The team from Automata has opened a brunch pop up, and it's every bit as delicious. Taking residence in the Old Clare Hotel, it's definitely not your run of the mill cafe menu. The classic Eggs Benedict has been given a modern twist, with the addition of black pudding. The hollandaise sauce was divine and the houseade black pudding made it even more indulgent. Who says you can't have fried chicken before lunch? Auto.Lab's Fried chicken, ube waffle with smoked maple syrup sounded too good a combination to resist. The waffle took on a lovely colour from the ube (purple yam) and the fried chicken was perfectly cooked - what more can you ask for. Amazing food in a great location. It's a pity that it's only a pop-up, Get in quick before it closes on Dec 24th!
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Kepos Street Kitchen had been on my list of cafes to try for a while. After a 15 minute wait, we were seated inside - the sun filled room felt warm and inviting. The menu had Middle Eastern influences and it was hard to make up our minds on what to try.
We started with some iced teas/ mocktails, which looked amazing served in mason jars. I had the Pear and Elderflower spritzer and it was refreshing without being overly sweet. There was also a generous serving of fruit to go with our drinks. It's nice to see a cafe with not just your standard juice/ smoothie drinks selection.
The Tunisian style seared Yellow Fin Tuna salad was a spectacular dish packed with flavour. I loved the combination of the perfectly seared tuna with the eggplant, soft boiled egg, potatoes and the harissa dressing.
I have never been a fan of vegemite, but I was intrigued to try the vegemite tahini dressing that went with the Moroccan lamb and pinenut cigars with a soft boiled egg. The hint of vegemite was slight so did not overpower the dish. The cigars were crisp and tasty, and who doesn't love a good soft boiled egg.
My friend ordered the Southern Fried Chicken sandwich, which is basically a burger and it's huge! The coleslaw and Chermoula mayo goes really well with the crunchy, tender chicken in a delicious brioche bun.
For dessert, we were informed by the waitress that there is no point of putting the desserts n the menu as it's ever changing and best to be seen at the front counter. A clever strategy as after you have inspected the array of sweets on offer, it's simply irresistible. We opted for the Pistachio and date tart and it was both crunchy and chewy, and not too sweet.
In my mind, Kepos Street Kitchen definitely deserves its hat and it's no wonder there is often a queue out the front. Service is fast and friendly and the food is great quality. It's the perfect place for a catch up with family or friends, and it's open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Devon on Danks is an extension of the very popular Devon Cafe in Surry Hills. Visiting on the opening weekend, we were lucky to get a seat without waiting. However, we were informed that the kitchen was closed for 20 minutes to catch up on their orders.
Feeling rather hungry, we decided to skip straight to desserts and ordered the mini donuts, which sat on the pastry bar, demanding to be eaten.
These weren't ordinary donuts. The flavours change day to day and today's selection was Raspberry sugar, Milo and Matcha with red bean. We decided to get one each and weren't disappointed. The raspberry one came with a syringe, for you to inject your own raspberry coulis into it. The matcha and red bean had really authentic flavours and had a great texture.
Breakfast With the Sakuma’s is one of Devon Cafe's most popular dish. It consists of salmon, a smoked eel croquette, a gooey 63 degree egg and kewpie mayo. The salmon was perfectly tender, the croquette was crispy tho I could not really taste the smoked eel.
Lucky Duck is an exclusive dish at the Devon on Danks branch and consists of crispy duck leg, French buckwheat crepe, a fried duck egg, duck liver parfait and blueberry preserve. The parfait was rich yet not overly so. The duck was crispy and well seasoned. The saltiness of the duck egg was balanced by the sweetness of the blueberry preserve, with the buckwheat crepe the perfect accompaniment to this very flavoursome dish.
We debated whether to get our second dessert of this meal given we were fairly full. The pork floss cronut was just too intriguing to pass up. It tasted exactly like the pork floss buns you can get at Asian bakery stores but with a crunchy pastry - love it. The pastry at Brewtown Newtown is a tad crispier but I love their Asian inspired flavours here.
There are still so many things I want to try from this menu, will definitely be paying Devon on Danks another visit.
Zucchini chips? It was just too intriguing to pass up. We were at The Lodge for brunch on a sunny Saturday morning.
The zucchini chips were quite large and chunky. It was covered in a tasty spiced tempura batter. Texture-wise, the chips were crunchy on the outside but still a bit wet on the inside. I felt quite healthy eating these as it resembled more veggie than chips...I still prefer sweet potato fries any day.
The tea smoked duck salad with fig, Gorgonzola, pear and white balsamic reduction was beautiful. Can't really go wrong with that combination of flavours!
The mushroom arancini was gooey on the outside and had a nice crunch on the outside.
Service was quick and friendly. The place turns more into a tapas bar at night, will be back to try it!
Welcome to my first post! I intend on posting new content regularly and sharing with you my eating adventures.
My bf and I ventured to Newtown on a rainy Saturday to try out Brewtown Newtown - mainly to try out the famous cronuts (or Brewnuts as they are known here). I had been warned that the wait could be as long as an hour but luckily, after about 20 mins, we were seated on one of the communal tables. Before getting our cronut fix, we shared two items from the Brekky and Lunch menus. Brioche is one of my favourite breads so couldn't go past the Mini Eggs benedict on brioche roll. The egg was cooked perfectly with an oozing yolk and the brioche was soft and buttery. We also tried the Curried Israeli cous cous with wood smoked salmon, kale and poached egg. I had recently discovered Israeli (or Pearl) cous cous - it has got a puffier texture than the traditional cous cous, more like risotto. The dish was sensational, flavoursome without being overpowering. The salmon was soft and flaky. Could have easily had a second serving of this!
Feeling satisfied with our savouries, we ordered the Passionfruit jam brewnut/ cronut. I have read and heard a lot about this croissant/ donut combo. I don't usually like donuts, but I love croissants so I was interested to see what I would think of them. Verdict: a resounding thumbs up. The outside flaky pastry reminds me of a croissant. When I bite into it, the denser texture reminds me of a donut. The tang of the passionfruit offset some of the sweetness. It was so good my bf and I decided to order another one - this time, we tried the Chocolate crumble brewnut - which had a thick layer of rich chocolate on top. I can see why these fly out the door - there was a continual stream of takeaway customers, all getting their cronut fix.
Service was friendly and attentive, without being overbearing. Would definitely be back again!
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