising. After all, cyclists have a long history of drug abuse - but mostly of the equine growth hormone variety. It is a small step from that to dealing in heroin and whatever else are the drugs of choice of the residual drug addicts denizen in Footscray.Does not thrill me, as I was hoping that Footscray was starting to clean up, but this does just go to show how appalling cyclists are. Add this to the long list of sins ...
My local market doesn’t have a website, so as something of a community service, here is the opening hours of the Footscray Market over the Christmas/New Year’s period. 24 Dec – open 7:00am-6:00pm 25-28 Dec – closed 29-30 Dec – open 7:00am-4:00pm 1 Jan – closed 2 Jan -7:00am-4:00pm Hùng Vương, Footscray (7)Bánh Xèo from Đình Sơn (4)Phở Chu The, Footscray (15)Queen Victoria Market Borek (10)Northern Thai in Western Melbourne: Bonus Content (0)
My husband and I are both artists (graphic designer/illustrator) and are seeking a secure creative space that would suit living as well as working from as we’re trying to keep overheads low. We’re neat, mature and friendly, and hoping to find a place to move into in December that would accommodate us as freelance artists. Parking is ideal, but we’re happy to have street parking if available. Prefer space that includes internet connection. Please contact us if you have anything available.
My optometrist is in Footscray. That is a loooooong way for me, but I have been seeing him since I was 3 1/2 and I think he’s awesome. He also figured out why I get headaches when I read, but I will spare you the details. After I finished my eye exam, I asked him where it was good for pho, sure, it was 39 degrees, but I wanted me some pho. He directed me to a place down the street next to a chemist. It was packed at 2:30. Usually when I get pho at 2:30 in the city, the places that I ...
Big West is the leading community-based, contemporary arts and cultural festival held in Melbourne's west. A biennial event, Big West runs for ten days in November and stages high quality, cutting edge and unique artistic works in venues, cultural sites and suburban streets of the western suburbs. Karen Hadfield (Festival Director) and Justine Donohue (Marketing Co-ordinator)We were thrilled to welcome Karen and Justine from the Big West to a preview of the Fabric & Trims Sale as they put the final touches to some of the super exciting activities planned for the 2009 Festival.http://www.bigwest.com.au/
I spoke too soon the other day.I had a read yesterday of one of the various local newspapers from Footscray, and the page one story was that the next few years will see a lot more high rise put up along Barkly Street and various of the other main streets of Footscray, as part of its designation as a key suburban business district by the state government.There's now talk of 25 storey buildings going up around my home town. Interesting - and a little sad.On the other hand, where some people complain about it doing something adverse to the ...
Did dinner with my Italian drinking buddy 'Ribot' the other night in Footscray. He is the chap who is 44 with a 28 year old very hot girlfriend, who now realises that his wife did him a favour by walking out on him a few years back.We went to one of several Ethopian restaurants at the Geelong Road end of Barkly Street, which gave me time to have a quick look around a side of the shopping centre I rarely visit.Since last time, the threatened apartment tower at the Barkly Hotel has been built, and much of what was ...
We are lucky in S.K.Y. to live right next door to Footscray. Now I know other Melburnians may make jokes about Footscray, but what they don’t know is that Footscray has some of the best restaurants in Melbourne. If you look in cheap eats this year there are almost a dozen entries. Not all suburbs can boast this! What is amazing is that it is a combination of Melbourne’s latest migrant groups that fill this suburb with such delectable choices. Indian, Vietnamese and Ethiopian..Tonight we focus on an Indian restaurant – The Taj Palace! It is an institution! It has ...
The Knitting Machine (2005), installation, knitting large flag Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art2005, as installed at Mass MoCa, North Adams, MA.THE BIG KNITKnit one, Purl one....Renowned international textile artist Dave Cole is visiting Australia as part of the Big West Festival. In his first visit to our shores, Cole will be working with a team of ‘knitters’ to convert an iconic western suburbs landmark into a massive tactile, colourful installation piece. (The location is still under wraps.)Big West is looking for a team of textile artists willing to commit approximately four days a week of their time from ...
Footscray Station is currently going undergoing a long overdue makeover. The photo below was taken on Saturday after my train to Sunshine (another station that needs a serious makeover) was terminated at Footscray. The redevelopment has come in for some criticism as many see it has part of the “evil” gentrification of Footscray but personally I think it’s a great thing for the area. Not sure who the architect is though.
[image from my flickr set] Back in August I posted about the fantastic Vietnam On A Plate tours that are put on FREE by Maribyrnong Council in Footscray. I was very excited to read in the local paper that they are running some more throughout October but turns out they are all booked out already! They really fill up fast. Anyway if you live in the area keep an eye on the local newspapers. Hopefully with the demand they will run some more soon. Posted in Food, Victoria Tagged: Footscray, vietnamese food
