Eating my way Around ... Highpoint
THERE’S a pricey prosciutto, sweet and savoury scrolls, tasty ramen and a cafe with a big heart — Highpoint in Melbourne’s north offers more than meets the eye. WATCH THE VIDEO
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VERY rarely will you find places that serve up delicious food with the same homestyle charm you’d expect when visiting your folks for Sunday lunch.
You might find them in country towns but rarely in a bustling, inner-city shopping centre, where eating comes second to snagging a sale.
Highpoint Shopping Centre, about 10km north west of Melbourne, has seen many fashion and foodie facelifts over the years with its $300m development in 2013 the most recent.
But it’s the stalwart stores with strong customer ties that keep people coming back for more.
There’s a family delicatessen that sells the world’s most expensive prosciutto, alongside cured meats, cheeses and homemade marinades.
Across the centre, a cafe kiosk pumps out as many cappuccinos as it does club dance numbers. There’s good vibes and occasional ‘dancing’ but it’s the small details (like being on a first-name basis with most customers) that show commitment by these two brothers in business.
A restaurant specialising in Japanese noodle broth Ramen and a popular pop-up scroll store made famous by a Lebanese pizzeria in Sydney are also worth a taste.
OREGANO BAKERY
WHEN Sonia and Tony Jabbour started their Sydney bakery they’d never imagined they would create a scroll empire, let alone sell their products worldwide.
In the beginning the Lebanese bakery Oregano specialised in wood fire pizzas, honing Mr Jabbour’s pizza chef skills.
But when the business faced financial issues in 2010, the couple had to make a tough decision — sell up or try something new.
“My husband wanted to sell it,” Ms Jabbour said.
“But then he said: ‘Let’s make some sweets’. That’s when I asked him if he knew how to make sweets? He was a pizza chef from Melbourne.”
“He wanted to make cinnamon scrolls and I thought ‘why in God’s name would you want to make a cinnamon scroll?”
Going out on a limb, the couple made 10 cinnamon scrolls each day and gave them away to customers for free.
“I didn’t believe they would make any money,” she said.
But when people started coming back demanding scrolls, the business took a turn for the better.
Cafes would approach Sonia in the street while she was on holiday, asking to sell her product.
“Now we have 40 staff, 19 flavours and sell 20,000 to 30,000 scrolls all over Sydney, Melbourne, Dubai and New York,” she said.
“Never in my wildest dreams would I thought I’d be seeing people in New York eating my scrolls.”
The Jabbours handmade every scroll in their South Hurstville bakery, found about 20km south of Sydney, and ship orders Australia wide.
There’s no stand-alone Melbourne store, but pop-up stores manage feed the masses.
Flavours include cookies and cream, banana and nutella and oregano, olive and cheese.
MUST TRY: The original cinnamon scroll. Available in three sizes regular, small and mini (for catering only)
Ph: (02) 9546 3666
STREET FOX
THE WORD on the street is Street Fox makes Highpoint’s best coffee.
Barista tommy Triantafylidis said there was no secret to his cafe’s popularity.
“We went from doing just coffee and macarons. Now we have a breakfast and lunch menu,” he said.
Mr Triantafylidis’ father has worked in hospitality for most of his life and is now handing over the reins to his sons.
“Now he’s getting on (Jack) and I taking the opportunity with both hands,” he said.
Their philosophy? Give the people of Highpoint delicious tasting coffee, fast.
“People are always on the run at Highpoint, we’re just offering them food on the go like ham and cheese croissants, egg and bacon rolls and baguettes,” he said.
Tommy even has a plastic stool to prop his milk jug on while frothing so he can multitask.
And the boys aren’t afraid to try something new — Street Fox sells the centre’s only authentic Greek frappés, made with a single shot of Di Bella Coffee blend and ice.
“It’s our summer signature drink,” he said.
Mr Triantafylidis said his colleagues were like his family.
“We’ve never worked in shopping centres before, my family has always had cafes in the city and Prahran. So to be out west in Highpoint, with these people, it’s pretty much like home.”
MUST TRY: Name your poison and tommy will make it, complete with latte art.
Ph: 0439 974 845
GOURMET DELI HOUSE
THIS family business has been around for three decades, but only recently Gourmet Deli House made the transition from markets to shopping centres.
Cyprus born Toulla and husband Charlie Christofe sell cured meats, cheese and antipasto at their deli — and one specialty item worth bragging about.
“We sell Jamon Iberico de Bellota Acorn ... it’s the top of the range in the world and you can only find it at a few select stores in Australia,” son and co-owner Mat Christofe said.
“We literally have customers coming every day for this jamon.”
Mat said the process of developing the belotta jamon was quite complex.
“It goes by the age of the jamon and the way they are fed. To be called belotta, which is the most premium quality that you can purchase, the jamon or black pigs need to eat seven to eight kilos of acorns a day,” he said.
“That’s what gives that marbelling through the jamon and that strong flavour, that really strong, nutty flavour.”
The meat can sell for up to $600 per kilo, but is sold at Gourmet Deli House for about $300 per kilo.
“So if you’re looking at a whole leg, you’re talking about $2000. But if you buy the whole leg we’ll give you a special,” he said.
The Christofe family moved their business to Highpoint in 2014, where their children became part owners of the business.
Toulla’s olive homemade marinades are some of the store’s bestsellers.
Gourmet Deli House also stocks a range of cured meats and local cheeses from Warrnambool and Gippsland, and imported Maltese, Italian, Spanish and French varieties.
MUST TRY: The pricey prosciutto — you will never go back to eating the rubbery sort again.
Ph: 9317 9144
facebook.com/Gourmet-DELI-HOUSE-Highpoint-838928736138755
AJISEN RAMEN
JAPANESE food is a big deal in Melbourne and Michiko Yoshida believes Ramen is taking over the city.
The Ajisen Ramen Highpoint manager said buzz over the pork bone broth noodle soup had reached the suburbs.
“It’s more of a trend now. Japanese food has been around for quite some time and after a while you get bored of it,” she said.
“People crave something new and Japanese restaurants weren’t doing ramen. There were no noodle soups on the menu.”
Traditional Japanese ramen is made from a pork bone broth and topped with noodles, spring onion and two slices of pork.
Ms Yoshida said there were thousands of variations on the Japanese soup, but the most popular at her Highpoint store was Tonkatsu Ramen.
Ajisen Ramen Highpoint offers 20 different variations of the soup, including tom yum and miso bases and seafood, pork, chicken and beef toppings.
Ms Yoshida also swears by a secret Senmiyu sauce, which is added to the Ramen to give its flavour.
She also suggested ordering a crunchy gyoza (Japanese dumpling) with your Ramen.
“The Chinese dumplings tend to be thicker and have not as much filling, whereas ours have a thinner skin and are filled out.”
MUST TRY: Traditional Pork Ramen with pork gyoza.
Ph: 9317 0791