West Juliett (Marrickville)

Just like Hubes, our Saturday mornings these days are spent attending house inspections. This means that our breakfast outings has to be alot earlier which isn't a problem at all. 

Being early risers (7 to 8am) this just gives us more opportunity to spend the day doing more stuff!.....after a good breakfast of course. :)

This time round, 'West Juliett' was the cafe of our choice and coincidentally, it's another one of those places that's literally 5 minutes walk from where I live.

Side story We saw A GIGANTIC dog on our way to the cafe. I mean look at it! his paws were the size of my clenched fist!!! This gentle giant came lumbering towards us and just plopped itself by our feet and went into the 'rub my belly' position. It was still abit scary because I could see that my head could easily fit into his mouth. (Not kidding). His name was "Dave" and he was a 5yr old Leonberger. A giant dog breed.

So we got to West Juliett and even at 8:30am, there was already a queue of people. We put our names down on the waiting list and stood in line for about 15 minutes and it was worth it. We plonked ourselves on one of the outside tables and started checking the menu out.






 First impressions count and boy did they leave one! No matter how busy it got, there's

always a waitress making sure that everyone is served. Glasses of water were also brought to us without the need to ask for it. Coffee art was also not left neglected, even when the takeaway queue was literally out the door. The coffee (Beans were from locally roasted White Horse) was nice, creamy and unburnt. No complaints here. 

 Speaking with a few other food bloggers, they've all said to me

"You must order the 12hr pulled pork salad ($12.90)" or 

"Make sure you drink the salted caramel Milkshake ($5.90)" or 

"Don't leave that place without getting the pink salt chocolate chip cookie ($3.50)"...... 

Come on!!! I've only got 1 stomach!!!

Anyway, I tried to order the 12hr pulled pork salad but found out that it is only served from 11am onwards. I settled for the Haloumi egg roll ($9.90) instead. It may not look like much but you  could tell the freshness of its ingredients with each bite. The greens on this plate are sourced weekly from the local markets and the free range eggs came from some lady by the name of Mary from Wyong. (There's photos on their facebook page to prove that the chickens were.... 'free'.
 


 Now here comes the best part. Wenni ordered the French Toast ($13.90). It came with grilled peaches, ricotta and salted caramel. After the 3rd "This is really good!!!" from Wenni, I had to put my roll down and try hers...She was not telling fibs. Firstly, I was really amazed that the slices of egg coated sourdough was so soft and easy slice up! This shouldn't be much of a surprise since the bread is from Sonoma and based on previous experiences, they have not failed me so far. The ricotta was ok, the peaches were sweet and the salted caramel was "lick-the-plate-clean" good. I can't say anything else about it but just go and try it out yourself.


With so many more dishes to try, it seems like a few more trips back here is on the cards :) Thoroughly enjoyed this outing and highly recommend it! Who knows. You just might bump into 'Dave'!

West Juliett
Address : 30 Llewellyn St, Marrickville, 2204
Opening hours : Mon-Sat 7am-4pm

Website : facebook \ Google Map

Swallow Coffee Traders (Rockdale)

On Sat, 29 Mar, 2014

The Entrance

We were on a mission, a house hunting day, checking out 6 open houses. To make sure we can get through the entire day of driving around, we need to kick start it with some good coffee.

Recommended by my colleague who lives nearby, who also comes here every weekend, I have to come out here and try the coffee myself.

Barista

A cozy little cafe which is right next to the Rockdale train station, location-wise, you wouldn't consider this is a place where you can get a great cup of coffee, but don't be deceived by it's location! You would understand why once you step inside, the cafe simply is filled with the aroma of coffee.

For drinks, we ordered a Piccolo, a Latte, a Macchiato, and a hot Chocolate. For food, we ordered a ham & cheese croissant, and some other sandwiches that we didn't take a photo of.

Ham & Cheese Croissant

The barista did a wonderful job on the latte art, as you can see on the photos, they have put the love and soul in the making. Each cup is different, and you can tell by the efforts they put in, they must love their work!

The staffs of this cafe also are very friendly and energetic, they certainly makes you feel welcome!

Hot Chocolate

Latte

Overall, here is my opionion for this cafe...
Cafe: 7/10;
Services: 9/10;
Coffee: 9/10;
Food: 7/10

Top: Macchiato
Bottom: Piccolo

Piccolo

Comments: If you are nearby the area, and would like to have a cup to re-energise, this is definitely one of your top choices! A nice little touch of having a shot of mineral water for before and after the shot of Piccolo and Macchiato, very thoughtful!

Swallow Coffee Traders
Shop 1, 1-7 Tramway Arcade, Rockdale
Opening Hours: Mon-Fri 06:00 - 16:00 / Sat 07:00 - 16:00 / Sun 08:00 - 13:00

Website: Link / Facebook: Link / Google Map

Bean drinking....with a dash of lemonade

There is a near endless number of cafes in the inner west area. Places with great food, loads of seats, in warehouses, hole in the wall....there is just so many that even if you went out every weekend, there will not be a time when you can confidently say that you've been to them ALL.

This weekend, we decided to mix it up a little and travel further out to the North. 
No offense to anyone but personally, anything that involves crossing the Harbour Bridge is considered too far and requires pre-planning. So we packed our bags, charged our mobiles, brought water and snacks and proceeded with the adventure for the morning. I jest...

Now the guys at Bean Drinking are serious about their coffee. Not only do they have their own roasters,they also sell an assortment of Hario brewing equipment. I will in no way try to pretend that I know half of the things on their coffee menu which includes coffee that can be ordered in an assortment of brewing methods!

Ambiance wise, this place is really nice. there's a little park just opposite the shop where you can sit under a tree and sip your coffee whilst watching the kids play, the dogs pant or just doze off. 





The coffee art was good with no complaints from my friends. The hot chocolate was dranked down in a jiffy. I ordered something called an "Arnold Palmer" thinking it was somewhat like a long black but mixed in with lemonade. it was just ice tea with lemonade but the tea was replaced with Cascara (coffee cherry pulp) :P
    

Bean Drinking focuses on fresh produce and what's in season. With that I hope that the chicken meat in my toasted "Perfect Chicken" was free-ranged and corn fed. Portions were nice and large so at least I was full and only needed my next meal about 5hours later. :)

Wenni and Hubes had the "breakfast Brioche" I personally think Brioche anything is good! It definitely looked it. Should have asked for a bite....

Lou had the Brioche French Toast. I'm not sure about how it tasted. I didn't ask her. Maybe she can comment on this post to tell us exactly what she thought of it. Hmm... I've got a craving for this now...I know what I'm going to order next week.

 Mishy had the "Hearty Breakfast Board". I didn't like the presentation of this dish as it looks as if everything was just chucked onto a chopping board and served. Mish did say the 
mushrooms were too vineger-ry for her. 








Crows Nest has it's fare share of 'crazies' too. The guy sitting behind us was barking to himself. The girl sitting next to him moved at the first chance she got. lol

So...my take on this place. 
As a place to catchup with friends for coffee and maybe a slice of cake, sure thing! 
As a breakfast place that I'll keep in my list of top 10 which ticks every box, probably not. 


Bean Drinking
Shop 1, 13 Ernest Place, Crows Nest 
opening hours : Mon - Sun 7am-6pm
 Website : link / Google Map

Sonoma Cafe (Alexandria)

On Sat 08 Mar, 2014

We were meant to be camping this weekend, however with the rain that has been happening for the past few days, and also the weather forecast, we had postponed it. So what can be replaced on the weekend? A nice breakfast at a nearby cafe! And we have decided to come to Sonoma Cafe in Alexandria.

I had been this one before, and had great memories about their coffee. Apart from this particular one, there are 5 other ones around in Sydney! So, if you are meeting friends in one, make sure you communicate well to state which one you will be going!

We had a rather large group of people (8), it's great that the place is big, and allow bigger group of people to enjoy food and coffee together. It wasn't long until we were shown to a table.

It's not table service, so you have to line up, order your food, and grab a number back at your table. This gives you the opportunity to look at all the mouthwatering pastries at the front. Ming ordered some croissants for the table, and my opinion on them was 2 thumbs up! I love it!

The coffee here is how I remembered it, great aroma, great taste. The latte art is pretty good too, you can feel the work has been spent in making the cup of coffee.



And the breads that are used in the mains are simply awesome. I just can't get enough of it. They are soft in the centre, and crunchy on the crust. I wish I had another piece of bread with the scramble eggs. I also had tried some of the chorizo with the baked eggs as well, it wasn't salty, and just right!

Overall, here is my opinion for this cafe...
Cafe: 8 / 10; Services: 8 / 10; Coffee: 9 / 10; Food: 8 / 10
Comments: One of the better coffees around the area, the food (especially the bread) will definitely draw crowds as well. Will definitely come again!

Sonoma Cafe
32/44 Birmingham Street, Alexandria
Opening Hours: Daily 07:00 - 16:00

Website: Link / Google Map

When you're short on time...

Picture this. You have an appointment in 1 1/2 hrs time. You have nothing to eat at home. There's not really enough time to drive out, look for a cafe, possibly queue up, wait for your food and maybe deal with traffic on your way home. 

What.Would.You.Do.

I took this as an opportunity to pull my finger out and try the cafes that are literally just around the corner. 

It's funny how whenever someone askes me where I went over the weekend, I would tell them of places far and away and of the dishes I had and what thoughts were about it. I've never spoken about the the places that are close to home, nor have I ever given it a chance.

With that, my missus and I decided to walk out to the Wolf and the Honeybee.

This place has been here for since 2011 and as small as this cafe is, it certainly makes up for it in quality. You can't go wrong with Campos coffee. The tea supplied here is from Teacraft. And the bread...my god. where do I start, the bread's REALLY GOOD! Ordered in daily from Brasserie Bread.

We seated ourselves outside of their shop and ordered our coffees immediately whilst looking through the menu. 

Happy with the presentation and taste. No problems with it whatsoever.

Now, I don't know why but I must have unconciously felt like eating healthy for a change so I opted for the vegetarian smashed egg roll.

I can't tell you exactly which bread they used but boy was it tasty!! I'm usually not a fan of Sourdough but this was refreshingly crunchy (not the "rip the top of your mouth up kind) and soft on the inside. In between 2 slices of awesomeness was scrambled free range eggs, grilled haloumi, tomato and homemade capsicum relish. 

I'm pretty sure Wenni was sick of hearing me say "This is really good!" by the end of the meal.
This was evident in the fact that I didn't pay attention to her ham and cheese croissant nor did I take a photo of it. :D

When paying the bill (cash only premises), I asked the cashier how did the name come about. He explained that the owner's surname (Conal) in Gaelic means Wolf, and then he mumbled something about the ex-girlfriend being the honeybee... or something like that. I didn't question him further. :)
 
If you want to stay away from the hustle and bustle of Newtown but still be within walking distance, visit this place! 

The menu may be limited but the quality is certainly there.

The Wolf and the Honeybee
Address : 206, Edgeware Rd, Newtown
Opening hours : Daily 8am - 3pm
map / facebook

First Drop Cafe (Redfern)

On Sat 1 Mar, 2014

First Drop Cafe

It's always great to catch up with old friends at brunch! Finding out how they are doing nowadays with the smell of a nice cup of coffee in our hands, what more can we ask for a Saturday morning?

We had been to the First Drop before, and the food was as how I remembered it last time, simply awesome!

Mediterranean Brunch

The cafe was really busy on the Saturday morning, a sign of a good cafe! I ordered the Homemade beans, the taste was great, a full meal for brunch, I polished it everything on my plate.

There are a few different choices on the menu which I will definitely give it a go the next time around. The scrambled eggs also look so delicious!

Homemade Beans

From Paris with Love

Special

Overall, here is my opinion for this cafe...
Cafe: 8 / 10; Services: 6 / 10; Coffee: 8 / 10; Food: 9 / 10
Comments: Another great little cafe, definitely a cafe that is worth another visit! The only faults I have with this cafe is that the coffee was a bit slow. I ordered the coffee with the meal, but the coffee came after the meal, which I think that is a bit slow.

First Drop Cafe
Address: 69 Baptist Street, Redfern
Opening Hours: Mon - Sat 07:00 - 17:00 / Sun closed

Website: Link

Molly Coddle Cafe, Newtown

I'm not a fan of waking up early in the morning especially on weekends.
When I say early, I mean 7am.
8-9am is fine, but not before that.
A friend at work has been relentless at hounding me each Friday to join him for the Sydney Park run; a 5km run around Sydney Park at St Peters. For about 4wks, I've used most of my good excuses but I finally caved in and decided to give it ago.
I finished the run with a decent time, bade my friends farewell and walked home.

Knowing that Hubes was home alone and that my missus had another engagement, I texted Hubes and asked him out for cuppa. After a nice cold shower and a change of clothes, we both walked out of our respective homes.

The Southern end of King Street has had a big boost in the number of cafe popping up. Some places have been hit and miss and so far, none have been consistent with either their service or food or a combination of both. This time round we decided to try out Molly Coddle Cafe. 

Molly Coddle cafe took over the spot of Zagaris(which closed down last yr), which took over the spot of Blue Vein cafe. Hmmm... bad feng shui??? Oh well, let's see how long this place lasts! Ambiance wise, I like it.  The outside tables were well shaded by the hot sun, there was a nice cool breeze and we had a view of King St to people watch.

Hubes ordered his usual Cappucino and I had flat white. Not really sure what type of coffee art they were going for but have a look for yourself what you think. The coffees pretty good! I didn't check out what beans they used but it was nice.

After much deliberation we finally decided on what we wanted to try out so here they are.

Corn,zuchinni, coriander fritters served with bacon and homemade chutney. $15.50.





I must say, the helpings at this place are pretty large. The chutney was really good but the Fritters were a little too doughy for my liking. I struggled to finish my meal. If I had to score it, I'd give it a 6/10. Good if you're after a nice big meal that is just OK in taste.

Molly's Signature - Senoritas.
Poached egg on Sourdough with chicken chipolatas, ricotta, chorizo and heirloom tomatoes. $15
(note - the eggs are on the top left side of the photo. I should have asked hubes to cut it open so you could see the runny egg in all it's galore)



Watching Hubes eat his meal, he must have enjoyed it. I forgot to ask him how it was but it certainly looked tastier than mine. From what I can see the eggs were poached well and the yolk was nice and runny. it didn't look too oily so would have been a good balanced meal. Once again, the helpings were LARGE!

If you're ever in the South end of Newtown, do check this place out. I've got nothing really bad to say about this place. : )


Molly Coddle Cafe
address : 622 King Street, Newtown

The Paramount Coffee Project (Surry Hills)

On Sat 1 Feb, 2014

Entrance

Always seems to be busy from the outside, finally have a chance to come here and try out the coffee and the funky dishes. The menu has a date on it, so I am guessing they change the menu often to make sure they serve the dishes with the produces for the season...

The atmosphere of the cafe is very modernised, the warehouse made the cafe feel very big, and the concrete tables matches the funky dishes. A great place to spend a weekend mornings with a few friends...

Cappuccino

Latte

The coffees are not bad, personally I would like it to be a bit stronger, but again it is personal choice...

I have also ordered a peanut butter & jelly milkshakes afterwards, I would like to have more peanut butter taste, the jelly taste seems to be overpowered the whole drink.

Now the food, just by looking at the menu, it makes me want to try every single thing on the menu. We had a group of 6, so we ordered a number of different dishes. I had the Elvis in Cuba. Even though the size of the meal was small, but the taste of every single component on the dish was great! Lou ordered the Crab Po Boy, which everyone had the food envy and wished they had ordered that instead. I didn't sample it, but it certainly looks delicious!

Crab Po Boy:
soft shell crab,
house slaw,
silk bun

Dough Boy:
French toasted
cinnamon doughnut,
apple, creme fraiche

Elvis in Cuba:
pork, kimchi, bacon,
kewpie, swiss cheese,
onion rings

Chicken in a bag:
Fried chicken
& watermelon

BENTO:
Broadbean salad,
onion rings,
pickled veg,
kewpie w beef caparccio

Barista

I had a peek at the dishes next to mine, I want to try the Baked Eggs & Hush Puppies; Meat Waffle; Jaffa: Choc-Orange icecream w/ Waffle next time around.

Overall, here is my opinion for this cafe...
Cafe: 8 / 10; Services: 8 / 10; Coffee: 7 / 10; Food: 9 / 10
Comments: Definitely a place for me to revisit again to try out all the different dishes! I hope they don't change the menu just yet until I have sampled every dish on it!

The Paramount Coffee Project
Address: 80 Commonwealth Street, Surry Hills
Opening Hours: Mon - Fri 07:00 - 16:00 / Sat - Sun 08:00 - 16:00

Facebook: Link / Google Map