Five of a kind: Pasta and noodles

Spaghetti

Melbourne might have a surfeit of noodle-in-a-box joints, but swap the vermicelli for tagliatelle and you've got another thing entirely. In fact, you've got Etto. This smart, snazzy shop in South Melbourne is turning ''faster pasta'' into a concept that's not just respectable, but downright enticing. The spaghetti, fusilli and rigatoni are made on the premises, gently coaxed from an extruder in the window. Made from durum wheat without egg, the finished spaghetti nestles on a tray in a cabinet, like golden tassels. It's inimitably springy and, slicked with black truffle butter and dotted with salami, a revelation. Etto's other pasta shapes from quality suppliers include gluten-free quinoa and amaranth fusilli.
Etto, 261 Clarendon Street, South Melbourne, 9696 3886. etto.com.au

Banh cuon

Few restaurants in Melbourne serve banh cuon, delicate northern-Vietnamese noodle rolls, and fewer still make the gossamer-thin noodle crepes. Nhung Do, of Queen's Rose the Sun, is one of the artisans who does. First she pours thin rice flour batter onto taut fabric stretched across a pot of simmering water. After a minute's steaming, Nhung removes each impossibly thin, translucent crepe with composed precision. Banh cuon at Queen's Rose the Sun are a weekend-only affair usually eaten at brunch. The noodle sheets are rolled with tasty pork and mushroom filling and served with cha lua, a mild Vietnamese sausage not unlike frankfurter, and seasoned fish sauce.
Queen's Rose the Sun, 229 Hampshire Road, Sunshine, 9310 2887.

Karntner Kasnudeln

Austria is a land of excess, of lavish Sachertorte and whopping Wiener schnitzel. So it stands to reason that a noodle just isn't Austrian until it's stuffed to bursting. At Muttis, chef Thomas Stocklinger crafts Kasnudeln noodle dumplings that hail from Carinthia, near the Italian border. First, a noodle dough is made with milk and wheat. Nearby cheesemaker La Latteria provides the soft topfen cheese (a tangier cousin to ricotta), which is mixed with cooked potato and herbs and enclosed in dough. Each tender pocket is boiled then served in brown butter sauce. Muttis serves ''Alpine'' European cuisine, with warming dishes from northern Italy, Switzerland and surrounds, including gems from Stocklinger's great-grandmother's cookbooks.
Muttis, 118 Elgin Street, Carlton, 9349 5008. muttis.com.au

Lamian

If handmade noodles were an Olympic sport, the wrestlers would be lining up to make Lanzhou-style lamian. At One Noodle Friendship a strong wheat-flour dough is made and rested. Jovial, mustachioed owner Bill Feng then cracks his knuckles and pounds it into submission, slamming the dough on a metal bench to soften it up. With a sudden change of pace, he then gently pulls and stretches it into long, pleasantly irregular strands. Try them in a classic Lanzhou-style noodle soup, like a wintry version of pho. The soft noodles curl in a rich, herbaceous broth, topped with melt-in-the-mouth chunks of rich stewed beef. Don't miss the excellent dumplings either, made daily.
One Noodle Friendship, 417-419 High Street, Preston, 9478 4590.

String hoppers

Sri Lankan string hoppers are a labour of love. These steamed noodle cakes are made by mixing roasted red-rice flour, water and salt to make a gluten-free dough. This is then forced through a ricer-like device, creating noodle strings, which are coiled intricately onto small, slatted trays before being steamed. Perhaps not surprisingly, Gedera owner Marie Mallawarachchy makes this delicacy only on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Her string hoppers are served with dhal, two curries and zesty coconut sambal. The fish curry is a standout, featuring big chunks of fresh tuna or mackerel. To eat string hoppers the traditional way, use your hands, breaking up the noodles and making a happy muddle of all the unique flavours.
Gedera, 17 Derby Road, Caulfield East, 9572 5720.