Trading places

Minh Phat opened its doors on Thierry Street opposite the Queen Victoria Market in 1979 when co-founder Kim Au was just 20. She and her family had been in Melbourne for only two years after fleeing Saigon; her father decided to try his hand at retail. As a mark of respect, he named the store after his father. Initially it sold imported dry goods to expatriate South-East Asians dislocated by Indo-Chinese conflicts. Less than a decade later, the Victoria Street Vietnamese precinct was firmly established and the family opened its second Minh Phat store there in 1988.

As a legion of curious cooks have discovered, the stores stock an inspirational array of Vietnamese products: rice, noodles, spices, herbs, vegetables, frozen fish, meat and tofu vie for shelf space with thongs, dinnerware, joss paper and incense sticks.

This family-owned, multi-store model has been replicated across Melbourne enlivening our culinary culture. There's Lebanese, Italian, Greek, Indian, Spanish, Afghan and dozens more ethnic-based food supermarkets opening up. Consumers have embraced their low prices and point of difference as larger supermarkets reach critical mass.

Many imports have no branding - and therefore no inbuilt advertising cost. Most small supermarkets open in low-income areas where profit is made by moving large volumes of food with low margins. There is also fierce competition - it is uncommon to find just one ethnically based supermarket in a region without a competitor. In Noble Park, for example, there are four different stores specialising in African foods, while in Springvale more than 20 supermarkets and family stores cater to the Vietnamese community. Most are found within 200 metres of a train station.

After completing an MBA at Victoria University, New Delhi-born businessman Rajesh Bhatia opened India at Home, which now comprises four supermarkets and a food-importing business. The stores are modern-looking and carry more than 10,000 lines of food, cleaning products, cosmetics and religious items. Bhatia says sales reflect the changing nature of food consumption by Australian Indians. "Older people will buy rice or lentils in five-kilogram bags and do a lot more cooking at home," says Bhatia. "But younger people, particularly customers in Hawthorn (near Swinburne University), will buy smaller amounts: perhaps 500 grams of rice."

India at Home carries six different brands of heat-and-serve pouch-pack meals made by Indian companies. This massive rise in Indian ready-to-eat meals is a result of the collapse of the extended family and rise of the single young urban professional in India. Many Indian supermarkets carry at least 100 types of instant dishes from aloo muttar (potatoes and peas) to chana masala (spicy chickpeas) and, at $2-$3 a serve, they are good value for money.

Theodoros Skoullos' new Oakleigh store, Warehouse Deli, is the antithesis of the "stack 'em high, sell 'em low" downmarket aesthetic of migrant supermarkets. The Greek Cypriot businessman has bought deli, dry goods, a bakery and cafe under one roof in a stylish blend of dark wood, downlights, glass-fronted freezers, ovens and deli counter. "People want better retail experiences," says Skoullos. "Everyone is now competing with the Chadstones and they demand better quality shopping spaces. We've given them that but kept prices low. The Oakleigh Greek community is very cosmopolitan and they know what they want."

For shoppers used to the wide, ordered aisles, neat stacking, regular discounts on everyday items and bright lighting, these ethnic supermarkets can seem strange. But what they lack in order, they make up for in character and flavour. Great piles of cheap herbs, refrigerators filled with frozen dim sum, home made cotechino, hot flat bread covered with zataar, hessian sacks filled with rice and rich aromas of spice or incense replace "price check counter nine" from loudspeakers and a cavalcade of trolleys with wobbly wheels.

Following is a compact guide to a few of our favourite places.

CLAYTON

Indian - India at Home
Bright, clean and modern, India at Home features spice mixes, quality rice and ready-to-eat frozen and vacuum-packed meals. Look for the MTR range of frozen samosas 15 for $6.50 or boil-in-the-bag saag paneer, cheese and spinach, for $2.50 a serve.
131-133 Carinish Road, Clayton (also Footscray, Hawthorn and Dandenong).

Indian and Sri Lankan - Truspice
Want smoked Goan sausage? Need a new kadai - those heavy Indian woks? Then Truspice is for you, specialising in Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan and Fijian foods. Truspice is aimed at the home start-from-scratch cook with a good range of bagged legumes and spices from Swad, a company favoured by Indian cooks due to products being 100% Indian grown. Try a pack of MA's spice mix to make a Sri Lankan chicken curry.
145 Carinish Road, Clayton (also 20‑22 Station Street, Mitcham).

CITY

Asian - Minh Phat
Why do so many people love Minh Phat? Next to the Vic Market, it makes buying ingredients for homemade dim sum or Sichuan chicken convenient and fun. There is so much exotic stock crammed into this old building (from green tea to silken tofu, to religious offerings and thongs) that adds a sense of discovery to every purchase - and they wrap your new tea pot or fresh herbs in Chinese-language newspaper.
125-127 Thierry Street, city (also 2-8 Nicholson Street, Abbotsford).

FOOTSCRAY

Asian - Little Saigon
You can't see the two giant marble lions guarding the front doors because of the boxed bananas and crated ginger piled up high. It's hard to work out where it starts and the other dozen or so stores finish. This chaotic commerce of supermarket goods, fruit, vegetable, meat, fish and chicken stalls defies Western concepts of retail space but it is a reliable one-stop, South-East Asian market with a strong emphasis on fresh seafood.
Corner Byron and Nicholson streets, Footscray.

OAKLEIGH

Greek - Warehouse Deli

With a full-on Greek market, bakeries and nut shops lining Oakleigh's one-way streets, competition for the continental food dollar is fierce. That's why, despite the slick fittings and stylish lighting, Warehouse Deli is still competitive. The inhouse bakery turns out hot spanakopitas and haloumipitas, while the deli has 12 different fettas from $6.99 a kilogram, or homemade loukanika sausages. There's 20 litres of SA extra virgin olive oil at $115, 10 brands of Greek olive oil, six brands of Greek coffee and frozen seftalies - seasoned minced pork wrapped in caul ready for the barbecue.
5 Eaton Mall, Oakleigh (new shop at G15 Cecil Street, South Melbourne, opening in August).

SPRINGVALE

Asian - Nan Yang
Springvale is teeming with temples of Asian food seemingly springing out of car parks filled with potholes. Nan Yang is a cheap and cheerful supermarket where you can buy bamboo steamers, king prawns, frozen crocodile fillets or bright orange mock lobster made from frozen tofu. While the vegies often seem a little limp, staples such as sesame oil, rice vinegar and soy turnover quickly. Over the years we've bought scores of plain, cheap rice bowls for about $1 each.
307-313 Springvale Road, Springvale.

Asian K.F.L. Supermarkets
This is a tightly packed but neat and clean, well-run, fluoro-lit supermarket where you'll find classic Aussie household brands nestled next to their Malaysian-branded doppelganger. Look out for the full gambit of Maggi instant noodles from beef to tom yam flavours. While the action is quiet at the frozen meat pies, it's four deep around the butchery or fresh fish section. In fruit and veg, you might pick up a box of Chinese garlic for $11 or a durian for $2.90 a kilogram.
Shop G22-24, 46-58 Buckingham Street, Springvale (also
176-180 Barkly Street, Footscray).

BOX HILL

Asian - Box Hill Asian Food Centre
This well-worn shop has been selling Asian groceries since the early 1980s. Shelves almost groan under the weight of well-known brands of pre-made sauces stand beside displays of reasonably priced, attractive dinnerware. A solid section of Japanese ingredients - including noodles, rice wines and ready-to-eat udon noodles - broaden its appeal.
562 Station Street, Box Hill.

Asian - Yang Yang Asian Groceries
In the food section of Box Hill Central is this corner shop focusing on South-East Asian foods. High turnover in its compact fresh fruit, herb and vegetable section ensures freshness. Look for imported king oyster and enoki mushrooms and local green papaya, Thai basil and Thai eggplant, and a solid range of tinned tropical fruit and dried noodles. Opposite is Tan Muang Asian Grocery, a dark cramped store with a good range of teas and fresh noodles.
Shop 43, Box Hill Central.

BRUNSWICK

Italian - Gervasi Foodworks
This compact but charming supermarket has one of the cutest instore butcher counters with older Italian men and women making sausages including salsiccia di fegato (liver sausage). Stocks of imported tinned fish, legumes, tomatoes and olive oils are complemented by five brands of local fresh pasta, 20 Italian cheeses and 40 processed meats.
870 Sydney Road, Brunswick.

Italian - Mediterranean Wholesalers
Start with an espresso and cannoli at the instore cafe. Consider the Italian wines, admire the range of terracotta ware and meat slicers, then resist the temptation of overloading your trolley in the broad-aisled supermarket section. There are baskets of imported dried funghi, boxes of mineral water, whole hard and stretched cheeses, chunks of reggiano carved like shards of granite, 20 brands of olive oil, great bat-like wings of salted cod and literally tonnes of jars and tins of antipasto, fish, beans and tomatoes.
482 Sydney Road, Brunswick.

Middle Eastern - Phoenician Bakery
Zataar is a blend of sesame seeds, herbs, spices and lemon zest. Here you can either order a $1 dinner plate-sized hot flat bread topped with zataar or buy a one kilogram bag of the spice mix for $5.80. At the back of the store the fridge is stacked with fresh cheeses including shanklish, a condensed yoghurt cheese rolled in herbs. Consider this large cavernous place for cheap staples such as rock salt, semolina and pulses or back scrubbers and loofahs for a quarter of the price you'll find them at the chemist.
774 Sydney Road, Brunswick.

DANDENONG

Indian - MKS Enterprises
At the hot bar by the front door you can buy ready-to-eat curry, pakoras, cigarettes and Western Union money transfers. It's also a good place to buy rice with a range of brands and prices. Low GI-conscious shoppers should look out for basmati rice labelled as sela basmati or super kernel basmati, which has a lower GI than normal. Also a good range of the nutty, hard atta flour used for making chapati, roti and puri. It's big and busy with subcontinental shoppers bustling to the constant beat of Bollywood DVDs.
23 Pultney Street, Dandenong.

Middle Eastern - A1 Bakery
Dutifully respectful to Middle Eastern customs, there is a dedicated smoking room in the front of this bakery, cafe and food store. Buy a pizza for $2.80, then settle in for some serious stocking up on tahini paste, pomegranate molasses, bourghul or a shiny new hookah. A1 is big on nuts and pulses, mate herbal tea and bulk black tea. The Brunswick store has bargain-priced large pressed steel charcoal barbecues for $85 complete with stand.
201 Lonsdale Street, Dandenong (also at 643 Sydney Road, Brunswick).

Further information: The Foodies' Guide to Melbourne, Allan Campion and Michele Curtis, Hardie Grant, $29.95; jump2asia.com.au; eatanddrink.com.au