MELBOURNE | Some of Melbourne’s best food can be found next to petrol stations, out in the suburbs. Case in point, Burek On Sunshine Ave in Kealba. Owned and operated by Goran Pupunceski and his family, the unassuming venue specialises in traditional, Balkan-style burek, maznik, pastries and desserts. Specifically, the regional versions you’ll find in North Macedonia.
Everything is handmade on site daily, from scratch. Family recipes, passed down through generations, using high quality ingredients, and no shortcuts. Look through the window behind the counter, and you can see the intricate process, as pastry is stretched so thin that it’s almost translucent. The result? Burek and maznik with crispy, flaky, buttery layers, and delicious fillings that evokes memories of eating too much at baba and dedo’s house because it’s so good.
Fillings at Burek on Sunshine Ave include things like sirene (soft white cheese), spinach, minced meat and onion, and more. There’s always a few slices of various flavours in the display cabinet, but if you order at least an hour in advance, you can have yours made to order, fresh out of the oven. You can purchase individual portions, and full trays. There’s a freezer where you can find full trays to bake at home, and catering options.
Other Balkan delights on the menu include lepinje (bread rolls), tulumbi (sweet, syrupy fried pastries), and trilece (caramel topped cake soaked in three kinds of milk). There’s also a few other things like cinnamon and sugar pretzels, gevrek/simit, and seasonal foods like kozinjak (Easter bread) during traditional holidays.
To drink, you can’t go past some freshly made drinking yoghurt. Note the version here is regular Balkan-style drinking yoghurt, as opposed to its salty cousin, ayran. There’s also coffee and soda.
Burek On Sunshine Ave
100 Sunshine Ave
Kealba
Victoria 3021
Australia
Telephone: (03) 9391 4054
E-mail: n/a
Website
Open
Tue – Sat: 6:00am to 5:00pm
Sun: 7:00am to 1:00pm