The food is less spicy than in neighbouring Thailand as local Kampot pepper tends to be favoured over the use of the Portuguese introduced chilli pepper in food. With an abundance of local salt and pepper available, Cambodian dishes tend to be elegantly flavoured and thoughtfully concocted. For an extensive list of Cambodian cooking ingredients and recipe ideas see Asiarecipe.com, or if visiting Cambodia it is worth signing up for one of the many reasonably priced cooking classes on offer in most towns. Two of our favourite dishes in Cambodia were the fish Amok curry and the Green Mango Salad, which we include recipes for below…

Amok
The most famous Cambodian curry is undoubtedly the Amok, which is usually served with river fish or chicken (although many restaurants now offer a vegetarian option) and tends to be presented in a bowl made from banana leafs. This is a delicious, coconutty curry which is flavoured with garlic cloves, galangal root, lemon grass, tumeric, paprika, sugar, salt and usually fish sauce. These ingredients are usually combined to form the Kroeung which is the word Cambodians use for the curry or herb paste they use as a base in a number of dishes. The generally used ingredients of this paste are usually:  galangal, lemon grass, turmeric, zest of kaffir lime, garlic, rhizome and shallot. It comes in three different but naturally induced colours – red, green and yellow. The red colour is created from the use of a certain kind of chilli pod, the green is created from crushing the leaves of the lemongrass herb and the yellow colour is created from using mainly the stalks of the lemongrass. The Amok curry uses the yellow coloured paste base, as per the below recipe

(recipe sourced from FotosVanRobin on Flickr, licensed under Creative Commons)

Ingredients:
400 g meaty fish
2-4 cups coconut cream
1 egg, beaten

For the Kroeung (=currypaste):
2 dried red chillies, soaked, drained and chopped into a paste
3 cloves garlic
2 T galangal, cut small
1 T lemon grass stalk
zest of ¼ kaffir lime
1 t salt
1 T kapi (a shrimp paste)

300 g young nhor leaves
1 T fish sauce
3 T kaffir lime leaves, sliced thinly
3 cayenne peppers

(optional) Banana leaves to make cups

First make the kroeung, then slice the fish thinly and set aside. Remove nhor from stem; slice the kaffir lime leaves and cayenne peppers thinly.
Stir the kroeung into 1 cup of coconut milk, and when it has dissolved, add the egg, fish sauce and sliced fish. Then add the remaining coconut milk and mix well.
Make the banana leave cups, then put the nhor in first, and top with the fish mixture. Steam for about 20 minutes or until the coconut milk is solid, but still moist. Before serving top each cup with coconut cream and garnish with kaffir leaf and cayenne peppers.
Serve with steamed rice.

Making banana leaves cups:
First clean the leaves with a wet cloth, then dip them into boiling water so they are soft and do not crack when being shaped.
Cut circles 25cm in diameter and place two togther. This is important as one leaf is not strong enough to hold the mixture.
Mark a square in the middle of the circle, this will be the bottom of the cup.
Then put a thumb on one right angle of the square and pull up 2 sides, tucking the fold, and pinning together with a tiny bamboostick (or toothpick). Then move the next right and repeat. Continue until all 4 sides of the cup are held together.

Green Mango Salad

A green mango salad is an excellent accompaniment or starter to an Amok. Whether it’s the freshness or the combination of the ingredients themselves, this salad has an unmistakable zingy flavour which makes it a worthy dish in its own right. Here is a recipe for a Thai variant of the dish – for the Cambodian version, the chillies are very much optional and we also found that they tended to add fresh, grated ginger, kampot peppercorns and diced grapefruit which added to the taste.

(recipe sourced from Seasaltwithfood, licensed under Creative Commons)

Salad

1 (about 600 g) Green Mango, grated
1 Tomato, coarsely diced
3 Shallots, sliced
1/4 Cup Chopped Coriander
1/4 Cup Chopped Mint Leaves
1 Red Chili, sliced
2 Tbsp Roasted Peanuts

Dressing

2 1/2 Tbsp Fish Sauce
2 Tbsp Lime Juice
3-5 Thai Bird’s Eye Chilies, sliced
1 Tbsp Palm Sugar

Fried Morning Glory

'Stir Fried Morning Glory' by su-lin on Flickr

This is one of the main vegetable staples in Khmer cuisine but is also found all over South East Asia. The vegetable is washed, the leaves cut off and the stalks are then fried in coconut oil with the addition of garlic and then served with an oyster style gravy sauce. Delicious!

Red Curry

This is one of the staples of Thai cuisine. It is made with a curry paste (usually prepared in advance from fresh ingredients), a little bit of fish sauce and a large helping of coconut cream or milk, served on a bed of steamed rice. The spiciness of the curry varies from restaurant to restaurant and region to region so it is worth asking about this before you order. We found that most of the ‘tourist’ restaurants tone down the spice quite a bit anyway or can adjust the level to your preferred taste. If you want to try the real thing, find a place which specialises in a few key dishes, that appears to be frequented by local people. Some of the cheapest curries we had in Thailand also turned out to be the best. If you find yourself on the island of Koh Lipe , the Sunrise Beach restaurant on Sunrise Beach served an inexpensive but delicious version.

Panang Curry

One of us ended up trying this dish at almost every restaurant we went to – slightly milder than a regular red Thai curry, it is subtly flavoured with lemongrass, lime and kaffir lime leaves to produce a delicate but delicious dish. When in need of a break from spicy food, we found that this hit just the right balance between heat and flavour (though we also often tried the green and red curries as points of comparison). Once you’ve got all the ingredients it’s not too tricky to make. There are lots of versions of the recipe circulating in cook books and online. Below is a good one that we came across:

(recipe sourced from Catherine at Food Musings, licensed under Creative Commons – if you prefer to create the paste rather than use the packeted ready made stuff, Chez Pim has a good recipe for that)…

2 TBSP vegetable oil
1/2 red onion, sliced into thin half moons
8 TBSP fresh panang curry paste
2 14-ounce cans of coconut milk
3 carrots, sliced 1/2-inch thick on the diagonal
3 crookneck yellow squash, sliced 1/2-inch thick on the diagonal
1 yellow pepper, sliced into strips
1 zucchini, sliced 1/2-inch thick on the diagonal
1 cup baby bok choy, stems and leaves separated
3 TBSP fish sauce
2 TBSP sugar (use palm sugar if you have it)
5 kaffir lime leaves, cut into thin strips

Heat the vegetable oil in a large pot and add the onion and the curry paste. Let the onions fry up a bit and stir the curry paste until the clumps break up. Add a splash of coconut milk and stir the curry paste until it’s a bit mixed in, then dump in the rest of the coconut milk and bring it to a gentle boil for several minutes. Reduce the heat to a simmer and toss in everything else except the bok choy leaves. Let simmer until the vegetables are cooked through and the curry has thickened a touch, 10-20 minutes. Add the bok choy leaves, stir to wilt, and serve over rice.

Tom Yum Soup

This is a clear, spicy, sweet and sour soup that is served at pretty much every restaurant in Thailand and Laos but is also hugely popular in Malaysia and Cambodia. The soup usually contains fish stock, noodles, crushed chillies, kaffir lime leaves, lime juice, lemongrass, meat such as shrimps or chicken, or mushrooms if vegetarian, and sometimes pineapple. We tried a lot of this soup while travelling through South East Asia and our two favourite versions were found at the Mayflower Restaurant in the Cameron Highlands (22, Main Road | Tanah Rata, 39000) and at Tom Yam Kung in Bangkok, pictured left (on a side street off the Khao San road).

Tom Ka Soup

Photo by Evan Joshua Swigart (TheCulinaryGeek)

Tom Ka is similar to Tom Yum soup in its base flavours but uses coconut milk to balance its spices. The soup is usually made from chicken stock, though I have tasted delicious vegetarian varieties, to which coconut milk, cilantro, lemon grass, chillies, mushrooms and usually chicken are added. When you see it on the menu, the name of the soup is usually suffixed with the Thai word for the meat or vegetable that goes in it – so Tom Ka Kai is a soup served with chicken, Tom Ka Moo is served with pork, Tom Kha Thale is seafood, Tom Kha Het is mushroom and Tom Kha Taohu is Tofu. All delicious.

Ethos Bakery Café in Bangkok, behind 111 Thanon Tanao

Only minutes from the Khao San Road, this chilled out café/restaurant transports you a million miles away from the KSR hecticness. Ethos just seems to ooze calm with its comfy cushions, low lying tables, wooden carvings, soothing music and fantastically alternative menu. All their food is vegetarian or vegan and they proudly use only high quality ingredients, sourcing organically where possible.  The choice is extensive with Thai, Indian and Western dishes to choose from, including the likes of Veggie Lasagna with Spinach, Veggie Burgers made from home-baked wholewheat, Spaghetti with ‘Meat’ Ball, Falafel Hommus Tahina & Salad with Pitta, Aloo Gobi with Dal, Apple Crumble with Coconut Cream Custard, Chocolate Fudge Cake and Mango and Sticky Rice. They also home ferment their own Tempeh and Kombucha Tea (both of which they refer to as superfoods).

On one particularly rainy, grey day in Bangkok we suddenly found ourselves in need of some home comforts and Ethos’s Veggie Lasagne followed by their Vegan Apple Pie did just the trick. There’s nothing quite like an apple pie or crumble to conjure up thoughts of home, so in case you’re in need of your own fix, find a similar recipe to Ethos’s below…

(recipe adapted from Trudy at Veggie Num Num, licensed under Creative Commons)

Preparation time: 50min (includes baking time)
Serves 6

• 1 Bunch fresh Rhubarb, trimmed and roughly chopped
• 4 Granny smith apples, cored and roughly chopped
• ½ cup brown sugar
• ¼ cup sultanas (rasins)
• 1 cup muesli or cereal of your choice
• 1 cup rolled oats
• ½ cup shredded coconut
• ¼ cup wholemeal flour
• 50g (2 oz) softened butter (if vegan you can either use vegan margarine for the crumble or just use muesli and/or crumbled nuts alone which tasted really good at Ethos, combined with a little cinnamon)
• Juice of one lemon

To serve

• vanilla ice-cream, natural yoghurt or thick coconut cream for vegans

Preheat the oven to 180°C (356°F).

Place the apple and rhubarb in a baking tray or dish; sprinkle with the sultanas and half the brown sugar toss lightly, add enough water with lemon juice to shallowly cover the base of the dish/tray .

Bake for around 20 – 25 minutes until the rhubarb is oozing juices and the apple soft.

Arrange the apple and rhubarb mixture into a 6 cup capacity baking dish or alternatively six individual 1-cup capacity ramekins.

In a separate bowl combine the remaining dry ingredients and rub through the softened butter with your fingertips until nice and crumbly like breadcrumbs.

Sprinkle the crumble mixture over the apple and rhubarb.

Bake the crumble for around 20 minutes until golden on top and bubbling underneath.

Koey Teow Soup

This is a relatively simple broth-based noodle soup to which strips of grilled meat, fish balls or dumplings are added to create a tasty, nutritious main course. We fought to find a spare plastic chair and table space – the pavements get incredibly congested at dinner time but the lady at the stall told us that someone would find us and bring us our order. Amazingly they did and were soon presented with a plastic bowl of delicious noodles, vegetables and an accompanying dumpling broth soup. All this cost about 50p and was absolutely delicious.

Sweet Crispy Pancakes

'Apong' by Charles Haynes on Flickr

These are made in a similar way to crêpes, but the batter has a thicker consistency and the end result is a crispy pancake that is typically dipped in honey, chocolate or coconut sprinkles. Absolutely the best way to finish off a hawker stall session and also usually priced at only a couple of ringgit each.

Clay Pot Dishes

More easily found in Chinatown, this is a local speciality whereby a bowl of rice and vegetables and/or meat are cooked with a barbeque sauce in a sizzling pot. Good for sharing when the daily budget gets a bit tighter.

Cendol

This is a surprisingly hard to find but quite tasty Malaysian dessert consisting of sweet red beans, sugar and jelly served on a bed of iced condense milk. Though most ice in Malaysia is of good quality, watch where the ice is coming from or it could cause you some unpleasantness in the days to come…

Rose Street Artist’s Market, 60 Rose Street (off Brunswick Street), Fitzroy

The market on Rose Street blossoms with life every weekend, packed tightly with stalls bearing the creations of many of North Melbourne’s local artists – mostly small, quirky items to adorn either yourself or the walls and shelves at home.

Our favourite stalls included a t-shirt seller called Mr. Bucket (who likes a little bit of social commentary with his puns), some notebooks made out of old vinyls, jewellery made from beautiful vintage fabrics and a writing set adorned with hand-made stamps.

The food is also artfully prepared at the market’s Kanteen café and the coffee and chocolate laced Portuguese custard tarts make for the perfect stall-browsing break.

CERES Food Market, 8 Lee Street, East Brunswick

The CERES community gardens, a short tram ride out of town, is definitely worth taking a day to visit. Built on an old refuse site, it is a remarkable example of what can be achieved by environmentally sensitive redevelopment projects. For over 20 years it has moulded itself into a community project and education space for proving and sharing knowledge of how to live in harmony with your environment. The park contains, among other things: an impressive installation of solar panels; a fully-functioning eco-house (where you can learn about every aspect of sustainable building and home improvements); a world village (complete with a ger, tipis and mud huts); allotments and crop land; a plant nursery and a fantastic education centre. Importantly, it’s a place which actively encourages the local community to get involved and share in what it has created.

The popular food market (on Wed & Sat 9am-1pm) bursts with an impressive range of local and organic produce (think purple and yellow carrots, potatoes of every size and apricots straight from the market’s trees). People also bring along excess fruit from their gardens and give it away free to shoppers (plums were the fruit of the moment when we visited). There is also an on-site organic grocery store which is open every day and stocks a very comprehensive range of products, covering everything from granola and grains to ecological and refillable washing detergents. Its neighbouring café is also worth a visit, particularly on market day when local bands take to the shady wood-chip stage to entertain the shoppers. Amongst the market stalls is a Turkish bakery which serves great tasting flatbreads at reasonable prices; some eco/fair trade clothing and jewellery stalls and some general bring-and-buy items laid out on picnic rugs. One of the other Ceres highlights is the comprehensive plant nursery where you can find pretty much every seedling and product needed to start your own version of the ‘Good Life’. For a modest fee you can even rent your own chicken (complete with coop) for a few weeks to see if your life would be more fulfilled with a couple of hens and whether the fantasy of fresh eggs for breakfast is really worth cleaning out the coop.

Abbotsford Convent: Summer Night’s Market, 1 St. Heliers Street, Abbotsford

Taking place on Friday evenings throughout summer (kicking off from early December), Abbotsford Convent’s summer night market offers an eclectic mix of food and craft stalls alongside the usual convent drinking holes (Handsome Steve’s, the Convent Bakery etc.) On hazy summer evenings it’s the perfect place to welcome the weekend in, enjoying food and drink from one of the hawker stalls while chilling out to live music on the lawns. At dusk on some nights, there is a special show of the natural kind to behold as hundreds of fruit bats fly overhead from the riverbank towards the fading light on the horizon – a breathtaking spectacle.

Queen Victoria Market and the Night market, 513 Elizabeth Street

Located in the northern part of the suburbs, very close to the CBD, is the infamous Queen Victoria market – the largest in Melbourne if not the whole of Victoria. Operating for over 100 years in a charmingly old-fashioned market complex, the Queen Vic market serves as a main port of call for wholesale fish, fruit and veg sellers as well as housing stalls with all manner of arty trinkets and electrical goods. Look out for the fantastic organic section, a specialist ale shop, a wagon with spices galore and also the bakery section, if only for a sniff of that freshly baked bread aroma. We came on a very hot spring day in an attempt to hone our haggling skills for the next leg of the journey. Although, your best bet for securing the lowest prices is to go near the end of the day as they don’t seem to like haggling much.

On summer evenings from mid-November to February, the ever popular night market comes to town, which sees the outside trading space transform itself into a hawker-style food bazaar. As the evenings get warmer and Christmas holidays loom on the horizon, the mood becomes somewhat celebratory and with such an impressive range of craft and international food stalls, there is always something to smile about. The queues may be lengthy but are usually worth the wait and the choice is immense – you can find anything from a kangaroo, crocodile or emu burger to the ever-popular ‘curled potato on a stick’, best washed down with a cup of chilled sangria. Outside, people cram onto the picnic benches sharing their food or crowd around the gig area where local Melbourne bands take to the stage. After satisfying your appetite, the next warehouse along holds everything you need to detox, including an open-plan massage area. We went in December so many of the craft stalls were Christmas-themed and very busy with shoppers seeking out original gifts (and this being craft central, there were certainly a lot of those on offer). As the warm summer nights set in, there is no better place to while away a Wednesday evening than in the festival atmosphere of the Suzuki Night Market.

Birdman Eating, 238 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy

This very popular eatery on Gertrude street takes experimentation to the limit by slicing and dicing iconic and classic dishes to create something new. The springtime had brought a theme of deconstruction into the mix and we tried the de-constructed fish and chips followed by a de-constructed banoffee pie. While the presentation was great, the dishes were at best average (‘de-constructed fish’ meant tiny, tough and overcooked fragments of an unidentifiable fish while the banoffee pie was very heavy on the cream and non-existent on the crumb, which sadly was not an improvement on the original). Still this place is very popular with the locals and its innovative and fun approach to food, combined with its ever evolving menu means that it’s only a matter of time until you discover a culinary gem.

Trippy Taco, 234 Gertrude St, Fitzroy

There is no better place on a warm Spring or Summer’s evening to stop for a takeaway before heading to the park in Fitzroy than Trippy Taco. Nearly always spilling over with crowds of both the sit down and grab n’ dash variety, the food here is both reasonable and delicious, serving a range of filling burritos, tacos and other Mexican staples for around the $1o mark. The best burritos we’ve yet encountered west of Mexico and a fantastic post-pub snack stop off point.

Lentil as Anything, Abbotsford Convent (1 St Heliers St) and St Kilda (41 Blessington St)

Lentil as Anything is one of those operations we came to think of as typically Melbourne. With branches in both Abbotsford Convent and St Kilda, their idea is to serve a range of vegetarian (and vegan) lentil curries on a pay-what-you-want-to, self-service basis. Though this idea is not original in itself, at Lentil your donation is anonymous so if you can’t afford to give much, no-one is going to judge you. We visited the Abbotsford branch and found a great community-centric space (complete with board game cupboard), which feeds and provides culinary training for disadvantaged people. As with Café Gratitude in Berkeley, if you enjoy the food and have the means, you are encouraged, but by no means forced, to pay a little extra so that someone less fortunate is able to eat there – which really wasn’t a big ask given the quality of the food and the fantastically welcoming atmosphere.

Wabi Sabi Salon, 94 Smith St, Fitzroy

Located at the south end of Smith Street, this restaurant shows its authentically Japanese style the moment you walk in. We found inventive sushi dishes and seasonal bento boxes as well as delicious sashimi and soups in a vibrantly decorated environment – the secluded garden section is particularly atmospheric. Visit during the day for some light bites at café prices. The plum wine is so-so but the on-tap Asahi or sake offer an excellent liquid accompaniment.

Little Creatures Dining Hall, 222 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy

This is another cavernous converted warehouse operation on Brunswick Street, catering to a somewhat hipster crowd – it has several smaller dining areas adjoining the main, airy, canteen-style dining room. We generally went here during the quieter daytime periods to make use of the free wifi (and home brewed ginger beer) but it also serves a decent range of pub-style offerings, in the form of delicious pies with mash and gravy and apple pie with ice cream. Combine this with a pint of their own-brand ale and it’s a great place to while away a Sunday afternoon in Fitzroy, especially if its raining!

Babka Bakery Café, 358 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy

A very popular little bakery, tucked away on the northern end of Brunswick Street near some kooky vintage fashion stores and the Fitzroy garden nursery. Open for lunches only, there is nearly always a wait but if you’re in a hurry head straight for the take away lemon cake, said to be the best in town, and we couldn’t really disagree! Menu items change seasonally and range from hearty stews to delicate salads but it’s the cakes which really make the trek up Brunswick street worth it.

Breizoz Crêperie, 49 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy

Just around the corner from the 112 tram stop on the corner of Brunswick and Gertrude, this small but charismatic crêperie serves perfectly presented French pancakes until the small hours of the morning. Just around the corner from our place, we ended up stopping there after many an evening for a nice warming chocolate crêpe. Good for a take-away after pub snack or for a lazy weekend brunch accompanied by a good glass of French wine (they also offer French classes too, though we hear there’s a bit of a waiting list for those – perhaps the free after class glasses of wine have something to do with it)…

Red Chilli, 223 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy

We were introduced to this unassuming family-run Thai restaurant by our flatmate, who has been visiting it more or less every day since he arrived in Melbourne. The owner, a man called Boon, exudes the calmness of a veteran restaurateur who knows that his food is the real deal. Sometimes the meals can take a while to arrive, but they are well worth the wait and with very reasonable prices, there are few complaints from the large number of regulars. We recommend the lemony Tom Yum soup with prawns, and the Panang or Yellow Thai curry though everything on the menu looks delicious and Boon is always happy to provide a bowl of freshly chopped chilli to anyone who requests it.

On our last day in Melbourne, we tried to create a Boon inspired dish using our leftover ingredients – coconut milk, rice, lemon, lime, ginger and a good handful of coriander from the local Asian market, but it wasn’t a scratch on old Boon’s, perhaps a Malaysian/Thai cooking might help point us in the right direction…

Shanghai Dumpling House, 25 Tattershall Lane, CBD

Located in Melbourne’s Chinatown, we were told early on that this is one of the two dumpling houses of the moment (the other being the Shanghai Dumpling Village on the main street). You will be able to identify both by the long snaking queues out of the door but they are definitely worth the wait. Both have extensive menus, free green tea, a BYO policy and a very fast and graceless service but the hand made dumplings are among the best we’ve tasted. Neither take bookings so either arrive early or enjoy a drink or two in the old shipping container bar (Section next door beforehand.

Sea Salt Cafe, 364 Lygon Street, Carlton

Our favourite stop before or after a film at the Cinema Nova, this small, sustainably aware fish-and-chip shop serves some of the best burgers in town (the grilled tuna with tomato salsa is to die for) but the vegetarian (and non vegetarian) sushi is also pretty good and the chips are pretty tasty too.

Movida, 1 Hosier Lane, CBD

Tucked away down the wonderful, graffiti-clad Hosier Lane lies Movida, a place which is quintessentially Melbourne on the inside and out. This cave-like restaurant, darkened by graffiti scrawled windows, serves some of the best tasting tapas outside of Spain. I try not to eat fish often, but when I do, it is anchovies that I crave (thanks mainly to the delicious anchovy bruschetta’s served at my local Deli in Balham), so when I saw anchovies on toast with smoked tomato sorbet on the menu I had to try it. Served with a glass of Tempranillo, these were heaven on a plate and as tapas go, quite filling too. We returned to Movida several times (sampling and sharing small tapas dishes meant it didn’t have to be expensive) and tried smoked mackerel with maple butter sorbet and pine nuts (a little rich but an interesting taste); chickpea and spinach croquettes; cinnamon sponge with pear sorbet and a Spanish chocolate pot with donuts. Movida has built quite a reputation for itself and we always failed to book a table in advance here but the ad hoc bar seating is good and nearly always filled with interesting characters and conversation (particularly of the theatrical variety).

Rose Street Artists’ Market, Rose Street, Fitzroy

Rose Street Artist’s market is a weekly weekend affair that takes place in the heart of Fitzroy, just off Brunswick Street. Inventive local designers and artists show off their wares, which range from vintage fabric earrings and ceramic pendants to notebooks crafted from old vinyls and the covers of old children’s books.

The brightly-coloured canteen also serves excellent home-cooked food such as chickpea curries, avocado with zesty lemon on toast and portuguese custard tarts with Nutella in an outdoors space surrounded by vintage bikes and print umbrellas. This is home-made craft centric Melbourne at its best, on both the food and design fronts.

The Aegean, 19 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy

This was our Greek next-door neighbour which serves decent mediterranean cuisine in a lofty dance hall. A very popular party venue, we could smell the tempting aroma of grilled souvlaki from our balcony most days and could hear the sounds of plates smashing and Greek bouzouki bands well into the night every weekend.

Naked for Satan, 285 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy

This legendary Fitzroy establishment is well known for its vodka mixes, 80 cent Pintxos and its fabled naked resident who went by the name of Satan. Whether sheer legend or anchored somewhere in truth, this dark bar (think candles and polished copper) is nearly always packed and the eclectic range of Pinxtos are actually very good. The bar staff circulate with trays so make sure to sit near the kitchen if you want your pick and prefer your tapas hot. When you feel full you simply take up a glass containing all your collected tooth picks and pay – the bill is nearly always a pleasant surprise.

Vegie Bar, 380 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy

Arrive early (5.30 pm at the latest) or opt for lunch instead of dinner if you want to get a seat at this extremely popular Fitzroy vegetarian affair which doesn’t take bookings. The food is eclectic, nutritious and delicious covering everything from pizza, curries, noodles, broths and burgers to salads.

And some of the worst…

Lord of the Fries (Pun-tastic Fast Food on Elizabeth Street) – Delicious fries, Greasy burgers.

Cumulus Inc. (designer Bistro on Flinders Lane) – Overrated. Overpriced. Over-hyped.

Pepperoni’s (the ‘best pizza slice in town‘ off Elizabeth Street) – Actually the direct opposite of what its name suggests. We ate here out of desperation at 10pm one night and were served chips with unmentionable additions and soggy pizza with burnt topping.

St. Ali’s, 12/18 Yarra Place, South Melbourne

It may sound clichéd, but St Ali’s is something of a Melbourne institution. Like many a popular coffee joint, it is located in a converted warehouse building, which blends in remarkably well down a side lane with no obvious exterior signage to tell you that you’ve found it (a common theme in Melbourne, as it turns out). Those up on their game know to look for the distinctive graffiti by Melbourne artist ‘Be Free’ which adorns its walls, both inside and out, and were commissioned by the owner, who is a particular fan of her work. They roast their own coffee and take their reputation as coffee connoisseurs very seriously – see here.

Our ‘long macchiato’ was served in a brightly coloured cup with a signature heart in its foam and the coffee itself was top notch. Their quirky brunch menu isn’t bad either, including combinations such as banana bread with blood plums and honey ricotta, local sourdough vegemite soldiers and very local fruit loaf with labna and honey.

If you can’t get to Australia and are in the UK, we were told by the barista that a branch has just been opened in the East End of London using the same design/great coffee in an airy warehouse recipe.

If you’re closer to Melbourne’s CBD, however, the infamous Brother Baba Budan coffee house, which is more centrally located on Little Bourke Street, is also part of the St Ali’s gang. Again, don’t look for any visible exterior signs, instead search for a tiny room packed to the seams with people standing, coffee cups in hand, below a ceiling strewn with chairs.

L’Atelier de Monsieur Truffe, 351 Lygon Street, East Brunswick

This coffee-house/chocolatier/popular brunch spot can be found in the northern suburb of East Brunswick. Again, don’t bother looking for a sign as there isn’t one, instead seek out the big red door. Monsieur Truffe’s is situated in another warehouse-style building, but this time the chunky wooden tables and benches skirt around large glass screens, which segregate the Truffe testing laboratory, complete with its own micro-roastery, large grinders and all manner of distillery equipment.

The coffee was served in large cups without handles (almost like a Breton cider bowl) and came topped with an attractive leaf design and a perfectly frothy top. The brunch menu also offered some interesting concoctions, from hotcakes (which our friend Helen opted for) with a berry compote to nectarines baked in a paper bag, accompanied by a ricotta and pistachio cheesecake which we had. The added bonus at the end were the rows and rows of chocolate offerings which ranged from brown paper bags filled to the brim with chocolate buttons to large slabs of dark, milk and white covering every cocoa percentage (up to 99%) and bean variety you could ever dream of.

Manchester Press, 8 Rankins Lane, CBD

The yearling Manchester Press can be found nestled at the end of Rankins Lane (just off Little Bourke Street), looking pretty with seed boxes on its window sills and bikes lining its brick walls. Inside is another quirky ex-warehouse operation with shabby-chic school furniture, and a fashion/tailoring edge to its decor with measuring tapes detailing the tables and fashion sketches lining its walls (Captains of Industry, a tailor come coffee shop come gentleman’s hang out is just one Laneway along so perhaps MP’s design choice is a nod to C of I’s success). You may not be able to get your shoes shined or your hair cut at Manchester Press but it is the place to go for good bagels and great coffee. In typical Melbourne style, it also has its own signature blend (8-oz) which is roasted in Brisbane.

The open bagels are impressively filled and the (long) mac we ordered was smooth and delicious. We’ve since heard from a friend that Manchester Press also has some of the best foam art in town with Picasso style nudes known to grace the froth on occasion. Sadly we weren’t in luck on the foam art front this time but MP definitely gets the prize for taking the ‘art of coffee’ to a whole new level on the taste front alone.

1000 £ Bend, 361 Little Lonsdale St, CBD

Another resident of Little Bourke Street, this laid-back informal meeting place is popular with after-workers and university students alike. It’s a ramshackle collection of mismatched furniture, comfy sofas and armchairs, cobbled together with board games, fish tanks, magazines and chalkboards. Upstairs there is a cinema screening an interesting mix of independent films and at the back, (and accessible by walking out of the cafe and down the adjacent laneway), is a gallery space which is also available for rent, complete with its own red carpet that trails a few metres down the cobbled lane making those who stumble upon it, feel truly special.

De Clieu, 187 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy

Part of the increasingly smart Gertrude Street set, ‘De Clieu’ adds some French-style chic to the first suburb of Melbourne. It’s part of the Seven Seeds outfit, which is itself a popular and much written-about coffee house hidden in one of the maze of streets which form the Carlton university district.

‘De Clieu’ is a congregation hub, packed to the rafters most days with a vibrant clientele consisting of groups of friends with bikes, dogs and babies in tow. The coffee was good, the flag stone shop cool and the leafy village street atmosphere pleasant.

Erskine River Tea House, Lorne

Located a reasonable drive to the southwest of Melbourne along the Great Ocean Road, the Erskine River Tea House in Lorne is definitely worth a visit for its charming, laid-back ‘Sunday afternoon in the country’ feel, aided by delicious home-made scones and an impressive selection of tea and coffee. Our drinks were served in vintage mismatching teacups and saucers and the staff were friendly and relaxed. It’s a very short walk to the beach, river creek or waterfall if you feel the need to walk off some calories afterwards.

The Convent Bakery, Abbotsford Convent, 1 St Heliers St

The Abbotsford Convent is a wonderful creative enclave that provides space for many small art projects, galleries, presses and organisations alongside some great little eateries and bars (such as the infamous Handsome Steve’s House of Refreshment on the first floor of the main building). For coffee, however, you need look no further than the front gate where the Convent Bakery is located. Their freshly-ground coffee and enticing range of cakes make for the perfect break in between explorations around the maze of convent buildings and their beautiful gardens.

The Cafe at Ceres, 8 Lee St, East Brunswick

Organic teas, coffees and pastries are the order of the day at the bustling CERES café. Set amongst the market stalls, organic shop and chicken (or chook) pen of Melbourne’s premier environmental community centre, this earthy café feels a world away from its city neighbours. Its pastries are sweet and crumbly and its organic tea and coffee selection – best enjoyed while relaxing on one of the generous wooden benches under the grape vine – isn’t bad either. On market days there is usually a band playing to entertain resting shoppers, though the chicken escapees do a good job of that too.

More…

If you’re keen to read more about Melbourne’s café scene, our friend Helen Caldwell has also been writing about her discoveries…

Apple Banana Bread

Picture taken by lynn.gardner on Flickr

Not to be confused with Apple and Banana Bread, this is a standard banana bread recipe made with locally grown Apple Bananas, which are smaller, tougher and have a stronger flavour than the Caribbean varieties.

Our banana bread came from the Greenwells farm near Kona, and though we haven’t worked out their recipe here is one just like it!

(recipe sourced from 8chocolate.com, available under CC share-alike license)

Ingredients:

½ cup (1 stick) of unsalted butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
3 cups of ripe apple bananas, diced and mashed (about 6-7 bananas as apple bananas are small)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 cup sour cream
6 ounces or about ¾ cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Combine the softened butter, sugar and eggs and blend with mixer. Add in vanilla and half of banana mash and mix again. After blended, add in the other half of banana mash and blend again with mixer.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda and cocoa powder. Add this flour mixture to the batter in 3 or 4 stages blending with the mixer after each addition. Once completely blended, fold in the sour cream and chocolate chips until well mixed.

Pour the batter into a lightly greased 9×5 inch loaf pan and bake in a preheated 350 degrees F oven for 60 minutes. After 60 minutes, check with a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf to see if it comes out clean. Continue baking if not ready. Cool in the pan slightly before unmolding. Continue cooling on rack and slice when completely cooled. Makes approximately 16 slices.

Saimin

An asian-style noodle soup, filled with dashi (which is Japanese soup stock) or chicken broth and topped off with strips of omelette, onion and fish cake. Served at street stalls and fast-food joints across Honolulu, this is definitely worth trying!

As far as I can tell, the instructions are simple… boil some stock and put the ingredients in!

(recipe and image sourced from travelhawaii – licensed under a CC v3.0 Share-Alike license).

Yields: 3 to 4 servings
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min

Ingredients:
4 quarts water
1 tablespoon salt
1 (8-ounce) package dried Japanese soba noodles*
4 cups chicken broth or stock
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
2 tablespoons soy sauce

Kava

An ancient Polynesian tradition, also referred to as A’va in Samoa and Fiji, this is a heady cocktail made from crushed Kava root (sometimes with added ginger). The drink is traditionally used for greeting ceremonies between villages but is also served up in local cafes. The taste is quite peppery/earthy but you get used to it quickly, and it provides a calming effect not unlike a nice beer.

We had ours in the Kava Cafe in Hilo, while waiting for a burst of torrential rain to subside.

Located a little way off the main street, not far from the beach is a small roastery with a great selection of international coffees. The smell of fresh brew oozes down the street and there’s a wide variety of just-roasted blends to sample from. We tried the Ethiopian Harrar, and a couple of sips from the others. Nice and cool inside (with interesting cat mural) – well worth the visit.

Santa Barbara Farmers’ Market (232 Anacapa St # 1A  Santa Barbara, CA 93101)

Delicious fresh produce. For their weekly schedule click here.

The restaurant at the Monterey Bay Aquarium is well worth a visit, if not for the reasonably priced food, then at least for the panoramic view, enhanced by the placement of table top binoculars which help you to spot the more subtle action taking through the window. Though sometimes it’s safer to leave those well alone – a seal brutally bashing a hapless seagull around was not the wildlife spectacular we had been hoping to see. The atmosphere was lightened a little however by an amusing conversation we overheard from the next table sparked by appearance of ‘French’ fries on the menu. An elderly man was proudly telling his group that during the more recent invasion of Iraq, French fries had been dubbed ‘Freedom fries’ by some Americans in protest at France’s objection to the war – he then went on to conclude that once the tide of opinion began to change this side of the Atlantic and it turned out that the French weren’t actually wrong, the French in fry was restored to its rightful place – I’m sure the French were most relieved!

As to be expected with the food available here, much emphasis is on sustainably sourced fish and organic/local produce. There were copies of the aquarium’s recently published sustainable seafood and sushi guides available on each table to either help inform your lunch choice or for you to take home if you couldn’t stomach eating fish while actually at the aquarium. Online copies of the guides are available here or as a handy iPhone app. Although presently there are no guides available for Europe or Asia, someone from the aquarium said that research for these markets is underway and the guides should be available in the UK soon.

Nestled in the hills above Big Sur is Nepenthe Restaurant and café. Once an infamous bohemian hang out, famously patronised by Henry Miller, Steve McQueen, Kim Novak and the like, some remnants from those days can still be found in the form of its nightly lit hilltop fire and its heavenly “Ambrosia” burger (we tried the veggie burger option but the recipe for the original can now be found online here). Its illusive history may be, to coin a phrase, a thing of the past but what does anchor Nepenthe to a form of timelessness is its mesmerising view (which unlike neighbouring resorts such as the Post Ranch Inn, you don’t need to spend a fortune to enjoy). On a clear day, you can sit in a sunlit canopy watching blue jays and woodpeckers branch jump above your head while the sea mists roll gently inland in the valleys below.