By Alex Cameron
Nothing says summer like a picnic, and nothing says Melbourne like thousands of eager, underemployed 20-somethings packing the parks of our city the first sunny day the mercury creeps over 18; tote bags filled to the brim with kettle chips, supermarket dips and lonely sundried tomatoes.
Let’s just get this out of the way: European picnic food is bad (with the possible exception of the French but only because they put such ludicrous effort into their breads and cheeses) – not because any individual item is unappetising, but because together they are too often a pointless potluck of random items, dropped carelessly onto a chequered flannelette rug, so far removed from the joy and purpose of a meal that the food ceases to take any part in the experience.
There’s no envy quite like rocking up to a picnic and watching the nearby Lebanese family roll out beautiful flatbreads, lashings of homemade baba ganoush and juicy Adana kebabs.
I’ve been there and it sucks.
Luckily, you, intrepid reader of The Westsider, live in a part of the world overwhelmed with an embarrassment of multicultural riches that you need never bring the cheapest brie or aimless charcuterie to your summer picnic ever again. Here are my two favourite spots to stop in for some surprising park food which you may not have considered – keep them in mind.
Chai ‘n’ Dosa – 310 Ballarat Road Braybrook
Why are dosa places not as ubiquitous as those serving North Indian or British Indian food? For that matter, why isn’t the wider Australian community eating dosa the way it eats kebabs or Bánh mì?
The South Indian ‘crepe’ has many similarities with a wrap or a sandwich: it’s a handheld food, packed with a delicious filling, that can be whipped up at a moment’s notice.
I went to CnD on the recommendation of an Indian friend who calls it his favourite eatery in town. It’s easy to see why: on a Sunday the bright yellow restaurant was packed to the brim and competition for seating was tight; the vibe not dissimilar to that of a homey diner in the American south (though, presumably, with a lot more Tamil being spoken). The colour and décor seems to be an homage to the restaurant’s food truck roots (the truck itself sits ‘for sale’ in the parking lot).
We ordered two dosas: A masala dosa with paneer and an egg dosa with cheese. They come with your choice of additions, including tangy sambar or sweet coconut and ginger chutney.
These were the crispiest and most delicately spiced dosas I’ve ever eaten. Their freshness is obvious – anywhere putting out dosas with such speed and frequency can only offer you something that has just been made. Curry leaf and mustard seeds speckle the inside of the masala dosa, and the sambar was a sharp counter to the soft, rich paneer.
Families around us were also savouring hot vada (Indian doughnuts), Idly (savoury rice cakes) and piles of puffy punugulu – any one of which would make you the star of the picnic blanket. Come for the dosa, but don’t leave without a few extra snacks.
T & tea coffee – 1/284 Hampshire Rd, Sunshine
This place was sold to me via a friend as a ‘jewellery box’ for Sunshine workers on the prowl for lunch, and you can see why. What from the outside looks like a relatively innocuous coffee shop betrays a café of such remarkable versatility you assume that they must be slacking or something. But you’d be wrong.
Want Bánh mì? No worries.
Vietnamese iced coffee? Bubble tea? Freshly squeezed juice? Easy.
Intricately prepared rice paper rolls filled with juicy Chinese sausage? Why not.
T&T is a true jack of all trades, though what truly sets it apart is its gorgeous array of pre-prepared Vietnamese meals, ready to be heated up for eating in or for you to take away. Highlights for me included Cha Trung Hap – a steamed egg meatloaf covered with black pepper and birdseye chilli, Suon Xao Sa Ot – juicy, fragrant lemongrass pork ribs, and a sublime pork chop broken rice that competes with any I’ve previously had in a Vietnamese establishment.
As someone who grew up in a town with zero Vietnamese restaurants, the jewels offered by T&T are as varied as they are precious. If you need something special but you need it to be ready for you to take now, look no further.
You have no more excuses. Getting quality fast food in the west is just as easy (if not easier) than filling a grocery bag in the supermarket – and often as cheap. Be bolder at your next picnic.
