Brunching Joyously (Haven Cafe review)

I've never been to a cafe more than once than at Haven Joyously Tailoring Coffee in Surry Hills. Not only do I love spending a bright, sunny morning in Surry Hills with great company - the food is amazing and the staff are such sweethearts (I sound like someone's middle aged aunt right now). 

Black Sesame Egg Waffles
Source: http://havenspecialtycoffee.com.au/

I keep coming back for their fresh menu and this time we ordered the Matcha egg waffles, Morrocan Salmon with cous cous and Felafel Potato. I have absolutely zero guilt if it's MATCHA ice cream for breakfast! It's not common in Sydney to get egg waffles like these, especially when they feature in Taiwan and HK where my go to instafoodies travel! Ultimate disappointment at the overseas geotag until Haven saves the day!! Also shoutout to the salmon dish which was bursting with flavour and perfectly cooked (soft pink on the inside). Food never disappoints in flavour, innovation and aesthetics.

Source: Broadsheet

Source: Weekend Notes

What's a brunch at Haven without its unique brews! Would totally recommend the Dragon Oolong ice tea (great for the summer) or the nutty coffee brew. It features nutty and wine notes, minus the heavy alcoholic tang! 

Let's not forget the staff who know the coffee blends back to front and are always asking how your meal is going! They really go the extra mile and it's partly why I recommend this place all the time with friends! 

If you're planning the next catch up, give Haven a go! 

$$
Ambience 5/5
Fare $$
Service 5/5
Foodwise 5/5
Now back to the rinse repeat cycle of uni!
Don't forget to treat yourself..
MVPD

Le Monde Cafe @ Surry Hills // Review

It's been a while since the last brunch but with the excuse to also see friends again - not sure if more excited for food or friends?! :P

Le Monde is a small cafe space where you and your friends can inhabit a corner by the cushions and talk for ages while the counter bustles with takeaway coffee and croissant orders. It's a nice mix!

It's nice and quiet during a weekday with the only sounds being nearby chatter and the grinding of the coffee. Natural light floods through the windows and along with some indoor lights, create a dim but well lit space for a sunny brunch! 

 

We ordered the Matcha pancakes ($16), Pulled pork ($18) and the Bacon Egg Roll Special ($10).

I'm a sucker for all things matcha so I loved the fluffiness of the pancakes with that slight bitterness of green tea! What totally completed the dish was that coffee expresso syrup. It was definitely one of the most delicious and different pancake flavour combinations I've had! Total winner! I now need this coffee syrup in my life!

 

And for the other dishes (on the Specials chalkboard), the pulled pork was just the right texture and softness but the bread was a little hard and a mission with the cutlery! Surprisingly the bacon and egg roll was pretty good for its price. The waiter took it out and it was so loaded!

Not sure if anything else on the menu will bring me back anytime soon since it doesn't have as many daring fusion choices as most modern cafes. But I still loved the oxymoronic quiet/bustling atmosphere on the two opposite sides of the cafe! They do a pretty good capucinno too!

Three word summary: Cosy, modern, detached
Ambience 4/5
Fare $-$$
Service 4/5
Foodwise 4/5

Have a fab summer
MVPD xx

Hakiki Turkish Ice Creamery @ Enmore // Review

Something about the name makes me think of tropical island flavors but those kind of ice creameries are so yesterday and we were feeling something more exotic and traditional!

Turkish ice cream looks like the 'normal', humble ice cream....until you take a spoon from it! It just keeps dragging out like I doesn't want to be eaten = The Australian Summer ice-cream-melting issue solved! Apparently Turkish ice cream is traditionally eaten with knife (no spooning here!) and fork.

 

1. You don't just go here and get some simpleton caramel flavour (even they're way too good for that).
2. You also don't just go in for one scoop especially when you have your eyes on four different flavours!

Here's our guide on what flavours were our favs:

Baklava: What's better than baklava? Baklava ice cream that's what. We loved the fillo pastry bits - just the way it soaks up some of the ice cream but still gives a chewy change in texture makes me feel so happy and zen!

Rock melon and feta: yes you read this right! Great balanced combination of salty and sweet I don't know how I didn't discover this before! Who even thought of this (next best after Bill Gates clearly)!

Grape molasses & tahini: the halva were amazing little crumbly chunks made from tahini that I just looked forward to throughout this whole flavour.

Caramelized fig and walnut: what is a Turkish bazaar without the sweet, distinct perfume of figs of late summer afternoons?

 

Of course there are many other flavours but we didn't want to hit them all in one go! There needs to be an excuse for a second visit!!

Next time you brunch or dinner in Newtown we highly recommend you stop at the dinner menu and trek it past Gelato Blue (sorry), N2 and Cloud9 as your portal to Turkey awaits you!

10/10 ice cream! You can't really compare it to Messina and Cow and Moon in terms of flavour since they're so different (Hello feta + melon!?)!!

 

Buuut if my taste buds served me right, I think Turkish ice cream is traditionally a little sweeter! Who's complaining?

Our advice: 'go large or go home'

Where you'll find it:
Shop 1, 63-71 Enmore Rd, Newtown

MVPD xoxo

The Eatery Review + Roaming Byron Bay // Review ~ Adventures

Splendour festival is hard work, especially when you give yourself 3 hours to wake, freshen up (so you don’t look like the zombie you woke up as) and roll up those pesky sleeping bags before getting stuck in traffic back to Byron!

 

A little birdie (a.k.a. local Byron gal) told us to hit up ‘The Eatery’ in our cafe search because apparently ‘Cafe Byron’s’ coffees weren’t on point.

So what a better way to refuel – the place was a cafe + bar + bistro (wow slaying) but we were here for the lunch. Afterwards was the time to explore all the surfy stores, boutiques and arcades peppering Jonson St (and the surrounding streets).

 

The order was a slider plate of smoked salmon, bacon and chorizo ($15) and two Coconut Chia Bowls ($11). I’m not one for sliders but the chorizo one was rather good. I thought it would be punch-to-your-throat spicy but no! The sausage was cut not too thick, the mayo was light and the thick grated carrot was a nice change of texture (a little fresh crunch).

 

For me, chia seeds need something special as they taste quite plane on their own. Sweetened with maple syrup was a bit basic I thought and would have much rather more stewed fruit and the sweet vanilla labneh to do that job. It was also topped with this “Magic dust” as they called it which was a sweet version of dukkah with goji berries. It wasn’t a stand out dish, even the dukkah was kind of lost in the stewed fruit and quickly lost its crunch. I feel that Aboutlife do better chia pudding (I’m sorry).

 

The magic dust also graced the banana smoothie which I think properly tasted like banana unlike other I’ve tried! No sneaky caramel flavour here!

 

 

So this was where we chilled (with our luggage too) to watch Byron locals do their thang listening to a really good singing busker across the road.

 

Sadly one major flaw was the service time (like how fresh can you get with all the elements of our dishes already premade). Even though we got seated and ordered immediately, ours and another fellow splendour table took ages to come out like the cookie monster ate our orders or something! L The staff were really lovely though but we were so hungry we had to inquire after our order. How they didn’t manage to notice two tables sitting around for ages - I don’t know.

 

Let’s not end on this bad note, the place had the atmosphere that I was needing at the time – lazy and quiet with bar tenders working softly away.

Three Word Summary: Relaxing, Lively, Local
Ambience 4/5
Fare $$
Service 2/5
Foodwise 3/5

MVPD

Xoxo

Devon Cafe Review

I don't know about you but when fellow brunchers post and snap about this mysterious 'Aphrodite's Bowl' from Devon Cafe in Surry Hills, something ignites in me - a curiosity (duh) and part that likes 'pretty things'.

100% sure I was eating Happiness in a bowl....

With the havoc of uni exams and assignments forcing you to compromise with quick dodgy mascara, el-DAG attires and cycling between the same three shoes.... the time had come to finally 'feel pretty' hehe. (Not endorsing that this bowl has supernatural powers capable of solving all our issues - I wish)

Disclaimer: The sis had not finished exams yet so was not allowed to celebrate despite it being a 'Government Politics' unit.

So us superior second years went and brunched in style. Devon is one of those cafes that kinda surprise you the way it looks cause all you see from other bloggers and Instagram is table + food + beverages. But we loved the seating at the back - very courtyard garden-y minus actual foliage.

The only non-food picture evidence of actual Devon interior
since we were waay too engrossed with snapshoting our food
(I mean hello, Aphrodite's own bowl was in front of me)!

We ordered two 'Naked Bruschetta' (didn't come with diced tomatoes for all you tomato lovers out there!). But the goats cheese was juuuuust right (I swear cafes always get it right here - never too salty!) and don't we all love roasted beetroots with avo? Also- shout out to the egg (always the egg) and thinly roasted slices of beetroot and radish (yum yum in my tum tum).

While there were other items on the menu - in this episode I was again  'girl on a mission'. In a nutshell (description totally not doing it justice here) it's a rice pudding garnished with rose petals, pistachio and crunchy honeycomb with a dollop of chia jam. I think rose water may come into the equation somewhere but my senses don't tingle as well as Spidey's.

Please excuse the bruschetta at the back looking
like a dark star :P

 The ratio of rice to actually pudding-ness (I'm sorry if I'm politically incorrect) was a little low for my liking if I think of rice pudding past times. But with this said, garnishes on point! They add the right chew and crunch (and at the right time too- magical?) so you can be assured you're not just having bby food. Tops to Devon on their chia jam too, went great with each pudding spoonful! So Aphrodite's Bowl did deliver and now I literally want a little elf or something preparing me this every morning for breakfast in bed as I catch up on the newest GoT.

"Naked Bruschetta" with hiding walnut bread
- Sorry for the dark photo :( 

I don't go to Surry Hills enough but it's always been the best!
We learned the hard way that Devon doesn't get cronuts delivered from its other store during weekdays. So we jumped on the first train to Brewtown and also learnt the hard way (again) that brewnuts go like (literally) 'hot cakes' with this chick before us ordering 'one of each' - what a cruel, cruel world!

Somehow we always end up in Newtown?! Coincidence? I think not! :)

Three Word Summary: Bright, Modern, Cronuts
Ambience 4/5
Fare $$
Service 5/5
Foodwise 4/5


Ciao for now!
MVPD xo

Shakin' in up Smoothie Edition

I follow a few too many vegan foodie/fitties on Instagram but I'm not going to lie - these are my people, my tribe....they sure know how to enjoy the most important meal of the day, Brekkie!

As my thumb does the hard work scrolling through the insta feed I'm seeing all these amazing smoothie bowls decked out with all this fruity colour and granola goodness. But I cry when no recipe is attached but hey how hard can a smoothie bowl be?

I thought I would throw my 2 cents worth and give this one a crack and oh it was a cracker alright. I can't imagine anything else for breakfast when there's no milk in the fridge.

It doesn't get any easier than this when Mimi can whip this up to go before heading to uni - that's right no excuses!

I like to keep a container in the freezer of frozen fruits handy, that's how serious I am about this!

One word - Enjoy!
P.S the recipe may not what you read elsewhere but oh wells!

Breakfast Smoothie bowl

1/3 mango, cubed & frozen overnight*
1 peach, sliced & frozen*
2 T water (to help blend if too frozen)
1/2 fresh banana, sliced
Handful granola/clusters

What the heck - add some nuts if you fancy!

* add any choice of fruits, whatever's in season!

1. Take frozen fruit out of freezer and leave out to defrost a bit. Blend when you can stick a fork through it semi-easily (or give it 20 secs in microwave if you're short of time)

2. Blend frozen fruits so it's a frappe consistency (add the extra water if the blender is choking on the big chunks) and transfer to your fav bowl.

 

3. Hard work is done (or until someone else cleans the blender :P)
Top with sliced banana, granola and nuts and enjoy! Just go topping C-RAZY!

It's autumn now and I'm still loving the freeze of the smoothie! I just kick myself every now and then for not discovering this sooner when I used to wake up to 30 degree mornings!!

Ciao for now!

MVPD
Xx

'Just Oat It' *swoosh*

Newest obsession I guarantee you if:
1. You are an oats fan
2. You like the fresh fruity PUNCH in the mornings
3. You like to eat out of mason jars (Ofc who doesn't)
4. You want to desperately cut out those morning bacon and cheese rolls because you don't have time to make brekkie!

If you haven't guessed already I am talking about the mysterious overnight oats which I have to say is so easy and so yum that I slap myself for not discovering these months ago! After many dark hours on Pinterest, trial and errors and giving the recipe my own spin I've finally found the recipe for me (and hopefully for you too!)

 

What the flippins are overnight oats?! Well, think your average plain porridge oats softened by soaking in milk + yogurt overnight only NOT PLAIN when in the morning (like Cinderella out of the pumpkin carriage but in daylight) when you top with nuts, fruits, syrup and granola! A dash of chia seeds to up that Calcium? Too easy! It's not porridge - it's better! Who wants a scolded tongue in the middle of Summer anyways?!

From now on you can never use the 'I have no time in the morning' excuse! I never want to see a bakery good in your hand ever again unless it's a croissant and you're in Paris...

STEP ONE: Your base BASS!
1/4 C rolled oats
1 1/2 t Chia Seeds
1/4 C milk
1/4 C Greek yoghurt
1 t honey

- mix all into a mason jar (or any container of a 1 Cup size) 

STEP TWO: Choose your fruits!
Here are a few inspired ideas for you but really - 'anything goes'....in :P

Mango Vanilla
1/4 C chopped mango + 1 t vanilla essence

Peanut Banana (don't be phased by the peanut!)
1 T peanut butter + 1/2 banana sliced

Very Berry
1/4 C strawberries sliced, raspberries

Apple Cinnamon
1 t cinnamon + 1 apple chopped

- mix your desired choice through the oats mix

STEP THREE: wake up and go topping crazy!

1. top with either the same or a different sliced fruit
2. Generously sprinkle over some granola or clusters for that CRUNCH!
3. Drizzle some honey if you like and HELLO HEAVEN IN A JAR! 'Nice to meet you, I'm hungry!'

 

Mine's mixed through with Mango + Raspberry
with Banana, Mango + Carmen's Vanilla Clusters!

These overnight oats save my life when I have 8am uni starts!
So enjoy busy bees!!

MVPD xx

Suzy Spoon's Vego-fy Revolution

It may be hard to guess from my brunch choices but "I ain't no vego"! But in fact vegetarian choices at cafes and restaurants intrigue me to the point that I would choose it over the meaty menu counterparts (what can I say I'm pretty risk-ay and up for anything).

Hence like a loyal friend of a vego, I was happy to pay a visit to Suzy Spoon's Vegetarian Butcher because:

1. Looking at the menu brochure and seeing tempeh, seitan and "facon" made me very curious.
2. I would not hear the end of it from my friend about any other cafe.
3. It's another excuse to come to eat at Newtown.
4. I kinda wanted to meet Suzy and have a nice vego to vego-appreciator chat

Suzy's is on King Street (number 22-24 to be exact) but the countless time I've caught a bus down King I swear I have never EVER seen it! Turns out its a little farther from the restaurant hub of Thai Pothong I'm used to.

We came in on a weekday at 11 for brunch and we were the only customers for a little which kinda surprised me. At Suzy's you order at the counter and while we waited  we had a look at their extensive range of take home vego goodies including homemade tomato sauce ($10.50), sausage varieties ($12) and Vienna Style Schnitzels ($14). We also strolled over for a look at Suzy's own cookbook nearby the counter and it sure made going part vegetarian tempting! The interior is very clean and kinda minimalistic-semi-rustic, not adhering to a certain theme like other cafes but there was this cool antique scale on a wall window looking into the kitchen. I think we just missed out on the true atmosphere of Suzy's coming at a quiet time :( The way seating went, we felt you couldn't really hang for long, chatting during and a little after the meal as you could other cafes (food totally makes up for this). But we did also get served directly by the chef with a helping hand from the waiter!!

 

Suzy comes into her store everyday but wasn't there at the time which was kinda sad for me because she sounded like a pretty cool, worldly person! We ordered the Tempeh Burger ($12), Chilli Dog ($12) and Spoon's Big Breakfast ($18.50) and no complaints what so ever. Kudos to the menu - it was great at explaining what to expect in your order even though there were some new words to me.

The Tempeh Burger of mine really made me believe in a bright future as a vegetarian. The English muffin style bun was toasted just right on the inside, the tempeh itself had a likeable nutty flavour and the homemade mayo, caramelised onions and peanut sauce was just the creme dela creme finish to a great burger! The burger came with a skewer and it was still on the brink of toppling over but I had a ball taking it down and demolishing it with the cutlery! It was AMAZING, who needs a side of chips anyways! I managed a swipe at some of the Sunday Sausage from the Big Breakfast which so fragrant and tasty with the herbs infusion and the Smoked Chilli Sausage in the Dog still messed with my brain because it looked like the biggest, meatiest American hot dog ever (such an illusion)!

 

I was so full and satisfied after! The portion was big but you kinda powered through because of the mystical allure of the peanut satay sauce! I couldn't manage finishing the top bun though after removing the skewer and letting all hell loose. You also felt pretty good having eaten a product that supports Suzy's vision of cruelty free and meat free food. Bonus: tasty and not over processed!

Wow I'm still feeling good inside (plus no regrets having ordered a burger for brunch)! I'd go back for that burger anytime or maybe to try the Spoon Burger with its vegan homemade rosemary and garlic pattie!

Three Word Summary: Feel-good, innovative, original
Ambience 3.5/5
Fare $ !!
Foodwise 5/5