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

The pig & pastry, Petersham

I've always had a bit of a chuckle whenever I drive by this cafe. 6months has gone by and I've finally decided to give it ago and it looks like I've picked the right day. It was their one year anniversary :) Right outside the cafe, they set up a table with mulled wine served and a spit roast going on for those who just wanted to take something away and sit in the park whilst soaking up the sun. Across the road, there was a little kiddie petting zoo going on much to the enjoyment of kids and parents alike.

At 9am in the morning, it was dead easy for us to get a table and the first thing I noticed was that every staff member had a pig painted on their faces. I should have taken a photo.

 Today, the missus and I both ordered skim flat whites. It was nothing much to shout about but decent enough to not complain.

First dish up was the eggs bennie with salmon. This was served on top of soft fluffy toasted brioche and the missus gives her thumbs up here.

Eggs benedict on toasted brioche with salmon $15.50

 Whilst I was busy taking photos of the above, my Sweet corn fritters turned up. Now there's only 2 ways that I like eating my bacon. Either super crispy and not dripping in oil, or rindless and tender. It was the former today. I guess you could say it was a given seeing how the dish DID state 'crispy bacon'.  I poked my fork through it and it broke into little pieces. AWESOMEEEE!!! This would go well with the other soft textured items on the plate.

Sweet corn fritters with a poached egg, crispy bacon & avocado salsa

The Corn fritter was delicious with a slight crunch on the outside but soft and sweet inside. Avocado anything is good and lastly the egg. Where do I start! It was worthy enough to make a collage which I stuck up on instagram. I also made a little animated gif but thought that was going a little overboard so decided against uploading it. Anyhow, check out the below!

oozing out like lava

Bottomline was that I thoroughly enjoyed spreading abit of avocado salsa on a slice of corn fritter, mopping abit of eggy goodness  on it and adding a few crunchy bits of bacon  for abit of texture. mmm mmmmm....

We didn't stop there! Checking out the display unit, we just HAD to get something so between us we shared the following

baked green apples a thin crust pizza base? Sorry, no idea. :P

salted chocolate chip cookie

 The baked green apple pizza (i'm just gonna call it that) was pretty good. It wasn't overly sweet and had just the right amount of tartness to it.

If you've ever had a chocolate chip cookie from West Juliett, then you'd know what this one tastes like. It was quite large so we broke it down to smaller pieces. What I loved most about it is that the chocolate chips were still soft and semi-melted. The cookie made for a sweet and satisfying way to end our brunch. 

Across the road, we saw animals of all sorts. lambs, babygoats, guinea pigs, ducks, chicks, rabbits and even the cutest little piglet I've ever seen!

it was so cuuuuuuuuuuuteeeeee!!!!!!!!!

Squeeling away, the keeper had to pick it up and apply sunscreen to him(her?). I want a pet miniature pig now!

I never knew how docile rabbits could be when they're in a little bag. All the keeper needed to do was to put these large rabbits into small sacks and just passed them to the kids to hang on to.

As opposed to some places in the inner west, PnP is able to cater for larger crowds and I can foresee myself organizing something here with my other friends in the near future.

The Pig and Pastry

Address : 1 Station Street, Petersham

opening hours : Mon to Fri 7:30am - 4:00pm (closed Tues)

                           : Sat to Sun 8:00am - 4:00pm

Google Maps / Website / Facebook

Nom, Darlinghurst

An invitation by a new found friend (Junji-san) to have Japanese food and sake cannot be turned down. The workplace must be left on time, and the gym gear can stay in the bag. The venue for the night is NOM.

A modest little shop which lets its cuisine do the talking

Tucked away in a little area just off Oxford Street lies Nom with it's red signboard shining brightly. If not for that, we would have easily missed it. Anyhow, Junji-san said he'll be late and to have a drink first. No need to tell me twice. :)

The narrow entrance way and a hungry missus

Stepping through the narrow doors, we were greeted warmly by the 2 ladies(I'm guessing mother and daughter) who worked there. we mentioned our bookings and were quickly ushered to our seats. Walking in, I couldn't help but notice bottles after bottles of Sake! My excitement started to grow!

SAKEEEEEEEEEE

Suntory penguin says "Kampai!"

 As an appetizer whilst waiting, we decided to get a couple of drinks and something to munch on. Now I haven't had a Sapporo since I was last in Japan so the first  drink had to be that. The missus decided to go for glass of hot sake. We then ordered the tempura okra to start with.

Okura Tempura

My first thoughts when this dish was served was "Wow!" It was evidently busy at around 7pm and the pair that worked that kitchen didn't let their standards drop. The okra was stacked nicely on a piece of parchment paper topped with some pretty leaf and a cone of daikon radish on the side. The batter had a nice light crunch to it and the Okra was cooked well.

Round 2 - Asahikiku Junmaiginjo

 With the first meal done and our drinks finished, it was time to start sampling the sake. We asked for a recommendation and the Asahikiku was served up hot. It was light yet complex in taste and had a hint of fruitiness to it. Nom allows you to also choose your own sake cup which I thought was pretty  cute. :)
Nom has a page full of different types of sake and it's on the cards for me to learn up on what the differences are. (Note to self - organize a sake tasting session with the gang)

By about this time, Junji-san arrived and the ordering began.

Mentai potato salad

The potato salad had a good balance of flavour. I could taste pepper with every bite but it wasn't overpowering in any way. It would have been nice if there were more fish roe :)
2nd carafe of hot sake was ordered.
 

Nikomi

 Next up was basically a beef stew dish called Nikomi containing konnyaku jelly and beef. It  was a simple homemade dish which I could see myself having more off. It was subtle in flavour and the beef was really tender.
3rd carafe of hot sake was ordered.

Karaage Chicken

I could smell the karaage chicken being cooked and when it was served, I wished we had ordered more! Deep fried perfectly, the crispy outer layer cracked with every bite. We savoured these by sipping on sake and nibbling away trying to make it last as long as possible.

Junji-san, a lemon slice and some sliced ox tongue

Junji-San explained that the Japanese version of Ox tongue is usually more tender when compared to the grilled Korean version. It had the consistency of a slice of ham and the accompaniment of lemon juice and pepper on the other side, this dish was a pleasure to eat.
4th carafe of hot sake was ordered.

Nom is a pocket rocket of an Izakaya restaurant. It has friendly staff and really good food. The range of sake is delicious and it's very obvious that the Obachan who cooks everything takes pride in what she serves to the patrons.
I'm coming back here again in the near future.
 

 

Nom
Address : 166 Riley Street, Darlinghurst NSW
Opening hours : Not listed, I suggest making reservations. 02 9332 1156
Google Maps

The Grumpy Barista, Petersham

With a name like The Grumpy Barista, I just had to visit the place and see if he really was grumpy ...and to check the food out as well of course! 

Pretty damn chilly when in the shade. Try to sit inside during winter.

We had a late start to the day as Friday night was pretty boozy and alcohol fueled. Whilst waiting outside we saw the menu lying close-by and decided to check it out. I've mentioned this in previous posts about how I give points to cafes that try doing things differently be it good or bad. In this case, I liked how they gave their menu that rustic look. The hanging signboard was of a furry moustache too! I wanted touch it for some strange reason...

The rustic menu. The torn bits at the top were purely coincidental I think.

lol!

the cosy inside can seat 20 odd people.

Cool stool.

Can't remember the name. Grilled chicken sandwich?

This weekend, WN decided to go for something a little more plain so she ordered a grilled chicken sandwich. I forgot to take note of what was on the menu. oops. On the inside it had spinach, grilled chicken, pumpkin, homemade relish and abit of aioli sauce. This dish didn't really impress her as the sourdough bread was not toasted so it didn't have that nice crunch. The pumpkin pieces were chopped into large cubes which made it slightly tricky to handle. The taste wasn't bad but it failed to impress the missus. 

The Italian Pot

Looking through the menu, I decided to go for the eggplant stack. 5 minutes into sipping my coffee, the waitress returned to say that they've ran out of eggplant. No problems here. I always have a backup dish and asked for the "Italian Pot". 5 minutes passed again and the waitress returned to say that they've ran out of mushrooms. This ingredient was replaced with eggplant (hang on, I thought they told me earlier that there's none left??) Turns out they use different type of eggplants for both these dishes. 

The Italian pot consisted of baked eggs, eggplant, chorizo and a chilli/tomato sauce, sprinkled with parmesan cheese on top. I really liked the tomato sauce as it wasn't too tangy and had an almost sweet like. The egg was still nice and runny and the chorizos added a good salty kick with each mouthful. With this dish, I tore up my toasted sourdough bread into bite sized pieces and drown them in the mixture. Once soaked through I took large spoonfuls of the goop and smashed this dish down. 

We wanted to end this meal with a cronut but because it was already so late(12:30pm), they ran out of it. 

The Grumpy Barista is another addition to a somewhat quiet suburb. The coffee is excellent and the food was not bad. Definitely worth a visit however do dress up warmly just in case you get the outdoor seats during winter. 

The Grumpy Barista

Address : 110 Audley Street, Petersham

Opening hours : Mon - Sat,  7am - 3pm

Google map