Date Visited: Monday 7 October, 2019
This has long been on my brunch list, not only for the aesthetics of the food but for the interesting ideas on the menu. I couldn’t wait to try the Singapore chilli soft shell crab fries and find out what the beach balls actually tasted like. Cabramatta is a bit of a trek for most people and finding parking around the area is a task in itself, but it is well worth the effort. My first impression of the cafe was that I loved how plush all the chairs and sofas were. Very spacious and makes you feel like royalty.
Being quite a warm day we opted for some cold drinks, including the tropicana smoothie. The smoothie was a lovely creamy mix of house-made mango jam and mango blended with honey, yoghurt and ice. I had the watermelon and lychee cold brewed tea, which was super refreshing. There was quite a generous amount of lychees in the drink itself as well which was a pleasant surprise.
Tropicana – $8 (back left), watermelon and lychee fruit tea – $7 (back right), butterfly pea flower lemonade – $7 (front)
My friend ordered the homemade lemonade with butterfly pea flower syrup. You know it’s a gimmick but it’s still fun to watch the pouring of the butterfly pea syrup change the colour of the otherwise ordinary lemonade.
Butterfly pea flower lemonade – $7
Croissant for breakfast is a pretty standard choice, but Valet really elevates the humble croissant with two wonderfully runny poached eggs, a unique salted egg yolk hollandaise, smoked salmon and golden flakes for decoration. Even though I adore salted egg yolk, the dish didn’t leave much of an impression on me. There’s also a lot of greens on the plate which you may or may not love. It was still a nice dish, but everything together wasn’t fully cohesive so it didn’t wow me.
Golden moon – $18
Another classic with a twist were the Asian baked eggs with Vietnamese meatloaf, Chinese sausage and Thai pork mince, served with toasted sourdough. I loved the Asian flavours added to this dish and it was certainly very heartwarming comfort food. I feel like I would’ve loved even more of the baked eggs to go with the amount of sourdough given.
Aunty’s baked egg – $15 – df
One of my favourite dishes of the brunch were the beach balls and I really enjoyed these deep fried sweet potato mochi balls. The edible ‘sand’ and butterfly pea flower custard went so well with the mochi balls and this was such a delight for the eyes and mouth. Such a genius idea and so well executed as well. I have such a big sweet tooth I definitely ate more than my fair share of this dish.
Beach balls – $16 – v
For something more filling we tried the katsu sando as well. The chicken katsu was a bit dry and the flavour was a bit lacking, so it was a bit disappointing. Knowing that there are other places that can do a better katsu sandwich, I wouldn’t order this one again at Valet. We did love the fries though, which had awesome seasoning and were a very generous portion size.
Katsu sando box – $17
Another highlight of the brunch was the deep fried soft shell crab with Singapore chilli sauce, bread and fries. For something you just want to stuff your face with, this is the kind of dish you need. Though the chilli was relatively subdued, I was happy about that as I can’t really handle super strong chilli. Loved the soft shell crab in the delicious sauce on its own and didn’t really find myself needing or wanting any of the bread. Considering how filling this dish is and how there are several decent crab pieces, it is definitely one of the best value for money dishes on the menu.
Singapore chilli soft shell crab fries – $18 – df
For dessert, this matcha plate is so stunning. With a matcha brownie, matcha crumble, matcha sauce and matcha ice cream it is definitely matcha happiness. All the elements definitely tasted better together than on its own. The brownie needed the ice cream to cut through the denseness of the brownie, while the matcha crumb added lovely texture to every bite.
Sundae in Tokyo – $15 – v
Valet was such a fun brunch experience and there was something about almost every dish that made me really excited to try it. I love the Asian inspired flavours they’ve added into classic dishes, as well as the creativity in reinventing Asian food for brunch. Though not all the dishes were better than my expectations, it was still an enjoyable meal and my favourites were the beach balls and the Singapore chilli soft shell crab fries. Such a clever menu, I’d be happy to visit Valet again!
Valet | 38 Arthur Street, Cabramatta NSW 2166 | Facebook | Instagram
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