Footscray gets a bad rap. So much so that I only went to said maligned suburb for the first time on Sunday for a barbeque. But I plan to go back.
Not for its cosmopolitan bars - there aren't any - its chichi boutiques - ditto - or its beautiful architecture - think brutalist rather than Victorian - no, no, I plan to return to Footscray in order to patronise some of the incredible range of ethnic food shops on offer in what is arguably the immigrant gateway to the city.
En route to said barbeque I found myself at To's Cafe & Hot Bread, a utilitarian looking but charming little Vietnamese bakery doing a fine line in not only Vietnamese rolls - or Banh Mi Thit - but also French sticks, some extraordinarily gelatinous looking sweets, dumplings and even samosas.
Briefly getting swept up in the strange romance of said bakery; forgetting my almost pathological aversion to onions; and caving into my weakness for big buns I opted for one of To's voluptuously unctuous looking breakfast pork buns complete with half an egg, a lot of pork, and, much to my chagrin: a hell of a lot of onion.
Besides the onion it was generously proportioned, well made and a steal at around $3. If you like pork buns - are not onion shy - and you cannot fry, go to To's. read more