POACHED

Zucchero, Vic Park

2012-01-15T09:10:00.000+08:00

Today we decided to take Tallulah to the zoo, and thought it would be a great opportunity to have a breakfast bite in Vic Park nearby. We chose Zucchero Espresso Bar on Albany Highway, but not because of the alliteration I promise! ZZZ! Renee and Tallulah were peachy keen!

Zucchero have a few seats near the front counter and a much larger, comfortable room behind. A couple of alfresco tables are also available. We sat in the larger room, to give very-active Tallulah lots of room to move (there is never enough room for Tallulah, but we persevere anyway!). The menu choice includes standard items like smoked salmon, capers and scrambled eggs on toasted sourdough ($16) and poached eggs in a tomato and onion reduction with parmesan and olive oil and toasted sourdough ($15). That was probably the most adventurous item on the menu. I chose the bacon stack with scrambled eggs and sautéed mushrooms on toasted sourdough ($15).

What came out was what could best be described as a safe dish. The eggs had no seasoning, the bacon rashers crispy. The mushrooms had a buttery sauce which was eagerly soaked up by the bread. A packet of butter was on the side.

Renee chose the brioche French toast, which comes with either a berry compote or banana and maple syrup (Renee chose the bananas) and thick cream ($14).

Renee enjoyed it, probably because it had plenty of sweet, sweet zucchero! I also ordered a soy flat white, with a dash of honey. The coffee was good. The 'dash' of honey was a small packet. The packaging was unavoidable; had I opted for regular sugar the only option was sugar cubes, each individually packaged!

The vibe of the place was hotel. The basic, stock-standard menu, food executed well but with no flair, flavourless scrambled eggs, packaged butter, sugar and condiments, it all adds up to a hotel experience!

We savoured the day by getting some takeaway macarons. While no doubt they are ordered in, it was good have have a selection of cakes and things. They were delicious. The flavours may or may not have been orange and pistachio!

The Verdict:
Coffee 3/5
Eggs (the meal!) 3/5
Service 3.5/5
Atmosphere 3/5
Total 12.5/20

Baby T's score: 4/5 (Tallulah enjoyed her pre-zoo brekky!)

Would we go again: No, we'd rather eat at a café not a hotel.
Website: on Facebook

Bivouac, Northbridge

2011-10-09T21:05:00.000+08:00

We love William Street in Northbridge, so whenever a new café opens up we always find some time to check it out. Bivouac is one such place, located opposite Ezra Pound. We love William Street!

Bivouac has two small tables on the street, a large main room and a smaller room towards the back. The café is adorned with artwork - it features different work every month. I like the grass beards! We grabbed a table near the back of the café and ordered our coffees - a soy flat white and a soy long macc. Bivouac do a great job with their coffees, and they are delicious! We waited in anticipation for our meals, hoping they would be as good as the coffee!

Bivouac have four breakfast choices on the menu, so I'm just going to go and list them all:

Gypsy Baked Eggs - chorizo, potato, red pepper ragú, simmered egg & toasted sourdough ($15.50)
Salute the Sun - avocado, ricotta & lemon on sourdough ($9.90)
The Revolution - french toasted brioche, citrus ricotta, strawberries & pistachio ($14.90)
Canteen Tray - grilled italian sausage, baked beans, scrambled eggs, toasted sourdough ($15.50)

Ross' meal - Gypsy Baked Eggs

Renee's meal - Canteen Tray

Both dishes looked good and we eagerly jumped in. I was looking forward to the baked eggs, but unfortunately it didn't taste near as good as it looked. The potatoes were undercooked and hard, and the ragú lacked flavour. Renee's Canteen Tray came with baked beans, scrambled eggs and Italian sausages. The beans, according to Renee, were too sweet. The scrambled eggs were cooked well but lacked pizzaz. The sausages surprised Renee the most; we are used to spicy Italian sausages served in other places, but the sausages on the Canteen Tray were not spicy. They were more like barbecue sausages.

We were disappointed with our breakfasts. That's not enough to deter us having good food, so to finish off we had some baklava ($6). It was outstanding! It was fresh, full of nuts and spices and rolled with honey. Noone told me I wasn't supposed to eat the clove on top of the baklava, but it still tasted good!

baklava

The Verdict:
Coffee 4/5
Eggs (the meal!) 2.5/5
Service 3.5/5
Atmosphere 4/5
Total 14/20

Baby T's score: 3.5/5 (Heck, Tallulah loves everywhere!)

Would we go again: We returned with friends for breakfast, and confirmed that the breakfast meals aren't that great! The dinners here look good though, and we think Bivouac would be great evening occasions!

Website: http://bivouac.com.au/

Wild Poppy, South Fremantle

2011-08-20T13:52:00.002+08:00

Sorry for the lack of posts! We've been kind of pre-occupied but never fear we have been breakfast-ing all over the place and have some good ones to share!

Last month we decided to hunt for a baby bike seat. We both wondered "where could one find some good ones in this city?" and we both said out loud "Fremantle!" And our search lead us to a café across the road from a bike shop - Wild Poppy, on Wray Avenue.

crab omelette

smoked salmon

coffee coffee

nom nom

Wild Poppy is a super large café with a bustling vibe and friendly staff. And menu items like the following will pique your interest and your tastebuds. How about cheddar & spring onion waffles with bacon, eggs & herbed crème fraiche ($14) Or chili masala eggs, indian flatbread and tomato relish ($14)? We decided to have the peach-smoked salmon and ricotta with poached eggs, avo & potato rosti ($16) and wok-fried crab omelette with chili, ginger and oyster sauce ($18). So how were the meals? We were thinking that the smoked salmon would be the thinly-sliced orange variety, but it was not. It was a slab of salmon steak. This would not have ordinarily been a problem, except that Renee was well and truly over this type of fish for breakfast after a week of it in hospital in Japan (and yes, you may well question why we ordered fish for breakfast when Renee doesn't like fish for breakfast, but I did kinda push Renee towards it!) Other than the fish steak the poached eggs were good and the meal was balanced. My crab omelette was interesting - it had a flavour reminiscent of Thai food, all on a thin omelette. The different textures (smooth bits, crunchy bits) didn't work for me; maybe it was more of a lunch meal (and it was on the lunch menu!). We agreed that we should have gone for the spring onion waffles when we spied someone near us tucking into it. Major food envy!

We totally dig Wray Ave and have actually been there several times in the last week or so! Our friend Buffy opened a shop called Pekho (go check it!) and we also discovered an AWESOME new bar called Who's your Mumma? And we got our hair snippity-snipped into super styles by the ladies at Doo Wop (though we have our old hair in these pictures of us!)! We bordering on Wray Ave locals...right? Anyways back to Wild Poppy...! We both ordered soy flat coffees which were delish and we also had a sneaky piece of passionfruit cheesecake which was amazing! We both thought we give Wild Poppy another go and perhaps order more wisely and more to our tastes. But if you like fish for breakfast this is for you!

After breakfast we walked across the road and got the bestest baby bike seat ever for the front of your bike! On the way we spotted some super fun yarn bombing and a took a happy snap! Oh Freo we heart you!

note; this is in our carport & before we got our ladybug helmets!

The Verdict:
Coffee 3.5/5
Eggs (the meal!) 3.5/5
Service 3.5/5
Atmosphere 3.5/5 (though it must be noted Renee prefers smaller cafes which are more intimate!)
Total 14/20

Baby T's score: 3.5/5 (Tallulah sat in her highchair and let her folks eat their breakfasts! yay!)

Would we go again: Yes, we think for coffee, cake and maybe something less fish-y!

Website: nope you can find them at 2 Wray Ave, South Fremantle!

Cantina 663 again!

2011-05-22T20:51:00.000+08:00

Living just around the corner, we grab breakfast at Cantina 663 at least once a week, and we scored it 17/20 last year. Just so you know, it's as good now as it was back then.

This morning we were greeted with a new breakfast menu. Try this: roasted mushrooms, pine nuts, raisins & parmesan. It comes with probably the best-tasting bread you will ever taste - grilled with olive oil. The whole thing was amazing & perfectly balanced; it was unbelievably good. Really. Renee had her usual - what is probably Perth's best scrambled eggs.

Actually, don't come. It's hard enough to find a seat on the weekend as is. Forget I said anything.

Mela, Perth

2011-05-22T12:53:00.001+08:00

This weekend we joined the magnet hunt on William Street in Northbridge and Perth, where you can collect magnets from 24 boutique stores, galleries and bars in the area in honour of the 2011 WAMI Festival. The hunt started yesterday (21 May 2011) and is continuing all week. We headed down early to grab our magnets, but pretty soon started to get grumpy-hungry, and knew that we needed some brunch food soon! Luckily our favourite Indian restaurant was located in the heart of the magnet-hunting area!

What's that you say? Indian for breakfast? Well actually, yes! Mela offers breakfast and chaat (Indian stall food) on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays between 11:30am - 4:30pm. I've included a picture of the menu here so that you can all get your Google on because if you are anything like us, you have no idea what any of these dishes are!

After having the entire menu explained to us, we picked a number of dishes at random. We chose the mixed chaat (little dough parcels covered in tonnes of delicious sauces), dhai puri (egg-shaped shells filled with chickpea, chutney & yoghurt), channa bathura (light fried bread with chickpea curry) and aloo paratha (bread stuffed with potato curry).

channa bathura

dhai puri at the front, and mixed chaat at the back

aloo paratha

It was all delicious! Think fresh, light and flavoursome vegetarian curries combined with coriander and yoghurt, soft and fluffy pastry - yum! And the best thing is that you can try several dishes at once and share them round. We spied several dishes which we didn't order today but would come back for!

mango lassi

And of course what is a good Indian meal without a mango lassi? We both had one and can report that they are very very good! Since chaat can be messy, we put Tallulah in a high chair so that she could continuously throw her toys to the ground, but it meant that we could both eat at the same time. Neither of us were willing to let the food sit there uneaten! We left with a couple of chocolate barfi sweets to eat on the rest of our magnet hunt!

The Verdict:
Lassi 4/5
Chaat (the meal!) 4/5
Service 3.5/5
Atmosphere 4/5
Total 15.5/20

Baby T's score: 3.5/5 (With it being easy to get in and out, Tallulah was quite happy with the experience)

Would we go again: Yes, there are plenty more chaat delights we would come back for!

The Attic, Fremantle

2011-05-21T10:30:00.001+08:00

Follow the bicycles and chalk pavement signs and you will find yourself at The Attic Cafe in Fremantle, one of the coolest places we have been to for a long while. Attic has a counter on the ground floor - all of the seating, except for a small table on the street, is on the next level accessed by a narrow flight of stairs. There are old-school seats, couches and tables like my grandparents have, combined with floor lamps and what can best be described as "suitcases and lights hanging from a rope" which created a great dimly lit vintage vibe, much like an Attic. Funny that! A row table lines the edge of the void, where you can view the counter below - this is where we sat since all the other places were taken! We grabbed on tight to Tallulah and made sure she didn't fling any objects over the edge!

avocado, white cheese & lime on toast

shakshouka with mondo chorizo, tomato reduction & black olives

Suitably impressed with the ambience we had a look at the menu. They offer a number of not-your-usual-breakfast items like thyme-roasted mushroom & herbed labne on toast ($12). I liked the look of the green wrap with eggs, spinach & avocado ($12) but they had run out (it was busy!) so I instead ordered avocado, white cheese & lime on toast ($12). The Attic has three different types of shakshouka and Renee chose it with mondo chorizo, tomato reduction & black olives. Both of our dishes were good, real good. My toast came with spinach & mint which brought it to life. Renee thought her spinach was unnecessary and put it on the side. The winner with both dishes was the bread, which might have been a rye sourdough? Whatever it was, it was soft & thick as well as tasty. We also noted on their menu that they also do gluten-free option.

masala chai

soy flat white

The Attic have a few fresh juices available. They also have a pot of masala chai and invite you to have a taste test which we did. It was good and nicely spiced, and I can certainly imagine having a large mug of it on a cold wintry day. We instead had our regulars, the soy flat whites, which could have been slightly more soy-creamy but otherwise was a well-made coffee, and we both went back for seconds! Renee thought hers was perfect!

chocolate & beetroot cake

We couldn't leave without having some cake, and so we grabbed a slice of chocolate & beetroot cake. It was good, but we regretted not getting some cream to accompany it!

The Verdict:
Coffee 4/5
Eggs (the meal!) 3.5/5
Service 3.5/5
Atmosphere 4.5/5
Total 15.5/20

Baby T's score: 3.5/5 (Tallulah loved to look through the grating to the counter below, especially when her dad was ordering!)

Would we go again: Yes!

Website: http://www.theatticfremantle.com.au/

Piccos Kitchen, Maylands

2011-05-08T21:43:00.000+08:00

This Easter we decided to check out Piccos Kitchen, on Peninsular Road in Maylands, nearish to Tranby House. It looked a bit strange being in a group of shops, set above the carpark, but its the inside that counts, right? But we've learnt not to judge a book by its cover! Lots of locals seemed to drop by for takeaway coffees. However we were perhaps the youngest people by maybe by 30 years or so.

Piccos had a good menu with bacon, eggs & Brie butty ($12.50) and roast field mushroom w. rocket, feta & tomato confit ($16.50).Renee started off with her usual soy flat white which she didn't finish as her meal was intense. I felt like a chai tea, which was good.

Food-wise, I chose traditional organic porridge with stewed rhubarb & raw honey ($12.50) - this was ok but a little bit gluggy - it needed more honey to make it palatable. Renee had an Easter moment and decided that the hazelnut pancakes, chocolate sauce and vanilla poached pear ($15). This was a pure chocolate indulgence - the plate had heaps of sauce, and the pancakes were full of the same sauce. It completely overpowered everything and it was impossible to work out what the flavour of the pancakes were - the sauce could have been in a jug instead. The pear was cold; Renee thought it might have been nicer warm. It was one of those meals that sounded good on paper but in reality didn't really work. It was definitely more a dessert than a breakfast dish!

Piccos' is probably a good takeaway coffee place but the food wasn't for us. Overall, we thought that Piccos was your average fare breakfast - there are better places to go for breakfast on 8th Ave for a similar price.

Renee's hazelnut pancakes

My organic porridge with stewed rhubarb and raw honey

The Verdict:
Coffee 2.5/5
Eggs (the meal!) 2.5/5
Service 3.5/5
Atmosphere 3/5
Total 12/20

Baby T's score: 4/5 (Piccos is nice and spacious with lots of room for Baby T, the staff loved her too! It would be tricky getting a pram to the raised entry from the carpark though)

Would we go again: No. Don't stop riding here, continue onto Claisebrook!

Pearfect Pantry, Wembley

2011-04-17T19:00:00.001+08:00

or 'the Land of the Doughnut Buildings'

We were planning a trip to Innaloo, and came across the 'Pear'fect Pantry in Wembley as a place to have a bite to eat in the morning in the area. Pearfect's Facebook page gives an idea of the types of food they offer, including bacon, apple & smokey cheddar-baked risotto, creamy chicken & spinach pie, raw vegan chocolate cake, passionfruit & white chocolate muffins, & more - all good-sounding lunch things. Our blog is not called 'Panini'd Perth', so we were interested to note that Pearfect has a gourmet brekky menu.

Pearfect is located behind a laundrobar in a set of units. The wonderful world of doughnut-shaped buildings is only visible from the air; from the street it is more old units and rows of letterboxes. The laundrobar serves the units, and our guess is that the building Pearfect is located in might have been a common room for the units. Add some customers who looked like they have just come back from a swim somewhere or just looking generally relaxed, plus miss-matching seats, cups and plates and you have a holiday vibe. Like a caravan park. But this is a good, relaxed vibe and they make you feel at home.

I ordered a soy flat white. Renee felt like a smoothie (they had banana and berry to choose from today) and we asked if they could do a soy smoothie; they were happy to oblige. We went for the banana one. The smoothie ended up being delicious, and so did the soy flat white.

On the breakfast menu are items like smokey potato, spinach & cheese burrito with eggs, avocado salsa & sour cream ($16), which Pearfect also do in a vegan option with nut cheese and nut aioli ($16) and avocado with coriander lime pepper dressing on toast ($13.50, with bacon $16.50). I chose the homemade pancetta and maple baked beans with poached eggs & spinach ($16) and Renee decided upon the grilled potato stack with bacon, herb-roasted tomatoes, spinach-scambled eggs & toast ($16.50). Mine was cooked well, the star of the meal was the poached eggs which were flavoursome and cooked to perfection! The spinach was not astringent and the beans were a vegetable delight. Renee thought that scrambled eggs didn't have much flavour and could have done with some more herbs; the potato stack was a type of potato slice bake. The bacon was maple-lious!

pancetta and baked beans above, and potato stack below

Although the sun was intent on making the shade under our table smaller and smaller, Tallulah and I were both relaxed, so Renee insisted on trying out the sweet treats for dessert, and out came a Belgium brownie; it was very rich with a crispy top but oh-so-delish!

The Verdict:
Coffee 3.5/5
Eggs (the meal!) 3.5/5
Service 4/5
Atmosphere 3/5
Total 14/20

Baby T's score: 4/5 (Tallulah was quite relaxed at Pearfect Pantry - it's just like a holiday in a caravan!)

Would we go again: Probably not as we're not in Innaloo very often, but this one suits the locals!

Website: Pearfect Pantry's Facebook page

Deli Chicchi, Mount Claremont

2011-04-08T15:17:00.001+08:00

Looking at the above photos, I realise that I have managed to take photos of Deli Chicchi without a single person in them! How I managed that I don't know, because on this Friday morning there was a respectable crowd of customers, and staff, enjoying the relaxing atmosphere, inside and out (for the record, there is a slither of a person in the middle photo)! We used to come here with our friends, sisters Kristy and Sam. Now that they are living in London and New York, it is just ourselves today!

We grabbed a seat in the booth next to the large windows which wrap around the street corner. Tallulah enjoyed kneeling on the booth, looking out the windows. Later she snuggled up to rest between us on the booth - we got to eat together! No more strange looks from waitstaff wondering why one plate is polished clean and another untouched. We like booths. Here is a picture of a baby in a booth.

She's wearing a bat top. But that's not the point of this blog; you can read all about that in Renee's renosslah blog. This is about the breakfast, and Deli Chicchi know what's good. The diligent waitstaff brought us a menu after seeing us try to scan the blackboard menu. Among the offerings are sweet brioche French toast with raspberry coulis, fresh banana and marscapone ($18.90) and medley of fresh tomato and avocado on toasted olive bread with ricotta and fresh herbs ($18.90). I chose the omelette with chorizo, aged cheddar and spinach, which came served with some rocket on top ($18.90 - a different version also comes with caramelised leek and goats curd) and Renee picked zucchini and haloumi rosti with smoked salmon, rocket, poached eggs (sorry we missed the price for this one, but it's around $18-20). Both of our meals were delicious - full of flavour and difficult to fault. The rosti was rich and tasty- Renee was in heaven it was such a great flavour combo. My omelette was heading towards the consistency of a quiche, and the chorizo really brought it to life. Good, good, good.

rosti above and omelette below

Baby Fact #27: nursing babies are generally intolerant to cow's milk; thus soy flat white is the new flat white. While I'm not nursing, I have a y/fw as well out of principle. After all, when you think about it drinking out of another animal's teat is kinda weird (though delicious in the case of the cow). Deli Chicchi know how to make a a good soy flat white; these ones were creamy and rich, and the soy flavour much more subtle than when done elsewhere. Good, good, good. While on the topic of drinks, I like the choice of mint- or lemon-infused water, or plain water that they offer at Deli Chicchi.

We left the delicious-looking cakes, muffins, tarts and other lunch items behind to have hot chocolates at the much-talked about Koko Black - this was generally regarded by us as a bad move, and we agreed that we should have stayed at Deli Chicchi!

The Verdict:
Coffee 4.5/5
Eggs (the meal!) 4.5/5
Service 4.5/5
Atmosphere 4/5
Total 17.5/20

Baby T's score: 4/5 (Baby T likes booths!)

Would we go again: yes yes yes its good good good!

Website: http://www.delichicchi.com.au/

Little Stove, Bicton

2011-03-21T20:12:00.000+08:00

Moulten Monkey (the drink, not the child!)

poached eggs with a side of beans

'big stove' with a side of spinach

Notice how our meals look kinda the same? Strange, huh? Renee's poached eggs cost $12 ($3 for the bacon). My 'big stove' has some mushrooms hiding under the spinach; it costs $18, with an extra $3 for the spinach. We both thought that the meal was average - the bacon a little bit oily, the spinach astringent, the beans missing real flavour.

We decided to go to Little Stove, hidden in the suburb of Bicton, after doing some shopping at the Melville markets on a Sunday morning. It's a spacious, and decorated in a homely manner. Our table was next to an Aga stove adorned with paraphernalia from the coastal town of Crikvenica, dating from Yugoslavian times. Little Stove offers other standard breakfast foods like bircher muesli ($12) and roasted tomato with sourdough, goats cheese and prosciutto ($15).

Little stove redeems itself with its interesting drinks. My molten monkey is an iced mocha with banana, and was delicious. Renée ordered a flat white that was too foamy.

The Verdict
Coffee 2.5/5
Eggs (the meal!) 2.5/5
Service 3.5/5
Atmosphere 3.5/5
Total 12/20

Baby T's Score: 3.5/5 (Tallulah thought that there was enough room at Little Stove to swing a baby. We didn't test this theory.)

Would we go again? No, there are much better breakfasts to be found.

Website: http://www.littlestove.com/

Mrs S, Maylands

2011-02-20T20:20:00.001+08:00

"Am I too young for coffee?"

Renee's meal

Ross' meal

Some forgot to invite Mr S to Mrs S' party. When we visited Mrs S (located in a spacious premises on 8th Avenue on the corner next to the Maylands station) on Friday morning, the place was completely full of Mrs.es, Ms.es and Misses (we grabbed the last vacant table). Not one of Perth's 3/4 million males. Not that the decor of Mrs S was off-putting to men - it is quirky and interesting. The menu was posted on old Golden Circle kids books (the ones with the gold and black spines), and the table numbers were letters cut out of fibreboard. It was bustling and fun, the perimeter full of quirk. It was not intimidating; it was welcoming of all genders and ages.

I ordered the mushrooms, eggs, feta and Turkish bread ($16.50) . Renee chose the cornbread, bacon, eggs & maple ($15.50). There was plenty of other things to crave on the menu too, like toasted brioche, peaches and vanilla bean marscapone ($12). The food was amazing. But more so, it tasted like it came from your grandma! Renee's cornbread tasted like pumpkin scones (one of my grandma's staple foods), and the (plum?) relish that came with my dish tasted like it was crafted with love by a grandma. Both dishes had a nostalgic flavour that no other cafés we have been to has had. The dishes were cooked perfectly, and there we no complaints from either of us!

The coffees too were great - my flat white was creamy with the right amount of coffee, and Renee enjoyed her iced coffee maybe a little too much. No complaints here either!

Before we left, a couple of guys came in for breakfast - back to normal café gender ratios. Guess I can't find anything to fault Mrs S for anymore!

The Verdict
Coffee 4.5/5
Eggs (the meal!) 4.5/5
Service 4/5
Atmosphere 4/5
Total = 17/20

Baby T's score = 3/5 (Tallulah had a great time pushing her feet against the table, but was wondering why the staff gave her parents a weird look when they tag-teamed eating their meals. And no, Tallulah, no coffee for you just yet!)

Website: No website, but check out the Mrs S blog that was being updated before the café opened!

Tiger, Tiger Coffee Bar, Perth

2011-02-18T23:58:00.000+08:00

This is Tiger, tiger's courtyard, which passersby might catch a glimpse of if they look into a passageway whilst walking down Murray Street in the west end of the city. It has long been one of our favourites, and I know that Renee was almost a permanent fixture here when she was working in the city PT (pre-Tallulah), so it has been a long time coming for us to review it. We had the chance to do just that when we ventured in to the city last weekend to do some shopping.

Tiger, tiger has great coffee. We both ordered flat whites, and as expected they came out looking like they would taste rich, bold and delicious (they did). Sugar was served in lumps, but, unlike other lump cafés that one might find in Vic Park, Tiger, tiger's lumps were all different sizes. Which was good, as the coffee was great enough that very little, if any, sugar was needed!

By the way, don't you love their blue tables? With the inside/outside theme and random tigers found around the place, the vibe is relaxed and welcoming. In fact the owner came over and chatted with us for a while. Tallulah, who came with us today, was not the only baby joining their parents for breakfast that morning. I was about to take a photo of her before we left, but just then she started crying. So no photo today (there will be pics next time)!

Anyway the food! Avocado, herbs and feta on sourdough will set you back $14; Dr Seuss' ham, poached eggs, oven roasted tomato on olive ciabatta is $18. Renee grabbed 'The Tiger' which is 2 poached eggs with avocado & TT rosamond sauce on sourdough ($15); I had eggs benedict ($15). The food is amazing, but Tigertiger's problem is one of proportion. Renee's breakfast had too little of their chutney-like sauce to go with the eggs and avocado, particularly with the massive amount of toast. I thought the same - if you are going to serve three massive slices of toast, there should be enough of the good stuff to put on it. To be fair, my order got mixed up and so they put my eggs benedict on toast rather than rye bagel. Also, did I mention that the hollandaise sauce was amazing?

'The Tiger'

eggs benedict

The Verdict

Coffee 4/5

Eggs (the meal!) 3.5/5

Service 3.5/5

Atmosphere 4.5/5

Total = 15.5/20

Baby T's score = 3/5 (Bring on kid dates at Tiger, tiger!)

Would we go again? Yes, it's great to find somewhere good to go in the City that's not located in a food court!

Website: http://tigertigercoffeebar.com/o/

Bellisa Café, Bedford

2011-02-12T20:33:00.000+08:00

Bellisa's big breakfast

chorizo with corn, chilli and bean bread and avocado salsa

We don't usually go to Bedford. It's on Walter Road, the alternative road to get to all things Morely Galleria, or if you got on the #16 or #60 bus thinking it would go along Beaufort Street but instead taking you along William Street to Walter Road while you freak out wondering where you are and what kind of area has a Harley Davidson showroom. Well Bedford does have one reason of existence - Bellisa Café! This café is big and spacious, and set out well. It instantly feels comfortable.

We grabbed a seat and checked out the menu, which according to Bellisa's website changes monthly. It doesn't have to though, because what was on offer is quite good! The February menu contains items like ricotta hotcakes with vanilla roasted nectarines topped with lemon curd ($15) and crepes with purple fig, crumbled blue cheese and vincotto ($14). Renée settled on the Bellisa big breakfast which they happily substituted the mushroom for avocado ($22; a big V breakfast is also on offer for $18) and I went for free range chorizo grilled with avocado salsa and corn, chilli and bean bread topped with poached egg ($21). Renée thought that the big breakfast was outstanding - everything was cooked to perfection, the scrambled eggs were definitely a winner and the sourdough bread was delicious. Likewise, my chorizo was also cooked perfectly, and complemented the delicious polenta-bread (which was so good Renee wanted to steal it), and that avocado salsa - delicious!

Bellisa also notes that their menu is kid-friendly, with things like pancakes for breakfast and fish & chips for lunch. Tallulah wasn't interested in the food though - she was much more interested in looking at the trees across the road and pushing against the table. Oh well, maybe next time. Still, the staff at Bellisa loved Tallulah, so she felt quite at home.

We also ordered a flat white and a long macc topped up. Unfortunately the coffees did not match the level set by the food, they were too watery. We didn't go back for seconds.

Bellisa also have a range of cakes on offer, and although we were full we couldn't resist taking some for later. I loved the idea of a homemade wagon wheel ($4), with its delicious marshmallow and jam filling between soft biscuit - way better than the Wagon Wheels™ (one of my favourite snacks, btw!) you can buy in your local shop. We also purchased a lemon and ricotta cupcake - moist and delicious with tangy lemon curd.

Pink deer head approves of take-home snacks!

The Verdict

Coffee 2.5/5

Eggs (the meal!) 4/5

Service 4/5

Atmosphere 3.5/5

Total = 14/20

Baby T's score = 4/5 (Tallulah is looking forward to trying some kid-friendly food once she grows older!)

Would we go again? If the coffee improves, Bellisa will be a winner!

Website: http://www.bellisacafe.com.au/

Fez, Mount Lawley

2011-02-01T14:21:00.001+08:00

eggs benedict

traditional Berbers breakfast

We have finally moved back into our old haunt, Mount Lawley; hooray! Not much has changed since we upped and left to travel around the world (without getting very far). Except for the new public toilets next to the new supper club and new Westpac. And new Turkish takeway. And our favourite Japanese restaurant moving to the other side of the road. Ok, so some things have changed, like the opening of a new Moroccan café, named Fez, in the building that looks like a ship on the corner of Walcott Street and Raglan Road, behind Fresh Provisions.

It seems like an eternity ago that we watched the construction of the ship building, complete with mermaid figurehead on the prow of the building, and it is great to see the café tenancy finally open. And since the city Fez was on our list of destinations on our unfortunately much-shortened ('postponed') round-the-world trip, we were keen to visit Fez Café to see what flavours we were missing out on.

As it turns out, not much. The café has been fitted out in a modern decor, complete with dark colour-pallette, fancy light-fittings, leather wall-seating, etc. In other words, it looks like every other café in Perth, which is such a shame because the interior designers could have had so much fun with a Moroccan theme. Like exquisite rugs, luxurious couches, intricate wallpaper, a bright colour scheme, interesting plates and cups; it looks like we will have to visit the real Fez to experience this. We did like the outside seating and the water that was served in olive oil bottles (but this didn't make up for the lack of atmosphere).

We chose a seat inside, and we were offered a highchair for Baby T by the waitperson who was proficient in service, but lacked the warmth that you would expect in a Moroccan café (we declined as Baby T likes to sit in our arms). Baby T was particularly fussy this morning, and we decided to move to a table outside. We informed the waitperson, who was cleaning the glass door, that we were moving outside, but she didn't think to help me move the water, 2 glasses, 2 coffees, salt, pepper, baby harness, bag, bottle, dummy, sunglasses and serviettes to the outside table (at one point closing the door on me).

We chose from their menu eggs benedict ($16.50) and the traditional Berbers breakfast ($19), consisting of meatballs with eggs and grilled bread. The eggs benedict was good, with rich creamy eggs and a delicious tasty bread that might have been a wholemeal or rye bread? Either way, it was a respectable eggs benedict. The traditional Berbers breakfast again had tasty eggs that complemented the rich tomato sauce and slightly-dry meatballs. In my opinion, though, the sauce was a little bit like a Sicilian pasta sauce and could have been complemented with some extra ingredients (like olives and toasted capsicum) and maybe some Harissa on the side. The grilled bread was great for dipping in the sauce. Overall, there are better breakfasts out there.

We also ordered a flat white and iced coffee (Baby T didn't give us time to peruse the drinks menu further). The flat white came out in a wide, brown cup and was delicious with a tasty, creamy foam that I just wanted more of (but unfortunately Baby T didn't want to stay). Renee enjoyed her iced coffee.

The Verdict
Coffee 3.5/5
Eggs (the meal!) 3/5
Service 3/5
Atmosphere 2/5
Total = 11.5/20

Baby T's score = 3/5 (Tallulah will be ready for a highchair one day!)

Would we go again? Good day to you, Fez. I said good day! It might be fun to check out their lunch or dinner menu. But overall it is pretty ho-hum and quite pricey!

Website: fezcafe.net.au

The Crowded House, South Fremantle

2011-01-19T16:30:00.000+08:00

oatmeal

avocado on toast

Frenched toast

Today we are staying with the other set of parentals (this time with my parents who live south of Fremantle), and so today was a morning excursion day with mum/grandma! After a bit more Urbanspoon research we gave our old favourite Aubergine a miss in favour of the new South Fremantle café The Crowded House.

The Crowded House looks like it has been newly renovated; it sits in an old limestone-walled and wood-floored building. The interior is split up into a couple of seating areas and is spacious. Wood-top tables fit the decor perfectly, and there are also leather couches and low tables for those just looking for coffee. To summarise the decor; it's the perfect place to take your mum for brunch! We entered through the red door, sat down, and were attended to with water and menus.

The menu is short, but put together well with a range of options. I had oatmeal with banana, walnut brittle and lavender honey ($13.50) and Renee had avocado on toast with coriander, spring onion & lemon ($12) with a side of poached egg which was accepted without a blink by our waitperson even though eggs were not listed as a "side" on the menu. Our parental representative chose Frenched toast which comes with stewed strawberries, chocolate sauce, brioche and crème fraiche ($16). Mum loved her Frenched toast, and Renee thought the avocado on toast was absolutely delicious, and didn't need the poached egg add-on (I note that she didn't complain though!). The poached egg was very soft, almost watery in consistency, and was easily soaked up by the bread. My oatmeal was equally as good as the other meals, and came with a circle of walnut brittle served upright in the oatmeal. At the end of the meal, all of our plates were scraped clean!

flat whites, long macc topped-up & iced coffee

The coffee was also very good. Two flat whites and a topped-up long macc came out first, and as we enjoyed them so much we ordered seconds of flat whites plus an iced coffee. I've now decided that long maccs will be the level meter, as often a long macc will be strong and bitter. The Crowded House's macc was delicious, and much better than the maccs on offer elsewhere. Their iced coffee was also delicious, being strong but balanced.

Tallulah was welcomed by The Crowded House, even though she was a little grizzly this morning. Renee found to her delight that the spacious bathroom included a changing table, and thus scores extra points! Parents with prams should note that there are a couple of low steps to negotiate to get in, but nothing too challenging.

The Verdict
Coffee 4/5
Eggs (the meal!) 4/5
Service 4/5
Atmosphere 3.5/5
Total = 15.5/20

Tallulah's score = 4/5 (Tallulah's mum thinks everyone should have changing tables!)

Would we go again? I think my mum is hooked; time to take dad out, mum!

Website http://www.thecrowdedhouse.com.au/ I'm sure they will improve it soon!

Hoopla Espresso, Kensington

2011-01-19T15:00:00.005+08:00

toasted vegetable with pesto flatbread

ham & cheese croissant, flat white and kid's books!

vanilla cheesecake

more coffees!

Poached has returned to Perth. Temporarily living with the parentals while looking for more permanent accommodation, we decided to find somewhere to have a morning brunch nearby. A quick search later, we discovered a new place in Kensington called Hoopla Espresso, located in a little row of shops near the intersection of Douglas Avenue and South Terrace. Hoopla is a fairly new establishment which prides on their ability to serve up a good coffee. And serve up a good coffee they do well!

We started off with flat whites ($3.90) each. Hoopla do not serve up a stock-standard blend, but rather Dark Horse blend roasted with various ingredients, with aromas of cherry and red capsicum - yum! This is coffee with serious flavour, and definitely scored high with us. Puritans may not like the flavouring, but we did; we went back for seconds (with cake!), grabbing another flat white and a topped-up long macc. These were just as delicious (breaking a disturbing trend elsewhere for average second coffees!).

To the food - Hoopla's menu is limited; you won't find egg on their menu. They serve up things like toast ($4), muesli with vanilla yoghurt and fresh fruit ($6.50) and some assorted paninis. I ordered a ham & cheese croissant ($6.50) and Renee had a vegetarian and pesto flatbread toasted panini. Both meals were good, but nothing to write home about, it's all about the coffee. We did decide to have a slice of vanilla cheesecake ($5.80) with our second coffees, and it was good; thick and heavy, but not rich. I don't know how they achieved that combination, but it made the cheesecake very edible!

Renee multitasking!

Hoopla encourage children, with some kids books lying around. We also noticed that there was lots of room (for prams). I had fun reading some Winny the Pooh to Tallulah. We were saying how well Tallulah was behaving. Then I noticed a wet patch on her top and asked "did you spill water on Tallulah?" "No." "Well she's wet, and its spreading, and it's kinda yellow tinged... oh!" We decided that was a good time to leave!

The Verdict
Coffee 5/5
Eggs (the meal!) 2.5/5
Service 4/5
Atmosphere 3.5/5
Total = 15/20

Tallulah's score = 4/5 (Tallulah enjoyed having kids books to read, and appreciated that there was lots of room for parents to park prams)

Would we go again? Yep, anytime we're in South Perth with the parentals, Monday to Saturday.

Hattifnatt, Kichijōji, Tokyo

2010-12-23T16:23:00.000+08:00

menyū

iced coffee

Tallulah having a stretch

brown rice and plenty-of-mushroom doria

avocado taco rice

Yesterday we headed off to the Ghibli Museum, known for Japanese animation films like My Neighbour Totoro and Spirited Away - cute! Keep an eye out on our Renosslah blog for some pics soon. The museum is located in an area called Kichijōji, which is one cute area! Our favourite Tokyo Guide, Hello Sandwich, helped us find us a spot to fill up before hitting the museum, with that spot being Hattifnatt!

The best way to describe the Kichijōji Hattifnatt is a children's cubbyhouse. The entry is through a tiny door, and the ceiling is so low it is impossible for us tall gaijin to stand up straight! There are elements of traditional Japan in there too, such as taking our shoes off and sitting on cushions with low tables. The walls and ceiling of the main eating area was completely painted in a mural full of animals (and children with guitars), and it was a child's dream! A kid's birthday party was under way when we arrived, and children were running about, finding types of animals as a game, ringing the bell for service and generally having a great time! Tallulah definitely fit in here.

Another benefit of sitting on the floor was that Tallulah could have some time out of the sling (knowing she couldn't fall anywhere), and she spent the whole time checking out the colourful room.

With Tallulah successfully distracted, we scoured the pictures in the menu. I found avocado taco rice and asked for that and Renee thought that the picture of the 'brown rice and plenty-of-mushroom doria' looked good. The doria came with a mini-salad. We chose iced coffees as the accompanying drinks.

The avocado taco rice was delicious! It was avocado, salsa and egg on top of lettuce on top of mince and rice, and it was delicious! The avocado was superb on this dish. Renee quickly found out that under the layer of white sauce (she had a craving for cheese) was her arch-nemesis, the mushroom; plentiful in quantity. No amount of pushing food around could get rid of that mushroom taste! The mini-salad, however, had no mushroom (yay!) and had a tasty dressing.

The ice coffee, once creamy milk and sugar syrup had been added, quenched our thirst.

Being time to head off to the museum, we put our shoes back on (which involved me putting my shoes on first, then taking Tallulah from Renee so that she could put her shoes on - babies make thing harder!) and headed back into the world where ceilings and door frames are at least 2m high. Note: this does not include our apartment where door frames are low; I have a few lumps on my head!

The Verdict
Coffee 3/5
Eggs (the meal!) 3/5
Service 3.5/5
Atmosphere 5/5
Total = 14.5/20

Tallulah's score = 4/5 (Tallulah loved this child-like café)

Would we go again? Yes, and they have another one in nearby Kōenji that we want to check out!

Website You must check out Hattifnatt's website, it is sooo good! It is located here.
Kichijōji station is located on the Chūō line, Sobu line, Tozai subway line and Inokashira line.

Café Wendy, Tokyo

2010-12-23T13:41:00.003+08:00

bacon, egg & cheese tortilla

lunch

One thing we have learnt about having a child overseas is that you can't just leave the hospital and be on the next flight home! So we found ourselves living in Tokyo in an area called Hasunuma. It is fair to say that Hasunuma doesn't quite appear on any list of cool Tokyo areas like Shimokitazawa or Kichijo-ji, but nevertheless we went on the hunt for some brunch spots.

Luckily, one such spot opened its doors just after we moved in, called Café Wendy, and it looks pretty cute with its pot plant garden and cute façade. So in we went for a bite, with Tallulah in tow! Café Wendy has a small breakfast menu that features a bacon, egg and cheese tortilla, as well as four different types of hotcakes (including banana, maple & cream) - the breakfast is available until 11:30. We arrived a bit late and asked for the tortilla, and they were happy to make one for us! I also ordered their lunch special, which had rice and pork topped with a fried egg, a salad and an onion broth. We also asked for cafe lattes each. Café Wendy also offers a cake and tea set, which we didn't have today but will definitely go back to try!

We have had a couple of breakfast burritos in Perth, so we were interested to see how the tortilla compared. A couple of bites later, and we both confirmed: the tortilla is better than the breakfast burritos back home! It had a good mix of flavours; the salsa had a bit of a kick to it (unusual for Japan) and the cheese was perfect. It was a winner. My lunch was also a winner - the whole lot was flavoursome and was polished off!

The coffee, unfortunately, was not as good as the food, being ground coffee with hot water and milk added to it, like how your mum likes it. If you come back here, our tip is have tea!

The interior was cute and seats 8-10 people, it's also open for diner and they have a selection of international beer available. Our favourite part was the large oval-shaped marble 'globe' table:

We didn't get very far on our RTW trip!

The owners were friendly, and tried to accommodate Tallulah by placing two chairs next to each other like a dangerous-looking cot. We declined and held onto her, but appreciated the thought. Otherwise, Tallulah enjoyed her quick brunch outing!

The Verdict
Coffee 2/5
Eggs (the meal!) 4/5
Service 3.5/5
Atmosphere3.5/5
Total = 13/20

Tallulah's score = 3.5/5 (Tallulah appreciated the chairs/bed)

Would we go again? Yes, to try some cake and tea!

Website No, but here's a map showing the location! The nearest subway stop is Motohasunuma on the Mita line.

Kinder Surprise!

2010-12-21T17:03:00.000+08:00

Our beautiful daughter Tallulah

So something a little unexpected happened to us the day after we ate that delicious breakfast at Parlor Ekoda....I was admitted to hospital with stomach cramps (no, it wasn't food poisoning!) and the next thing you know we have ourselves a beautiful little daughter called Tallulah!

Yes we know its quite unbelievable but it's true, we didn't even suspect we were pregnant! So our plans changed and our super round the world trip has been put on the back burner and we have been living in Tokyo for the past couple of months! I started a blog documenting this amazing mind boggling adventure we are on, so if you want to know more do check it out at www.renosslah.blogspot.com

So we will be adding new section to our scoring system: Tallulah's Score= baby friendly! Watch this space!

Parlour Ekoda, Tokyo

2010-12-19T22:14:00.000+08:00

Renee's mouthwatering vegetable sandwich

Iced Latte and flat white

Delicious selection of bread

Pecan tart - yum!

Destination: Tōkyō! We have arrived, but not first without filling up on kaya toast at Singapore Airport (kaya is this weird green spread with a flavour that is indescribable, but sort of alluring; read more about it on Wikipedia).

Our only guide to Tokyo is Hello Sandwich, which takes us to places that you will not find in any other guide book. On this day it took us to the suburb of Ekoda, which is just outside the Yamanote rail line which loops around central Tokyo. And are we glad that we found Parlour Ekoda! (パーラー江古田, map)

A good coffee can be hard to find in Tokyo, but not as hard as finding a good breakfast. The traditional breakfast usually includes rice and dried fish; and the breakfast that you can find in one of the numerous American coffee chains is often an average sandwich or worse. The coffee is, on occasions, barely drinkable (the rest of the time it is left behind).

But this is not like us, talking all negative and stuff about such a great city, and so onto the good stuff! Being on the lookout for the best, we eagerly grabbed seats at the small table inside Parlour Ekoda (the other 4 seats are at the bar). We ordered a flat white (which is only possible as the owner trained in Melbourne) and an iced latte. We then settled into the menu, which is basically a choice of 4 or 5 fillings inside any of the Parlour's bread. And this is not just any bread, this is all out French-style bread which looked phenomenal! Renee had her vegetable roll on a rye sourdough roll, and I chose a walnut loaf with a mushroom and chicken filling. The owner warned me that mine would be difficult to eat due to the shape of the loaf (it was - all my filling fell out before I could take one bite)! But we both agreed, these rolls were reaaaaaally good - the bread was fresh and the fillings delicious!

Our coffees (iced latte and flat white) were both reaaaaaally good as well, and we both had to have more. I ordered a short macc, and Renee had another ice latte. And unlike many Perth establishments where the second round falls short of the standard set by the first round, the short macc and second iced latte were delicious!

We finished off with a pecan tart, which like the rest of the food was good. We left feeling very positive about Tokyo!

The Verdict

Coffee 4.5/5
The eggs (the meal!) 4/5
Service 4/5
Atmosphere 4/5
Overall 16.5/20

Would we go again?
Yes, we would!

Website http://blogs.dion.ne.jp/parlour/ (maybe, maybe not!)

Artichoke, Singapore

2010-12-12T13:57:00.000+08:00

Ross' sunny side up

Renee's butter toasted chicken sandwich

House-blend breakfast cereal - now with Little Creatures Pale Ale!

We love Singapore - it seems that you cannot go wrong with the food lah! Today we joined our friends and our friends' friends at Artichoke Cafe and Bar, which is located in Sculpture Square. It has a large inside area, plus a delightful covered outside area with a long wooden table. We had gathered together enough people to fill the outside table! Artichoke has a great ambience - the owner told us that he had spent some time in Melbourne gathering inspiration. Artichoke officially claims that it is "inspired by the fascinating flavours and smells of Spain, Turkey, Lebanon, Greece and Morocco," and they are spot on in this respect!

The "November weekend brunch V1" menu contains a whole bunch of goodies that cost between S$14-18, that I can't resist going all out on:

House-blend breakfast cereal w dried apricots, freeze-dried strawberries, almonds & cold milk (S$7);
Creamy scrambled eggs w organic Kin Yan Farm mushrooms, parmesan & wild rocket, w Turkish bread;
Eggs baked in tomato sauce w country sausage balls, chorizo, Spanish onions & homemade lebneh;
Pan-fried haloumi on toast w organic mushrooms, crushed avocado & wild rocket;
Renee's choice - Butter roasted chicken sandwich, grilled onions, almond romesco sauce & aioli + salad leaves; and
My choice - Sunny side up w Moroccan mergues lamb nuggets, pistachio dukkah, babaganoush & fresh herbs.

The owner happily told me that my meal had made it into the top 100 dishes of 2010 (in Singapore Cosmo). And boy did it deserve to be in that list - it was meal perfection! It looked great on the plate, and had an array of different ingredients hidden under the egg to be found, like a treasure hunt! Renee found her sandwich to be tasty, but complete food envy!

The presentation was a winner - the dishes were fun, and we enjoyed the way that the cereal was served in a paper bag; cute! When we left, we were all given candy in small paper bags; such a great idea and certainly icing on a great cake!

We both ordered iced caffe lattes (i.e. iced coffee) that were delicious! Renee had another one, and I returned for a macchiato which was honestly one of the best maccs I have ever had.

The Verdict

Coffee 4.5/5
The Eggs (the meal!) 4.5/5
Service 4/5
Atmosphere 4.5/5
Overall 17.5/20
Would we go again?
I think we could easily live on Singapore's food - it really is good. Thanks Artichoke, for showing us how a breakfast place should be!

Website: http://www.artichoke.com.sg/

40 Hands, Singapore

2010-12-10T21:29:00.001+08:00

First stop Singapore! Today the weather was a humid 32C, much like yesterday and tomorrow! Our fantastic friends live in Tiong Bahru, on the same block as this delightful cafe, 40 Hands, which was recently established by a couple of Perth expats. The cafe also features art by Creepy. Like many Perth cafes, 40 Hands is all about the coffee.

The interior is well-done. The wooden counter provides a perfect contrast to the concrete surroundings. The order number is a wooden block. In all, it's seriously cool (a nice contrast to humid, no?)

Renee was feeling humid, and thought that an iced coffee would go down nicely; i was quite happy to try the hot fare and ordered a flat white. And they were delicious - perfectly perfected coffees. I would be quite happy to live on the same block as this cafe!

On the food side of things, the menu was limited with just pastries and toasted sandwiches on offer. We started off sharing a ham and cheese croissant, which was average at best and not worth discussing. Luckily our friends suggested, no, implored, that we try their toasted sandwiches, and I ordered the Mediterranean lamb. Others on offer include Jamaican pork, vegetable stack, cheese and tomato, and truffle mushroom (i wish i had ordered the latter - yum!). The Mediterranean lamb toastie was delicious, and full of cucumber, mint, and other yummy fillings.

The Verdict

Coffee 4.5/5
The Eggs (the meal!) 3/5
Service 4/5
Atmosphere 4.5/5

Overall 16/20

Would we go again?
Oh how I wish we could have spent more time in Singapore so that we could have come here again!

Website: http://www.40handscoffee.com/

Poached has gone international!

2010-12-10T20:38:00.000+08:00

That's right! Us poached pair were sick of being overworked, and so threw off our employment shackles in an annual-leave-revolution and declared a state of holiday!

To celebrate, we will be introducing the world to our new way of living via Singapore, Tokyo, Shanghai, London, Paris, Brussels, Bruges, Antwerp, Cologne, Istanbul, Seville, Fez, Marrakech, Porto, Lisbon, Chicago, Seattle, Portland, San Antonio, Austin, Toronto, New York, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Melbourne! And hopefully we can find a brunch-spot or two on the way and report in on progress.

Keep an eye out for a surprise along the way!

The Suite, Shenton Park

2010-12-10T11:18:00.008+08:00

Renee's eggs Benedict at the front, and Ross' eggs Florentine

Ok it was a while ago that we visited The Suite in Shenton Park (24 September to be precise!). Our memory, however, is sharp-as. And since we don't stray into the golden triangle often, we would not want to give this review a miss. The Suite is a small bar, and immediately feels cosy and intimate; it's dark and brooding and once inside it is easy to forget that there is a real world outside. This is good. Renee enjoyed the vintage-inspred aesthetic. The Suite is open 6 days for breakfast, lunch and dinner, but it is only the breakfast that interests us.

The menu offers some simple fair, including field mushroom feta on toasted sourdough ($14), smoked salmon dill cream, roquette, brioche ($14) and pancakes maple syrup, berries, whipped cream ($15). We both went standard today with Renee choosing the eggs Benedict ($14) but substituting the muffin for sourdough, and I went for eggs Florentine ($12). Both meals were tasty, cooked and seasoned well. Renee was miffed that her sourdough toast was actually one piece cut into two- she reckons they could have given her two pieces, surely! (yes she notes that she likes carbs in the morning!)

We both ordered flat whites ($3.50) (yes i know that is not a surprise!) - they were quite delicious, well made and tasty-as. So good in fact that we ordered a second round of coffees; but they were nowhere near as good. Almost undrinkable! Which is a shame, because we were enjoying the atmosphere and had completely forgot about the outside world until those second coffees.

Should The Suite maintain its consistency (and maybe over the last 3 months it has?), it would certainly be a choice spot to escape the world.

The Verdict

Coffee 3/5
The Eggs (the meal!) 3.5/5
Service 4/5
Atmosphere 4/5

Overall 14.5/20

Would we go again?
When brooding, yes

Website: The Suite

We've been bad!

2010-12-10T10:30:00.003+08:00

Hi everyone, I guess you've all been wondering where we have been? Well, we have been pretty busy (you think that's a lame excuse, I know!) But don't worry, we're back, and with some surprises too!

Hubbles Yard, East Fremantle

2010-07-24T21:31:00.008+08:00

Renee's breakfast

fresh juice and coffee

Ross' breakfast

Ok so this post has been a long time coming, as we had been meaning to visit Hubbles Yard for a long time now. Our past plans were thwarted by making the trip on a Sunday no less than twice. Hubbles Yard is not open on Sunday. So if you see any online article claiming that Hubbles Yard is open on Sunday (we're looking at you, sixthousand), be very, very wary! Learning our lesson we made the trip on a Saturday and almost didn't make it as we arrived at 11:25, 5 minutes before breakfast finished. We made a quick scan of the menu and ordered straight away as we didn't want to miss out a third time!

If memory serves me right, Hubbles Yard had a small but enticing menu. I ordered field mushroom which came with goats' cheese feta, pesto, lettuce & a delicious chutney ($14.50). Renee decided upon the breakfast bruschetta with poached eggs and the chutney ($14.50). Both of our meals went down very, very well, cooked to perfection and balanced nicely. The chutney was a good addition which brought the meal to life. In fact the little side sauces that come with meals everywhere are often underrated, and can make or break a dish (for example, although I don't like to admit it Dôme rolls are nothing without their onion chutney. Keep that on the low-down).

Like Dômes everywhere, Hubbles Yard is located on a street corner (Hubble and George Streets), but in one of this city's most hidden-away activity centres, East Fremantle. Being in such a quiet hidden away location gives Hubbles Yard a great vibe, and this is translated to the interior. We polished off our meal perched on stools at a long high table. The quaint vibe rubs off on the staff too, who were friendly and offered service with a smile.

Hubbles Yard has also taken on board some great baristas, and i was more than happy to go back for a second flat white. Not content with just great coffees, Hubbles Yard also offers fresh juices made on the premises (either $5 or $6, I can't remember!) and you can choose the ingredients. Renee's juice contained apple, pear, orange and ginger, and was very, very good.

We also tried one of their cakes on display at the counter. The one I chose to share was a lime and coconut slice, which tasted nice but was a bit dry and was only edible with slathers of cream. But there were many-more moist-looking cakes on display, so this is no reason not to go!

The Verdict

Coffee 4.5/5
The Eggs (the meal!) 4/5
Service 4.5/5
Atmosphere 4/5

Overall 17/20

Would we go again?
Very, very much so!

Atomic, South Perth

2010-07-11T14:39:00.004+08:00

Ross' mushroom & feta bruschetta with poached eggs

Sweet, sweet cinnamon toast

Poached egg with a side of bacon and hollandaise

Some great coffee

Super large menu!

This rainy morning we ventured over the river to South Perth to visit Atomic on Mends Street as we had to drop by my mum's house and she lives in area so it sounded like a good plan all round! About 4 years ago when we first moved in together we used to live in a big old share house in South Perth and we used to go to Atomic when it first opened and we don't remember it ever being this good!

It took me a little while to decide what to order because the menu is LARGE in both options and size and its Sunday and I never can really commit to anything- haha! I ummed and ahhed between the feta and roma tomato bruschetta ($8.50), the Norwegian eggs which featured creamed spinach but then settled on poached eggs with a side of bacon and hollandaise ($14.50). Ross quickly decided on the mushroom & feta bruschetta with a side of poached eggs. He also ordered some cinnamon toast which was quite random and two flat whites.

Atomic was PACKED! Filled with lots of young folk in search for a hangover breakfast and coffee. Atomic serves breakfast till 12:45pm which is perfect for us lazy Sunday risers! Our coffees came out within 10 minutes and they were creamy, smooth and quite delicious. Yay! Our food wasn't too far behind and I was immediately glad with the choice I made. The sourdough was great, the eggs cooked perfectly and seasoned with spring onions, bacon nice and crispy but it was the hollandaise which was a standout. It was yummmmmo! Ross didn't talk much so that means his meal was a winner too! He said his ciabatta was soft and tasty, eggs were great but the danish feta was perhaps a little overpowering however there wasn't anything left on his plate so good sign! The cinnamon toast Ross randomly ordered was sugary goodness...good one Ross!

Overall we have no complaints! Atomic is great- Hi5!

The Verdict

Coffee 3.5/5
The Eggs (the meal!) 4/5
Service 4/5
Atmosphere 3.5/5

Overall 15/20

Would we go again?
Yes!

Food is Good

2010-06-28T13:23:00.005+08:00

So this is our first non-review post- how exciting! Its about food so don't stress- hahaha! It was my mums birthday a couple of weeks ago and for some reason I always find it hard to buy her something as she pretty much has everything so I tend to opt for gifts that incorporate 'experiences'! So much more fun! So this year after researching what concerts and events where coming up I settled on a ticket to Good Food & Wine Show, a subscription to Better Homes & Garden and a memo pad which was a donkey haha!

It starts tomorrow (Friday 2 July) and finishes on Sunday, so get on down! We are looking forward to the Friday evening session, where Masterchefs George & Matt will be giving a demonstration in the celebrity theatre. And it's not just them; Manu is also giving a class on the same night - we loove Manu, so does my mum! There's also cooking classes, cheese classes, a wine theatre, and of course what is a night out without a nice glass of red wine in a Riedel glass, from the decanter bar!

Check out their website goodfoodshow.com.au for more details. Take your mum!

Aubergine, South Fremantle

2010-06-26T17:45:00.006+08:00

orange juice ... and a flat white

eggs benny with bacon

breakfast burrito

lemon & lime tart. Hey, get your fingers away from that tart!

Ok it's been a while since our last post, and there's a good reason I swear! Thing is, we were called up by ASIO to save the country from hoon terrorists on motorbikes who were threatening our gas supplies which would have put an end to bbqs across the country... ok ok I see you have your dubious face on! Truth is we have just been lazy. So lazy in fact that it was about 3 weeks ago that we had breakfast at Aubergine on South Terrace in South Freo.

Aubergine is good (realllly good!). There are lots of tables inside, and a few outside too. We sat outside with the dogs and the loud motorbikes and the 'doctor', even though there were some cozy spots inside. It has a good relaxed vibe, kinda like "upmarket new-age" in personality and functional - with big glass counters full of goodies and a large blackboard menu that takes up almost an entire wall; and water, condiments and newspapers were all at the front. The menu made you full just looking at it, yes the menu sounded that good - here's a selection:

field mushrooms with fresh goats curd, wilted spinach & pesto oil on toasted ciabatta ($14.50)
beans 'in' toast with poached egg, wilted spinach & bacon ($14.50)
oven roasted mixed nut granola with poached pear & vanilla bean yoghurt ($9.50)
breakfast burrito with spiced sausage, scrambled eggs, fresh chilli & herbs ($14.50)

I went the latter; Renee chose the eggs benny. Aubergine gave a choice of ham, salmon, bacon or spinach to go with it; Renee decided upon the bacon ($15.50). The food was cooked well, and the breakfast burrito easily beat the burrito I had at another café a while ago. Renee exclaimed that the toast was particularly good and the bacon was crispy and extremely tasty. Renee recalls we had had a boozy night before so the food really hit the spot.

We both had a glass of orange juice which was freshly squeezed with was delish. I also had a flat white which was okay. Finally we finished off with a lemon & lime tart which was really good!

The Verdict

Coffee 3.5/5
The Eggs (the meal!) 3.5/5
Service 4/5
Atmosphere 4/5

Overall 15/20

Would we go again?
Yes

The Dancing Goat, Swanbourne

2010-05-22T17:48:00.012+08:00

I heart their sign...a goat drinking coffee! haha

Really delicious coffee. Really.

My Feta & Tomato on toast with a side of eggs!

Ross' brekky burrito with mushroom and spinach!

I can't remember the last Saturday I've had off and boy can I tell you it felt SO nice not rushing off to work today! This morning we thought we'd test out somewhere new and settled on The Dancing Goat in Swanbourne. Ross said he had done some research and promised it would be delish so off we set on this rainy, overcast morning!

Nestled on Railway Parade just past Claremont in a cute strip of shops is the delightful Dancing Goat. It was drizzling with rain and the only seat in the place available was outside on the decking. Had it been sunny it would have been nice, but unfortunately the wind was cutting and the awning was only just stopping us getting wet. The staff were concerned and asked us a couple of times whether we wanted to come inside - eventually we relented and they squeezed us onto a nice warm table inside their quirkily-decorated café - which was quite a feat as it is a small establishment!

The Dancing Goat's menu is chalked on blackboards scattered around the walls, and features some basics like eggs (scrambled or fried) on toast ($9.50) and muesli with banana and rhubarb ($10). Ross was immediately sold on the breakfast burrito, which came with mushrooms, spinach, scrambled eggs and cheese ($10), and I had tomato and feta on toast, with sourdough bread instead of the usual rye bread. For some reason I think feta is just more delicious sliced than cubed so throughout my meal I wanted my cubes to turn into slices haha! Both breakfasts were cooked nicely, but nothing mind-blowing. We agreed that the vibe of the place was like a café you might find down south, like a fun holiday!

The coffee, though, was not holiday at all - it was delicious! We both had flat whites, and they we so good we had some more to take away. We also took away with us a chocolate brownie ($4), which was delicious especially as they hid pieces of rich chocolate in it - yum!

Overall we were impressed with the vibe, the coffee, the cakes, and the food was serviceable too.

The Verdict

Coffee 4.5/5
The Eggs (the meal!) 3/5
Service 4/5
Atmosphere 4/5

Overall 15.5/20

Would we go again?
If we were local, this might just well be our favourite coffee spot!

Website: We think their site has been hacked, so instead have a look at the interior designer's website at www.hankandmatlok.com/dancinggoatcafe.htm

Riki Blake's, North Perth

2010-05-15T11:23:00.004+08:00

Fresh OJ & flat white

Renee's Fetta & Pumpkin Skak-Shuka

Roasted Lamb Shak-Shuka

I'll tell you a story...we used to go to Blake's all the time when we lived at our old house it was conveniently on route to my shop! But one morning a long time ago we were slightly fragile from a big night out and were craving their famous 'shak-shuka' which is a middle eastern breakfast dish consisting of tomatoes, capsicum, onion and spices topped with a egg served in a cute little metal pan. It used to (more on that later!) come with homemade bread to dip and green harissa which was the perfect condiment. We took a seat and were violated by this terrible thumping drum and bass music which continued throughout our meal- all I can say is people it is the morning and we were oh-so hungover so Blake's ended up on our blacklist....and we haven't returned until today!

We were looking forward to their food as its quite different to what we usually have for breakfast and we found a nice seat in the sun and we both started to wonder why we'd been so harsh on little old Blake's. Then we got the menu...uh oh it had totally changed! I found a copy of their old menu online which was much more extensive and had items like pancakes with honey and rose-blossom yoghurt but this new menu was stark. I remember Ross' favourite shak-shuka was lamb kofta and I really enjoyed the smoked sausage but they had both vanished! You used to be able to choose from flat, turkish or cumin rye dipping bread- nope not a option now! Anyways we settled on two shak-shukas- I ordered the feta and pumpkin and Ross chose the roasted lamb shak-shuka ($18.50) in hopes that it would actually be lamb kofta (he was dreaming!). We also ordered a flat white ($3.50) and a fresh OJ ($5.20).

Drinks came out and Ross liked his flat white and my fresh OJ was great! Bring on the food! Our meals arrived with 4 pieces of dry Turkish bread which were burnt and there was no harissa in sight... double uh oh....! Ross went and requested some harissa and was told it was no longer part of the dish. It pretty much goes down hill from here- beware! The feta was the best part of my meal and for $17 thats some pretty expensive feta! The pumpkin was hard the egg featured uncooked whites which was still clear (ew) and the sauce was just so bland and had no capscium or spices. It no longer had the pizazz! Shame. Ross' roast lamb was not kofta and was pretty disappointing. Neither of us finished our meal...which is quite unlike us.

On the plus side the service is super friendly and there was no in-your-face drum and bass beats-hooray! The atmosphere is similar to Coode Street Cafe or Lincoln's as Blakes it situated on the back streets just off Walcott Street. Lots of locals stop for take away coffees. We noticed no one else in the cafe were eating...maybe this was the problem? Anyhow, I don't think we'll be back :(

The Verdict

Coffee 3/5
The Eggs (the meal!) 2/5
Service 3/5
Atmosphere 3/5

Overall 11/20

Would we go again?
Um, no...sorry Blake's!

Lincolns 102, Highgate

2010-05-08T11:34:00.013+08:00

Renée's gingerbread waffles

Ross' full breakfast

Renée's seconds! Toast

Lincolns 102 is located the corner of Lincoln Street and Stirling Street, a quiet neighbourhood in the back streets of Highgate. Being so close to us we were keen to check it out after having not gone there for a while. We grabbed a wrought metal table outside and enjoyed the sun.

Lincolns offers a sweet and savoury menu, with items like raspberry pancake with spiced orange syrup, maple cream and toasted almonds ($15) and vegetarian & gluten-free rosti with wilted spinach, poached egg & onion jam ($15). Renée had the gingerbread waffles ($15) and I went the full breakfast ($22).

I went to order, and noticed that they have rearranged their counter area so that there is more room to move. And the changes were not just cosmetic; the staff were genuinely friendly, quick to help and well organised, our food and drinks came out quickly. It was much improved from some of our past experiences at Lincolns and made dining out there a delight.

Another delight was the food! My full breakfast was cooked to perfection. Delicious sourdough bread, soft poached eggs, tasty beans, fantastic field mushrooms, scrumptious little sausages, some of the thinnest-sliced and best-cooked bacon seen on a breakfast plate, and, before I run out of adjectives, a relish that was packed with flavour. Renée's gingerbread waffles, served with maple syrup, double cream and candied ginger, was delicious. Unfortunately Renee doesn't really "do" candied ginger -this wasn't mentioned on the menu so she felt a little jipped with the whole 'gingerbread' experience. She had some bread-envy so she ordered some toast which came with the best raspberry jam ever and lemon butter which totally hit the spot ($6.50 - yum!).

We both had flat whites, which came out quite milky like a good latte. Wanting something a bit stronger I ordered a long macc (topped up Perf style); mmm much better!

We left much satisfied, our bellies full of good food.

The Verdict

Coffee 3.5/5
The Eggs (the meal!) 4.5/5
Service 4/5
Atmosphere 4/5

Overall 16/20

Would we go again?
Yes, thanks to the improved service and impeccable food!

Crumpet, Vic Park

2010-05-02T13:38:00.004+08:00

Flat White & Iced Coffee

Poached Eggs with a side of beans & potato hash

The Spanish Breakfast

Hola! We have been absent of late...we have been making home-cooked brekkys and going to old favourites which we have already reviewed however this morning we decided to check out Crumpet (super-cute name hey?!) in Vic Park.

During the week I did some research as we have pretty much covered our must-go places and found this little cafe and who are renowned for their homemade crumpets! I e-spied their menu online and it was so super cheap (like $7.50 for toast and eggs!) and the meals looked interesting so off we went!

As usual we didn't feel up for the sweet options on the menu (however as usual I regretted it!) such as the banana pancakes with butterscotch sauce ($10.50) or the homemade crumpet ($3.50) which looked delish - the table next to us ordered them...food envy! Ross opted for the Spanish breakfast ($15) and I went for poached eggs with a side of beans and potato hash ($11.50). We also order a flat white and iced coffee.

First up our coffees came out and I was impressed with the iced coffee - it was presented in a really tall slim glass and tasted quite nice! However the flat white was pretty average; we definitely have had better!

Next came the food and initially we were both really impressed- everything looked fresh, homemade and delicious. Unfortunately Ross's chorizo had been replaced with a regular sausage so that authentic 'Spanish' flavour wasn't really there (there was a sign at the counter saying they are trialing chipolatas instead of chorizo in the 'big brekky,' but no word on the Spanish breakfast) ...however I tasted his salsa guacamole and it was fresh and tangy. We both had beans and honestly they were just not that tasty, we both had to season them heavily (so hard to compete with Sayer's bean masterpiece!). I'm pleased to report my poached eggs were cooked to perfection and the bread was tasty. I can't really say much about the potato hash- it was really disappointing and didn't get eaten as it tasted like flour and I had this flash back to these horrible corn and potato fritters my mum used to make in the 80's...haha hope you're not reading this Mum! P.S. Imp's hash-browns were MUCH tastier!

The service was pretty average but we didn't really mind as it was really busy and the girl taking the orders was also waiting tables and clearing them so we gave her props as she was totally under the pump!

We both really wanted to like this place but unfortunately it won't make it into our top breakfast list....we both agree we want to return and try the pancakes and crumpets so we'll be back Crumpet!

The Verdict

Coffee 3/5
The Eggs (the meal!) 3/5
Service 3/5
Atmosphere 3/5

Overall 12/20

Would we go again?
Indeed, to try their sweet breakfast items!

Website: Crumpet Facebook Page

Ross & Renée's home-cooked eggs!

2010-04-18T15:21:00.007+08:00

We've eaten some good poached eggs at some cafés, and some less than average ones. "How hard can it be?" we asked ourselves. Our past attempts were less than successful, and the best-looking egg slid off the plate onto the floor. It was a sad moment.

After some research we decided to try two methods; the first being the standard egg in the whirlpool of vinegar water, which I chose to do. The second was the plastic bag as recommended by Gary in Season 1 of Masterchef; Renée chose this method.

An egg in a ramekin, ready to be poached!

My eggs - free-range of course!

Renée's eggs! Delicious sourdough bread from the Pearl of Highgate.

It was easier than we expected - both versions were successful and tasty, and if they were taken out 30 seconds earlier they would have been soft and gooey. The whirlpool method was easy and the eggs, after being dried on a paper towel, were great! When Renée pulled her eggs out, the plastic bag broke on both; probably melted on the bottom of the pan. This didn't happen to Gary! The eggs weren't injured, and were easily scooped out.

The verdict? Both were cooked well and looked good. In terms of taste, the plastic bag eggs were slightly better tasting, but only just.

We'll be back next time with more breakfast reviews, with our eyes keenly peeled for a perfectly-poached egg!

The Imp

2010-04-11T20:32:00.011+08:00

Coffees!

Renée's breakfast

My breakfast!

dessert - lemon & chocolate tart

Today we checked out The Imp in Vic Park, which masquerades as a café in the morning and tapas bar in the evening. We were lucky enough to score an outside table, but the inside is equally as comfortable and it caters for the lone diner with bench seating overlooking the Highway. Not that us breakfast lovers need to worry about that!

Imp's menu covers the basics with items like eggs benedict ($13), ham baguette ($10) & tomato & fetta ($9.50). Renée chose poached eggs on toast ($9) with a side of hash browns ($3.50) whereas i had mushrooms & spinach n toast with mascarpone cheese. Renée's eggs were hard - one of her pet hates! Mine came with mass loads of button mushrooms, about 5 steamed spinach leaves and watery cheese sauce. Although it was cooked ok, i've had much better mushroom meals. The bread was crusty on both of our plates. Renée's hash browns were the best part of the meal - we think that this is because they double as the herb croquettes on their tapas menu!

The coffee was drinkable enough, but although we hung around for a while we did not want a second round. We have never understood why they insist on using sugar cubes - what happens if you want half a sugar? Wait the right amount of time until it is partly dissolved, then take it out and leave the wet mass on your saucer? Luckily we both like a full sugar so we did not have to test our theories.

To finish off we had a lemon and chocolate tart, served in a cup - it was full-on but did leave a nice taste in our mouths! It was a hard choice too, as there we many a delectable cakes and tarts on display!

The Verdict

Coffee 3/5
The Eggs (the meal!) 2.5/5
Service 4/5
Atmosphere 4/5

Overall 13.5/20

Would we go again?
for their delicious cakes

Website: http://www.theimp.com.au/

West End Deli (2) - more photos!

2010-04-10T16:24:00.002+08:00

As promised, here are some more pics of the West End Deli taken by our guest photographer Penny:

I think they're pretty amazing, and they're only taken from an iphone!

West End Deli, West Perth

2010-04-09T16:02:00.003+08:00

Iced Mocha & Flat White (two rounds! they were that good!)

Penny's Breakfast

Ross' Breakfast (plate 1)

Ross' Breakfast (plate 2)

My Breakfast

First up, sorry for our lack of posting we've been busy working and holiday-ing! We hope everyone had a super relaxing Easter- we definitely did!

So onto our latest breakfast adventure- West End Deli, Carr Street, West Perth with one of our best buddies in tow, Poached readers meet Penny! Now my previous dining experiences at West End have been mixed but this was AGES ago when the place first opened and I keep reading rave reviews and some of our friends are totally team West End Deli! So we thought we'd give another whirl and boy are we glad we did!

On this morning it was super packed and buzzing with a cute crowd of morning breakfast goers. The decor is just right, kinda of neutral but still interesting with rustic feel- think cement, exposed walls, big wooden tables. We totally dig the vibe!

We ended up bumping into a couple of friends of ours who were just finishing up their breakfast and one of them recommended I get the morcilla hash....eeeek I'm not sure if that adventurist...blood sausage kinda freaks me out but then I decided why the hell not! It did sounds rather appealing with pear, potato, bacon and egg with bread to dip, Ross ordered poached eggs with a side of the potted mushrooms and our breakfast guest Penny ordered the brioche with double cream, pistachio and chocolate sauce. We ordered a round of flat whites as well.

Yes, the coffee was super delicious- we went back for more! Our dishes came out and I was really impressed, first of all I noticed their mix and match vintage plates which I LOVED (well, i do own a vintage shop! haha) and they got props from me before I had even tasted the food! I must say my dish was quite tasty though I think I wussed out a little as I couldn't stop thinking about the whole 'blood-sausage' thing...I am lame I know! So I ended up having complete food envy of Penny's dish. It tasted spectacular and I am a huge fan of pistachios...yum yum yum! There wasn't a scrap left on her plate and I couldn't blame her. We didn't hear much from Ross he was busy chowing down on what he described as mushroom heaven. I'll just take his word for it...haha!

The service was pretty good considering the number of people in the cafe but honestly we were too busy chatting away to notice if was actually anything but! I ended up buying a baguette on our way out because their bread was SO delicious and they baked it in house plus I enjoyed wrapping it up myself...so cute! I think we will be back to West End Cafe....it wasn't Sayers or Cantina but it was pretty enjoyable!

P.S Our breakfast guest is actually one of Perth's most talented photographers and promises to email me some way cooler images of our dishes and the venue! So stay tuned for an update!

The Verdict

Coffee 4/5
The Eggs (the meal!) 3.5/5
Service 3.5/5
Atmosphere 4/5

Overall 15/20

Would we go again?
Yes, even if it was just for their delicious coffee and baguettes!

Sayers, Leederville

2010-03-26T17:19:00.009+08:00

Ross' breakfast

Renée's breakfast

Flat white and iced mocha

A while ago I claimed that Cantina 663 had the best iced mocha in town. This verdict was challenged by those who claimed that it was Sayers in Leederville that had this city's best iced coffee. The gauntlet had been thrown down. We never back out of a challenge, and so the iced drink challenge is on - allez cuisine!

Sayers was busy - even on the Friday morning that we went. Located on Carr Place to the right of the Leederville Hotel, the café has taken up the entire passageway to the side of the building, as well as the footpath in front of the shop next door. We chose a table in the passageway (and when I say "chose", I actually mean we picked the only vacant one!) and set about the difficult task of choosing one of the many delectable-sounding items from the menu. And Sayers makes it hard, with tasty-sounding items like wagyu beef baked egg, oven roasted tomato, spring onion & cheddar open omelette, lemon scented rocket ($19) and spicy Italian sausage, scrambled egg, wilted spinach, toasted extra virgin olive oil ciabatta ($19). Eventually we chose, with Renée having the claypot of Sayers coriander & cumin beans, babganoush, poached egg & toasted rosemary oiled Turkish bread ($14.50) and the Turkish bread crostini, herb & feta crusted field mushroom, crushed potato cake bacon, poached egg & spicy red pepper relish ($19.50) for me, and we sat back and enjoyed the comfortable surrounds of the café.

The food, when it came out, was phenomenal! Mine hit the spot, with the relish perfectly complementing the mushroom and potato cake; the poached egg oozed over the delicious Turkish break. Bacon is always a funny item and the best places often fail at cooking it, but not Sayers. Renée loved her hotpot, and claimed that it the dish had the best beans she had ever tasted in Perth! And the bread that came with the meal was a delicacy in itself. Both dishes were exquisitely presented. We made a resolution there and then to come back and try every dish on the menu!

And now for what you have been waiting for - the drink challenge! And with that, despite the anticipation and suspense, it was not much of a challenge with the iced mocha looking and tasting pretty similar to what you would get anywhere else in Perth. No contest. We also had a flat white and can report that it was quite delicious, proving that Sayers can live up to its reputation of having one of the best coffees in Perth. Interestingly, Renée spied the delivery of the juices, definitely looking like they were freshly squeezed by their supplier, and no doubt would have been quite delicious. Compare this to a tapas bar I was at last night where the supermarket-bought Berri juices were brought in by one of the staff!

The Verdict

Coffee 4/5 (point off for the iced mocha not being European enough for me!)
The Eggs (the meal!) 5/5
Service 4.5/5
Atmosphere 4.5/5

Overall 18/20

Would we go again?
again and again until we die

Website: http://www.sayersfood.com.au/

Coode Street Cafe, Mount Lawley

2010-03-21T12:38:00.007+08:00

Our drinks! (yes... a new iphone app which I am enjoying!)

Ross' meal (haha ok not really as he failed to take a pic so I found a random bean pic!)

My AMAZING grilled peaches with ricotta and fig toast

We thought we'd give you a double whammy this weekend! This morning we headed over to back streets of Mount Lawley to Coode Street Cafe and boy was it PACKED! We luckily nabbed a super seat outside in the shade! The staff at Coode Street Cafe are really friendly and Ross and I agreed the suburbs would be alot more appealing if on every corner there was a cafe like this!

The menu has an extensive range of cold drinks from fresh juices, smoothies, fruit frappes and milkshakes! We decided to forgo our regular coffees and opt for a cold beverage. Ross ordered The Energizer ($7) which was beetroot, carrot and ginger which was quite tangy! I ordered a coffee milkshake ($5.50) which was okay but I like my cold drinks really really cold and this wasn't cold enough!

The menu is really appealing with lots of great dishes which I want to go back and try like Muesli Trifle ($10) which is toasted muesli, mixed berries and yogurt, smoked salmon bagel with scrambled eggs ($18) and porridge with fruit and cinnamon sugar ($10) which would be amazing in winter! I chose grilled peaches with ricotta on fig and fennel toast ($11.50) and I actually could not fault it...it looked like a masterpiece and tasted SO good and is now one of my favourite brekky meals- super fresh and delicious. Ross ordered the gourmet baked beans with mushrooms, capsicum and tomato ($11) which failed to float his boat. I think compared to mine any dish would have looked average! He's main complaint was that he couldn't find the mushrooms in the beans and the bread resembled Tip Top...shame!

Overall Coode Street Cafe is a great place. The atmosphere is a mix of neighbours, bike riders, families, mother's groups, young couples, groups of girlfriends so really anyone will love it!

The Verdict

Coffee 3/5 (well, juices!)
The Eggs (the meal!) 3.5/5 (I gave it a 4 but Ross gave it a 3 so a happy medium!)
Service 4/5
Atmosphere 3.5/5

Overall 14/20

Would we go again?
Yes for the Grilled Peaches!

Website:http://www.coodestreetcafe.com.au

Source Foods, Highgate

2010-03-20T15:58:00.010+08:00

Fair-Trade Organic Coffees

Rénee's breakfast

Ross' breakfast

This morning we had only an hour to spare. Source Foods, on the corner of Beaufort Street and Brisbane Street, is one of the few places midway between our house and Renée's shop, so it was my suggestion that we go there for our breakfast fix.

Source is an eco-café. If its organic, vegan, fair trade, gluten free or generally sustainable food that you're after, Source are sure to have an option for you. Their menu comes with a legend - "O = at least 70% organic," "V = vegetarian," etc. Which is all very well if the food is up to scratch. They offer a range of wraps and rolls, and their breakfast menu is simple with beans and toast ($9.50), eggs on toast with hollandaise and spinach ($16), and Renée's choice of eggs on toast ($9.50) with a side of beans ($3). Mine was the most interesting looking item on the menu - mushroom crostini which is spinach and sautéd mushrooms on toast with hommus ($14). Mushrooms and hommus - interesting..

Actually it went well together. The hommus gave some nice flavour to the mushrooms which were otherwise done simply with little adornment. The meal looked good on the plate, and tasted good too. The only criticism from my part was that the liquid in the dish made the toast a little soggy - but only a little. Renée's eggs (poached of course!) were done nicely, and were rich in colour. But the letdown of the meal were the beans, which had a Mexican flavour! And that is probably the crux of Source's problems, that their critical choice of ingredients means that their dishes are sometimes done a little too simple, with very-little use of herbs and spices that can bring a dish to life. This also means that their ingredients sometimes double up, and Renée noticed that nachos were also available on the menu. Breakfast beans and Mexican beans are two different things!

The coffees (fair-trade organic Tiger Mountain) were ok, but only once at least two teaspoons of sugar were added. We don't really understand why the ethically-sound qualities of the coffee produces more bitter but otherwise drinkable flat whites, and if anyone knows the answer we'd love to know!

We sat outside for our breakfast. This end of Beaufort Street does not have as much people-watching action, so we were left with the noise from the car traffic to contend with. Our decision to sit outside was based on the inside being fairly warm. The warmth would have come from the kitchen, and i'm not sure why Source haven't installed some screens to try and contain the heat in the kitchen. Some more open windows would have improved the air flow no doubt. The simple furniture did not add to the general ambiance of Source.

Altogether, Source Foods was a bit of a disappointment, particularly as their ethos and focus on quality has the potential to produce a far better breakfast experience.

We were excited to see that Source Foods has a new neighbour - the Beaufort Street Steakhouse. I love their cow motif!

The Verdict

Coffee 2.5/5 (they score points on ethical grounds)
The Eggs (the meal!) 2.5/5
Service 4/5
Atmosphere 2/5

Overall 11/20

Would we go again?
Maybe for some takeaway eco-rolls

Website: http://www.sourcefoods.com.au/

Moore & Moore, Fremantle

2010-03-12T13:51:00.002+08:00

Back Courtyard

Delicious Coffee!

Ross' Creamed Spinach & Poached Eggs (haha and lotsa roquette!)

Roquette Bruschetta with chorizo, caramelized onion and tomato

Today we were both super lucky to have this scorching Friday off from work, so we decided to drive to Fremantle to visit a favourite haunt of ours, Moore & Moore Café in the Moores Building. We love the laid-back vibe of Fremantle and try and spend as much time as possible here! One day we will make the move to this lovable portside town- this will make Ross very happy as he is a Freo boy at heart! But for now we will just dine at their yummy restaurants and drink at their fun bars and pubs.

The people who run Moore & Moore are super cool, they are all so friendly and goodlooking! Set in the Moores Bulding which is a beautiful heritage building which houses a contemporary art gallery on Henry Street in the heart of Fremantle. You order at the counter and are given one of their strange table numbers made out of old bike parts and french counting cards! Today we ordered the following: Ross went for the creamed spinach with poached eggs, roquette and Parmesan ($16) and I ordered roquette bruschetta with chorizo, feta, caramelized onion and tomato with a balsamic dressing ($14.90) and we both ordered flat whites. The menu has a number of classic dishes which have been improved with fresh, local produce like Moore&Moore Little Pot ($16.50-which is a dipping pot filled with tomato, onion, egg, chorizo with bread) and French Toast with strawberries and banana and honey mascarpone ($16.50)

We chose a spot on a communal table in the large shady courtyard which is immediately relaxing and cool. We usually come on the weekend when its filled with lazy locals but today it was filled with uni students and quite busy. Ross and I would have LOVED to go to Notre Dame, not only is it beautiful but its in the hub of Freo and you could go for coffee and lunch at the million of Freo cafes-jealous! (we both went to Curtin and its pretty much in the middle of nowhere!)

Our coffees came out quickly and were pretty great, smooth and creamy! Before we had taken a sip out came our meals which looked fresh and very appealing! I can report my dish was fantastic- and the perfect mix of tang and freshness! The chorizo was a highlight! My only criticism is that the smear of extra balsamic was probably not needed as it was already generously dressed. Ross didn't speak to me until his plate was clean so that means it was really delicious! I tasted some of his nutmeg creamed spinach and it was good. We stayed for a little while reading the paper and hanging out- it's the type of place you can do this and not feel rushed-which is nice.

Overall, Moore & Moore is great and we'll be back for sure! We love the service, the fresh quality meals and the delicious coffee. Thanks Moore & Moore!

The Verdict

Coffee 4/5
The Eggs (the meal!) 4/5
Service 4/5
Atmosphere 4/5

Overall 16/20

Would we go again?
YES!!! We heart you Freo!

Il Circolo, North Perth

2010-03-07T16:04:00.006+08:00

Renée's breakfast - eggs & bacon al circolo

Ross' breakfast - asparagi alla Fiorentina

Coffees & Orange Juice!

Today we visited our favourite street in North Perth and treated ourselves to one of the newer cafés in Perth - Il Circolo. Sitting opposite the Rosemount Hotel its immediate competitors include Milkd and The Pantry Door.

Not that the competition worries Il Circolo - with its Florentine cuisine and quirky old-school wooden school seats and tables Il Circolo will always provide people with a reason to check it out. We arrived just before the end of breakfast at 11:30am, and as all the tables were taken we sat on the low cushioned bench next to the front window. The low table presented a slightly interesting eating challenge, but we managed fine!

The blackboard menu contained items like funghi alla funghetta (think lots of mushrooms - $12). I had the asparagi alla Fiorentina ($12.50) and Renée chose the bacon & eggs al circolo ($12). The lunch menu looked interesting too, with tortelli being one of the dishes on offer - we will have to come back for that! The food was straight forward, but delicious. The asparagus was cooked well, and the borlotti beans on Renée's plate were flavoursome. The crusty toast was cut thinly enough so that it was easy to eat (many a time I have had to cut through 5cm thick crusts, which just gets very tiring!) In fact the toast itself, served on a wooden board, is a rewarding meal in itself. The only disappointment were the poached eggs (which we both had), which although rich in colour, were small and hard.

We both had flat whites that were good, and though they probably wouldn't win any awards they still manage to beat the coffees served in most cafés. Renée also had an orange juice which was tasty, but out of a Goulburn Valley bottle.

Il Circolo also offers some tasty looking cakes. We finished off with a lemon and rosemary slice ($6) which was moist and delicious and the highlight of our meal - yum!

But the most irritating thing about Il Circolo (meaning "the culture" in Italian) is its name - its completely forgettable, and would be mispronounced by 95% of Perthites including Renée who struggles with the name EVERY time calling it "ill circle-o" (it should be said "ill cheer-kolo")! And when said correctly, you kind of sound like a bit of a tosser.

If you can forget about the name (easily!), then Il Circolo is definitely well worth visiting. In fact it has received a rave review from a native Florentine - well I think it's good; I can't read Italian all that well!

The Verdict

Coffee 3/5
The Eggs (the meal!) 3/5
Service 4/5
Atmosphere 3.5/5

Overall 13.5/20

Would we go again?
Yep but perhaps for cake or the tortelli!

Website: could not find one!

Dim Sim Café, Northbridge

2010-03-06T11:56:00.012+08:00

BBQ Pork Buns

Sticky Rice

Prawn & Chive Dumplings

Rice Flour Rolls & Steamed Greens with Oyster Sauce

Egg Custard Tarts

I grew up eating dim sum (or yum cha which means 'drinking tea' and is used to describe the whole dining experience) which I guess for a white girl living in the burbs was pretty 'crazy'. My Uncle Jim used to travel to Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore all the time and thought he would culture his super-white niece and nephew by frequently taking us out for sushi (in the 80's kids didn't like seaweed!), Asian noodles and, of course, dim sum. He use to take my family out on a Sunday at 11:30am and my brother and I used to LOVE going, because seriously, what's not to like - lazy Susans, chopsticks and steam baskets - it was novel and totally fun! My brother and I were suckers for the pineapple custard buns and the pork dumplings with the little red blob on top (yeah, we were like 7 years old so we didn't actually know the proper names!)

Ross and I are of course big fans of dim sum! We are always trying different places, so this morning we decided to try out Dim Sim Café (next to Icey-Ice) on William Street in Northbridge. Dim Sim Café is owned by the people who ran Hoi's Kitchen which used to be a renowned dim sum institution until it closed in 2006. I am pleased to report Dim Sim Café is just as amazing!!!

We were a bit early this morning as I had to open the shop so it was quiet and really easy to get a table. Usually at around 11:30am there is a massive crowd out the front waiting for tables! We started with some Chinese tea which was delicious (note: I love their rectangular tea cups...so cute!). We picked the following dishes: BBQ pork buns, sticky rice, steamed prawn & chive dumplings, steamed greens with oyster sauce, rice flour rolls with pork, and egg custard tarts...phew sounds like a lot but its not!

Everything was so fresh and the highlight was the pork which is usually a fluoro-red colour but Dim Sim Café uses a deep rich brown mixture and was quite amazing. My favourite all-time dumpling is the prawn and chive and I am pleased to say it was magnificent!

The service was really professional and since there was only a few tables of people they were really attentive. The decor was simple but really that kind of thing isn't really important as dim sum is a tradition for families to get together and eat and share each other company which I think is really nice :)

Overall we'll definitely go back to Dim Sim Café perhaps with my brother and mum and to try out the squid tentacles- yum!

P.S: I was away in Sydney last week so sorry there was no post! Going out for brekky by your lonesome is just not as fun!

The Verdict

Chinese Tea 4/5
The Eggs (the meal!) 4/5
Service 4/5
Atmosphere 3/5

Overall 15/20

Would we go again?
We'll be back with our families in tow!

Dim Sim Café, 297 William Street, Northbridge WA 6003

T: (08) 9328 9388

Cantina 663, Mount Lawley

2010-02-20T12:47:00.008+08:00

Flat whites

Renée's breakfast

Ross' breakfast

This morning we walked to our staple breakfast spot - Cantina 663 on Beaufort Street, Mount Lawley. It is a European-inspired café with wine racks up the length of the exposed-brick walls, and seats and tables crammed not just inside but into the galleria entrance and onto the footpath. Tall marble tables are also available. The place is a hit with the Mount Lawley-ites (yay we're in this club!). We chose a table on the footpath. The vibe is instantly bustling and relaxing at the same time!

Like the interior decor, Cantina's food is based on a European premise with emphasis on quality and seasonal food. The menu changes now and again at the chef's whims, but never to the detriment of quality food. A favorite of mine is the granola with almonds and buffalo yoghurt - a menu item that has recently morphed into muesli with fresh figs and again into bircher muesli with apples ($10.90). Likewise their hotcakes frequently change toppings, but always staying fresh, tasty and interesting ($15.90). Today Renée chose the scrambled eggs on joy toast ($12.90) with a side of chipolatas ($4), and I had the Mamma's Breakfast comprising scrambled eggs, ciabatta, chipolatas, bacon, tomato, mushrooms and hash browns ($20.90). Whilst on paper this sounds everyday ho-hum, it was anything but! The eggs are delicately flavoured with chives, the mushrooms cooked to perfection, and even the tomatoes looked like a feast - they looked nothing like standard fare and more resembled semi-sundried tomatoes. I will not touch a raw tomato but these almost looked edible! There was nothing hashed about the hash brown which was more like a baked potato cake - delicious! Renée went with the intention of ordering the hotcakes but ordered her favourite scrambled eggs combo, she reckons their bread is one the tastiest in Perth!

Service is quick, friendly and unobtrusive. Water was brought to us in one of those brown medicine bottles, and our flat whites came shortly after. The only downside to coffee is that the coffees made during the head barista's smoke breaks are not as good, but today we has the good luck of perfect coffees, served in European-style cups. Today we felt like loitering and I ordered an iced mocha. Now in Perth iced drinks are usually served with generous slathers of icecream and cream, usually with loads of ice and the with the colour of a Brownes Iced Coffee. But continuing with the Cantina's theme (yes, European), the iced mocha was served with a strong shot of coffee made perfectly, a dollop of icecream and chocolate sauce served in a hi-ball glass, and it was DELICIOUS!! And the colour, so dark and rich-looking! Never again will I venture to [insert your local café franchise here] for an iced drink fix!

In short, Cantina offers the kind of food, service and vibe sorely lacking in this city; we hope it never ever closes down as we heart you Cantina and your breakfasts are seriously great nosh!

P.S Renee has downloaded a new app on her iphone and is obsessed hence the polaroid pics- I must admit they do look cool!

The Verdict

Coffee 4/5
The Eggs (the meal!) 4/5
Service 4.5/5
Atmosphere 4.5/5

Overall 17/20

Would we go again?
Ummmmmm - YES!

Website: http://www.cantina663.com/

Mini Espresso, London Court

2010-02-16T13:54:00.009+08:00

Just a really sneaky post about a little find I had today! I'm doing a contract in the CBD at the moment so coffee is an important part of my day as I walk to my office. My office all get their coffee from Botticelli's in Forrest Place and I totally do not rate it....not only is it $4.20 which is criminal but I have had burnt, bitter, scolding hot cups...plain wrong!

But today I went for a wander down London Court and discovered this tiny little hole in the wall which was super-duper cute called Mini Espresso- hallelujah! Its $3.80 a cup and insanely delicious! And Luke who owns and runs the little joint is really lovely! Happy times!

Oh I took one of their cards as you can SMS your order ahead if you're in a rush- smartypants!

The Verdict

Coffee 4.5/5

Would I go again?

They will know me by name by the end of the week I'm pretty sure!

Address

Shop 50, London Court, Perth

The Beaufort Street Merchant, Highgate

2010-02-13T12:50:00.007+08:00

Flat Whites

Ross' Breakfast

Renee's Breakfast

This morning we woke up ridiculously early to unpack the last of the boxes (whoohoo! and yes, our new house is amazingly great!), but we decided to kick off the morning by exploring our new neighbourhood and stroll around the corner to dine at The Beaufort Street Merchant in Highgate. We've been here before for drinks (they do great Pimm's) and have been for dinner which is super-great (note: get the meatballs...amazing!) but we haven't been for brekky here for yonks.

The atmosphere is laid back and we grabbed a table near the windows in some deluxe comfy chairs - score! Downside: Ross pointed out the terrible music... people its the morning, we don't want to listen to your bass beats! (This is seriously one of our pet-hates...bad techno beats at cafés, we have been known to blacklist places and never return for this reason!) The service was not bad (on previous occasions is has been a little crap...) iced water was delivered to the table, coffee orders taken so off to a great start. But then the coffees came....they were really watery and Ross' was bitter and burnt and mine was average. Ross didn't touch his.

Now, lets get to the food! I ordered the Spanish breakfast which was grilled eggs, chorizo, potato and Spanish beans with bread to dunk ($19) and Ross chose the mushrooms bruschetta ($20). It was a pretty small menu about 8 items - toasted muesli, poached fruit & natural yogurt ($10.50), big belly breakfast (everything for $19), smoked Tasmanian salmon & avocado on grilled brioche with creme fraiche ($17). We agreed that the prices were a little more $ than we were used to...

My dish was impressively presented in a little skillet on a wooden board. The highlight of my meal was the delicious pagnotta bread and the herby eggs. Ross thoroughly enjoyed his - it was loaded with rocket and Danish feta and was well done - not a scrap remained at the end. But regardless of the food we were both a little disappointed with other aspects of The Merchant (coffee, music, etc) and agreed that you can get a better meal for less at other places which is a shame. We reckon we'll stick to dinner at The Merchant!

The Verdict

Coffee 2/5
The Eggs (the meal!) 3/5
Service 3/5
Atmosphere 3.5/5 (onced they changed the music!)

Overall 11.5/20

Would we go again?
Not for breakfast! We we'll be back for Pimms and meatballs!

Website: http://beaufortmerchant.com/

Be right Back!

2010-02-08T11:27:00.002+08:00

We are moving house at the moment and are living in a sea of never ending boxes! Alas, we will be munching on some delicous breakfast next weekend! Stay tuned!

Love Renee & Ross

Milkd, North Perth

2010-02-01T18:40:00.005+08:00

Super great coffee

Ross & Renée's meal!

I'll be upfront - we both love Milkd North Perth, so this review is not going to be harsh at all. It is a favourite of ours and we'll keep going back there. But it is one of the last times we'll go back as a local, as we'll be moving to Mount Lawley this week!

So now, a review by biased locals.

Milkd is in a tiny premises on busy Angove Street. Luckily someone left as we arrived so we got to sit outside so we could be flâneurs. Milkd offer breakfast all day, except they will not serve poached eggs after midday. Strange. They offer a fresh looking menu with such items like a Milkd melt which is ham, cheese and tomato toasted on ciabatta ($12.90), eggs & sourdough ($12.90), feta & tomato on sourdough (one of Renée's favourite! $6.90).

Today Renée had the Milkd plate ($16.90) which has scrambled eggs, italian sausage, bacon, fresh tomato, and feta on sourdough. It also comes with mushrooms, but Renée not being a fan of the 'shrooms opted for rocket instead, which Milkd were quike happy to do. I had mushrooms, Italian sausage, rocket, feta and a poached egg on sourdough ($14.90).

Despite being busy as usual, the food came out quickly and with generous portions. It was well cooked and nicely balanced. The poached egg was cooked well so it was not too runny but still soft. Renée, who usually opts for the poached egg, said her scrambled eggs were slightly dry but thought everything else was 'super!'! Milkd gets a big tick from us!

Our coffees were delicious. The coffee seems to have a strong body to it, like a slight caramel aftertaste, though i couldn't quite place it. However, one of our friends came by and told us she thought I the coffee at Milkd was 'too milky'. We truly don't know what she was talking about (that's right Jess!) as there is no way that coffee was too milky; we have had much milkier at many a place, i.e. The Naked Fig last week. She is obviously crazy...haha

Their food, delicious and filling, was the perfect way to fill up before heading to the BDO. Hooray, overpriced festival food here we come!

The Verdict

Coffee 4/5
The Eggs (the meal!) 4/5
Service 4/5
Atmosphere 4/5

Overall 16/20

Would we go again?
We already are regulars! Its pretty consistent!

Website: http://www.milkd.com.au

The Naked Fig Cafe, Swanbourne

2010-01-28T11:46:00.007+08:00

Flat whites!

Ross' tart (at the back) & Renée's eggs Benedict

We both had the day off today so we decided to try out something brand-spanking new: The Naked Fig in Swanbourne. We have never really hung out in Swanbourne and tend to haunt the inner city suburbs so we really didn't know what to expect! A couple of our friends raved about it so we were pretty excited!

The location is pretty breathtaking - think 180 degree ocean views. We didn't actually realize it was on the beach (we thought it was in the group of shops near the railway!) so when we pulled up we immediately regretted no bringing our bathers as the water was super blue and sparkly! Darn!

The Naked Fig is in a big massive shed-like building (think contemporary-Australian design, complete with corrugated sheeting) that Ross thinks will date - much like the vacant 90s building next to it. I got the vibes that this wasn't really 'us'! We were shown to a nice table on the decking and the service was great - we immediately got chilled water and menus and our coffee orders were taken. No faulting them there! I looked around at the crowd and noted the demographic was much older than what we were used to. Ross and I argued a fitting description and we came up with 'Golden Triangle Suburban Family' so not really our bag... however it's definitely somewhere you would take people visiting WA as they would be blown away by the view!

Our coffees came out and I was initially impressed but on an after thought we agreed they were super milky as we prefer ours a little stronger! The menu was pretty standard with some interesting twists such as pancakes (which looked amazing I ended up having food envy) with poached pear and berries ($15), eggs on fire- a spicy chili corn cake with eggs, avocado and bacon ($18) and fig toast with fig jam ($8.50). I decided to have another stab at eggs Benedict ($16.50) and Ross ordered the 'A bit of a Tart' ($17.50) which was spinach, asparagus, poached eggs on puff pastry and hollandaise sauce.

Out they came and they looked pretty similar...haha! I actually thought my meal had with wilted spinach so was a little disappointed with the dry baby spinach but the I'm pleased to report the hollandaise was great with just the right amount of tang. My eggs were cooked well and the bread was tasty. Ross' consensus was 'good'.

Overall we were a little underwhelmed...we couldn't really say establish why but it didn't live up to expectations? It was just kind of 'meh'...

The Verdict

Coffee 3/5
The Eggs (the meal!) 3/5
Service 3.5/5
Atmosphere 1.5/5

Overall 11/20

Would we go again?
Probably not...unless we were taking out 'older' relatives from overseas!

Website: http://www.nakedfig.com.au/

Toast, East Perth

2010-01-23T13:10:00.002+08:00

Great coffee

Cute vintage water bottles

Renée's Breakfast

Ross' Breakfast

Renée and I headed down to Toast in East Perth this morning for our weekend breakfast. Toast is on the Claisebrook Cove waterfront, next to The Royal, which gives you the opportunity of eating inside or out. As Renée's shop is a short drive away from East Perth it seemed a good opportunity to check it out. And it has an all-day breakfast menu, so late-risers such as us won't miss out!

One of Toast's most endearing features is its vintage inspired decor like the 1950's red vinyl chairs but especially its water bottles - vintage French bottles of all different shapes and colours. Together with the colourful plastic cups for water, they are truly fantastic!

Toast offers an interesting menu, with both regular options such as eggs Florentine ($14.90), plus a range of more interesting-sounding options such as polenta toast with mushrooms, French toast with black cherries ($11.90) and sardines on toast. Today Renée chose the eggs Benedict ($14.90), and I had mint and feta pancakes with smoked salmon and a sour cream and chives dressing ($17.50)

Service here is good - our Ricard Anisette water bottle was delivered within seconds of us sitting down, and my coffee order was taken while still waiting in line to order. And the coffee was delicious, with the right amount of coffee, milk, temperature and foam; a respectable effort in a city where baristas are so inconsistent. For those with more backpacker-like tendencies, you'll be pleased to note that Toast will happily serve champagne and beer with your breakfast meal (BYO).

The food was another matter. Although sounding mouth-watering delicious on the menu, we both found that the balance was not there. The hollandaise sauce was much too acidic, the salmon overpoweringly salmony and the pancakes too oniony. The more subtle flavours were masked - either of us could not taste the eggs, and the pancakes were not particularly minty or feta-y (ok i'll stop adjectivising nouns now). While the intent was there, the execution could do with a little more work.

Renée took with her a muffin to eat for lunch which she described as pretty tasty and a good balance of flavour! So not all was lost!

Overall, Toast is a great place to enjoy a coffee and cake whilst admiring their collection of water bottles and pretty cute view of East Perth!

The Verdict

Coffee 4/5
The Eggs (the meal!) 2.5/5
Service 4/5
Atmosphere 3/5

Overall 13.5/20

Would we go again?

Perhaps... just for coffee and cake?

Website: www.toasteastperth.com

Greenhouse, St Georges Tce, Perth

2010-01-16T14:39:00.000+08:00

Greenhouse Takeaway Window!

Ross' Breakfast

Renée's Breakfast

Greenhouse is Perth's latest "sustainable" restaurant/bar - it features roof-top gardens, recycling of water, worm farms for kitchen waste, recycled furniture, etc. The Greenhouse was originally installed in Federation Square by designer Joost Bakker, but unlike Melbourne's Greenhouse this one is a permanent feature at the new Enex100 on St Georges Tce in the heart of Perth's corporate strip. It's instantly recognisable by its 4000 terracotta pots fastened to the outside walls, and we decided to try out their breakfast.

We had previously been for drinks just after it opened and we promised we would return to try out the delicious looking menu. We really loved the decor and enjoyed the use of recycled objects and wood(recycled from the old Greenhouse). I loved the row of alcohol bottles hanging over the bar on blue rope. Overall the vibe is laid back with a splash of clever design.

The Greenhouse offers a array of classic favorites like eggs and soldiers ($10), staples such as pancakes ($11) and eggs & toast the way you prefer ($10) and some interesting alternative options like watermelon, strawberry & labne rosewater salad and brekky pizza. Ross was worried that like many organic restaurants, the Greenhouse may be all about the concept, enjoyed by people who liked to think that they are eating sustainable even if the food was border-line uneatable. How wrong he was!

As it was the first time at Greenhouse I decided to go for my all time favourite brekky combo: poached eggs with a side of spiced beans. Ross decided to test out the poached eggs as well but with a side of wild mushrooms and potato bravis. We both orders flat whites. As a rule of thumb I find if a place can't do a good coffee its rare we'll return...really there is no excuse!

Luckily for Greenhouse they served up a decent cup of coffee, along with cute foam patterns! But it was the poached eggs that completely won the day; we had never seen any eggs cooked like this before. Poached eggs as a general rule are either soft so that the yolk spills all over the plate when you cut into them, or they are overcooked with a solid yolk. Greenhouse's eggs came out looking wobbly, but when we cut into them we found the yolks had a creamy consistency - and they tasted amazing!!! They were simply divine! The eggs, free-range organic from Margaret River and are poached in their shells. Our waitress confided that she doesn't think she will ever get sick of them, and we can't blame her!

My spiced beans were tops with just the right amount of spice and Ross said his mushroom were excellent (just for the record I detest mushrooms as much as Ross detests tomatoes....!). The potato bravis were alright but it was a bit like having wedges for brekky and not really our cup of tea.

The service was a little slow at the start- took a while to get menus (oh, and they will show you to a table, don't just sit down as you might be told off.....) but once we ordered it was pretty quick coming out and we couldn't really fault them!

We'll definitely eat at the Greenhouse again; it was a bit of a bitch to find a park but overall a great experience.

The Verdict

Coffee 3/5
The Eggs (the meal!) 4.5/5
Service 3.5/5
Atmosphere 4/5

Overall 15/20

Would we go again?

Yep just for those eggs...they were amazing!

Website: http://www.greenhouseperth.com/