Apart from my penchant for good food and fabulous wine, I also love decorating and interior design and get somewhat excited about furniture stores and all manner of homewares and kitchen products. Having just moved into my new home in the city, I’ve been busy planning, perusing shops, websites and magazines looking for fresh ideas and came across a new store from South Africa that had recently opened in Melbourne and also features an onsite café. Dispelling all comparisons to IKEA in nearby Richmond, I eagerly went in search of The Kitchen at Weylandts to have breakfast and to check out their product range.

The Kitchen at Weylandts, Abbotsford

The Kitchen at Weylandts, Abbotsford

The Kitchen at Weylandts, Abbotsford

Despite a two tram trip and a couple of blocks of walking, I arrived at Weylandts right on 10am which was good fortune as the store and café had literally only just opened, so I was able to walk in and find a table that gave me a view of the entire floor space. The design of the café, which is located at the front of the store, is aesthetically beautiful with large windows on each side to maximise the natural light, accented by the pale timber furnishings and a white walled interior.

The Kitchen at Weylandts, Abbotsford

The Kitchen at Weylandts, Abbotsford

The Kitchen at Weylandts, Abbotsford

The Kitchen at Weylandts, Abbotsford

The Kitchen at Weylandts, Abbotsford

The Kitchen at Weylandts, Abbotsford

Within the space of fifteen minutes, people appeared from everywhere and the café was more or less full to capacity. Soon after being seated, the skinny latte I had ordered promptly arrived on it’s own wooden palette and I would have to say that it was undoubtedly the best coffee I have had for a long while. Deliciously creamy and hot, the coffee alone was worth the journey to Abbotsford.

The breakfast menu is contained to only one A5 page and offers things that are traditional fare in South Africa such as Kaiserfleisch bacon and Boerewors sausage. I was sorely tempted by The Kitchen French Toast but decided to try to be a little more adventurous after my efforts to get there that morning. There were also a couple of breakfast specials on the blackboard in front of me that caught my eye, in particular the Roesti topped with poached eggs, chorizo and smokey home-baked beans which would be perfect sustenance for a cold wintery day. After finding the Trout gravlax and Sweetcorn Fritters on the menu, tantalisingly described as ‘cured sea trout and corn fritters stack with soft poached egg, charred corn, cucumber salsa and lime-horseradish crème fraiche dressing’ I knew that I had found what I was looking for. Ironically, just after I had ordered, a serving of the French Toast was delivered to the table next to mine and it looked exquisite. I thought long and hard about changing my order but held on to the courage of my convictions.

Although I kept looking longingly at the French Toast beside me, my own breakfast looked quite impressive when it did arrive with lots of bright yellow corn kernels decoratively adorning the plate. Apart from looking extremely inviting, everything on the plate was absolutely delicious. The key was the abundance of sweet corn which gave lots of moisture and flavour in each mouthful, although my favourite component of the dish was the lime-horseradish crème fraiche dressing. There didn’t seem to be any restraint with the inclusion of horseradish because you could actually taste the flavour for a change, which wasn’t overwhelming and complemented all the individual elements of the dish.

The staff are friendly and affable but don’t seem to be all that “switched on” and appear to be unprepared to cope with the sudden change in demand. The person who was originally looking after me, walked directly past my table three or four times to get to another section towards the back of the café, but didn’t glance in my direction or bother to clear an empty coffee cup or dirty plate on the return trip to the kitchen, which was particularly frustrating when there were no other tables opposite to where I was sitting, both hands were empty and I was desperately trying to get their attention so that I could order another cup of coffee. When paying at the register, the person on the till seemed to be a little flustered but asked if I enjoyed my breakfast, to which I replied favourably. When processing the payment a moment later, he asked again if I enjoyed my breakfast, and then replied to his own question “Oh yeah … I’ve already asked you that, didn’t I?” I guess as the saying goes, just because the lights are on, it doesn’t necessarily mean that someone is at home.

The Western suburbs of Melbourne is a melting pot of diversity, cuisines and cultures that often draws derision and unmerited criticism from those who live elsewhere. I often joke (and probably unfairly) that I need to wear my kevlar vest whenever I go and take a trip out to the “Wild West”. Yet every time I find myself out west, where most of my colleagues and friends prefer to live, I always enjoy seeing tree lined streets in and out of season, beautifully renovated homes, new and exotic places to eat and areas that I would like to take time and explore further.

It’s been a while since I’ve been able to catch up with my friends Mez and Oz, who live in the Pascoe Vale area. Oz, who would have to be my chief encourager of my food and wine adventures, suggested that we should try their local café, Ferrovia for a Saturday breakfast.

Ferrovia is located approximately 50 metres from the Pascoe Vale train station. The café is laidback, unpretentious and very popular with the locals. Looks can be deceiving as the interior is narrow and cosy with no more than half a dozen tables inside and counter seating along the front window, and a courtyard area out the back. There was a constant stream of people popping in for coffee, meals, cakes and pastries as well as the cured meats, cheeses and other gourmet items also available for purchase.

Ferrovia, Pascoe Vale

Ferrovia, Pascoe Vale

Ferrovia, Pascoe Vale

My latte was first rate and all too easy to drink. Ferrovia takes enormous pride in the art of coffee making with their baristas having garnered their experience in busy cafés in Italy prior to being ensconced behind the industrial-sized coffee machine behind the bar. Although the coffee was fantastic, I’m not entirely convinced I would be so adventurous as to trade the wonders of Italy for downtown Pascoe Vale.

The breakfast menu was simple and the options appeared to be hearty with a substantial focus on dishes created with eggs.

Ferrovia, Pascoe Vale

Ferrovia, Pascoe Vale

Great minds think alike so Oz and I selected the Sweet Corn and Polenta Fritters with poached free-range eggs, sautéed baby spinach, horseradish sour cream and bacon while Mez opted for the Breakfast Bruchetta with avocado, tomato, Spanish onion, served on bread topped with poached free-range eggs and goats chevre (not pictured).

After taking our order, the waitress laid out the napkins and cutlery we were each given a large wooden handled knife with a blade that would rival that of Crocodile Dundee. I like my eggs poached hard but I didn’t realise I would need to be equipped with my own sword to get through breakfast. Wild West indeed!

We didn’t wait too long for breakfast and because I prefer my eggs hard poached it inevitably adds a little extra cooking time to my meal, but always worth the wait in my opinion. Some places I go to for breakfast tend to ignore my request, but in this case my eggs were cooked to my liking. The serving of bacon was generous and I enjoyed the way it was cooked however some might take issue with the lack of crispiness it delivered. The baby spinach was vibrant and just cooked, providing some much needed colour and another textural element to the dish.

The polenta and corn fritters were quite sizeable with chunky pieces of red pepper and corn kernels mixed throughout. Oz and I thought that perhaps the red pepper could have been diced a bit more finely as their size meant that their flavour tended to overshadow the sweetness of the corn. The talking point of the dish was the horseradish sour cream which was delicious, although a little too creamy as it didn’t have the sharp pungent bite that horseradish normally delivers. The vast quantity of polenta on the plate meant that the fritters were a little dry in places, and the horseradish cream was a much needed and tasty accompaniment which helped to provide a little extra moisture when required.

Mez’s dish looked colourful but the bruschetta mixture noticeably lacked the promised avocado and looked somewhat lost on the big white plate that it was served on. The cold bruschetta mingled with the freshly poached egg, which was considerably warmer, created a temperature differential that most of our mouths would find hard to appreciate.

The promised rain began to set in and suddenly the café became extremely busy as those eating out in the courtyard came inside for shelter and attempted to find a space to finish their breakfast. Full to the brim and having enjoyed our little catch-up, it was time for us to let the next wave of diners in to savour the delights of Ferrovia.