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?




Read more...

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?!?

Read more...

The Ponycat Cafe

It's Queen's Birthday public holiday and we are trying to find a cafe that is open for breakfast.

After a few unsuccessful phone calls and 'We're closed' voice messages, we decided to try our luck at New Farm. As we drove past many closed shopfronts we began to lose hope - then we saw Ponycat.

Having read of it in reviews we had avoided it due to its 'trademark' queue out the door. Thankfully, our wait was only a few minutes. 

The waitress arrived shortly thereafter and we ordered:
Boston Baked Beans with Rosemary Chipolatas and Fried Egg on Toasted Ciabatta ($18).

Leek & Sweet Potato Frittata on a Bed of Dressed Rocket served in Eggplant Kasundi & Herb Oil with Ham ($18).

2 x Lattes ($4.50 each)

The coffees were the first to arrive. Presentation wise they could have done a lot better but the taste was okay for D - a little bitter for me - easily fixed with a healthy dose of sugar. :-)

The food arrived after about 15 mins. The beans looked a mess but the frittata had a rustic charm about it. Taste-wise neither dish was amazing and we were somewhat disappointed given the online reviews.

The elements served with the frittata were not a perfect match for us, with the eggplant Kasundi not really matching the ham /frittata. In fact, I felt the taste of Kasundi overpowered the ham & frittata.

As for the beans, I quite enjoyed it, but D found it to be bland (both in texture and taste). The Chipolatas were tasty but again, 'it wasn't enough to save the dish', according to D.

Most tables around us appeared to be ordering scrambled eggs with toast so perhaps that is a safer bet.

Overall, we were glad to find a cafe open this public holiday. Our stomachs were filled and off we went for the day's adventure.


Read more...

Toby's Estate

Last week, I received my first ever parking infringement ticket. I was not only shocked by the hefty fine, but having parked in an area with no signage - getting a ticket was a bit hard to swallow! :(

Since then, I have decided to carpool with D instead of stressing and fighting for a park. This gives us the opportunity to have breakfast (or coffee) in the city before going to work.

Toby's Estate was recommended to us by the city folks as one of the better cafes.

I ordered my usual small skinny mocha, but soon found myself being seduced by the shelf of tempting pastries.   I ended up getting a chocolate croissant which complimented my drink perfectly.

Whilst it may not stand as a balanced diet, it certainly gave me the necessary caffeine and sugar kick to start my day!


Read more...

Cirque

We often start our Saturdays by going for Yum Cha brunch in a Chinese Restaurant in Sunnybank. However, after feasting for 3 weeks in Asia, we decided to deviate from tradition and try a cafe brunch instead.

After reading a few reviews and checking out menus on a few websites, we headed to Cirque in New Farm.

It was very busy when we arrived and there were 2 other groups ahead of us waiting in the line for a table. My first impression was that the cafe must be good for it to be that busy. After about 10 minutes of waiting, we were shown inside to our table.

We ordered a cup of coffee each to start; then leisurely browsed the menu. The atmosphere was very relaxed and we did not feel rushed with our orders. We were spoilt for choices with a few eye-catching dishes on the menu.

We ended up ordering:

• Open Reuben Sandwich with corn beef, dill mayo, pickles, jarlsberg and sauerkraut on sourdough ($12.50) and a side of potato and parmesan rosti ($2.50)

• Poached eggs with salmon fish cakes, lemon and herb mayo and wild rocket ($16)

The Reuben sandwich was tasty and flavoursome. D is not normally a fan of sauerkraut, but he ended up finishing everything on the plate. As for my dish, the eggs were perfectly poached, but I would have enjoyed it even more with a slice of bread or sourdough. The salmon fish cakes were light and delicious. The coffee was pretty good too, helping to keep us going until our meals were served.

We really enjoyed our time at Cirque and will do more weekend cafe dining in the future.




Read more...