Cafe Breakfasts

Bendigo Street Milk Bar, Burnley

~ culinaldi ~ 2 Comments

A brand new year has begun and one of my goals is to start visiting the list of cafes that I’ve been building up in the back of my mind on the “must do” list. I can’t remember where I had read about the small cafe/milk bar in Bendigo Street in Richmond/Burnley that was open for weekend breakfast, but it was always somewhere where I wanted to visit and I figured that if I was to do anything of purpose on the weekend, then that was my intended destination.

Resolutely, I set off on Saturday morning and negotiated the two trams I needed to take to get to Bendigo Street. I can’t describe the exhilaration I always feel when the sun is shining, I’m exploring new neighbourhoods with tree-lined streets, anticipating my first hot skinny latte and finally visiting a place I’ve always wanted to visit. Intrigued by the renovated workers cottages and the new urban development under construction in Bendigo Street, I finally spied the quaint milk bar on the corner, market umbrellas and tables outside ready for patrons.

Walking into Bendigo Street Milk Bar is like stepping into another world – tranquil with soft jazz playing on the iPod, a myriad of tables, soft furnishings and old-world charm, newspapers for sale, a counter and display fridge laden with homemade food, another room on the mezzanine level with more tables and chairs – it was almost a feast for the eyes. I think it was just fortuitous that being January, I could still walk in and take my pick of tables.

Because it is January and some of the staff were taking leave, the breakfast menu had been reduced to a single page, but despite only several dishes to choose from, the corn fritters with avocado salsa, rocket and poached eggs seemed to be the most obvious choice.

 

Corn fritters with avocado salsa, rocket and poached eggs (Bendigo Street Milk Bar, Burnley)
Corn fritters with avocado salsa, rocket and poached eggs (Bendigo Street Milk Bar, Burnley)

I gather from all the social media involving this cafe that the homemade corn fritters are the dish du jour and it’s obvious why. Beautifully presented, stunning colours and a generous dish, I was deliriously happy to be its next victim! After taking several photos, my first mouthful of corn fritter was heavenly – an unusual red colour (I almost wondered if Thai red curry paste was the secret ingredient!), with red capsicum and bright yellow corn kernels – well cooked and not mushy which seems to be the offering of some of the most recent places that I have been to lately. My eggs were poached exactly as I like them and requested, sitting of a bed of chunky homemade avocado salsa, and rocket glistening in olive oil. Almost a complete surprise was the goats cheese dispersed within the dish, which was soft and creamy and extremely delicious, but a definite must although it is not included in the meal description.

Although I waited a good ten minutes for my first coffee to appear and there were only 4 other customers in view, you know when you are in a special-kind-of-place when you are compelled to whip out the iPhone at lightning speed and try to Shazam the jazzed up version of Crowded House playing seductively in the background (Curtis Stigers’ rendition of “Into Temptation” if you are intrigued) and all is forgiven.

My only concern that now distresses me is that if it has taken me so long to get here, how soon can I come back?

 

Si Drivani, South Yarra

~ culinaldi ~ 1 Comment
Walking past South Yarra Square every morning on my way to work and seeing the gushing fountain, umbrellas, chairs and tables always makes me long for the piazzas in Rome. When the sun is shining in Melbourne (a rare occurrence these days), I wish I could stop and have breakfast and pretend that I was in Europe.
With the sun shining on Saturday morning, I wondered where I could go and sit and relax and I recalled the cafe in the square.
With a somewhat limited breakfast menu, I settled on the Spanish omelette. I rarely order omelette, although I was thinking that the sound of chorizo, tomato and goats cheese would be suitable with the Mediterranean atmosphere and just what I felt like for brunch.
Spanish omelette with sausage, Spanish onions, tomato, goats cheese and fresh herbs - Si Drivani, South Yarra
Spanish omelette with sausage, Spanish onions, tomato, goats cheese and fresh herbs – Si Drivani, South Yarra

My dish wasn’t what I was anticipating. In what was akin to a savoury pancake, the omelette arrived on top of a dry piece of toasted sourdough and a handful of baby spinach dropped in the corner. The omelette was edible but was similar to a frittata. My breakfast was okay but like the presentation, nothing special.

The Millswyn, South Yarra

~ culinaldi ~ Leave a comment

The internet can be both friend or foe. After I had missed having breakfast at The Botanical, I looked at their website to see what would whet my appetite and unfortunately nothing took my fancy. Thinking about where I could go for breakfast in the same proximity, I recalled The Millswyn and started to look for their breakfast menu and spied that there were ricotta hotcakes on the menu! The deal was sealed.

Arriving at The Millswyn, I found an outside table and waited … and waited. After a while, I was greeted by a gruff man who handed me a menu and asked for my coffee order while showering me with spit.

Undaunted, I proceeded to review the menu, anxious for the ricotta hotcakes and what a surprise … they weren’t listed. Damn the internet! The next best option available was the buttermilk pancakes with cinnamon apples, maple syrup and whipped butter.

Buttermilk pancakes with cinnamon apples, maple syrup and whipped butter - The Millswyn, South Yarra
Buttermilk pancakes with cinnamon apples, maple syrup and whipped butter – The Millswyn, South Yarra

The whipped butter was faintly reminiscent of McDonald’s but moistened the pancakes as it melted. I was a little shocked at the presentation as one of the pancakes looked slightly burnt or charred but they were almost perfectly cooked, as every now and again there was a slight batter or doughy after taste. The apples were extremely crunchy with the odd hint of cinnamon and I almost thought that they were also undercooked, but it was a great mix of texture and spice and almost rendered the pancakes as an accompaniment to the dish.

Having enjoyed my breakfast, my plate cleared away and relaxing with my second latte, my gruff waiter reappeared and promptly yanked my clean serviette sitting beneath my coffee with such violent force that almost rendered me speechless and my beverage in the next suburb. Especially as I was saving it until I had finished my meal.

Finishing my coffee I went in search of the cash register, where my super efficient waiter greeted me with nothing more than the words “Twenty two dollars”. Dutifully I handed over my EFTPOS card and patiently waited for the receipt and then to my surprise, I was told to enjoy my day. In my mind’s eye, I kindly gave him a two fingered salute.