Breakfast In Perth

BOHO Espresso

2012-01-08T15:41:00.004+08:00

Shop 5, 241 West Coast Drv (Luna Shopping Centre), Scarborough
Breakfast served daily 6am - 11.45am

Erric and I have been talking about checking out BOHO espresso for the past few weeks and we finally made it today for a Sunday brekky. The cafe is part of the Luna Max shopping complex and it has a massive area to eat outside under the shade which isn't rammed full of tables. I like that they have left the area spacious enough that you don't feel like you are forced to listen to the conversation of the table next to you! All the tables have a bucket of planted herbs as the centre piece and the whole cafe just oozes "relaxation".

The breakfast menu is concise yet it was still hard to decided what to have! The prices range from $6 for toast up to $22 for the La Boheme - roasted mushrooms & tomatoes, poached eggs, bacon, spinach and asparagus on sour dough. Erric decided to try the La Boheme and I was tossing up between the Breakfast wrap - bacon and egg wrap served with tomato relish and mesclun ($11) or the Benedict's Fix ($19). I have had a fixation on hollandaise recently so I went the benedict. I saw the "Full of Beans" come out to a table and that looked delicious. It is a mixture of beans in tomato coulis on fresh ciabatta ($16.50).

They also have an extensive juice and smoothies menu and what I was waiting to try.. their special young coconut drink called "Cocobee" ($10). This was a young coconut drilled to get the juice out, which is then mixed with banana, honey and coconut cream and squeezed back through the drilled hole using a bottle. The waitress was only too happy to explain to me how they did it! Erric ordered a "Ranga" juice ($7.50) which is orange, carrot and lemon. We joked it should have ginger in there too to make it a proper "ranga" drink.

BOHO uses Ristretto coffee which comes from a local Perth roaster. The coffee was beautiful. Both Erric and I commented how good it was. The texture was smooth and there was a bit of a toffee flavour coming through as well.

Erric said her juice was really good. It has a mellow citrus flavour and was refreshing. Now.. my impressive Cocobee drink - wow. It tasted so good! I love that it is served in the young coconut and it was nice and icy cold! It was also never ending - as soon as I thought I had nearly finished there was still heaps more. Well worth the $10 in my opinion.

As soon as the food came out, Erric was like "YES! Warm plates!". She said she prefers a warm plate for her breakfast rather than getting a stone cold one. Her La Boheme was like a big breakfast stack. The roasted mushrooms had tonnes of flavour and they had used fresh basil in the stack which added even more flavour to the dish. The only minor issue was that one of the poached eggs was holding a fair bit of water but they were still cooked nice and runny. Erric said other than the water the dish was awesome.

My Benedict's Fix was delicious. The eggs were cooked perfectly and were obviously poached directly in water which weirdly.. I haven't seen in a while. I have been seeing a lot of eggs poached in glad wrap! The hollandaise at first glance looked a little thin but it was anything but. It was nice and buttery with a good amount of seasoning. The only thing it was lacking was the tang of the lemon juice. The casalinga bread that it was served on was very fresh and the spinach they had added still had a nice crunch.

The service at BOHO is impressive. Everyone is very personable and who I assume is the owner or manager took the time to chat to us and check on what we thought of everything.

This place is fantastic for a casual breakfast where you wouldn't feel under dressed if you walked straight from the beach to one of their shady tables. I love that a place like this exists right near the beach. I feel that these types of casual but quality cafes are an island in a sea of up market cafe's and restaurants. BOHO Espresso is a definitely a relaxing island to visit!

Portofinos Cafe

2011-12-29T16:42:00.002+08:00

2 Quinns Rd, Mindarie
http://www.portofinos.com.au
Breakfast served daily 8.30am - 11.30am
Fully Licensed

After Erric called in sick for our breakfast date I decided to take Andy for breakfast to satisfy my craving for a review. I felt like being near the water so I suggested we see if Portofinos was open for breakfast. There is both the restaurant and the cafe (both called Portofinos) on the beach here but the restaurant is generally open only for dinner and Sunday lunch. The cafe is in a great location right on Quinns Beach next to the caravan park. It's strange that what was once a school holiday destination is now part of suburbia! In saying that the caravan park was full!

Andy and I got a table right at the window so we were over looking the beach. It really is a fantastic view! The menu is fairly basic with the usual meals making an appearance like pancakes, omelette, bacon eggs, etc. Prices range from $4 for muffins up to $19 for either the Big Breakfast (eggs, chipolatas, bacon, tomato & mushroom on toast) or the Breakfast Pizza (bbq sauce, bacon, eggs, sausage, garlic potatoes, onion, sun dried tomatoes). I chose to have the eggs Benedict ($18) which was served with asparagus and Andy decided on the Breakfast Pizza. We both ordered a coffee and a milkshake each.

The milkshakes were nice and cold which was perfect for this 37 degree day! The coffee (Dimattina beans) needed a lot of work. The milk was overheated leaving an almost solid crema crust on top of Andy's flat white. Mine was quite bitter and as I drank it I discovered it was full of coffee grounds that had formed a silt at the bottom of the cup. Talking to my friends at Cafe 54/The Roastery - this suggests too finer grind or maybe the portafilters have not been kept clean. I think cafes should ask their coffee provider to give a free Barista lesson to their staff. Coffee really can make or break a breakfast.

The meals came out not long after the coffee which was good. Andy's pizza looked amazing! It's literally like a big breakfast on a pizza base. He said the spanish onion was cooked until soft as were the potatoes. He loved that the pizza had egg on it. It had a lot of flavour and the difference he liked was the use of BBQ sauce rather than tomato.

I always try the hollandaise sauce first when I order eggs benedict... this sauce was pretty good although it was missing the slight tang. It was still very creamy and buttery with a good amount of seasoning. The eggs were cooked perfectly and the muffins were slightly toasted so they were still soft.

What I found strange was that the cafe has beautiful decor and lovely staff but then after you order at the counter you have to get your cutlery from two plastic takeaway containers sitting on a ledge. PORTOFINOS PLEASE CHANGE THIS! I was actually a little disgusted at seeing it. At least wrap them in the napkins or something so I am not getting my cutlery out of the same old take away containers that 100 other people have put their grubby hands into.

In saying this, I am glad I am discovering great places like this north of the river. I think if Portofinos just tidy up a couple of things like the coffee and the cutlery situation then it would be perfect for a decent breakfast with an amazing view and friendly service.

I have added the label "kid friendly" because there is a wonderful playground that is part of the cafe but there is not kids menu for breakfast.

The Partisan

2011-12-28T13:06:00.000+08:00

Shop 22/60 Royal St, East Perth (down on the water in ClaisebrookCove)

http://thepartisan.com.au/

Breakfast served 8am - 12pm Tues - Sun

The Partisan is somewhere that has been suggested to me severaltimes and a few weeks ago I took Mr Peter Baby there as a gift along with EllaVator, Lady Tango, Gypsy A Go Go and Mrs Chops. I love going for breakfastanywhere near the water and The Partisan have really taken advantage of theirlocation on Claisebrook Cove and outside tables and bar style seating areshaded by umbrellas and a beautiful Jacaranda Tree.

When Gypsy A Go Go and I arrived wewere immediately greeted by one of their lovely wait staff who seatedus and offered to take our coffee orders. We decided to wait for the others toarrive and in the mean time we were brought water which was appreciated on thisbalmy morning.

When the others arrived we placed our coffee and drink orders.Gypsy A Go Go and I were the only ones who ordered an alcoholic drink with ourcoffees (only served after 10am). I, of course chose a Bloody Mary ($13.40) andGypsy ordered a Mimosa ($12). We both thought our drinks were delicious. MyBloody Mary was nice and spicy – just how I like it. It is one of my favourite breakfastdrinks. I hope one day I am going to end up as lady of leisure and all I do isdrink bloody mary’s by the pool every morning. (I have bought myself a lottoticket for the $31million).

The coffee that The Partisan uses is by Five Senses. Everyone wasimpressed with their coffee. The flavour had a hint of caramel in it and thetexture was smooth and creamy all the way to bottom of the cup. Perfecto!

The menu prices range from $3.50 for toast up to $19 for One PanBreakfast (eggs, toast, bacon, tomato, mushrooms and sausage). There was a goodselection of toasts on offer including banana and walnut ($6) and Fig andFennel ($5), which Mr Peter Baby decided to order with her Homemade Granola Muesliwhich came with poached seasonal fruits ($7). I decided to have Eggs Benedict whichwas served with Karri Valley ham ($17). Gypsy A Go Go, Lady Tango and Mrs Chopsall decided on eggs on toast ($13) with sides of either mushrooms ($3), smokedsalmon or bacon ($4).

There is also a lovely selection of Croques (French style toastedsandwiches) available on the brunch menu which would also make for a lovelybreakfast.

When all the meals came out I felt that the presentation andconsistency was a bit lacking on this morning, for example Mrs Chops’ eggs ontoast didn’t come with butter but Lady Tango’s did. The eggs on toast with thesalmon just didn’t look “finished off” on the big plate like the other meals did. Lady Tango also said that she had one poached egg cooked perfectlyand the other was hard.

Mrs Chops and Gypsy A Go Go both agreed that the mushrooms werecooked well. They weren't soggy and were a nice meaty size.

The scrambled eggs that Gypsy ordered looked so creamy and shesaid they were amazing. The sprinkles of stirred through fresh parsley added tothe flavour.

My Peter Baby enjoyed her muesli saying the strawberries were niceand sweet. The toast had more of a fig flavour than fennel, she said she couldn’ttell there was fennel in there.

I loved my eggs Benedict. The hollandaise sauce was perfect. It was creamy and seasoned well with a slight tang. I think sometimes this dish is a bit of a litmus test for a restaurant and their “breakfast ability”. The eggs were cooked well and the karri valley ham had so much flavour to it.

Despite a few minor issues with the food, the service wasimpeccable. The wait staff were really friendly and attentive. I also really likedtheir use of local produce that was both seasonal and fresh. I think it’s greatto see a small business using what we have in our own backyard.

I recommend making a booking on weekends as it is a very popularplace, especially if you want a table overlooking the beautiful water. The Partisan is a lovely addition to the Claisebrook Cove area.

Fez Cafe

2011-11-23T20:28:00.001+08:00

83 Walcott St, Mt Lawley

http://www.fezcafe.net.au/

Breakfast served daily 7am - 11.45am

It's been a long time since my sister and I have been out to breakfast together so we decided to make a Sunday breakfast date at Fez Cafe. The reason we chose Fez was because it was close to home and they had gluten free bread on the menu.

It was quite busy when we arrived but we managed to get a table. The young waitress brought us over water and menus straight away. We were left to look over the menu but when we were ready to order we gestured to the same waitress who acknowledged us. Sarah and I kept talking and then we realised she hadn't come over yet. It seemed her job was to just seat people and polish cutlery. Whilst she was polishing cutlery I gestured again and it was then apparent there was one person who was taking orders and she was the only person who could do so. Sarah and I thought this was a pretty inefficient way of running things considering the other waitress could have easily taken our order instead of polishing cutlery.

The menu was interesting with a strong Moroccan and Mediterranean influence... which is of course what Fez Cafe is all about. Prices ranged from $5 for breads such as fig and fennel, raisin and walnut or banana up to $20 for the big breakfast - two eggs (fried or poached), Mondos chicken and herb chipolatas, bacon, grilled tomatoes, tuscan beans with toast. If you want scrambled eggs with this meal it is an extra $3 which I thought was a little strange. Sarah decided she was going to have the Fez Poached Eggs - grilled cherry tomatoes, avocado, spinach and herb feta on toast ($17). This is what I had my eye on! So I had to make a new choice. I was deciding between the Spanish Omelette - spicy chorizo, cheese, mint, cherry tomatoes and toast ($18) and the Eggs Benedict ($16).

There is also a Berber traditional breakfast (meatballs in rich tomato sauce, roasted capsicum, caramelised onion sauce with fried egg on top) on the menu which Sarah was trying to convince me to get but I just didn't feel like meatballs!

I ended up choosing the Spanish Omelette and we both ordered coffees and milkshakes.

The coffees came out nice and fast and were really good. They use Five Sense beans and it was made perfectly. Great temperature with a creamy texture. The coffee had a chocolately undertone in the flavour which made me want to keep sipping more. The milkshakes could have been a bit colder. It was like drinking room temperature milk. I don't think ice or ice cream was added.

When our meals came out I was overwhelmed by the beautiful sweet aroma of my omelette which was coming from the fresh mint sprinkled on top. The combination of the spicy chorizo with the sweet cherry tomatoes and mint was really nice and almost refreshing. The eggs was cooked well also and there was no soggy residue. The bread was very nice and I think it would have been a perfect finish to the dish to have olive oil drizzled on it instead of being given butter.

Sarah's eggs were cooked nicely and the feta was tasty. She thought it was a bit of a weird combination with eggs, tomato, feta and avocado but it all worked together really well. The gluten free bread also got her tick of approval.

Despite the issue with trying to order we both thought our coffees and food still came out very quickly. The service was friendly but I think there needs to be more flexibility with the wait staffs "roles". A table shouldn't be left waiting if there is someone free to take care of them. Sarah and I both liked Fez cafe overall. The food was fantastic and it's a good little cafe to go to for breakfast with a bit of a difference.

Bellisa Cafe

2011-11-15T19:38:00.001+08:00

60B Walter Road, Bedford

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

Breakfast served 7.30am - 11.30am Mon - Sat & until 1pm on Sundays

After all being at a wedding the night before a few of us decided to meet up for breakfast on Sunday morning if we were feeling up to it.... luckily Mr Peter Baby, Governor FB and Andy were bright eyed and bushy tailed and ready for a delicious breakfast! We decided to go somewhere local and chose Bellisa Cafe in Bedford.

I have driven past this cafe many times and wanted to try it out. I notice that it is usually full, which is always a good sign in my opinion!

The cafe has a modern feel inside that is still homely with all the pretty cupcakes on display as well as homewares for sale. Once we were all seated the waitress took our coffee order and I noticed that Bellisa has a range of Husk teas in all sorts of wonderful blends.

The coffee Bellisa use is from local coffee roaster Dark Star and all of us agreed that it tasted very good. Governor FB commented how good it was after his first sip. The temperature was perfect and the texture was smooth with a slight nutty flavour.

According the Bellisa's website the menu changes every 6-8 weeks to take advantage of locally sourced seasonal produce. The menu on Sunday had several staples on there as well as a some menu choices that were a little different. I like this blend of choices so there is something for everyone. Some of the seasonal choices included Grilled Atlantic Salmon with leek croquettes, grape tomatoes, capers and hollandaise sauce ($23) or avocado, grape tomatoes and ricotta on toasted ciabatta with vincotto dressing ($15) or what I was originally eyeing off - the Breakfast wrap - avocado, crispy bacon, egg, roquette and mayonnaise ($12).

I ended up choosing the grilled asparagus with roquette, a field mushroom, poached egg and pan fried haloumi ($17) with a side of bacon ($4). Mr Peter Baby and Governor FB chose the big breakfast - scrambled eggs, bacon, potato cake, mushrooms, italian chipolatas and roasted tomato ($22). Andy chose Eggs Benedict ($18).

Mr Peter Baby and Governor FB loved their big breakfast. Governor FB commented that his chipolatas where actually chipolatas and not just "little sausages". Mr Peter Baby said the potato cake had a nice herb flavour that had a soft mash texture. Both Governor FB and I thought the bacon was a little on the salty side rather than having a smokey flavour.

The asparagus on my dish was cooked well. It was still firm but tender. The haloumi was fried well leaving it soft. It went well with the dish and the field mushroom was nice and meaty and full of flavour. The poached egg was cooked perfectly as well and I enjoyed mopping up the yolk with pieces of asparagus on the end of my fork.

Andy also said his eggs were cooked perfectly. His hollandaise was creamy and he couldn't fault it. It wasn't too buttery or too vinegary.

The service was friendly and generally attentive. My only complaint was that we had to ask for water a couple of times before going up to the counter to ask but other than none of us had any complaints but the food, coffee or service.

There is nothing else like Bellisa cafe in this area. It's almost as if it got lost on it's way to Beaufort St in Mt Lawley but settled in an unlikely spot.... and... it's fantastic! I hope that people in the area and surrounds continue to frequent this great cafe.

Bellisa Cafe also does High Tea on Sundays from 1pm as well as degustation dinners.

The Waterfront Cafe and Restaurant

2011-11-06T21:15:00.003+08:00

33 Ocean Falls Boulevard, Mindarie
http://www.thewaterfrontcafe.com.au
Breakfast served 8.30 -11.30am

Andy and I have been very underwhelmed by what the Mindarie marina has to offer in the way of breakfast until now. The Waterfront Cafe is a relatively new addition to the marina and a very welcome one at that it seems. We decided to head there on a very windy Sunday morning a couple of weeks ago and found the cafe to be packed with a few free tables outside. We sat at one before noticing a table becoming free inside. We asked if we could sit there and the waitress quickly cleared the table for us. We were glad because the wind was blowing a gale outside!

The menu was comprehensive with the usual breakfast choices along with some other dishes that were at little less common but Andy (who is a Brit) commented they would be loved by the British ex-pats. It's no secret that a lot of English people live in the northern suburbs and I really think they have put some thought into their menu and target market. You could easily say there is something on this menu for everyone! The prices ranged from $4 for toast up to $18.50 for steak and eggs which also comes with fried potato. Andy decided on the Big Breakfast - Bacon, pork sausage, two eggs, mushrooms, grilled tomato, baked beans, fried potato and toast ($18) and to keep the sweet series going I went with a choice that had the best of both worlds, the American Breakfast - Two pancakes, fresh fruit, grilled bacon and maple syrup ($15.50).

Anyone who hasn't tried bacon with maple syrup is missing out. Had I not been dedicated to ordering something sweet I would have gone for a childhood favourite - Bubble and Squeak - Mashed potato, cabbage and onion cake, with pea puree and poached eggs ($14). We also both ordered a coffee and a milkshake.

There was also a kids menu with 6 choices all for $6.95. Even the fussiest of kids would find something they liked on this menu. There was eggs and soldiers, pancakes, fruit salad, bacon butty, egg on toast or a cheese toasty.

You have to order at the counter so I was surprised that our coffees still came out very quickly. The coffee (Bonissimo) was made with a nice creamy texture and was a good temperature. We both found the flavour was a bit on the lighter side.

Andy's big breakfast was very good. The mushrooms were nice and meaty and the fried eggs were cooked perfectly. The potatoes were a nice change from hash browns and were crispy with a soft centre. Overall it was a fantastic breakfast.

The pancakes on my breakfast were light and fluffy and cooked well. I can't stand having doughy pancakes! The bacon had a little too much fat on it for my liking but I cut it off and along with the maple syrup and pancakes it was delicious. I really liked having the fresh fruit on the plate, which I had afterwards. It was really refreshing.

The service at The Waterfront Cafe was excellent. Our coffees and meals came out quite quickly considering how busy they were and the waitstaff were all friendly and attentive. I would recommend making a booking for weekends, especially for bigger groups. Andy and I are slowly finding more and more good places for breakfast in the north and this place is another one to add to the list. This is the perfect place for a family breakfast in a lovely location overlooking the water.

Bivouac Canteen & Bar

2011-11-05T09:07:00.000+08:00

198 William Street, Northbridge
http://bivouac.com.au/
Breakfast served Tuesday - Saturday 10am - 3pm
Fully Licensed

After Coolio Ma Cha Cha told me about this place it has been on my mind to try it and what started as a couple of us heading here for breakfast turned out to be a large group! Each time one of us (Coolio Ma Cha Cha & Gypsy A Go Go) mentioned we were going to Bivouac the group grew larger as everyone was really keen to try this place! So our group for this review consists of a few new people in addition to Coolio, Gypsy, Mono Lisa & Johnny Awesome we have J Star, Mach-1, Detective Cogger and Audio Cass.

Now, if you are wondering how to pronounce the name - think of it like "beaver-wack" and the word Bivouac basically means an "encampment".

We arrived with our group a little before 10 and the owner kindly said they would be a few minutes until they were ready and he asked how many of us was there. Straight away he said he had the perfect table for us inside! When we went in we were sat at a large bench where we all comfortably fit. Bivouac is a small place so there isn't a lot of room for massive groups but we were pleased they could accommodate us.

Our coffee orders were taken straight away which I always like. It didn't take long for our coffees to come out and everyone agreed that the Five Senses coffee was amazing. Johnny Awesome has his black and he was impressed by the flavour. It had an almost nutty flavour that was full bodied and at perfect temperature. Mach-1 commented that he liked his coffee so much he ordered another which he rarely does. J- Star ordered a soy cappuccino which she said was very nice as well.

Most of us has already been looking at the menu during the week and had decided what we wanted. There are 4 choices for breakfast - Gypsy Baked Eggs - chorizo, potato, red pepper ragu, egg and sourdough ($15.50); Salute the Sun - avocado, ricotta & lemon on sourdough ($9.90); The Revolution - french toasted brioche, citrus ricotta, pistachios & strawberries ($14.90); Canteen Tray - grilled italian sausage, baked beans, scrambled eggs on toasted sourdough. ($15.50).

I love that Bivouac has a "Bouzy Breakfast" as they call it. They have paired 3 of the 4 menu items with an alcoholic beverage. Each choice is only $22 - great value! The Revolution is paired with champagne, the Gypsy with a Bloody Mary and the Canteen with beer. It's such a great idea and they even let Audio Cass swap which "bouzy" drink she wanted with her Gypsy Baked Eggs.

Now I am still on the sweet breakfast mission so I ordered The Revolution & Bubbles as did Gypsy A Go Go. Everyone else ordered the Gypsy and Bloody Mary. The drinks didn't take long to come out and I was immediately jealous I didn't have a Bloody Mary because it is my FAVOURITE cocktail. This was soon dissolved when I tasted my champagne. It was lovely! I tried Coolio Ma Cha Cha's Bloody Mary and it was really nice and very spicy. I love spicy ones but a few commented that it was a bit too spicy for them especially combined with the heat from the chorizo and ragu in the Gypsy Eggs.

The food came out in good time for our large group and it was a big "WOW" moment from everyone. The food was presented beautifully, it was almost a shame to ruin it by eating it!

The Gypsy Baked Eggs reminded me of something similar to a Shakshuka (I had a sneaky taste) - it was spicy and flavoursome. Everyone agreed that the dish was fantastic and a perfect size for a breakfast meal. Mono Lisa said that she really enjoyed the olive oil on the sourdough instead of butter. Audio Cass said her dish was seasoned well, the toast was fresh and she really enjoyed the meal - especially the value for money with the drink. Coolio Ma Cha Cha commented that the potatoes were cooked perfectly and the dish had lots of flavour.

My Revolution was amazing. As soon as I took the first bite I was in heaven. The combination of everything along with a sprinkle of fresh mint leaves really made this dish something special. The mint and fresh strawberries gave it a freshness that counteracted the heaviness of the Brioche. It was amazing. I loved the pistachios in the mix with the sweet ricotta and syrup that was drizzled over the meal.

Here is what Gypsy A Go Go had to say about her experience,
"I love starting the day with bubbles and I was presently surprised at how nice the champagne was. I scanned the menu at home before our breakfast date and had my heart set on The Revolution. I almost did the old switcheroo at the last minute and got eggs but stuck to my plan and so very glad i did (although the Gypsy eggs looked & smelt fab when they came out!). The presentation of The Revolution was pretty with fresh mint leaves and rosewater syrup and in my opinion the perfect amount of food. The restaurant itself has a super casual unpretentious vibe which I loved and I couldn't fault the service at all."

We all agreed that the service was fantastic. They went above and beyond for our group even though it was a busy Saturday morning service. Something that I noticed after we left and commented to Gypsy A Go Go about was that we realised we never noticed the wait staff when they were clearing our table or anything. They were THAT good. They did their job and never really disturbed our group. It was fantastic.

I can't recommend Bivouac enough for the service, the food... everything... so much that they are now in my top 3!

Pancakes & Grill

2011-10-05T23:02:00.000+08:00

7/160 James St, Northbridge
http://www.pancakesgrill.com.au/
Breakfast served weekends 9am - 3pm
Fully Licensed

Welcome to the first of the sweet series of reviews that I have been promising for a while! I am going to attempt to order something sweet off the menu each time I go out for brekky for the next couple of months! Who better to join me in the first review of this quest but.... Coolio Ma-Cha-Cha! She was the one who originally came up with idea after we kept saying there should be a "dessert" for breakfast. YUM!

Fellow blogger Gypsy A Go Go (What I Ate Today) joined us as well for a perfect start to this sweet series at Pancakes & Grill in Northbridge. Everyone loves pancakes for breakfast - especially with lashings of maple syrup and icecream (well I know I do anyway).

We decided to sit in a cosy booth and straight away the waitress came up and gave us menus and took our coffee orders. I was not expecting this! As I always preach, coffee orders should be taken as soon as you're seated and I was not expecting that kind of service from Pancakes & Grill. It was a nice surprise! Coolio Ma-Cha-Cha ordered a "Megamug" of cappuccino and Gypsy A Go Go and I ordered "normal" size ones.

The coffee came out quickly which was good! I had a few wines the night before and needed it! The coffee was a good temperature although I thought the coffee had a slight bitter taste it was still a nice cup and definitely not undrinkable.

I was surprised to see an actual breakfast menu offering the usual breakfast fare but instead of toast, there was pancakes. Prices range from $11.90 for pancakes and scrambled eggs up to $19.50 for The Works - Small OJ, two buttermilk pancakes with grilled sausages, bacon, tomato two eggs and hash browns. There was an interesting item on there called Aussie Sunrise - Pancakes, fried egg, grilled banana and pineapple plus your choice of bacon or sausages ($14.90)... I wondered how that whole combo would go together! It was like a Hawaiian pack for pancake lovers.

BUT we were here to have something sweet! Trying to decide what pancakes we were going to have proved immediately difficult. There was a HUGE choice ranging from the simple pancakes with lemon and sugar right up to stacks topped with fruit, ice cream, cream and anything you can imagine as well as crepes and waffles!

I decided on the Hot Bavarian Apple - Hot, spicy apple, sultanas and cinnamon, served wtih two buttermilk pancakes. Topped with cream and icecream ($13.90). When it came out I was overwhelmed with how delicious it looked. The pancakes were cooked perfectly and were light and fluffy. The buttermilk gave them good flavour. The apples were stewed enough to be nice and sweet but still firm. I loved that there was a decent amount of ice cream on the pancakes as well.

Here is Coolio Ma-Cha-Cha's review,

"Having had a dinner of savoury crepes at the Pancakes & Grill and not been too impressed I wasn't expecting too much from their other fare but was pleasantly surprised to discover their sweet options are really were it's at. I was torn between the strawberries and cream cheese crepes ($14.50) and the waffles with either chocolate or caramel fudge ($12.90) sauce (OR as I discovered when I went to order BOTH, which I declined but love that option!!)

First up I ordered a MegaMug of Cappuccino as I had a big day of hitting the Royal show ahead of me and knew I would need that bit hit of caffeine! When my waffles with Caramel sauce, cream AND ice cream came out it looked amazing but I had some food envy when I saw the other pancakes, had I made the right choice...? YES! My waffles were delicious, nice and fresh, crispy on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside. I loved the caramel sauce and any place that serves ice cream and cream wihtout having to be asked is aaaalright!

Having had such a nice exerience at the Pancakes & Grill on James for breakfast I would actually like to go back and try their burgers and $12 cocktails sometime soon, it's a nice space with lovely staff and reasonable prices. Great start to the sweet series!"

Gypsy A Go Go also loved her breakfast! She says,

"My eyes lit up when I saw our pancakes arrive. I ordered the Bananarama pancakes- 2 pancakes with grilled banana, ice cream and cream ($13.90) and it looked amazing. I was impressed that each table had a massive syrup bottle so you could pour it on yourself when the pancakes arrived. I hate it when your pancakes arrive already drowned and soggy with maple syrup or even worse - not enough syrup at all.

The pancakes themselves were light, fluffy and had a lovely buttery flavour. All the toppings together was flavour heaven. I felt a little bad since it was pure sugar at 9 o'clock in the morning but it was a nice treat! i thought the portion size was perfect and the price very reasonable."

The service at Pancakes & Grill was very good. It was prompt and friendly and it hardly took any time for our coffee or meals to come out.

When we were leaving we saw that they only charge around $12 for cocktails! Those kind of prices are rare now days! We are talking about going back there with some friends to sample the drinks over more pancakes with icecream of course.

Even though the breakfast section of the menu is available until 3pm you can still get all the other pancakes all day and night!

If you love pancakes, this is the place for you. All 3 of us were really surprised about how good Pancakes & Grill was!

Cioccolato Espresso

2011-09-18T18:59:00.002+08:00

31 Ardross St, Applecross
Breakfast served all day from 7.30am

After putting the call out on Twitter to get some recommendations for places for breakfast in Applecross, the overwhelming response was Cioccolato Espresso. Chantilly Lace and I decided this was the place we would meet for breakfast, for what would probably be the last time before she has her baby daughter - already affectionately nick named "button".

I arrived a little early (9.15ish) so I got a table inside the cosy cafe and ordered a flat white to have while I was waiting. I loved the latte art on top and then I remembered I had seen photos of the cappuccinos they serve with chocolate flakes on top. I promised myself I would order one with breakfast!

Once Chantilly Lace arrived for 9.30am the place had started to really get busy, with both take away coffee orders as well as people trying to get a table. Despite noticing this from where I was sitting there was not one time we felt rushed to move or even to start to get that feeling that things were getting busy. No one seemed to mind waiting and none of the staff "dropped the ball" so to speak.

I had been looking at the menu for a while and was already torn between a couple of the dishes! The prices ranged from $4.80 for either New Norcia toast, fruit toast or banana bread up to $14.80 for roasted field mushrooms on toast with haloumi and spinach. This was one of the dishes that I was deciding between... this or the Bagel BLT - bacon, spinach and roast tomato ($12.80). Nothing on this menu was really "run of the mill" breakfast but the dishes were simple and everything looked amazing (yep.. I spied on other people and what they ordered). Most dishes only had a few core ingredients and it worked really well.

I decided on the roasted mushrooms - based on my sudden craving for haloumi. Chantilly Lace ordered the fruit toast and we both ordered a cappuccino.

Our cappuccinos came out with the chocolate flakes on top! They were a delicious little addition to what was an amazing coffee. It was perfect temperature with a very VERY smooth flavour and texture. Right to the last gulp.

Our food came out pretty quickly and I knew straight away I had made the right choice. My mushrooms were cooked beautifully - tender but still firm. They had a nice garlic flavour to them which went perfectly with the haloumi. The spinach was done nicely so it wasn't a soggy mess. It was a perfect sized breakfast so I didn't feel too full or like I hadn't had enough.

Chantilly Lace loved her New Norcia fruit toast. She said it was jam packed full of fruit and was very tasty.

The service was very friendly at Cioccolato and I was impressed that our plates and coffee cups were cleared away pretty quickly. I can't stand sitting there on a small table with it full of dirty dishes. All the people that worked there were cheery - even on this stormy Sunday morning! Chantilly Lace and I both enjoyed our breakfast and sitting there chatting for a while afterwards. I am still thinking about that amazing cappuccino now! YUM!

Cioccolato Espresso is definitely a place to check out for great service, tasty food that is a bit different and AMAZING coffee.

Tarts

2011-09-14T15:40:00.002+08:00

212 Lake St, Northbridge
http://www.tartscafe.com.au/
Breakfast served from 7am - 12pm Mon-Fri & until 2pm on Weekends.
Licensed for BYO

Firstly this is the second time I have reviewed Tarts.... it was one of the first few places I reviewed when I started this blog nearly 3 years ago! As with last time I went there, I have ended up at Tarts because the original place we had decided did not work out.. but make no mistake - I am not regretful about eating brekky at a place like Tarts!

Coolio Ma-Cha-Cha came up with the idea a while ago that I do a "sweet series" of reviews where we only order sweet breakfasts. We decided we would start this at Koko Black on Sunday along with her sister and fellow blogger (What I Ate Today), Gypsy A Go Go. To our disappointment and annoyance that I had not read the opening times properly on the website, I found out they do not open for breakfast on Sundays! We decided to walk from Coolio Ma-Cha-Cha's place to Tarts instead. So I am sorry all my sweet tooth readers... we will be starting the "sweet series" soon!

We grabbed some menus and got a seat pretty easily out the front in the warm sun. In between gossiping we tried to look at the menu and actually make a decision about what to eat. EVERYTHING on the menu looked delicious with prices ranging from $6.90 for breads (including croissants or bagels) up to $18.90 for the Grande - Scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, tomato, mushrooms with sour dough. I thought there was a good mix of dishes on the menu as well. It really seemed like one of those "something for everyone" menus.

I eventually decided on having the Bagel - V ($12.90) - Cream cheese, avocado, spinach and semi-dried tomatoes, also with a side of bacon ($4). I also ordered a vanilla milkshake and a cappuccino to which Gypsy A Go Go asked me "what is with your milk addiction anyway?!". I really just LOVE milk! My milkshake was delicious. It was really creamy and had a nice flavour that didn't taste like sickly sweet syrup. The coffee was perfect temperature with a creamy top and strong flavour.

My meal was delicious! I thought the bagel might have been a bit chewy but it was so soft and easy to eat. I also found it surprising that the semi-dried tomatoes were really sweet. Normally I don't like them as I can find them to be a bit tart. The spinach was blanched nicely so it still had a bit of crunch and the bacon was cooked well with some nice crispy edges on it! Yum!

Here is Coolio Ma-Cha-Cha's thoughts on her breakfast,
"As per usual by the time I sat down to eat breakfast I was starving and everything looked really good! Tarts is a firm local favourite of mine and never disappoints, the service is prompt, friendly and they will even come out and offer to bring you water for your snorty little dog which is a big plus for me!

I ordered the mushrooms on toast that comes with fresh ricotta, rocket and pesto ($14.90) and also sausages as an extra ($4) as well as the largest cappuccino they had on offer. The coffee came out within a few minutes and was a perfect temperature and tasted great, it was also in a large mug which I really appreciated. The mushrooms on toast with sausage came out and looked fantastic, it tasted even better! The mushrooms were cooked very well, sometimes they can tend to be a bit soggy but these were just right and the sausages were delicious! 3 litte sausages were a perfect accompaniment. The whole meal was very reasonably priced as well. All in all it was a great breakfast!"

Here is what Gypsy A Go Go had to say,
"I ordered the Breakfast bruschetta with tomato, goats cheese chorizo and rocket ($14.90). This was almost perfect. At first I wondered if it would be enough but it was just the right amount of food. The bread was crusty but nicely softened in the centre by the tomatoes & the tomatoes themselves were soft and tasty. The only thing lacking was the goats cheese - it needed more. Maybe its just a personal thing as I LOVE goats cheese and never care if its taking over the dish.

My exact words when ordering the coffee wwas "give me the biggest cappuccino you have" (with some please and thank you's - I have good manners) and so happy to receive a mug! However not so happy to dig down the froth to find it mostly frothy milk with 3 mouthfuls of coffee. It's good coffee I have to admit but really... hold the froth and give me the caffeine please!"

The service is counter service at Tarts, which is perfect to go up there an see the amazing cakes, muffins, macarons and all the cool little gifts they have inside! I still think Tarts is a great little gem for Northbridge and don't forget they have a beautiful outside area out the back as well!

Taylor's on Kingsbridge

2011-09-04T12:26:00.002+08:00

5 Kingsbridge Blvd, Butler (Cnr of Marmion Ave & Kingsbridge)
Breakfast served daily 8.30am - 11am

Clive and I often go for a walk on Sunday mornings to get the paper from the bakery in Butler (a.k.a Little Britain) and we noticed that the Taylor's was open for Sunday brekky and there was a regular group of lycra wearing middle aged men there every weekend. What does that have to do with anything you ask? Well I am starting to think that places that have these strange creatures as regulars are usually pretty good. So lets find out if my theory is correct!

Today being Fathers Day, Clive and I walked down there with the expectation that we might not get a table. We arrived just after opening time and we were greeted with a smile and some menus and we were told we could sit down. There were a few tables without reserved signs so we picked one and sat down. We were brought water and the waitress said she would be back to take our orders shortly. I think they were still finishing off setting up after opening as it would have been nice to have our coffee order taken then. That is just my own preference!

The menu had all the dishes you would expect to see on a traditional breakfast menu with prices ranging from $3.50 for toast up to $19 for the Big Breakfast - 2 eggs, bacon, sausage, tomato, beans, mushrooms, hash brown and toast. There is also a very cheap kids menu with bacon or sausage with egg and toast ($6.50) or a pancake with maple syrup and icecream for $3.50.

Clive chose to order the Turkish Breakfast - turkish bread topped with egg, bacon, avocado, tomato, melted cheese and chilli tomato jam ($16). I decided on the Eggs Benedict ($14.50). I also ordered a cappuccino and Clive got a flat white. I had to resist ordering a milkshake as I knew we still had to walk home!

When our coffees came out I was immediately transported back to my childhood of when mum would order a cappuccino from the shopping centre cafe and it would be piled high with stiff choc covered foam. Not to sound like a coffee snob but a cappuccino shouldn't look like a soufflé (as Kristine from KristineSays describes it). Matt From Abstract Gourmet says that, "milk foam should be dense and velvety with a 1-2cm layer at the top of the cup." However, I did enjoy spooning the foam off the top and but the coffee underneath was a tad too hot and slightly watery, yet surprisingly still had good strong flavour without being bitter.

Our breakfast came out and with some trepidation I tried the hollandaise sauce. I think it can be a risk to order Eggs Benedict as hollandaise sauce is something that so many places get wrong and it ruins the whole dish. The sauce was nice and creamy, seasoned well and had a nice buttery taste. I thought it could have done with a touch more tanginess, but other than that it was lovely. My poached eggs were cooked perfectly and I liked how the ham was thinly shaved and wasn't thick meaty slices.

Clive really enjoyed his Turkish Breakfast. The eggs were a touch over done but still runny right in the middle of the yolk. He said the chilli and tomato jam was delicious. It was sweet with a touch of chilli heat. Overall he said the dish was really good - especially with the chilli and tomato jam.

The service at Taylor's was very relaxed and friendly. From the moment we walked in until when we left (and it had started to get quite busy), the level of service didn't drop. At one point one of the wait staff came and told us there was another Sunday Times available if we wanted it as Clive and I were sharing ours (well reading our own favourite sections). I thought this was really nice!

Clive and I both really enjoyed breakfast at Taylor's and were actually surprised with how good it was in terms of service and the food. I think with a few tiny little tidy ups with some things mentioned above, this place could be excellent. The area definitely needs it! I hope they keep up the good work!

Voyage Kitchen & Delicatessen

2011-08-27T13:11:00.000+08:00

128 West Coast Drive, Sorrento

http://www.voyagekitchen.com.au

Breakfast served 6.30am - 11.30am Mon-Fri, 6.30am - 11.45am Weekends

After a few failed attempts at trying to have a breakfast together Erric and I finally booked in with each other AND Voyage Kitchen & Delicatessen. I have seen before people lining up outside to get a table so I knew to book and I recommend the same to everyone unless you don't mind standing outside waiting! On a side note, I like that you can't see the people standing outside waiting while you are eating breakfast. There is nothing more annoying than feeling of being rushed by people glaring at you to finish and vacate THEIR table!

I got an SMS from Erric while I was parking saying "great table!" and when I got inside we had a cosy table right in the corner on the nice lounge seats. I noticed that even as packed as it was in there, it wasn't "loud", which meant we could have an enjoyable conversation.

We weren't sure of the process for ordering as there were people lining up for takeaway coffee and also lining up at the till... was that to order or to pay? I called one of the wait staff over to get a menu and she told us it was table service and took our coffee orders. I ordered a cappuccino and a freshly squeezed OJ and Erric ordered a flat white. Voyage have a great selection of freshly squeezed juices to choose from that you can mix and match.

Even though I had looked at the menu on-line I was still finding it hard to decided what to get! It all looked so delicious and different from the usual run of the mill breakfast menus. The prices ranged from $6 for toast up to $18.50 for several of the menu items like Shakshuka - North African baked eggs with saffron braised peppers & tomato, coriander yoghurt & toast; Scrambled Eggs - Harris Smokehouse salmon, parmesan, asparagus, baguette; or what I chose the omelette - Mushroom and sage ragout, truffled goat cheese & toast. Erric chose Norma's Salsa (also $18.50) - Poached eggs, grilled tomatoes, avocado, wilted spinach & marinated feta on toast. I also asked for a side of bacon ($4.50) with mine and Erric asked for free range pork sausages ($4.50) with hers. Another menu item that you don't see enough of in Perth considering our sardine trade is the old sardines on toast! Voyage had their version of this with tomato sugo, olive tapenade and watercress ($17.50). I thought the menu had a good selection of sides and vegan and vegetarian options; there was also gluten free bread on offer.

Voyage also offer a great little kids menu with a choice of either french toast or a ham and cheese croissant or toastie.

The coffee came out and Erric was impressed with the presentation of her flat white! They were a good temperature and well made. Erric commented that hers was very milky but we both agreed the coffee was nice. My OJ took a little while to come out but it was very fresh and had a nice sweetness with the creamy froth from freshly squeezed oranges.

Now... our meals. Wow. I will start with Erric's. Her eggs were cooked perfectly and she said that the marinated feta was delicious. The pork sausages evoked a response from her I have never seen in someone over... well... um...sausages. Erric would not stop talking about how fantastic they were for the rest of the breakfast! She said they had lots of flavour and tasted like actual ground pork meat. They were definitely the highlight for her.

My omelette was delicious. The truffled goats cheese was beautifully melted in the centre and had a nice strong flavour. The mushroom and sage ragout was very tasty and the strong flavours of the cheese along with the ragout went really well with the egg. The bacon I ordered as a side was nice and crispy. At first glance it looked like it would be dry but I was surprised to find it wasn't at all.

The service at Voyage was really good considering how busy they were. Even though my OJ took a while to come out, it was delivered with a smile and apology. The coffees and food all came out in a reasonable time and none of the staff seemed panicked or rushed in the middle of a busy service. I really liked how it was ok that Erric and I sat chatting for a while after we finished eating and we were offered another coffee instead of being rushed out. As mentioned before - definitely book if you want to get a table easily!

Voyage is in a great location to park down the road and have a brisk morning walk along the beach followed by an interesting yet tasty breakfast.

Recipe - Gluten Free Fruit Cake

2011-08-17T22:10:00.001+08:00

I know this isn't "breakfast" but I do have a few readers who look for gluten free options and I thought I would share this recipe for a gluten free fruit cake.

This recipe is adapted from the "Boil and Bake Fruit Cake" recipe in the Golden Wattle cookbook (a staple in many kitchens!). If you want to make this cake with normal flour just substitute!

The gluten free flour used in the recipe was the "Orgran" brand.

With the "mixed dried fruit"- I LOVE glace cherries so I substituted a 1/2 cup of the mixed fruit for glace cherries. You can do this with any fruits - eg if you prefer more peel etc

I used a 20cm spring form cake tin lined and greased at the base and around also around the edge. This recipe would work with a normal cake tin lined at the base.

Ingredients

1 teaspoon mixed spice
1 cup castor sugar
2 cups mixed dried fruit
60 grams butter
1 cup cold water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup plain gluten free flour
1 cup self raising gluten free flour
1 teaspoon bi-carbonate of soda
1/2 cup boiling water

Method

1. Put sugar, fruit, butter, cold water, spice and salt in a saucepan and boil for 3 minutes. Ensure the mixture is stirred.

2. Allow to cool and when cold sift in both flours and mix in with a wooden spoon.

3. Dissolved soda in boiling water and stir into cake mixture until mixture is smooth and even consistency.

4. Put into a prepared tin, bake in moderate over (180 degrees) for 1 hour or until a skewer comes out clean.

I started testing my cake about 50 minutes in with a skewer and I kept a close eye on it from there but it was pretty much spot on for an hour cooking time.

If anyone tries this recipe, let me know how you go!

Chapels on Whatley

2011-08-08T17:18:00.003+08:00

196 Whatley Cresent, Maylands
http://www.chapelsonwhatley.com.au/
Breakfast served 6 days (closed Tues) 8am -1pm

After what was actually a pretty crappy morning, we found our silver lining in Chapels, which is an Eastern antiques and artifacts shop on Whatley Cres that also contains a beautiful cafe. My mum, sister and I walked in and immediately felt the warmth of this cafe which is filled with timbers and Eastern influenced styled decor. The walls are lined with big jars of tea and beautiful fine bone china tea sets from Wedgewood and Royal Doulton (all of which you can purchase). I really love the beautiful Wedgewood tea sets with the various patterns. I think they look so pretty and delicate!

Firstly some of the photos might not be as good a quality as normal as I only had my iPhone with me.. but I am confident you can still see what the meals are!

We were left for a short while to look at the menu before someone came back to take our coffee orders. I normally prefer to have my coffee order taken straight away but this short wait wasn't such a bad thing as there was a few different teas to choose from! My sister and I ordered coffees and mum ordered a pot of Rose Black Tea.

When the tea came out in the beautiful pot and the dainty cup and saucer I was immediately jealous! I wanted to feel like a princess at a tea party too! Mum put sugar in her tea and said it was very sweet so the next cup she left the sugar out and it was perfect. I had a sip of the tea and it tasted like rosewater and it was so smooth and drinkable with no sugar. I usually find black tea to be a bit bitter without sugar. So for anyone who usually has sugar in their tea, try it first before adding it at Chapels!

I also noticed that they run tea tasting sessions for groups, which would be interesting to go to. Mum loved how the tea was served in fine bone china and that it was proper loose leaf tea.

Our coffee's were also delicious. They were a nice hot drinkable temperature and had a smooth texture and flavour. The latte my sister ordered came in this nifty glass where it's kind of double layered so you don't burn your hands on a hot glass. You can also buy these glasses in the shop! After I received my coffee I saw a BOWL of coffee go past. I hadn't seen this on the menu and I was disappointed I didn't order it. When I spoke to one of the staff she told me they were updating the menu to include it. So keep an eye out!

Now to decide what to eat! The menu has a number of choices ranging from standard breakfast dishes to dishes with an Eastern touch such as the Kim Chi Pancakes and Sour Salad ($16.95) - savoury pancake served with sour salad made from Chinese cabbage, carrot and onion dressed with rice wine and vinaigrette. The prices range from $7.95 for New Norcia fruit toast with preserves up to $22.50 for the Ozzi Breakfast - Princi pork sausage, bacon, eggs, mushrooms, tomatoes and New Norcia sourdough. There was also a range of cakes and scones with jam and cream available at breakfast. I decided on the pancake stack which came with bacon, sauteed banana and maple syrup ($17.50). My sister chose the eggs benedict ($18.50) with gluten free bread (they also offer GF cakes!) and mum decided on the smoked salmon and scrambled eggs ($17.50). I also noted they had eggs and soldiers on the menu ($9.50)! Perfect for the kids... or those bigger kids that love dipping warm toast into a runny egg!

Our meals came out in great time considering they were quite full for a Monday morning. I dived into my pancake stack straight away and loved the combination of the bacon, syrup and sweet, soft sauteed banana. The bacon was cooked well and wasn't dry or fatty. The pancakes could have done with a touch longer on the pan but they were still quite light.

My sister commented that her eggs were cooked perfectly. She broke the yolk and said "quick Elizabeth.. do you want to take a photo of my perfect eggs" (yes.. my family call me Elizabeth). The hollandaise was also made well. It had a good amount of tang but she said the dish could have done with a bit more of the sauce.

Mum really enjoyed her smoked salmon and scrambled eggs. She loves smoked salmon so it was perfect for her! She said the eggs were creamy and light and that she couldn't fault the dish.

The service at Chapels was warm and friendly and very relaxed! All the staff seemed very calm and gave warm smiles when they greeted customers or brought anything over to the table. What was amazing was that there was a table of new mothers near us and there wasn't a peep out of any of the babies the whole time we were there. I think it's the calming environment they were in. (there's that hippy talk again).

I will definitely be going back to Chapels to sample some of their delicious looking cakes as well as have a fancy pot of tea.

It's recommended that bookings are made for weekend breakfasts as they can get very busy. Chapels also have a range of seating from outside in their garden to inside and out the front on the footpath so you can watch the world go by.

Soda Cafe

2011-08-07T10:57:00.001+08:00

251 Westcoast Drive, North Beach
http://www.sodacafe.com.au/
Breakfast served daily 7am -11.30am
Fully Licensed

It's been a while since I have put up a review... but I have just returned from my European adventure and those who are fans on the Breakfast In Perth Facebook page would have seen the photos of food I ate whilst away. Amazingly I didn't put on ANY weight!

My first breakfast out since being back was at the lovely Soda Cafe (not to be confused with her sister up the road near the IGA - Soda Sunlounge). With all the rain that has been around it was refreshing to wake up on Saturday morning to the sun and clear skies. A breakfast overlooking the beach was just what Clive and I were after! When we arrived we were seated right near the window to appreciate the view of the Indian Ocean.... spoilt only by old men in Lycra sitting outside. I noticed that the interior of the cafe graduates from warm decor near the kitchen out to refreshing lighter decor out towards the ocean. It is done really well.

Water was brought to our table and our coffee orders were taken whilst we were left to look over the menu. As many of you would know, I am a big fan of the coffee order being taken straight away! The menu has a good range of choices without being over the top. The prices range from $5 for a muffin up to $19 for the "soda works" - eggs, bacon, chipolatas, tomato, hash, champignon, two free range eggs & toast. I felt like ordering something different to my usual "picking anything with feta". Even though my stomach was saying yes to the grilled field mushroom & polenta, spinach & goats curd ($17) my head was telling me to order the toasted muesli, greek yogurt & stewed rhubarb ($12.50). So I went with my head. Clive decided he was going to have the eggs benedict with salmon ($17.50). I like that the menu offered a choice of ham, spinach or salmon with no extra charge for choosing salmon. (also, yes I am aware that each of these is actually called something other than "benedict"). I also ordered the banana smoothie to satisfy my milk addiction.

There are also kids meals on the menu with a a choice of pancakes and icecream ($8) or the "little cooker" - egg, bacon, hash, chipolata, tomato, toast ($10).

Our coffees came out in good time and they were lovely and hot. The flavour was a bit too light for my liking but the texture was still smooth and the coffee was well made. Clive also commented that the flavour wasn't very strong but he said it was still nice.

It wasn't long before my banana smoothie came out and it was a bit of a "wow" moment. Well that's what we both said! Lovely sweet honey drizzled down the side coupled with fresh banana and a sprinkle of cinnamon made for a delicious drink. I had to stop myself from drinking it all before the food came out! Luckily we didn't have to wait long for that!

The muesli was a good choice. It was packed full of deliciously healthy nuts and seeds. I forget how much I like greek yogurt with muesli, they really go well together. The tender stewed rhubarb added the necessary sweetness to the yogurt. All mixed together it was delicious.

Clive's eggs benedict were presented very well. The hollandaise sauce was well made, creamy with just the right amount of tang. His eggs were cooked perfectly and the smoked salmon tasted fresh. The cooked asparagus was also nice extra on the dish.

The service at Soda Cafe was really good. The waitstaff were attentive without being "in your face" and our plates were cleared promptly - after BOTH of us were finished. I get really put out when some one's plate is cleared while another is still eating. Whilst the waitstaff were under the pump with a busy Saturday morning service they all seemed relaxed and friendly. Sometimes when staff are stressing out, I feel this can pass on the customers.... or is that just hippy talk?

Soda Cafe gets a big tick from me for a well priced breakfast with an amazing view, fantastic service and of course great food!

For those who might like to visit Soda Lounge for a week day dinner or lunch, they have a fantastic list of Winter offers. For dinner kids under 12 eat free on Wednesday and Thursday. (limit one child for each adult). The menu looks incredible and also well priced!

Crumpet

2011-06-05T13:38:00.002+08:00

8/885 Albany Highway, East Victoria Park
Breakfast served all day Tues – Friday 7.30-3pm, Weekends 8am-2pm

After looking around on fellow food bloggers posts for a great place to go for breakfast I decided to recommend that my “soon to be mummy” friend Chantilly Lace and I go to Crumpet. I had read many a great review about this small cafe that makes homemade crumpets and the one that cemented by decision was by The Food Pornographer. I took one look at the photo of the ice coffee and I was sold! Check her review out here. Unfortunately my experience at Crumpet was nothing like the one TFP had.

Chantilly Lace arrived before me and sat at a table outside which had not been cleared. When I arrived we chatted for a while and when the table had still not been cleared I went inside and asked the girl if she could clear it. We were not the only people this happened to as when we had finished eating I watched another couple sit at a table near us that wasn’t cleared and they also had to go inside and ask for the job to be done.

I decided to let this minor thing go as both Chantilly Lace and I were excited about trying homemade crumpets and deciding what we were going to have! Everything on the menu looked delicious and we took a long time to decide what we were going to have. I thought the prices were average for Perth, ranging from $4.50 for the homemade crumpets with butter and honey up to $18.50 for the Big Breakfast – eggs, bacon, chipolatas, potato hash, mushrooms, beans and toast. Chantilly Lace and I were deliberating between several dishes, including the French Toast – brioche in a gingerbread coating with poached pears and mascarpone ($13) or The Muesli Trifle – granola layered with vanilla yogurt and rhubarb compote ($6.90) or my usual style pick; Avocado on Toast with sundried tomatoes, feta, wilted spinach and a poached egg on garlic rubbed toast ($14.50). It’s worth mentioning that Crumpet also offer gluten free bread.

Chantilly Lace decided to order the Wholegrain Porridge with bananas and date & walnut butter ($7.20) and I went with the Homemade Cornbread with bacon and maple syrup ($12.90). We also ordered a plate of the crumpets to share for a “breakfast entree”. I also ordered my usual cappuccino and one of the iced coffees that I had seen in the TFP review. (yes... I know but let’s not forget my addiction to milk).

We waited... and we waited... and eventually my coffee came out and it was cold and tasteless. When I started to spoon the chocolately froth off the top I thought it was going to be delicious but it was like drinking milk that had been left out on the bench with a coffee bean wafted across the top. My heart really sank when I saw my ice coffee. It was nothing like the amazing photo I had seen from The Food Pornographers review. It was almost the same tasteless coffee with a dollop of icecream and a few coffee beans on top.

The crumpets came out and we were looking forward to trying these.... and they were worth the wait. They were nice and hot and were a bit more dense than I had imagined they would be but with the butter and honey melted on there – YUM! It was good that you don’t get sticky honey/butter mix running down your fingers like you do with the shop bought crumpets.

After our plate was cleared we waited even longer for our breakfast. I hoped that our meals would be worth it like the crumpets were. .. but they weren’t. I was a little disappointed the lack of maple syrup on my plate. I thought there would be plenty to soak into the cornbread. The bacon was dry and I couldn’t eat more than half a slice of the cornbread. It had no flavour and it was like too much bi-carb soda was used as I could taste it over anything else in the bread. It started to make me feel sick. Thinking about it now I should have taken it back.

Chantilly Lace’s porridge was a large serve and what we at first thought was big chunks of banana on top was actually big chunks of the date and walnut butter. The banana had to be IN the porridge right? Well if it was, it was hiding well as Chantilly said she couldn’t taste it. She also commented there was TOO much butter on the porridge making it difficult to enjoy. The banana should have added the required sweetness.

After we finished eating we chatted for about an hour, in that whole time our plates were never cleared.

I am really disappointed that I had this experience at Crumpet as there were some great reviews of this place when it first opened. This happens though – a place opens and gets rave reviews and once it settles down they drop the ball. This is a small cafe; it shouldn’t be hard to get it back to its glorious beginnings... should it?

The Good Food & Wine Show is Back Again!

2011-05-20T12:16:00.006+08:00

Calling all food fanatics hungry for a taste extravaganza! Western Australia’s largest food and wine exhibition, the Good Food & Wine Show is returning to our shores from 15 – 17 July 2011 at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre.

This year attendees can succumb to their senses as they explore, indulge and sample good food, acclaimed local produce, enticing chocolates, luscious cheeses, and of course, award-winning Western Australian wines. With over 150 exhibitors it’s an epicureans delight.

A new feature that visitors won’t want to miss is Barilla. Italy’s number one pasta brand is proud to present ‘Casa Barilla’
- a hands-on, interactive and engaging experience for all visitors. The stand features a live performance kitchen, where Barilla’s Executive Chef Luca Ciano will host FREE ‘Master Class Demonstrations.'

The live kitchen will also host ‘The Ultimate Pasta Cook-Off’ where guests will be invited to sign up to cook-off against each other for their chance to become a Barilla Pasta Champion. Contestants have the opportunity to create one of Luca’s signature dishes, while the public will vote for their favourite dish. Luca will be on hand to guide participants through the process. Simple recipes, and all pre-prepared ingredients will be provided.

Check out some other show highlights for 2011 below:

Fisher & Paykel Celebrity Theatre – A show favourite, this 750-seat live cooking theatre will allow folks to get up close and personal with some of Australia’s leading chefs. Cooking up a storm in 2011 will be TV chefs George Calombaris, Gary Mehigan, Matt Moran and Manu Feildel. WA’s very own Anna Gare will also be returning to the stage to inspire passionate Perth foodies. All pre-booked tickets include Show entry and a reserved seat to a Celebrity Theatre session (providing they are not sold out).

Celebrity Chef book signing – Take home a lasting memory from the Show by purchasing one of the chef’s delicious cookbooks and having it personally signed by them.

Sip into the Riedel Wine Theatre where visitors can learn the art of wine tasting and food matching as they explore winemaking’s most exciting varietals and boutique blends. Wine connoisseurs can indulge further with a Wine Lovers Ticket for just $75 including show entry, a Riedel Decanter Bar session of choice, a Riedel ‘O’ Series boxed glass, a bottle of wine and a copy of Gourmet Traveller Wine magazine, valued at $120.

Get a slice of cheese know-how at the CheeseMatters Discovery Class, a 45-minute tutored tasting exploring celebrated regional producers, relishing premium cheese samples, savouring expertly matched wine tastings, and learning from the industry’s best. (Cost $35 per session on top of general show entry)

Enter culinary heaven and get a taste of South Australia at the Oxford Landing Estates Restaurant. Discover a delectable array of entrées, mains and desserts; all designed by South Australian reality TV stars Poh Ling Yeow and Marion Grasby. Take a seat and select a beautifully prepared dish, complemented by a glass of South Australian Oxford Landing Estates wine and keep an eye out for Marion who is rumored to be attending the Perth show!

Tickets available through Ticketek on 13 28 49 or from http://www.goodfoodshow.com.au/ (Tickets available at door however Celebrity Theatre session entry can not be guaranteed if sold out).

Friday 15th July: 10am – 5.00pm, ‘After Dark’ 6pm – 9.30pm
Saturday 16th July: 10am - 6pm
Sunday 17th July: 10am - 5pm

Adults - $31.50
Children (6-16 yrs) - $23.50
Concession/Groups - $25.50
Wine Lovers Ticket - $75.00

Now....if you aren't already a fan - "Like" the Breakfast in Perth Facebook fan page to get details of a competition I will be running shortly where you could win a double pass to the Good Food & Wine show!

SAMPLE, SMELL, EXPERIENCE AND INDULGE!

Genesis in the Hills

2011-05-08T14:13:00.000+08:00

124 Croyden Road, Roleystone
http://www.genesisinthehills.com.au
Breakfast served Fri-Sun from 8.30am

Mothers Day breakfast would have to be one of the busiest times for cafes and restaurants – whilst some crumble under the pressure, others rise to the challenge without a hiccup. Genesis in the Hills in Roleystone is one such place that didn’t lose the relaxed friendly atmosphere that it is known for on this traditionally very busy day. My sister and I grew up in Roleystone and my mum still lives there in the same house she has lived in for 30 years. I had heard about Genesis in the Hills from someone who isn’t a Roleystone resident so I wanted to check out this hidden gem for myself... and of course treat mum to mothers day breakfast at the same time.

Genesis in the Hills is a vegetarian restaurant owned and run by two sisters Ita and Rivka. They ensure that where possible produce for the restaurant is sourced locally and that it is ethically produced. They also allow locals to sell their produce as well as art and jewellery in the restaurant for no commission. There is a huge selection of delicious cakes on display which are all homemade and there are gluten free ones as well. My mum has enjoyed afternoon tea here with her bushwalking friends a few times and she said they will let you have a half of a slice of two different cakes so you can try both for the price of one slice!

Even though we had made a booking, when we arrived we were asked if we would like to sit inside or out. Forgetting how “fresh” Roleystone can be in the morning we chose a table inside, so I was glad the choice was given! If you decided to sit outside, you would not be disappointed as there is a large balcony over looking the sloping bushland. We were brought water and menus to start with.... Now...Roleystone water - I don’t care what anyone says – it tastes better than “suburban” water!

So many things looked good on the menu! The prices ranged from $8.00 for Sourdough toast with honey/jam and ricotta up to $19.50 for the Full Breakfast – fried eggs, sourdough toast, haloumi cheese on oven baked tomatoes, mushrooms, asparagus, potato fritter, spinach, yogurt cheese with herbs and a sweet ricotta fritter or a Full Vegan Breakfast – sourdough toast, tempeh, spread of the day, baked tomato, mushrooms, asparagus, potato fritter and spinach. There was also choices like ricotta pancakes, muesli (one for vegans and another for non-vegans). Whilst the menu doesn’t state this, there is gluten free bread available as well.

All three of us chose something different. I decided on the Vegan Full Breakfast, Mum chose the Full Breakfast and my sister chose the Shakshuka – two eggs baked on a bed of tomatoes and onion, haloumi cheese and herbs. It usually comes with sourdough but she asked for GF bread instead. I also ordered a cappuccino; mum - a hot chocolate and my sister ordered a large latte (she had just come off nightshift and was struggling!)

The drinks came out quite quickly and at first I thought my coffee might have been on the bitter side but there was no aftertaste and as I slowly sipped it I realised it was strong full flavoured coffee. Mum said her hot chocolate was nice and smooth. All the drinks were at a hot but drinkable temperature. My sister and I later on ordered another one each!

When the meals came out there was definitely a “wow factor”. The meals were vibrant in colour and looked too good to eat. I liked the way the Shakshuka was served traditionally in the pan it was baked in. This is an Israeli dish which is quite fitting considering this is originally where Ita and Rivka are from. My sister said it was really nice, especially with dipping the bread in and it had just the right amount of spice.

Mum really enjoyed her meal saying the eggs where nice and runny. We both agreed that the mushrooms were cooked just right. They were still firm and full of flavour. The asparagus was also delicious and firm. I can’t stand soggy overcooked asparagus!

The spread of the day on my meal was tofu, garlic, olive oil and herbs. It was delicious! Even my sister was helping me eat it. On my toast is what I believe to be tempeh. It is a soy product and it was seasoned perfectly and also contained pine nuts, spring onions and tomato. The flavour was impeccable and with each bite I just wanted more. I also really liked how on both mine and mum's meals our tomato was sprinkled with dukkah.

Genesis in the Hills is truly a hidden gem. The service is honest, relaxed and friendly. All the tables were pretty much full and we had no idea because not one waitperson was rushing around and it was actually really peaceful inside the restaurant. The atmosphere inside and out is tranquil and it makes me miss Roleystone in a way. I think Genesis in the Hills is a definitely worth a visit, you could take a leisurely drive up into the hills and enjoy a relaxing breakfast away from the busy cafe strips we are all used to . I will be going back with Clive very soon to sample some of those delicious cakes! Welcome to my top 3 Genesis in the Hills!

For those who venture out to this beautiful part of Perth, please drive carefully on Croydon Rd. It’s windy and there are deep valleys on the low side. The driveway for Genesis is before Araluen Botanical Park but if you miss the driveway I suggest you turn around at the entrance to the Araluen Estate a bit further up rather than try at turn around on a windy road.

White Salt

2011-04-10T15:40:00.002+08:00

134 West Coast Drive, Sorrento
http://www.whitesalt.com.au/
Breakfast served on weekends 9am-11am
Fully Licensed

Well this is my second review in one weekend... look at me go! Clive and I decided we would treat ourselves and head out to Sorrento to see if we could find somewhere that would kindly let us in without a booking on a beautiful Sunday morning. We decided to try White Salt, which is a multi award winning (check out their website for the impressive list of their awards) bar/cafe on the popular West Coast Drive strip. As we walked in we were greeted by the waitress who asked if we had a booking. We didn’t, but she said it wouldn’t be a problem as she would prepare a table for us. She invited us to sit in the comfortable waiting area whilst she sorted a table.

When she told us our inside table was ready I asked if we could be a pain and sit on the newly cleared table outside. I felt a little bad as we were THOSE customers but she said it was no problem and she didn’t seem annoyed. The table she had prepared inside was soon snapped up by the next people who came in anyway, so it wasn’t a waste of time.

Looking at menu, the choices were fairly generic for breakfast. They had eggs all ways (omelette, Benedict, Florentine etc), pancakes and what I wish I had ordered (because I saw it come out after I chose and it looked amazing) the home made Granola with coconut, poppy seeds, Sesame seeds, almonds, cashews, raisins and honey, served with fruit salad and honey Greek Yoghurt. The menu prices were on the high side ranging from $4.50 for muffins up to $22 for the Sunrise Breakfast - Eggs, bacon, tomato, hash browns and grilled sausage. For those who want to take their kids for breakfast, they have a kids menu for $9.50 where they can choose from bacon & eggs, sausage and eggs or pancakes.

The increased prices could be attributed to the unique offering of free New Norcia breads and preserves that you could help yourself too whilst waiting for your order. I thought this was a nice touch and Clive and I helped ourselves to a piece of the fruit toast each. The toast was deliciously packed with fruit and tasted more like fruit cake than the fruit bread you would buy from the shops.

We felt over looked for a while trying to get someone’s attention to order but a waitress soon realised and came to our table. We ordered our coffees – Clive had mocha and I ordered my usual cappuccino. I would have preferred to have our coffee orders taken when we were seated as I think it’s nice to be able to enjoy your coffee whilst waiting for your food. Clive ordered the Sunrise Breakfast and I chose the Eggs Florentine - Creamed spinach, poached eggs and hollandaise on a toasted English muffin. I was interested to see how creamed spinach would work with the dish.

We didn’t have to wait long for Clive’s meal, which came out before the coffees... and my meal. This is when my head starts to get done in. Why can’t both meals come out at the same time? Why can’t the coffees come out at least at the same time if not before? What feels like forever is probably only really a few minutes until my meal comes out, shortly followed by the coffees.

Clive really liked his mocha even though he said it was more like a hot chocolate as there was virtually no coffee flavour. My cappuccino was not worth the wait. It was luke warm and the coffee tasted burnt with a terrible bitter aftertaste.

The meals definitely made up for the coffee. Clive’s fried eggs were cooked perfectly with runny yolks and clean whites. He said the bacon was “absolutely delicious”... now it’s just bacon right? According to Clive it was cooked so well that the edge had a touch of crisp without creating a leathery dry texture with the rest of the meat.

My Eggs Florentine were almost perfect. Where was the creamed spinach? As far as I could tell it was just normal spinach. However it was cooked so it still had a touch of crunch. The hollandaise sauce was creamy with the right amount of tang. It wasn’t overly heavy either. The poached eggs were cooked perfectly and also the muffins did not become soggy meaning that nothing went straight from water to plate.

Overall the service was friendly and with some serious work on the quality of the coffee and when meals come from the kitchen, White Salt could be fantastic for a standard breakfast with a beautiful view.

On a non breakfast related note - they have happy hour every day from 5pm – 6pm and with their license you don’t need to buy a meal! I’m keeping that one in the memory bank for another time. Early knock off Friday after work drinks anyone?

Cranked

2011-04-09T14:56:00.004+08:00

Shop 5, 106 Oxford Street, Leederville
http://www.cranked.net.au/
Breakfast served Mon-Sat from 6.30am – 11.45am and Sunday from 8am-11.45am
Fully Licensed

On this crisp Saturday morning Petar from Perth Coffeescape took me to Cranked for breakfast, which is a popular Leederville cafe – especially with the cyclists! Conveniently there is a cycle shop located next door and an area set up outside for bikes. It’s definitely been a long time since I have had breakfast at a cafe that is popular with men in lycra!

We arrived pretty early and found a seat inside and there were plenty still outside but these all soon filled up. So if you are thinking to mosey on in at peak time, maybe try making a booking otherwise don’t be surprised if you find yourself waiting. The menus were brought to us along with some water and our coffee orders were taken promptly. Big tick! As many of you would know I am a big fan of the coffee orders being taken straight up. I also saw on the menu that the milkshakes are served WITH the tin... another big tick!

Looking over the menu, there was no clear winner for what I would order. So many things looked fantastic! The prices were standard for breakfast ranging from $6.50 for New Norcia toast up to $19.50 for the Big Boy – eggs, toast, pan fried bacon, pork and smoked honey sausages, roasted pesto tomatoes, fried mushrooms and sweet onion marmalade. How good does that big breakfast sound? EVERYTHING on the menu would have been something I could have easily picked and been happy with. They had all sorts of dishes with things like grilled haloumi, chorizo, homemade tomato jam, pesto or aioli... the list goes on.

I decided on the “Crank-a-licious” which is a toasted bagel served with a grilled field mushroom, wilted spinach and soft poached eggs, crisp pancetta and lemon pressed olive oil. Petar chose the Tasty Fungus - Lemon and garlic fried mushrooms, tossed with baby mozzarella and wilted spinach, topped with two poached eggs with New Norcia toast.

Our coffees came out pretty quickly, I had a cappuccino and Petar had a long macchiato. Petar explained to me that the first thing he looks at is how the milk is poured. It’s not about latte art but if poured well there should pretty much be a love heart shape anyway. The milk pour on Petar’s coffee was almost there but looked a little muddled. The temperature is next. Both of us agreed the temperature was perfect. It shouldn’t be like drinking luke warm dish water. I really liked the smooth flavour of my cappuccino. Petar thought they could work on their coffee a bit as he found his double to have quite a bitter aftertaste.

The food arrived quickly considering how busy it was. Petar straight away checked the poached eggs and they were cooked perfectly. A nice tear drop shape with a soft runny centre. He really liked the mushrooms saying they had plenty of flavour and the lemon and garlic was a nice change from just having mushrooms fried up in butter.

The pancetta on my Crank-a-licious was very crisp but it melted in your mouth as soon as you ate it. The bagel was nice and solid and hadn’t become soaked from the spinach or the field mushroom. The spinach tasted like it had been cooked in white wine and it still had a nice crunch to it rather than being soggy. My poached eggs were also perfect and the field mushroom was flavoursome. I think the strong taste of the pancetta went well with the more bland flavours of the other elements of the dish. I was definitely happy with my choice!

We both thought the table service was excellent. Our waiter was friendly and quick to take orders; the food came out in good time as well. Although, when we went to pay we had to join a line. I’m not a fan of lining up in cafes, especially just to pay the bill. I tend to think this is a procedural issue on their part and there should be a more efficient way to handle payments.

As we were leaving I saw the Monkey Business – (A double slice of banana, raspberry and almond bread toasted and served with a vanilla, ricotta and yoghurt spread) ready to go out and it looked amazing! Two huge slices of this bread that Petar and I both said smelt delicious. Definitely one to try next time!

A big thank you to Petar for this breakfast outing. He is also my old boss from Teknoscape... a site I used to be editor for. Not only does he run the most successful youth website in WA but he has also started up a coffee website called Perth Coffeescape, which will interest many of you! You can leave your own reviews of your favourite cafe's and their coffee. You can also follow Perth Coffeescape on Facebook and/or on twitter @coffeescape

The Naked Fig

2011-04-07T19:38:00.000+08:00

278 Marine Parade, Swanbourne
http://www.thefig.com.au/
Breakfast served daily 7am-12pm
Fully Licensed

The Naked Fig, aptly named because of its location on Perth’s famous nudist beach Swanbourne (I was told the nudist part didn’t exist as that anymore but a short walk up the beach that morning soon showed me otherwise), is where Shirley Adams and I decided to take her cousin Soccer Mom and her lovely daughter Shirley Temple. They were visiting from San Francisco and this was their first trip to Australia... so this beach side location for breakfast was perfect!

If not already obvious The Naked Fig is the younger sister to the popular Wild Fig in Watermans Bay. Don’t arrive here expecting a different breakfast menu as they are exactly the same but I personally think the view at Naked is far better than the one at Wild. We were sat outside on their large balcony, which is large enough to hold plenty of tables rather than some places where a balcony seat is rare real estate. I am glad Shirley Adams made a booking because it was very busy and I doubt we would have gotten such a great table if one at all all had we not booked.

After we finished oooo’ing and ahhh’ing at the view and taking photos the waitress came back to take our drinks and coffee order. Shirley Adams and I ordered coffees and we all ordered various other drinks. I decided on a Beet Booster – carrot, beetroot, apple and ginger. I asked for this with Tabasco as well! Soccer Mom chose an iced mocha; Shirley Adams had a Mad Monkey – banana, coffee, chocolate and icecream and lastly Shirley Temple chose the Eruption which had passionfruit pulp and berries.

While we waited for our drinks we looked over the menu. Even though I had eaten at The Wid Fig a couple of times, I still found the menu to be exciting. I found the prices to be standard for Perth, ranging from $6 for toast up to $19.80 for the Big Fig – bacon, eggs, breakfast sausage, field mushroom, tomato and toast. If all the menu choices are under $20 I am happy. Shirley Adams and Soccer Mom both decided on the Big Fig, Shirley Temple chose the Grizzly Bear Pankcakes – Canadian pancakes, bacon, eggs, maple syrup and I decided on the Wild Veggie – eggs, tomatoes, field mushrooms, baby spinach, olive toast, goats cheese and spicy tomato relish. I thought there were plenty of vegetarian options available and also seafood dishes like Atlantic Salmon with capers, hollandaise and eggs or the Ocean Trout with smoked salmon potato cakes, capers, poached eggs and dill hollandaise.

Our drinks all came out pretty quickly and it was definitely a “wow” moment looking them. Shirley Adams and I both liked the coffee but I thought it was a bit on the bitter side where as she didn’t. The temperature was good. The juices that Shirley Temple and I chose were delicious. I couldn’t quite taste the Tabasco in mine but Shirley Adams assured me it was in there. Miss Temple was unsure of the passionfruit pulp (ie the seeds) but she still liked it.

The two Big Fig breakfasts came out first then Shirley Temple and I just waited.... and waited... then two waitresses came over with all 4 meals. There must have been a stuff up with some orders and the girls got what wasn’t actually their breakfast. All that aside, we now had our meals!

Both Shirley Adams and Soccer Mom thought their breakfast was amazing. Soccer Mom commented that the scrambled eggs were a little runnier than what she was used to in the States but they were still delicious. The breakfast sausage was a chicken herb sausage which Shirley Adams commented was a nice change from chipolatas. As we know from The Dizzy Witch review she also LOVES mushrooms. The field mushrooms got her expert tick of approval.

I wasn’t quick enough with the camera to get a photo of the pancakes as they were presented but Shirley Temple said they were definitely worth the wait. The pancakes were large and fluffy but probably needed more maple syrup as she did as for more.

All three girls said the bacon was “awesome”.

My meal... no bacon but HEAPS of beautiful creamy strong flavoured goat’s cheese. The poached eggs were cooked perfectly, firm whites with runny yolks. The only complaint I had was that there was an olive pip in the bread that I felt like I nearly broke a tooth on. The spicy tomato relish was flavoursome and had no hint of tartness from the tomatoes and the mushrooms were tasty and fleshy.

The Naked Fig is open to 12pm, which is fantastic for those later breakfasts you might want to have. We all thought the service was great. Despite the mishap with the food coming out the staff remained friendly even under the stress of busy breakfast service.

All four us really enjoyed our experience at The Naked Fig and we happily sat there for ages full from breakfast, talking and learning about each other’s countries (yes we told them about drop bears... but I forgot about hoop snakes!). This is a great place to take visitors to see our beautiful coast line whilst enjoying a delicious breakfast.

Cafe Elixir

2011-03-12T14:02:00.003+08:00

3 Rocca Way, Wanneroo
www.elixircafe.com.au
Breakfast served all day from 7am every day

After asking for suggestions for breakfast this weekend I decided to try Cafe Elixir in Wanneroo, which is located in the new Library and Cultural centre. There has been a bit of buzz about this cafe on Urban Spoon and it seems that the locals are excited to have a quality cafe in the area. I met Clive at the cafe along with some keen new breakfast buddies – Howard & Marina (apparently Brits will “get” this reference). I am glad I had made a booking on the Friday as the cafe was full when I arrived. So word of advice – try to make a booking!

Once everyone had arrived it didn’t take long for a waitperson to bring water and menus to the table. I would have liked to place a coffee order then and there but that is my personal preference. I usually find that people know what coffee they want to drink so why not just take the order while the water and menus are being given?

The menu has quite a bit of choice with prices ranging from $5.50 for a plain croissant up to $19.50 for the Elixir Breakfast - eggs, bacon, tomato, cevapcici, mushrooms, hash browns, spinach, home-made beans and turkish bread. The Elixir Breakfast also comes in a half serve which I thought was a nice option. Along with the standard menu choices for breakfast there was a good little selection of ways to have pancakes on the menu, including waffles with ice cream and maple syrup. I thought it was great that they had a kids menu as well. It’s rare to see this for breakfast! The kids had a few choices like pancakes, tinned beans or egg on toast. Elixir also do gluten free, vegetarian and on request, vegan options.

The waitperson came back to the table to take our order and we all ordered large coffees (which come in a bowl!) and Clive decided on a chocolate milkshake. Howard and Marina both ordered the Elixir Breakfast except Marina asked for no egg. I decided to have the Elixir Brekkie Wrap – bacon, fried egg, cheese, hash brown and spinach with hollandaise sauce in a wrap and Clive chose the Smoked Salmon Benedict.

The food arrived just before the coffee, which is a massive pet hate of mine. Howard and Marina didn’t seem to mind but Clive and I were a little disappointed. The Barista was under the pump with making take away as well as dine in coffees so maybe this could be overcome by taking the coffee order straight up like I previously mentioned.

The coffee was lovely. Perfect temperature, smooth flavour and it was creamy all the way through. It even stayed at a good temperature for the whole time. Sometimes I find the coffee gets a bit luke warm as you get to the bottom of the cup (even with as quick as I drink mine). Clive enjoyed his milkshake which was presented beautifully in a very tall glass. The best bit... they give you the metal milkshake cup with the rest of the shake in it so you can top up!

I was surprised at the size of the meals when they came out. Initially I thought “too much food” but then everyone finished their meals and looking around most people in the cafe were finishing their whole meal as well. Clive and Howard both said their eggs were cooked perfectly. Clive commented that his hollandaise was creamy with good flavour but at times was a little too vinegary in some mouthfuls.We're not sure if this was from the the water the eggs were poached in or the hollandaise wasn't mixed properly. However, the spinach was fresh and the bread was light and fluffy.

My breakfast wrap could have done with a bit more flavour as the hash brown with the hollandaise made it a bit bland and I couldn't really taste the egg. Maybe some tomato salsa would have worked as an addition. I did like the runny melted cheese though.

Marina and I were both disappointed with the bacon. Some of my bacon had large strips of fat on it and Marina found the same. One piece on her plate was lovely and the other was almost all fat. A little trim of fat is ok but not where the strip of fat is wider than the bacon.

The homemade beans were delicious. Marina was kind enough to let me have a try. They had a few types of beans in there and chickpeas as well. The sauce was a tomato salsa which was cooked out enough that there was no tartness from the tomatoes. It was a nice addition to the breakfast.

Marina commented that the mushrooms were tasty and Howard liked his first try of cevap sausages saying they had a light spicy flavour.

The service was at all times friendly and attentive with a waitperson coming back to check everything was ok. Our table was also cleared promptly (there is nothing worse than sitting at a table with dirty plates for a long period of time). I really liked that when we went to pay the bill they offered for us to split the bill if we wanted. This is a definite rarity these days.

The website for Elixir is worth checking out, just to read a bit more about their philosophy to food and also about the owners and their background. I think a lot of good things will come from this family owned cafe.

There are a few minor things that could do with some tightening up at Cafe Elixir but it is definitely worth a try, even if it’s just for a lovely bowl of coffee and a slice of cake. The service is friendly, food is good value and it is great to see a gem like this in a newly revamped area of Wanneroo.

T5 Espresso

2011-03-11T15:35:00.003+08:00

Shop 10/115 Reid Promenade, Joondalup
http://www.t5espresso.com/
Breakfast served all day from 7am weekdays & 8.30am weekends

In a spontaneous decision Clive and I decided to treat ourselves and head out for breakfast (I am trying hard to save for a trip to Europe this year). We thought we would head to Joondalup and have a drive around there to see what was available. We stumbled across T5 Espresso and thought that it looked nice from the outside (I also sometimes buy wine based on the label) so we decided to give it a shot.

As soon as we walked in we were greeted by a friendly & bubbly waitperson that gave us some menus and said we could sit where we like. I was excited to see “All Day” on the breakfast menu. Finally, another all day breakfast place! The choices on the menu are fairly standard with choices like Eggs Benedict and Florentine, Scrambled Eggs, Pancakes and Bacon and Eggs. What I found interesting was that they had both a Full Breakfast (2 eggs, bacon with tomato and mushrooms served with Vienna Toast) and a T5 Big Breakfast (bacon, 2 eggs, tomato, sausage mushrooms, beans, hash brown served on a Vienna Toast). The prices were very reasonable, ranging from $4.95 for toast up to $18 for the T5 Big Breakfast. The Full Breakfast was only $14. Some places would serve that as their “Big Breakfast” and charge $19.95 for it!

Clive went up to the counter to order our coffees, a milkshake for me and he had the T5 Big Breakfast and I had Bacon and Eggs with hash browns as an extra. It didn’t take long for my milkshake to come out except that the cup was only ¾ full. The cup was rather large but maybe it could have been poured into a tall glass rather than left in the milkshake cup so you don’t feel like you aren’t getting a full cup. The coffees followed shortly after and Clive was happy with his little piece of latte art! The coffee was smooth but bit light on flavour and it had a perfect temperature.

The meals also came out promptly and now it was time for the big test – the poached eggs…. They were perfect - firm whites with warm runny yolk. It surprises me that poached eggs is something that I see many places get wrong. Clive’s fried eggs were also cooked nicely.

Clive and I both I liked that they use eye bacon instead of the whole strip. Although some people might prefer the whole middle slice so you get the “crispy” belly part as well as the eye. The big thick slices of toasted Vienna was nice and fresh, although I could only eat one slice.

Another great thing about T5 is that have a loyalty card… for breakfast! That’s right you can get aT5 Big Breakfast loyalty card - buy 5 get your 6th free.

According to their website T5 Espresso was a finalist in the 2009 WA Customer Service Council Awards and it’s not hard to see why. The people that work there are friendly and attentive, without being “in your face” and as a customer you just feel comfortable being there.

Clive and I both left T5’s feeling satisfied and happy. Also, we had found somewhere that far north of the river that was actually a good place to have breakfast.

33 Degrees South

2011-02-27T18:27:00.001+08:00

410 Fitzgerald St, North Perth
Breakfast served 8am - 11.45am daily

Since China and I first met each other over a year ago at a Limelite DJ comp we have talked about wanting to go to brekky together and a few weekends ago we finally did it! China is a fellow foodie and I often find myself drooling at the food pics she posts on Facebook and she also helps to run a very popular Facebook page called “Top Perth” – check it out here!

33 Degrees South is where we decided to have our long awaited Sunday morning breakfast date. I have been keen to try here for a while as I drive past it a fair bit. The cafe is in a great location, so I was surprised that when we got there to see it was quite empty. We took a table outside and soon learned why – the coffee machine was broken! What a terrible thing to happen to a cafe on a Sunday morning! Despite this China and I decided to live with it and stay here for breakfast.

We found the menu to be quite comprehensive with a selection of light choices such as toast, muesli and fresh fruit as well as more “filling” type breakfasts such as eggs benedict, pancakes and scrambled eggs. The cafe uses Lawleys bread, which many people know and love. I was pleased to see that you could also have gluten free bread with any of the menu items and there were vegetarian variations on a couple of the meals. The prices were very reasonable starting at $3.60 for muffins up to $18.00 for the “Big One” – 2 eggs to your liking on ciabatta, bacon, roasted tomato, potato & pesto cake, baby spinach, mushrooms, a chipolata along with tomato relish and rocket. I think that is great value! $18 is the top price a full breakfast should be in my opinion but I look at that and think “oh that’s cheap”. Is it just me or have breakfast prices become over inflated?

China and I went up to the counter to order and discovered it was cooler to be sitting outside than in (even though it was another Perth scorcher!). We didn’t think the ceiling fans were quite cutting it even though they had all the bi-fold windows open. Since I could not satisfy my coffee craving, I decided to satisfy my need for milk with an ice chocolate and for breakfast I ordered the Mediterranean BLT – grilled ciabatta bread, feta cheese, bacon, rocket and roasted tomatoes topped with fresh basil, balsamic and olive oil. China chose to have Cocobella juice (coconut), which she said was a nice change from OJ and 33’s Napolitana Scrambled eggs – leg ham, tomato, cheese and oregano on buttered toast served with rocket and tomato relish.

Our meals came out in good time and it was quite funny as we both took turns in taking pictures of our meals for our separate food blogging needs! My Mediterranean BLT was really filling. It would have been nice to have the bacon a bit crispier but the feta cheese made up for it. It was lightly fried and had a taste similar to haloumi... and there were plenty of nice long strips of it on the dish. (I absolutely LOVE feta cheese). The fresh basil added a nice hint of flavour along with the olive oil and balsamic. China said that her scrambled eggs were tasty and easy to eat.

We did end up having a coffee as the machine started working again after we finished our breakfast. We only realised this after seeing someone else order coffee but it would have been nice to be told by one of the staff as they knew we really wanted a coffee from when we went up to order. I thought my cappuccino was quite good. Nice temperature and flavour. China described her double espresso as “fair”.

It was a bit disappointing that China has to ask someone at the counter to clear our table when she went to order our coffees but both China and I agreed that overall 33 Degrees South was a nice and casual cafe. China said “it’s an easy place to sit down, read the paper and eat without someone waiting in the wings to steal your table.” I think that is a very big “plus”; there is nothing worse than feeling like you have to rush your meal because someone is waiting on the footpath for a table, looking at you annoyingly because you didn’t decide to vacate your table with a 100th of a second of taking your last mouthful of food.

I would definitely recommend 33 Degrees South as a cafe that serves great food that is good value with everything under $20.

Samudra

2011-01-31T16:16:00.001+08:00

226 Naturaliste Tce, Dunsborough
http://www.samudra.com.au/
Breakfast served daily 7.30am – 11.30am

Ok… so this review isn’t technically “Perth” but I really wanted to do somewhere whilst Clive and I were in Dunsborough for my friends wedding! These friends are also two new additions to the blog… Pat Mullins and Jaxxxon!

After asking everyone on the Breakfast In Perth Facebook page for suggestions I decided I would like to step out of my comfort zone and try Samudra. Why is it stepping outside of my comfort zone? Well Samudra is not your average café, not only do they run yoga classes but they believe in the philosophy of the “Raw Food Movement” - Live food, live body, dead food, dead body. All their food is live and organic and sourced mainly from the South West. If you want to read all about their food philosophy check out this link - http://www.samudra.com.au/live-food-cafe/philosophy.html.

Firstly, Clive and I did pop in before the wedding just to check the menu out and the staff were SO friendly and casual about letting us have a look. We ended up ordering a coffee which was delicious! When all for of us headed back there a couple of days after the wedding we were given the same friendly service. We chose a table in the outside area which was tranquil and kind of reminded me of being in Ubud, Bali.

The menu isn’t very extensive but it is seasonal. The prices are also very reasonable, considering I checked out the menus at some other cafes near by and I was shocked at what the others were charging! Prices ranged from $9.50 for Yallingup Fruit Toast served with raw local gum honey macadamia butter & a grilled fig up to $17.50 for Tofu Scramble served with Soy-Balsamic sauteed field mushrooms & tofu scramble served on Yallingup wood fired sourdough bread. There a couple of gluten free options as well like Buckwheat pancakes served with cashew cream, grilled banana and honey - lemon syrup and Live Granola - activated seed, nut & dried apple Granola, with almond nut-milk and sliced banana.

I liked the way the menu described each menu item and the health benefits of all the ingredients! There was also an amazing selection of healthy smoothies and juices! All the hot drinks came with a choice of cows milk, nut milk or soy milk.

I decided to order the Breakfast Burrito - Organic black bean, avocado, garden greens, tomato salsa, in a mountain bread wrap. Clive and Pat Mullins both ordered the Yallingup fruit toast and Jaxxxon decided to be brave and order the Tofu Scramble. We all ordered coffees (with cows milk) and a few of us ordered juices! I had “ABC” - Apple, beetroot, carrot and ginger, Clive had “Afterglow” - Apples, lemon, mixed berries, ginger & honey and Jaxxxon had “Acai Warrior” - Acai, mixed organic Australian berries, nut milk & banana.

The coffees were just as delicious as when Clive and I were there previously. They are served in rustic mugs that reminded me of something made in a local pottery shop. The temperature was perfect and it was almost as if you could taste that coffee was REALLY organic.

The juices were interesting. We all really liked them but they are something we wouldn’t normally drink. It was good to try them. Clive’s was definitely the strongest tasting with all those berries!

Now… for the food. Everything looked amazing plated up. When Clive and Pat Mullins first got their meals they weren’t quite sure what to do with the fig but then started using it as a jam. They both said it was sticky and sweet and the macadamia butter was light in flavour and a good substitute for butter. Clive commented that spreading the grilled fig was a lot more “fun” than just having jam!

Jaxxxon was surprised at how delicious his tofu scramble was. He said he didn’t quite understand all the flavours but the taste reminded him of a curried pumpkin soup. I had a little taste and there was definitely a curry flavour to it and a slight sweetness. The mushrooms were seasoned well also. He really liked it and said he would definitely order it again.

My burrito was delicious. The garden greens were nice and crunchy which was a contrast to the mashed black beans. The beans had a nice nutty flavour that tasted really good in combination with the greens and tomato salsa.

Samudra also have their veggie garden out the back of the café which you are allowed to take a walk through and there is plenty of grass for the kids to play on. They are also animal friendly with a few people having their dogs lying quietly next to them at the table.

If you can approach this place with an open mind you will love the food and the service and in fact… the entire concept behind Samudra. The service appears laid back but they are actually very attentive… it’s weird when I think about it! There is something about the place that makes you feel peaceful and relaxed. I would definitely recommend checking this place out if you are ever in my favourite place on earth… Dunsborough.

Here is a pic of The Bride, me and the Groom. They were married at Wise Winery which overlooks Eagle Bay. All three of us have been friends for years and our group have been holidaying in Eagle Bay for nearly 10 years. So they area is special to us!

Mrs. S Cafe

2011-01-27T20:25:00.006+08:00

178 Whatley Cres (cnr 8th Ave)
http://mrsscafe.wordpress.com/
Breakfast served 8am - 11.30am
BYO with no corkage fee

Mrs. S Cafe is one of the newest additions to the revamped Eighth Ave area in Maylands... and what an addition she is! For this breakfast outing I was joined by Suzie Sparkles (who is sadly leaving us for Melbourne), Shirley Adams, Lady Tango and a newie - Black Cat. Suzie Sparkles and I were running a tad late and as we walked into the quaint cafe we had a feeling of, as described by Suzie, "an ambiance of laid back charm and fairytale cuteness's where your visit is an experience".

The others had already grabbed a table near the air conditioner, which was needed as it was a bit of a hot box inside this day! Shirley Adams said after a quick chat and a couple of minutes the staff had sorted a table of 5. If anyone grew up with the "Little Golden" books then the menus at Mrs. S will take you back to your childhood. They are pegged inside these idyllic books and everything on there looks equally delicious and homely. The prices range from $4.50 for toast with homemade jam up to $21.50 for the Big Breakfast (eggs, toast, bacon, chipolatas, tomato and mushrooms). I think this is a little on the high end for what I would pay for a big brekky but it's not the most I have seen. The average price is around $14-$15 with a good selection under that price as well. There are some great little gems on the menu such as homemade crumpets with strawberries and banana or the coconut bread with citrus curd and fresh fruit or even "Granny Junes Cornbread" with bacon, poached egg and maple syrup.

When we went to order there was a queue for the till but surprisingly this moved quickly. I believe it was Mrs. S who took our orders! We all ordered coffees and here is the running sheet for brekky - Shirley Adams had the big breakfast; I ordered the avocado, olive tapenade, feta & slow roasted tomato on rye toast; Lady Tango and Suzie Sparkles both ordered poached egg on toast which came with a tomato relish, Black Cat had poached eggs, mushrooms, danish feta and rocket on Turkish bread with the optional extra of bacon.

When we got our coffees all of us were pretty much speechless. They were amazing. Black Cat said it was the best coffee she has had in a long time and Shirley Adams agreed saying "it was smooth without being milky, it as divine". It really was so creamy all the way through and full of flavour.

Our meals came out quite quickly and we were all "Wow'ing" as each plate was set down. The serving sizes were decent but not over the top. I started my meal and I really enjoyed the rye with the olive tapenade, also the beetroot leaves added a touch of sweetness (plus I love beetroot) to the olive flavour. It could have done with a tad more feta but that is only because I can eat the stuff by the truck load!

Black Cat made the same comment about the feta on her meal, but she is also a feta fan! Black Cat also mentioned that the breakfast was enough as a meal that she didn't eat again until later that afternoon!

Lady Tango was in love with the tomato relish saying it was "packed with flavour". Her eggs were also cooked perfectly. Something so simple yet many places can't get that right!

Here is a word from Suzie Sparkles on her breakfast,
"My tummy was rumbling for some eggy goodness so I ordered the poached eggs on toast which came with a delicious relish. The eggs were done to perfection with the yolk nice and runny, something that we have found missing at other places. The serving size was spot on and for the first time, possibly ever, I finished everything on my plate. I was happily full without being stuffed. All round it was a great morning with yummy food, lots of laughter, and most importantly good friends."

...and now from Shirley Adams,
"I got the obligatory big breakfast which was done well, the bacon and field mushroom were awesome and the chicken chipolatas were a nice surprise. I got the eggs scrambled but they were a bit omelletty for my liking but also good. Due to being a thirsty girl I ordered a freshly made apple juice which was great and another coffee. All in all a great brekky and will be back soon. My only issue is if it was a scorcher of a day we would melt in there.

Oh and try the cakes and pastries! I got a rosewater meringue to take away and it was delicious! Everything else looked yummy too!"

We all agreed the service was fantastic despite how busy it was. I think Lady Tango sums it up the experience, "The food came out so quick considering how busy they were and they were really attentive and made sure we always had water. They also cleared what ever empty drinks they could from our table as soon as we were done with them."

Lady Tango and Suzie Sparkles both commented that they'll be back to try more of the homemade foods! I'll definitely be there to join them!

The Dizzy Witch Cafe

2011-01-07T22:14:00.000+08:00

197-199 Brisbane St, Northbridge
http://www.thedizzywitchcafe.com.au/
Breakfast served from 7am, Tues-Sun

Firstly... say hello to another rarity - a place that does ALL DAY BREAKFAST! I love these little finds! The Dizzy Witch Cafe is conveniently located in the quiet part of Northbridge so you can enjoy your breakfast without seeing the ravers still meandering about after a night at Rise Nightclub (as funny as it is to watch). Shirley Adams, Clive and I met at the cafe for an impromptu brekky together and as we sat down Clive commented how it had the feel of an old English tea room with a quirky hippy edge. I think that describes it perfectly!

The menu is quite cool with most of the dishes having Wicca themed names. Prices ranged from $5.50 for "Toast the Witch" up to $18.50 for "The Warlocks Last Meal" - organic bacon, free range eggs, grilled tomato, potato rosti, Dizzy's mushrooms, sausage and toast (vegetarian option also available). Dizzy's mushrooms are something truly amazing, but I will get to those shortly! The menu choices are fairly standard for breakfast with the only "different" dish being the Moroccan Eggs - Fried free range eggs with home-made dukkah, hommus, mint, red onion & tomato relish on Turkish bread. This is in no way a negative aspect because The Dizzy Witch does their breakfast so well, better than some places who have menus full of weird and wonderful "breakfast" meals.

You have to go up to the counter to order at the cafe and the staff taking orders were really friendly. I heard them chatting with regulars and even remembering their coffee orders. Wow. Clive and I both ordered coffees, I got a freshly squeezed OJ and for food I ordered the Moroccan Eggs and Clive chose Mushrooms on Toast Esmeralda - Mushrooms with thyme, garlic and cream on toasted organic bread with sausages. Shirley Adams also ordered a coffee and a chocolate milkshake and for food she had the Warlocks Last Meal.

The drinks came out in good time. The cappuccino tasted different, like they had used dark chocolate on top. I enjoyed the coffee, it had a nice rich flavour that wasn't bitter and the temperature was also perfect. The OJ was delicious. It really was freshly squeezed and had a natural sweetness.

Our meals were so delicious... my mouth is watering thinking about it! The Moroccan Eggs were amazing. I love dukkah and the combination of that with the hommus and fresh mint and relish was perfect. No flavour was more overpowering than the other, it was balanced and flavoursome.

Clive's meal was like nothing I had ever seen. Those mushrooms and their creamy sauce were delicious (yes I tasted his food for him... just to make sure it was ok to eat). Clive said it was the first time he had sour dough that he really liked and he didn't know how else to describe the mushrooms except that they were really really nice and it was good to have them cooked another way other than fried.

Here is Shirley Adam's review of her breakfast,
"I would have to say it was one of the best breakfasts I have had in a long time. The food was exceptional. I ordered their version of the big breakfast and it came out with 2 eggs of choice (I did my usual scrambled- was awesome nice and creamy) bacon (cooked to perfection), roma tomato (full of flavour), sausage, hash browns and the best mushrooms I have ever had. Both me and Clive agreed they were awesome, they came in a garlic cream butter and were perfect.

The only let down was the drinks, being the guzzle guts I was already being that morning with my meal size, I ordered a skinny cap and chocolate milkshake. There was something not quite right with the shake it was ok and not icy cold enough. The coffee wasn’t too bad (they'd used cocoa sprinkles rather than chocolate- which was different)"

The Dizzy Witch Cafe has now become Shirley Adam's regular haunt (lol haunt) and I have been recommending it to anyone who asks. The food is amazing and the service is spot on. Definitely somewhere to visit again! The Dizzy Witch now replaces CNR in my top 3. Sorry CNR... you are still awesome but those Dizzy Witch mushrooms are hard to beat!

Menu Magazine

2011-01-07T19:21:00.002+08:00

A while ago I was contacted by Scott Arnold-Eyers from Menu Magazine about an article they were doing on food blogs. He asked if I would be interested in being interviewed for the feature as he had been told about my blog by a contact of his at Citigate hotel. I was flattered that someone from Citigate hotel had recommended my blog! Of course I said "yes"... what a great opportunity for some exposure for my blog and more importantly for breakfast in Perth!

I met with writer Tegan Read to discuss food blogging and about the beginnings of my own blog. The feature is on page 41 of the issue and local blogger Kristy Leigh from Kristy Leigh's Food for Thought was also interviewed. Beaufort Street Blog and Abstract Gourmet also featured in the write up.

Menu Magazine is a great read for Perthites as it is purely West Australian based. There are some great articles in this issue including an interview with Iron Chef Kenichi, profiles & reviews on some of Perth cafes and restaurants and also an informative article on food photography (useful for the food bloggers!). I can see my copy getting dog eared before long with all the great articles to read!

This is the 10th issue and also the 10th anniversary for their website http://www.westcoastcafes.com.au/. What a great milestone to reach - congratulations to their team and thank you for featuring Breakfast in Perth blog.

So fellow foodies - make sure you pick up a copy of this fantastic local magazine at your local newsagent!

Bouchard

2010-12-19T21:21:00.030+08:00

42 Mount St, Perth (enter via Cliff st)
http://www.bouchard.com.au/
Breakfast served every day from 7am
Fully Licensed

Bouchard is stylish little restaurant located on “heartbreak hill” near Kings Park. After countless recommendations from friends a few of us decided to try it out! What started off as meeting for the PDMAs (Perth Dance Music Awards) with just Mono Lisa and myself (we picked it for the free wi-fi) turned into an enjoyable early Saturday morning breakfast with the two of us plus Coolio Ma-Cha-Cha, Wendy Tosh and Clive. Wendy Tosh and Mono Lisa even walked there from Vic Park (nice work girls)

It wasn’t hard to get a table which I was surprised about. I thought with the prime location and popularity that it would be slim pickings, especially with having more than 4 people. We sat down and our coffee orders were taken straight away. I really like when this done because it’s not like many people would have to peruse a menu to decide what coffee they want. We all ordered coffees and Mono Lisa and Wendy Tosh ordered a fresh OJ and fresh apple juice.

The menu that we were given was quite different to the one on their website. It’s only a minor thing, but sometimes I find this annoying. I know it isn’t hard to get a website updated. The prices were reasonable considering the location. $4.90 for toast (gluten free also available) up to $17.50 for chorizo, black pudding and fried egg on potato rosti. There was a good range of both sweet and savoury options and a number of them had a slight twist to it that all sounded delicious. Options like ricotta and banana drizzled in maple syrup, or the black pudding previously mentioned.

We all ordered different things – perfect for a review! Tosh ordered the Bircher muesli with fresh apple, rhubarb, raspberry and yogurt. Mono Lisa decided on the roasted tomato, avocado, feta and rocket on toast, Clive went with black pudding and chorizo option, Coolio Ma-Cha-Cha chose the bacon, herb and tomato omelette and I picked the corn fritters with avocado, rocket and chorizo.

Our coffees and juices came out in good time. The coffee was great – smooth flavour and good temperature. The juices were exceptional! I had a taste of Tosh’s apple juice and it tasted exactly like you had just bitten into an apple. Very refreshing!

The meals were also fantastic and we were all happy with our choices. Tosh’s muesli had been soaked and was lovely and soft with lots of fruit and nuts. The tartness of the yogurt and raspberry was balanced out by the sweet muesli.

Clive went with the interesting option with the black pudding. Eating something like this can be a mind over matter thing in my opinion! He said the pudding was soft and well seasoned. The fried egg was cooked perfectly with a runny yolk and overall the meal was not greasy and was well balanced.

We both had chorizo on our meals and we agreed it had a full smoky flavour and soft texture. The corn fritters in my meal could have had a tad more “sweetness” in the corn but overall the flavours combined made for a delicious meal.

Mono Lisa and I loved the feta on our dishes... tasty Danish feta with that tell tale salty flavour.

Coolio Ma-Cha-Cha as usual offers her personal review,

“Waking up early and hungry on Saturday I was a late addition to this week’s breakfast expedition but in the end was very glad I invited myself along!

I’m trying to lose some winter pudge so the usual big breakfast was not an option. I was really pleased to find myself struggling to choose between multiple healthy menu items, muesli, granola, omelettes – they all sounded delicious!

I settled on a ham, tomato and herb omelette which was a good decision, it was a the perfect portion size (slightly larger than a bread plate) to fill me up without feeling bloated and was not greasy at all. I coupled it with my usual cappuccino and found it to be an extremely filling breakfast, I didn’t even feel hungry until the afternoon!

The service, atmosphere and food all get a big tick from me. I can’t wait to go back and try more of the menu. I hear they also do excellent lunches!”

I agree with Coolio Ma-Cha-Cha in regards to the service at atmosphere. It’s obvious why this is the sort of place that has repeat customers that use it as their regular breakfast haunt. Bouchard is versatile enough that you could have a special occasion breakfast here (with some cheeky glasses of champers) or drop in after you’ve done Jacobs ladder a few times.

The Perfect Hollandaise

2010-11-01T16:08:00.004+08:00

I posted the question on the Facebook page asking "how do you make the perfect hollandaise sauce?" and got a few different responses but the main tip was WHISK WHISK WHISK!

Here is recipe from Daniel Moore - Chef, Cookery Educator, and WACS (World Association of Chefs Societies) Accredited Culinary Judge. This recipe is one that he has been using for about 15 years and he has kindly agreed to let me post it on the blog - Thanks Daniel!

Hollandaise Sauce

Making good hollandaise takes a lot of practice.. This is the recipe Daniel uses for about 600 ml of sauce/

First Step:

125ml white wine

125 ml white whine vinegar

5 white peppercorns

parsley stalks

chopped shallots

500gm Butter

Add all ingredients EXCEPT the butter into a pot and bring it to the boil. Once boiled, turn it off and let it cool.

Melt butter in a seperate pot, and let it cool a little and settle. The yellow fat will rise, the white milk solids and water will fall. Don't let it fall below body temp - about 40 degrees. The butter will be used in the fourth step.

Second Step:
8 Egg yolks

In a big stainless bowl put the yolks and strain the wine/vinegar mixture onto it. Whisk it up really well. This will take 3-4 minutes - the bigger the bowl and whisk, the better. It needs to be thick, pale and fluffy.

Third Step:
Boil a large pot of water and place the stainless steel bowl with egg mixture on top of it. Make sure there's a good seal. Whisk...Whisk more. Whisk some more. You'll find it goes white, fluffy, pale, and thick. Never stop whisking - if you do, you'll get little chunks of scrambled egg. If this happens, whisk like your life depends on it. It may come back, it may not - you may have to start again.

When your eggs are cooked, you'll have a "sabayon". To test, take it off the heat, pick up some of the mix on the whisk, and drizzle it back into the bowl. If it sits up on the surface for a sec before going back into the mix, then it has reached ribbon, and is cooked.

Fourth Step:

Place a bowl on bench with someone helping to hold it. Slowly pour the warm butter into the Sabayon making sure you whisk ALL the time. Ensure you pour the butter in a thin stream, trying not to disturb the milk solids at the bottom, whisking constantly until it's all incorporated.

Now is crunch time. If it falls below 35 degrees, or above 44, it will split. If the wind is blowing the wrong way, it will split.

From there, season with salt, fresh cracked white pepper, worcestershire sauce and tabasco. May also need some lemon, but remember it's all to taste.

Store it in a warm place - the back of the stove might be ok, or if you've got a shelf above the stove that might be ok too.

This recipe is enough for enough for 30+ portions of eggs benny

Toscanini's

2010-10-31T17:59:00.002+08:00

Shop 53 / 39 Southside Drive, Hillarys (in the boat harbour)
http://www.toscaninis.com.au
Breakfast served weekdays 7am - 2.30pm, weekends 7am - 3pm

What a better way to spend a Sunday than to have a sleep in, head to a late breakfast at a waterfront location and follow it up with a viewing of the film "The Social Network" in Gold Class. That was the day Clive and I have had! He told me about a place he went for breakfast called Toscanini's at Hillarys (there are also locations in Applecross and Bicton) that he said did brekkie late and it wasn't bad foodwise. So after battling through the traffic of 4056 Porches on some sort of car cruise we eventually got a parking spot and headed in.

There is plenty of seating both inside and outside at the cafe so Clive and I found a seat outside looking out over the swimming beach. It wasn't long before the flys started to piss me off that we moved back closer to the open doors of the cafe. It seemed people walking in where we were sitting were the public transport system for these annoying things!

We had already viewed the menu online and it seems they haven't updated their prices. What was $25.90 was now $27.90 - although I was still shocked to that price for "Belly Buster", which is your run of the mill big breakfast. For this price it also comes with coffee or tea and an OJ. So I guess when you look at it with those additions it isn't so bad. A few of their menu options come with these extras, which is good and bad.... what if you want those popular breakfast choices without coffee or OJ? There was a decent amount of menu options - a few choices of pancakes, toasted sandwiches and croissants and of course the usual egg based choices. There is also a kids menu with a choice of bacon and egg or sausage and egg on toast for $9.90.

I was deciding between the eggs benedict or the muesli trifle - bircher muesli, apricots, berry compote and greek yogurt. The eggs benedict came on a bagel instead of a muffin which swayed me towards choosing that instead. Clive said he wanted something light, so he chose he Banana and Strawberry crepe that came with maple syrup and icecream. Something light hey? hahaha We both ordered a coffee and I order a vanilla milkshake.

I noticed there didn't seem to a be a system with table numbering. Clive had to go up and order at the counter and they just gave him a table number without asking if we were sitting outside or inside. The cafe is pretty big and I saw a number of times waitpersons walking around aimlessly looking for tables whilst carrying trays of food or drink. I think it might help if table numbers are set and people quote them as they come up or at least it's noted on the docket the general area they are sitting in.

The food came out very quickly; before our drinks, which to me is a HUGE no-no. ALWAYS drinks first then food. Our drinks came out about 5 mins later. The milkshake was icey cold - just how I like it. I hate when milk drinks are even the slightest bit warm, I guess kinda like beer (although Clive would disagree being from the mother land). The coffees weren't that crash hot. I could tell from eating the milk froth off the top that they were going to be bad. Both Clive and I agreed that they weren't very smooth being a bit on the bitter side.

For how quickly the food came out I was a little surpised to find that my ham was "fridge temperature" cold. Immediately I blamed Clive for not making me pick the muesli trifle instead. I continued to blame him through the whole meal so his experience was as ruined as mine... I didn't appreciate him sitting their smugly enjoying his massive crepe with three huge scoops of icecream. My eggs were perfectly cooked but the hollandaise was a definite heart stopper. It tasted like butter mixed with cream and then mixed with butter. It didn't have the slight tang and was missing any sort of seasoning. It became quite sickly. The bagels were a great subsitute for the muffin, although the eggs weren't drained off properly and the majority of the bagel was soggy.

Clive's banana and strawberry crepe was massive! He said the strawberries were sweet and the crepe was full with fruit. For the size of it, he said it didn't come stodgy or over filling. I didn't think he could eat all the icecream himself so after I abandonded by breakfast I helped him out. Oops... Clive also ordered a hashbrown which I am now wishing I had stolen when he wasn't looking.

Toscanini's is in a great location and I love that they do breakfast until mid afternoon, meaning you can enjoy a sleep in before going out. I think with a few improvements this place could be A LOT better. At the moment it seems like another one of those places that just churns out the meals and turns over the tables without any thought or care for quality.

oh... and The Social Network is a MUST SEE!

The Balmoral

2010-10-29T15:49:00.006+08:00

901 Albany Hwy, East Vic Park
http://www.thebalmoral.com.au/
Breakfast served Sundays 8am - 11am
Fully Licensed

After reading the Balmoral breakfast menu a few weeks ago at a friend's birthday drinks Coolio Ma-Cha-Cha and I decided that we HAD to try it specifically for the Death Benedict - hash browns topped with bacon, poached eggs and hollandaise. So we got a crew together for Sunday breakfast that included Mr Peter Baby, Johnny Awesome and a few more new characters - T-Spoon, Bento Box and Dim Sim. Bento Box and Dim Sim had been to the Metallica concert and were need of something greasy!

It was a beautiful day so we decided to sit out in the lovely back beer garden so Mr Peter Baby and I walked inside to get some menus and were confronted with the manager who seemed a little stressed. We asked for the menus and he told us abruptly to sit down and we would be brought them. I explained we were sitting outside and he went and got us some menus - begrudgingly.

It was no surprise when all of us wanted to order the Death Benedict after Coolio Ma-Cha-Cha and I had talked it up so much! So Dim Sim, T-Spoon and I decided to take one for the team and order something different. Dim Sim and I were both drawn to the Brekkie Roll - Turkish bread, bacon, fried egg, hash brown, swiss cheese and bbq sauce PLUS steak if you choose. (of course we added steak). T-Spoon chose the Breakfast Bruschetta - scrambled eggs, smoked salmon and tomato salsa on top of Turkish bread. The prices are very reasonable ranging from $8 for home made baked beans and toast up to $19.50 for the Brekkie Roll with steak. The big breakfast was only $16.90 and that is the cheapest I have seen a big brekkie in a long time!

Now when it came to go inside and order, this is when it all really fell apart for the Bah-bow moral. Each one of us had an unpleasant experience with the same manager who gave us the menus. In the time I was lining up to order I saw him shake his head and "tsk" when Johnny Awesome asked for a side of mushrooms after saying the first part of his order (like it was SUCH an effort to do a couple of extra taps on the screen) and he also spoke very curtly to Bento Box and Dim Sim when they asked if they should leave the table number for us to order on as well. Everything seemed like a massive hassle for this guy! I think the reaction I got from everyone when I walked back to the table (as I was last to order) said it all "oh did you order from Mr Grumpy too!". I will post T-Spoon's and Coolio's individual reviews further down, which go into further detail!

We all ordered coffees or iced coffees which came out in good time. Everyone seemed to like their ICED coffees but those of us who ordered hot coffees - not so much. I asked Dim Sim if his coffee was bitter and he said yes, even after adding sugar. Johnny Awesome added a few sachets to his... I didn't add any and it was completely undrinkable. The coffee tasted like it was burnt.

When we ordered the 8 of us ordered on 2 different table numbers but everyone's food came out and random times. They forgot Johnny Awesome's Death Benedict and he ordered before Mr Peter Baby and me. He had to go inside twice to check - that is completely unacceptable. Even I started to get annoyed! By the time his food came out his annoyance ruined any flavour it might have had. Both Dim Sim and I thought our brekkie rolls were tasteless. They could have done with more sauce or maybe a sweet onion or tomato relish inside.

Mr Peter Baby also thought her Death Benedict was bland. She had one poached egg that was cooked nicely and the other was hard, which was disappointing.

Now for T-Spoon's thoughts:
"The bruschetta was good but wasn't overly tasty. The scrambled eggs looked like mushy eggs and were bland, it wasn't creamy or fluffy the way scramble eggs should be.

I asked to replace the smoked salmon with bacon and the manager snapped back and said, "You will have to pay extra!", I said, that was fine but it was a simple swap and it doesn't say on the menu that substitutes are not allowed. It wasn't like I asking for an unrealistic swap.

Having a negative manager like that would have a detrimental affect on staff morale. All the staff there looked like they didn't want to be there, I didn't blame them though. The manager dropped the "F" bomb when he walked away from Bento, after he asked him to bring out the smoked salmon on another side plate since we had to pay extra for the bacon.

Considering the bad service, average food and driving out of the Shire, I still had a fantastic morning with friends"

What would one of my reviews be without the comments from my star brekkie crew member - Coolio Ma-Cha-Cha

"AS has been well documented in this blog I am a little oinker and love to eat so I was pretty excited to try out the much hyped Death Bene at the Balmoral, I really love the “backyard” feel of one of Victoria Parks loveliest old pubs and I’ve eaten there before so had high hopes.

From the get go I was pretty put out by the rudeness of the manager, everything was a big hassle to him, we tried to order from the wrong side of the bar (where I have ordered food from previously) and after being ignored for a while I got the "NO over here", eye roll. I asked to add mushrooms as a side and he said "want them as a SIDE or just ADDED"? Is there even a difference? And does it matter? It says on the menu under sides – mushrooms $3.50 and that $3.50 is my hard earned cash which I'm spending at your pub so just add it on. Then finally I asked can we put everything on the same number – “SIGH” Seriously? You work in hospitality so be hospitable!

My breakfast was pretty good, overall I'd give it a 6/10. I loved the hash browns instead of bread and my eggs were poached perfectly - nice and runny in the middle. Hollandaise needed more tang and the mushrooms had zero flavour but overall I did enjoy eating it. I just would have enjoyed it more without the side of attitude from the manager.

Props to the other wait staff who were all lovely and P.S The iced coffee was killer."

I will never return to the Balmoral for breakfast again, let alone recommend it to anyone. I think there is something seriously wrong when service is so bad that it becomes funny. As we left the pub we laughed all the way back to car with our variations of the word "Balmoral"... this experience yet again proves that pubs should stay in their own yards with wedges and pints.

The Pony Club

2010-10-18T20:26:00.001+08:00

620 Beaufort St, Mt Lawley
http://www.theponyclub.com.au/
Breakfast served weekends 7am – 11.30am
Fully Licensed

It was Suzie Sparkles birthday and she wanted us all to join her for a champagne breakfast at The Pony Club. In attendance we had Coolio Ma-Cha-Cha, Mono Lisa, Fully Charged Rhino, Mr Peter Baby, Lady Tango and a new addition to the review crew – Techno Waves.

The morning was almost disastrous as I locked myself out of my apartment and had to call Coolio Ma-Cha-Cha to come and pick me up. Me being me, I had worked myself into a state and needed a GOOD coffee to calm me down. I was so glad when as soon as I sat down the waiter was immediately at the table to take my coffee order as the other girls already had theirs.

My sentiments were the same as the rest of the girls. The coffee was amazing. Good temperature with a mild flavour. When we ordered a bottle of celebratory champagne some even turned down a glass to get another coffee!

I thought the menu had quite a good selection without being too overwhelming and the prices were reasonable ranging from $5 for toasted sourdough to $20 for the Big Breakfast – two eggs, chorizo, bacon, tomato, mushrooms, crispy potato and toasted sourdough. There was also the vegetarian option of the big breakfast. Most items on the menu averaged at around $12-$14. There were some different little treats on the menu like churros, muesli with vanilla milk and baked eggs with spiced chickpeas, onion, feta and red peppers. There would definitely be something for everyone!

There was also a specials board which had on it what we all affectionately named “the stack of awesome”. It comprised of bacon, avocado, tomato tapenade, spinach and poached egg stacked on sourdough with hollandaise sauce. The majority of us ordered that and Techno Waves ordered the vegetarian full breakfast, Fully Charged Rhino ordered her usual of toast with mushrooms and spinach and Coolio Ma Cha Cha ordered the Big Breakfast.

A couple of us also ordered Bloody Mary’s after Techno Waves had one and it tasted delicious. Although I wish I had asked for mine spicier as I love a good hit of Tabasco!

I thought for this review it would be a good idea to post the quotes of what some of the girls said rather than paraphrase! So here we go...

Lady Tango,
“Good menu with a few interesting options. The special "stack of awesome" sounded too good to be true and kind of was. It was absolutely delicious but was much smaller than I'd imagined (I am a pig though) and the eggs were slightly overcooked. Other than that the service was friendly even if it did take them a while to take our breakfast order. The coffee was the best I've had in ages and so was the champagne and all at a reasonable price. I'd definitely go back”

Mr Peter Baby,
I was a hungry little beast that day, and as delicious as the “stack of awesome” was, maybe 2 eggs would have been better! Also without being a whinge bag, burnt toast and an over cooked poached egg, was a bit of a fail! There was a really nice waiter, and amazingly delicious coffee.”

Suzie Sparkles,
The initial service by the wait staff was wonderful, people were seated promptly and water was poured, as well as coffee orders being taken. Wait staff constantly circulated refilling water and continuing to take coffee orders as more people arrived. Unfortunately they were not so prompt to take our food order and we had to hail someone down to do that – this may have had to do with the fact we were all talking a mile a minute though and they didn’t want to interrupt our girly gossip session.

I ordered the special (along with pretty much everyone else!) which sounded absolutely delicious – but was a little disappointing in size when it arrived – I could have done with a side serve of potato gems or something. You can’t fault them on appearance though; everything was plated and presented beautifully. All the flavours worked wonderfully together and the only real disappointing aspect was that the egg was a little overcooked – I like a little bit of runny yoke. That said my meal was delicious (and I managed to steal some of the other girls potato gems so my craving was satisfied!)

The champagne was a South Australian brut and although it was the cheapest one on the menu everyone commented on the flavour and smoothness.”

Coolio Ma-Cha-Cha,
“Arriving early I ordered a cappuccino before having to flee to the rescue of silly Lizzy! When I returned the table was full of chattering girls but immediately the coffee I had ordered appeared in front of me – big tick AND it was delicious – double tick!

I ordered a bloody Mary and the big breakfast, the bloody Mary was fantastic, I don’t like anything too spicy but this one was just perfect. There was a slight mishap with my order as the waiter only heard me say scrambled eggs not big breakfast with scrambled eggs but it was quickly rectified and I really enjoyed the meal. Everything was cooked perfectly the hollandaise was some of the best I’ve had!

Great way to kick off a Sunday!”

I agree with what the majority of the girls said. The service was excellent except for when we wanted to order our meals but I also think the waiter was respecting that we were all catching up! The “stack of awesome” was delicious. The flavours worked well together and the hollandaise was perfect - creamy and slightly tangy. My egg was also a little on the overcooked side as well but all in all it was definitely a nice dish.

Having heard mixed reviews about The Pony Club for dinner I can firmly say that their breakfast is outstanding. The service was attentive and friendly and the food was interesting and tasty. Also I believe it was well priced, working out to be about $25 each even with the champagne! I definitely recommend The Pony Club for a romantic breakfast or a special catch up with friends and family – the champagne is a MUST!

Indian Ocean Brewing Company

2010-09-24T11:48:00.006+08:00

Mindarie Marina Ocean Falls Boulevard, Mindarie

http://www.indibrew.com/

Breakfast served Sundays 8am-11am

Fully Licensed

Clive and I decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and go for a Sunday breakfast at the Indian Ocean Brewing Company overlooking the water in the Mindarie Marina. The weather was probably the only good thing about this breakfast. I rang during the week to book a table and was told that I didn’t need to book, which I thought was weird but now it’s obvious why.

I had looked at the menu on the net and was a little shocked at the prices I saw. $22 for the Big Indi Breaky – eggs chipolatas, grilled bacon, field mushrooms, roasted tomatoes and toasted sourdough with a hash brown. You wouldn’t even pay that amount in some of the more up market cafes in the city let alone a “pub”. Even the vegetarian option was $20!

The menu did have a good selection of lighter options with muesli, fruit salad, toast, croissants etc. I was looking at ordering either the Hollandaise special (which is either Benedict or Florentine) or the Indi Wake up Call - Spicy beans with grilled chorizo, a fried egg and toasted Turkish bread. I ended up choosing Eggs Benedict and Clive chose to have Sautéed Mushrooms on toasted sourdough with parsley & tomato relish. I also ordered a side of hash browns and of course a coffee each.

After 15mins of waiting I wondered where our coffees were, I also wondered if I was being impatient and then looked around, saw it was quiet and decided I had been waiting too long. Then I saw the poor guy running coffees. He looked terrified as he shuffled carefully to each table with one coffee in each hand – was there a threat of torture if he spilt one? It certainly seemed that way. I started watching the door like a hawk hoping the next time it would be OUR coffees. It wasn’t until one of the girls was walking around asking tables (without table numbers – so they OBVIOUSLY hadn’t ordered yet) if they were waiting on anything that I spoke up and asked if she could find out where our coffees were. She asked what else we were waiting on and I told her our meals and she mumbled something and rushed off. Our meals came out straight after that... still no coffee. At this point I was a little curt with the waitress and asked her about the coffees as I would like it with my breakfast. ANOTHER THREE PEOPLE came up to our table to ask if we were waiting on anything. I had steam coming out of my ears at this point and poor Clive was almost cowering at the table. I am even slamming the keyboard as I write about this. Is there no communication at this place?

Our coffees finally came out, they were really bad. Milky, no flavour, it just added to my annoyance. The food, also awful. My eggs were stone cold and the muffins were cold and rubbery. The eggs were runny though, so well done to that. Cold and too vinegary is enough to describe the hollandaise. It would have gone better on chips with some chicken salt.

The hash browns were so over cooked that there was no soft potato in the middle anymore. It was like eating those crunchy chips you get at the bottom of the bucket.

Clive, bless his cotton socks, tried to be diplomatic about his meal. He said the tomato relish was fresh and had a touch of spice but the mushrooms were dead cold. Clive, trying to see the good in something bad said the mushrooms were still cooked nicely and weren’t soggy. I can’t think of anything worse – cold cooked mushrooms. YUCK.

We were meant to stay at the pub to meet Mr Peter Baby for a drink but I was so annoyed we decided to leave and go to The Boat for a couple of pints after breakfast. (if toothpaste taste is gone – alcohol is acceptable).

Whilst the Indian Ocean Brewing Company is in a nice waterfront location this experience just proves to me that some pubs should stick to what they know – beer and steak sandwiches.

The Blue Duck

2010-09-13T20:22:00.000+08:00

151 Marine Parade, Cottesloe
http://www.blueduck.com.au/
Breakfast served every day 7am – 11.30am
Fully Licensed

What started as breakfast for two ended up as an awesome catch up with four of us - Mono Lisa, myself and two debut appearances to the blog – Suzie Sparkles and Fully Charged Rhino headed to The Blue Duck in Cottesloe on Saturday morning for a champagne breakfast. Suzie and Fully Charged Rhino couldn’t resist coming along to try this place out with us!

From the moment we walked into The Blue Duck we were treated to fantastic service. We were seated by the window as requested when I made the booking (it was too cold for the balcony at 9.30am) and straight away water was poured and our coffee orders were taken. We sat there for a while taking in the beautiful ocean view and having a chat about what we were going to have from the menu... and of course which champagne we were having!

Scanning down the menu the prices are fairly average for Perth, ranging from $4.30 for toast to $19.50 for the Blue Duck Breakfast, which is a typical full breakfast. I liked that they had the “Little Nippers” breakfast for the kids where they can choose from fruit salad, bacon and egg on toast or French toast with maple syrup, all for $8. The overall menu choices were the usual you would find on a breakfast menu with fruit salad, muesli (Bircher and a Blue Duck mix), bacon and eggs as well as a vegetarian big breakfast. The French toast looked quite fancy with it being described as a brioche with mascarpone and dried fruit poached in vanilla syrup. YUM! It was the Rye bagel with shaved prosciutto that really got my mouth watering. It came with King Island triple brie, fresh avocado, soft boiled egg and basil aioli. The waitress said it perfectly – it was the most unexpected thing on the menu.

Mono Lisa ordered poached eggs and toast with a side of hollandaise and mushrooms, Suzie Sparkles ordered bacon and eggs (scrambled), Fully Charged Rhino ordered toast with berry jam and a side of spinach and I ordered the Rye bagel. .. of course!

Our coffees came out rather quickly and I loved that we each got a little biscuit! The coffee was a good temperature and had a full flavour. As soon as we all took a sip there was simultaneous “mmmm that’s good coffee”.

I was surprised that our meals didn’t take much longer to come out considering they were a bit busy. Mono Lisa said – “LIZ! Your bagel is coming, it looks awesome” and it did... I couldn’t believe how good it looked. We all thought the presentation of our meals was fantastic. So we all said “cheers” with our champagne and started enjoying our meals.

Mono Lisa said her hollandaise was light and very tasty. Her eggs were a bit on the cold side but they were nice and runny and she said the taste made up for it.

Suzie Sparkles was enjoying her scrambled eggs until she found a small piece of shell in the eggs. Despite this she commented the eggs were nice and thick and not at all watery. The serving size was also very generous.

The toast that Fully Charged Rhino ordered came with its own cute little jar of berry jam. Her spinach was well seasoned and not soggy. Don’t worry, she didn’t eat the jam and spinach together on the toast!

Now... for my magnificent meal! WOW! There were so many flavours that all went so well together. The basil aioli was light in flavour and creamy. The brie was nice and soft with a strong flavour which complimented the avocado slices lying on top of it. The prosciutto had a light salty flavour that I liked to eat with soft boiled egg. There was a perfect balance of everything in this meal to the point where it was JUST about to get too rich towards the end of the meal and then I had finished. I didn’t feel overfull at all.

The Blue Duck has wonderful service and delicious food to match its beautiful location. All of us enjoyed this cafe and I highly recommend it for any style of catch up – with friends, family or a romantic breakfast for two.

The Full Monty Cafe

2010-09-11T13:00:00.002+08:00

27 Ocean Keys Bvd, Clarkson
Breakfast served until 11am

This review is from last Saturday, which was meant to be the day that Wendy Tosh proved to me that Dome Cafe has the best hollandaise sauce ever... BUT she had to finish packing to move house instead! So, Clive and I decided to check out a place in Clarkson called The Full Monty Cafe. It seems appropriately named for the area considering English accents are what you mainly hear up that way.

We walked inside and we were greeted with the smiling faces of two lovely English women and Clive commented that the place was like “a greasy spoon”... which I now know is a term used in England for a cheap no frills cafe. We considered sitting outside but it looked like it was going to rain but then the cafe was full of that oily “fish and chip” shop smell that once you’ve sat in there for a while you walk out with your hair and clothes smelling of it. We sat inside anyway!

The menu wasn’t very exciting with options consisting of bacon and eggs in all its variations, toast, pancakes and croissants. The prices were very reasonable though, ranging from $2.50 for toast up to $15.50 for The Full Monty Breakfast – bacon, sausage, eggs, tomato, mushrooms, beans, toast and it comes with either tea or coffee as well! It was then I noticed a weird “extra” – Gravy for $1.00. I have no idea what item on their menu would go with gravy.

Clive and I ordered a coffee each and he had The Full Monty Breakfast and I decided to go with Bacon and Eggs (poached). I also ordered a vanilla milkshake to satisfy my morning milk craving.

The food came out rather quickly, before the coffees and milkshake. These meals were definitely no frills – as in it looked exactly like what I would cook for a fry up at home. My poached eggs looked disgusting, like white marshmallow Aero bars with burst bubbles in the whites. I think they were cooked in the bottom of tea cups with the shape they had. BUT looks were deceiving as they were cooked perfectly on the inside and the meal as a whole wasn’t too bad. Clive also introduced me to HP Sauce on this day, which I decided I really liked on my bacon.

Clive enjoyed his meal. His fried eggs were cooked nicely and he said the sausage was tasty.

The coffees... if that’s what you can call them, were undrinkable. They were made with Segafredo beans but also with milk that was reheated again and again and again. When I first took a sip I said to Clive it tasted like bark, then I took another sip and decided it tasted like the smell my old 180sx used to have from the exhaust when she was running rich and came on boost. (Jap import cars – a passion from a previous life). Clive just said it tasted like burnt milk. I think my explanation is better!

The ladies really were lovely at The Full Monty. They reminded me of the Uncle Toby’s porridge ad where the cuddly nanna comes out and gives the kid a big motorboat hug. Unfortunately this along with the cheap prices isn’t enough to make me ever want to go back to this place. English ex-pats – looking for a “greasy spoon” - this might be your place.

Palais 85

2010-08-31T22:28:00.001+08:00

85 South Perth Esplanade
www.palais85.com
Al a carte breakfast from 9am Saturdays
Breakfast buffet 8am – 11am Sundays
Brunch buffet 11.30am – 3pm Sundays
Fully Licensed

There is a big group of us for this outing to Palais 85 for their brunch buffet. Shirley Adams had tempted us all by emailing the menu so we decided to book and check it out. Amongst Shirley Adams, Coolio Ma-Cha-Cha, Juanita Sangria and Clive, we have a few new people to introduce – Lady Tango, Mr Gus and Johnny Awesome.

Palais 85 is right on the South Perth esplanade overlooking the beautiful swan river. The restaurant oozes the “fine dining” feel inside with high back chairs, crisp white tablecloths and chandeliers. Although, when you look outside on the terrace area where the buffet is, you would think you are on holidays in Thailand or Bali with the blue sky shining behind the sails and the live cooking station also placed outside. It’s then you realise the place has a bit of a “hotel” feel to it.

For the purpose of this review I am only looking at the buffet and not the al a carte menu. The breakfast buffet is $28.50 per person and the brunch buffet is $35 per person. I also took photos of the different plates people came back just to give an idea of what we had.

We arrived at 11.30am, which is the start of the brunch buffet service and after a chat and the ordering of the all important champagne, beers and coffee (I have a rule that if the toothpaste taste has gone then it’s not too early for alcohol) we decided to hit the buffet. We had all discussed at length how we were going to tackle the “brunch” aspect of this buffet. I decided on savoury “breakfast” for entree, lunch for mains then sweet “breakfast” for dessert. The others just went with a bit of everything in no particular order, although Coolio really excited at the idea of breakfast for dessert as well.

Mr Gus was clever and ordered an omelette for him and Lady Tango from the live cooking station first up as they take 5 mins to make, so I did the same and we got some other things from the buffet while we waited for those to cook. The live cooking station was great. The chef made fresh omelettes, eggs how you liked and he even made up some French toast at Clive’s request, which he said tasted wonderful. We all thought the omelettes were really nice and I liked that we could choose what filling we wanted.

I thought there was a good range of food on the buffet but most of us were disappointed there were no sausages and maybe some toast but there are sacrifices to be made in order to make it a “brunch” style menu.

A few of us had bacon and it seemed a little stale even though we were there early. The eggs Florentine also got mixed responses, although I never got to try them because every time I went up there were none. The pancakes with a choice of cream, berry compote and maple syrup had mixed responses with some getting the first batch saying they were nice and fluffy and others getting the second batch which should never have been put out they were that burnt. Lady Tango said she tried to persevere with the burnt charcoal flavour but it eventually became too much. She said, “having brunch was a good idea in this case because it was late enough for me to be able to wash away the burnt flavour with champagne.” Again, I missed out on pancakes due to the station not being re-filled any time I went up.

Everyone loved the salmon with its crispy skin and capers as well as the prawn skewers. The roast pumpkin salad was also popular. Clive, Coolio and I had the chocolate mousse which was rich and delicious. Clive also had the pannacotta which he said was nice but had an “air freshener” after taste. I think the fact these desserts were served in plastic wine tasting cups made them lose some of that fine dining touch.

As usual, I will include Coolio-Ma-Cha-Cha’s review on her breakfast,

I was of course STARVING by 11.30am even after a light breakfast to tide me over, so I was pretty excited at the thought of a buffet! I first helped myself to an assortment of savoury brunch goodies, bacon (bit undercooked for me, no crunch), poached eggs with hollandaise (too runny but great taste), roast potatoes (delicious), Skewers of prawns (delightful), cold pumpkin and nut salad (quite good). All in all these were all fairly good and I ate everything on my plate washed down with a nice glass of pineapple juice and was thrilled to still have room for pancakes, DESSERT BREAKFAST!! A dream come true. I helped myself to some pancakes with maple syrup and fresh cream and a little choc mousse on the side (as you do) and they were lovely! Light and fluffy and very, very tasty. My Latte was a great accompaniment to the flapjacks, it had a nice flavour although wasn’t quite warm enough.

I think Palais 85 is in a lovely setting with a great view and it was a really nice way to kick off a beautiful Perth Sunday.”

Juanita Sangria came along with her family and they all loved the buffet, especially her dad who is a very fussy eater! Shirley Adams commented that the brunch idea is fantastic as she is not a “jump out of bed and eat” type of person.

We all agreed the location of Palais 85 was wonderful with a nice view and the service at the tables was great, with our plates being cleared quickly. The re-filling of the buffet could have been a bit more efficient with many of us checking back a few times for something in particular but having to wait.

Overall I think Palais 85 is good in terms of “buffets” but there is always that just not 100% fresh taste about the food. I would rather spend the upper prices of around $20 for a breakfast dish and $6 for a coffee at a flash restaurant also with nice views than spend $35 to gorge myself on luke warm food. This place is great for a nice family brunch with a bit of class but don’t expect to be blown away by the food.

Breakfast at Home

2010-08-18T14:48:00.000+08:00

I thought I would share a few photos that I took with the camera I got for my recent 30th... I am still getting used to saying that age! eek!

Coolio Ma-Cha-Cha made me feel very special on the Saturday morning before my party by coming over and making me a massive breakfast with all the trimmings. I think it was more so that she was making sure I ate something before I got my booze on! Wendy Tosh also came over to join us - having recently returned from a trip to the US (that her boyfriend surprised her with!!!), we wanted to hear all about the shenannigans she got up to over there!

Coolio made yummy creamy scrambled eggs with parsely, bacon (cooked EXACTLY how I like it - a little bit crispy), mushrooms and wilted some spinach for our much needed iron!

I did my bit my making coffee in my stove top percolator, which the girls appreciated ... thankfully!

She also bought around some danishes and made a fresh fruit salad.

Also... here is my attempt at using the "sepia" function on my canon ixus camera.

This breakfast was so yummy and full of variety. I ate so much I didn't eat again all day until I got to Shirley Adams' house for the pre-party cocktails and food. I have the most amazing friends who really helped to make my 30th special.

Thanks guys!

Trigg Island Cafe

2010-08-16T21:29:00.000+08:00

360 West Coast Drive, Trigg
http://www.triggislandcafe.com.au/
Breakfast served 8.30am – 10.30am Weekdays, 8.00am – 10.30am Weekends
Fully Licensed

During the week Coolio Ma-Cha-Cha and I decided to try Trigg Island Cafe for breakfast on Saturday. We even conscientiously made a booking! Making her first appearance in one of my reviews is Tippy La Rouge who loves going to Source Foods in Highgate regularly for breakfast and is an expert on coffees made with soy milk – something I don’t know anything about.

We arrived at the cafe and we were seated right by the window so we could appreciate the beautiful view of the ocean dotted with surfers. The abundance of windows and split levels means that everyone can enjoy this view no matter where you were seated. There is also a lot of natural light and the cafe has a fresh and open feel to it.

A friendly waitress was at our table rather quickly to take our coffee orders and bring water over. Coolio and I ordered cappuccinos and Tippy La Rouge ordered a soy flat white.

We started to discuss the menu and Coolio was torn between sweet or savoury and we got lost in a bit of a conversation about having a dessert menu for breakfasts! How fantastic would that be? The menu is quite simple at Trigg Island Cafe with the standard breakfast options like a full breakfast, eggs Benedict, pancakes and muesli. The prices range from $5 for muffins or scones up to $20.50 for the Beach Breakfast - Poached or fried eggs, chipolatas, tomato, bacon and hash brown. I thought this was a little on the high side. I have noticed that $18-$19 is average for a big breakfast around Perth.

I ordered the Beach Breakfast, Coolio ordered Eggs Benedict and Tippy La Rouge ordered the Sunshine Start (poached) which is eggs on toast.

When the coffees came out, mine was served in a Vittoria cup and my heart sunk a little. I think this is like the “international roast” of coffee beans... or maybe there aren’t many baristas that can get the best out of these coffee beans? This is just my opinion – feel free to shoot me down! My coffee was at a good temperature but it a little on the bitter side. I asked Tippy La Rouge about the soy flat white and she said it was a really well made coffee. She said that soy foams up a lot easier than cows milk and you sometimes get a coffee which is all foam and no milk. Coolio said “I thought my coffee was nice, nothing special but a good temperature.”

Our meals came out and I was a little perplexed at the shape of the poached eggs, which appeared to have been poached in pods. Never the less my eggs were still cooked beautifully and were nice and runny. The serve was a very decent size as well with the bacon cooked slightly crispy – just how I like it!

Tippy La Rouge said that after seeing the eggs she started with a bit of a negative attitude towards the meal but was pleasantly surprised and how nicely the eggs were cooked and in the end was really happy with her meal.

As per usual Coolio Ma-Cha-Cha submits her own review to me and here is what she said,

“I was a little torn between the eggs benedict and the big breakfast but couldn’t resist the lure of hollandaise so went with the bene. One reason I was torn was the price $19 seemed a bit steep but not a deal breaker so long as I wasn’t left still hungry.

No fear of that I saw when my meal arrived, poached eggs and ham served on two huge slabs of thick cut fresh toast. The hollandaise was a little too buttery without the nice tang but still delicious (anything with that much butter is going to taste good), I was a little disappointed in my eggs as they had been poached using pods so had that “maccas mcmuffin” look about them I think if I am paying near enough to $20 for breakfast my eggs should be poached by hand but it’s a small quibble and they tasted great. I definitely left satisfied and was thrilled to spend the morning by the beach. I also thought the service was excellent.”

I have to agree with Coolio, the service was excellent and our waitress was very friendly without being annoying and attentive. The view also makes a visit to this cafe definitely worthwhile. A few improvements could be made and I think a place like this survives on its location more than the food being served. We had no major complaints but it didn’t blow me away. Definitely a great cafe for a casual breakky after a walk along the beach.

Mullaloo Beach Hotel

2010-08-10T21:12:00.004+08:00

10 Oceanside promenade, Mullaloo
http://www.mullaloobeachhotel.com.au/
Breakfast served Sundays only 9am – 11am
Fully Licensed

I am going to try and slowly work my way out of “the shire” more often (my friends and I refer to the area including Inglewood, Mt Lawley, North Perth, Maylands, Northbridge as “the shire”), so I decided to really venture out and visit the Mullaloo Beach Hotel for their Sunday breakfast. Accompanying me is the baked bean aficionado – Clive, who I think will be making many more appearances in my reviews!

It was a beautiful Sunday to have breakfast at a beachside location and the Panorama restaurant in the MBH has a nice view of the ocean with heaps of natural light to make for a lovely setting. Clive and I were seated away from the window which was a bit disappointing but we could still enjoy the view from where we were. The waitress was very quick to come and take our coffee orders, I ordered a cappuccino and Clive ordered a flat white.

The breakfast menu isn’t very inspiring but I didn’t really expect it to be from a pub. Don’t let that deter you though because it is nice to go out and have bacon and eggs, eggs Benedict, pancakes or an omelette to choose from rather than two pages of fusion cooking. Sometimes all you want is bacon and lots of it! The prices are average for a Perth breakfast, ranging from $5 for toast up to $19.50 for the MBH Big Breaky - chipolatas, bacon, tomato, mushroom, 2 eggs, hash browns and toast. I really like that they have a kids menu available for breakfast as well. It’s $12 for a choice of bacon and a fried egg, sausage and a fried egg (both with toast) or pancakes, syrup and icecream. This also comes with a glass of juice.

I ordered Eggs Benedict, which is weird for me because I NEVER order this. Clive ordered the MBH Big Breaky and asked to swap the tomatoes for baked beans but was told no substitutions, so he instead ordered it as an extra side (baked beans, mushrooms, tomatoes are $3 as an extra).

The coffees were nice. Good temperature and no bitter flavour. I wished that I had ordered a milkshake or something to satisfy my milk craving!

The meals came out in a reasonable time. I laughed at the garnish, I haven’t seen those sprouts used on a dish in a long time. Especially the way they are just pulled out of the punnet and plonked on top of a meal. My Eggs Benedict were enjoyable but the hollandaise was a touch vinegary. There wasn’t too much ham and the eggs were cooked perfectly runny.

Clive’s first comment was that the bakes beans were not very nice and tasted cheap. The hash brown was nice and crispy and his eggs were also cooked perfectly. I think this big breaky did have a nice balance of everything in just the right amount.

Overall the experience at the Mullalloo Beach Hotel was good and the service was attentive and friendly. With the MBH being a fully licensed venue you could have quite a fun breakfast there with a beautiful view to look at.

In Contro

2010-07-18T13:31:00.000+08:00

Corner Mends Street & South Perth Esplanade, South Perth
http://www.incontro.com.au/
Breakfast served Friday 7.30am – 11am and Weekends 8am – 11am
Fully Licensed

What a beautiful day for a Sunday breakfast on the South Perth foreshore! Mono Lisa and I decided during the week to book at In Contro for breakfast after she told me about the amazing dinner she had there and I have to agree, this place is pretty amazing. The tranquil view of the river and the elegant decor really make for a divine breakfast.

Mono Lisa had already arrived and ordered a long macchiato and as soon as I sat down the very attentive and friendly waitress took my coffee order. It didn’t take long for my cappuccino to come out and both Mono Lisa and I commented on how beautiful the coffee was. A nice strong coffee flavour that was smooth and creamy with no hint of bitterness. A very drinkable coffee!

We looked over the menu and I already was torn between the Winter Breakfast Tart – Mondo Bacon, spinach, gruyere and Chefs Relish and the Grilled Sandwich – Mondo speck, fried haloumi, wild mushrooms and rosemary. Prices ranged from $9 for a banana and yogurt smoothie up to $22 for the Chef’s Breakfast – Poached eggs, Mondo bacon, slow roasted tomatoes with pesto and jazzed up Heinz baked beans. I’d really like to know what they mean by “jazzed up Heinz baked beans”! There were so many delicious choices that have a hint of difference from the usual breakfast meals as well as a good offering of extras that you could add to the meals like stewed fruit, potatoes with rosemary salt and goats feta.

I ended up deciding on the Winter Breakfast tart and Mono Lisa chose poached eggs with a side of roasted Swiss brown mushrooms with garlic thyme butter. We also ordered another coffee each, which is rare for me! I wonder if I will be able to sleep tonight? I’m usually a one coffee wonder.

The meals came out quite fast which was impressive considering it was Sunday breakfast. Both Mono Lisa and I said “wow” when the plates were in front of us. Mono Lisa cut into her poached eggs and commented that they were cooked perfectly. The mushrooms looked amazing and she said they tasted so as well! She said the thyme with the garlic butter was delicious. Both our meals came with grilled ciabatta bread drizzled with extra virgin olive oil. The EVO was so tasty and was a nice touch to add to the bread.

My meal was amazing. I spread a bit of the relish on the ciabatta and it took me back to my childhood of when mum would put Rosella fruit chutney on roast lamb sandwiches. That is not a bad comment because I LOVE Rosella fruit chutney! The tart was very tasty. Not too much bacon to overpower the general flavour. I have never had gruyere cheese before and it was really nice with the spinach and egg.

In Contro now makes my top 3! Mono Lisa commented that it was now her new favourite restaurant. The service was excellent and the food was faultless. I would definitely recommend this place for a special breakfast with friends or family. I’d like to go back again and have a champagne breakfast with my group of favourite girls.

Le Papillon

2010-07-17T18:56:00.003+08:00

274 Bulwer St, Northbridge
Breakfast served from 7am Mon-Sun

I always drive past Le Papillon patisserie when I leave Coolio Ma-Cha-Cha’s place so we both decided to check it out for a Saturday breakfast of pastry laden goodness. As soon as you walk in the door you are greeted with an illuminated cabinet of beautiful looking pastries and tarts. Immediately your mouth starts watering. The decor of the patisserie is very homely and inviting, reminding me of my Mum’s kitchen more than anything!

You can’t order “normal” breakfast meals at Le Papillon but don’t let this discourage you as there is a fantastic range of croissants, baguettes, tarts and other delicious goodies you can order instead. All the croissants were under $8 and you can make your own combination of filling or choose from the board.

I chose a ham, swiss cheese, tomato and avocado croissant and Coolio ordered a Roast chicken, cream cheese avocado and tomato croissant. We had intentions of ordering dessert afterwards! I also ordered a milkshake as well as my usual cappuccino and Coolio asked for a “mug” of cappuccino. It wasn’t until we sat at our table she realised they did “bowls” of cappuccino and quickly went back up the counter to change her order. She was more excited than child on Christmas at the prospect of an entire bowl of coffee!

I believe that Le Papillon has its own brew of coffee that they roast themselves and I thought I would quote was Coolio wrote about her bowl of coffee,

“Well I was very excited to discover you can order bowls of coffee here, seeing as I had some work to do at the office later I thought I would get one of those and see how it powered me through the day. It was lovely! Really great coffee, not burnt at all and at a very drinkable temperature I drained that bowl in no time!”

I also enjoyed my cappuccino which was dwarfed by the size of Coolio’s! I thought there could have been more flavour to the coffee but it was smooth and at the perfect temperature.

The croissants were delicious! Mine was fluffy and buttery and the swiss cheese was really nice with a subtle flavour. Looking at the plate I was sure I would have room for dessert but after eating it I couldn’t bare the thought of eating another thing. Here’s what Coolio had to say,

“My Roast chicken, cream cheese, avocado and tomato croissant was delicious! The croissant was quite large and really fresh with a nice buttery flavour that wasn’t too overwhelming, although butter is one of my favourite things to eat and too much does tend to leave me feeling sick and oily, so this was great. Nice fresh ingredients and just the right amount of cream cheese made it a really lovely light breakfast. Being quite the little piggy I was worried it wouldn’t be enough food but I wasn’t hungry again until late afternoon. I couldn’t even fit in my planned dessert so we will have to go back and test out the cakes!”

There is definitely going to be another trip back to Le Papillon to try some of those sweet pastries. The chocolate tart has my name written all over it!

Definitely check this place out if you’re a lover of all things French AND pastry. What a delicious combination!

CNR

2010-06-27T15:39:00.004+08:00

Corner of James & Lake Streets, Northbridge
Breakfast served from 7am - 11.30am weekdays & 8am-11.30am weekends

So I woke up fairly late this morning and started to contemplate going out to breakfast on my own. After a few false starts to get out of my toasty warm bed I finally got my act together and headed into Northbridge to find a place that still served breakfast. I found that place tucked away in the corner of the Northbridge piazza. Let me introduce the cafe appropriately named CNR and my first ever review without my team of experts in tow.

As I walked into CNR I was greeted with a massive smile from the barista who told me to come and order at the counter when I was ready. The cafe has a range of seating both outside facing the grassed area and down the side of the cafe as well as ample inside seating. I decided to sit inside as I didn't want to risk ruining my experience at CNR by being cold.

I perused the menu which has a good number of choices. The prices at CNR range from $4 for toast up to $19 for their big breakfast called "CNR Sink". Looking at what you got with the CNR Sink it would be definitely worth every cent. It comes with eggs anyway, bacon, mushrooms, tomato, bratwurst, potato gratin and sourdough toast. The menu choices were all the standard meals you would usually see at a cafe for breakfast but the words used to describe the meals adds this extra element that makes them seem a lot more appealing. Like "buttered silverbeet" with the Eggs Florentine, "Shaved feta and torn basil" with what is commonly presented as a breakfast bruschetta. I thought this was an interesting touch. The board behind the counter is also filled with many varieties of fresh juices and coffee's.

I went up to the counter and ordered a cappuccino and pan fried mushrooms, crumbled goats cheese on toasted ciabatta with crispy bacon. I asked the smiling barista for some water as well and he pointed me to the table from which you can help yourself to water then offered to get me a glass and bring it over. I was a little surprised at the offer but I said no as I was going to grab a paper from over there anyway.

It didn't take long for my cappuccino to come out and as I ate the froth from the top (my favourite thing to do) I savoured this slight caramel taste that actually made me stop and take notice. I tasted the coffee and the temperature was perfect and it tasted like... coffee I had forgotten existed. They use Five Senses beans at CNR and I am sure I have probably had that coffee before but maybe it was the smiling barista's touch that made it taste amazing. It was smooth, flavoursome and had this hint of something in the undertones of the flavour that kept making me want to take another sip.

I didn't have to wait long for my meal to come out and when it did I knew I had hit the jackpot with this choice. There were 2 massive field mushrooms both topped with goats cheese, plenty of bacon and a drizzle of basil pesto. The mushrooms were meaty and flavoursome, the cheese was tasty yet mild in flavour and the bacon was nicely cooked. It all went so well together and tasted delicious! Unfortunately I couldn't finish my entire meal as it was deceivingly large.

I decided to sit a while longer and finish reading the paper. In that time a waitperson came and refilled my glass on his way to refill the water jugs and the waitperson who cleared my plate offered me another coffee. This is what service should be.

CNR should definitely be on every one's list to try for breakfast. You can sit there and people watch everyone in the Northbridge piazza and enjoy an brilliantly made coffee and delicious food. Eating breakfast on my own wasn't so bad and I also really enjoyed listening to the Johnny Cash album that was playing whilst reading the paper. So... Crema Cafe just got bumped off the top 3 for CNR!

Also... I am now on Twitter! So follow my breakfast reviews from http://twitter.com/PerthBreakfast

Moore & Moore

2010-06-22T21:43:00.002+08:00

46 Henry St
Breakfast served 7am – 12pm Weekdays & 8am – 2.30pm Weekends

On this beautiful Saturday morning I decided to meet my friends SMC and Fudge in Freo for breakky. After some suggestions from readers I decided we should try Moore & Moore, which is down one of the many streets in Fremantle’s West End. I really like the West End area, you can get lost around there for ages looking in all the little shops down all the little streets! Also, just a note, some of my food photos in this review were taken with my new iPhone (yes... I joined the masses) using the Tiltshift app which is meant to be like using an SLR, so I’ll see how it goes!

We walked in to the spacious cafe and found a table inside. I love the layout and the decor of Moore & Moore with its contrasting spacious rooms and tiny nook and crannies to sit in and there is also a nice tranquil outside area at the back of the cafe. The decor is similar to Toast with the shabby chic look and there is a massive art gallery attached to the cafe which has some beautiful pieces on display. SMC had her young daughter with her and a waitress kindly got a high chair that was even one of those old school wooden type ones!

The first thing I noticed about the menu was how reasonable the prices were. Maybe Freo hasn’t caught “Melbourne”? The prices ranged from $4.50 for toast (gluten free available) to $16.50 for sweet French toast that comes with fresh fruit, home made conserve and honey mascarpone. The menu choices were the usual breakfast fare with a slight twist. Like poached eggs with nutmeg spinach or avocado and eggs with tomato salsa. There is also delicious sounding hot pot called “a little pot of moore” – roast capsicum, tomato, roasted garlic and herbs topped with an egg and parmesan cheese served with toast.

SMC and Fudge went up to the counter to order first. SMC ordered the bacon and eggs which come with greens and tomato salsa and Fudge ordered a hot chocolate and the avocado and eggs that also comes with greens and tomato salsa. Both of these meals can be ordered in a “half serve” on weekdays – something different! I went up to the counter next and asked for my order to be put on the same table number and ordered Moore’s roquette bruschetta that comes with chorizo, caramelized onion, danish feta, olives and cherry tomatoes, a freshly squeezed OJ and a cappuccino.

I had barely sat back down when my meal arrived before any of the drinks. I thought this was a little strange but we happily sat there and chatted whilst waiting for everything else. The drinks came out shortly after and I didn’t have a chance to ask about the other meals before the waitress whisked off. Fudge’s hot chocolate looked nice and creamy with a little marshmallow on top. She said it was nice but a little cold. My OJ was delicious. Definitely fresh and it was nice and sweet. The cappuccino could have been a little hotter but we all know I am fussy about the temp of my coffee! I really liked the flavour; a nice smooth coffee taste without bitterness.

When SMC’s and Fudge’s meals still hadn’t arrived I went up to the counter to ask, thinking I had stuffed something up when I asked for my meal to be added to the table’s order only to be rudely told “they’re being served now”. I love when people get the sarcastic tone of voice!

Their meals finally came out and they looked very fresh and I was looking forward to finally tucking into mine! SMC was a little disappointed that the menu didn’t allow for scrambled eggs, so she had fried where as Fudge had poached. The eggs on both SMC’s and Fudge’s meals were cooked perfectly with runny yolks. Fudge mixed her tomato salsa in with the rocket and said it tasted delicious that way. SMC thought her bacon was a maybe a bit too crispy and looking at it I would agree with her. Well that’s two out of three!

My meal was disappointing. All I can think is “you don’t win friends with lettuce”, which is pretty much all this dish was. There was only a couple of small pieces of chorizo, a couple of pieces of feta and hardly any caramelized onion. There was, however, HEAPS of rocket. I’m not sure if the feta was even Danish as it wasn’t crumbly with that nice salty taste but there was too little of it to really tell. I wish that my meal had more of those ingredients as I think it would have been a beautiful dish otherwise.

To make things a little better a friendly waitress came over and kept SMC’s daughter occupied while we picked up all the dropped toys and rusks when we were leaving.

Moore & Moore is a lovely little cafe but I was very disappointed with my meal. Fudge and SMC liked theirs though, so not all was lost. I don’t think I would go back for breakfast but I can see this place being a nice hidey hole to chill out with a good book and a coffee.