It Just Has To Be Delicious

Posts tagged ‘brunch’

Hylin, West Leederville

Hylin is located on Railway Parade in West Leederville, not far from Subiaco. Parking is at a premium, so make sure that you plan your journey well if you are going to visit. I managed to find a meter across the road, and it was just outside of ‘paid parking’ time. so I was quite fortunate.

hy 1

There are tables inside and outside, and we chose to sit inside as it looked like rain was a possiblity. There are some stools near the kitchen, a few wooden tables and a high table, but all of them are quite cramped, and this was my main bugbear with Hylin. The staff and the food are lovely but the seating is very uncomfortable and it’s not a great place to sit and linger. The chairs are wooden – school style, and there is a constant stream of diners and wait staff pushing past.
Our coffees were great, coffee is supplied by Micrology Coffee Roasters, and it was a nice smooth blend. I was a little disappointed to find that the in house herbal iced tea wasn’t available, so I chose an iced coffee.

hy 2
hy 3

The menu has many tempting options like healthy bowls, chorizo, egg and creamed corn, pulled pork burger, breakfast bruschetta, pancakes etc. There are a few vegetarian options, but you would need to ask for special adaptations to find anything vegan here.
I chose the spicy chicken burger.

hy 4

This was a very nice burger, the fried chicken was seasoned well, with great pickles and lettuce and some pretty awesome chips.
My partner chose the open breakky burger – eggs, smashed avo, bacon, and potato rosti in a bun.

hy 5

It was nice, with chipotle mayo, a bit smoky and spicy, and all ingredients went well. He said that he thought my chicken burger looked more appealing though.

hy 6

All in all, Hylin is a good cafe and the staff clearly care about what they do, and I think that if the layout inside was changed, and the seating more comfortable, it could be an amazing cafe. I am not sure it’s worth a special trek to West Leederville, but great if you are in the area.

hy 7

Last Visit Date – November 2018

Click here to find out more

Category:

Coffee shop review, Restaurant review

Tagged with:

Vans, Cottesloe

I’ve been meaning to try Vans for a long while, and it’s definitely a popular location, situated in Napoleon Street behind Boatshed Markets. I immediately loved the vibe of the cafe – friendly staff, a great looking cake cabinet, jazzy music and nice decor, and it had quite a buzz about it but wasn’t so loud that you needed to shout. I chose fresh orange to start which was good and vibrant – great flavour.

van 1

My partner chose a decaf soy flat white which was smooth and little thin maybe because of the soy.

van 2

It was difficult to choose a main – there were way too many delicious options, but in the end I plumped for the potato cake with smoked salmon, spinach and poached egg. It usually comes with lemon butter, but I asked for that to be left off because of my dairy allergy. This dish was perfection on a plate – the potato cake tasty with a bit of crunch, the egg perfectly gooey, and the smoked salmon was good quality fare – not the usual gelatinous packet bought version.

van 3
van 7a

My partner chose the cheesy jalapeno cornbread with bacon, poached eggs, smashed avocado and a black bean and corn salsa. The poached eggs were perfect, the cornbread very tasty and the bacon – like my salmon – was good quality and yummy. There was a nice zingy lime backdrop to the avocado smash.

van 4

The cake cabinet looked very tempting but we decided to save that for another day. The raspberry brownies looked particularly good.

Vans is definitely worth a try – one of Cottesloe’s jewels.

Last Visit Date – August 2022

Click here to find out more

van 7

Extra pics from another visit:

van 8

Pink grapefruit and rosemary soda – so yummy:

Pulled pork chimichurri – top dish :

van 11

Korean beef tacos:

van 12

Category:

Coffee shop review, Restaurant review

Tagged with:

Pixel Coffee, Leederville

Pixel is a cafe that sits on Oxford Street about halfway down, away from the main Leederville hubbub and close to Bourke Street.
There are tables inside and out, but not a lot of them. We started off seated at the coffee bar and the moved to a table as one became available.

pix 1

The menu is quite varied with healthy bowls, chia pudding, and brunch options and Pixel are famous for their array of milks. If you don’t drink dairy, they have pretty much every other option you could need. I chose the banana smoothie with coconut milk, a lovely thick banana honey smoothie with cinnamon – absolutely yum.

pix 2

My partner chose a decaf soy coffee, a Colombian blend which was rich and smooth, you couldn’t tell it was decaf by the flavour.

pix 3

I chose the Pix Plate to eat – a potato and herb hash with poached eggs, prosciutto, peas, sprouts, parmesan and lemon oil. What a lovely combination. The oozy eggs soaked over the potato hash, the parmesan added a salty piquant hit as did the prosciutto. Posh bacon and eggs with a twist.

pix 4

My partner chose the Mushroom Ragu, rich braised mushrooms with tomato and fennel, on two pieces of Mary St Bakery sourdough, with fried eggs, peas shoots, crushed walnuts and smashed avocado. He really enjoyed it.

pix 5

The staff were nice and really enjoyed serving the customers, and the cold take away cabinet looked very appealing. There was a steady stream of take away customers. I’d definitely go back to Pixel, it’s good honest healthy food, well prepared and nicely seasoned. There are good vegan options too.

Last Visit Date – January 2019

Click here to find out more

pix 6
pix 7
pix 8

Category:

Coffee shop review, Restaurant review, Vegan/Vegetarian

Tagged with:

Mount Street Breakfast Bar, Perth CBD

Mount Street is next door to King’s Park, a pretty leafy area of Perth, and it’s a very steep street. Luckily we visited on a Saturday when parking was free, but midweek the parking will set you back $4+ per hour.

mst 1

We ordered coffee while we perused the menu. The coffee was nice but quite rich and slightly bitter, suggesting a South American blend.

The menu is a mish mash of breakfast and lunch items but everything is very appealing. I had a shortlist of 5 things but ended up choosing the prawns with scrambled egg, garlic shoots, prosciutto and baguette. This was lovely but quite bold flavours and probably more of a lunch dish than a breakfast dish.

mst 4

My partner chose the crushed avocado, with roasted paprika pepper, goat’s feta, rocket, soft boiled egg and multigrain. This was a nice combination of textures and flavours and he thoroughly enjoyed the meal.

mst 5

Other menu items on my shortlist included:

  • pumpkin, potato hash, labneh dukka ball, crispy bacon, poached egg on rye bread
  • pan-fried yucca & spinach gnocchi with walnuts, shitake mushrooms, sage and egg yolk in a spicy, creamy peruvian sauce
  • french toast, caramelised banana, strawberries, crispy bacon, maple syrup
  • omelette: spinach, sweet onion& herbs, topped with sun blushed tomatoes, feta and pinenuts with pecorino tomato dip and turkish breadDefinitely a venue to return to with inventive dishes galore.

Visit Date – June 2018

Click here to find out more

Category:

Restaurant review

Tagged with:

Kinky Lizard, East Perth

Kinky Lizard is located on Royal Street, near Haig Park. Just a stroll from the riverfront, it’s a magnet for cyclists stopping by for their morning coffee and locals alike. The cafe has been around for years which is a testament to its quality offerings. There is an outdoor seating area that is somewhat protected, as well as indoor tables. They serve breakfast, brunch and lunch, and everything is prepared with care and love. Coffee is smooth and rich, the flat white and soy cappuccino were both delicious.

kl 1
kl 2

The chalkboard had a range of tempting smoothies on offer – I must try the peanut butter brownie version soon.

kl 3

The menu was full of great choices, I probably could have chosen anything and I would have been happy with it, but I settled for a Kinky Bruschetta with pulled pork, red pepper spread, capsicum, labne and pomegranate salsa. I also had a choice of bread and I chose rye. This was a beautifully constructed dish, the pulled pork nicely cooked, with a lovely spicy backdrop of peppers, and the slightly sweet pomegranate contrast, the labne was thick, creamy and moreish, and altogether the plate was one of the best plates that I have tasted for brunch. My only criticism would be that the bread was slightly soggy in places
and it would have been nice to have an additional slice on the side to add the crunch element.

kl 5

My partner chose an eggs benny with bacon. As eggs benny goes, it was a classic, well prepared dish with great crispy bacon and perfectly poached eggs.

kl 4

This is one of East Perth’s finest. Make sure that you drop in next time you are here for a riverside stroll.

Last Visit Date – February 2018

Click here to find out more

Category:

Coffee shop review, Restaurant review

Tagged with:

John Street Cafe, Cottesloe

I have been making the trek to John Street for brekkie/brunch for quite a few years now, and although it seems to have changed hands in recent years, the quality is still the same.
Using wonderful quality ingredients, there is a selection of food for breakfast and lunch, to eat in or takeaway. Breakfast is served all day and lunch starts at 11:30am. There are also tables on the pavement which makes for a dog friendly cafe. Staff are friendly and welcoming, and even when the cafe is packed to the rafters, you can often get a table with less than a 20 minute wait.
The fresh orange juice never disappoints – delicious, freshly squeezed and sweet:

john 1

On this visit, the coffee was not particularly good, quite strong and bitter:

john 2

I usually like the John Street ‘Lot’ for brekkie, but on this occasion chose the Hash n Smash. Very nicely constructed veggie hashcakes with two poached eggs, spinach, chunky tomato relish and a heap of bacon. Also available with smoked salmon:

john 3

My companions chose the eggs benny with ham. Nice soft muffin with fresh thick hollandaise and perfectly poached eggs:

john 4

By the end of the meal, the plates were clean. Another triumph for John Street. The only minus points were for the lacklustre coffee. A great way to start the day followed by a walk along Cottesloe beachfront.

Last Visit Date – December 2017

Click here to find out more

Category:

Coffee shop review, Restaurant review

Tagged with:

Gordon Street Garage, West Perth

We paid Gordon Street Garage a revisit and were blown away by the quality of the food that we received. The coffees were great from Mano a Mano coffee roasters – a lovely Brazilian blend.
For our brunch we chose a blue swimmer crab omelette which was delicious and packed with crab meat filling from end to end. The salad accompaniment was also lovely – a great minty chilli leafy heap and the sriracha sauce was a winning touch. If nothing else, come here for the crab omelette.

gsg 1

gsg 2
gsg 3

Last Visit Date – December 2018

Click here to find out more.

Previous review from November 2013:
In need of some brekkie/brunch on a Saturday morning, I decided to go to Gordon St Garage, having heard a lot of comments about this place. It is almost opposite Watertown, so if there’s no parking nearby, there’s always the Watertown car park.
It is a large place, quite quirky, with an emphasis on coffee and all the different ways that you can make it, and there is lots of coffee paraphernalia for sale. We had to wait about 15 minutes for a table.

gsg 4

The menu contained a lot of vegetarian options, and looking around it looked like the most popular items were the baked beans with poached eggs and the scrambled eggs with herbs and sourdough.
If you are looking for a traditional fry up, this is not the place for you, no sausages or bacon on the menu.

gsg 5

We went with the majority and ordered the beans and the scrambled eggs, accompanied by a coffee and a fresh orange juice.

Fresh baked beans, pimento, pancetta, poached eggs:
gsg 8

Scrambled eggs, rocket, soft herbs, sourdough:
gsg 9

So what was the verdict ? Both dishes were very nice, but could have done with some extra seasoning. There was no salt or pepper on the tables. The coffee was nice, but only came with one size option – a ‘large’ option would be good.
The beans were a nice mixture of haricot and kidney, with plenty of bread to mop up the sauce and egg. The scrambled eggs were tasty, the herbs and rocket added a nice dimension to it and it looked like a 4-egg portion, so quite substantial.

Category:

Coffee shop review, Restaurant review

Tagged with:

Good Things Cafe, Mosman Park

gt 1

Good Things is a cafe set in a parade of shops on leafy Wellington Street in Mosman Park. We arrived for breakfast on a Sunday morning and felt that the cafe had a really good vibe with seating inside and out. It’s big, clean and airy, and pet friendly – they happily provide a bowl of water for dogs.
We started with a coffee while perusing the menu. Wow the coffee is really good, with beans from Micrology coffee roasters. I chose an iced soy coffee and my partner had a soy flat white – both delicious.

The menu has a slight Korean influence with items like Kimchi and sweet potato fritters, as well as some breakfast favourites such as muesli, hotcakes, eggs and some really healthy looking bowls – The Hulk contains avocado, peas, mint, pickles red onion, whipped feta, seeds and sourdough.
Eventually I plumped for the Chilli scrambled eggs with Korean sambal, soy caramel bacon, crispy shallots and roti. This was a very tasty plate of food. On it’s own the bacon was a bit sweet for my tastes, but combined with the eggs and roti, it was really good. I also had a side of kale.

gt 4

My partner chose the Weekend Waffles with southern fried chicken, bacon, chilli,
butterscotch and waffle. Again, he felt that the butterscotch was sweet, but including all of the elements in each mouthful tasted really nice and it was a dish that got better and better as he ate it.

gt 5

There was a board of lunch specials which looked really tempting:

gt 6

We really liked Good Things. The staff are lovely, the coffee amazing, the food quirky and tasty, and the environment clean and bright. They play some pretty good chilled music too. I loved everything about this cafe.

Visit Date – October 2018

Click here to find out more

gt 7
gt 8

Category:

Restaurant review

Tagged with:

Sayers Sister, Northbridge

I have heard a lot about Sayers Sister, so decided to give it a try for Sunday breakfast. It is in Northbridge at the Bulwer St end of Lake St. I haven’t been to this area before and was quite surprised to stumble across some other places that I have heard of such as Tarts and The Dizzy Witch.
Sayers Sister was the only of these restaurants with a queue, so we persevered and queued up. The restaurant is not quite as chaotic as Sayers in Leederville, the whole layout is better, and the staff allocate tables, so it is a much fairer system.
We were seated at the long central communal table, which has lots of sweet treats in the middle that you can graze on while you are waiting – you just put your payment in the little jars on the table. I think it’s nice that you can do this in Perth – you wouldn’t be able to get away with it in London – those coin jars would disappear on the first day!
I chose the potato rosti with bacon, poached eggs, rocket, spinach, parmesan and bramley apple/thyme chutney.
Every mouthful was delicious and I thoroughly enjoyed it. You could really taste the quality of the ingredients.

ss 1

I also had a white peach and passion fruit lemonade to accompany it.
My companion had a coffee – which was really delicious and smooth with a caramel richness. He also had a full breakfast which was equally enjoyable – lots of nice quality ingredients, and a lovely cumin mousse/sorbet on the beans which was unusual and tasty. It consisted of home made beans, crusty bread, eggs, bacon, bubble and squeak, mushroom and pesto.

ss 2

Sayers Sister also has a very attractive selection of home made cakes – if I were not on my January diet, I would have tried one (or two).
I will definitely be returning to Sayers Sister. I think it is slightly better than Sayers, but they are both good quality restaurants that I will always be happy to dine in.

This is another blog post a few years later:

I haven’t been to Sayers Sister for a few years now and wondered if it was as good as before. It is affiliated with Sayers in Leederville – a cafe that consistently serves great food and a brunch stalwart in Perth.

ss 3

When we arrived there was a queue and we were told that the wait time was 15-20 minutes. They very kindly gave us a lovely chocolate and strawberry muffin to eat while we waited. Once we got seated we ordered coffee which was a lovely smooth rich blend.

ss 4

The menu was full of delicious sounding options like baked apple waffles, zucchini and tomato bread with minted ricotta and zucchini flowers, leek and parmesan croquettes, but I chose my favourite potato rosti with poached eggs, bacon, spinach, rocket, parmesan, mustard, and apple/thyme chutney.

ss 5

This was such a perfect brunch dish, and every ingredient added value. Quality oozy eggs, perfectly cooked bacon and the oh so yummy rosti with a little piquancy from the mustard – this was everything that I wanted on that chilly morning.
My partner chose the coriander and cumin beans tagine with babaganoush, walnut pesto, poached egg and toasted linseed. There were a variety of beans which made it interesting, the linseed bread was tasty and wholesome, the egg was nicely cooked and the babaganoush sublime. He loved every mouthful.

ss 6

Sayers Sister is still delivering one of the best brunches in Perth – no wonder there’s a queue. Consistent quality and beautiful ingredients is a surefire winner here.

Unfortunately our last visit was not so great, it felt as if everything had changed and the service and quality had deteriorated. We haven’t been back in recent times.

Last Visit Date – July 2018

Click here to find out more

Category:

Coffee shop review, Restaurant review

Tagged with:

Moore & Moore, Fremantle

This was my first trip to Fremantle for brekkie, and I was very pleased that we discovered Moore and Moore. It’s a long drive, but I will be happy to go back for a return visit. The cafe is within an art gallery, and it is very interesting, a little kitsch in places, but very warm, cosy and inviting – I really loved the atmosphere.

moore 1

A lot of the dishes on the menu are vegetarian. If you want meat the only options are bacon and meatballs, and if you want fish, there is a smoked salmon dish, however, as a meat eater, I found the vegetarian dishes very appealing and the lack of meat did not worry me.
I chose the burnt butter, sage and roast pumpkin mash. This consisted of roast pumpkin spread on turkish toast with two poached eggs on top, rocket, and tomato relish. I added bacon as an extra. The whole dish was delicious – the bacon good quality and nicely crispy, the pumpkin mash slightly sweet and the eggs cooked perfectly.

moore 4

My friend Karen chose the smashed new potato rosti. This consisted of mustard seed, spinach and romano cheese potato rosti topped with a poached egg, avocado, green olives and caper salsa, rocket and tomato relish. Karen really enjoyed it, she has been a vegetarian for quite a few years and found it tasty and the flavours quite interesting.

moore 3

As well as the food, the coffee and the drinks were really good – fresh orange, home made lemonade – all refreshing and delicious.
I really loved Moore and Moore, the menu is inventive without being ridiculous, the flavours all go well together and it is nice to see a menu with a wide vegetarian choice. The building is lovely – the Moores building – it is a heritage listed building that used to be an old merchant’s warehouse. There are various rooms where you can dine including an alfresco area out the back. When we were there a musical trio were entertaining everybody in the walkway. It was very typically Fremantle – a bit different, a bit quaint and very colourful. I loved it.

Last Visit Date – December 2014

Click here to find out more

Category:

Coffee shop review, Restaurant review, Vegan/Vegetarian

Tagged with: