Orto Trading Co., Surry Hills

Date Visited: Sunday 1 March, 2020

Sunny and warm enough to wear a dress but not too hot to be sweating every second – if that doesn’t sound like perfect brunch weather then I don’t know what is! The outdoor courtyard at Orto Trading Co was such a relaxing place for a Sunday meal and we were so spoilt for choice. Best to go in a group to try several dishes as it’ll be hard to pick just one! We kicked things off with several refreshing drinks, from various iced teas, fresh juices and even a classic mimosa.

I’d normally leave pancakes till last as dessert, but this dish looked so good I tried it first, and I was not disappointed at all. Everything about these pancakes was pretty perfect. I love the sweetness and indulgence of pancakes with ample maple syrup and lots of fresh berries between the layers. Nothing to fault about these pancakes and I’d certainly order them again!

House made mix berry and ricotta hotcakes – $18

I was pleasantly by the toasted granola, which was a fresh light bowl of goodness. A breakfast classic with a lovely combination of fruit, granola, Greek yoghurt and some honey to keep things sweet.

Toasted granola – $15

The star of the show was the southern fried chicken eggs benedict. I’ve never had such a dish before, so I loved the creativity and genius of the poached eggs and hollandaise sauce matched with deliciously crunchy fried chicken.

Southern fried chicken benni – $22

Another dish that impressed me was the pumpkin patch. I never knew a simple oven roasted pumpkin with some poached eggs and feta could be so brilliant. Well balanced flavours meant that I was certainly a fan of this unusual brunch dish.

Pumpkin patch – $18 – vegan option available

Moving onto the lunch dishes available only from 11:30am, Orto Trading Co’s tagliatelle bolognese is an order you can’t go wrong with. They really nailed this classic dish and the bolognese sauce was absolutely on point. I think this was the first dish our group finished as it was so hard to stop eating once you had a bit of the tagliatelle!

Our classic tagliatelle bolognese – $20, classic mimosa – $15 (right)

Next up is the house-made gnocchi. I personally wasn’t the biggest fan of this as the parmesan was a very dominant flavour. The gnocchi was accompanied with cherry tomatoes, black olive tapenade, fresh basil and creamy ricotta but I felt that it was lacking something to really tie everything in the dish together.

House-made gnocchi – $22

We also tried one of the specials, the chorizo risotto. The risotto definitely made chorizo the hero and I thought the flavours were super tasty. An easy dish to keep having spoonfuls of. Featured on the right is the pineapple, passionfruit, apple and lime juice, which I really enjoyed. The juice had been sitting on the table for quite some time as we were taking photos, so I gave it a good mix before drinking – it was such a refreshingly delicious combination, and something a bit different to the usual apple, orange or green juice.

Chorizo risotto in napoli sauce, PPAL fresh juice – $8 (right)

For the person craving a burger, there’s the Angus beef burger. It was a very standard burger, with only the addition of roasted capsicum making it a bit different. Unfortunately I’m not a fan of capsicum, but I loved the well seasoned crispy fries that went with this. The burger won’t compare to one you can get from a good burger joint, but it does a decent job as the token burger option on the menu.

Angus beef burger char grilled – $20

For the ultra healthy, Orto Trading Co also offers three salads. Compared to everything else on the table, I personally wasn’t that excited about this and didn’t really try much of it, but this warm mushroom and beetroot salad with roasted sweet potato might appeal more to you!

Warm mushroom and beetroot salad – $20 – vegan option

Last but not least was a side of polenta fries with buttermilk blue cheese sauce. At $2 a chip, it’s quite steep but I guess if you’re a fan of polenta you’ll enjoy this. Otherwise, it wasn’t really a dish for me.

Truffled polenta chips – $12

There were some dishes I really loved, and some not so much, but overall I really enjoyed my brunch at Orto Trading Co! They have delightfully refreshing drinks and some absolutely winning dishes with the southern fried chicken benni, pancakes and tagliatelle bolognese amongst my favourites. I can’t believe I’ve never heard of this place before in Surry Hills, and being in such a lovely location despite only a short walk from Central station, this is certainly a hidden gem for brunch!

Disclaimer: I dined as a guest of Orto Trading Co., but all opinions and photos are my own. Thank you so much Vivian (@vivifean) for extending the invite!

Orto Trading Co.| 38 Waterloo St, Surry Hills NSW 2010 | Facebook | Instagram

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Dizy’s, Smeaton Grange

Date Visited: Saturday 23 November, 2019

Dizy’s is an absolutely delightful cafe located in Smeaton Grange, a suburb I had never heard of until now. For reference, it’s about 10 minutes drive away from Campbelltown, and is fairly south west. If you’re not close, then just know that the terrific food is worth trekking for! They have indoor and outdoor seating to suit your preference, and a carpark shared with other nearby businesses. There were quite a few spots available even on a Saturday morning.

Dizy’s has a huge menu, and I was so excited by the variety and all the choices available. Although it makes it difficult to pick as everything sounds so good, it is especially impressive for a small cafe to have such diverse dishes available, with several catering to the vegetarian and gluten free foodies.

As it was quite a warm day, we opted for a juice and smoothie to cool us down. The tropicool was definitely a very cool juice, with orange, pineapple, watermelon and coconut water. The pink berry blast smoothie was made with vanilla protein, berries, goji and apple juice and was my preferred of the two, though both were great!

Tropicool – $8.5 (left), berry blast – $8 (right)

It’s hard to go wrong with salmon, and Dizy’s Hawaiian salmon was an absolute winner! The grilled atlantic salmon was cooked perfectly with a crispy skin, and the soft tenderness of the salmon was so delicious with the mango salsa. I’m not the biggest fan of asparagus so it didn’t do too much for me, but I adored the salmon and mango salsa together – so fresh and different!

Hawaiian salmon – $21 – gf

We saw mi goreng on the menu and had to try it. With a very generous amount of mushrooms mixed in, this dish is the perfect hearty meal for the day. There’s actually a very good amount of noodles, and Dizy’s have certainly put their own spin on mi goreng with their own additional sauce. I enjoyed the dish, but the sauce was quite strong and needed to be toned down as it became a bit too much after a while. The two fried eggs weren’t anything special, but I always feel happy with some egg yolk with any dish. At the bottom of the mi goreng cup was also some kale and veggies – by that time we were too full to finish it but it’s definitely the mi goreng you want to eat anyway.

Dizy’s have a separate breakfast (7:00-11:45am) and lunch menu (12:00-3:00pm), so it’s best to keep that in mind if there’s certain dishes you want. It’s worth noting that this mi goreng dish is one of those breakfast dishes available all day.

Early morning mi goreng – $18 – gf, v

I always can’t resist pancakes and this was a lovely sweet treat to end the meal. This buttermilk pancake stack was so big! The pancakes were quite dense but balanced really well with the delicious cookies n cream ice cream, chocolate crumb and berries. I have a really sweet tooth so I would have liked a bit more of the syrup – maybe syrup served on the side would better cater to individual preferences. Nevertheless, this was a very respectable pancake stack that was also very filling.

Pancakes – $16 – v

Dizy’s is such a local gem, with so many different dishes to keep you coming back. The service was top notch and very friendly, and I liked how chill the outdoor seating was. You’re right next to bushland and you get the quiet relaxing vibes of being so far away from the city. I really enjoyed the whole meal at Dizy’s and was very impressed with the creativity and flavours, as well as the plating of each dish. This cafe is well worth a visit, whether you live close or far!

Disclaimer: I dined as a guest of Dizy’s, but all opinions and photos are my own. Thank you so much Cynthia (@cynthiaeats_) for extending the invite!

Dizy’s | 4/73 Anderson Rd, Smeaton Grange NSW 2567 | Website | Facebook | Instagram

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Two Good Eggs Cafe, Surry Hills

Date Visited: Saturday 16 June, 2018

I’ve never heard of this cafe before but I’m always down to try new places! This was a really cute cafe located a short walk from Central station and easily accessible from anywhere else in the city. It has a really warm and comforting interior and lots of choices on their menu. Being a cold day, it was best to start off with a warm drink, so that’s exactly what we did. My friend got the hot chocolate and it did not disappoint. It’s presented beautifully and is exactly what you expect. An easy go to drink to order again.

Hot chocolate – $4

I went for my typical boring choice of a chai latte with soy. Unlike some other cafes, this was served in a big teapot, which in one way is much better value for money as it fills the cup about two and a half times. There was a really good chai flavour but for some reason it didn’t taste as perfect as other chai lattes I’ve had – I feel like the consistency was a bit too watery. However, I still enjoyed it and thought it was decent value.

Chai latte with soy – $5

As the cafe is called two good eggs, it only made sense to order a dish with two eggs in it! Their special eggs benedict included two poached eggs with hollandaise, avocado, and spinach, on sourdough with ham. You can also opt for bacon or mushroom, or for an extra dollar, smoked salmon or a half half combination. My friend has ordered this a few times so it’s definitely a dish he really enjoys. The poached eggs ooze runny yolk when cut open and all the ingredients come together nicely in this breakfast classic.

Eggs benedict on sourdough with avocado and ham – 19.90

Even though I love my eggs, I’m also a massive pancakes lover, so I decided to try their buttermilk pancakes with strawberry compote, vanilla mascarpone and milk chocolate shavings. It was definitely a very satisfying and filling feed, but not the best pancakes I’ve had in both presentation and taste. I suppose it’s not their specialty, compared to all the dishes with eggs in it. Nevertheless, the portion was very generous and the berry compote went beautifully with the fluffy pancakes.

Buttermilk pancakes with strawberry compote, vanilla mascarpone and milk chocolate shavings – 18.90

I definitely enjoyed my meal at Two Good Eggs, and think it’s a trusty place to grab a bite for breakfast or lunch. I don’t think they are on the same level as some of the other cafes these days with inventive and unique dishes that truly make them stand out, but Two Good Eggs definitely seem to do the classic breakfast dishes very well. The service was also super attentive, and with all day breakfast, it could be a convenient choice when you’re in the city looking for something to eat.

Two Good Eggs Cafe | 144/148 Goulburn St, Surry Hills | Website | 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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Flour Drum, Newtown

Date Visited: Monday 2 July, 2018

Newtown is full of amazing places to eat, but this time I travelled there to check out Flour Drum. It’s not the closest to Newtown train station, but it only made me more ready to eat by the time I got there. There’s three outdoor tables, but otherwise most of the seating is indoors. Luckily we managed to snag an outdoor table, which is always nicer for photography and also allows for people watching.

My friend and I both started off with a pot of tea each. I got sticky chai tea while my friend went with green jasmine tea. I felt like my chai tea was honestly a little watery, and not the best that I have had. Whilst it was nice for that chilly Winter day, I wouldn’t order the chai tea again as it missed the mark for me. I believe the green jasmine tea was better, but I can’t say too much since I didn’t drink all of it. The portion sizes for the tea is very generous for the price paid though, with enough to fill up the cup several times over.

Sticky chai tea – $5.5, green jasmine tea – $4.5

I feel like when a café or restaurant has a specials menu, it’s always wiser to order from that. Whilst so many of Flour Drum’s specials sounded delicious, the choice was obvious for us. If you’ve read any of my other brunch posts, it should by now be very clear that pancakes are my absolute love. I was super excited to try their banoffee buttermilk pancakes stack, with grilled caramelised Cavendish bananas, Dulce De Leche, toffee, whipped pure cream and mascarpone, toasted Anzac biscuit crumbles and maple syrup. That’s a long description, but the resulting dish was absolutely amazing.

There are four pancakes in the stack, so you do get your money’s worth for $24.5, which is not something I can say about every café’s pancakes. Even better, I think these might be my new favourite pancakes, as they were basically perfect! So fluffy, generously sweet and indulging, exactly the way I like my pancakes. The only thing that sticks out is that I think our one was missing the signature toffee disc, which was a bit disappointing, but otherwise these pancakes were so on point.

Banoffee buttermilk pancake stack – $24.5 – v

Also from the specials menu was the pappardelle pasta with lamb shank ragu. Flour Drum apparently hand rolls their pappardelle from premium Italian durum flour and Italian wheat flour, which is accompanied by an 8 hour slow braised South Australian lamb shank ragu, shallot, chilli infused olive oil and Cyprian volcanic black sea salt. I had high hopes for this pasta, and whilst it was pretty good, it didn’t quite hit the extraordinary wow category for me. Perhaps it was because it’s a weird mix sharing the really sweet pancakes with this pasta, but the flavour of this pasta didn’t blow me away.

Having said that, it was still super enjoyable to eat and I wouldn’t mind having it again. The lamb was definitely well cooked and tore apart super easily. It might be worth noting that I was sold on the pancakes while my friend actually liked this pasta more than the pancakes, so it could well be down to whether you prefer sweet or savoury food. This pasta was also a very generous serving, and compared to other brunch and pasta places, the pricing is not too bad for the portion and quality of the food.

Pappardelle pasta with lamb shank ragu – $24.5 

It’s been a long wait for me to try Flour Drum, but it was all worth it as soon as I took a bite of the pancakes. I hope these pancakes stay on the menu forever as I definitely need them again. Flour Drum serves up some really interesting fusion dishes as well, and I’d be keen to give some of their Asian inspired dishes a go to see how accurate the flavours are. The great thing about having such an extensive menu is that it gives people a reason to keep coming back!

Food aside, the service was fine, though we did have a little trouble waving over a waiter since we were sitting outside. Flour Drum is definitely going to become one of my favourites in Newtown!

Flour Drum | 531 King St, Newtown | Website | Facebook | Instagram

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Cafe Claire, Annandale

Date Visited: Tuesday 26 June, 2018

Ever since seeing a photo of their pancakes on Instagram, I was dying to visit Cafe Claire. It wasn’t the closest walk from the train station, but it was still an okay leisurely distance from Stanmore station for me. When I arrived, one thing that surprised me was how small the space was inside. There definitely aren’t very many tables at all, so I imagine the place would get fairly packed on weekends. Once we got our table, ordering was easy as I already knew the two dishes I most wanted to try.

I wasn’t as set on the drinks, but decided to try their ‘monster’s drink’, which basically seemed like lemonade presented in a really fancy way. That description ended up being pretty accurate – the drink wasn’t anything special, simply average lemonade, but it was served in a nice flask, accompanying a glass with a cute pink ball in it that makes it very ready for Instagram. Though I don’t regret giving it a go, it’s not a drink I would order again as I don’t think the value is there.

Monster’s drink – pink angel (grapefruit) – $6.5

Onto the main event, the pancakes! Now, I usually say pink is one of my least favourite colours, but these pink pancakes were gorgeous! The rose pancakes were served with walnuts, seasonal fruit, caramel, and maple syrup. Though the plating up of this dish is absolutely stunning, my first thought was actually that the portion was tiny. You might not be able to tell clearly from the picture, but the pancakes are really, really small. They are definitely the smallest pancakes I have ever had, and being someone with a sweet tooth who regularly has pancakes for brunch, I have definitely tried a lot of pancakes across Sydney.

Having said that, they tasted really delicious. I would have loved more on the plate. I wouldn’t have minded if they charged a couple extra dollars for it, say around $20-24, but made sure the serving size was actually filling. Despite how pretty and yummy these were, I’m not sure whether they are really worth $16 because it’s honestly like half a meal or even less. Great for sharing as an extra dish, but really not good as an individual dish as I don’t think it would fill anyone up.

Wholemeal rose pancake – $16

I was also super keen to try their duck waffle, because where else have you ever tried such a combination!? Consisting of a roasted duck breast, fried egg, waffle and homemade mustard and maple sauce, this was a really interesting mix of flavours that gradually won me over. When I first had a couple bites, the combination was initially a little strange, especially with the strong sauce, but as I had more, I really enjoyed the taste of this dish.

Again, I have to comment on the portion of this dish. Though much better than the pancakes, with the amount of food being just about acceptable, it’s still barely filling either. Compared to other cafes that also do pretty and delicious food, the portion size of the dish is one factor that Cafe Claire falls well behind on. For me, it relates back to whether the dish was worth the price, and unfortunately $22 is a steep price for the amount on the plate, despite how good it tastes!

Duck waffle – $22

Don’t get me wrong, this cafe was still a delightful place for brunch. The food really was delicious and lovely, not just pretty to look at. I love how they have put a unique twist on the classic waffle to bring a savoury version of the dish. I also like how they differentiated their pancakes by making them pink and serving walnuts with it. However, I’m hesitant at returning again due to the small portion sizes. I’m sure I could have ordered an extra dish or two to get full, but I don’t believe that should be necessary. Ultimately, great service, lovely atmosphere and excellent food, but if the portion sizes were bigger they’d have left a much better impression.

Cafe Claire | 3/2 Young St, Annandale | 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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