Elbow Room Espresso, Chatswood

Although cafes such as Houlihan's have been serving the Chatswood community faithfully all these years, I'm glad that something like Elbow Room has set up shop. It certainly injects freshness to the tired list of breakfast places around the area. Tasty brunch, decent prices and gorgeous plating makes this a new favourite.



I can't say much about the coffee because I've recently developed a severe intolerance, but there is a wide variety of coffee extraction methods to choose from - including the use of a cold drip, V60 coffee drips or an Aero Press coffee maker.

Elbow Room Espresso Menu

I liked the banana smoothie for the frothy texture and generosity of honey, though I think it would have been better served a few degrees colder.

Banana smoothie ($6.00)

 The green power was a juice jam packed with healthy-sounding ingredients - kelp, spinach, dulse seaweed and alfalfa were married to apple, passion fruit, plum and lemon. Though it's indeed very green, I could mostly taste the plum/ apple combination. All vegetable flavour was pretty much annihilated by the sugary sweetness - not a bad thing if you're looking to indulge, but not great for anyone trying to minimise their carb-intake!

"Green power" ($5.00)

The Boy ordered the elbow room de hot dog - a fancy hot dog with chorizo, fried egg (with runny yoke!), mustard, chipotle, tomato salsa, and gherkins on the side. 

Elbow Room de Hot Dog ($12.00)

I'd requested the eggs benedict - two lightly toasted slices of sweet brioche with a generous portion of salmon, 2 poached eggs, spinach, and (of course) Hollandaise sauce. The harmonious presence of the mustard seeds and dill were the finishing touches that brought a huge smile to my face!

Eggs benedict on brioche ($16.00)

Om nom nom

We'd also ordered a side of mushrooms. They'd pan fried a mix of ordinary (field?) and enoki mushrooms, which were really nice with the cracked salt, though I was expecting the portions to be a bit bigger than what we received. Not that it mattered in the end because our mains were so filling we pretty much waddled out with food babies.

Mushroom side ($3.50)

Rustic Pearl, Surry Hills

My friend Shell and I met up for a long overdue catch-up recently. Out of the many cafes in Surry Hills, we determined that the Rustic Pearl was a good place as any to brunch at, selecting it for its uniquely Turkish/ Mediterranean flair.

Living up to its name, the Rustic Pearl is decorated with quaint trinkets and a charming mural (below).

Admittedly, I've always been disconcerted by nazar, or evil eye amulets. There was a Turkish pop-up store a few months ago in Chatswood Westfield which sold wind chimes, beautifully painted bowls and other ornaments bearing depictions of the eye. It feels silly to admit it, but it felt like they were all glaring intently at me - ironic because culturally, nazar are used to ward off bad luck from any "evil eyes" directed at a particular person.

Shell remarked on the prettiness of the pink salt, but pondered about the supposed health benefits of pink salt compared to commonplace white table salt. "Does it contain less sodium?" she sarcastically queried. Amusingly, a Google search revealed numerous sites which claim that Himalayan pink salt derives its colour from its rich mineral content. Since it contains many minerals other than sodium, it is reasoned that there is a lower proportion of sodium. I'll leave it to someone else who might be more scientifically inclined to test the veracity of these statements...

Tea ($4.00)

The controversial salt

Our drinks arrived. Shell had ordered the tea (the Stockholm blend, since she's fond of both vanilla and black tea) and I, the avocado smoothie. I loved the presentation of the pastel green drink. The glass straw and crushed pistachio somehow evoked notions of being healthy and environmentally friendly.

However, drinking the smoothie was not so pleasurable. I could definitely taste the flavour of honey, but the avocado, milk and yoghurt components were so rich and milky that they smothered the sweetness that should have been there. And while I loved the idea of pistachios in a smoothie, it was kind of tiring chewing on them after each sip.

Avocado smoothie ($6.50)

On a more positive note, I was really pleased about the sucuk bruschetta. Sucuk is a type of Turkish sausage, similar to chorizo in taste and appearance. Though meant to be spicy, the heat factor was muted substantially (probably to accommodate the Australian palate). The egg was cooked to a perfect runny-yoke consistency, while the fattiness of the buffalo mozzarella cheese and avocado was interrupted by the sweetness of the sliced tomatoes. When I received the plate of 1.5 slices of toast, I was dubious about being full at the end, but it all occupied my stomach space comfortably.

Sucuk bruschetta ($17.00)

Shell had mixed wild mushroom gnocchi with a tomato-based sauce. She was a little miffed that the menu suggested that her "wild mushrooms" would be mixed in variety - her plate only contained ordinary brown mushrooms. Other than this, she was content with her meal.

Mixed wild mushroom gnocchi ($18.00)

I'd like to sample their meyhane dishes (share plates with wine), so I my next visit shall be at dinner time!

Carre Noir, Chatswood

When it first opened, I wasn't sure what to make of Carre Noir. It appeared to be a cafe. With al fresco dining. And a chocolate fountain. Which serves fancy dinners. So it's a chocolate cafe in the daytime and a formal restaurant at night? And so of course I sampled neither of those facets and went there for brunch.

We entered Carre Noir via the Victoria Avenue entrance instead of the Concourse side, and were greeted by no one until we went up the flight of stairs to the Concourse level. I'm not sure if it's intentional to situate the patrons in this upper section of the cafe, but they should probably put a sign up on the bottom level to direct people there - we nearly gave this place a miss because we weren't sure if it was actually open, and a considerable amount of pedestrian traffic flows along Victoria Avenue.

Service was jovial, but the food was a little slow to arrive.

Clipboard menus like all mainstream hipster cafes ;)

When it first opened, my parents had a poor impression of Carre Noir as it displayed a sign boasting the best coffee in Chatswood. Telling said parents that the sign, like advertising in general, was mere puffery has done little to assuage their irritation upon their discovery it didn't live up to my mum's expectations... Nevertheless, as coffees go, it was neither fantastic nor repulsive. My flat white was served in one of those dainty ceramic mugs that cafes are so fond of these days.

Flat white

I had decided on the breakfast board, which was more filling than I thought it would be. The board consisted of a slab of avocado, a pesto spread, halloumi cheese, proschiutto, a couple of poached eggs, toasted sourdough and heirloom tomatoes.

Verdict? Egg yokes oozed out, heirloom tomatoes were sweet and juicy (first time I enjoyed eating tomatoes on their own), and the halloumi slices were grilled til they bore a lovely crisp exterior and a chewy interior. It made great comfort food.

Breakfast board ($15.00)

Brunch partner ordered braised chorizo with a side of prosciutto. It contained borlotti beans, dukkah (mixture of herbs and nuts), labne, spinach, fried eggs (Turkish apparently, though I'm not sure what part of the egg was Turkish), and sourdough.

Turkish spiced chorizo ($12.00) + prosciutto ($4.00)

Conclusion? Breakfast's not bad. Worth it if you're a student/ Entertainment card holder.

The Moody Chef, St Leonards

I was introduced to the Moody Chef cafe by various family members, and I've always been pleased by its fresh ingredients and comforting breakfast/ brunch menu items. More recently, I took a friend there for a long-awaited catchup, and, once again, we weren't disappointed.

It was a little hard to catch the attention of the waitstaff, but once we did, service was friendly and without problems.

Menus

I decided to pass on a coffee and have a fruit drink with my breakfast - their breakfast menu is happily available all day on Saturdays.

The "fruit-o-licious" is a little on the pricey side, but is indeed packed with fruit. If not for the crushed ice, it would probably have been too thick to drink! Think of nudie juice, frappe-style, with hints of banana and honey - it was hard to pick out what else was inside that amalgamation of sucrose!

Fruit-o-licious ($7.00)

I took the opportunity of ordering a breakfast item that was on special - the crab cakes. As you can see from the background, my friend copied me and did the same =.=

Each plate contained 3 crab cakes with 2 poached eggs on top, accompanied by a spiced, herby tomato salsa. The poached eggs were runny in the centre, so it was fun bursting the albumen and spreading the yolk all over the crab cakes. The lightly crumbed crab cakes weren't too fishy, even though there was plenty of meat to be had. When accompanied by the salsa, it made for a light, mouthwatering meal. And although they looked deceptively small on the plate, I was quite comfortably full towards the end.

Crab cakes ($17.90)

Central Baking Depot, Neutral Bay

 Central Baking Depot ("CBD") was recommended to me by a friend who had visited the Sydney city store and fallen in love. I visited the CBD website and saw that they had a branch in Neutral Bay. As it's closer to where I live and in a location where I figured there would be fewer people, I decided to pay a visit to that store instead.

The process of finding this branch had us positively flummoxed because the address stated 7/19-25 Grosvenor Street, which seemed consistent with all the other busy hipster-looking establishments. We walked up and down but just could not find it, and on Google Maps it was situated off of the street (more on Grosvenor Ln). We should have paid heed to Google Maps in the first place, as it was exactly where Maps said it would be!
 

Exterior

Coffee: Good, smooth on the palate. Moving on.

Flat white ($3.10)

The lamb sausage roll was lovely - I was afraid that it would taste too much like lamb (that sickening aroma/ flavour where meat hasn't been marinated well), but the mince was completely inoffensive.

Lamb sausage roll ($4.50)

The beef brisket pie with mushrooms and red wine was just as enjoyable. The pastry was really crunchy on the outside but quite moist inside, which I personally don't mind (at times I actually prefer it). However, those who detest soggy pastry should stay well away. The chunks of beef were tender and the red wine made it just that little bit more gourmet.

Beef brisket pie ($5.80)

To finish off, we shared a sweet danish - blackberry and apple with a light custard. It might have been nicer if it was toasted, though I suppose warm custard doesn't sound quite as appealing. Despite its small size, it was pretty dense and filling. I'm glad I was talked out of getting a 4th item.

Blackberry danish ($4.00)

Inside the danish

And no, $5+ pies are not exactly cheap (e.g. if you want to take half a dozen home for arvo tea), but for a sit down lunch where we shared 3 pastries between two (and which kept our stomachs full for 4 hours), $7 a head is not bad at all!

After the quick lunch, we headed off to Bradley's Head, which had gorgeous views of the harbour. Will definitely have repeat visits to Neutral Bay and its surrounds :)

Le Monde, Surry Hills

There has been much hype around Le Monde regarding its breakfasts, and though I entered the premises with the intention of selecting a breakfast item, I found out that I was too late for breakfast (which finishes at 12pm). At least they serve coffee at all hours. The decor is simple and clean, while the journey to the toilets requires a toilet key and sends you on a quest through a small carpark, up a flight of stairs, and into a quiet building. Thankfully this was during the day, or I would have been quite disturbed by the isolation - so, for the ladies, you might want to visit Le Monde in a group of a minimum of 3 so that one person can mind the table. In any case, I've gone on a tangent and this isn't why I cringe at the thought of this visit.

The coffee is aromatic and beautifully presented but I don't understand the hype around it. At times, my flat white tasted quite bitter, to the extent that I questioned whether it was burnt (probably not, but the sensation was somewhat unpleasant). I think Mad Spuds' coffee was lovelier.

Flat white ($3.50)

For lunch, I ordered the prawn linguine off of their specials board. This pasta dish came with cherry tomatoes, spinach, chilli, lemon and grana padano cheese. There was so much potential for a great hearty dish - the prawns were cooked to the point of being springy yet still moist, the texture of the pasta was firm, and the mild chilli made the pasta quite tangy. Sadly, they went overboard with the lemon juice. Each mouthful of pasta was overpowered by sour lemon, which made it difficult to make good progress on the meal.

Prawn linguine ($16.00)

All in all, the bitter coffee and sour pasta sauce are discouraging me from coming back. However, in all fairness, their strengths have been purported to lie in their breakfast menu, which I have not had the chance to sample yet. Hopefully my next visit will be a lot more enjoyable than this one.

Hangry, Rozelle

Rozelle is renowned for being near the Balmain branch of Adriano Zumbo. However, this suburb has a greater claim to fame than this piece of commercial notoriety. It boasts a number of vintage shops, a florist called Potteround (which does amazing wedding flower arrangements), quaint furniture stores, charming cafes, an organic supermarket, an artisan chocolate shop called Belle Fleur, and a public school that plays host to the weekend-secondhand-Rozelle Markets.

One of these charming brunch places is Hangry, a Middle-Eastern establishment with pretty good food, massive portions, great coffee and French art.

Flat white

Before leaving us to peruse our menu, one of the waitresses took down our coffee orders.

The coffee was pretty tasty - I was tempted to order a second cup, but knowing my reactions to caffeine, I thought it more prudent to limit myself to ladylike sips.

It was just as well that I didn't fill up on fluids.




I ordered the "Fattit al Hommos", which was a clay pot dish containing a multitude of chickpeas, spiced beef, yoghurt, toasted pine nuts, crispy pita bread and a dash of what tasted like curry powder (the type my mum puts in Indian curry). Traditionally, it is often served with a spoonful of cumin mixed in, but I don't recall tasting any cumin.

I loved the crunch of the pine nuts and pita bread amidst the mince and yoghurt. The yoghurt was not too overpowering - it was light, creamy and offset the saltiness of the beef (although, at times, I felt that it was too salty). There were perhaps too many chickpeas, as legumes are very substantial and filling.

Fattit al Hommos ($14.50)

My friend ordered the manouche wrap, which contained large green olives, labna (cheese), cucumber and fresh tomatoes. It was tasty, and as you can see, the one wrap was more like 2 separate wraps. There were too many olives after a while, though, which made the wraps salty.

Wrap (ranges from $10 - $13)

As you can now tell, Hangry is all about strong Middle Eastern flavours and food of huge proportions. For the price especially, the food is fantastic, and they have takeaway boxes in the event that you can't finish the whole meal right there and then.

Mad Spuds Cafe, Surry Hills

One day I decided to embark on a trip to Le Monde. Alas, it was a Sunday. It turns out that Le Monde is closed on Sundays. Instead, I headed to Crown Street to partake of the organic potatoes from Robertson* (where they filmed Babe).

Crown Street, that strip of trendy cafes and bars, was packed, with sizable lines outside various shop fronts. Mad Spuds was no exception, and we had to put our names down to wait our turn. There's a cute stationery/ card shop right next door, though, so we browsed around to kill time.

*: I just realised why there's a big potato in Robertson.

Signage

After about 15 minutes' wait, we were led inside to be seated. The interior is quite small but turnover seems quite high and there's a bit of outdoor seating. The waitress serving us was really friendly but I think we gave her a fright when the two of us decided to order 3 mains (not realising how generous their portions are).

The coffee arrived soon after. I must say that even though the spuds are the main attraction, the coffee is kind of amazing. My flat white had a really strong coffee aroma and taste but lacked the bitterness that I often find accompanies that amount of coffee flavour. It was creamy, rich, and made me want more. I later learnt they were given 2 coffee cups in the SMH good cafe guide. Definitely seems well-deserved.

Cappuccino ($3.50)

Flat white ($3.50)

My choice of dish was the 'boxty' - a potato pancake with mustard, bacon, avocado, fried egg, apple puree, white sausage, and what seems to be a dash of curry powder or paprika (tasted more like curry powder!). The boxty was crisp and formidably filling, tasting astonishingly nothing like your typical potato. The bacon was fried till dark and crunchy (the way I like it), and they were generous with the slabs of avocado. The egg yoke was half runny and the apple puree contributed some sweetness to the otherwise savoury dish (which I could actually have done without, but if that's the traditional way, who am I to comment). The white sausage patty was meaty and felt like mince, making the entire dish rich and full of carbs and protein. I should have been content with sampling one dish for the duration of that visit. Alas, I'm a committed glutton.

Boxty ($16)

My brunch buddy had a  vegan dish, which was a stack of tofu, avocado, corn bread, potato and lentil, and many many Boston beans (with a slightly Mexican twist), and crispy quinoa puffs. It was tasty, but I think I preferred my tower of food because of the greater variety of ingredients.

Vegan brekkie stack ($16)

Finally, we shared a dish of twice cooked potato skins. At the time of ordering it, we thought that potato skins would be like crisp cut French fries - a mere snack and easy to share. When the plate of spuds arrived, I felt dismayed at the fear of not being able to do it justice. We managed to get through most of it (with a lot of trouble), so thankfully we didn't waste too much.

The taco flavour refers to the Mexican style of making the spuds. The dish consisted of 4 halves of potatoes with crispy skin on the outside and supporting chunks of mozzarella cheese, beef (spiced but it wasn't spicy), chilli sauce and coleslaw. It's definitely a main and deserves the respect of people who order it as a main.

Taco potato skins ($15)

 And so our brunch ended with our stomachs completely filled to the brim with starchy goodness. My conclusion? I would totally go back for the good coffee, excellent service, and cheap (and filling and aesthetically pleasing) food.