Here comes another Surry Hills brunch blog! Devon Cafe is located on Devonshire St not very far away from Central Station. We were seated at the back patio area which gave off a very relaxing summertime ambience.
However, the first emotion we had when we sat down at Devon Cafe and looked at the menu, was devastation. The two items we came especially to try, the "Little Lost Bread" and "The Ultimate Toastie" weren't available after 11.30am on the lunch menu! Unfortunately truffle season is over so The Ultimate Toastie is no longer on the menu.
Moving on, instead I chose to order the lunch special "Slow Roasted Lamb served with garlic confit, roasted capsicum, wild rocket, fontal cheese on sourdough" ($15). I quite like the toasted sandwich; the lamb was tender and soft, and worked well with flavoursome fillings and sandwiched in between the buttery crunch slices of sourdough.
Fi ordered the "Cured Salmon sandwich special served with feta and betroot mousse and pickled betroot ($14)". The sandwich was fresh and light, the mousse gave it an interesting texture and colour but overall it may have overpowered the subtlety of the cured salmon.
Linus also ordered one of the other lunch specials that day; Mushroom soup with truffle oil and chives ($10). Although it had a rich flavour and was nice and creamy we all couldn't help notice the appearance and kind of resembled cement.
All the dishes being served at Devon Cafe looked very fresh and most of their dishes had some unique components which you don't normally see at most brunch places. The servings were a bit on the small size as we were still hungry afterwards (we headed over to
Chur burger afterwards). However, I would definitely come back again. I loved the atmosphere of the cafe and the staff were very friendly. I'll be sure to come before 11.30am to catch their breakfast menu especially to have the Little Lost Bread.
A snap of the scrumptious baked goodies at the counter. I was eyeing the magic muffins!
Devon Cafe
Address: 76 Devonshire St
Surry Hills
Phone:
9211 8777
Website:
https://www.facebook.com/Devoncafe
Linus, my Surry Hills brunch buddy visited Cowbell 808 a couple of weeks back. We decided on this venue as we have been eyeing the famous Ricotta Hotcakes and Bacon Icecream (yes, bacon!!). The cafe is situated on Bourke Street, close to Bourke Street Bakery (and yes, we couldn't resist visiting the bakery after brunch to grab some tarts!).
The cafe wasn't too busy on that weekday but we chose to sit on one of the few tables outside on the footpath to absorb some vitamin D. So, of course we ordered the 'Fat Stacked Ricotta Hotcakes' ($18) which was oozing out marscapone. You can choose to have it served with espresso syrup or maple syrup but we decided to try both. It was our whole day's meal in one; we weren't sure if we were having breakfast, brunch or dessert. The hotcakes were light and fluffy but I was disappointed with the bacon ice cream. There were minuscule bits of bacon mixed in the scoop of ice cream but other than that it was outshone by the sweetness. Also, definitely go with the maple syrup if you are not a big coffee fan!
We also ordered the Cowbell 808 burger ($18) to share which included a ground beef patty, lettuce, cheese, pickles and onion served between a sesame seed bun and with a few spiced onion rings on the side. The burger wasn't too bad but again I wasn't blown away with the dish.
Overall, it was a nice little establishment but I wasn't overawe with our food choices. They had a few other interesting items on the menu such as Lamb Toastie and Grilled Eggplant Roll as well as the usual breakfast favourites such as baked eggs and bircher muesli but Cowbell 808 hasn't left me longing to come back.
Cowbell 808
Address:
616 Bourke Street
Surry Hills 2010
Phone: 9698 5044
Opening times: 7 am-3 pm, Monday to Friday. 8 am-3pm Saturday and Sunday
Website:
https://www.facebook.com/Cowbell808
I think I have a new favourite brunch place! Walking along the quiet main road of Balmain I was drawn into Bar Contessa by its modern yet rustic style décor.
At the first glance of the menu, I wanted to order everything, which is when I knew I would already love Bar Contessa. I was drooling as the waiters were bringing out other diners' meals such as big juicy cheese burgers with thick cut chips, huge chicken tortillas and large bowls of creamy cauliflower soup and sourdough bread.
The menu featured an all day breakfast menu (awesome!) and a variety of lunch menu items.
The past few times I have ordered fritters at previous café I wasn't entirely impressed but for some strange reason I feel drawn to order them everytime. However, when the
House Make Corn Cakes ($18.50) came out my eyes widened, the serving was massive. I couldn't wait to dig in! The corn fritters were topped with fresh guacamole, rocket, tomato salsa and generous serving of chorizo sausage. Instead of the chorizo there was also a choice of hickory smoked bacon, Tasmanian smoked salmon or sauteéd field mushrooms.
My date ordered the
Spicy Italian Meatball Melt ($14.50) from the lunch menu. The meatballs are also house made and was served on toasted sourdough with fresh basil, provolone cheese, fresh rocket, chilli and shaved italian parmesan. The meatballs were flavoursome and juicy with a good hit of spice which was no overpowering and who doesn't love melted cheese?
It was definitely love at first sight with the small buzzing cafe. I can't wait to come back and my other brunch favourites such as The Ultimate Cheeseburger and Brioche French Toast.
Bar Contessa
Address: 71b Darling Street
Balmain 2041
Phone: 9555 7399
Website:
http://www.barcontessa.com.au/
I'm back with a new healthy recipe! This is the perfect recipe for people who are looking for budget and on the go meals. The patties are high protein and low GI and can be eaten on their own, with a side of vegies or on a bed of salad. The patties can be made in advance and reheated in an oven or microwave.
Ingredients (makes approximately 10 serves)
- 2 x 185g of flaked tuna in spring water, drained
- 1 large sweet potato (approximately 500g)
- 5 large spring onions, chopped finely
- 1 glove of garlic, crushed
- 1-2 cups of almond meal (can also use flour or bread crumbs)
- 2-3 eggs (or just egg whites)
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- Lemon wedges and parsley to garnish
- Option: you can basically add other ingredients to change it up a bit i.e. sweet corn, capsicum, celery etc.
Method
- Wash and peel the sweet potato and then cut into smaller cubes
- Place the sweet potato in a steamer container and microwave for about 4-5 minutes until soft
- Mash the sweet potato roughly in a large bowl and allow to cool
- In a saucepan, sautee the spring onions and garlic for a couple of minutes until fragrant then add to the sweet potato
- Add the tuna, almond meal and eggs to the sweet potato and mix together
- You might have to adjust the amounts of almond meal and egg. The mixture should stick together so you can make them into patties
- You could probably add some low fat cheese or parmesan cheese as well for flavour and to hold the mixture together
- Season with salt and pepper to taste
- Heat a saucepan and lightly spray with oil
- Form the mixture into patties and cook on both sides until crispy and slightly browned
- Serve with a wedge of lemon and side of veggies or on a bed of salad.
La Grilla is a new addition to the myriad of new eateries in Canley Heights. It promotes itself as 'Modern Korean' cuisines and houses dishes such as bulgoggi tacos and kim chi pancakes. The restaurant was near packed when we arrived on a Sunday night and had to wait briefly for a table. It looked like there was only two or three staff attending to the restaurant and were rushing around taking orders, bringing out food and cleaning the tables.
I was quite excited at the menu, there were traditional Korean dishes like BBQ meats, hot pot as well as some modern fusion items. To start off we wanted to try the Korean Fried Chicken (KFC). We first had this awesome chicken at
Beschio and wanted to see how it would compare. Sadly, it didn't even come close. It lacked the crunchiness you get with 'KFC' and lacked chicken in general. I felt like the dish was mostly batter drenched in very very sweet sauce.
The bulgoggi beef tacos ($10 for 2) are one of the modernised Korean fusion dishes they have. The flavours were interesting but the beef lacked the classic bulgoggi flavour and was a tad dry.
We also had the Korean grilled meats ($35). You can pick two meats from from a selection which included bulgogi, mild chilli chicken, mild chilli pork, soy chicken, soy beef rib, and chilli beef rib. We had the chilli pork and chilli chicken. It is also served with a side salad and side of rice. The dish did take a while to come out which was stated in the menu but I honestly did not think it was worth the wait.
Our meals were also served with refillable side dishes including kim chi, green beans, potato and deep fried glass noodles which were probably the main highlight out of all of the food we had.
I was excited to see a new Korean establishment open up in Canley Vale among the abundance of other Asian Cuisines however I wasn't totally blown away from the food at La Grilla. The food was decent and and the restaurant had a clean and quiet ambience although the service was slow. Although they had a wide variety on their menu I think I still prefer authentic Korean food and BBQ (
Se Jong!!) and rather make the trek into the inner west suburbs.
La Grilla
Address: 2/237 Canley Vale Road, Canley Heights 2166
Phone: 02 9724 5452
Website:
http://www.facebook.com/LaGrillaCanleyHeights
Here comes another Surry Hills brunch blog! Devon Cafe is located on Devonshire St not very far away from Central Station. We were seated at the back patio area which gave off a very relaxing summertime ambience.
