I guess one of the questions on our minds, beyond the immediate survival, is: what the aftermath of CV19 will be? What life will be like in a few months time? Next year?

I’ve read this article today and found it pretty interesting. It is a bit long though. Remember, everything right now is just an opinion and there’s no crystal ball.

Will the restaurant industry survive? Yes, but it will be a very different one

Many times, in recent news reports, I have heard the phrase “will the restaurant industry survive?”. Yes of course there will be a restaurant industry post Covid19, but it will be a very different one. There will certainly be fewer restaurants. Many restaurants will not be re-opening after this, but there will be opportunities for those who are in a position to re-open. We will always talk of restaurants in a pre and post COVID-19 framework.

You can read a few articles at The Age for free per day, there’s no paywall.

As you may have noticed the website has not been updated for some time now. In its current state it is more of a personal blog but I am focusing on the Facebook page (and to a lesser degree Instagram) at the moment.

Things do evolve, though and I am hoping to keep the website going after making some changes.
If you have any ideas or suggestions regarding what you would like to see on Sunbury Eats feel free to message us on Facebook or email info@sunburyeats.com

So we finally have a new Vietnamese restaurant in town. Except for it is not the one everyone was expecting.

You would be forgiven for walking past without noticing as it still operates under the old “BBQ Chickesn – Fish & Chips” faded blue and yellow sign – thanks to the roadworks on O’Shanassy Street it will stay up for some time.

Jimmy and Duyen seem to have it all sorted: he cooks good, authentic Vietnamese food while she is in charge of bubble tea (first in Sunbury to my knowledge) and fresh juice. You might want to order extra spring rolls, though.

Oh, and don’t forget coffee. While the shop serves MIO which is pretty good they also can make you cà phê sữa đá if you like. Vietnamese coffee is not something you would normally put through a machine but rather drip slowly into a cup. Dark and strong, with some condensed milk or topped up with ice or whipped cream it is roughly an equivalent of a short..ish black I guess. Roasted in Australia it is sourced from Vietnam. Just don’t expect any crema.

It will be interesting to see in a couple of months how the two restaurants will compare but it seems they take two different approaches. Saigon Hot Food started out quietly, with no frills decent Vietnamese food and drinks, no BYO alcohol and no advertising to speak of. It was cash only (still is until ETPOS machine arrives). District 3429 has got 500+ likes on Facebook already (nearly 600 at the moment, actually) – that is with a couple of months still to go before opening so customers lining up are guaranteed for some weeks at least.

I came across this post by Jeff Haden earlier today and it resonates strongly with me. This is in fact one of the reasons for SE. Go read it. See if we can make a difference.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/one-small-way-you-can-make-huge-difference-jeff-haden

As I have discovered recently The Morning Harvest greengrocer has got a great range of organic produce – check out those Nicola and Red Skin potatoes, among other things. To quote Kat and Ricki:

We took over the shop mid December 2014.  We have had organic produce for about 4 months now, and are regularly adding to the range as new fruit and vegetables become available and are affordably priced.

We also regularly add to our organic grocery range, the organic butter, raw honey and apple juice are our latest additions.

Not only that, they stock produce like Ruggeri’s mushrooms from Gisborne and Jonesy’s milk ( great milk for coffee ), Walkabout honey, free range eggs from Bendigo ( $5.50 for 800g ) and heaps more.

I don’t remember when was last time I saw guava, feijoa and quince in one place – let alone raw turmeric. I have been getting mine from the jar for years!

We met working at Coles in Gisborne and both loved working with food and were always excited to see what was new and finding delicious things to try – we love to eat.

However it was very limiting in bringing a personal touch into it so we wanted to go out on our own so we could focus on our passion.

We stock a quality range of in season Australian and local grown produce, which enables customers to get the best produce at the best price.  We are increasing our range of products made by independent suppliers, there are fantastic products being made by very talented and passionate people.

They also offer Fruit & Vegetable boxes delivered around Sunbury, $29 or $44 or $30 for Organic Fruit & Veg box.

Check out that silverbeet and kale. And I just noticed parsley is only $1.99 a bunch, if that is the flat leaf kind I know I will be going back soon.

https://www.facebook.com/TheMorningHarvest