This winter, get cosy and warm your belly with local restaurants serving dumplings, pasta, barbecue and more!
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Magic Momo Kafe
Step right into the Land of Himalayas at Magic Momo Kafe, an authentic Nepalese restaurant located right in the heart of West Footscray.
They serve the best of traditional Nepali and Newari cuisine (which is the cuisine specific to the capital city of Kathmandu) with an extensive menu that is suitable for people of all ages.
This winter, sample their warming dishes such as wai wai sandheko – a fiery Nepalese snack food made of dried ramen-like noodles, onion, garlic, chilli and spices, piro aalu ko achar – a spicy potato salad and of course, a serve of their Nepalese dumplings, called Momo.
Magic Momo Kafe 588 Barkly Street, West Footscray 03 9078 4892
Casa Di Tutti
Casa di Tutti was established in July 2013 by Domenic Zema, an Italian chef who has worked in Melbourne kitchens for the past ten years.
Domenic grew up eating traditional Italian food prepared by his parents. His earliest childhood memories include the smells of simmering garlic, olive oil and fresh tomatoes being cooked on the stove. Not to mention the annual backyard rituals of making tomato sugo, salami and homemade vino – rituals still practised by the Zema family.
At Casa di Tutti don’t miss their famous potato gnocchi (“If I ever remove that off the menu there would be riot!” laughs Domenic) and home made pasta.
Buon Appetito!
Casa di Tutti, 160 Victoria St. Seddon, 03 9687 4582
Laksa Hut
Leanne Dinh has been operating Laksa Hut at Highpoint Shopping Centre for the last nine years and is now the newest kid on the block at Yarraville Village, opening her second Laksa Hut restaurant in May 2021.
The Malaysian restaurant hangs its shingle on its curry laksa (seafood curry laksa being Leanne’s personal favourite dish) while local diners have also been very enthusiastic about the beef rendang and chicken curry. The restaurant also has a wide variety of other authentic Asian dishes from Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia.
Laksa Hut, 8 Anderson St Yarraville, 03 9078 5448
Tiger & Lisa
Did you know that popular Scandi-chic Maidstone cafe Jack B Nimble is an Italian restaurant by night?
Tiger & Lisa is named after the founders (who call themselves the ‘al dente hosts’) and they offer a tight, seasonal menu of Italian dishes on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, all perfectly paired with a glass of wine.
Winter menu highlights include the spicy nduja arancini, wild mushroom and truffle filled tortellini and their version of Basque cheesecake, surely the ‘it’ dessert emerging out of Melbourne’s 2020 lockdown. There’s even a small children’s menu if you’re dining out with kids in tow.
If you can’t decide between all that deliciousness then just hand the reins over to Tiger & Lisa’s ‘Bocca Felice’ – a $45 set menu of a chef’s selection entree platter, individual main course and a shared dessert.
Tiger & Lisa, 132 Mitchell St, Maidstone, 0420 838 202
Sambal Kampung
Sambal Kampung in Maribyrnong is a popular haunt for locals keen for a Malaysian, Singaporean and Chinese food fix.
Their vast menu has over 600 dishes on it – which can be daunting for newcomers! Never fear, the top must-try dishes are their authentic fish head curry laksa, har mee prawn noodle soup, seafood noodle with egg gravy and nasi lemak Malaysian coconut milk rice, served with sambal, fried crispy anchovies, toasted peanuts and cucumber.
Sambal Kampung, Shop 4, 38-46 Edgewater Blvd, Maribyrnong, 03 9317 7171
Hanzo Babekyu
Gather your family and friends around the Japanese-style yakiniku barbecue at Hanzo Babekyu!
The restaurant’s entrance can be a little hard to find because the front of the shop is also the site of Ca-rem Gelato (who incidentally make fresh gelato with an Asian twist from the same kitchen – dessert sorted).
Just walk past the tantalising gelato counter until you reach the buzzy interior of Hanzo Babekyu. Settle yourself down and loosen your waistband as you decide between the three all-you-can-eat barbecue options.
You definitely won’t go home hungry – the food keeps coming, and coming, and coming!
There is also an a la carte menu of popular Japanese dishes including bento boxes, tempura, sushi and sashimi.
Hanzo Babekyu, 45 Leeds Street, Footscray 3011, 0487 935 550