Aja Coffeehouse

Aja Coffeehouse is located in Elizabeth Arcade facing Charlotte Street.

 

Unlike other busy cafes in the city, this one looks dark and quiet from outside. The first impression changed as I walked in. Dimly lit, chandelier and comfy couch, it is certainly classier than any ordinary cafe.

We ordered a regular mocha, banana bread and a mixed berry muffin. The total cost came to $10, which was very reasonable compared to other cafes around town.

I was blown away when the meals were served. It came on a fancy plate, with a dollop of cream mixed with toffee crunch, chocolate spread and strawberry slices.

Not only did it look good, it tasted great too. The crunch in the cream added an extra dimension to the texture.

They use merlo beans so those that like Merlo will feel right at home here.

I would highly recommend this place to the city folks. Apparently the lunch menu is also fantastic. Classy, tasty and value for money....what more can you ask for?




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The Bean Bank

With limited food choices in Ballina, we trusted TripAdvisor with our breakfast selection.  No.1 on the list was The Bean Bank, boasting the best coffee in Ballina. A convenient, short walk from the hotel, The Bean Bank is a small and unassuming cafe with signage promoting 'Bean in Love' coffee beans.

Thankfully it was open on a public holiday, but there was a 10% surcharge on coffee and meals.

We ordered Toasted Banana Bread ($5.50), Ham Egg Cheese and Rocket English Muffin ($6.50), Regular Mocha ($3.70?) and Large Flat White ($4.20).

I loved the Mocha but D found the Flat White to be a bit light.  As for the Banana Bread, it was yummy, rich and buttery!  Not what you would call as a healthy breakfast, but oh well, we were on holidays!  The muffin was pretty good, lifted by the fact that the yolk was still soft & runny - why can't others do this?!?

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The Pancake Manor - Garden City

Having visited the ‘Pancake Manor’ in Brisbane city a couple of times and having come away greatly disappointed on each occasion, we were somewhat surprised when another Pancake Manor sprung up in Garden City on the south side of Brisbane.

A lover of all things sweet, I couldn’t help but satisfy my curiosity by paying the new establishment a visit. Following a couple of failed attempts (you need to book) we made our way to the Pancake Manor one morning for brunch.

The wait-staff were pleasant enough but for the most part seemed to be fairly inexperienced and it took a while to get seated. There were only two of us so one ordered a sweet pancake whilst the other ordered a savoury crepe - both to share.

We had to wait quite a while again for our food to arrive (surprising since it’s all premixed) and when it finally did, we were somewhat perplexed at overall presentation of the meals.

We ordered:

• Mexican beef crepe with spicy beef, sour cream and tomato salsa served with a side salad

• Black Forest Cherry (Two chocolate pancakes served with cherries, in cherry brandy sauce, choc ice cream, cream and choc chips

The meals are reasonably expensive (circa $15 - $20) for pancakes and crepes but that’s forgivable if the quality is there. Sadly, based on our experience, this is not the case.

The crepe had very little filling and overall looked quite flat and unappealing. The meat sauce was tasty but was akin to something that had come straight out of a bottle.

In contrast the pancakes were quite large and one in particular was very thick. Whilst the taste of the pancake was quite enjoyable, the thicker sections were very heavy and gave us the sensation that we were just chewing on flour and water (which of course we were!) rather than a delicious stack of chocolate pancakes.

I know others that swear by Pancake Manor as one of their favourites but for us - 3 strikes and you’re out - next time we have a hankering for pancakes/crepes we’ll either fire up the grill at home or go elsewhere.


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