Valet, Cabramatta

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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The Rusty Rabbit, Burwood

Date Visited: Monday 9 July, 2018

Located a short walk from Burwood train station, the Rusty Rabbit is another cafe gracing the inner west brunch scene. Even on a Monday morning, I was surprised to find that the cafe was fairly busy with at least half the tables full. We had to wait a bit for one of the waiters to notice us, but we were then welcomed to sit wherever we wanted. With indoor and outdoor seating, I was grateful that the weather was nice enough to be able to sit outside for the natural lighting and aesthetic white tables.

Warm drinks were definitely needed to warm us up on the cold morning, so I opted for a green tea latte with soy milk. I felt that this was a bit below average compared to other green tea lattes I have had, as it was fairly frothy and the green tea flavour didn’t come through that strongly. For $4.5, I was happy with the size of this latte though, being large enough to last me throughout the whole brunch.

Green tea latte large – $4.5, with soy milk – $0.5

My friend chose to go with a chai latte, which was good, and on par with other cafes. The only issue I noticed was that the latte was served in a cup that didn’t quite fit the plate, so it kept wobbling here and there, but this is a fairly minor quibble.

Chai latte large – $4.5

My go-to order is always pancakes, and the Rusty Rabbit’s version featured ricotta, maple syrup, and crushed pistachios. Not only does this look spectacular, but it was also super fluffy and delicious. I was in heaven from the first bite, and this dish would be high on the list of my favourite pancakes, behind perhaps only to Flour Drum’s banoffee pancakes. I also loved how there was such a generous variety of fruits, including strawberries, passionfruit and berry compote. These pancakes are definitely very sweet, and with sugar framing the plate, this dish would not rank very highly on healthiness at all, but it’s hard to care when it tastes this good.

Pancakes – $19

For something a bit different, we also tried the ginger and salmon. I wasn’t sure if I would enjoy this, since ginger can be very intense. However, the smoked salmon with pickled ginger was a surprisingly refreshing combination. I was very impressed with the way the two ingredients were balanced so well, and I felt that the salmon was quite fresh. Served on top of trusty smashed avocado and bread, this was a winning dish.

Ginger and salmon – $17.5

My friend and I shared both dishes and we were definitely quite full afterwards. The pancakes in particular were fairly filling. I really appreciate that though, as it means that it was good value for money. I find it quite annoying when food looks and tastes good, but isn’t filling, but these two dishes thankfully avoid that problem. The Rusty Rabbit is definitely far from rusty, and has definitely gained another fan in me. Usually I don’t tend to revisit cafes as I’m always trying out new places, but I would love to come back to have both the pancakes and the ginger and salmon dish again!

The Rusty Rabbit | 8A/27-31 Belmore St, Burwood | Website | Facebook | Instagram

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Auvers Cafe, Rhodes

Date Visited: Sunday 24 June, 2018

With many of the best cafe options in the city, I’m always happy to learn about cafes located slightly closer to me, such as Auvers Cafe in Rhodes. It seemed like the perfect spot for a weekend brunch and it did not disappoint at all! With two friends, we arrived near 11am or so and were seated promptly inside, though the cafe was already starting to fill up.

Starting off with drinks, I’ve never had a black sesame latte before, so I had to try one with soy. Since it was my first one I can’t compare it to any others, but I enjoyed the drink. The flavour of the black sesame was quite light but I think it was a good balance. I was surprised it wasn’t more black in colour, but there was a bit of froth at the top and it got darker towards the bottom.

My friend opted for a regular cappuccino, which was pretty decent, and there’s nothing exceptional or bad to say about it. My second friend decided on the iced chocolate, and we were all wowed with the presentation of it in a flask, as it was pretty unique.

Large black sesame latte with soy – $5 (left), regular cappuccino – $3.80 (right),  iced chocolate – $6 (back)

My friend chose to order the crab omelette, and as we realised when the other dishes arrived, every dish looks absolutely stunning. The best part is that the taste and flavour was also on point. This crab omelette was really, really good. The cheese, bonito mayo and generous amount of corn went perfectly with the bruschetta on toasted croissant. It was perhaps a little hard to cut through but that’s probably the nature of a croissant, and it didn’t reduce the enjoyment of the dish. The one bite I tried was enough for me to know that I’d love to have this all to myself on a revisit to this cafe. Also, the size of this dish looked intimidating at first, but it was actually very manageable to finish.

Crab omelette – $20

I’m a huge sucker for pancakes but for some reason I have not yet had matcha pancakes, so I jumped at the chance to try them. Auvers Cafe serves them with premium matcha glaze, sponge, red bean paste and raspberry sorbet. The matcha pancakes did indeed have a strong matcha flavour, but it was the right amount, and it paired extremely well with the sponge. I’m not sure whether the sorbet really matched up perfectly with the matcha flavour, but the sorbet itself was delicious. I don’t think I had the red bean paste, or if it was there, it wasn’t noticeable at all.

I really appreciated how the strawberries were cut without the leaf on top because it gets annoying to eat when other places leave it on, or maybe I’m just lazy! These pancakes weren’t super, super filling, but it was enough to satisfy me. There’s nothing really to fault, but I’m not sure if I would come back to specifically eat this again. Whilst this was great, I have enjoyed other pancakes more, and Auvers Cafe has more exciting options on their menu I would rather try.

Auvers’ pancakes – $20 – v

Last but certainly not least were the corn fritters, with smashed avocado, herb and garlic mushrooms, caramelised pineapple, nori sour cream, onsen egg, alfalfa and snow pea tendrils. The name of this dish definitely fits how it’s presented, as it certainly looks like an egg’s nest. Fulfilling would be one word that describes this dish accurately, as everything went together so well, despite how many different ingredients there are. It’s rare to see corn fritters made to be such an elaborate dish, but they still remained the star on this plate. There is a generous amount of mushrooms, and the onsen egg is the perfect addition to top off the dish. I had one spoonful of this as well and would love to come back and devour this myself.

Egg nests corn fritters – $20 – v

This has undoubtedly been one of my favourite brunch places this year, as the food looks and tastes amazing. I really love how they have put their own unique twist on several brunch dishes, as well as added quite a few creative options on the menu. I’m already dreaming of revisiting with more friends so that I can try more dishes. I’m drooling at the sound of their apple crumble french toast!

The service was also excellent, and they kindly let us switch tables as soon as a table with better lighting was available. (I’m sure all food bloggers understand!) The drinks and food also came within a very reasonable time. I’m so glad there’s such an excellent cafe somewhat near me, and this would be the perfect feed before or after visiting IKEA in Rhodes, or any time actually!

Auvers Cafe | 2/42 Walker St, Rhodes | Website | Facebook | Instagram

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Meet Mica, Surry Hills

Date Visited: Sunday 11 March, 2018

This cafe was much hyped up last year, and has been on my food list for months. I remember hearing how ridiculous the crowds and lines were when Meet Mica first opened, so I suppose it’s a good thing it has taken me so long to actually try this place! When we arrived around 12pm, there was still a wait, and we got a table after 15-20 minutes. The cafe is pretty small, with not that many tables, so the number of customers they can serve at a time is limited.

The dish I was most excited to try was the lobster congee, as I have never had such a dish before. I really enjoyed it, and being a massive egg lover, the slow cooked egg in the middle was absolute perfection. Every spoonful of the runny egg yolk with the flavoursome congee was heavenly. The lobster meat was also really soft and seemed well-cooked. $28 is a steep price but I guess lobster is expensive, so overall I do think it was worth it. I pretty much licked the bowl clean.

Lobster congee – $28 – df

Another dish I saw all the time on Instagram was the matcha french lava toast. Definitely a very pretty dish, this also had some really nice flavours. It’s a fun dish as you can pour the matcha milk foam for the perfect Insta shot (unfortunately I’m not coordinated enough) or simply cut it up to see the lava oozing out. The toast was a bit dense for one person to finish, so the seasonal fruit on the side was a refreshing touch.

Matcha french lava toast – $18 – v

The crab and egg croissant was apparently much more delicious than the matcha toast. The crunchy croissant with soft scrambled eggs, crab meat, butter corn and fish roe was a winning combination. This was also very filling and was a dish that was really worth the price. One of the better croissants you can find in a cafe.

Crab and egg croissant – $22

I can see why this cafe has maintained its popularity since opening. The dishes are inventive and have a unique twist from your usual brunch dishes. Being Asian myself, I also like how some of the dishes seem a little Asian inspired, such as the congee. Not only is the food extremely aesthetic, everything also tasted great with some beautiful flavours. Service and ambience was also good, and I liked how open and light the space feels inside. Definitely a perfect brunch spot in Surry Hills and I can’t wait to revisit in a few months for another hearty, comforting meal.

Meet Mica | Shop 5, 492-500 Elizabeth St, Surry Hills | Website | Facebook | Instagram

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