The viral fish burger might catch your eye, but it's not our critic's go-to order at Edita's
Of course, these things never went out of style in certain country cafes and school canteens, but recently everyone from trendy pubs to inner-city cafes has been re-embracing the dim sim, putting their own spin on the golden-fried meat pucks (none of the newer iterations I've seen have been steamed), and leaning into the collective nostalgia we have for the tuckshop greasiness of our childhoods.
In Rathdowne Village, Edita's is taking that nostalgia and going one step further. Yes, there's a next-gen dim sim, which I'll get to in a minute. But Edita's is a full-fledged fish-and-chip shop, inspired by the all-Australian chippie but imbued with freshness and creativity, as well as the Polynesian background of the family that runs it.
The small storefront, which was also a fish-and-chip shop under previous ownership, has been brightened and modernised, the main wall across from the counter covered in a large colourful mural of the restaurant's namesake, Edita, the grandmother of owners (and siblings) Tima and Stan Tausinga.
Edita's face is everywhere: rendered in neon signage and also as a stamp on the takeaway boxes. This is a business built around family in every way, from its recipes to the various family members working in the shop every day.
It's Tima and Stan's father's affection for a McDonald's Filet-O-Fish that inspired the shop's most popular (and somewhat internet-famous) item, the Edita's burger, which sees fried fish drenched in house-made tartare sauce with American cheese on a toasted potato roll.
It's a glorious mess of a sandwich, but the fish is fresh, not out of the freezer, battered just before going in the fryer, and the quality of the ingredients make it more than just a tawdry jumble of fried, sweet and gloopy things.
The fried fish sandwich has achieved some level of viral status, likely because of its nostalgic appeal, but my heart belongs to the coconut prawn roll. A brioche roll is filled with prawns in a creamy coconut dressing, with flying fish roe and crisp lettuce (which, as a kind of lining for the prawn filling, helps this sandwich avoid the fall-apart sloppiness that plagues the fish burger).
The Tongan and Samoan influence shines through in the sweetness of the bread and the tropical flavours of coconut and seafood, and it gave me happy, beachy, summer vibes on a freezing July day in Melbourne.
Tonga and Samoa are also represented in the chop suey spring rolls, a mashup of Chinese take-out staples with a Polynesian spin.
The basics, too, are done far better than average. The chips are hand cut and thrice fried, finger-like logs of crispy goodness.
Given all of this, you might expect Edita's to be pricier than your average chippie, but that's not the case. The packs in particular are fantastic value – $19 gets you a piece of fried flake, a potato cake, dim sim, chips and a can of soda. A family pack, which feeds four, is $70.
The coconut prawn roll gave me happy, beachy, summer vibes on a freezing July day in Melbourne.
About those dim sims, which are a family-specific take: the filling is a pork sausage that's based on grandma Edita's recipe, and the result is like a rissole encased in a golden-fried wrapper. It almost has more in common with a Scotch egg than a traditional dimmie, albeit one with no egg at its centre. Regardless, it's true to the spirit of the dim sim, in that it's a delicious Melbourne take on food that's influenced by many and diverse populations.
The next time I'm asked what, exactly, Australian food is, Edita's will be top of mind. It's an example of the beauty that can happen when cultures collide, when a Pacific Islander family share its own traditions and combines them with our broader collective nostalgia and love for fried and battered meat, seafood and potatoes.
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