Plume, Maribyrnong

I find midweek yum cha so deliciously naughty.  It's like an afternoon nap, or a bath before noon.

Plume, just outside the Highpoint shopping complex, do yum cha daily.

Things started off well with really good ham sui gok.  Very delicate fried skin gave way to soft glutinous rice dough, with a sweet pork and mushroom filling.

But Plume had peaked too early.  All the dumplings were just all right.  The siu mai (prawn and pork were OK, very chunky, perhaps too much so.  The har gao (prawn) and prawn and chive were mushy.

Didn't like the char siu bao - the pork and sauce had an odd, overly floral taste.

Ordered these prawn rice rolls which were soggy and just looked like they had no love in them.

We didn't have dessert.  I didn't have high hopes.  And that is what the fish are for, anyway.

A gourmet's guide to Highpoint's Fresh Food Market

Disclosure:  I visited Highpoint's Fresh Food Market as part of a media contingent and received a gift pack from Mango PR.  See end of post for full disclosure.

If I told you these darling French Breakfast radishes and friends were found at Highpoint, would you believe me?

How about fresh jalapenos, borlotti beans and new season garlic, perfect for plaiting, for 99 cents a head?  Read on...

Now I know we love to hate Highpoint but I do secretly love having it up the road.  For runners, sunnies, bathers and undies it's my go-to spot.  While I am partial to a sneaky Japanese pancake in the food court, it's never screamed foodie destination to me.  That might be changing, though, with the opening of Highpoint's new Fresh Food Market.  I was invited on a media tour yesterday to check it out.

This new wing of Highpoint has been developed with sustainable principles in mind.  90% of waste materials during construction were diverted from landfill, and a significant amount of rainwater is captured for use such as flushing toilets.  I love these louvred windows in the fresh food area which let in natural light and open to let in fresh air, giving you a sense of connectedness to the outside world.

The seating is much more organic, using lots of curves and bluestone excavated from the original quarry site Highpoint sits on.  Check out the garden beds - the trees are bay trees and you are welcome to grab some leaves for cooking!

Everyone should know where their local rosemary bush is, the one that some kind neighbour has planted so it sticks through the fence, perfect for sidling up to and surreptitiously relieving it of a sprig or two.  I'm loving these herb tubs, where you can help yourself to a frond of dill or a cherry tomato!

What the West needs is more good delis, and the new deli here is awesome.  It's a family-run business by a fellow named Joe and his wife and they've relocated from Brunswick.  I spy with my little eye chickens and pork hocks roasting over charcoal in the corner!

The deli is (somewhat reassuringly) called "Yes, It's Fresh" and their range of cheeses is really awesome (we tried some of the premium Shaw River buffalo mozz - amazing!)

Ditto the antipasti, with unusual things like marinated green tomatoes.  They also sell traditional Polish "Grandmother ham" by Barkly Smallgoods, also seen in Footscray Milking Station's paninis - yum.

Yahweh Asian Grocer have their first store in Carlton and now bring their beautifully organised store to Highpoint as well.  Check out their recipe blog here.

This creamy sesame dressing, made by the Kewpie mayo people, is just delish.  If you haven't discovered it, on the left is kaya which is a pandan-scented coconut jam...  Yes, it is as good as it sounds!  Put it on white toast like you'd use lemon butter.

Don't believe these innocently smiling characters for a second.  This stuff is crack and you will eat the whole can in one sitting!  (They misspelled "INHALED: 180 g" on the front.)

Here's the rather epic Melb Fresh Meats & Poultry.  The store is divided in two, with pork on the right and 100% halal chicken, lamb and beef on the left.  Super-duper imported French rotisserie coming soon!

There's a full range of halal smallgoods like salamis and hot dogs.  I spied lamb cutlets for $27.99/kg plus tripe, kidneys, rabbits, roo and free-range spatchcocks!

Truly gorgeous seafood at Fish Pier, with big wobbly pieces of fresh tuna like rosy Turkish delight, whole garfish and fresh oysters.

This marinara mix was irresistible - see later on for an "after" pic!

I should mention too that there is a huge new parking garage right at the door of Fresh Food, so it's easy to duck in.  All throughout the centre's parking there is also this brilliant new system of tiny red and green lights above the spots and continually updating signs indicating if a row has any spots or if it's full.  I love love love it - no more circling for hours hunting for a spot.

Did you know that John's Nuts' original store is the one in Paisley Street, Footscray?  From there they now have stores in many shopping centres across Melbourne.

Come to Mama!!!  (That nougat is out of control - I scored a taste.)

As well as two types of halva, they also have lots of savoury options including seasoned cashews that are totally addictive, and various "delights" which are little sugared cubes of apricot or pineapple mixtures.  I have a soft spot for nut shops.  My first job was in one and involved much "quality control" of Newman's chocolate almonds, Vienna peanuts and warm salted macadamias.

The fresh fruit and veg marketplace here is pretty darn awesome.  There are big glossy eggplants, tiny stripy ones...

...even tiny Thai pea eggplants (next to the red chillies)!  Check out the fresh almonds at top left, still in their green furry pods, and tamarillos next to them - they make the best chutney.

Loads of lovely taters, many of which I haven't heard of before, plus kipflers and Dutch creams...

...and an utterly gorgeous spread of colourful capsicums.

Phew, time for a coffee from Jasper.  The beans here are fair trade and they use Demeter biodynamic milk (grrrr to no reusable crockery though!)

Fellow parents, check out the new babies' room, complete with sinks, microwave, breastfeeding cubicles, TELLY and corral, I mean, secure play area.  LOVE.

There's a whole spread of new shops that connect the Fresh Food Market with the existing mall, including Purebaby (100% organic cotton baby clothes) and a bookshop!  Woohoo!  The next stage will open in February next year and will include David Jones and more upmarket fashion stores.

I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS.  Daiso is a Japanese store where everything is $2.80.

Are you ready for death by cute?

Awww!

AWWW!  (Erasers - fellow mums and dads, can you say "party bags"?  Awesome, right?!)

AWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Remember that irresistible marinara mix?  I made this equally scrumptious spaghetti marinara for lunch, which literally took as long as the pasta took to boil.  (If you would like the recipe, email me and I will post it in the future.)

Gozleme, $10 and manti, $12

Here's my haul at Melb Fresh Meats.  Gozleme is a flat, filled, Turkish bread made with very little oil, while manti are Turkish tortellini, if you like, filled with lamb.  I also went for Bosnian sausages and bastirma, air-dried beef covered with spices.

And here's one I prepared earlier!  The gozleme was unreal - a light dough (not a pastry, so much lower in fat) with lemony parsley and feta inside.  It was a big hit with the kids.  The manti, served here with traditional yoghurt and crushed garlic sauce and a little tomato paste cooked in olive oil, were fantastic.  (I got the recipe off the lovely manager at Melb Fresh Meats.)  The sausages were all right - good flavour, with black pepper and maybe a little red, but I wasn't a fan of the skins that peeled off in patches during cooking.  Fine for a sausage sizzle though!  I made a potato salad with fried bastirma but honestly, just eat it on its own - it has the most delicious chewy texture and rich beefy flavour.  Would be great for antipasti.

Dessert from John's - gorgeous wobbly coconut Turkish delight, with a sliver of rose delight in the middle and a pistachio nut.  These "tiramisu almonds" are deliciously evil, roasted and covered in a coffee and vanilla-scented toffee.  (Loving the little box - would make a lovely "what to bring when you're told not to bring a thing" gift.)

For the last word on the Fresh Food Market, I'll leave it to Daiso, because the Japanese always say it best.  I reckon you will be really pleasantly surprised!

Disclosure:  I attended as part of a media tour, along with other journalists.  I also received a gift pack from Mango PR that contained in part a voucher for Melb Fresh Meats and a Highpoint gift card.  Attendance was NOT contingent on subsequently writing a post, nor was I required to spend any of the voucher or gift card that day, or write about my purchases.

Fish and chip salvation at Rockfish

Many people in Australia have a tradition of Friday night fish and chips, but did you know it's a Catholic tradition?  It stems from strict Catholics abstaining from meat on Fridays in honour of Good Friday, the day Jesus died on the cross (in many circles, fish was not considered "meat").  The tradition has now leached into mainstream Australian culture and the local fish and chip shop is something I have missed dearly whenever I've been overseas.

I've been searching for a long time for a fish and chipper that totally presses all my buttons.  I prefer not to eat flake, so it needs to have appealing, fresh alternatives.  Both fish and chips need to be well drained and ultra crispy.  No chicken salt is a cardinal sin.

This sounds simple but so many places around just don't hit the mark.  I haven't bothered blogging about them but transgressions include greyish fish with nasty blue veins, mushy fake calamari rings and soggy, oily chips that even ten Hail Marys and an Our Father can't atone for.

So when I turned up to Maribyrnong's Rockfish one Friday night and found it absolutely pumping, I was delighted to be evidently slow off the mark.

Despite being totally slammed, service was very friendly and even the most convoluted of orders were taken in stride.  Totally digging the old school, press in letter menu.

Fish, $5 - $6.50; chips $3 - $6

There are loads of interesting fish options including snapper, rockling, barramundi and even flounder.  We tried three different varieties and they were all totally gorgeous - spanking fresh, well battered and non greasy.  Chips were your garden variety sort but perfectly cooked and very nice.

Burger wit da lot, $7.50

I find most fish and chip shop burgers exceedingly average - relentlessly smooshed mince slapped on a bad supermarket bun.  Something made me get this burger with the lot, and it was EPIC.  The meat is crispy in all the right places with an intriguing herby flavour, and the bun was proper bread, fluffy but pleasantly hearty.  Tip top toppings topped it off.

In fact, if you asked me if this was the best fish and chip shop burger I have ever eaten, I'd say...

"Does the Pope wear a funny hat?"

P.S.  I went back with friends again recently and it was just as good.  There's a lovely park behind, so bring down the friends, the fam or both and have fish and chips in the park!

Rockfish
Shop 3/46 Edgewater Blvd, Maribyrnong (near Aldi on Gordon Street)
Phone:  9317 FISH (cute!!!), ie, 9317 3474
Hours:  Tues-Thurs 11am-8pm; Fri-Sun 11am-8.30pm

Guzman Y Gomez

The burrito is the American souvlaki.  Antidote when the late-night munchies strike...seedy stomach settler, full of glorious grease and sauce.  A knight in shining silver foil armour.  When Mr Baklover moved here from Chicago, he began the transition from burrito cravings in the wee hours to settling for a souvla instead.  Of course, that was before the Mexican and American food craze swept across Melbourne, and now in Swan Street, Richmond alone - right near where we first lived - there are two new authentico Mexican joints where he could have found hangover salve in the form of burritos and tacos.

In a coup of sorts, Highpoint is the location of Victoria's first Guzman Y Gomez store - a chain that first started in Sydney, specialising in burritos, tacos and quesadillas.

It's an upmarket fast food setup similar to Nandos.  You order at the counter but take a table number and in a few minutes your grub is delivered to your table.

Thank you Ms A!

That day Mother needed a Bex and a good lie down after one Chardy turned into three.  Perfect, I thought, a big greasy burrito oozing with cheese for lunch - that will cure what ails me!  So off to Guzman Y Gomez we went.

The condiment station is extremely generous - you can load your burrito up with jalapenos and test your manliness with three different grades of Tabasco for nada.  

There are two burrito sizes - the adult mini and the kids version are the same size, as shown here.  If this is mini, the large must be the size of a small dog.  They are quite satisfyingly heavy and warm when clutched with two fists.

Two beef guerrero tacos, $8.50

These tacos were yummy.  The beef is super slow cooked and shredded in a rich, earthy sauce.  I'm pretty sure the cheese is proper Monterey Jack cheese.  The big surprise was authentic, healthy (and hard to find in Australia) black beans.  Pretty good.

"Little Guy" burrito with chicken, $5

This kids' burrito was packed with chunks of marinated chicken, smoky from the grill, white rice and a smattering of cheese.  The tortillas are delicious, really toothsome and tender.

Pork chipotle 'mini B' burrito, $6.50

This grown-up spicy chipotle pork burrito also had meltingly tender, pull-apart meat.  Those lovely black beans appeared again along with a pico de gallo chunky-type salsa, with all the juices running into soft white rice.  Out of the three meat fillings, I think the chicken was my fave.  They also do barramundi and an all-veg version.

Now hang on - where is the gloop, the mountains of yellow cheese and fatty, cheap meat?  It's clear that these were not the fast food burritos that I had been expecting.  Guzman Y Gomez don't appear to be perpetuating the Taco Bill-style cheese and sour cream fest that we have come to expect from el cheapo Mexican.  This lunch was fresh and relatively nutritious.  It's still a chain and it's still fast food, but it's a better option when you're marooned at Highpoint - although I wish they had real crockery for eat in like Nandos do, instead of everything being throw away.

So Guzman Y Gomez didn't cure my hangover.  In the long run, though, that's a good thing.  However, they do serve Coronas and margaritas, so maybe next time they can help me start a new one!



Guzman Y Gomez
Lower level, Highpoint Shopping Centre
Hours:  Sun-Wed 11am-10pm, Thurs-Sat 11am-11pm


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