Hubbles Yard, East Fremantle

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!