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