Beirut To Hanoi Express

Sydney Morning Herald

Tuesday October 21, 2008

Helen Greenwood

GOING for groceries in Bankstown is like shopping in a vast market. The northern side of the railway line tends to be more Middle Eastern and Balkan while the southern side is mainly Vietnamese. On both sides of the tracks, you can walk around the covered malls and open plaza and shop at stores as though they were stalls, picking and choosing. Delicatessens, fishmongers, spice shops, greengrocers, smallgoods makers - you've got the lot in a few blocks.

THE COFFEE EMPORIUM

Shop T234, The Grand Market, Centro Bankstown, 9709 6560 and Shop ML436, Level 1, Centro Bankstown, 9709 6564

A magnet for serious coffee drinkers of every nationality but especially the Greeks, Lebanese, Macedonians and Italians, who congregate on the ground floor to gossip, talk soccer and do business. Upstairs, mums, prams and toddlers take advantage of leather lounges and the proximity of the Myer cosmetic counter. Here, you can snack on a great schnitzel on Turkish bread sandwich. Downstairs, take-home beans - 20 blends and 12 single origin - are roasted to the exacting specifications of owner and former barista John Ayoub.

LINA'S DELI

Shop T224, Centro Bankstown,9791 9181

Smell the smallgoods, drool over the cheeses and admire the breads and biscuits before you marvel at a wall of dried goods and tins from Denmark to Argentina, Latvia to Croatia. This is the archetypal deli run by the archetypal smiling Italian, Lina Padula, with prices as good as her selection. She has wonderful antipasti, excellent salume and lots of smiling women behind the counter.

VALLEY VIEW CONTINENTAL GROCERIES

Shop 40, Compass Centre, NorthTerrace, 9790 0465

You'll waft through this market bazaar run by Chris and Safaa Bari flooded with natural light and pulsing with a cacophony of spices piled in scarlet, green, mustard and brown pyramids. There are pulses, nuts, olive oils, cheeses, jams and everything else for the Middle Eastern cook. Ask Chris to show you his brass-coloured felafel makers.

IZVOR DELI

Shop 20, Compass Centre, NorthTerrace, 9793 7056

Izvor, a mainly Macedonian deli run by Diana and Robert Kitanovski, is worth visiting if only for the pogaca, a huge round loaf of crusty Macedonian bread. But you'll also find paprika, cvarci (fresh pork crackling), Croatian prosciutto, Macedonian home-made sausages with leek, and ajvar, which are the traditional Macedonian capsicum relishes. A wall of herbal teas, lots of cherry and plum jams and a big range of biscuits add to the attraction.

BANKSTOWN CELLARS

10 Marion Street, 9796 8921

What Frank Lazzarino doesn't know about liqueurs, spirits, aperitifs and digestifs isn't worth knowing. From absinthe to whisky, you won't just find one of anything but many of everything. I counted nearly 25 scotches and up to 20 vodkas. He has half a dozen types of the Italian digestif amaro, the Marie Brizard range of fruit liqueurs, Sabra, an orange liqueur from Israel, as well as hard-to-find Danish akvavit and Spanish Licor.

BEST VALUE SUPERMARKET

32-34 Old Town Centre Plaza, 9708 2288.

John Lu's fresh produce at the front of his huge, neatly arranged Asian grocery store keeps getting better, while the shelves, fridges and freezers are stacked with condiments, sauces, a bewildering array of dried ingredients, tofu, noodles and masses of dumplings. A recent visit revealed a large range of rice wines from the basic Shao Xing Hua Diao to the black glutinous type for chicken and ginger dishes.

OLYMPIC CONTINENTAL DELICATESSEN

& BUTCHERY

Shop 41, Bankstown Plaza, 9790 1669

A bastion of Balkan and Greek cuisine, this 52-year-old deli is famous for its smoked meats, made in-house, and its butchery at the back that offers baby goat, offal and the usual beef, lamb and pork cuts. Once you've tried the spiced pork, veal and orange sausages from Peter Karpouzis's home of Lesvos or his Cypriot sausage with pork marinated in red wine, or the lovely leek and pork sausage, you'll be back to buy in bulk. Cheeses, pasta and the usual deli items are here, too.

HUONG VIETNAMESE RESTAURANT

Shop 43, Old Town Centre Plaza, 9793 9181

This narrow eatery opens directly onto the mall and you'll get a little touch of Hanoi in summer when you ask for freshly-pressed sugar cane (with cumquats when available) and drink the refreshing juice on the spot. The takeaway food is terrific, too - especially the salt-and-pepper crab.

VIEN DONG

50 Old Town Centre Plaza, 9790 6989

Jenny Lai keeps masses of teas and herbs for health, from huge packets of the fashionable goji berries at ultra-reasonable prices to special concoctions for your ailments. The red date mix for women is particularly popular.

PHU HAI

330 Chapel Road, 9708 1936

The Huynh clan, Chi, Man and Steven, run this sparkling shop with its whole fish, prawns, crabs and tank of silver perch. They are regulars at the market auctions so you know that whether it's pomfret or coral trout, barramundi or bream, hussar or whiting, it is fresh. Ask Chi about the two kinds of fish paste for fish cakes and fish balls.

TK PLAZA

316-324 Chapel Road

It's hard to find this narrow-as-a-sock arcade but worth the effort. Inside is a terrific greengrocer, Thanh Long Fruit and Vegetable Shop (9796 7754), beloved by the Vietnamese community. It carries hands of sweet, small monkey bananas, galangal, durian and lotus leaves and stems. The Xuan Son fish shop (9796 3115) is a wholesaler as well as a retailer, which explains the tanks of live barramundi and silver perch and the live lobsters and crabs. Duc Loi Grocery (9796 7298), at the end, is a shoebox of a grocery store and a treasure trove for everything from brooms to belachan paste.

EL BAHSA SWEETS

288 Chapel Road, 9796 4818

The mafrouki alone, a rich, fudge-like paste of semolina topped with a cooked cream, would be reason enough to come to this bastion of baklava and other hand-made traditional sweets. The walnut or date shortbreads (ma'amoul) are light and crumbly and Charlie and Michael will answer all your questions about these wonderful sweets.

© 2008 Sydney Morning Herald

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