Paramount Coffee Project, Surry Hills

Most peoples dilemma in the morning before heading out is "What do I wear today?"
For me, it's "Where do I eat today?" 
As I lay in bed going through my list of  'cafes to visit'  I whined to my missus, 

• Should I just go somewhere close by yet again?
• Shall I go further out? 
• It's almost 10am and most places will be packed already!
• Shall I just decide based on suburb and then wing it? 
• Shall I go savory or sweet today? This will help me choose which cafe to go to!

She replied, "Just pick one!"
So, after moaning and groaning over one of "life's tough choices", we made our way to Paramount Coffee Studio.

Outdoor area that comfortably seats 14ppl and  lotsa dogs

After giving the waitress my name and being told that the wait might take about 30 minutes we decided to order coffees first and check the place out. The interior has a nice classy industrial-like feel about it. Polished concrete floors and loads of natural light. 

hipster looking bikes.

TokyoBike takes up the back portion of the restaurant. Can't say much here as I don't even own a bike except that they looked really cool! I probably wouldn't be able to pull it off but it certainly looked like hipsters bicycle heaven. From what I've read, the emphasis is more on comfort(and style) and less on speed.

Almond&macadamia milk latte and a piccolo for me

The wait for a table only  took 10 minutes and soon enough we sat ourselves outside. No problems as the weather was lovely. I really liked my piccolo as it was well-balanced. I can't say much about the latte though. The almond and macadamia milk drowned out any hint of coffee and left you with a strong milky/nutty aftertaste with each sip. Not a big fan. :-\ This however turned out to blessing in disguise as the missus ended up ordering an awesome backup drink!

Caramel Popcorn milkshake THE BOMB!

If you're thinking of visiting this place, and you already have your drinks ordered, please make sure you get this milkshake. I don't care! it's worth it! Just like the caramel from West Juliett, this was another one of those items that blew our minds! It wasn't overly sweet but frothy, creamy and packed full of flavour. It stayed true till the last sip and unlike most other shakes which tends to turn into a sloppy mess of bubbles once you get to the bottom, this one somehow stayed thick! I couldn't stop stealing sips from the missus. :P

Crab Po Boy. Claw is waving hello..or was it help...?

 It didn't take long before the first dish arrived. Soft-shelled crab, coleslaw inside of a milk bun. I don't know what in the world a milk bun is but it was sweet. The batter for the crab was nice and crunchy without being too oily. The savoury taste balanced well with every other ingredient and with that being key, it was a damn good burger.

Popcorn prawn salad.

Next up was my dish. The popcorn prawns. Mmmmm. where do I start. Imagine a fresh bed of baby leaves salad with a nice light dressing. Now throw in KFC-styled popcorn chicken, only replace it with prawns and voila! You have a 'somewhat' healthy dish. It's not the heaviest of meals but perfect as a filler. I could have eaten this AND the crab po boy. I'd highly recommend this dish. 

 I ordered a side of onion rings and whilst it was nicely battered and crunchy, it wasn't that much to shout about and hence, it gets a little picture instead.




 


The missus and I both share the same trait of leaving the best for the last bite so I had a popcorn prawn and she had this little crab claw to end our brekkie.







Paramount Coffee Project is definitely on the cards as a place to visit again. Dave, the 'outside waiter' always had a smile on his face and was forever polite. He gave recommendations and was a pleasure to deal with. The same goes to the gal who took our names when we arrived and the same goes to the cashier. The setting is stylish, the food is definitely up there and if I had to compare it to any other cafe, it would definitely be Three Williams...... both of which I hold very highly in my books. 

West Juliett, Marrickville - April 2014

Just like Hubes, our Saturday mornings these days are spent attending house inspections. This means that our breakfast outings has to be alot earlier which isn't a problem at all. 

Being early risers (7 to 8am) this just gives us more opportunity to spend the day doing more stuff!.....after a good breakfast of course. :)

This time round, 'West Juliett' was the cafe of our choice and coincidentally, it's another one of those places that's literally 5 minutes walk from where I live.

Side story We saw A GIGANTIC dog on our way to the cafe. I mean look at it! his paws were the size of my clenched fist!!! This gentle giant came lumbering towards us and just plopped itself by our feet and went into the 'rub my belly' position. It was still abit scary because I could see that my head could easily fit into his mouth. (Not kidding). His name was "Dave" and he was a 5yr old Leonberger. A giant dog breed.

So we got to West Juliett and even at 8:30am, there was already a queue of people. We put our names down on the waiting list and stood in line for about 15 minutes and it was worth it. We plonked ourselves on one of the outside tables and started checking the menu out.






 First impressions count and boy did they leave one! No matter how busy it got, there's

always a waitress making sure that everyone is served. Glasses of water were also brought to us without the need to ask for it. Coffee art was also not left neglected, even when the takeaway queue was literally out the door. The coffee (Beans were from locally roasted White Horse) was nice, creamy and unburnt. No complaints here. 

 Speaking with a few other food bloggers, they've all said to me

"You must order the 12hr pulled pork salad ($12.90)" or 

"Make sure you drink the salted caramel Milkshake ($5.90)" or 

"Don't leave that place without getting the pink salt chocolate chip cookie ($3.50)"...... 

Come on!!! I've only got 1 stomach!!!

Anyway, I tried to order the 12hr pulled pork salad but found out that it is only served from 11am onwards. I settled for the Haloumi egg roll ($9.90) instead. It may not look like much but you  could tell the freshness of its ingredients with each bite. The greens on this plate are sourced weekly from the local markets and the free range eggs came from some lady by the name of Mary from Wyong. (There's photos on their facebook page to prove that the chickens were.... 'free'.



 Now here comes the best part. Wenni ordered the French Toast ($13.90). It came with grilled peaches, ricotta and salted caramel. After the 3rd "This is really good!!!" from Wenni, I had to put my roll down and try hers...She was not telling fibs. Firstly, I was really amazed that the slices of egg coated sourdough was so soft and easy slice up! This shouldn't be much of a surprise since the bread is from Sonoma and based on previous experiences, they have not failed me so far. The ricotta was ok, the peaches were sweet and the salted caramel was "lick-the-plate-clean" good. I can't say anything else about it but just go and try it out yourself.


With so many more dishes to try, it seems like a few more trips back here is on the cards :) Thoroughly enjoyed this outing and highly recommend it! Who knows. You just might bump into 'Dave'!

West Juliett
Address : 30 Llewellyn St, Marrickville, 2204
Opening hours : Mon-Sat 7am-4pm

Website : facebook \ Google Map

Bean Drinking, Crows Nest - March 2014

There is a near endless number of cafes in the inner west area. Places with great food, loads of seats, in warehouses, hole in the wall....there is just so many that even if you went out every weekend, there will not be a time when you can confidently say that you've been to them ALL.

This weekend, we decided to mix it up a little and travel further out to the North. 
No offense to anyone but personally, anything that involves crossing the Harbour Bridge is considered too far and requires pre-planning. So we packed our bags, charged our mobiles, brought water and snacks and proceeded with the adventure for the morning. I jest...

Now the guys at Bean Drinking are serious about their coffee. Not only do they have their own roasters,they also sell an assortment of Hario brewing equipment. I will in no way try to pretend that I know half of the things on their coffee menu which includes coffee that can be ordered in an assortment of brewing methods!

Ambiance wise, this place is really nice. there's a little park just opposite the shop where you can sit under a tree and sip your coffee whilst watching the kids play, the dogs pant or just doze off. 





The coffee art was good with no complaints from my friends. The hot chocolate was dranked down in a jiffy. I ordered something called an "Arnold Palmer" thinking it was somewhat like a long black but mixed in with lemonade. it was just ice tea with lemonade but the tea was replaced with Cascara (coffee cherry pulp) :P
    

Bean Drinking focuses on fresh produce and what's in season. With that I hope that the chicken meat in my toasted "Perfect Chicken" was free-ranged and corn fed. Portions were nice and large so at least I was full and only needed my next meal about 5hours later. :)

Wenni and Hubes had the "breakfast Brioche" I personally think Brioche anything is good! It definitely looked it. Should have asked for a bite....

Lou had the Brioche French Toast. I'm not sure about how it tasted. I didn't ask her. Maybe she can comment on this post to tell us exactly what she thought of it. Hmm... I've got a craving for this now...I know what I'm going to order next week.

 Mishy had the "Hearty Breakfast Board". I didn't like the presentation of this dish as it looks as if everything was just chucked onto a chopping board and served. Mish did say the 
mushrooms were too vineger-ry for her. 








Crows Nest has it's fare share of 'crazies' too. The guy sitting behind us was barking to himself. The girl sitting next to him moved at the first chance she got. lol

So...my take on this place. 
As a place to catchup with friends for coffee and maybe a slice of cake, sure thing! 
As a breakfast place that I'll keep in my list of top 10 which ticks every box, probably not. 


Bean Drinking
Shop 1, 13 Ernest Place, Crows Nest 
opening hours : Mon - Sun 7am-6pm
 Website : link / Google Map

The Wolf & Honeybee, Newtown - March 2014

Picture this. You have an appointment in 1 1/2 hrs time. You have nothing to eat at home. There's not really enough time to drive out, look for a cafe, possibly queue up, wait for your food and maybe deal with traffic on your way home. 

What.Would.You.Do.

I took this as an opportunity to pull my finger out and try the cafes that are literally just around the corner. 

It's funny how whenever someone askes me where I went over the weekend, I would tell them of places far and away and of the dishes I had and what thoughts were about it. I've never spoken about the the places that are close to home, nor have I ever given it a chance.

With that, my missus and I decided to walk out to the Wolf and the Honeybee.

This place has been here for since 2011 and as small as this cafe is, it certainly makes up for it in quality. You can't go wrong with Campos coffee. The tea supplied here is from Teacraft. And the bread...my god. where do I start, the bread's REALLY GOOD! Ordered in daily from Brasserie Bread.

We seated ourselves outside of their shop and ordered our coffees immediately whilst looking through the menu. 

Happy with the presentation and taste. No problems with it whatsoever.

Now, I don't know why but I must have unconciously felt like eating healthy for a change so I opted for the vegetarian smashed egg roll.

I can't tell you exactly which bread they used but boy was it tasty!! I'm usually not a fan of Sourdough but this was refreshingly crunchy (not the "rip the top of your mouth up kind) and soft on the inside. In between 2 slices of awesomeness was scrambled free range eggs, grilled haloumi, tomato and homemade capsicum relish. 

I'm pretty sure Wenni was sick of hearing me say "This is really good!" by the end of the meal.
This was evident in the fact that I didn't pay attention to her ham and cheese croissant nor did I take a photo of it. :D

When paying the bill (cash only premises), I asked the cashier how did the name come about. He explained that the owner's surname (Conal) in Gaelic means Wolf, and then he mumbled something about the ex-girlfriend being the honeybee... or something like that. I didn't question him further. :)

If you want to stay away from the hustle and bustle of Newtown but still be within walking distance, visit this place! 

The menu may be limited but the quality is certainly there.

The Wolf and the Honeybee
Address : 206, Edgeware Rd, Newtown
Opening hours : Daily 8am - 3pm
map / facebook

Molly Coddle Cafe, Newtown - Feb 2014

I'm not a fan of waking up early in the morning especially on weekends.
When I say early, I mean 7am.
8-9am is fine, but not before that.
A friend at work has been relentless at hounding me each Friday to join him for the Sydney Park run; a 5km run around Sydney Park at St Peters. For about 4wks, I've used most of my good excuses but I finally caved in and decided to give it ago.
I finished the run with a decent time, bade my friends farewell and walked home.

Knowing that Hubes was home alone and that my missus had another engagement, I texted Hubes and asked him out for cuppa. After a nice cold shower and a change of clothes, we both walked out of our respective homes.

The Southern end of King Street has had a big boost in the number of cafe popping up. Some places have been hit and miss and so far, none have been consistent with either their service or food or a combination of both. This time round we decided to try out Molly Coddle Cafe.

Molly Coddle cafe took over the spot of Zagaris(which closed down last yr), which took over the spot of Blue Vein cafe. Hmmm... bad feng shui??? Oh well, let's see how long this place lasts! Ambiance wise, I like it.  The outside tables were well shaded by the hot sun, there was a nice cool breeze and we had a view of King St to people watch.

Hubes ordered his usual Cappucino and I had flat white. Not really sure what type of coffee art they were going for but have a look for yourself what you think. The coffees pretty good! I didn't check out what beans they used but it was nice.

After much deliberation we finally decided on what we wanted to try out so here they are.

Corn,zuchinni, coriander fritters served with bacon and homemade chutney. $15.50.





I must say, the helpings at this place are pretty large. The chutney was really good but the Fritters were a little too doughy for my liking. I struggled to finish my meal. If I had to score it, I'd give it a 6/10. Good if you're after a nice big meal that is just OK in taste.

Molly's Signature - Senoritas.
Poached egg on Sourdough with chicken chipolatas, ricotta, chorizo and heirloom tomatoes. $15
(note - the eggs are on the top left side of the photo. I should have asked hubes to cut it open so you could see the runny egg in all it's galore)



Watching Hubes eat his meal, he must have enjoyed it. I forgot to ask him how it was but it certainly looked tastier than mine. From what I can see the eggs were poached well and the yolk was nice and runny. it didn't look too oily so would have been a good balanced meal. Once again, the helpings were LARGE!

If you're ever in the South end of Newtown, do check this place out. I've got nothing really bad to say about this place. : )


Molly Coddle Cafe
address : 622 King Street, Newtown

Margaret River Bakery, Perth - Feb 2014

For our first breakfast in Margaret River, we weren't really spoilt for choice so the most promising cafe had to be the one called Margaret River Bakery.
Being just across the road from our apartment, we took our time getting changed and walking over there.

 At first glance, Margaret River Bakery looked to me like a place where hippies and surfers hung out. Not too surprising since Margaret River is a Surfers town after all.
Most of the customers looked like they came out of that classic skateboarding movie 'Lords of Dogtown'.
I liked how the cafe went for the mismatched look and whilst it may seem very messy, I found it very homely!

 




We ordered a chocolate croissant and a Raspberry tart(bun?) to start with and I must say, I was very impressed at how fluffy it was!
The croissant maintained a nice crispy outer layer that cracks off like puff pastry but the inside layers stayed soft, making it easy to cut into quarters  for us to share.






 

 In terms of the regular breakfast meals of bacon and eggs, it was alrite. Nothing really to shout about but at the same time, nothing bad to say about them.







For once, I decided to try something different and I went for the french toast instead. It consisted of 2 thick slices of raisin bread covered in a thick layer
of egg and panfried. This was drizzled (or should I say drowned) in maple syrup, topped with freshly made cream and grilled peaches. Loved it!

 As it was really hectic, I didn't bother going in and checking to see what sort of beans they used for their coffee but it was again good. Not mind blowing though. 





If you asked if I would come back here again? I'd say yes. Yes I would. :)

Margaret River Cafe
89 Bussell Highway
everyday 7am - 4pm
Website: link / Google Map

Three Williams, Redfern - Jan 2014

The last few months have been fairly hectic with overseas travels combined with the silly season and new year. Now that it's all over, I guess it's time to start looking up on whats new in Sydney, and having brunches at them all if possible!

First off the rank was Three Williams in Redfern. I emailed Hubes about it and asked if he was keen for a Saturday morning cuppa. He had a trip to Nowra so..... I selfishly decided to go ahead first. :P

I drive by this street fairly regularly and have never noticed it before in the past. The only way giveaway would be the crowd of people on this somewhat quiet street. Luck was on my side as I found a parking spot right in front of the shop. The crowds hasn't built up yet so I got a seat immediately. Score!

Three Williams sits on the fairly quiet side of Elizabeth Street in Redfern. Stepping through their modest doors, I was greeted by a small set of staircase which leads to a cavernous open area with a small kids area to boot.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          The first order of the day was obviously the coffee. Single Origin Roasters is used here and nothing bad could be said about how the coffee was made. 

Looking through what's offered on the menu made it really hard for Wenni and I to choose since we wanted to try them all. we finally settle for 3 things.  The first thing to arrive was the fish croquette. These arrived in cute little egg cartons to help stand them up. These came straight out of the fryer and was piping hot and crispy. At $3 each, I'd say it's worth it for anything wanting a pre-brunch snack. 

Wenni wanted something light so she went for the French Toast. It looked gorgeous when it was served. The crunchy brioche french toast was topped with a dollop of yoghurt and a generous helping of fresh blueberries and raspberries was scattered all over. To finish it off, it was drizzled with lines of Maple syrup and crushed roasted pecans on the side. Delicious. Wenni and I make fruit smoothies every morning and I must say the berries that was served was as good as it gets! You can tell that alot of care goes into the produce that they choose to serve their customers. 

Next up was my Prawn Narnie. I'm not sure why it's called a narnie but I'll be sure to ask the manager next week. Basically, it's a homemade Naan bread sandwich. Now I don't do it justice by describing it like that but I have to say, the prawns were nice, large, very fresh and grilled to perfection. It sits on top of a bed of mashed avocadoes, sweet corn, tomato salsa and Aioli. A MUST try when you're there!   

After all that, we still had a bit of space left so Wenni ordered herself a Peanut Caramel Milkshake (if you like peanut butter, you'll love this) and I got myself a Banana, medjool date, walnut praline smoothie. An interesting mixture but it definitely blended well with each other.

Whilst the place was constantly busy with not a table vacant, it was refreshing to see that the staff were still able to serve everyone with a smile. The manager, Glen Bowditch certainly leads by example by constantly checking of the tables and refilling glasses of water whenever he could. It's small gestures like these that really wins regulars.  After paying compliments to the staff and kitchen,we fist bumped and I bade him farewell.

Three Williams is definitely a place I'd visit again. 

Three Williams 

613a Elizabeth Street, Redfern, Sydney

Opening hours : Monday to Sunday 7am - 4pm

Location : Google Maps