Aegean Dream

Yasou my friends!

I recently (10 minutes ago) found out that Melbourne is home to the largest Greek population outside Greece (over 800,000). Italian came second at (230,000).

They say your significant other will influence you, one way or another. True enough. Mine got me into Mediterrenean cuisine, while I got him hooked on Singapore Fried Noodle, Nasi Goreng and Sambal Belacan. (Before we met, his favourite Asian dish was plain boring combination noodle in egg sauce aka Hor Fun or Wat Tan Hor).

Back to my point. Melbourne, having a large Greek population naturally gave rise to the availability of a wide range of Greek cuisine, the most common one being souvlaki. So far, I have been fortunate enough to sample some souvlakis around Melbourne. My favourite?

1. Cafe on Eaton (12 Eaton Street, Oakleigh, VIC 3166) – 8.5/10

I will not go as far to say this is where to get the best souvlaki, because I am no expert. But I suppose you can’t go wrong with Greek food at Oakleigh, the suburb predominantly occupied by Greeks.

I had a giros plate that day. Basically a giros plate is an open-plate souvlaki, as opposed to the ones wrapped in pita bread. But, do not be fooled by the name. It is not “mini” at all. The waitress placed a plate full of chips, yogurt, salad, pita bread and heaps of juicy grilled lamb in front of me. The chips were fresh, pita bread was of a suitable thickness, the grilled lamb was no-nonsense: Juicy and rich in flavour. However, I wish they were more generous with their lemon slices. Mine was hidden beneath a pile of salad and chips. I found it when I was about 3/4 done with my meal.

The place has an excellent atmosphere though. Everyone knows everyone in the area. You get people greeting each other. Some switch between Greek and English every few sentences. Every fifteen minutes or so you get Steven and his friend going: “Hey, is that (insert person’s name here)?” followed by some anecdotes of that person.

The place is within walking distance from Oakleigh train station. So if I ever do have a souvlaki craving, it’s only a train ride away. Also, drop by Vanilla Cafe after meal to grab a cup of coffee and enjoy the sunshine 🙂

2. Lamb on Chapel (394 Chapel St, South Yarra VIC 3141) 8/10

This humble little eating place situated at the famous Chapel Street is the favourite eat-out/ pig-out place for many intoxicated clubbers and drinkers in the wee hours of morning, looking for big portion meal to fill their tummy/ sober up after a good night out with mates. Despite its modest exterior, the place has a rustic interior with wooden floorboards and friendly serving staff.

$12 for a lamb souvlaki meal that comes with an abundance of chips, souvlaki in garlic sauce (you will need all that garlic to digest the meat) and a drink. You can’t ask for a better deal. The souvlaki wrapped in pita bread is stuffed with a generous serving of lettuce, tomato, onion, garlic sauce and so much of grilled lamb. It was heavenly. The chips were fresh and warm as well. However, their servings are too big for my appetite and I could only finish 2/3 of the souvlaki and chips, which was a shame.

This little eating place deserves to be on top of the list. Sadly, I prefer open plate souvlaki because I tend to make a mess when I eat wraps. Plus, the playlist at Lamb on Chapel lean towards the above 45 age group *yawn*

The place is within walking distance from public transport too. Take tram 72, 78 or 79 and jump off at corner Commercial Road and Chapel Street.

3. Stalactites Reastaurant (177 – 183 Lonsdale St Melbourne VIC 3000) – 7/10

I had my first experience of greek cuisine at this restaurant, situated in Melbourne CBD’s Greek precinct, Lonsdale Street. The name of the restaurant reflects the interior. Upon walking in the restaurant, you feel as if you’re in a cave surrounded by stalactites. This is a more uppity eating place and has a bar.

I remembered that we ordered an open plate and some bread with hommus dip to share among three of us, which was just enough because at that time, I just arrived Melbourne from Malaysia and still had a fairly small appetite. It was a decent meal, but a little way out of my price range. However, if you are after something other than souvlakis, Stalactites have a wide range of authentic Greek dishes and dessert to satisfy your cravings.

Their home-made baklava served with vanilla bean ice-cream looks soo good! I have to try it soon. The good thing is: Stalactites is open 24/7, except on New Years Day and Easter Day. So, another after clubbing pig-out place!

Not all of my souvlaki experiences are pleasant.

Lamb’s on Lygon (98-100 Lygon Street, Carlton, VIC 3053) boasts 25 years of experience in souvlaki-making and was even mentioned in Wikipedia as a “popular restaurant strip that operates 24 hours a day”. However, I believe its glorious days are well behind. Just today, I was greeted rudely presumably the owner’s wife, who rushed me to place my order and told Steven off for not combining our orders. Basically, she ruined my dining experience by lecturing her husband and the poor Indian waitress loudly.

Putting aside the service attitude, the souvlaki I had was sub-standard as well. It was slightly burnt and too dry for my liking. Steven also noted that it lacked the essential ingredient: garlic sauce and chips. I later found out that chips are a part of traditional souvlaki.

I was pretty disappointed because I dined there ages ago and although their souvlakis are nothing compared to Lamb on Chapel or Cafe on Eaton, it was not as bad as the one I had today. I wished I could somehow take away the piece of grilled lamb I couldn’t finish and turn it into stir-fry or just as some add-on ingredient in fried rice.

But, if you insist to dine there, take a peek and make sure the owner’s wife is not around and spare yourself some bad service.

Food over here are generally in big servings. After some time in Melbourne, I am now able to finish my meal. But, for  a meat-filled dish like souvlaki, I can only eat about 2/3 of what I order. Sometimes I feel so sorry, because I think it is disrespect to the person who made the dish if I don’t finish eating it 🙂