Very cheap eats

Pigeon Hole Cafe - Hobart

2009-11-06T19:18:00.000-08:00

Pigeon Hole Cafe
93 Goulburn Street West Hobart, Tasmania
(03) 62369306
Open Tue-Sat, 8:30am until 4:30pm

Barely more than 12 months old, tiny Pigeon Hole in West Hobart, Tasmania, has carved a tidy niche for itself. It's café, gourmet edged, with a little retro style thrown in for good measure. With only 16 seats it’s a tiny venue – but it's big on promises and it well delivers. On the corner of Goulburn and Molle Streets, it's just far enough away from home, and close enough to everything, to encourage a move to West Hobart purely to have Pigeon Hole as your local.

After a favourable mention in Gourmet Traveller magazine and a smattering of awards – most recently an "I love FOOD" award for 2009 – Pigeon Hole is no longer a well-kept secret. Word spreads fast in this town, and the hole in the wall space fills fast with locals and travellers alike clambering for great coffee, a spot of lunch or a chat with the very professional and very unpretentious owner/occupiers who put on a constantly stellar performance.

Chef Jay Patey (of restaurant 373 fame) runs an impressive one man show in his tiny kitchen, turning out a daily selection of tasty treats influenced by seasonal and locally available products. Perhaps you may have a white bean, garlic and lemon soup with house-made bread, or you might choose from a selection of the famous paninni, with inspired filings like salami, cornichons and provolone, or fennel, chilli and mozzarella.

Breakfast options are limited, but the house-made baked beans on toast with a generous helping of Parmesan are belly warming. Simple options like Miellerie honey on toast prove a popular choice, and the butter is churned and pressed on premises. There is no fuss here – these guys make the restaurant game look easy. Oh, and the coffee is good too.

With many Hobart cafes charging $15+ for meal, it is refreshing to see value, with no dishes on the menu more than $12, average prices sitting around the $10 mark. Coffee is superb, and surely must be reasonably priced, although I've never asked how much. I just pay whatever I am told. It's obvious that the focus here is on quality, not quantity, and the pricing is generously fair.

Rumor also has it that the owners have their eye on a few potential locations for a second venue. Potentially, there could be another cafe in the Hobart city area for the office lunch crowd, but they are also playing with the idea of a night time venue as well. Fingers crossed.

A little bit of Pho in Box Hill: Pho 888

2009-11-02T03:30:00.000-08:00

Personally, I think any good pho restaurant warrants a mention in any cheap eats guide. And since we are in Melbourne, there are many.

Pho is just one of those quick, cheap but memorable meals. In my experience, outstanding pho restaurant never has 300 items on the menu. It concentrates on its broth, its noodles and its meat.

Pho 888 happens to be one of those places. The dining room is sparse, of course, but bright and clean. The wait staff relatively attentive. Drinks consist of your usual free thermos Chinese tea, three-coloured drink, various Asian fruit smoothie (heavily ladened with condensed milk) - your usual Vietnamese drink fare. All around $3. No license, I gathered but why pass on those blended, icy condensed milk (or coconut milk) goodness for something as boring as beer?

The soup, on the other hand, is beautifully rich. Both beef and chicken broth are perfectly well done - with the right amount of meat, fresh, silky noodles and sprinkling of green herbs. Choose your own condiments of beansprouts, lemon, chilli and Thai basil. I forgo them out of respect for the soup.

The rice dishes, on the other hand, are nothing to write home about. They consisted of Vietnamese Broken Rice ('broken' rice with grilled pork chop, fried egg, pork rind mix and salad), crispy chicken on tomato rice and your usual grilled pork or chicken chop on rice. They are decent but not outstanding. Unlike the pho.

Really, just under $10 for a massive pho of great, warming, tasty soup, I go back there quite often. Please don't stalk me.

Pho 888 Box Hill, 552 Station Street, Box Hill VIC 03 9890 1390
Noodle soups $7.5 (S), $8.5 (M), $9.5 (L), Rice dishes $8.5, Drinks around $3. No license.

Terrific little scrotums of flavour at Din Tai Fung

2009-07-07T00:04:00.000-07:00

This is one of the most memorable and best value dishes I ate while briefly in Sydney - the $6.80 Tofu with pork floss and 1,000 year old eggs - at Din Tai Fung at World Square. I think it was even better than the Shao-long bao, which has become so fashionable at Yum Cha nowadays.

I was eating with Shelley from SBS Food who was far more adept at eating these punchy little bags of flavour, using a technique that ensures that they didn't burst down her front. Having only been introduced to these fashionable little soup-filled scrotums this year, I use the extreme and risky eating technique of shoving them in my gob. I just hope that one day I will learnt that this is a fast track to stained cloths and a burnt tongue.

Shelly, however wasn't into the tofu dish. And I can see why. The floss looks like the result of shaving a brown jumper with a Remington Fuzz-Away. But I fell for the wobbly cold smooth tofu, the temperature itself providing a contrast to the woolly pork-flavoured floss and the black eggs.

The shame was the nut-like testical of pork that rattled inside the above buns.

Nevertheless, the value was terrific - the total cost for lunch for two with tea was $45.80 - and I would return again.

My Restaurant. It's All Yours

2009-06-29T22:25:00.000-07:00

Photo reproduced from The Age Online

"...it has my South Yarra friend wanting to claim it as her local even though it's 10 minutes' drive away"
Matt Preston, The Age

Imagine, if you will, a creamy sweetness that make your taste buds shriek, fused like a fine lacquer to a shattering shard of crispness. For most people this is heaven, and even though - due to a surfeit of taste buds -I am not a sweet tooth, I too was transported.

They say our predilection for foods that are both sweet and fat is a consequence of primal instinct. Apparently food occurring in nature that is not poisonous is generally both fatty in texture and sweet, which makes it desirable to all mankind. We are all also drawn to things that are thin and crisp, hence the popularity of deep fried snacks like crisps.

But I digress; you might assume - given the description of this particular confection - I was in a fine patisserie, eating a concoction originally served upon gilded platters to people of royal extraction. You'd be wrong.

I was at My Restaurant. No, not my own restaurant, that's the name of the venue. The setting itself is a scruffy low rent building, but bucking the trend for cafes and bars filled with grubby thrift-shop style furniture, it has clean modern dining tables and chairs, seating about thirty people at a push.

Common to modern dining venues there is also the ubiquitous open kitchen, but this one is fronted by a bain-marie filled with curries. Ok so, it doesn't sound flash, but it is honest and clean, your cutlery sits in baskets on the table with paper napkins and you can clearly see the selection of beverages in the drinks fridge, which you may happen to sit next to.

But I don't tend to frequent venues based on décor, hype or fashion. My favourites are all about the food. So this place is one of my little secrets, a place where I don't have to fight for a table with people who want to be seen, and I am loath to give it up, but that amazing sweet has loosened my tongue. Location-wise, My Restaurant is off most people's radars, being away from Chapel Street in the least sexy part of High Street, Windsor, not far from Edwards Tavern.

In the last couple of years I've probably eaten more meals at My Restaurant than anywhere else, because not only is the food delicious, it is cheap and unpretentious. The service is friendly and eager, and I like that sometime's the staff's kids are doing homework at the next table. I also like that I can get a meal ay My Restaurant, after 9pm after going to the theatre on a Monday night. And I don't think we've ever spent more than $14 for two courses, inclusive of drinks.

My Restaurant is a Mamak (Tamil Muslim) restaurant. It is halal, serving food from Singapore, Malaysia and South India. Although open for lunch seven days a week, you won't be able to dine here on Friday or Saturday night. The clientele is mostly South East Asian along with students of all nations and those who have travelled and developed a taste for such food. And the food, including the excellent roti, is cooked to order. The turnover is fast, with regulars also picking up takeaways.

The menu lists sixty two items - of which there are about thirty vegetarian options - however you will see even more items adorning the walls on a vinyl banner. Some of these items, such as idlis are only available on Sunday. There are Murtabak, stuffed roti with a side of curry sauce; long delicate Dosai, fermented rice crepes rolled with a variety of fillings and served with sambol and chutneys; fried noodles and Biryani rice's. I prefer Nonya style noodles, so am not a fan of the three Mee Goreng listed.

There are two curries however, that I might even crawl over hot coals for: the goat curry -which I can never resist - and the Chilli prawn. The goat is complex, unctuous, slightly oily and tender. The prawns seem a simple dish but strike a perfect balance in flavor. Both can be ordered to have with rice, roti or vadai; either may be ordered in medium or large portions.

Often I'm drawn to the Roti meal – a thali featuring a generous serve of roti, raita and three curries from the bain marie. Unlike many venues in Melbourne, the roti is made to order. Various curries, many of them vegetable, that don't appear on the menu can be tasted in this package, though invariably I cannot resist making the goat curry one of them. Like a small child at a sweet counter, I take my time choosing my three curries, frequently succumbing to trying something new at the suggestion of the staff.

Recently the treasure trove of a bain-marie gave up a minced lamb curry, subtly spiced, containing chunks of potato in a thin, non dairy based sauce that fabulously lacked the cloying fattiness of many lamb dishes. It also boasted a chicken curry that had the silky texture of poached chicken in a delicious creamy orange sauce seasoned with a garam that tasted vaguely of nigella seeds.

The raita changes too, my favourite is the bright green mint raita which is a perfect palate cleanser and bridge between the various curries and takes the edge of any searing chilli hits. I have tried to get the recipe, but it's a firmly held family secret.

Roti is a specialty at My Restaurant. I love watching it being stretched, tossed and folded on the large griddle. There are twelve varieties listed, you can have it with an assortment of embellishments: onion, eggs, cheese, chilli, banana and other sweet toppings. And then there's the wonderful Kottu roti – where it is finely shredded with a manic two handed chopping action on the griddle plate, then tossed with seasonings, green chilli, egg and your choice of meat or vegetables.

And now to the piece de resistance, that wonder of wonders I described in the beginning, Tissu Roti. A circle of paper thin roti cooked with ghee is folded into a cone. Unctuous condensed milk made rich with the melted ghee or margarine, or both, is poured over the hot cone of pastry and fuses like caramel to form layer upon layer of toasted sweetness.

Its arrival strikes awe as it sits likes Harry Potter's sorting hat upon the table; a perfectly crisp roti and so fine as to be like caramel lacquered pastry. It's irresistible as you gradually eat your way around the cone, pulling off more crisp, sticky shards that melt in your mouth. A small pool of the caramel - like a vaguely salted, thin, Dulce de Leche - sits at the base of the plate and can be used to dip into for those who prefer their desserts extra sweet.

Wiping the unctuous sweet ooze from my face, I washed down the Tissu Roti with delicious, strong, Tea Tarik, containing yet more condensed milk. It's probably the most sugar I've consumed in the last month, but boy, was it worth it. Now, imagining the sweet crunch between my teeth has me wanting it and goat curry all over again.

Now my secret's out, please share it sparingly. I'd still like to get a seat.

My Restaurant and Takeaway

186 High Street, Windsor, Victoria ph: 9521 4100

(also published at Deep Dish Dreams)

Freedom fighter food from The Abyssinian

2009-06-12T01:35:00.000-07:00

There’s a lot to be said for ethnic restaurants. They usually offer big, cheap hearty meals often cooked from the heart.
They also often offer the chance to reacquaint oneself with monosodium glutamate, fluorescent strip lighting, surly service and dodgy lino.

Then there’s The Abyssinian (277 Racecourse Road Kensington, Victoria 3031, 03 9376 8754), run by two Eritreans, which has taken the genre to another level and avoided all the crap which is why it was packed out the night we were there.

First there’s the look. The bar could be from an exotic resort anywhere on the African continent. The wooden tables and chairs are simple and solid and look great. Meanwhile, the walls are backed with African paraphernalia. It really works.
I’m not the only one who thinks this. I was eating with my favourite viking, photographer and Photoshop guru from the land of ice who together with her fiance - an up-and-coming architect - who have an eye for such things.
The service is run by Vittorio Silvestro, who is an Italian Eritrean and brings great service to the restaurant floor and really cares whether or not we are enjoying ourselves.

Then there is the kitchen run by Rahel Ogbaghiorghi, a former freedom fighter who has made her home in Melbourne. What a story (I need to interview her).
The food centres around large dustbin lid-sized shared plates of either vegetable, meat or fish served either with flat or rolled Injera, a sort of giant savoury scotch pancake. It’s made by mixing a special flour with water and letting it ferment.
The idea is to rip of some bread and pinch up some food to eat. Not only does it save washin-up but I'm guessing some small corner of the environment.
Our starter for $6 was a huge portion of Melanzany, garlicky grilled cubes of marinated eggplant that come with chilli and rolled injera.
We followed with Hoswa, mixed vegetables with Injera ($17), slowly cooked cubes of lamb called Zighini ($18) and Goat on Kemmam Sauce ($20), slowly cooked with cloves and cinnamon with the outstanding spice cardamom.
The wine list fits with the vibe and the price of $117 for four bellyfuls and more than we could eat. Let me say that again, $117 for food and wine for four. A litre carafe or red costs $20 or $6 a glass and goes well with the dishes that we requested to be authentically spicy.
This is the kind of place that is really for this credit crunchy moment. It’s delicious and hearty, comes in huge portions and won’t break the bank - you could easily eat for about $20 a head which means I'm nominating The Abyssinian for Very Cheap Eats.

And I want to go back. You can see the original post here on my personal blog.

Next stop, comfort food

2009-05-18T05:59:00.000-07:00

Himalayan Sherpa Nepalese Curry
340 Bridge Road Richmond Vic 3121

As far as cheap eats go, there’s no short supply of Indian or Chinese offerings dedicated to the hungry students who so prowl around for that homesick hit. Supply demand, they say. And in the rush-rush of it all it’s easy to overlook the tiny country of Nepal, which gets all the altitudinal attention and little to its cuisine.

Which brings us to Himalayan Sherpa Nepalese Curry – a tidy place nestled amongst much larger restaurants but easily punching well above its featherweight status. What with its woody interior replete with soft lighting set behind ancient theatre masks and various clusters of paraphernalia, the easygoing mood is palpable.

The moment you step in, smiles break out from staff, followed by menus with a reasonable variety of vegetarian and non-vegetarian options, set out clearly on handmade paper that still circulates in present day stationery used in Nepal. Service is attentive for the few waiters available, whom must work very hard to stay trim just to slither in between seated patrons on such a full and boisterous night such as ours. Yet the room does not echo with clattering cutlery and which is a big plus dhanyabad very much.

Entrees boast a blend of traditional tidbits like momos (dumplings filled with chicken or vegetable fillings - $6.90) and pakoda (spinach based vegetable fritters - $5.90) amongst the more familiar samosa and calaramari rings there for those who incline towards the familiar.

Eggplant Ra Aloo and Goat Curry

But for those who like a mellower start, try the eggplant ra aloo ($12.90): lightly spiced slippery batons of potatoes and eggplant slowly cooked till a buttery texture albeit a little oily. Otherwise, the goat curry ($14.50), redolent of fiery ground ginger, cumin, curry leaf and cardamom is more an Indian head waggle than a gentle nod to tradition. This is best enjoyed with a round (or three) or roti, of which there are plain and stuffed versions ($2.80-$4.90).

Citrus wise there is sarbat ($2.50), an unsweetened lemon squash made on home turf, and plenty is needed if you want to cut through the richness in between each fine morsel. Served continental style is their masala chai ($3.50), a rather flat dilution that despite a longstanding brew, needs much more oomph from its prerequisite spices.

Sickly sweet but devishly addictive is the pistachio kulfi ($5.50), a hard mound of Indian ice cream flecked with crushed pistachios. It is smooth and lingers well with light buttery notes, making it taste like a variant of cookies and cream. But it needs more pistachio. Other fiendishly sweet friends include kheer (saffron rice pudding) and gulab jamun (fried cottage cheese balls in syrup) similarly priced, but if we had them altogether we would need a jab on insulin on the way out!

Takeway is available at 10% off eat-in prices, but the relaxed ambience is well worth to book in. After all, what’s the rush?

Hibari (South Yarra) 09

2009-03-13T17:24:00.000-07:00

Hibari, at 479 Malvern Rd., continues to be an extremely popular Japanese restaurant despite low ratings from the AGF. It is small, seats 30, and noisy with simple wooden tables and uncomfortable wood chairs. Despite these deficiencies booking is advisable. We arrived for a midweek meal about 8.30 pm and after a short wait were shown to a recently vacated table. There we waited and waited and waited! I walked down to the business end of the restaurant and picked up some menus. We made our selections, still no attention, so I walked back and took some glasses and a jug of iced water and inquired if it was self service as we were ready to order! A waitress then came back to the table with me. We ordered gyoza, they promised five but sent six, here's a lone one,

spring rolls, they promised three but sent two cut in half,

and a potato and crab meat entreee, three as promised.

The gyoza were very nicely flavoured, the spring rolls had extremely crisp thin pastry but were a bit thin and dry but the potato and crab meat was particularly good, smooth and moist under a layer of crumbs, they were a subtly flavoured delight. For mains the sukiaki beef was numero uno with a raw egg to stir in if you wished,

I did, and a lovely slightly sweet well balanced sauce. The beef and crumbed pork curry

was gently flavoured. Mild and light and unoffensive I enjoyed it. The mixed seafood served in a pot at $22 the most expensive thing on the menu,

totally bland, despite some sort of putsy sauce which did nothing for it. Very disappointing. Ready to go, and experienced now, I went straight to the cash register. The person in attendance apologised and I paid the remarkably small bill. ($83 which included $4 corkage and a couple of extra bowls of steamed rice.

They have a modest and inexpensive wine list but also accept BYO.

This would rate as the worst service ever. It is a busy little restaurant, full when we arrived and I'm sure this level of neglect is unusual but it certainly makes one feel distinctly unimportant. The food was good and I would go back to try some other dishes despite the initial poor experience. I'm glad tipping is not, as in America, mandatory.

Score 13/20

The Espy's Ichi Ni rocks St Kilda

2009-03-12T16:56:00.000-07:00

I instantly like it: Ichi Ni (03 9534 1212), the Izakaya, a Japanese style tavern/pub with food, which was opened last night next to The Espy by the owners of The Espy Vince Sofo and Paul Adamo. It rocks. Yes, there were some blips in service on the first night. But we weren’t even aware that our dishes were taking longer than expected. We were having a great time.

It’s a balmy late summer night. We are sitting on the large terrace enjoying the sunset. Dark clouds hang over Williamstown which is illuminated by shards of lightening. The Vomit of Tasmania sails by. I sup on my half pint glass of Sapporo and life feels good. Jak is enjoying the Tim Smith Adelaide Hill's Viognier 2008 which I later quaff too. It’s floral, fairly high sugar and goes great with the the tapas style menu and Yakatori, cooked in an open kitchen which has an impressive extraction system. There’s a great selection of wine,beer and saki a mix of crowd pleasers and boutique drinks with some beers and sakis than only Japan geeks will recognise.

The food is the same. Usually I’m a real pedant on how food is described. But since discovering Murphry’s Law I’ve relaxed a bit. Everybody seems to understand tapas as a generic term for small plates of food rather than the Spanish origins. So the “Japanese tapas” menu simply tells the great unwashed what they can expect - small dishes to pick on. We had a small tapas plate of Edamame, burdock roots and, bugger I’ve forgotten what else. We had decent tempura, not aspiring to the pinnacle of Tempura Hajime, but good enough to have us mmmmmming.

All through this the staff are attentive while ironing out the wrinkles of the first night. The onshore breeze blows out the tea light candles that are placed on tables on dishes. The dishes are replaced by newly lit candles in glasses - again again and again.
Each time we order something the waiting staff have to boot up their electronic note pads. One gives up and has a notebook as back-up.
Another is concerned our food hasn’t arrived. We are having too good a time to care. Apparently there was a mix up in the ordering and the waiter who took our order apologies. I hope he didn’t commit sepuku as we didn’t see him for the rest of the night. Plus he complimented me on my wagyu, unagi (eel) and okra yakatori order - which was also apparently mixed up although we didn’t even notice until we were told.

I loved the eel. Jak loved the wagyu. We both mmmmmed our way through the crunchy okra. We were only out for a snack so didn't have pudding.

We spent $105 although about $60 was on booze. But this is a sure fire candidate for Very Cheap Eats because you can eat for under $20 and get a reasonably priced beer, glass of wine or saki.

If you are heading for St Kilda, head for Ichi Ni. Tweet-me-up as I may already be on a table across from you. Or if not I’m drop in for a swift one and a quick skewer.

Want to review for Very Cheap Eats? Email me.

This is double posted on my own blog Tomato.

Han Guuk Guan

2009-01-30T22:02:00.000-08:00

Last night, I ventured out into one of my almost forgotten places Han Guuk Guan, for Korean. It is this little hidden hut-looking place on the fringe of the city and the Carlton Gardens, in an offshoot, surrounded by orifice buildings.
They actually serve a combination of Chinese and Korean food, but I have never even bothered with the Chinese menu.
They serve everything with the pickles on the side, and their menu is extensive as to go from appetisers, cold dishes, hot pots, shared dishes, rice dishes, soups and Korean barbecue.

We started with the steamed Mandoo, filled with pork and served with a chili vinegar. $8.

The pickles, free with every meal.

This is my spicy hot pot of tofu, mushrooms and fish egg sack in action. It comes with a bowl of rice, as do all the individual hot pots. $13 It is actually spicy, so beware if you're used to spicy food actually being mild.

Not pictured is my dining partner's pork marrow and spare rib hot pot with egg and potato noodles. $11

Very tasty and with many vegetarian options. When I first came here, the upstairs could be booked out for karaoke and they have a giant plasma TV up there, which is distracting when you're just dining for fun.

The kitchen closes at 9:30 and is run by a Korean grandmother which ensures that nothing is bastardised and you can make requests or alterations to your meal at will.

Han Guuk Guan
13A Victoria St, Melbourne
03 9639 1747

Shimbashi: soba noodles are so good

2008-12-28T17:23:00.000-08:00

The best and best value food in Surfers Paradise has long been the tiny Korean and Japanese joints hidden in its low-rent 1970s shopping malls. But it is also worth escaping the main tourist drags for Chevron Island where soba Master Yoshinory Shibazaki & his wife Keiko are bringing Japanese food on the Gold Coast to a new level.
The restaurant Shimbashi Soba on Chevron is a local manifestation of the well-known and reviewed (even by those who really know Japanese food) Jugemu & Shimbasi in Neutral Bay.
The first clue that this restaurant, which has been opened for just a year, may be something special is the grinder and the stone bench top in the window. Daily flour is ground from Tasmanian organic buckwheat and soba noodles are made in the traditional manner.
The second clue that this place is good is the number of Japanese eating there.
The menu advertising the health-giving properties of the soba noodle, the fact that it lowers blood pressure, strengthens capilliaries, reduces cholesterol, has high vitamin C, reduces fat in the liver and slows ageing of the brain.
The food is also an absolute bargain, possible one of the best cheap eats you'll find in Australia.
In the summer humidity of southern Queensland we opted for a can of cold tea each - green and oolong. There is Sapporo on tap and a small list of good saki and sochu by the glass and bottle.
While soba and udon are the speciality there also are other dishes. We started with six room temperature pieces of salmon sushimi ($12) and two pieces of tempura Crystal Bay prawn ($6) that are almost a match to Tempura Hajime in Melbourne.
A huge $13 bowl of Oroshi - cold soba with grated radish and wakame - that Jak couldn't finish.
I was warned that my Taromi ($15) contained fermented soy beans with a strong flavour. It was delicate and with a strange but enticing sticky texture, thin sticky slices of okra and cold soba.
It also serves many dishes on the traditional zaru, a sieve-like bamboo tray.
This is a place where you can easily eat well for under $20 and worth the diversion, even if its a two hour flight to Queensland. The most annoying thing of all is that I discovered this place only a few days before I leave for India.
I'm double posting this on my personal blog Tomato.

Still searching for the best Pho

2008-12-02T15:34:00.000-08:00

The seductive thing is the doorway and a sign. There is no other indication of what lies at the top of the stairs in the Thy Thy (142 Victoria St, Richmond +61 3 9429 1104) Vietnamese restaurant.

Perhaps restaurant is too strong a word. This isn't a place I'd come to eat at night and apparently nor should you. But do drop in for an aromatic and filling bowl of sub $10 Pho and to enjoy Thy Thy's retro chequerboard wall.

I've already documented my search for the best Pho in Melbourne and discovering it in Hanoi. The truth is it is difficult to find a bad Pho on Victoria St but easy to find food laced with MSG.

This double posted on my personal blog Tomato.

The Rasoi, richmond

2008-09-08T18:03:00.001-07:00

The Rasoi
281 Bridge Road Richmond (corner bridge road and church street)
94280008.

Ok, i have to admit, indian is one of my falling graces. up until 3 months ago, i refused to eat it. the flavours, the spices, the chilli, the smells, none of it appealed to me. to me, it was an aberration on an otherwise perfect plane of asian food.

then my eyes were opened.

it was malaysia that did it, that drew me in. those damned roti chanai for breakfast, at 30 cents a hit. it was like food crack. i was addicted. for two weeks straight, rain, hail, shine, hungover like a dog (and yes, there were many of those days), i still had to get my fix. it took a train ride, a 15 minute walk, and some careful walking (avoiding trucks, bikes, and wild dogs) just to get to my favorite crack den, but oh man, was it worth it! the mango lassi (still a little bit tart), the dahl, the roti. oh my god - the roti. i was in heaven.

so when i came back, i started to look around, to get my fix. i was like a man possessed. and now i've found it.

garlic naan ($2). notice the chunks of garlic liberally all over the bread. ultimate turn off, yes. ultimate flavour, definitely.

palak paneer ($8). cottage cheese simmered in spinach puree. my food testing friend loves this dish, but i have to admit, it was pretty damn good.

lamb bhuna (8) my favorite of the night. lamb cooked with onion, chopped mint and coriander. this was amazing. i love mint and coriander, so this did everything i wanted. there were a few small bone bits, but otherwise great.

Goat karahi ($9). goat cooked with tomato, onion and capsicum. so gamey.

saffron rice ($3). saffron rice. go figure.

this food was perfect, and so cheap - for two people, it was under $20 (with corkage). we ate more too, but by then my hands were shaking with delight, and i didn't want to dirty the new toy (camera).

all the meats were tender, and the service was good - the waiter is the owner, and even brought us water without us having to ask for it (although to his credit, we'd already opened the screwtop wine and started drinking before he came to serve us. no, he wasn't slow - we'd only sat down for 10 seconds before reaching for the bottle).

the tables are all designed for 4 people, and are just big enough (actually maybe a little bit small, but manageable). dark wooden tables, dark wooden seats, oh, and of course, the big widescreen tv playing indian music and bollywood films.

not much else i can say. i'll be back.

and once more:

Banff

2008-09-06T23:39:00.000-07:00

Banff
145 Fitzroy Street, St Kilda
(03 9525 3899)
banffstkilda.com.au

I have to confess that I've been meaning to write this blog for quite some time, but struggling with my conscience about letting too many people know about this little gem of a cafe/bar!

I have a small band of faithful 'Monday Club' friends who re-arrange their lives virtually every Monday to meet me in one of our favourite cafes in St Kilda. To me, there's not too much that's good about Fitzroy Street other than Banff, I live on the other side of St Kilda and much prefer it that way, still I trek over there for what I would say is the best pizza around.

On Monday and Tuesday nights, all standard pizzas are only $5.50 all day, and every other day of the week (excepting weekends I think) they are $5.50 until 5pm - including lunchtimes.

Actually the menu has changed a little since this photo (from Banff's website) but you get the picture - their main fare is pizzas and there's a couple of other morsels in there to distract you too.

I swear by the squid pizza (squid, chilli, capers, lemon, garlic, fetta, rocket) but I would say the 'gourmet pizzas' are also worth the extra bucks. Extra bucks by the way, still bringing your food in under $10! If you're going all out and have a bit of a sweet tooth, there's also sweet calzone's (folded pizza) which are incredible - banana and chocolate calzone served with marscapone - being my favourite.

Banff also has a breakfast menu, free wireless, a happy hour (3-6pm), cheap drinks ($2.50 pots, $4.50 wine), and good coffee on the whole.

It's cosy, generally good informal service, tasty, and very cheap. What more could you want?!

Dessert House

2008-09-01T06:16:00.000-07:00

"Dessert House" is definitely at the top range of the Very Cheap Eats in Melbourne. In fact, it is one of the most recommended place amongst Asian students (who I have to admit are quite good at finding good value yummy food).

The original Dessert House is located in Mid City Arcade on 200 Bourke St (Shop 18 to be precise). -- Picture taken from Pancake Dessert House - Bourke St - Australian Dining Out Reviews - ador - Melbourne Restaurant City - Chinatown Melbourne
It has since branches out to "Dessert House Eatery" on 313 Swanston St, which have the same menu set, classier setting.

The generously portioned main dishes cost under $10 per head. The recommended mains are either Lemon Grass Pork Chop on Rice or Spicy Chicken on Rice - look around when you do visit, I promise you'll notice these two dishes being consumed. The non-alcoholic drinks (tea, coffee, horlick, barley, grass jelly, lychee, etc) are priced at 2.5 to 4 dollars, with $1 discount when ordered with main, which leaves you about seven bucks to spend on dessert or entree. Seeing that the place is called Dessert House, I would recommend trying out their crepe for dessert. You might want to wait until you have consumed your main though, just to make sure you have room for the additional course. (P.S.: I will have to check about the alcoholic drink availability at my next visit).

Unfortunately, I don't currently have any picture of their food to be uploaded, so check out the pictures at IronEaters: Dessert House (Swanston St) for now.

Highly recommended for hungry people. Aside from the generous portion, the food is served in a very timely manner too. Even when I queue up behind 2-3 party (which is quite often the case), I generally still get to start eating within 5 minutes of sitting down. The food is also on the yummy side (well - considering the MSG overload, I guess it better be). With all of these qualities, it's not difficult to understand why this place is always packed and buzzing with chatters.

Note though that I would not suggest this place for when you are catching up with a friend who you haven't seen for a while or if you are the type who likes to slowly savour your meal. Their quick food service does come with a catch. They are even quicker with cleaning up the plates and issuing the bill. The waiter/waitress (if they can be call that) are borderline rude too at times.

Anyways, in my opinion, it is one of the Very Cheap Eats. It is definitely one of the place that I have been going back and forth to for the past eight years that I live in Melbourne and will continue to visit.

The Charles Dickens Tavern

2008-08-07T17:18:00.001-07:00

Charles Dickens Tavern
290 Collins Street, Melbourne Tel. 9654 1821

I've got a confession to make: I have a dark, secret, guilty pleasure.

I love bangers and mash.

There, I've said it. So what do we do about it, now that it's out in the open? Well, I'll let you in on the secret of where to get some of the best ones in Melbourne.

And the best ones I have ever eaten are at the Charles Dickens Tavern. I really don't want to make such a spurious claim for something so simple, but I want to throw down the gauntlet, challenging anyone for what they believe to be their favorites.

How much for this, you might ask? Why, only $10.50. Good to see that some things never change.

The Charles Dickens Tavern is an old-fashioned pub, English themed, with plasma screens for sports. Regardless, it's cosy and quiet. It's the sort of place you can get away to for conversations when you just want to be left alone. They have a restaurant as well (which is also quite cheap), but I've never strayed from the bar area, where they have seating for 30 people with a lot of space between tables. The barman alone gives it a warm, familiar feel - delivering the meals, asking how they were, with a very happy "yum-yum" when he brings the meals over. Yum yum, indeed.

As you can see from the prices, they haven't changed in years. But that's OK, that's just how i like it. This is a nostalgic trip ladies and gentleman, and for a country boy, this makes me feel right at home. It's not going to win any awards, and there certainly isn't any foam or Escoffier meals on the menu, but on a cold winters day, when all you want is a quiet meal somewhere warm with friends and good company, this is it.

Taj Tandoori

2008-07-30T22:54:00.000-07:00

Around the corner from the Classic cinema at 281 Glenhuntly Rd Elsternwick this very well presented Indian restaurant doesn't look like it would qualify for VCE but it is remarkably inexpensive.

Not only do the have mains for around $12 but they also offer a $20 Banquet! Take away is, of course, even cheaper. Desserts are about $9

The place is spic and span - even the laminated menus look completely fresh.

Service is prompt and obliging.

Serves are standard size comming in brass handled small metal pots. As with almost all Indian food the dishes themselves are quite colourful though not very photogenic. We actually had a more expensive banquet and as a result tasted more dishes.

They use a lot of sweetener - possibly sugar and this dominated several dishes including the Raita

We began with a small tray of dips - mint, mango and pomegranateThis was followed by some Tandoori chicken and samosa

A mixed vegetable dish was so overcooked the veggies flopped around - most unattractive If there had been any heat sensitive goodness it must have long disappeared
The prawn masala would have a diabetic reach for his glucometer. The other dishes were pleasant enough but totally undistinguished with the exception of the the Gulab Jamon and the Kulfi both of which were excellent but be aware that the texture of kulfi is not at all like ice cream!

Spicy Corner

2008-07-28T04:00:00.000-07:00

Spicy Corner
49 Dawson Street, Tullamarine, VIC. (Melway Ref. 15H1).
Tel. 03 93355650
(Closed on Mondays)

Looking forward to that cold and limp herbed chicken sandwich for your in-flight lunch shortly after take-off? Or worst if flying budget, anticipate forking out $7 or more for noodles-in-a-cup and a drink that will leave you feeling even more ravenous? Well here's an alternative if you happen to be on the highway to Tullamarine from late morning (11 am) to about 2 pm, or in the evening (5:30 - 8:30 pm), and have 40 minutes or so to grab a meal before really having to be at the airport.

The exotic tastes of Sri Lanka at Spicy Corner

Just a short 5-min detour off the Mickleham Road exit but somewhat hidden within suburban Tullamarine is an inconsequential but surprising little Sri Lankan cafe and Takeaway named, 'Spicy Corner'. The eatery is located in a small quiet residential street and the corner tenant of one of those typical outer-suburban shop-rows that last saw heyday back in the 70's. From memory there's also a languishing fish & chippery there, a video store and the ubiquitous milkbar among a few other businesses. One certainly wouldn't just find yourself there unless you lived locally, or were told about or taken to Spicy Corner! So how did I come to know of this little Sri Lankan gem? Well I used to work close-by in a previous job and we visited it frequently for lunchtime take-aways and a regular Friday lunch eat-in. That was then, but even now KB and I will occasionally make a special visit out that way whenever we're hit with a craving for great tasting and terrific value Sri Lankan curry and rice.

The friendly 'ammaa' of Spicy Corner dishing out your curry of choice

The cafe itself is nothing much to look at of course. There are a few tables set for eating in and a large bain marie adjoining the counter to one side. But don't be discouraged by the bain marie (it's a curry place after all) or if there happens to be no one else dining there at the time, the majority of its trade is from takeaways to locals and workers from the numerous factories and warehouses located in the area. Having been somewhat of a regular there in the past, I can confidently assure that the food is fresh and prepared in-house daily. In fact, visit around noon on Fridays and be prepared to wait patiently in queue. Word of this place has definitely made its rounds among the local businesses. The food is genuine Ceylonese/Sinhalese home-style cookery (confirmed by a Sri Lankan friend missing his mother's cooking) with the 'small-plate' of the Daily Chef's Choice of curry (choice of chicken, lamb, beef or veg) served over rice together with an assortment of vegetable sides and condiments like mango chutney, pappadum, mallung, and coconut (pol) and chilli sambols, being the most popular. My fav is the chicken (skinless but on-the-bone thigh/leg meat) but the lamb or beef (cubes of meat) are probably most popular. And all for $7 for a great lunch! This is a genuine value for money 'Cheap Eat'. One can't even get a lousy regular burger meal at any of the multi-national burger joint-of-your-choice for that, and I certainly know which meal I'd prefer. Don't let the recommended choice of 'small' fool you either, it's a generous serving whether heaped on a plate or squeezed into a takeway container! And the curries, whatever your choice, are redolent with fresh aromatics like curry leaf, mustard seed, cardamon, cinnamon, green chillies and dry roasted coconut to name but a few I'd recognised. Vegetarians certainly don't miss out here either, their plates are heaped just as high as anybody else's. For the uninitiated, Sri Lankan dishes are unlike most Indian curries we in Australia may be more familiar with. Often spicier with chilli, more aromatic with coconut milk and lighter in taste and texture. In a word, delicious!

The 'small' beef curry and rice served with delicious sides and condiments!

Aside from the curries of the day, Spicy Corner also offers moreish finger foods including Vadai (fried spicy dhal 'cookies') (90c each), crumbed capsicum chillies with a spicy fish filling ($2.20), Godumba ($2.50) and Pan rolls ($1.80) (spiced meat-filled rottis and pancakes) and Samosas ($1.80), though at times these could be past being at their best (gone cold and soft) if you get there late. And for folks booking their visit on Saturday evenings, there is a Hopper Meal Special which includes a selection of curries and all-you-can-eat hoppers (fermented rice-flour crepes shaped into a bowl with a crispy exterior, to accompany the savouries). We are yet to try this, but certainly plan to do so soon!

Food: 16/20 - Fresh tasting spicy food just like home, if it was Sri Lanka.
Service: 13/20 - Family-business-friendly though can get confused and befuddled when busy.
Value: 17/20 - Difficult to name somewhere else better value for money.
Returnability (R) Factor: 15/20 - Though out of the way, we have, many times.
Spot Score: 15/20

This article has been cross posted in Spot4Nosh.

Grace Darling

2008-06-25T05:48:00.000-07:00

114 Smith St, Collingwood; 03 9416 0055
www.gracedarlinghotel.com.au

Collingwood's Grace Darling may use a bit of a daggy name for their discount food night - Tightarse Tuesdays - but their meals are all class. Diners hit the jackpot when an establishment offers dishes off their regular menu at a bargain price. At the Grace the same menu services the bar and restaurant, so you can choose your level of ambience and whether you want someone to take your order (including for drinks, which are all at bar prices) or you want to take it to the bar yourself. The dining area at the back of the building is hardly pretentious, and its downstairs 'atrium area', with a glass roof and decorated with ferns and straw partitions, feels more like a beer garden. The main meal prices range from $10-15.

The Grace runs a dedicated steak night on Thursdays, but a red-meat-fix is also available for $14 as part of the Tightarse Tuesday menu. Alternatively, their steak sandwich with fries is also a winner. The chicken burger with avocado, brie and hollandaise sauce is a standout.

Feeling cosy, warm, buoyed by socialising on a Tuesday and liberated by the range of great food at a good price, I went left of my usual field and ordered the corned beef, with mash, cabbage, bacon and mustard sauce.
It looked a treat on the plate: several slices of meat, not too thick, positively glowing with pinkness, but looking firm and fresh; no sign of that glossy sheen on cured meat that indicates it's past its best. On reflection I was a little surprised at the inclusion of bacon with the meal: corned beef tends to be a fairly salty serve on its own. Fortunately this sample didn't taste like it had been soaking in brine since the pub's namesake rescued the survivors of a shipwreck in 1883! Each of the meal's components contributed to make a whole that was more than the sum of its parts. The mash was particularly straightforward - not overly creamy nor buttery nor herby, it tasted pretty much like, well, potatoes that had been mashed! - and the mustard sauce was more of a mayonnaise. But piled up in a forkful with with the crunchy cabbage and pliable meat it made for an enjoyable home-style meal.

My companion chose the beer-battered fish and chips.How cute is the spoonful of tartare sauce? Rather than one great slab of fish with a puffy batter, the Grace serves up three smaller, firm fillets, each more dusted than dunked in the batter. I've never found fault with their fries, and these steak-cut chips were just as crunchy and irresistible as ever.

If you haven't overdone it on fries and still have room a range of desserts - including orange bread and butter pudding ($7.50) - is available.

What is most notable about the Grace's Tightarse Tuesday is that it's only the prices that are cut back. There's still a good choice of food - the range extends beyond traditional pub grub to include restuarant-style dishes (such as prawn risotto) - and the serving sizes are generous. There is also ample seating and the service is friendly and attentive.

Cross-posted at Words and Flavours

Kimurakan Cafe

2008-04-28T03:27:00.000-07:00

Personally, I am not a fan of Don Dons. Sure, it's cheap and close to home, but I am not that into luke warm food, to tell you the truth.
Thankfully, if you're game enough to walk another couple of blocks, you'll reach Kimurakan; which is a humble little place with lots of love in China Town. Their menu is broken up into something like 6 sections: sushi/sashimi, snacks, mains, rice dishes, udon, ramen and bentoh boxes. Way too many decisions to make.
If you're there for lunch, you'll be offered the lunch menu, which is a shortened version of their larger menu that is a few dollars cheaper because it's...well...lunch and their servings are designed to make you not fall asleep at your desk from fullness. The prices of their food vary from $3 for miso soup to $32 for a main of sushi and sashimi combination, which I have never been game enough to try due to their overly generous portions to begin with.
I have been to Kimurakan many times before, but because of the weather, I went for their Kaisen udon (combination seafood udon soup) $10.50, while my dining companion went for the Chicken Curry Bentoh, $11 and we shared a serve of Oyster Katsu $6.
The oyster katsu is oyster which has been crumbed in panko, deep fried and served with kewpie mayonnaise and teriyaki sauce. Needless to say, it was rich.
The broth of my dish was not overloaded with MSG, which is usually the problem with these places, and very generous with their seafood. There were about 5 prawns, cuttlefish and salmon floating amongst the wakame, shitake mushrooms and the baby spinach; none of which were overcooked. The only downfall is there was so much food I couldn't finish it.
The bentoh came with the chicken curry, rice, gyoza, ankake tofu, salad, jelly and a choice between miso, green tea or iced tea. My companion opted for the miso and happily ate everything in front of her. I personally didn't try any of her meal, so I cannot comment.
They serve the usual suspects of beer, but I really only ever concentrate on their stubbies of Kirin and Asahi which they sell for $5.50. They also have a very short wine list and serve sake. Unfortunately, I don't pay attention to this because they are BYO and there is a Vintage Cellars across the street. If you chose to partake in their BYO, there is a $3 surcharge.
Another up for Kimurakan is that they have both attentative and polite service, and as you will notice, their staff are all Japanese. I am not being racist here, but when Japanese food is cooked by Japanese people, you can actually tell the difference.
A great place to kick back and have a few casual beers with friends, great food and a laugh. It is completely unpretentious, but not scummy enough to make you feel like you have to move on right after you finish your meal.

Other notable dishes;
-Ika hot soup, $3.50
A hot and spicy soup with calamari. I was hooked on this for about 6 months, but it is quite a thick broth.
-Unagi Don, $10.50
Eel with teriyaki sauce on rice with salad. Very hearty and well cooked, fresh and well presented with a good balance of rich and clean.
-Salmon Don, $11.50
As above, but with salmon. The huge chunk of salmon is pan fried, but still rare in the middle, a surprising treat.
-Salmon Bentoh, $12.50
Bentoh with salmon with teriyaki sauce, gyoza, ankake tofu, salad, jelly and choice of drink. Great if you're starving.
-Nabe Udon, $14
Udon noodle soup in a hot pot with seafood and chicken and a raw egg cracked over the top which cooks as you eat it. Very rich and filling, great textures and flavours.

Kimurakan Cafe
238 Little Bourke Street
Melbourne 3000

The Undertaker and Cabinet Bar

2008-04-27T23:44:00.000-07:00

So, in my first attempt at reviewing for very cheap eats I forgot my camera and, having lost my phone-with-camera last weekend in a moment of drunken idiocy, I therefore have no pictures. I also didn't make any notes and, while I remember what I ate, remembering other menu options seems to be failing me today. Not really the greatest start to my reviewing career. However, I shall blunder onwards because I liked these 2 places and think they'd be much more convivial if they were busier...

Firstly, The Undertaker, 329 Burwood Road, Hawthorn (Tel: 03 9818
3944)

I walk past here every day and have always been fascinated; partly because they seem to always be open, from breakfast through coffee and lunch to dinner and drinks at least Mon-Fri; I was also fascinated because it had such a high gloss, dark wood, very expensive look with fantastic floral displays that caught my eye. Then last week the downstairs windows were covered in newspaper. Underneath the newspaper a beautiful caterpillar to equally beautiful butterfly moment was occurring. When they re-opened the main dining room was a bit more comfortable and loungey rather than formal, still with cream leather booths, but also some galvanised steel chairs, and they had these fantastic light fixings consisting of aged-wire boxes, containing many lightbulbs, with one of those lightbulbs lighting up the rest. They really are very striking and look great.

A friend and I dropped in for drinks Thursday night. Sadly, the bar/dining area was rather quiet and did not get that much busier before we left at 8pm-ish, however they had just re-opened and are still in the process of re-organising other areas. Their wine list seemed rather expensive (one red at $7/glass but the remainder at $9+). However, the bar/waiting staff were bright, enthusiastic and helpful as we moved from bar service for drinks to table service ordering food. However, there was one table they didn't clear the whole time we were there. The big surprise was their new menu, where there were not only bar snacks for $5-$10, but meal options for $13-$28, with around 4 for $15 or less. Side dishes were $6 and the dessert list was $12-$18. My friend and I ordered linguine with prawns and kipfler potatoes with chorizo and a poached egg from the $14 end of the menu. Our food came quickly and looked lovely too, all stacked together on a large white plate. My kipfler potatoes were lovely: cooked just right and nicely balanced by the spicyness of the chorizo and the smoothness of the egg. I would have really liked a little aioli on the side as the dish was a little dry, however the flavours were great. Given the size of the serving (enough that I still had plenty of space for dessert) I'm wondering now whether the cheaper options are actually meant as entrees.

It fails on ordering "pretty much anything on the menu to get 2 courses for $20", but the fact that you can get 2 courses for $20 here surprised me. And the toilets did have some fantastic wallpaper.

A nicely-decorated lounge in which to get some good food whilst having a few drinks in Hawthorn.

Secondly, Cabinet Bar, 11 Rainbow Alley, Melbourne (Tel: 03 9654 0915)

This is much closer to the category of 2 courses for $20. However, it's still very much a bar that you can enjoy food at. If you can find it, that is. I had one of those Melbourne moments of walking straight past it and not finding it until I walked back in the other direction from which it was slightly more obvious. Up some stairs and into a long, rather dark room, with great wallpaper and ornate chairs and sofas. However it was bit dark so we sat at a table by the window, from which we were lit by the lights of Swanston Street. We ordered at the bar for drinks and then table service for food. The menu is on the blackboard and segues naturally from bar snacks for $3-$8, antipasto $19 for $2, arancini for $12.50 and a variety of flatbreads layered with flavours for $15.50. My friend and I ordered flatbreads, which arrived quickly. I had roasted duck on plum sauce with rocket, blue cheese and mushrooms. I love duck and don't see it enough on menus and it works so well with plum sauce, then in a new flavour lesson for me, the mushrooms and blue cheese worked well too. My friend had the salami and bocconcini flatbread that looked very much like pizza with some great juicy olives. The service here was very attentive and friendly and it would be a pleasure to go regularly: this place could become very comfortable, very quickly. We also had a few drinks, little creatures pale for my friend and red wine by the glass for me, but precisely how much they cost is lost in the mists of time...

I wish they'd turn the lights up, just a touch, but it was such a nice environment that I'll definitely be going back.

And regarding the reviewing experience: next time I'm taking notes (digging this up from memory has been too painful) and photos. Oh, and being cheekier about eating my companions' food, normally nothing stops me but I got all polite in doing this! Apologies for now but hopefully more to come.

Reviewing guidelines (and some rules)

2008-04-18T21:13:00.000-07:00

This is, as Joe Strummer said, a public service announcement and it may "Rock the Casbah" a bit.

The idea of Very Cheap Eats (Email me as gastrotomATgmailDOTcom if you'd like to become a reviewer) is to provide a guide to the best cheap food in Australian in the sort of places you'd actually choose to go out and spend an hour or so eating in. It is about meals of at least two courses costing less than $20 (or roundabouts) excluding beverages.

It is not about takeaways and food courts. I'm happy to keep existing posts up but i just wanted to clarify this as it is important to stay true to the Very Cheap Eats vision.

The idea was bourn out of frustration of the existing guidebooks by AOF over at Confessions of Food Nazi. The Cheap Eats Guide some years ago lost the plot with even its price guide of $30 being fairly meaningless.

The Friday before the latest edition was published I ate at Cheap Eats Restaurant of the Year Rumi up at the far end of Lygon St. Aside from a couple of greasy stuffed fingers of pastry the food was pretty good. The service was excellent and they even went to the trouble of making a special iced tea for me (I was participating in the alcohol free charity event) that was off menu.

I enjoyed the meal immensely despite having ordered too much. The fit out of the restaurant is delightful and the ambiance alluring (apart from one very loud woman nearby).

But it cost about $80 for two. It was an incredibly good value meal. But it was not a Cheap Eat.

Both Cheap Eats and The Good Food Guide give a very comprehensive coverage of Melbourne. But they have incrementally added so many features and seem to want to add more restaurants to their pages to bust the magic number of 500. This is the publishers chasing the dollar rather than serving the reader. They should each focus on what really are the best cheapest and simply the best eats of all.

When AOF posted this I quickly registered a blogger account and a domain because this blog Very Cheap Eats is such a good idea. As far as I am concerned it is a community project and anybody can join (we have space for 100 contributors).

But AOF and I feel there should be some strict guidelines to ensure we don't go down the Cheap Eats route and lose the plot.

I've also given some guidelines to what should be covered to give a comprehensive review. I know this means a bit more work and observation but it also makes Very Cheap Eats a much better resource if you try and cover the items below.

THE RULES AND REVIEWING GUIDELINES

1.The venue
It should be a sit down venue where you can enjoy two courses and a beverage of under $20 from ordering pretty much anything on the menu. If it's a few dollars over that's not too much of a problem. It could be a particular day of the week where the food is cheap. For instance, I must post about the Sunday Lunch at Madras Banyan Tree where the only option is a vegetarian banquet for about $20 plus drinks. Any other time and it would cost more to eat there but i think Sunday is within the spirit of Very Cheap Eats.

The location doesn't matter. It can be anywhere in the world. Please include the name (linked to website if there is one), address and telephone number at the top of the post.

2. Double posting.
Yes, you can double posts and link back to your blog, as I have with this over at Tomato. It would also be nice to point to Cheap Eats to help build readership.

3. The food and ingredients
Is the food fresh and presented well? Does it taste good or inferior. Are the portions large or small? Don't be scared to give your opinion.

4. Drinks
What did you drink? Does it serve coffee, tea, wine beer or anything else? How much do they cost?

5. Service
Is it self service or table service? Are the waiters attentive or lazy? Was service slow or quick or did they keep bringing you the wrong thing?

6. Money
How much did each thing you ate cost and do you think it was worth the money? Remember, broadly speaking you should be able to buy a meal of two courses for around $20 excluding drinks.

What would be really useful for readers is to give the minimum and maximum prices for starters, mains and desserts and the price of coffee.

7. Ambience
This is important as we want to review proper cafes and restaurants that you would want to go out and eat in at night. We don't want takeaway stores. Is it a place you'd want to spend time in or is it a horrible strip lit tiled room? The reader needs to know.

8. The best and worst of the venues
try and identify what you think is the best and the worst of the venue. Perhaps it is the horrible loos or the rude service. the reader wants to know. be ballsy and show some opinions because that's what readers want. Don't be frightened of opinion.

Coyote Cafe

2008-04-17T03:26:00.000-07:00

There are plenty of cuisines that generally represent good value in Australia - Thai, Indian, Cantonese. Mexican isn't one of them. Coyote Cafe (414 Nicholson St, North Fitzroy) is a happy exception to the rule, at least as far as take away is concerned. Like most Mexican restaurants here, the food is actually more Tex-Mex, but it's good.

The burritos and enchilada dinners are both excellent, and cost only $9.60 and $7.50 respectively. In the case of burritos, the beef & japapeno is the best bet, with nicely shredded meat and delicious flavours. The honey chipotle chicken burrito is less successful. A couple of vegetable-based burrito options are also available.

As alluded to above, it's really take away that represents the best value. Prices when you eat in are considerably higher.

This review has been crossposted to Hookturns

Hotel Lincoln.

2008-04-14T03:24:00.000-07:00

So, the Lincoln, as I affetionately call it, have started their $12 Monday bar meals again, from the hours of 6-8, although their meals are generally less than $20 when you order from the bar anyways. This just means when you get a pint with your meal, you're getting more than a dollar's worth of change.
If you haven't been to the Lincoln before, you're going to be surprised with the quality and range of foods. Unlike most pub meals, you won't find the chicken parma on the board, but instead a constant rotation of what is in season. Generally there are a few vegetarian dishes, and an abundance of choice scrawled down a 2.5 metre length blackboard plastered to the wall.
Today, I opted for the WA sardine salad with radicchio, pear and pine nuts (originally $16), while my companion leaned towards the Atlantic Salmon fishcakes with chips and aoli (originally $15). Naturally we both had pints of Coopers Pale Ale to wash it down with and it only took us to $18.
The service was no less than attentive and a basket of sourdough and soy and linseed bread arrived at our table with butter and cruets. Despite their quality of food, they seem to enjoy providing you with that powdered imitation pepper. The meals are generously sized, and what I have noticed is that their descriptions of food are generally a step further from what you would expect the food to be served at...but you're never left disappointed. For example, they advertised a dish as being "spinach and ricotta pancakes", and I was surprised (pleasantly) that they were crepes filled with spinach and ricotta.
This happened again tonight, as my dish arrived with three butterflied and grilled sardine fillets served along side the radicchio, shaved pear and pine nut salad with a good lashing of olive oil and a wedge of lemon. Despite the oil, it didn't leave a pool at the bottom of the dish. Everything was well proportioned, as my companion noted and even though we were sitting in the cold outside, I didn't feel as if I should have gotten anything heavier.
The Atlantic Salmon fishcakes were a potato based fishcake crumbed and deepfried. Not at all dry and incredibely generous in size, especially after a few slices of bread and a pint. The chips have been freshly fried and don't have that stale taste like they have been floating in skanky oil for the past week. The aoli is just a bonus, and again, well seasoned.
The thing is with the Lincoln is that when you usually say "I'll get that next time," that it is bound to happen because of their use of fresh produce, unless it is a constant item. You can also order form their restaurant menu, though, that obviously doesn't fall under their "bar menu" range.
I feel fat, happy and glad that I didn't have to cook on Monday. Go, do it. Do it now.

Hotel Lincoln, 91 Cardigan st, Carlton 3053.

Thaila Thai

2008-04-10T04:30:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure how Thaila Thai (82 Lygon St, Brunswick East) does it - serve up generous portions of delicious and fresh Thai dishes for such low prices. Yes, there are other Thai restaurants that are just as cheap, however the quality isn't the same.

There's the standard range of curries, stir fries and salads to choose from, all at around $10 for vegetable or chicken/beef, with seafood a few dollars more.

Curries here are drier and less soupy than those at most Thai restaurants, but they're still rich with coconut flavour. The meat is good quality - in the case of the chicken, it actually seems to be breast meat. Another difference is that the vegetables are a lot crisper, as the curries are cooked quickly in very hot woks, which also impart a nice 'bbq-ey' flavour to the meat.

It's a similar story with the stir fries, which are available with a number of 'flavourings' such as as chilli & basil and satay. The serving sizes of the stir fries are particularly generous, and come with a lot of vegetables.

The satays are recommended, although they're deep fried, and the salads are a great palate cleanser. As with a lot of Asian cuisine, it's best suited to sharing multiple dishes.
Unless you've got a very large appetite you shouldn't require more than 1 dish per person, meaning, with rice, you shouldn't need to spend more than $13 - $14 each. The fact that it's BYO makes it even more affordable. Take away is also available, although the serving are smaller.

This review has been crossposted to Hookturns

Vego & Love'n It, Adelaide

2008-04-02T04:49:00.000-07:00

An Adelaide institution, Vego & Love'n It is known for its tasty burgers and chilled out vibe. Situated above a record store, the tiny cafe is charmingly furnished with mismatched chairs, mosaics and kitsch decorations.

Burgers are the main feature of the menu, and there are loads to choose from – tempeh, chickpea, tofu, Mexican, Mediterranean, Thai and more. The burgers all feature loads of salad items on top of no-meat patties.

The Vamburger is a take on the classic Aussie burger and features a thin croquette-style patty of potato. Also squeezed in between the toasted brown bread is tomato, beetroot, lettuce, alfalfa and just the right amount of tahini and tomato sauce. The combination of all the ingredients makes for an incredibly tasty burger that feels decadent without being too heavy.

Vego & Love’n It burgers are famous, and not just for their vegetarian and vegan credentials – they are very large. So, although a burger might set you back $9, it’s filling enough to eat as a main meal.

If your appetite isn’t up to it then soups, wraps and café-style treats like muffins are also available.

Vego & Love’n It, 240 Rundle St, Adelaide
Cross-posted at unwakeable