Diverse St Albans a town of top tastes
MELBOURNE’S west is the site of the city’s next food revolution, as families, foodies and developers take notice of St Albans’ young, diverse demographic and delicious array of dining options. Here’s some of the top tastes to seek out.
delicious.100
Don't miss out on the headlines from delicious.100. Followed categories will be added to My News.
FIRST there was Yarraville. Then came Footscray. West Footscray followed and now Sunshine, too.
The west is changing, with young families — and developers — discovering and moving into many of the suburbs along the Watergardens train line, especially now its stations are shiny and new, thanks to the Regional Rail Link.
BAYSIDE BEAUTY WITH SHARP SERVICE AND VIEWS
WORLD’S BEST SHARE THEIR BUTTER CHICKEN SECRETS
And St Albans is the next stop.
“We’re at an exciting point, all the changes that have happened closer into the city are starting to happen here,” says Nick Lo Presti.
“We’re seeing a younger, diverse demographic, which is great for the area.”
BEST CAFES IN MELBOURNE’S OUTER WEST
Owner of the local market Big SAM’S (which simply stands for St Albans Market), Nick says he’s seen the area undergo big changes over the four decades the market has stood on the site, with successive waves of immigrants calling the area home.
But through this change, the market has remained a vital, lively community meeting point, with some of the tenancies now into their third generation of operator.
WHERE TO FIND THE BEST SPICY IN MELBOURNE
According to the latest census, of the almost 40,000 people who call St Albans home, almost 60 per cent were born overseas.
A quarter of the suburb has Vietnamese ancestry, but there are also big Maltese, Filipino and Croatian populations, with a growing number of Samoans, Indians and Punjabis moving there.
And with this diversity comes deliciousness.
Here are some of the top tastes to seek out.
Market forces
With more than 30 stallholders and 50 different ethnic cultures working under the one roof,
Big SAM’S is one of the most diverse markets in Melbourne, where authentic foods from every continent are sold at hyper-competitive prices.
Head to Hrga’s Deli for what many locals say are the best cevapi (skinless Croatian sausages) around, or visit Mary Portelli at the Australian and Continental Deli for sujuck (Turkish sausage) and smoked pork neck, Balkan pecenica (a smoked meat) and Maltese cookies and Kinnie (a chinotto-like drink).
Grab European sweets and Australian nuts — including Victorian pistachios from Robinvale — from the Dried Fruits, Nuts and Confectionary stall, and exotic catches of the day such as duck fish and ribbon fish and octopus at the Fresh Fish stall.
Greengrocer Ange Macarone runs one of the fruit and veg stalls where you can pick up a field of mushrooms — king oyster, pearl mushrooms — vibrant Asian greens, including rau muong (morning glory) and gai cho, a variety of exotic melons — hairy melon, bitter melon, Japanese bitter melon — alongside the tomatoes, lettuce and capsicum, all at astonishingly good prices.
With everything from turkey tails to whole corn-fed ducks, fresh wild rabbits and even emu and croc able to be ordered in, Mark Imbesi has an impressive range of game among the poultry at his Marketplace Poultry and Game. Add fresh turkey — from one of only two Victorian farms that don’t freeze their birds — and daily fresh chemical-free La Ionica chicken butchered on site, and you have one of Melbourne’s very best chicken shops.
And after all that shopping, take time out at Hanna Coffee, where Azra Kurspahic, a Bosnian immigrant who has called Australia home for the past 20 years, has opened a coffee roasting shop, specialising in a dozen blends of beans creating a range of eastern European and local coffees, specialty Bosnian sweets and savouries.
Big SAM’S, 3 St Albans Rd
Pho real
One of the original St Albans eateries that still packs them in every day, for more than 16 years Pho Kim Long has been serving its pho to fans (and a few celebrities, including Shane Delia) who come from all over town to slurp the signature noodle soup or crunch on a few spring rolls.
“St Albans has changed so much,” co-owner Quyen Tran says.
“Before, there weren’t many restaurants, now people come from everywhere to try all the food. We have customers from Melton, Toorak, Laverton, who come every week for pho.”
And why wouldn’t they? Even by pho standards, it’s a huge bowl of broth, generously filled with slippery noodles and topped with myriad versions of beef or chicken bits.
The slightly sweet broth, brewed for five-six hours (not overnight as many do) is deeply satisfying, the beef on top tender and pink. The usual chilli, lemon, and Vietnamese mint, basil and beanshoots are served on the side.
To add to the taste, ask for the house-pickled onions which add a great sweet-sour crunch to the dish.
All this for $11? No wonder it’s always packed.
Pho Kim Long, 60 Alfreida St
Main event
Arriving in Australia from war-torn Croatia in 1995, and then owning and running a restaurant on Lygon St for more than a decade, Gordana Ilic opened Sokace Serbian restaurant in St Albans 4½ years ago to “serve up the food for my community”.
Take a seat in the old-school dining room — “it’s just like someone’s living room, everyone talking across the room” — and tuck into the meat-focused menu. What it lacks in options it makes up for in generosity.
No one leaves Sokace hungry (or even needing to eat for days). The mixed grill is a feast of meat, with sausages, chicken, chops, cevapi and more, while the pljeskavica (Serbian hamburger) or cevapi served in a flatbread called lepinja, are a carnivore’s (grilled) dream. Add a shopska salad (finely diced tomato, cucumber and onion under grated fetta) and you have a brilliant Balkan banquet.
Sokace, Shop 6-7, 346 Main Rd West
Smokin’ hot
For more than 35 years, this humble butchers store has been the go-to spot for continental small goods and smoked meats. Tina Bulich is the current owner, who butchers pork and beef in-store and smokes a range of meats and sausages for customers, many of whom she greets by name.
German-style bratwurst, frankfurt and kransky join Croatian cevapi over on the sausage side, while presswurst and a range of hams are just some of the sliced meats on offer. They also spit roast meats to order, and stock a range of Polish tinned and jarred goods.
Slavojina Butchers, 75 Main Rd West
Wrap stars
Head up the stairs to the sister restaurant to the popular Phi Phi. But where the original toes a more traditional roasted-ducks-in-the-window line, the newcomer rocks a funky, cooler vibe with spray-painted murals across the exposed brick walls.
Come by day for the innovative, hybrid western/Vietnamese dishes, including the signature pho-ritto — in which all the ingredients of pho come wrapped in tortilla, (with soup optional on the side).
By night, it’s the cook-at-the-table barbecue and hot pots with $12 cocktails and $4.50 VBs that draw the crowds.
Phi Phi 2, 31A Alfreida St
Smart mart
Sure, you can head to Next Mart for the astonishing array of Slavic beers and brandies — and many do — or to stock up on a brilliant selection of specialty Serbian jams and other imported Eastern European pantry staples or, indeed, to grab some smoked meats from the deli.
But for many, the best reason to pay a visit to this specialty supermarket that Zora Pablovic and her family have run for the past 12 years is the incredible homemade borek.
At just $5 a pop, these fluffy filo rounds filled with cheese, meat, or potato are the best snack in town that can easily double up as lunch.
Oh, and did we mention the cakes? You won’t spend a sweeter $3.30 than on such treats as krempita (Serbian vanilla slice), strudel, or the Hungarian sponge known as dobos.
Next Mart, 344 Main Rd West
DO THIS
As part of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival in March, take a tour of Scrumptious St Albans.
Visit the beating heart of the suburb, Big SAM’S, meeting traders who will share their stories and cooking tips while offering samples of their tasty wares. March 22 and 23, $17.
Bookings:: mfwf.com.au
The best of the fest IN THE WEST
Ascot Food society
Ascot Food Store,
March 21 and 22
$143 Ascot Food Store chef Dave Stuart will cook up a feast of food sourced from within 100 miles of the popular cafe, served with local wine.
Pigs, Pints, Pinot
Plough Hotel, March 17
$55/$21 Team at Footscray’s The Plough are firing up the barbie for a day of Western Plains porkie pleasures, with local brewers Hop Nation taking over the taps and Shadowfax providing the wines. This family-friendly event will raise funds for
local primary schools. Now that’s a win for all.
The community farm
Copper Pot, March 18
$78 Taking this year’s festival theme of community as a guide, Ashley Davis and Sascha Rust of Copper Pot in Seddon are celebrating the abundance of fruit and veg grown in local backyards by designing a three-course Sunday roast from the gardens of the neighbours. Join them for a hyper-local feast.
What’s on the barbecue
Harley and Rose, March 25 $28 Whole hog served
Tex Mex style in a West Footscray block party. With disco beats, lager and cider
on ice and tequila doing the rounds, this is the perfect way to spend a Sunday.
Zula and the Abyssinian
The Abyssian, March 21
$48 With live drumming, African beer and a wealth of Ethiopian foods, this promises to be a night filled with the tastes, sounds and culture of the communities of Ethiopia at one of Flemington’s most popular eateries.
Why wagyu cannoli should be on your must-eat hit list
Marameo serves up kitchen hits like a knockout plate of reginette and the terrifically twisted wagyu cannoli. But it’s not just the food luring in the office lads and ladies to this reborn CBD stalwart.
The stupidly delicious dish you need to order at Maha Bar
Everything you need to know about Shane Delia’s new venue Maha Bar, the northside sibling to his Maha restaurant, can be found within the four-bite must-order borek bun.