Phat Milk in Travancore is one of my favourite family-friendly inner-west food discoveries and it’s shaking up the run-of-the-mill cafe menus normally found in the area.
And where is Travancore you might ask? It’s a somewhat forgotten suburb between Flemington and Moonee Ponds. Phat Milk is right by the gates of Flemington Primary School, making it a perfect pre or post school hangout.
The frontage is deceptively small but a corner corridor leads to a whitewashed back room and then an undercover courtyard with narrow garden beds and a small play area for kids.
You can also reach the courtyard from the gate along Mangalore Street, which is easier for pram access than negotiating your way through the tight spaces in the front rooms.
The play area has a chalkboard and on a weekday lunch we have the whole backyard to ourselves and the toys keep the kids well entertained until our food arrives.
The menu has a Middle Eastern influence thanks to the young owner’s Lebanese heritage. The recipes are his grandmother’s work, handed down to him in a fading, fragile notebook with handwritten notes. His mother helps out when she can but her health prevents her from cooking in the kitchen, a shame as apparently her sweets are out of this world.
Their Middle Eastern breakfast is their most popular dish and deservedly so. It’s a generous platter of grilled bread sprinkled with zaatar, a loose golden pile of scrambled eggs, beetroot relish, several falafel balls, humus, labne and the owner’s mother’s pickled olives.
For a mere $15!
I decide to add some grilled sujuk (spicy Turkish sausage) to my dish for an extra $4 but in fact I think it’s not really necessary. Save your money for one of their apparently excellent coffees instead (I don’t drink coffee so can’t judge for myself, sorry).
The falafels are a standout – delicately crumbly and deep fried to a crisp golden ball as if it’d been dipped in panko crumbs. They are possibly some of the best felafel I’ve ever had in terms of texture and flavour.
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We also share a lamb kofta burger, a gently spiced patty with vintage cheddar, cos lettuce, tomato, mustard on a brioche bun ($14). The burger is juicy and hefty and extremely satisfying but what really makes it amazing are the ‘phat chips’. Holy cow someone very skillful is working the kitchen’s deep fryer because these perfect chips are of Mr Blumenthal’s calibre. Each chip is fluffy on the inside with an egg-shell thin outer crunch and the portion is very generous, so make sure you share!
For dessert we go back to the breakfast menu for a polenta hotcake with fresh berry coulis and marscapone ($14). It’s a pretty palette of pan-fried buttery batter, a rainbow of fruit and yoghurt. While not as wow-worthy as the savoury dishes, it’s very satisfying nonetheless and the plate was happily licked clean.
There is a small kids menu with ham and cheese toastie ($7), egg and Vegemite soldiers ($5) and Coco Pops ($5).
Phat Milk is a family-owned and family-loved business. It shows in the care in which they present their food, the sourcing of their produce from their own gardens and some of Melbourne’s best small-batch suppliers and the fact that they’ve built a space that’s welcoming of families. We all enjoy our relaxing lunch there and the kids beg to return the next day!
Click here for more child-friendly cafes with outdoor play areas.
HOT Tips:
- pram access;
- high chairs;
- children’s menu;
- standard menu suitable for kids;
- toys and blackboard;
- disabled toilet (no change table);
- free street parking.
Phat Milk, 208 Mt Alexander Rd, Travancore (03) 9376 6643
Monday – Friday 7:00am-3:30pm
Saturday – Sunday 8:00am-3:00pm
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