Duck and Waffle, London

Date Visited: Saturday 6 October, 2018

Brunch can already be an extravagant affair, so you might wonder how one could possibly elevate it to the next level. The answer is Duck and Waffle, which offers the amazing experience of dining 40 levels above London. Open 24/7, it’s the perfect place to satisfy cravings at any time of the day, though reservations are definitely needed for peak dining times. Saturday brunch would have been the ideal choice, but since it was booked out, my friends and I settled for an 8am breakfast reservation.

On the morning in question, it was a little foggy, though fortunately it cleared up within the hour. There was still a decent view to appreciate, but I can only imagine how much more spectacular the Duck and Waffle experience would be with a beautiful sunrise. My group was lucky enough to be seated in one of the spacious and comfortable booths with a direct view of London’s skyscrapers, including the Gherkin.

It should come as no surprise that all four of us couldn’t resist trying the signature duck and waffle dish. Presented elegantly in a stack, the crispy leg confit rested above a plain waffle with the mustard maple syrup on the side. Though meant to be a savoury dish, my initial impression was that the accompanying syrup actually made the dish taste quite sweet. I personally have a huge sweet tooth, so it only made me enjoy the dish more.

One thing I would note is that we all felt the duck leg was a little dry inside, but the syrup was able to combat that slightly. It was still a tasty and unique combination of flavours that you can’t quite get anywhere else.

Duck and waffle – £16

Created to complement the duck and waffle dish was a Hojicha stem green tea pairing. I was hesitant about ordering this, considering the heavy £6 price tag, but I figured that I might as well give it a go while I was there. Made from Japanese Hojicha stems and bachelor button flowers, it sounded more exotic than it was. The tea was lovely and refreshing, but nothing too special, and there wasn’t anything outstanding that justified the price. Perhaps it’s because I’m not quite a food connoisseur, but I also struggled to appreciate how the flavours complemented the duck and waffle.

Hojicha stem green tea pairing – £6

I’m a huge sucker for apple desserts and anything cinnamon, so the toffee apple waffle with cinnamon ice cream sounded incredible. The presentation was on point, with the Granny Smith apple pieces and maple sauce arranged very artistically. Not the biggest serving size, it was so good that it left me wanting more. Upon first glance, it seemed that it might be a bit dry, but it ended up being perfect, with the ice cream being a delicious addition.

Toffee apple – £12 – v

For the last dish to share, I wanted to try one of their non-waffle dishes, so we settled upon the Colombian eggs. This was by far the most disappointing dish. It wasn’t actually a bad dish, it was just very basic and uninspired. The scrambled eggs were served with tomato and spring onions on a bed of avocado and sourdough toast. Usually a very classic combination, I had hoped that Duck and Waffle’s version would be superior to other cafes, but it was decidedly average.

To be fair, the eggs themselves were scrambled beautifully, though the taste of milk is quite strong. The thing that most let the dish down was the soggy sourdough, due to the residue liquid from the tomatoes. I wouldn’t order this again and would definitely recommend picking something else from the ‘Classics’ section of the menu.

Colombian eggs – £11 – v

My friend also ordered a cappuccino for the early morning caffeine hit. For 4 pounds, it was very average. It was good, but there was nothing particularly memorable about it.

Cappuccino – £4

This breakfast was basically an early celebration for my birthday the next day, and without my knowledge my friends had informed the team of this. I was therefore very pleasantly surprised when this cute birthday message plate came out. The little dessert was a lovely bite to end a good breakfast.

Birthday message plate – complimentary

I’m not sure whether it was because of the fact that we were there for a special occasion or just really lucky, but to our surprise we were not rushed out of our table after the hour allocated in the reservation. We had thought that we would be, leading us to scoff down our food faster than we otherwise would have. It would have been nice to have been advised beforehand that we could take our time so that we could enjoy the food and experience more.

With such high expectations going in, Duck and Waffle can potentially lead to big disappointment. Fortunately, during my time there I thought that they were able to back up the good view with good food and lovely service. Whilst I did not love everything, the signature duck and waffle dish was enjoyable, and the dining experience itself was one worth visiting for. I wouldn’t dine here again for no reason, but for some kind of occasion I would love to try more of the waffles. Having said that, if I did have a craving for waffles, Duck and Waffle local could be an easier, and less busy alternative to keep in mind.

Duck and Waffle | 110 Bishopsgate, London EC2N 4AY, United Kingdom | Website | Facebook | Instagram

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Glück und Selig, Hamburg, Germany

Date Visited: Wednesday 3 October, 2018

It was a dreary, rainy day but I was not deterred from heading out for my first proper brunch in Germany. Glück und Selig is pretty highly rated so I had some moderate expectations for the food. It was quite busy when we arrived, but we didn’t have to wait too long before grabbing a table outside. Unfortunately, it started drizzling while we were ordering and waiting for the food, but we were then able to move inside when a table freed up.

The menu was drastically different from the brunches I’m used to in Sydney. Rather than complex fancy dishes of avo on toast, eggs benedict or multilayered colourful pancakes, the cafe offerings were a lot more simple.  We decided to order five different dishes to share amongst the five of us. The prices below are in Euros, keeping in mind that 1 Euro is roughly approximate to AUD $1.6 at the moment.

One of the main dishes we ordered was the Orient (Hausgemachter Brotaufstrich, Hummus, Kirschtomaten, Oliven, Schafs-und Ziegenkäse, Joghurt mit Honig und Walnüssen, Butter, Seele, Nussbrot, Ciabatta). The homemade spreads and hummus went deliciously with the bread, and I think I had more than my 20% share. I’ve never been a massive fan of the other elements, such as the sheep and goat cheese, olives or yoghurt, but they helped balance out the fairly healthy plate.

Orient – €10.6

It seemed like a no-brainer to order the Glück und Selig breakfast dish intended for two people (Käseauswahl, Wurstalswahl, Frischkäse nach Art des Hauses, geräucherter Lachs mit Honig-Senf-Sauce, Marmelade, Nutella, grieschischer Joghurt mit Fruchtpüree und karamellisierten Kernen, zwei Bio-Eier, Butter, drei Brötchen, ein Croissant, Ciabatta).

Considering the size and cost of the Orient dish compared to this 2 person plate, this one was pretty disappointing in the amount of food. Featuring some similar elements to the Orient, such as the cheese and Greek yoghurt, this also felt like a pretty healthy plate. I enjoyed the smoked salmon the most, but there wasn’t anything else that impressed me too much here.

Frühstuck – Glück und Selig für 2 Personen – €22

We had to ask for the bread, but they then provided us with this cute box. For both the Orient and the Frühstuck, it seemed like a pretty generous amount of bread, and I liked the variety provided. The bread definitely went well with everything else on the plates, and they were especially needed to go with the spreads and cheese, which some on the table thought were too strong to eat on its own.

Assorted bread/ciabatta – with the Orient and Frühstuck

I adore waffles so we went for the fresh waffles with powdered sugar. It was exactly what it sounded like, but because I’m used to really elaborately decorated and flavourful Sydney pancakes, I didn’t find this anything special. It was a decent waffle in terms of price and taste though, and others might find its simplicity more appealing.

Frische Waffeln mit Puderzucker – €3.4

Probably my favourite dish of the brunch was this crumble dessert-looking dish with vanilla ice cream. The streusel topping was the perfect amount of crunchiness while the inside was perfectly warm and delicious. I probably could’ve eaten one all by myself.

Warme Crumbles (Streusel) mit Vanilla-Eis – €5.5

We also tried the house made scones with clotted cream and marmalade. There isn’t anything bad to say about these, with the scones pretty much made to perfection. I haven’t had scones enough times to be able to judge how good this was relative to other scones, but I definitely really enjoyed eating these scones.

Hausgebackene Scones mit Clotted Cream und Marmelade – €4.9

For my drink, I was super excited to see that there was a chai latte in the menu, since they are nowhere near as common in Germany as in Sydney. I was really pleasantly surprised when it was brought out in a massive glass, rather than the normal coffee-sized cup I’m used to. I’m not complaining though – this drink was definitely good value for money! It was quite a nice chai latte but tasted a bit different from the usual flavour. I can’t quite articulate what it was specifically, though I do remember that the drink on a whole was very foamy, which was not ideal.

Yogi Chai Latte – €3.4, mit Sojamilch – €0.3

When comparing to the Sydney brunch scene, Glück und Selig felt pretty underwhelming. However, it definitely felt like a very German brunch, which is probably the experience I should be focusing on. The major thing that struck me was that the main breakfast dishes all seemed super simple. There wasn’t really anything that required cooking, aside from perhaps the hard boiled eggs. Rather, both dishes simply involved assembling a variety of ingredients, which doesn’t seem too hard to do.

Looking at the bigger picture, the cafe itself definitely had a very cosy atmosphere, with pretty decent service. The waitresses were all fairly attentive and accomodating to our group. Whilst this was a nice and enjoyable brunch, it’s definitely a lot different from Sydney brunch and it made me miss the traditional brunch dishes I’m used to.

Glück und Selig | Heußweg 97, 20255 Hamburg, Germany | Website | Facebook

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Moreton Island – Tangalooma

25 February 2017 | P&O Cruises Southern Barrier Reef Discovery

I wasn’t really sure what the day would be like but Tangalooma at Moreton Island exceeded my expectations. Getting off the cruise ship did take some time though, because there was a process of tendering. For anyone new to cruising, that means the cruise ship anchors off a couple hundred metres off shore, and small lifeboats take you into land as there isn’t a big enough port capable of allowing the cruise ship to stop on the island itself. If you get seasick easily, be wary, as it was quite a rocky ride for us.

Once ashore, what you can see is an endless stretch of beach! The weather was heavenly with beautiful blue skies and the nice thing is that the beach wasn’t overly crowded, as all the cruise visitors were spread out around the island. The first thing we did was simply relax at the beach and enjoy a swim in the water for a couple hours.

After that, we were all feeling quite hungry. There’s a few different food options around, but most places are around at least $15 if not $20 per person. However, we did manage to find a place in this big white tent where there were $12 hot dogs and as much sides as you could fit on your plate. They weren’t anything special though, hence why I don’t have a photo of the meal, but it was enough to fill us up until we went back on the cruise ship in the late afternoon.

There are a bunch of different activities you can do on Moreton Island, from quad biking to dolphin feeding to parasailing. However, considering our student budget, our most exciting part of the day was our P&O organised shore tour for snorkelling the wrecks. The wrecks were sunk by the Government on purpose to allow for safe anchorage for small boats. Our tour was at 3:15pm and we were given wetsuits, flippers and snorkels to put on. As we couldn’t really bring anything with us (I really need a waterproof phone case for times like these), unfortunately I didn’t get any photos of the snorkelling experience.

Personally, I thought that the wrecks were somewhat interesting, but definitely not on par with snorkelling the Great Barrier Reef (which I was lucky enough to do a couple years ago). We unfortunately did not see any turtles, stingrays, dolphins or anything other than fish (which were plentiful), and the coral was also a bit dull. The tour was $66 for approximately 1.5 hours, although we were probably only in the water snorkelling for about half that time. Overall I still enjoyed it though!

Once we walked back to the main part of the beach, the majority of the cruise visitors seemed to have left the island, as it was noticeably much more empty. Inner me was cheering to have gotten this photo of the palm trees with no people in sight.

We then headed back to the pier to catch one of the last tender boats back to the cruise ship (I believe it was near 5pm). The late afternoon glow of the beach and pier had me snapping on my camera like mad.

After getting back on the cruise ship, it was time for a quick snack, and then another colourful sunset to end the day as we sailed away from Moreton Island.

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Gladstone – Lake Awoonga

23 February 2017 | P&O Cruises Southern Barrier Reef Discovery

My prior impression of Gladstone was that it was simply an industrial port with not much to do. However, I’m glad I was mistaken as we had a wonderful day off the cruise ship. Once we left the port, we followed the crowd on a path that takes you through a few market stalls set up for visitors from the cruise ship. There’s small souvenirs, a few food trucks, and lots of random knick knacks.

A couple metres down the path, we came across a small waterfall that’s impossible to miss. We felt obligated to take a few photos despite the fact that it’s really not photo worthy. Continuing on, we soon came across Auckland Hill Lookout, which was pretty much the only place I had in mind to visit beforehand. If you’re in average shape, the 111 steps should be no problem at all.

The view was pretty good up top! There was at least a 180˚ view including the cruise ship. We were also blessed with sunny, warm weather, and there was a slight breeze that made the heat more bearable after our quick ascent.

Since I was travelling with a group of 20-21 year olds, the group decided to head to the closest McDonald’s to make use of a $1 iced coffee voucher we’d been given in the Gladstone welcome booklet. We somehow managed an extra detour, adding 5 minutes to what should have been a 10 minute walk. We finally got there, enjoyed some frozen cokes and discussed what to do for the rest of the day since it was still early and we had no other plans set.

With a few minutes of Googling, it seemed like going to Lake Awoonga for some kayaking could work. After calling Lake Awoonga Boating & Leisure Hire and Blue & White Taxis, the plan was set. Both companies were extraordinarily helpful and the 9 of us were in a maxi taxi within 10 minutes of my phone call, armed with the knowledge that the kayaks would be available for hire.

The journey from Gladstone to Lake Awoonga was about 30 minutes, but once we got there we knew we had hit the jackpot. It was an incredibly stunning lake, and the best part was that there was absolutely no one else there.

We were met with a really friendly and welcoming attitude from the guy at Boating & Leisure Hire, and it was really great to see that the kayaks were already ready for us!

We wasted no time getting into our kayaks and spent the next hour or so exploring and enjoying our time. The lake was very calm, so it was easy to hop off our kayaks for a quick swim in the middle of the lake. The lake was so big that by the time it was time to head back, our arms were definitely feeling a bit tired.

Overall, it was a really beautiful day, and it was an amazing place to go kayaking. Definitely would recommend visiting this lake and I know I’ll be back if I’m ever in that area of Queensland again.

After that it was back to the cruise ship. By the time the ship left at around 6pm, it was the perfect time to wait for sunset. Leaving the Gladstone port gave me quite a few wonderful sunset photo opportunities and it was a lovely way to end the day.

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