Kluska

Is there a culture that you cannot find in Dandenong? Dandenong Pavillion serves some of the most delicious burgers I've had. One of the best meal I've had in Melbourne was from Afghan Rahimi. Ethiopian food can be found at Gibe African Restaurant, and right across the street is Polish Rye Bakery which is worth every praise online. If you hanker for Middle Eastern pastries and Lebanese pizzas, A1 Bakery has your back and is just a short walk down. (Asian food is a little underrepresented from my list, but I didn't come all the way from home to eat Chinese food. People praise Singapore for being a cultural melting pot, but exotic cuisines in Singapore usually command a hefty price tag...)  

Bonus tip!: Dandenong plaza has complimentary 5-hour parking and is walkable to Polish Rye Bakery, Kluska and A1. 

So when the Polish midwife who I was shadowing recommended Kluska to me, I just had to visit. Walking into Kluska feels like entering someone's home; the restaurant retained the floor-plan of a house, and everything from the curtains to the little doilies on the tables feel homey. 

Pierogi are traditional Polish dumplings filled with a variety of stuffing. A main course of pierogi here has 10 dumplings, while each entree ($8.50) is half the price and has 5. We bantered with the waitress and she gave us several personal recommendations (she really didn't like the chicken or the buckwheat with cottage cheese fillings.) The potato and cheese was on-point: the filling was creamy and smooth and was absolutely gorgeous. The beef was decent, and I liked that they used shredded beef and not minced beef. The cabbage had a sour and pickled taste, which my table-mate was quite fond of. We were so impressed, we ordered another round.

Unlike Polish Rye Bakery's pierogi which are first boiled and then fried before serving alongside bacon, the ones here are served straight after boiling, giving these a healthier, softer texture that was much appreciated. 

We also had Biala Kielbasa Pieczona (white Polish sausage) ($27.50). I thought we should give this a try alongside their horseradish and mustard. I'm not a big sausage fan, but we still cleared the plate. I did scramble to eat the Sauerkraut, which was served warm. It's slightly sweet, slightly sour and totally delicious. The salad was also delicious on account of their special sweet sauce - making this the first time I have something nice to say about a salad.

The Paczek (Polish donut) ($3.50) was pretty unremarkable: it has a rough consistency and the jam filling was a little too sour for my paranoid tastebuds. I think I prefer the ones from Polish Rye Bakery.

The Makowiec (traditional poppy seed cake) ($5) was quite addictive. It looks really pretty (already a great reason to eat something), and is filled with shredded coconut. It tasted vaguely nostalgic - reminiscence of a traditional SE Asian pastry that I just can't put my finger on. I really like this one.

The Verdict:
EXCELLENT. I'll come back for the other dishes, (I hear the schnitzel is delicious!), and the rest of the dumplings seem like a good bet.