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… Continue reading Sapa Hills, Footscray
Tag: Melbourne
Welcome, ABC 774 listeners
Cheers to Lindy Burns for the interview and fellow interviewee Ellie from Breakfast Out. I managed to get in shout outs to Austin Bush, Noodlepie and the morbidly obese dog. Apologies for dissembling on the best pho in Melbourne question – I’m still not sure where that is.
“It’s a minefield even for Asians”
I had dinner on Saturday at Poon’s Chinese Restaurant in Barkly Street, Footscray. It was the worst Cantonese meal that I’ve eaten in Melbourne. The service was gracious and friendly considering that they were packed and it was dirt cheap. The meal was a mistake but not an expensive one and it filled me with… Continue reading “It’s a minefield even for Asians”
Footscray Market: Opening Hours
Opening hours for 2015/2016 are here. Below are the hours for 2011. 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… Continue reading Footscray Market: Opening Hours
Xiao Long Bao in the Gastrodesert: Little House, Bundoora
I think that it was Australian food writer John Lethlean who labelled the region north of Heidelberg in Melbourne as a gastrodesert. On the surface, it’s gastronomically grim up north; the oleaginous wasteland of charcoal chicken and Smorgy’s. People speak with fondness of shopping mall food courts and premixed bourbon and cola. If Stuff White… Continue reading Xiao Long Bao in the Gastrodesert: Little House, Bundoora
Hùng Vương, Footscray
You could probably map pho in Footscray as a means to learn Vietnamese legends of prehistory. Hùng Vương was a mythical king; the founder of the first Vietnamese dynasty. He descended from a dragon and taught the Vietnamese people to cultivate rice. Nothing of Hùng Vương’s past can be verified. The restaurant Hùng Vương’s past… Continue reading Hùng Vương, Footscray
Cycling the Red Hill Rail Trail
Just to expand my repertoire from writing about food, an article that I wrote back in early June is up at Wall Street Journal on my bike ride across the Mornington Peninsula and the Red Hill Rail Trail, south east of Melbourne. I, of course, ate and drank my fill as I went – beers… Continue reading Cycling the Red Hill Rail Trail
Bánh Xèo from Đình Sơn
Yes, I’m going a bit nuts on the Vina diacritics. The equation that can’t be avoided when you travel for food is the one where you compare Third World prices to First World and try to account for the differences, offseting rent, ingredient quality and labour. It is a fun but fruitless diversion. The above… Continue reading Bánh Xèo from Đình Sơn