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.

The best breakfast in Footscray

I'm loving our two new cafes, but it's time to take it back to the old school.  This is a no baked eggs zone.  No microbrew lattes.  No smashed avocado - unless it's in a Vietnamese smoothie with heaps of condensed milk.

This plate of love is called banh cuon and it's amazing.  At the bottom are fresh rice flour crepes, filled with minced pork and mushrooms and rolled up.  The translucent rolls are topped with stacks of fresh, crunchy bean sprouts and herbs, while a smooth Vietnamese pork sausage (or cha lua) croons back-up harmonies.  In the wings is a banh cong, a type of deep-fried glutinous rice flour muffin full of earthy whole mung beans.  Drown it all with heaps of seasoned, sweet fish sauce.  A refreshing, satisfying breakfast, with golden crunchy muffin, lightly savoury beans, rich pork in slippery rice pancake and a riot of salad crunch on top.

Dinh Son, an unassuming, very traditional cafe at the edge of Little Saigon market, is your purveyor of fine banh cuon.  It's not on the menu so you have to know to ask for it (they understand my mangled Vietnamese, so you should be right.  I say "banh kwon with everything" which does the job).

On weekends you can sometimes catch the ladies making the crepes on a little stove near the front counter, filling each delicate crepe with pork mixture and teasing it gently from the blackened frypan.

Oh, and did I mention it is EIGHT BUCKS?  Yes.

I don't think this bakery in Little Saigon Market is new, but it's had a bit of a revamp.  They only seemed to do cakes before (including naturally purple Swiss rolls made with yams) but now have banh mi (Vietnamese rolls).  We grabbed two breadsticks, a banh mi Nha Trang (60 cents) and a banh mi Ha Noi (80 cents).  The Ha Noi version was particularly good, with a kind of crackle on top.

On the hunt for the elusive single golden pagoda rice wine, which is the only one to buy apparently.  You will often see these in the Asian grocers of Footscray - boxed shirts, "luxury goods" sets and even 3D shoes, all made entirely of paper.  They're for burning at funerals so that the dead can take their goods to the afterlife.

Really??  A noodle box joint in Footscray (Nicholson Street Mall).  Because there is obviously a lack of cheap, good noodles in Footscray.  OK...

My favourite place - the Yen Huot Gift Shop on Paisley Street, which a reader once told me they call "the Emporium".  Every imaginable thing is for sale here, from toys like the Barbie-esque "Benign Girl" to plastic kids bottles that look ripe for a recall.  I swear each time they get a new delivery, they just scatter the new stock on top of the old.  I wouldn't be surprised if there was an entire Vietnamese grandma and accompanying shopping cart entombed under a cascade of crappy toys.  It's so disorganised but everyone shops there, the proprietors are lovely and there's no better place to buy my gas stove lighters ($1.50) and bobby pins and hair elastics (like, $1, compared to Coles' outrageous $5 or more prices for 10 stingy hair ties).

Quick pit stop at the halal butcher for fresh lamb, $7.50/kg for minced and if I recall correctly, $10 for diced.  Other butchers can be double these prices.  Which halal butcher?  Why, the halal butcher right next to the Club X and "Ram Lounge".  Only in Footscray!  (Cnr of Irving and Nicholson, if you're not sure.)

What's this?  Another new Footscray cafe!  This is Konjo Cafe, and the owners have an original restaurant in Collingwood.

The coffee they use is Djimma from Ethiopia.  They're only doing coffee at this stage but have a few bikkies on offer too.

The milk wasn't as silky and luscious as it should ideally be, but the underlying flavour of the Djimma blend or variety was sweet, well balanced and delicious.

OOH!  That's exciting.  Please tell me it's lunch time already?!

***

A new blog you should add to your reading list is "Krapow" by Andy and Tina, who are very knowledgeable about Thai and Vietnamese food.  As well as unearthing some winning "secret" Asian eateries in the CBD, they're extremely passionate about Footscray.  For starters check out their wrap of the New Year Festival, Vietnamese snacks in Footscray, and $5 crab from Dinh Son.  And at risk of losing my opportunity to win it, also check out their (non-sponsored, non-PR) Meera Freeman cookbook giveaway!


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Little Tripoli in Altona

When I first moved to Footscray, I had been working in Thornbury and had spent many a lunchtime stuffing myself full of Lebanese pizza from nearby High Street and beyond.  One of my first tasks was to find the local Lebanese bakery, if there was indeed one.  Much fruitless Googling ensued until I finally came across a promising link on Google Maps to "The Circle" in Altona.

So one morning I navigated hesitantly under the West Gate and down Blackshaws Road until I came across this little oasis in the backstreets, a hub of the Lebanese community and a treasure trove of good food.

Starting at one end, Al Ameena butcher for lamb cutlets (the nice rack-of-lamb sort) for $20/kg.  Other butchers, TAKE NOTE!  It is bloody outrageous the $50/kg I have seen charged elsewhere.  Kenny also gives Al Ameena's halal hot dogs a big thumbs up.

International Foods is a simply fantastic Lebanese and continental supermarket.  One half of the shop is fruit and veg, the other is a very well-stocked and well-organised dry goods section, complete with aisles.

I could quite happily spend a good hour in here.  Tahini in all grades and sizes, kitsch Eastern European chocolates, obscure Polish jams.  I even used to buy bargain pomegranate juice here from Azerbaijan.

Love this - just as "regular" supermarkets have a choice between Tip Top, Sunblest, Helga's etc, here you can choose your favourite Lebanese bread.  I personally like Kadamani or A1.

The chiller cabinets have all sorts of Middle Eastern cheeses including shanklish, a kind of aged feta rolled in herbs, haloumi and bargain yoghurt.  Behind the counter the pine nuts are great value (or as good value as pine nuts can be).  Recently International Foods have started selling pastries from the venerable Balha's of Sydney Road but the day I went they looked a bit tired.  Stay tuned for a great local baklava shop.

Yes yes yes, the Holy Grail, the Lebanese pizza shop!  I actually haven't been back to this one that much after discovering Amanie's in St Albans and they have evidently undergone some changes.  There used to be a fish and chips/hamburger station in here too but that has been removed.

I have to say, I prefer it gone.  Who needs a floppy hamburger when you have all this goodness to choose from?  A good Lebanese pizza shop should have a small range of its offerings out, which are pies or flat "pizzas" folded into various shapes.  These are then tossed into the long, flat oven which is absolutely searing in temperature, as evidenced by the mere 60 seconds it takes to have your choice heated up.

I highly recommend the kaak here, which is an almost bagel-like, sesame-seed encrusted roll filled with grated haloumi (you can see them in the picture above, at the front, in a little stack).  A no less tasty but much less decadent option is the plain spinach, which this bakery do a great version of.  The spinach is fresh and cooked with onion, allspice and perhaps sumac to make a fabulously tangy and healthy snack.

Last stop is Fruit Fiesta for gorgeous fruit and veg and a range of continental dry goods.  There's a little cafe in the strip too called "Inner Circle" which I think is cute.  It's the kind of place where everyone knows everybody and you feel compelled to take your empty cup back to the counter, just as everyone else does.

 

The coffee is unspectacular - get one from Spotswood on the way home, but first pull into Victoria Sweets which is just on Blackshaws Road.

When the Lebanese do something, they do it 110%.  More glitz!  More tulle!  I love it - it's so OTT.  Balha's in Sydney Road is the same, all glinty gold and the sweets displayed on enormous pedastals.

Everything is sold by weight, so start by asking for the type of container you wish to fill, whether a small box or a huge circular plastic plate to keep.  Finding which type of baklava you like is trial and error.  Greek baklava is very syrupy and almost soggy, whereas Lebanese can veer towards being too dry depending on the shop and the variety.

Phwoar, check out the chocolate baklava on the right side of the photo!  One of my favourite Lebanese sweets is znoud.  They are fat spring rolls filled with clotted cream, deep fried, soaked in sugar syrup and dolloped with more cream.  Holy heart attack!

Here we have my favourite variety of baklava - triangular in shape and filled with a pine nut/cashew mixture (not sure but that is what it tastes like).  On the left is harisa which is a dense cake of semolina.  These were not up to Victoria Sweets' normal standards - the syrup had far too much rosewater for my taste.

Top marks though to this freebie shortbread I scored, stuffed with date paste.  It had that perfect shortbready moist/dry thing going on with sweet, thick date paste in the middle.  Does anyone (yasmeen?) know if this is maamoul or not?  If so, I might be a convert as I normally dislike the more traditional date-stuffed pastries that I associate with this name.

I hope you enjoy exploring The Circle.  Rayna recently lamented the lack of independent shops in the newer outer suburbs.  I agree; nothing depresses me more than row after row of franchises.  I love these unique shopping strips which have developed autonomously over time.  Most of the shoppers here are older people - I hope that the young people in the area continue to keep The Circle alive.

Find a map to The Circle here.