Where The Monster Sat, Petersham

Another Saturday morning, another brunch joint ticked off the sheet. This time round, WN and I picked a cafe based purely on it's name. Situated within view of the Petersham station, and with ample parking around the area, WTMS is a nice decent sized cafe with outdoor seating, is doggy and also pram friendly. Perfect for catching up with friends who have recently given birth. :)

Outdoor seating with loads of shade :)

As we haven't caught up in a while, conversation took over the perusing of the menu but after being asked twice by the waitress, we figured it was best we start ordering.

Their quirky designed takeaway cups

I forgot to get a photo of our coffees but you're not missing out on much. No latte art however the coffee was pretty good! WN and fi both opted for the Iced Coffee instead and both gals said it was REALLY GOOD. I wonder if it was because of the especially hot weather that morning. Note to self : order the iced coffee next time.
 

Smoked Salmon and Potato Hash

Soon our dishes arrived and as per the above picture, I got myself the Smoked Salmon Hash. I had fun with this plate by combining the key element which to me was the pieces of potato with either egg, bacon or salmon. When I felt adventurous, I combined all of them and had a party in my mouth. : P

Gluten Free eggs benedict on a Potato Rosti

WN had the GF eggs benedict on a potato rosti. You should have seen her face when I casually sliced the egg in half just to get an oozy eggporn shot, lol. She commented that this dish was slightly on the salty side. 

High ceilings, large windows, friendly atmosphere :)

WTMS is a quirky little cafe with lots of open space. I didn't feel like I had to rush nor did the polite staff give me a sense that they preferred if we just ate and got out ASAP. Would I come back again? Yes I will.

Do check out their facebook page as well if you wanted to 'follow' them on their journey from acquiring the shop lot, to renovating it and finally to serving customers. 

Where The Monster Sat
Address : 16 Douglas Street, Stanmore
Opening Hours : 7am to 4pm (8am to 4pm on weekends)
Facebook / Google Maps

My list of Must Eat Places in Europe

Can't believe it's been 2 months since I last blogged! I just got back from a ridiculously long holiday in Europe and going through over 2000 photos can be pretty tedious and pretty time consuming.

This pictorial blog is going to be about some of the awesome restaurants and cafes that WN and I visited, or in some cases, stumbled across.

Here we go.

PARIS
I noticed that the French love a breakfast with a view. Almost everyone sits facing outwards.

Doesn't matter if all they see is a cobbled stone roundabout, a view is a view is a view.

 Breakfast meals are kept simple, and so it should! For only 3.50euros, you'll get the below.

The croissants here are seriously out of this world! Picking one up, it weighed next to nothing. I felt like I was holding a little baked puff of cloud.

SO FLUFFYYYYYYY

I did not feel the least bit guilty (at least whilst I was on holidays, I'm paying for it now) slathering on most, if not all the butter served onto the baguettes or croissants.

Eat first, worry later

This breakfast was of course not enough to last us till lunch so what we did on most days was to buy a few more pastries and fruits to snack on when the stomach growls.

La Creperie De Josselin
Recommended by one of WN's friends, we made our way to Montparnasse to sample what was to be one of the best crepes we've ever had, period.

I don't know how long this place has been around but judging from the interior, I'll say "quite some time"

Prices of  everything in the menu was under 10Euros. Scanning through the menu, I picked the one called 'Finistere'.

Finistere (mashed eggplant, egg, bacon 9.90e)

 I was in buttery heaven on just the first bite. The crepe was wafer thin and matching it in terms of slimness was the bacon. If I had to compare it with the ones in Sydney, the bacon here was at least half the thickness making it a delight to cut through. The mashed eggplant balanced the flavours out and in no time, the dish was gone as quickly as it was served. 

Garo (Orange slices flambeed with Grand Marnier 8.50e)

Up next was the savoury Crepes. I didn't realize it but when the nice old lady plonked this in front of me, she swiftly took a lighter out and set it ablaze. Before I could even turn the camera on, she already stirred the dish about (stir-fry style) and the alcohol burnt out, much to my dissappointment. WN giggled and the lady walked away with a smile. Maybe she was indirectly telling me to take less photos and eat faster! There's a queue outside!

It's definitely worth the wait.

Can Ramonet, Barcelona
Our lovely lovely Spanish host highly recommended this next place and rightfully so. 
Situated about 10-15 minutes walk from where we stayed, WN and I took a nice evening walk out to this seafood restaurant.  Let the seafood fest begin!

Can Ramonet, serving customers since 1956

We started off with an entree of garlic prawns. Served with the lid closed in a very hot saucer of oil, plenty of sliced garlic and chillies, the prawns were perfectly cooked by the time we were done admiring it and taking photos. 

Garlic prawns. What a dish to whet the appetite with...

Next up was a dish that I still have dreams of. Deep fried baby squid. The only other place I've ever tasted this was in a little town in Malaysia when I was a mere child and I've yet to find a restaurant or a fishmonger  in Sydney that serves this. If you know of a place, please please please tell me!

Deep fried baby squid...goes well with everything!

Lightly battered and cooked in high heat, these babies(pun not intended) were not overly oily nor did they clump together as one might expect.

Only an inch long! I'm salivating just thinking about it.

We might have gone abit overboard with the next dish. Next up was the Lobster Paella. I didn't manage to take a photo of the Paella tray but here are the plates after it has been dished out for us. Do bear in mind that these plates were HUGE

Lobster Paella on 45cm plates!

Another dish that was rich in flavour we now found ourselves taking our time extracting the succulent meat from the shell and slowly savouring each bite. A few days later, we came back here again to order the same entrees but this time we ordered the grilled seafood platter instead. Pictures didn't turn out too well so I won't stick it up.

 Da Enzo, Rome
Little did we know that situated just around the corner from where we stayed was a little hole in the wall restaurant that was famous amongst local Romanians called Da Enzo. As we were feeling a little lazy, we decided to give it ago an boy, were we delightfully surprised. 

Fried artichoke and stuffed zuchini flower

 I've never had fried artichokes cooked this way before and later found out that it was a very traditional jewish way of cooking it.  When enjoying really good food, I sometimes forget to jot down (or take a photo) of the dishes that I've eaten. WN ordered the below dish. 

Penne bolognaise?

I ordered the good ol Spaghetti Carbonara. This was prepared with no frills, no extra ingredients, just egg, pasta, abit of pepper, pieces of pork cheeks and a dusting of cheese. 

I will outright state that this is THE BEST pasta I've ever had in my LIFE. I know it's a big call but it's true. You should have seen my face light up when I stabbed the piece of pork cheeks only to feel a slight crunching texture as it slid through it. WN had the same crunchy pieces in her Penne. we both gave each other wide eyed nods of approval.  See below proof of how good it was!

This is proof of how good I thought it was.

The waiter said to make some room for dessert and so we did. The Tiramisu was so good that on our 2nd visit here, both WN and I got one each for ourselves. Not everything is meant to be shared. :P 

Too good to share. The dollop of Nutella right in the centre was a nice surprise.

Da Enzo is another restaurant that I would happily keep coming back to if I visited Rome again.

Nerbone, Florence
Another recommendation from WN's friend is Nerbone located in the Markets of Florence.
As we were pretty early, there was literally noone queueing up!!! wooooooot!

 Who knew slices of roast beef with soy sauce(I think?) and bread could taste so good.

Gelato Festival, Florence
At about the same time that Cow and Moon won the award for the best ice cream, we attended a gelato festival/competition in Florence. Time to get high!

If i didn't lose some of our coupons, we would have eaten another 3 cups each! burp...

I was a happy camper :)

 

 

 

 

Four Seasons Chinese Restaurant, London  You know, the last thing I thought I'd ever do was to have chinese food in London! But after 3+ weeks of having pizza, pasta and lasagne, it was a welcome break.

The sight of the bbq and roast pork made me salivate... :)~

There are plenty of other restaurants with the same name so look for this shop if you want some seriously good duck! Upon entering, proudly stuck up on their walls is a newspaper article stating that it this place had 'Best Roast Duck in the World'.

half a duck. Mostly meat, very little bone :)

 We got ourselves half a duck and WN who doesn't really fancy this meat, actually gave it a thumbs up. I enjoyed it throughly.

Skin that was still crispy and meat that wasn't so fatty.

  Another one of their signature dishes was the homemade beancurd and of course we had to order that too.

House special 'Pei-Pa' beancurd

We can't really remember what was it in but it sure was tasty! There was black mushroom, water chestnut(I think) and some sorta meat. Whatever it had in it, I'd be glad to have more of it.

Anyhow, If you've made it this far, I commend you. Not the most eloquent of blogs but I thought it would be a waste to visit Europe and not share some photos. We actually spent a few days in Japan too but I'll leave that for another (shorter) post....plus it wouldn't go well with the title of this blog ;)

If you have any questions about the places above, just fire away. Till then, c'yaaa!

:)

Le Monde Cafe, Surry Hills

Catching up with good friends over a meal is always a fun affair and this time, it was a last minute invite from Hubes to join him and a few others for brunch at one of his favourite cafes.

The neat layout of the cafe drew my attention immediately. The tall tables were lined with magazines for those waiting for their takeaways or just wanting to have a quick cuppa before heading off. Smack in the middle is another row of tables which seats about 12 people facing each other. Along the 3 sides of the wall were table of 2s for those wanting a little 'privacy'.

The staff here are really attentive and friendly. In no time, my skim flat white was served.
I notice on the wall behind the barista that he had an assortment of coffee beans including kopi luwak. Asking him what he pulled for me today, I was told it was a house blend.
I  think the barista's head was probably tilted a little to the left when pouring this. heheeh

I tried to get a babychino review from 3yr old Dean but failed to get a word out of him. This was surprising as he wouldn't keep his mouth shut about dinosaurs, rockets and gorillas before he got his drink! Judging from his unwavered attention to spooning all the chocolate syrup into his mouth, I shall take it that he enjoyed it thoroughly.

bad photo. Potato Rosti with smoked salmon, spinach, feta, poached eggs, hollandaise & pistachio ($16)

I didn't ask Lou for a bite of her dish but using my other senses, I heard the crack when she cut through the potato rosti which revealed a steaming pile of shredded potato. When sliced, the poached egg yolk flowed out like a river of gold. Apparently this is her go-to dish whenever she visits this place. Writing this now, I want some potato rosti too!!!

poached eggs with haloumi, avocado, lemon, truffle oil and toast(16)

WN commented on how she enjoyed this dish. Two perfectly poached eggs sitting atop thick slices of avocado and haloumi. The toast itself was drizzled generously with truffle oil giving it a nice aftertaste. It was mentioned that the haloumi was not overly salty nor chewy.

Pork belly with poached eggs, avocado salsa, cherry tomato, garlic puree, radish pickles, watercress& toast ($16)

 What pretty plating. Seeing the speed of which Hubes, smashed it down, he must have really liked it. Then again, Hubes likes anything with pork in it. :P Once again, the egg was perfectly poached and the pork looked super tender as it was sliced up and vacuumed into my good friend. 

Smoked house chilli bacon with chilli jam, mayo, fried egg, avocado on a brioche bun ($13)

For a moment, it crossed my mind whether I could squish the burger down and fit it in my mouth. I decided against it and commenced the deconstruction process.

Chilli Jam with bacon goes SO well together. It cuts away a little of the saltiness to it. Anything with a brioche bun is always a treat and this was put to good use at the end to wipe up any leftover egg yolk on the plate. What impressed me the most was the egg! It was fried so that it could stay in the burger but the top layer was translucent enough to see through. Cutting it in half, the yolk had an almost jelly-like form as I took bits of every other ingredient to form a mouthful of goodness. I would recommend this dish to anyone.

Le Monde impressed me! The staff are ever so friendly and attentive. Our glasses of water were never empty. Their own blend of coffee tasted good and the service was fast. There were a number of other dishes that I am keen try so this is definitely a place that I'll be putting on my list of cafes to revisit. 

Good job Le Monde Cafe!  :)

Le Monde Cafe
Address : 83 Foveaux St, Surry Hills
Opening hours
Mon - Fri : 6:30am to 4pm
Sat : 7:30am - 2pm
website / Google map

Dear Delicious, Dulwich Hill

Mornings like last Sunday should be spent at  home, with a whole lotta junkfood, a few movies and a thick quilt....but nooooo, my bodyclock had to wake me up at 8am and my stomach asked to be fed. My brain used 'the force' on me and said that I had no desire to make pancakes at home but instead to go check out some place new.  It was against my will! 

It was pouring down with rain and as much as I wanted to take a picture of the shop front, I couldn't be bothered as my umbrella was already at risk at being blown inside out. So here's a photo of their logo instead. :P

I like the interior of DD. It's lovely high ceilings and spacious interior gives it a sense of spaciousness. It's kid friendly with colouring books and crayons in 1 corner of the room. There's even a massive round table at the back for those with large groups.

errr...constellation latteart? No I did not stir it.

Coffee at DD is pretty good, serving up a SingleOrigin of a unknown brand, I had no complaints except that, I didn't get any sort of pretty fern leaf, loveheart, hello kitty or even a round blob of milk! I mean, we were there just before 9am and the place wasn't even half full. Their FB page boasts of latteart photos so one would think that the barista would have put a little bit more effort in? Anyhow, I still drank my coffee as it was a good one. :)

Croque Monsieur with free range ham and horsradish clotted cream n fried egg ($15.90)

The missus thought this dish was a pretty good but halfway through changed her mind as the flavours of salt and the sourness of the clotted cream overpowered the dish. The bread which came from Brickfields was throughly enjoyed though, so thumbs up to them! :)

Gypsy baked eggs - smoked hazelnut dukkah, bacon, tomato, feta, eggplant ($18)

This dish had the right balance of flavours to it. Not one ingredient overpowered the other and I would happily order this dish again if I revisited DD. The only constructive feedback I would give would be the plating. It was slightly tricky to cut up the bacon pieces on the already cramped plate without knocking the bread onto the table. I ended up mashing everytthing in the bowl up and tearing the bread up with my hands.

Dear Delicious is the new kid on the Dulwich Hill block and definitely has potential. 2 customers (and myself) were served dishes that we didn't order and to me this is a no-no especially when the cafe was only half full.

On a positive, the waitresses were always cheerful and the food was pretty good overall.
So with that, let's see how they fare with time.

Dear Delicious
Address : 245 Wardell Rd, Dulwich Hill
Opening hours : 
Facebook / webpage (which has no content yet)

Brighton The Corner, Petersham

Continuing on with our weekly cafe visits is yet again another cafe in Petersham.
Just off a leafy backstreet where the traffic isn't heavy, this place is just 200meters from the station which makes it convenient for those who don't drive. We got ourselves the window seats and enjoyed watching the early morning dog walkers and staring at the mural drawn by some high schooler.We lost interest fairly quickly... :P

Did this place used to be an old bottle shop?

Both the missus and I ordered the same coffees today (skim flat whites) and we were pleased after the first sip. You know you're gonna get a good cuppa when a cafe uses beans from Little Marionette. I haven't been disappointed so far....oh and compliments to the barista too. :) 

Braised Brisket. Potato Hash, Mojo Verde, poached eggs, Onion rings ($17)

 After what felt like an eternity,  our food finally arrived and I was starving by then! Sheathed in crispy batter, the onion rings were a delight to eat. Sadly one of them was actually the outer later of an onion. I chewed on it for abit but finally gave up. I had to put that aside. The beef was tender and slivers of it was used to wipe up some of the lovely egg yolk. Topped off with crispy potato hash and Mojo Verde to add to the taste, this was a kicker of a dish to eat.

Hot smoked salmon, pickled radish, fennel, peas, quinoa &  poached egg ($17)

The missus went for something a little lighter and complimented the chef for the generous helping of salmon. It's always a joy to eat when every element of the dish harmonizes with each other making each bite enjoyable. And check that eggporn out!

Housemade crumpets, caramelized pear, Dulwich Hill Honey butter ($14)

Wanting to end on a sweet note, we ordered the above halfway through our meals. Note : if you're planning on ordering this, please eat it right away. by the time we started, it went a little cold and lost it's crisp. Nevertheless, the crumpets still tasted awesome and awesome-er when you add a generous amount of honey butter to it.


Brighton the Corner is worth a visit for it's good food but only if you have time. The service is a little on the slow side and this was confirmed by a few other cafe-hunter friends of mine.

So..... to visit or not to visit? Good food vs longer wait-time? Your call. :)


 
Address :49 Palace Street, Petersham 2049
Opening hours : 
Tue-Fri 7am-4pm; 
Sat-Sun 8am-4pm
google maps / facebook