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READ » This Cooking Teacher Sells Chinese-Influence Brazilian Snacks from Home

“Sorry I missed your call, Sofia, I was cooking,” says Bruna Kao in a strong, South American accent. Bruna, a cooking teacher back home in São Paulo, was working as a barista and kitchen hand at the Royal Children’s Hospital before launching Ba.Borin Food, an online business specialising in a fried Brazilian street snack called pastéis.Unable to see Bruna through the phone, I’m surprised when she tells me her mother is Taiwanese, her father is Chinese, and the pastel (pastéis is plural) is an evolution of the gyoza.

Bruna’s Chinese grandfather moved from Taiwan to Brazil around 50 years ago so his sons didn’t have to fight for independence against China. A decade later, her mother’s family emigrated when the Brazilian government was offering free land to boost agriculture. Bruna grew up in the family’s Chinese restaurant.“My mum made a lot of pastel and her dream was for me to make them too, but I never did, because I saw her entire life how hard it was to prepare the food,” says Bruna. “Pastel is really popular in Brazil. You can see all of the Japanese and Chinese making it. They say it’s inspired by gyoza, which is the fried dough, but they fill it with Brazilian stuff like cheese, chicken or corn.”Feeling homesick at the start of COVID, Bruna finally made her mother's pastéis. She posted the result to a community WhatsApp group where Brazilians share recipes. One member asked if she was selling them, and with both herself and partner out of a job, she said yes. They had 172 orders overnight.

Bruna's pastel dough is available by the half-kilogram and customers can make filling requests. One bloke even gets Vegemite and cheese in his. When Bruna specialised in teaching Asian cuisine back in Brazil, she dyed dumpling skins as a point of difference. She applies the same principle to her pastéis, colouring the dough pink (beetroot), green (spinach), yellow (turmeric) and purple (red cabbage).This week she launched dadinho de tapioca (tapioca dices) – deep-fried tapioca cubes filled with haloumi or blue cheese. Bolinho de mandioca are also available, fried cassava and coriander balls filled with dried beef or cheese. As Bruna says, “All the fried things are good, right?”Ba.Borin is based in Albert Park and offers pick up or delivery (within 20km from $5 to $15), minimum order five pastéis. Order via WhatsApp on 0435 566 548 or Instagram.

ORDER » Brazilian Pizza (it's Legitimately a Thing)

Globalisation has made pizza one of the most popular dishes in the world. But dig deeper and pizza points to immigration, an oversized breadcrumb that trails back to Italy. Italian immigration in Brazil began in 1875 when the country sought to increase its population, creating colonias (colonies) in rural areas. By 1920, more than one million Italians had immigrated to Brazil. Today the country has the largest population of people with Italian ancestry outside Italy.Gabriel Gebaile, who owns Bossa Nova cafe in Melbourne, was born in Brazil like his parents before him. His grandparents on the other hand moved there from southern Italy in 1910.“I am in the process of getting the permanent residency in Australia so I don’t consider myself Australian yet,” says Gabriel. “I do have an Italian passport, but I consider myself 100 per cent Brazilian.”

After much of the local Brazilian community was stood down from hospitality jobs without government support, many turned to cooking for the community. Bossa Nova was offering takeaway meals, but the competition was fierce – and Gabriel didn’t want to compete. Instead, he started making pizza.“In São Paulo the Italian community is huge, so pizza and pasta is really popular,” says Gabriel. “It’s really popular to go out Friday or Saturday nights for pizza or to get it delivered to your place.”

Using Italian-style, 48-hour fermented dough, the Brazilian toppings are different to what you might be used to on Aussie and Italian menus. Brazil’s most popular pizzas are frango com Catupiry (shredded chicken with Brazilian cream cheese, olives and oregano) and the Portuguese (shredded ham, mozzarella, egg, corn, peas, onion and olive). They’re available from Bossa Nova every Friday night. Order online and pick up from Carlton, or get it delivered via DoorDash.

ALSO TRY » Coxinhas, Brazil's Favourite Street Food

Coxinhas are tear drop-shaped, filled croquettes with golden shells and doughy middles. Bossa Nova has been running six every week this month (four inspired by regional flavours, two from the permanent menu). So far they’ve covered beef rib with cassava, shimeji mushroom with roast sesame crust, sweet corn custard and more. The coxinha festival will run throughout lockdown. Order via the Bossa Nova website, and pick up a few Brazilian goodies while you’re there. Hot tip: try goiabada, Brazilian guava paste, in place of quince on your next cheese platter.

SPOT THE DIFFERENCE » You're Confusing Empadas with Empanadas

You’re likely familiar with empanadas, Argentina’s half-moon stuffed pastry turnovers (stay tuned next week for the best in Melbourne). But the empanada is a world away – or at least a country – from empadas, Brazil’s answer to the humble pie. Thanks to Alessandra You, aka @missfeelingspastry, you can get them delivered.“In Melbourne we have cafes, but in Brazil we have bakeries, and they always sell empada,” she says.

Alessandra, whose parents immigrated to Brazil from Japan and Taiwan, comes from a long line of cooks – her great grandmother had a Taiwanese dessert store and her father and uncle owned restaurants and a catering business. She’s been in hospitality since she was 15 years old.Since moving to Melbourne from São Paulo five years ago, Alessandra has worked in one of Melbourne’s few Brazilian restaurants. She’s been stood down while it hibernates, but she was having a rough run before lockdown, too.“Someone stole my wallet. I needed to recover the money that I lost, so I started baking these pies for friends,” she says. “In the beginning I just started selling for some girls in the Brazilian community, but then they tell their boyfriends, some friends, and now people are buying.”Alessandra’s empadas come in three sizes: 150-gram single person pies, one-kilogram versions that feed three to four people and the whopper, a 1.6-kilogramer that stuffs four to five. The fillings include chicken with olives and requeijão (Brazilian cream cheese, which Alessandra also makes and sells), prawns or heart of palm. She makes vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free versions, too.

For something a little different, try esfiha, Lebanese-influence pastries reminiscent of fatayer bi sabanekh (spinach triangles), filled with beef or ricotta and spinach. “In Brazil there are specific Lebanese houses that follow grandma’s recipe with the chillies and the spices that you can find in Lebanon. The style I’m doing is more popular in the bakeries, just simple minced beef, tomato, onions, lemon oregano and basil,” says Alessandra.Pick up in Travancore or order delivery within 10 kilometres, price on application. Order via Alessandra’s DMs on Instagram.

FYI » Brazilians are Bonkers for Beef Stroganoff

Until Claudia Andrea Reckers moved to Melbourne, she always assumed beef stroganoff was Brazilian. Her mum used to make it with slices of rump steak, sweating off onion and garlic, adding tomato paste, Sazon seasoning, cooking cream and champignons.“I had it at least once a week at my place growing up,” she says. “It’s very traditional in Brazil. When I start study, I went to Google it and I saw it’s a meal from Russia.”Russian immigrants made their way to Brazil around the 1920s after the revolution, with much of the population descending from Volga Germans who were booted out of the Soviet Union. In an unfamiliar country, stroganoff no doubt cemented itself as comfort food. Eventually it was incorporated into Brazilian culture, where it’s now served with white rice and shoestring potatoes.That’s how it comes at Com Amor, Claudia’s cafe in Highett. It’s one of a number of $15 meal deals, introduced during lockdown.

Claudia's take on a Brazilian carrot cake, which is covered and filled with brigadeiro, a chocolate sauce made from condensed milk, chocolate powder and butter that she's dubbed the Vulcano Carrot Cake.

Keep an eye on Com Amor’s Instagram for specials released every Monday or Tuesday. The cafe is open daily from 7am to 1pm for takeaway and delivery is available via UberEats.

PRODUCER » Barbecue like a Brazilian Butcher

For the last five years, Brazilian-born chef Francis Mendonca has run Brazilian Charcuterie, specialising in typical Brazilian cuts like picanha (rump cap) and traditional sausages, like linguica Toscana cured pork sausage. Usually he caters functions for 20 people or more, putting on churrascos barbecue parties for his majority South American customers. Rather than let the Brazilian community have all the fun, you can find his wares at Bob Pettigrew Meats near the Victoria Market, or get the goods delivered direct in Melbourne. Contact him on Instagram or WhatsApp (0412 463 788) to arrange delivery.

SYDNEY » Where to Eat Brazilian Food

Braza Churrascaria, Darling Harbour. All-you-can-eat, rodizio-style Brazilian barbecue, where wait staff carve some 20 skewered meats at the table.Cafecito, Sydney CBD. For home-style meals like feijoada and prato feito scrawled on a blackboard (vegetarian available).Cafe Brazil, Bondi. Fried street snacks like pastel, bolinho de bacalhau (cod corquettes), and traditional plates like moqueca, feijoada and more. Free local delivery.Yo Brazilian Pastel, various. This food stall pops up Friday to Sunday at Kings Cross Market and in Erskineville selling pastéis with various fillings. You can also order online and pick up from Erskineville.Brazileirinho Restaurant, Manly. Prato feito with your choice of chicken, haloumi or minced tofu, as well as Brazilian snacks and even a picanha (grilled rump cap) burger.Bronte Belo, Bronte. A colourful, casual cafe across the road from the beach. Visit for Brazilian-inspired brunches, some traditional dishes and grilled meats. They have their own app for delivery, too.La Favela, Bondi. Usually this is a comida por kilo (pay-by-weight eatery) that will set you back $30 for all-you-can-eat, but with current restrictions it’s a la carte only.Brazillian Flame Meats and Babreque, Zetland. This Brazilian butcher-slash-restaurant offers barbecued meats (on fries, in rolls or with salad) as well as all the cuts you need to recreate the churrascos experience at home. With thanks to Nick Jordan for the suggestions.

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