On the suburbs

They're pretty awesome.

I don’t know about you, but I am about ready to move outside of my 5km radius. Don’t get me wrong, I am very lucky. Without even trying, I have access to some of the best Asian grocers. Collingwood is only a 20-minute walk away and the CBD is

just

over

there.

I reside in the land of banh mi. Lygon Street? I can still go to there. My poor sister is in Mitcham and her food choices are limited to the crap fish and chip shop or the crappier pizza joint on the same road. Strangely enough, as she misses inner-city dining, I have realised I missed the suburbs.

Footscray is not in my grasp and on a daily basis I dream about going to D&K Seafood and its attached supermarket, getting a facial from the bowl of bun bo Hue from Dong Ba, stuffing my face with gosh nan at Karlaylisi, tearing up some injera in the afternoon sunshine at Konjo Cafe and washing it all down with a drink at Mr West.

I miss my semi-regular trips to Brunswick to pillage the shelves at Mediterranean Wholesalers. Mankoushe may have a Collingwood outpost, but I am loyal to the original. I even miss side-stepping the hungover hipsters on the weekends outside A1 Bakery who are trying to soak up their self-induced efforts at alcohol poisoning with simple carbohydrates.

You can also tell I’ve been cooped up for too long because I am wishing for the greener grass on the side that is Springvale. Bun Bun is calling my name, as is An Loi for the status of my favourite Vietnamese bakery. And yes, I am also that asshole who has a preferred Vietnamese, Thai and Cambodian joint out that way but I only know it by destination and not by name. You know, that restaurant in the car park that’s kind of in the middle to the right? That one.

It’s no secret that I miss yum cha, but something tells me that my go-to CBD joint will be booked out as soon as dine-in services resume. So while I wait for the day that I can walk into Secret Kitchen, I’ll be trying my luck at Golden Dragon Palace, Wealth Garden and even Gold Leaf in Docklands. (Yes, these are my favourite places for dim sum. No, I will not be making a more extensive list.)

There are strips in Balaclava, Box Hill, Thornbury, Flemington, Sunshine and St Albans that I need to get back to. I also have friends in random places promising to take me out to THE BEST [insert cuisine here] in [insert suburb here].

It’s become very clear to me that overseas travel will be off the cards for a while. Whether it is because it will be a health risk (I think of planes as tin cans filled with recycled farts, so add a virus and you have a germaphobic Asian’s worst nightmare), insanely expensive or operating at a severely reduced capacity, it makes me glad that Australia is so damn multicultural (or rather, cosmopolitan, as multicultural implies a lack of racism- either way, that’s a conversation for another time). It’s about as difficult to find an example of incredible hand-made pasta, hand-pulled noodles, dosa, pizza (Neapolitan or otherwise), Peking duck or khao moo grob as it is to find an Australian who is afraid of swooping season.

As Australians, we love flying around the world to eat the national dish of wherever. But guess what, a lot of us are going to come out the other side of this pandemic broke or in crazy amounts of debt, so family holidays for babi guling, assam laksa and green curry are going to be off the cards for a few years. Enjoy being a tourist in your own country. I know I will.

What I’m reading:
If you’re up for an exhausting emotional journey by way of a fictionalised hellish slave existence based on actual hellish slave existences, The Underground Railroad is worth picking up. It’s a great read despite all the terror- just don’t expect a light-hearted distraction from the world.

What I’m listening to:
The algorithm gods have provided with Thunderpussy. The name alone!

What I’m eating:
A lot of banh mi. I’ve concluded my ultimate 5km radius banh mi would be made from Nhu Lan bread and be filled by the Phuoc Thanh crew. Would I ever have the balls to make that dream a reality? THE AUDACITY.

What I’m loving:
Goldthread has produced a series of videos on noodles all over China. If you know me, you know how much I love noodles. The series is as informative as it is hunger-inducing. You have been warned.

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