Members of Melbourne’s international communities reveal where to find a taste of home
WHERE do people from Melbourne’s Greek, African, Chinese, Indian, South American and Middle Eastern communities go to experience a taste of home?
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WHERE do people from Australia’s Greek, African, Chinese, Indian, South American and Middle Eastern communities go to experience a taste of home? Catherine Lambert unlocks the secrets to finding an authentic cultural experience in Melbourne.
HEAVEN TAYE 29, Essendon
LOVE brought Heaven Taye to settle in Melbourne from Ethiopia four years ago. Now it is love for the city as well as for husband Dean Italia, 38, that keeps her living and thriving here.
With two children, Zac, 4, and Paige, 2, she takes every chance to share her African heritage with the family.
“My husband loves the food and since my mother arrived less than a year ago I often go out with her as well,” Taye says.
“I love it here. I love the weather, the way it changes from the morning to the afternoon. No one else does but I do.”
Taye works part-time at the Savana hair salon in Irving St, Footscray, where she is an expert at African braids and has become familiar with the neighbourhood.
“We call Footscray a little Addis, which is one of the main cities in Ethiopia,” she says.
“Everything we need is right here.”
Taye cooks Ethiopian dishes as often as she can, so once a week she visits Mesnoy Injera Bakery at 77 Irving Place, Footscray.
“Injera is a beautiful, spongy bread and is the staple to all our food,” she says.
“We eat it all the time and they do a beautiful one at this shop.
“It’s also where I buy berbere spice, which is the basis for a lot of our dishes. It’s a powder that contains chilli, ginger, garlic and other spices. We use it for chicken, meat or vegetable dishes.”
While Taye mostly wears western-style clothes, there are certain times that still call for traditional African dress.
When she goes to church on Sundays with her mother and children, she will wear traditional clothing, as well as when she is making coffee at home in a regular ritual.
“It’s usually all white so it’s not practical for me to wear at the hairdresser’s when I’m cutting hair, but it’s beautiful to get in my traditional clothes because they make me feel different,” she says.
Her favourite shop for African clothing, jewellery and crafts is Konjo at 89 Irving St, Footscray.
All of the goods are handmade in Africa. It is also a cafe and one of Taye’s favourite places for coffee.
On most weekends the whole family can be found at Mesob Restaurant at 213 High St, Northcote. The restaurant serves only Ethiopian dishes and live musicians perform on Friday and Saturday nights, which reminds Taye of home where most restaurants also feature live music.
“My favourite dish is doro, which is like chicken stew, and it’s special for me,” she says.
“African food is different in that we all eat from one big plate and we use our hands to eat.
“We also do gursha, which is a practice of feeding your loved one with your hands. It’s a way to show someone how much you love them and we both did that at our wedding and when we go out for dinner.”
JAMES TANG 27, Balwyn
JAMES Tang moved to Melbourne alone at the age of 15.
He had known for a year before leaving China that Melbourne would be where he would complete his education.
“When you’re young, you just do these things and don’t think too much about it,” Tang says.
“But I would be much more fearful now about moving.”
His parents joined him once he started studying arts/commerce at the University of Melbourne. He now works as an account manager.
Tang still lives with them in Balwyn and they help to keep him grounded in Chinese culture.
He loves the Western life of shopping, working and socialising but he also likes to keep aspects of Chinese culture in his life.
“When I go back to China I speak ‘Shanghainese’ and fully immerse myself in the culture,” he says.
“My parents were born and bred with Chinese culture so I hear a lot of life philosophy.
“The ideas are still imprinted in me and it’s a way to keep in touch with my past.”
He admits his mother is such an expert cook that he rarely eats out with them, but does like to explore Melbourne’s restaurants with friends.
He goes out for lunch every day, often choosing Chinese food, only resorting to a sandwich in desperation.
“I cannot do the sandwich,” he says.
“I’ve never been able to adjust to them. I can eat panini but not a sandwich.”
He loves New Shanghai at Emporium because it serves authentic Chinese, not Cantonese food.
“In Melbourne, a lot of so-called Chinese food is actually Cantonese, so it just represents one type of region of food,” he says.
“Growing up I never had lemon honey chicken.”
Instead, at New Shanghai he enjoys the sweetness of their pork belly and smoked fish, which he says is hard to find in other Chinese restaurants. He also appreciates the focus on food at New Shanghai rather than atmosphere.
“I go there and really get a taste of my homeland,” Tang says.
He also loves the Great Eastern Food Centre at 185 Russell St, city, for its huge array of instant noodles.
When he was at school in Shanghai he would often eat instant noodles and when he first moved to Melbourne he lived near a Chinese language school that also served instant noodles.
“This place does great Chinese snacks and the instant noodles bring back a lot of memories.”
He likes to go to the Box Hill Market for a wide variety of fresh vegetables and particular cuts of meat that are not found in regular supermarkets, such as pig feet and chicken feet.
When it’s time to exercise his mind, he visits China Books in Swanston St, city.
The demand for self-help books is massive in China and Tang also enjoys reading a variety of Chinese language books.
“Overall, I do read a lot of English books but I do miss Chinese books, especially when I go back to visit China and see so many books at the airport.
“I usually buy a few books and bring them here. When I finish one I want to start another so I go to China Books to see what new books are out there.
“There is something comforting about being in the shop, like it’s a familiar feeling from my childhood. (It) is like a quick fix.”
SANJANA CHOPRA 26, Chadstone
WHEN Sanjana Chopra decided to move to Melbourne to study two years ago she expected to miss her home in India.
Born and raised in bustling New Delhi, she wondered whether she would adapt to life in Melbourne but she has found almost everything she needs here, along with some welcome peace and quiet.
“It’s so clean and beautiful here,” Chopra says.
“People would dream to live in a place that’s so quiet and pretty. I find Chadstone, where I live, to be a beautiful suburb and it’s close to everything.”
When she first moved to Australia, Chopra lived in Reservoir, where Coburg drive-in satisfied her yearning for Bollywood movies.
While she boasts she has seen every new Hindi release she could wish, she admits to missing the intensity of flavours she loves in Indian street food.
“The spices are actually more pure and of a better quality here, but I still miss the Indian spices, even though I’m sure they’re not as good for me,” she says.
“Indian food in restaurants here tastes completely different because it’s designed more for an Australian palate, which isn’t as accustomed to strong spices, but I eat a lot of chilli so I like that strong flavour.”
One solution is to go to her friend’s restaurant, Desi Vibez, at 333 Clayton Rd, Clayton, once a week where she always orders a dhali. It includes servings of five different curries, vegetables with roti or naan, as well as salad, dessert and yoghurt.
Otherwise, Chopra likes to cook a few times a week for her housemates and herself. The Indian ingredients are bought from India At Home, 131 Carinish Rd, Clayton.
“I go there every week to do my grocery shopping,” she says.
“That includes all the lentils, spices and tea that is very specific to India. It’s also great for utensils you can’t find in normal supermarkets and we eat a lot of basmati rice.
“You may be able to find some of these things in normal supermarkets but the quality at India At Home is what makes me go there.”
One of her favourite dishes is rajma chawal, rice with black-eyed peas cooked in a thick onion and tomato curry, along with chicken biryani. She also cooks a lot of lentils.
“When I cook for myself, it tastes like home,” she says.
Chopra, from Punjab, also regularly worships at a temple. Every Wednesday she prays at Guru Nanak Satsang Sabha Sikh temple at 127 Whitehorse Rd, Blackburn, where a free feast is served for everyone who visits.
“Each Sikh temple has its own days where worship is emphasised and in Blackburn it is on Wednesdays, but at the other temple where I worship, in Camberwell, it’s on Thursdays,” she says.
Chopra worships at a Hindu temple known as Shirdi Sai Sansthan, at 32 Halley Ave, Camberwell, every Thursday during the day.
“Sai is considered a guru in India and we all wear yellow when we worship there because that colour is significant to that particular god,” she says.
“Sai was like a beggar who went to many houses to ask for food but had many special powers people believed in.
“He has a lot of Muslim and Hindu followers.
“When I pray it’s to give thanks for everything I have and to pray for the wellbeing of my family. It’s a very important part of my life, especially when I have ups and downs. The peace I get when I go there is amazing and it’s so calming, as though I’m shown a way.”
MAHLA KARIMIAN 25, Epping
WHEN Mahla Karimian arrived in Melbourne three years ago, it was a traumatic experience.
She was a refugee and held in detention for several months with her parents and elder sister.
“I didn’t know anything about Australian culture, had minimal language and it was extremely difficult because I also wanted to help my parents,” Karimian says.
“Slowly we started to make a life for ourselves.”
Once they became more familiar with Melbourne, Karimian soon realised there were plenty of ways to enjoy Iranian culture here.
She lives with her family in Epping but many of their friends live in Doncaster or Box Hill, so they can be found in those suburbs most weekends.
“Celebrations such as weddings and birthday parties are very important in our culture so we have a lot of parties to attend,” she says.
“Everyone has something to celebrate so they call us up and we’re together most of the time.”
Before arriving at a celebration she likes to visit Candoo Confectionery at 945A Station St, Box Hill, for sweet delicacies or she also frequents Candoo at 310 Station St, Lalor, which is closer to home.
“In my culture they really like sweets and cakes,” she says.
“They’re really popular to have in the afternoon with a cup of tea or coffee. We go to Candoo every couple of weeks.”
It is her preferred place for beautiful birthday cakes and a delicacy she can only describe as a fruit roll.
“People are horrified when they see me eat this because it’s fruit such as plums or cherries but made very sour by being rolled in salt.”
Nearby, she likes Miniature Persia, at 7 Village Ave, Manningham, for a range of Persian groceries.
“We have trouble finding fresh Persian goods because of the long distance from Australia but they are always fresh at this store and the people who work there are very friendly.
“We go there for Persian tea and I know I can find chips in Melbourne but Persian chips are something else. They’re just different for me and I buy them at this store.”
While there is a tendency to dine in each other’s homes, they do also eat out every few weeks. It is a practice enjoyed in their home country, where eating out was one of the few pleasures.
“Food is very important in my culture,” she says.
“Back home we don’t have many activities because it’s Islamic so the most fun we could have was through food. There are heaps of restaurants and cafes there and we have really nice food that varies from the north to the south to Tehran in the middle where I’m from.”
Karimian is a fine artist in miniatures and photographs. She has just been granted an artist in residency opportunity to develop her art through the Home and Art Prize.
It is just one of the opportunities she has had since moving to Australia.
“I have met so many kind, open-hearted people here that have allowed us to grow and start again,” she says.
“I have gradually started exploring other cultures as well, such as Chinese, Vietnamese, American and, of course, Australian.”
ANTONIA RUHL 59, Port Melbourne
THERE was little sign of Brazilian glamour and vitality in Melbourne when Antonia Ruhl made the city her home 36 years ago.
But now, she feels more at home here than in any other city in the world.
She may not have the Copacabana promenade that is so famous in Rio de Janeiro, but she can be seen proudly strolling the Beach St promenade in Port Melbourne at every opportunity.
In true Brazilian style, Ruhl loves to walk but rarely walks there alone. She is always with someone from the group of friends she refers to as her “Melbourne family” or with her husband, son and her two grandchildren.
“Family life is very important to us in Brazil and we are always there for each other,” Ruhl says.
“I also have people I regard as family all over the world and love when they visit me in Melbourne. It is a very welcoming, warm place to visitors.”
Visitors present a great chance for her to show off the various cultures that thrive in our town. First stop will always be her favourite Brazilian restaurant, B’Cos Brazil, at 353 Little Collins St, city.
“I love to go there with friends or family at least once a month,” she says.
“I introduce my Australian friends to Brazilian culture here with traditional, authentic Brazilian food.
“Sometimes we have the barbecue or else the mix of meat and vegetable dishes. The traditional Brazilian diet is very healthy and well-balanced.”
Health is important to Ruhl, who works as a herbalist at her popular city clinic. Apart from walking regularly, she goes to the gym to lift weights twice a week but regards her 45-minute sessions at MMA Gym, 136 Exhibition St, city, as a highlight.
At MMA she learns the ancient art of Brazilian jiu jitsu.
“I really love this exercise because it’s perfect for women,” she says.
“It teaches the art of self-defence, with moves designed specifically for females if they get attacked. I walk everywhere in Melbourne, so knowing how to defend myself now makes me feel much more safe and empowered.
“Apart from improving my fitness, strength and agility it is so good for the mind. It helps co-ordination and to keep the mind alert because you have to think quickly and smartly.”
When she first arrived in Melbourne, Ruhl quickly learned of a supermarket called Casa Iberica at 25 Johnston St, Fitzroy. She is still one of its most loyal customers.
“When I used to go there many years ago, they only sold Portuguese food, no Brazilian, but now they have a huge supply of Brazilian food, so I love to go there and stock up on some of my favourite things,” she says.
She doesn’t limit her cultural pleasures to only food, happily stocking up on Brazilian clothes from stores such as Melko at 18 Howey Place, city, or Maaji Brazilian swimwear from Swimwear Galore, 825 Dandenong Rd, Malvern.
For Brazilian shoes, it’s as easy as heading to David Jones and, of course, a week rarely passes without a Brazilian manicure at her favourite manicurist at Nails Arcade and Spa in the Tivoli Arcade, 235-251 Bourke St, city.
“We love manicures in Brazil and now so many women in Melbourne are enjoying them as well,” Ruhl says.
“It’s a wonderful, vibrant city and I only wish more people who live here understood how lucky they are.”
BESSIE KAY 31, Oakleigh
LOVE and family are at the heart of Bessie Kay’s life.
She is proud of her Greek heritage and lives according to many of the traditions she has practised since she was born.
Her father was born in Greece, the youngest of 13 children, and her mother, also of Greek descent, was born here.
“I have a very big family, which makes me feel as though I’m never alone,” Kay says.
“Every time I make a leap I know I will be caught by a great, supportive base and I have complete trust in my world because I come from a place that is full of trust in me.
“I’m really blessed to have had a safe, nurtured upbringing and I hope to do the same for my daughter.”
Kay, 31, her husband George Awad, 42, and their daughter Indiana, 2, can often be seen enjoying their Oakleigh neighbourhood.
Even though Kay is proud to have been raised in Rosedale, near Traralgon in country Victoria, where her parents still live next to their petrol station business, she also loves Oakleigh.
Her mother’s sister, Pauline, lives around the corner and so does her 83-year-old grandmother, Vicky, and grandfather, Nicholas, 82, who Kay visits at least once a week.
Apart from the chance to check in and chat, it is always a great joy to watch Vicky make her pita.
“It’s a meal that takes a lot of preparation because the dough is made from scratch,” she says. “Probably a lot of people will relate when I say that no one can make pita like my grandmother.
“I’m not sure how I will ever learn it, even though we all have the recipe. She does it in a certain way and we always look forward to it.
“In fact, we get her to make a few extra and we freeze them and it also gives us the chance to sit around the kitchen bench watching her make it and talking.”
Feta cheese is a staple in most Greek kitchens, spinach is grown in most Greek gardens and the pastry is made paper thin.
When it comes to going out for a coffee, Kay visits Nikos Quality Cakes at 25/27 Portman St, Oakleigh, a couple of times a week. She loves the Greek doughnuts or the semolina cake made with flaky filo pastry and filled with semolina custard and honey.
This is where she goes to buy celebration cakes, Easter cakes and lambadas, which are candles placed in the middle of bread at Easter and shared among the family.
“The Greek way is to make food a lifestyle,” she says. “It’s super important.
“Cake is taken in the afternoon when you have a siesta, wake up and have some coffee and cake before you start working again. It’s a way to make sure you still have time in your day to enjoy the simple things in life because you still need to make sure your heart is being looked after.”
Key to the heart is the Greek Orthodox faith.
Kay, who works as a presenter and host of dance programs, and her elder sister were raised in the church.
Sometimes they attend a service at their local Greek Orthodox Church, at 85/83-87 Willesden Rd, Oakleigh, before 11am on Sunday. They also visit the church any time they feel drawn to light a blessing candle.
“It doesn’t matter if you go on a day when there is no service because the priest will still open the door,” Kay says.
“I light a candle for every member of my family and one for the home because the heart is in the home. We light one for our careers or whatever is going on in our lives and one for the spirits that have passed.
“It brings in good energy to our lives and is a way of acknowledging and asking for guidance. I really believe every religion is the same whether it’s Buddha, God or Allah.
“Whether you’re going weekly, daily or every month, you take that time to light a candle for a person and it’s a nice thing. It’s just putting love out there, which is such a huge thing in Greek culture.
“Everything we do is filled with love.”
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