Rice Workshop, Highpoint. Phone: 9318 8368
Highpoint, two days before Christmas?
Clearly, I am out of my mind.
But I don’t feel like driving to Carlton or getting the train to the CBD.
I want to get a couple a couple of Stephen King books for Bennie, and a few bits and pieces for other folks and other reasons.
Where else am I to go?
Bookshops, western suburbs – not the strongest of relationships.
I am delighted and surprised to find the crowds light-on and chilled-out – hey, this is way better than your average Saturday in here!
After securing my books – including a prime piece of holiday season escapist trash for myself – I start hankering for lunch, and wondering if there is anything around acceptable in the same way this place and this place are.
Putting the word “workshop” in a franchise outfit’s name is a wheeze, of course, designed to suggest there’s something going on beyond shopping centre food.
That’s not the case … but you can eat well here, based on the yumminess of my chicken katsu curry bowl.
I’m very glad I’ve ordered the regular size for $7.90 rather than the large for $9.40, as it’s a big serve that I fail to fully consume.
There’s a generous number of well-cooked, crunchy chicken pieces.
The smooth Japanese-style curry gravy is mildly spiced and has a few chunks of carrot in it.
The whole deal is topped by some crunchy pickled ginger.
Not bad!
As well as the made-to-order range of rice, noodle and salad dishes, the display cabinet at front hosts a number of fried and grilled items.
On the basis of …
… a dismal tempura prawn and …
… a bitter-tasting seaweed salad, CTS recommends sticking with the bowled line-up.
That way you’ll avoid the typical shopping centre plastic overkill as well!
Check out the Rice Workshop website – including menu – here.
consider the sauce 
Hi Kenny,
I’ve been to Rice Workshop in the city and hadn’t realised there was a Highpoint branch or so many others. The curry’s won us over on our visit too…
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Merry Christmas Kenny & Bennie – thanks for sharing so many of your fantastic finds during the year ๐ I work near Highpoint so have been stopping there on occasion for lunch and wondered if it was worth giving Rice Workshop a go, I might try it at some stage next year.
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Merry Xmas Kenny ๐ Don’t know if the Highpoint outlet offers the same thing, but at the Rice Workshop in Emporium shopping centre in the city you can get a soft-serve cone of yum black sesame ice cream for $2. Bargain!
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When it first opened a soft serve cone came free with main meal if you kept receipt. I think that promo has finished, but the machine is still there.
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