FoodieChat

I have been soooo curious about trying this place.  It has ranked many times on the Sydney Morning Herald Good Living’s list of top ten breakfast joints in Sydney.  But I am ever so cautious and reluctant to try places unless they have an online menu so that I can plan exactly what I want to eat, and in fact whether I want to eat there at all.  Well having run out of ideas for last Sunday, I decided to bite the bullet and decided to try it with a couple of friends, toddler in tow.  I called up to make a booking, and was actually very surprised that I was able to do so! And very friendly staff also accepted a request for a high chair.   The cafe is actually not near the shops that marks Little Portugal in Petersham, and is on a corner in the middle of nowhere on New Canterbury Road, Petersham.  When we arrived, I was very thankful we had booked as it was packed and we were told there were no more tables.  Phew for bookings!  We quickly ordered drinks.  Big breaky – need a big hot chocolate!  The bowl was only $4 and came promptly with two marshmallows.  Smooth and chocolate but not in a sickly sweet kind of way like some chocolate cafes.

The menu was HUGE!  Ssssoooo many choices.  It’s a big menu for  a big breakfast. So many different things to try, ranging from bacon and egg rolls to ‘Voluptuous Veg’ – aka poached eggs on green beans and sweet potato and zucchini fritters.  We opted for the sweet corn fritters with poached eggs, spinach, bacon and tomato relish.  Two big corncakes arrived piled high with bacon (a bit crispier would have been better) and lavished with perfectly poached eggs and a dollop of relish.  Check out the size of this mountain of food!! Exactly what I was hoping for and more!  The fritters were not too doughy yet still held together well.  Sort of like chunky pancakes, with a spicy curry flavour from the relish which added a slight heat.

Everyone was eating mushys and their garlicky aroma filled the air as you walk in.  Side of mushys – $3.

And second most popular choice, the BIG BREKKY, the cafe’s namesake!  Two rashers of bacon, two eggs any way you like, two MASSIVE slices of buttered toast, vine ripened cherry tomatoes, a small chorizo, more mushys, and for some different – potato gratin and pear chutney.  Admittedly, I didn’t really like the gratin that much. A plate full of saturated fat needs a fried hash brown IMHO And personally I’m not a fan of savoury fruit, so my chutney stayed on the plate.  Everything else was delish though. The eggs were cooked crispy on the edges, mushys full of garlic flavour, and the cherry tomatoes a very posh touch.  Great value at $18.

This little cafe must have been a local’s secret – until SMH unleashed it!  It hits all the right notes without being pretentious or posh.  Great food and REALLY good service from the friendly staff, totally unphased by the number of kids there – who can also play outside on the grassy outdoor back area too.  Very quick service too.

Well one disadvantage of sitting near the kitchen is seeing all the goodies go past.  And what we could not let past was a taste of the pancakes.  Baci pancakes in fact.  YUM, two huge thick flapjacks sandwiched with (not enough ) nutella, dusted generously with icing sugar and cocoa and fresh strawberries. See for yourself!   I found them a bit doughy, but my friends liked it that way.  A scoop of ice cream really would have completely made the dish too!  But I think we definitely had had our weeks’ serve of calories hehehe.  What a wonderful way to spend a Sunday.

This entry was posted on Monday, August 16th, 2010 at 9:43 pm and is filed under Breakfast, Cafe Food, Sydney Dining ('burbs). You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.