Hot Fish at Conway's

A couple of years ago I was interviewing the owner of a wildly successful fish and chip shop in the inner south.  He already had a few branches and I mentioned that the inner west would be right into his concept, rocking as it was fresh salads, gorgeous grilled calamari and a fun and energetic vibe.  Despite hailing from the west himself, he wasn't convinced.  I might be wrong about a lot of things (my trackie habit at school pickup for one) but I reckon this snappy new opening proves that this time, I was right.

Conway's is a western suburbs institution, providing fresh fish from its Wingfield Street location for over 40 years.  They are a wholesaler as well as retail outlet.  Queuing for your oysters and prawns on Christmas Eve is something of a westie tradition.  Their new fish and chip shop, Hot Fish, has just opened and judging by the queues the evening I popped in, is already a smash hit.

The grilled offerings are particulary enticing and well priced - 200g fillets of fresh tuna or swordfish, grilled with salad and rice for $11.90.

Somewhat surprisingly, there are only two fried choices - "catch of the day" (hake that day) and flake.  A piece of battered flake is steep at $7, but given the environmental issues surrounding shark fishing, maybe that's a price we should start being prepared to pay.

Here's a "little biters" pack (two very generous "fish bites"), on special at the moment for five bucks.  The other is a classic fish and chip pack at $9.  The fish was great, but the chips need work - they were soggy.  (Might have been the drive.)  And yes - they have chicken salt!

Hot Fish (Facebook)
Next to Conway's, 11-21 Wingfield Street, Footscray
Open Mon-Sat 8am-8pm

Tasty tidbits, from fish and chips to duck parfait at IDES

Time for another blog amnesty post!  I wanted to share with you some westside and city dining highlights from the last couple of months.  First up:  IDES.

IDES is a pop-up dinner put together by mates and passionate chefs Peter Gunn and Lindsay Fush (second and third from the left above respectively), who met while working at the Royal Mail in Dunkeld.  Peter is now junior sous chef at Attica, while Lindsay is working at a local pub in Hamilton.  Late last year they formed their own catering business and then began to explore the idea of using their days off to host a pop-up tasting menu here in Melbourne.  You know how they say if you love what you do, you'll never work a day in your life?  These guys have obviously nailed it.

The menu is six courses of intricate yet playful food, a steal at $90.  It's at Tonik in Kensington, who provide drinks for purchase.  Sure, the space isn't nearly as classy as the food, but Peter and "Fushie" bring in all their own crockery and cutlery to enhance the experience of what's on the plate.

One thing I love is that with the exception of Raffaele Mastrovincenzo (front of house at Attica and wearing black in the photo above), the chefs do all the service, bringing out plates and chatting with you about their ingredients, technique and so on.

One of my faves was this exquisite duck liver parfait served with smoked salt, toasted black pepper and chervil, gorgeous heaped onto toasted bread.  I also loved a starter of an amazing, rich broth that was apparently only made with turnip, onion and mustard oil.

As of today, there are a mere 10 spots left for the next dinner on Monday, 23 September.  Book via the details above, and you can also check out the IDES Facebook page here.

Well, from the sensational to the...somewhat disappointing.  I was pretty stoked to hear that Dumplings Plus were opening a new branch at Highpoint.  If I'm stuck and starving, I'd prefer to have a choice like this rather than the usual food court suspects.

This wonton soup was spoiled, though, by absolute buckets of MSG.  Interesting exchange I had with a Chinese restaurateur recently, though - I said in my opinion restaurant X used too much MSG and he said, quite surprised, "You can taste MSG?"  I think it's like boar taint.  Some find it overpowering; others can't taste it at all.  Anyway, do try Dumplings Plus yourself - I'd go for the plain panfried dumplings next time.

What DOESN'T have a lot of MSG is this quite delicious beef pho from Green Leaf, Moonee Ponds.  We were so struck by its rich flavour yet lack of that particular "kapow" MSG denotes that we checked with the owner and there is only the tiniest pinch in a 20-litre stockpot.

Trying to convince a Footscray resident to go elsewhere for Vietnamese is like selling coal to Newcastle, but if Moonee Ponds is close to you, give Green Leaf a try.  Their prices are a bit dearer than Footscray or Sunshine but they have a lovely little story behind their business and their food is obviously made with care.  Their Facebook page is here.

Rockfish has changed owners and the word on the street is it's not the Rockfish we knew and loved.  I've been quite liking fish and chips from the very awesomely old-school Charles Street Fish and Chips in Seddon (67 Charles Street).

They have a really big range of fish, with ten choices including flathead, whiting, snapper, flounder and more.  Beer care of Seddon Wine Store.

With summer coming up, you could go and explore Point Cook Homestead.  It's quite odd to drive there, getting to the end of the glossy housing estates in Point Cook and suddenly being surrounded by fields and the odd horse, with the city hovering in the distance like a mirage.  The kids kept asking, "Are we in the country now?"  I didn't really know the answer.

You get the feeling they could do so much more with the space - there's a small but lovely old home that I think is mainly used for wedding photos, some empty stables, a herd of geese behind a gate and old farm machinery for the kids to play on.  The restaurant there is called Scrumpy Brown's and they do food that is not mindblowing but nice all the same.

Viz. this nice Caesar salad.  Lattes were pretty good too.

It's not far to scramble down to this lonely, lovely stretch of beach...

...and do some beachcombing.  (We put these back, of course.)  But do heed the warning signs of snakes - we nearly trod on a baby tiger!

Westie bits and bobs - a blog amnesty post

I'm writing this from Chinatown, Singapore.  Drums thrum and horns wail from the Indian temple down the street, and the air is thick with the smell of fat raindrops.  The Year of the Snake will soon begin, and I believe it's going to be a dynamic and exciting year for me.

But first I need a clean slate.  I admit I've been late to start back on the blogging train as all my half-finished bits and pieces feel like they're dragging me down.  Claire of Melbourne Gastronome has long been an advocate of the "blog amnesty", which is a chance to "post those stories you haven't quite finished; just the images, list the important bits in point form, do whatever it takes, just get the bloody things up so you/we can all move on" (via Eating with Jack).  In other words, I need a blog colonic.  With such an unsavoury image in mind, please now enjoy all this tidbits from the last month or so!

First up, a big shout out to Gamon Street's Advieh - a spot of sultry Middle Eastern flavour in a sleepy part of Seddon.

This well-hidden cafe makes tip top coffee.  They use Five Senses' Dark Horse blend - a rather aptly-named choice for this little-known gem!

It's a family business with handsome son on the La Marzocco and funky mum in the back whipping up Middle Eastern-influenced plates.  I love the combos, which might feature crusty felafel, wickedly good chicken shish or a mixed grill along with delicious, daily-changing dips and salads ($13.50 to $18).

Breakfasts are excellent too, with plenty of daily specials.  Advieh reminds me a lot of Flavours of Lakhoum in Richmond (now closed), which used to be my happy place in the early 2000s.  It'd be considered somewhat naff now, but the barista there used to draw faces on the top of your latte.  One friend took it back to the counter to check it was intentional - he thought he might have a contender for the Virgin Mary grilled cheese! 

Another cafe that's been there for a while but is new to me is the much-loved Jellybread in Barkly Village.  They were the first cafe on the strip and have a "secret" backyard oasis that is just heaven for parents and kids, including a vintage caravan the kids can set up house in, loads of ride-on toys, a sprawling lawn and more.

I thoroughly enjoyed this BRAT with Istra bacon and homemade aioli on Turkish bread made locally in Footscray ($13).  For kids there are creamed rice cups, organic yoghurt with poached fruit and two sizes of babycino.

Speaking of Turkish bread, get it fresh daily from Wally and family at Metro West Turkish Kebab House in Albert Street, Footscray (opposite the Coles plaza, on the same side as Savers).  It's $3 for a large or a mere $1 for a small and worth every cent.

Just around the corner is Sen, who really deserve more love.  They serve reliably tasty Vietnamese with a northern twist.

They're famous for their bun thit nuong or rice vermicelli with grilled pork.  For the ridiculous price of about $9, you get wickedly good charcoal-scented, marinated belly pork that's sliced thin so it's crispy like bacon.  I love their Vietnamese pickled vegies here, with big chunks of cabbage - so unusual and so delicious!

Sen are never all that busy but Hao Phong in Hopkins Street are perpetually so.

That evening we had muc rang muoi (salt n' pepper squid) and fried rice noodles, which were fine rather than spectacular, but this salted fish and chicken fried rice was fantastic.  Try the rice vermicelli version here too.

I've been thoroughly enjoying my avocado subscription with Barham Avocados.  For $36 a month, I get 12 glossy green emu eggs home delivered.  As the season has progressed, I've enjoyed Fuerte, Hass and just now received a box of gorgeous, grapefruit-sized Reed.  The season will be wrapping up in March, so get in quick if you want to try this beautiful fruit (just keep them in the fridge and take out progressively to enjoy perfect avos the whole month).

Sad news - the fantastic team at Rockfish are selling the business!  Apparently they need a break from their frenetic pace - they're a victim of their own professionalism and quality.  The hunt for great local fish and chips will therefore continue.  Meanwhile, we thoroughly enjoyed flake and chips from Top of the Bay in Williamstown.  I don't normally eat flake but this was tip top (the other option, flathead, looked somewhat dry and unappealing).

Grab your fush and chups and settle in at the park opposite to watch the boats and have girlie chats.  (PS:  They do have chicken salt - under the counter, like it's some sort of contraband!)

Whoa - I feel SO much better having gotten all that out there!  Hope you found something that tickled your fancy.  Next up - I dive into the Lion City, stomach first.  I hope you will join me for the ride!

Fish and chip salvation at Rockfish

Many people in Australia have a tradition of Friday night fish and chips, but did you know it's a Catholic tradition?  It stems from strict Catholics abstaining from meat on Fridays in honour of Good Friday, the day Jesus died on the cross (in many circles, fish was not considered "meat").  The tradition has now leached into mainstream Australian culture and the local fish and chip shop is something I have missed dearly whenever I've been overseas.

I've been searching for a long time for a fish and chipper that totally presses all my buttons.  I prefer not to eat flake, so it needs to have appealing, fresh alternatives.  Both fish and chips need to be well drained and ultra crispy.  No chicken salt is a cardinal sin.

This sounds simple but so many places around just don't hit the mark.  I haven't bothered blogging about them but transgressions include greyish fish with nasty blue veins, mushy fake calamari rings and soggy, oily chips that even ten Hail Marys and an Our Father can't atone for.

So when I turned up to Maribyrnong's Rockfish one Friday night and found it absolutely pumping, I was delighted to be evidently slow off the mark.

Despite being totally slammed, service was very friendly and even the most convoluted of orders were taken in stride.  Totally digging the old school, press in letter menu.

Fish, $5 - $6.50; chips $3 - $6

There are loads of interesting fish options including snapper, rockling, barramundi and even flounder.  We tried three different varieties and they were all totally gorgeous - spanking fresh, well battered and non greasy.  Chips were your garden variety sort but perfectly cooked and very nice.

Burger wit da lot, $7.50

I find most fish and chip shop burgers exceedingly average - relentlessly smooshed mince slapped on a bad supermarket bun.  Something made me get this burger with the lot, and it was EPIC.  The meat is crispy in all the right places with an intriguing herby flavour, and the bun was proper bread, fluffy but pleasantly hearty.  Tip top toppings topped it off.

In fact, if you asked me if this was the best fish and chip shop burger I have ever eaten, I'd say...

"Does the Pope wear a funny hat?"

P.S.  I went back with friends again recently and it was just as good.  There's a lovely park behind, so bring down the friends, the fam or both and have fish and chips in the park!

Rockfish
Shop 3/46 Edgewater Blvd, Maribyrnong (near Aldi on Gordon Street)
Phone:  9317 FISH (cute!!!), ie, 9317 3474
Hours:  Tues-Thurs 11am-8pm; Fri-Sun 11am-8.30pm

Altona Pines 2

Ah, don't you just love the beach!  Actually, I don't really.  My skin was made for gathering kelp in the drizzle along a stony Irish coastline, not roasting under the hot Antipodean summer sun, hat jammed on head and sticky with 30+ sunscreen.  Pah, give me a misty peat bog anyday.  But what I do love is the excuse to eat fish and chips.

Altona Pines Take Away is your last stop before the lifeguard station and the beach beyond.  It sits opposite a lovely park under the shade of the enormous pine trees.

Love the old school sign!  The menu isn't going to win any prizes for originality but I like that.  They have a few different types of fish, from flake to blue grenadier to snapper.  I am biased towards places that still do the butcher's paper wrapping - it just feels right.  Eating fish and chips out of a box is like drinking champagne out of a tumbler.

I love the glorious tumble when you open the last layer of paper a la pass-the-parcel and everyone dives for their deep-fried goodies.  People tend to have their "thing", be it fish and two potato cakes, fish and three calamari rings and/or a couple of fried dimmies in their paper bag with dark soy sauce.  Chips go without saying!

The fish and chips here are really good with fish that's always fresh with crispy, ruffled batter and plenty of crunchy chips to squabble over like seagulls.  If the beach is too windy the park is a lovely place to sit, protected from the elements with a fence and trees.  There is great play equipment for the kids and on summer weekends they will have daggy but fun things like the police band.

Really, I don't need an excuse to eat fish and chips.  The beach at sunset is a bonus.  I wonder if Altona Pines is Julia's favourite fish and chipper?

Altona Pines Takeaway
18 Pier St, Altona (map)
Phone:  9398 4903
Hours:  Lunch & dinner, 7 days

Wheelchair Accessibility
Door:  High lip/low step to enter.
Layout:  Room to manoeuvre but high counter.  No eat-in.

Bathroom:  None.

Ebi Fine Food 2 - Winter Menu

I love winter.  With muted sounds, the day materialises slowly out of the grey morning mist.  From my study window, I watch the lemon tree come slowly into focus, like a photo blooming onto paper under the darkroom light.  "Winter" - the word itself is stark yet beautiful in its austerity, like bare-boned trees.

We still go the park a couple of times a week, only now instead of sunhats by the door, there are coats.  The hated woolly beanies are assigned at the door only to spontaneously "fall off" within a few metres of home.  As we walk to the park and back, we always pass by Ebi.  My first visit a couple of months ago failed to blow me away, but the comments on that post are building slowly to fever pitch, extolling this little Japanese café's virtues.  The release of their new "Winter Menu" was the excuse to revisit I needed.

Early on this cold night, warm light diffused out of the shopfront, its windows steamed up invitingly.

I had called ahead, but they were slammed, and customers continued to walk in and order.  The owner was a picture of calm, though.  Every burner on their stove was covered by a bubbling pot, and I enjoyed watching them make their vegetarian takoyaki (octopus balls) in a traditional mold, somewhat like a patty pan over the burner.

Prawn gyoza, three for $5

These gyoza were great - handmade with a chunky, almost creamy prawn filling.  The delicate, soft dumpling skin on the sides contrasts with their crispy bottoms.  They came with a light soy and vinegar dipping sauce.

Large fresh fish of the day with chips, $12

This was the most fabulous fish and chips!  No less than four pieces of spanking fresh mirror dory in great clouds of sensationally crispy batter.  The chips were fantastic too.  I contend that they have changed their chip supplier - previously they had those very long, thick, flavourless chips that pubs are very fond of.  These were stubbier, golden, and much crispier.  My only complaint was that everything was a touch oily; I think it could have been drained just half a minute longer.  May I say, though, what excellent value - four pieces of fish and all those lovely chips for 12 bucks!

Ramen, $12.50

A new addition to the winter menu is ramen noodle soup with either soy or miso broth.  We chose miso, but unfortunately we were disappointed.  While the toppings were good - pork, a perfectly poached egg, traditional Japanese fish cake, tasty green vegetable, and fat shiitake mushroom - the broth and noodles were unremarkable.  Iron Tokage, with whom I had dinner, contended that they were in fact udon noodles, not ramen at all.  I think this really needs to be eaten at the counter and not as takeaway, or at the very least, have the soup served separately and poured on over the noodles at home.

Pork belly bento, $14

But... oh, god!  The pork belly!  SWOON!  This gets my vote for dish of the year thus far.  The most unctuous, marvellous, tender, slow-cooked pork belly.  The first bite was a "put down the chopsticks and sigh" moment.  The rich meat is infused with ginger and sweet soy.  Alongside was sweet and tender braised daikon with a pleasant earthy flavour, as well as hard-boiled eggs.  The accompanying salad had wonderful vinegared vegetables including a slice of lotus root and a sort of spear of bamboo.  In another compartment in the bento a little piece of eggplant nestled, anointed with creamy, salty miso sauce.  Fantastic!

Ebi has definitely found its stride.  I applaud its gumption in opening in this out-of-the-way location, and I now believe its confidence is well founded.  The food is so cheap for such a high standard and such attention to detail.  I do love a good old school fish & chipper, but Ebi's fish and chips have won me over too.  Ebi, banzai!  Your food is fabulous.  Long may your flags flutter in the breath of fresh air you have brought to our pocket of Footscray.

Ebi Fine Food

18A Essex St, Footscray (map)

Phone: (03) 9689 3300

Hours: Tues - Thurs 12.00 - 8.00, Fri 12.00 - 9.00, Saturday 5.00 - 9.00 (call as they sometimes shut a little earlier)