Its getting crowded in here!! CBA Friday at Quan 888 in Little Saigon

Ok ... its getting crowded over here in Little Saigon! But the hood can afford another intrusion if its serving traditional fare such as this - honest, uncomplicated (relatively speaking) and uncompromising.

Now that my erstwhile goto bible* of new happenings in the West has recently found its well worn blogging feet again, I clocked the opening of Quan 888 in the Little Saigon market soon after it set up shop.

In fact I do believe we visited this newly minted establishment on the very day the post was published. And now that I am a skilful reader between the lines of this particular blogger's nomenclature, I knew we were in for a good night.

And a good night we had ... in part. There are popular dishes on here that sell out fast as we soon discovered. So we had to settle for second choices.

Most of the dishes are prefixed with the words Da Nang, a city on the South Central Coast of Vietnam, which is where I gather the proprietors originally hailed from. There are a few familiar dishes like Niem and Bun Xiao, but most of the menu could prove a bit daunting to the western palate, especially the fermentary (is that a word?) condiments and some of the stock bases for their noodles.

In fact the initial mouthful of my Fish Cake Noodles (sorry readers I'm bad with noting down menu titles and descriptions!) was overpoweringly fishy, with a hint of monsoon drain ... HOWEVER, as the flavours started to mix and the bits of pumpkin (yes you read that right) started to soften into the stock, each successful mouthful became ever increasingly moreish. The bowl was dry when I finished with it!

M's noodles had roast pork and jackfruit in it and the mere presence of this well loved artocarpus (yes I know how to google!) is enough to illicit a sour lemon pout of the Zellweger variety from me, but I did have a taste. I think there was more artichoke than jackfruit, so I was able to savour the deliciousness of the dish. But you can already surmise that the combination of ingredients is a little unusual at Quan 888.

We also had the green papaya salad which like its neighbouring establishment is garnished with that addictive Beef jerky that now seems to be everywhere with the arrival of Co Thu Quan.

For liquid refreshment we had the curious Corn Milk which is exactly what the name describes. Cold milky corn in a glass. Jury is still out on this. I think I would have liked it a little sweeter.

And to finish off the meal, we had Ca Phe Sua Dam - strong iced black coffee - dark of colour and miraculously milky?! I'm still trying to figure this out!

On our second visit, we were able to sample the Bahn Beo - steamed rice cakes with toppings of pork and also shredded dried prawns. These were delicious! And well worth going back for.

I also tried the Niem which was a little tricky to negotiate. I wasn't quite sure how to actually eat it. There wasn't really much room to try and combine the noodles with the herbs and with the meat. So I ended up eating each ingredient a mouthful at a time.

M had the Bun Xiao which is served rather dramatically with a dispenser that lets you wet your rice paper - a kind of DIY spring roll of sorts. It's a fun dish, but we both agreed that the actual pancake was a bit lacking in the taste department. Yes my palate is not as sophisticated - my preference is for punch in the face flavour.

A very welcome addition to Little Saigon indeed!

*Footscray Food Blog

Random Bites Part II

Ok time for a few more random bites before we head back into CBA territory again.

First up, we have Zigzag Burgers N Salad! Alright I can see the eye and head roll from here, ... "not another burger joint mum!!!" I hear you cry. And I admit this isn't going to totally blow your mind, but the price points aren't insulting, and the burgers taste good. 

Its right near Fancy Coles so you can do a spot of grocery shopping while you're at it. And they open from 10am till 9pm with ample parking.

As it was my first time here, I went for the plain old basic beef burger ($8) - 100% Black Angus Beef Lettuce Zig Zag Sauce Pickles Tomato Relish, Toasted Sesame Bun.

Nicely charred bun that wasn't too sweet, a decent sized and juicy patty and a deft hand and the pickles and relish serve. All in all a very satisfying morsel.

M went a little fancier and ordered the 12 hour slow cooked Beef brisket instead with Havarti Cheese ($8.50) - you can actually choose between the patty or the brisket for all the available burger options.

The brisket was nicely flavoured if a little on the chewy side. But I prefer a little give anyways, rather than a meaty mush.

The House Cut fries with cheese and bacon ($7.50) was the star. Ok so I have a feeling it was a run of the mill commercially made cheese sauce but you got the right balance of crunchy and soggy on the plate ... unlike a certain other gamely joint closer to the hood!

We'll certainly be going back.



It was one of those listless weekdays whilst I was still in the throes of unemployment that we took a walk out to the lesser end of Barkly street to sample the wares of Kebab Surra.

We were actually hoping for a street style kebab, all greasy tin foil and dripping garlic sauce. Kebab Surra was in comparison a little more refined. Not that that is a bad thing. In fact the refined flavours were wonderful.

We weren't super hungry and decided to share their Kebab Special, which turned out to be quite a generous serving at $14 a pop!

I really should pay more attention to geography and cultural history. I'd be hard put to tell you where the owners and their traditions come from ... but clearly there is an overlap with the sort of cuisine served at Safari in Ascot Vale ... our wonderful host brought out a lamb broth as an aperitif very similar in make up. 

Our Kebab special arrived a-table full of vibrancy and colour. I'm generally less inclined to feast with the eyes ... to put it plainly ... I want that shit in my mouth before I read the bitch ... you feel me?! But the simple plating (my new obsession) was simply appealing!

Oh and the bread was moreish! Nice and crispy. I could have just kept eating it ... on its own even ... slumped on the couch ... watching some shit reality tv ...

You get alot of bang for your buck, so its worth checking the place out.



Now we travel way out of the zone to M's hometown, Alexandra. Lets be perfectly honest, you wouldn't necessarily stop over in this town for any longer than to wet the whiskers (what ... too much?) or perhaps to stock up on important supplies like a bag of chips!

But they have sexed up the Alexandra Hotel - now called the Alexandra Hotel & Cafe and its worth a visit. Well only if by a bee dick's of a chance you ever find yourself needing some sustenance in this part of Victoria, then the food is not disgusting and the coffee is more than drinkable. And its a nice spot to chill for a bit ... you could even go a bevvy!! Or two!

You know they're trying their best when the menu even has sliders!!

Finally, speaking of bevvies, we made it to Littlefoot! Oh the build up was exhausting. If you're local and invested, then I won't bore you with the details or the backstory.

Besides which its 11pm and my bed is calling out to me. So let me shorthand it. Its local, it has unusual and yummy cocktails, a reasonable bar menu (not without its missteps mind) and a little stage playing host to a wonderful array of cabaret-esque bands.

So here's how you do it. You join the queue at 8bit and line your stomach with some protein! Then trundle across to Littlefoot for further liquid refreshments and if you are very very lucky, you bump into a local celebrity (*cough* Lauren *cough*) and her Rosamond Pike lookey likey friend J, and have a wonderful night of silly conversation!

Aah the West, ever evolving, ever surprising!

CBA Fridays Revamped - accidental evening at Chicco in Seddon

Ok ... after a few months of abstinence, I finally get the chance to enjoy a CBA Friday dinner by revisiting Chicco in Seddon, which has recently started doing dinner service every Friday and Saturday night. I was a little ambivalent on my first visit for brunch several moons ago. But the night's repast has changed my opinion somewhat.

The food is tasty and really satisfying. Yes the space does still have a thin veneer of wannabe-ism, complete with touches of old hat Real World tribalism ... I'm betting that the owners own every single volume of those once ubiquitous Buddha Bar compiles.

But at least you don't feel cramped. And on a summer's evening, soundtracked by mellifluous acid jazz, its Juan Padilla at Cafe del Mar all over again. The menu follows a similar world view path with a nod to middle eastern cuisine.

We started with an entree of the Jawaneh Meshwi ($10) - 5 pieces of grilled marinated chicken wings with garlic and lemon. These were grilled to perfection with just the right citrusy hit without being too overpoweringly tart. Very moreish and a great bar snack.

M had the Spiced Lamb Pizza ($16) - with red onion, feta, roasted pine-nuts, red chilli, dressed with mint yoghurt on a zaatar base. There was perhaps too heavy a preponderance of the yoghurt sauce for my liking so I reckon a few sultanas would not have gone astray to cut the richness. I know!!! I'm the one who has a T-shirt that says "Stupid Raisins Stay Out Of My Cookie!" Still fair dos!

I had the Kraidis B'Toum ($19) - Pan-fried Prawns in a garlic and lemon sauce with fresh herbs served on Basmati rice. So the plating is fairly prosaic, almost plonked! But I'm not really one for fancy plating ... in fact I am a little bit over the drizzle, smear, foam, gel crowd! The dish had solid flavours with the Prawns cooked just so and an almost perfect balance of lemon and garlic.

I'm looking forward to working my way through the menu. A real new-old contender in what is slowly becoming a rather overcrowded food and entertainment district. Lets just enjoy it while we can before the franchisees move in.

2015 doesn't feel all that much different ... yet! So I'm a little late with NY salutations

Ok ... I'm not really one for superstition, but I do appreciate ritual to a certain degree. So I'd like to wish all you netizens out there a Happy New Year .... and to collectively hope that 2015 will be a better and more compassionate year for the world at large.

I am going to try my very best to not take anything for granted and I want to work on teasing out any latent forms of apathy by replacing my I wish I couldas with more I will bes and I am going tos.

I've started the year with a new beginning of sorts, but I have taken a number of steps back as a result. New Job and new adjustments are proving difficult to handle. But I have incredible support from an amazing partner and some pretty fantastic friends. So I'm luckier than most I guess.

So here's to the year ahead. No more excuses folks! Time is running out!

PS - don't block the blessings!