By Deborah Ong
One of the best things about the food scene in Melbourne’s west is the number of ethnically and culturally diverse, owner-operated establishments that fly under the radar, quietly and consistently feeding their clientele and giving back to their communities.
One such establishment is Federal Taung Zalat in Sunshine Plaza. The brightly lit shop selling Burmese food has gleaming white tiles and walls covered with notices about community performances, Burmese language classes, charity events and ads for other small businesses. It sits next door to a large Burmese grocery where you can buy everything from chickpea crackers to bottles of pickled tea leaves and packets of balachaung (a traditional condiment made with dried shrimp, chilli, garlic and onions). The set-up of the eatery is clean and fuss-free. Tables are set with communal cutlery, napkins, and thermos bottles of hot black tea. An automatic machine offering inexpensive coffee sits at the entrance of the shop next to a small refrigerator for milk.
Federal Taung Zalat offers home-style Burmese food cooked with care and attention. The salads on the menu are fresh and layered in both texture and flavour, while the unassuming curries, stir-fries, and braises in their bain-marie will warm you from within – both from spice and a wonderful depth of flavour. The chefs here are not shy with spice and heat, so be prepared if you do decide to select from their daily bain-marie offerings.
These offerings can range from a delectable goat curry – rich and earthy, meat falling off the bones – to braised pork belly, a stir-fry of bamboo shoots and pickled tea leaves, to crispy spiced anchovies that give crunch to the fragrant and nutty basmati rice. I’ve even had the pleasure of trying a Burmese style blood sausage poached in pork stock. It was perfumed with spices and fresh herbs, and the flavours were surprisingly delicate. I would definitely recommend it if that sort of thing is up your alley and you are lucky enough to see it in their food display.
Rice and dishes from the bain-marie always come served with a bowl of clear broth – garnished with chopped spring onions, chinese celery and a dash of white pepper. If you are a sucker for punishment (as I am) you can also ask for a little ramekin of fresh pounded chilli spiked with lime juice and Chinese celery. I love this condiment as it brings both a zing and a kick to every bite.
If you come around lunch time, keep your eyes peeled, as they often also have fritters available, sweet and savoury. Sometimes they are made with vegetables and batter, and other times they have deep fried spiced glutinous rice patties, plain or with red kidney beans. If in doubt, just ask. The lovely ladies behind the counter are always happy to answer any questions.
In addition to what is available in the bain-marie, they also offer a small menu of other traditional dishes like lahpet thoke, a fermented tea-leaf salad with tomatoes, onions, fresh herbs and toasted nuts, and mohinga, a fish-based broth scented with turmeric and lemongrass and served with rice noodles. They even have sabuti, a hearty soup made from white corn and served with beef jerky, lime, and a spicy chilli salad. Note that some of the noodle dishes are only available on the weekends to maximise quality and freshness.
Burmese food – while familiar with its use of lemongrass, turmeric, lime and warm spices like coriander and cumin – depart somewhat from Thai or Vietnamese food, with less use of things like coconut and fresh seafood. This is mainly due to the country’s geography: mountainous and sharing borders with five countries on one side, with the Andaman Sea on the other. As such, ingredients like pulses, dried prawns/anchovies, fish, dried spices, pickled tea leaves and beef jerky are more prominent in their cuisine. This results in dishes that are warm, earthy and intensely flavourful.
Unlike some of its other Southeast Asian counterparts (e.g. Thai, Vietnamese, Malaysian), Burmese food is much less prominent in the Melbourne dining scene. It has little to no representation in the city restaurants, despite having a growing diasporic community.
Local signwriter Ye Yint Aung believes that this under-representation is due to several factors. As a first-generation migrant who came to Australia as a child, Ye feels that there is a lack of knowledge about Burma (Myanmar) as a country. This dearth of knowledge coupled with a lack of access to the culture is partly due to how relatively young the Burmese diaspora is in Melbourne, compared to other Southeast Asian countries. In Ye’s experience, “it’s very rare you’ll meet second-generation Burmese-Australians”. In addition, countries like Thailand (unlike Burma) have invested a significant amount of money and effort into food diplomacy, “sparking tourism, knowledge and obviously a lot of restaurants”, both at home and abroad.
We are lucky in the west, as we have not just one, but several Burmese establishments to choose from. Federal Taung Zalat has a second outlet, Chin Taung Tan, in Werribee. Other places to try are Mingalarbar and Lon Ma Pyo, also in Werribee, serving up fantastic Shan-style noodles, Burmese fritters and rahkine mone-ti – an aromatic fish soup perfumed with galangal and served with rice vermicelli.
Federal Taung Zalat
Sunshine Plaza Shopping Centre
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 9-6pm, Sat 9am-7pm
