Keen to try Macedonian food in Melbourne? Here's the place to go

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  • Risto the Great
    Senior Member
    • Sep 2008
    • 15658

    Keen to try Macedonian food in Melbourne? Here's the place to go



    Even if you haven't got the slightest clue about Macedonian food, you might be surprised by how familiar it feels. Think Middle Eastern meets the Mediterranean, with a dash of Eastern European thrown in for good measure – Macedonian cuisine is a rich cultural mix of the best flavours and cooking traditions of these parts of the world, all rolled into one. In short, it’s a cuisine that integrates cues from some of Europe’s oldest and most venerated cultures into one compelling proposition.

    Northcote is known for many things (craft beers, hipster coffee and that all-day brunch life), and the cuisine of brothers Miki and Igor Dodevski feels right at home among the cold brew and tattoos. “This is a restaurant we have wanted to create for a really long time,” says Miki. The brothers initially opened a cafe for several years to test the waters, before launching Lé Léé in March 2019.

    “It was really simple. We wanted to showcase what we eat at home, and what most Macedonian families eat every day. Nothing different, just experience as authentic as possible,” he says. And boy, do they mean it. From the beautifully traditional slow-cooking clay pots used to braise aromatic meats till tender, to the chefs at the stoves (the brothers have spent a combined 30 years working at restaurants in Macedonia) and even their mum Vera, everything at their Lé Léé restaurant is Macedonian to the core.

    “Mum was a professional chef for 45 years: 20 in Macedonia and 25 when she moved us out here when I was about 14,” says Miki. Mother Vera is modest, but her proud son Miki is delighted to share her claim to fame – not a hollow celebrity brush, but the fact she was chosen as an apprentice to cook for beloved former Yugoslavian President Josip Broz Tito. Suffice to say Vera isn’t your average home cook. She now presides over the kitchen at Lé Léé, making sure her recipes are still produced the way tradition dictates.

    A typical Macedonian meal starts with a laden table filled with dips and other meze classics like banica (crispy hand-rolled leek and cheese pastries), tarator (strained yoghurt with cucumber and garlic, not unlike Greek tzatziki), as well as platters of olives, and fried garlic-scented zucchini. Then, it’s all about hearty dishes of grilled, barbecued or stewed meats, offset by vibrant, contrasting vegetable dishes, all rich with the traditional Macedonian flavours and aromas of dried red bullhorn peppers, garlic and parsley. A key feature of Macedonia’s protein dishes is the mix of meat, so you’ll often find a stew of pork and chicken, for example, rather than a singular beast. “There is a saying in Macedonian," says Miki. "It loosely translates to ‘The lion is not the king of the animal kingdom, it’s the pig’.” So meat lovers will be in their element right here.

    These days, the customer base is split 50/50 between the Macedonian community and local Melburnians. “We tested our menu out on our community first, and when they loved it, we knew we had a chance to make our dream work,” says Miki with a smile.

    Whatever your background though, Lé Léé is proper feasting on an epic scale, so bring a crew (and maybe some stretchy pants if you know what’s good for you).
    Looks good. Not sure about beloved Tito though.
    Risto the Great
    MACEDONIA:ANHEDONIA
    "Holding my breath for the revolution."

    Hey, I wrote a bestseller. Check it out: www.ren-shen.com
  • Liberator of Makedonija
    Senior Member
    • Apr 2014
    • 1595

    #2
    No one could have predicted how much this place blew up, it's actually unheard of.
    I know of two tragic histories in the world- that of Ireland, and that of Macedonia. Both of them have been deprived and tormented.

    Comment

    • Risto the Great
      Senior Member
      • Sep 2008
      • 15658

      #3
      That's good to hear. Good luck to them.
      Risto the Great
      MACEDONIA:ANHEDONIA
      "Holding my breath for the revolution."

      Hey, I wrote a bestseller. Check it out: www.ren-shen.com

      Comment

      • VMRO
        Senior Member
        • Sep 2008
        • 1462

        #4
        The guy who runs that joint is Miki Dodevski, same guy who voted as a diaspora candidate to give amnesty to the UCK terrorists.
        Verata vo Mislite, VMRO vo dushata, Makedonia vo Srceto.

        Vnatreshna Makedonska Revolucionerna Organizacija.

        Comment

        • Risto the Great
          Senior Member
          • Sep 2008
          • 15658

          #5
          Well, this is the only good thing he's done for Macedonia then.
          Risto the Great
          MACEDONIA:ANHEDONIA
          "Holding my breath for the revolution."

          Hey, I wrote a bestseller. Check it out: www.ren-shen.com

          Comment

          • VMRO
            Senior Member
            • Sep 2008
            • 1462

            #6
            Originally posted by Risto the Great View Post
            Well, this is the only good thing he's done for Macedonia then.
            He can go bang his old lady the dog.
            Verata vo Mislite, VMRO vo dushata, Makedonia vo Srceto.

            Vnatreshna Makedonska Revolucionerna Organizacija.

            Comment

            • Karposh
              Member
              • Aug 2015
              • 863

              #7
              Sorry, the cynic in me couldn't resist.

              ... everything at their Lé Léé restaurant is Macedonian to the core.
              Everything except for the restaurant's very French-sounding name it seems. Okay, now that that's out of my system, I will definitely give their restaurant a try the next time I'm in Melbourne.

              Comment

              • Liberator of Makedonija
                Senior Member
                • Apr 2014
                • 1595

                #8
                Originally posted by Karposh View Post
                Sorry, the cynic in me couldn't resist.



                Everything except for the restaurant's very French-sounding name it seems. Okay, now that that's out of my system, I will definitely give their restaurant a try the next time I'm in Melbourne.
                Yeah the inclusion of the accents was both unnecessary and silly.
                I know of two tragic histories in the world- that of Ireland, and that of Macedonia. Both of them have been deprived and tormented.

                Comment

                • Gocka
                  Senior Member
                  • Dec 2012
                  • 2306

                  #9
                  Originally posted by Karposh View Post
                  Sorry, the cynic in me couldn't resist.



                  Everything except for the restaurant's very French-sounding name it seems. Okay, now that that's out of my system, I will definitely give their restaurant a try the next time I'm in Melbourne.
                  Are you sure it isn't Macedonian, like "oh le le majko"? Roughly translated to "oh my".

                  That was my first guess at what it meant.

                  Comment

                  • Risto the Great
                    Senior Member
                    • Sep 2008
                    • 15658

                    #10
                    I was sure that's the where the name comes from. And the accents actually make it sound right funnily enough.
                    Risto the Great
                    MACEDONIA:ANHEDONIA
                    "Holding my breath for the revolution."

                    Hey, I wrote a bestseller. Check it out: www.ren-shen.com

                    Comment

                    • Gocka
                      Senior Member
                      • Dec 2012
                      • 2306

                      #11
                      Originally posted by Risto the Great View Post
                      the accents actually make it sound right funnily enough.
                      that's what I thought as well.

                      Comment

                      • Niko777
                        Senior Member
                        • Oct 2010
                        • 1895

                        #12
                        Hopefully they serve Macedonian food and not communist food.

                        Comment

                        • Soldier of Macedon
                          Senior Member
                          • Sep 2008
                          • 13670

                          #13
                          Originally posted by VMRO View Post
                          The guy who runs that joint is Miki Dodevski, same guy who voted as a diaspora candidate to give amnesty to the UCK terrorists.
                          That's him. Went there as a diaspora candidate on a patriotic ticket and returned a DPNE stooge. I remember listening to him on the radio trying to make excuses about why he voted the way he did. It was pathetic.
                          In the name of the blood and the sun, the dagger and the gun, Christ protect this soldier, a lion and a Macedonian.

                          Comment

                          • VMRO
                            Senior Member
                            • Sep 2008
                            • 1462

                            #14
                            Originally posted by Soldier of Macedon View Post
                            That's him. Went there as a diaspora candidate on a patriotic ticket and returned a DPNE stooge. I remember listening to him on the radio trying to make excuses about why he voted the way he did. It was pathetic.
                            I would not eat at his piece of shit restaurant after what that dog did and then tried to justify it by stating "It was the right thing to do".

                            F#ck him and f#ck his UCK voting restaurant.
                            Verata vo Mislite, VMRO vo dushata, Makedonia vo Srceto.

                            Vnatreshna Makedonska Revolucionerna Organizacija.

                            Comment

                            • Phoenix
                              Senior Member
                              • Dec 2008
                              • 4671

                              #15
                              How can you take a bloke seriously that goes by the name ‘Miki’...

                              Comment

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