A last minute bestie binge at Harvest Espresso Victoria Park
Posted by | Categories: Breakfast/Brunch, Coffee, Featured, Perth, Restaurants
I am quite an unconventional bride. At the time we got engaged; the Boy and I had already been together for over ten years and bought both a house and a business. It’s not that either of us is against marriage, it just wasn’t a priority for us at the time. After getting engaged I have found the whole process of planning for a wedding very gradual as I am not one of those girls that have all the details of their big day planned out in their heads before their respective other has even popped the question.
It was the day my Bestie was to fly out to Vietnam for three weeks to finish her yoga teacher training course and we were both feeling the guilt of neglecting our friendship. Not because either of us meant to avoid each other by any means, we just had so much going on individually in our own lives that time got the better of us and before we knew it; her departure day had arrived.
Creamy deliciousness. I didn’t like the wooden spoons though.
Luck was on our side as I had the morning off work and she didn’t fly out until the afternoon. I arrived at her house bright and early with the aim to take her out for breakfast as a farewell present, a Christmas present and a belated birthday present all rolled into one. To minimize our travel time and thus maximize our time together I headed to the new café Harvest Espresso opened up on Albany Highway only a short walk from our house.
The morning’s freshly baked treats
The small café has a very welcoming feel to it and you almost feel like you are entering someone’s rustic country kitchen with lots of natural light flooding in. We could feel the energy and excitement from the staff that often accompanies a new business venture.
My mac was gone a in few seconds flat!
The coffee served is Five Senses and the barista knows how to brew. Both our short macchiato and soy latte were served at the perfect temperature and if I hadn’t already had a double shot of my Nespresso at home I could have easily had another. My Bestie on the other hand didn’t hold back on seconds.
Poached eggs, mushrooms and wilted spinach
I ordered the poached eggs on gluten free toast paired with some wilted spinach and mushrooms. A little unimaginative I guess but I was really in the mood for some poached egg molten goo action. I truly tend to find myself defining a good breakfast by the chef’s ability to poach an egg having failed at this miserably a number of times at home myself.
The proof is in the goo. Tell me when you get sick of these shots!
My eggs did not disappoint. As I gently sliced into the soft egg white, out ruptured the yolk like a burst of golden sunshine. In a flurry I grabbed for Gordon, my SLR camera to capture that lovely moment that never fails to excite me. I cannot help but fall in love with the obligatory goo shot (sorry for those that tire of my poached egg obsession).
Harvest Spanish Baked egg
After seeing some mouth-watering photos of the Harvest Spanish baked egg on their Facebook page; I persuaded the Bestie to give them a try. Served in a ceramic baking dish with chorizo, cabbage, tomatoes, cannellini beans and a sprinkling of paprika we were told this was their most popular dish. We order an extra egg to be cracked in there for good measure. After initially casting envious eye on the state of my eggs to her delight she was met with a similar experience of her own. She happily mopped up all the flavoursome sauce mixed with runny egg with a big grin of satisfaction on her face.
We were determined to “push the boat out” and make this breakfast last for a long as we possibly could so ordering a second course was a must. Although we have spent months apart before, the idea of spending three weeks separated from each other this close to my wedding wasn’t exactly best case scenario but unfortunately unavoidable.
Pistachio friand
There was a lovely collection of home baked single serve tarts and muffins beautifully displayed near the counter. My only option for a gluten free choice was the cutest and nearly pointlessly small sized pistachio friand. If I wasn’t so stuffed with everything I had eaten so far I may have been a little disappointed. Or maybe I would have just had two. But for this occasion the single mouthful was just right. Perhaps in the future they plan to have some more adult sized gluten free desserts?
Lemon curd tart
Not entirely bound by the restrictions of gluten free diet the Bestie was easily coerced into ordering a lemon curd tart. She initially planned on just scooping out the curd and leaving the pastry base but after a couple of zesty mouthfuls she realised that the pasty was an essential part. She agonised over the right words to describe her dish and ended on the conclusion that it was a hit regardless of how you described it.
Adequately fuelled for her long trip, we drove to the International Airport singing and laughing the whole way. She has some exciting times ahead and I am so happy for her.
A bientôt ma chérie! Good luck! xxxxx
Harvest Espresso 629 Albany Highway, Victoria Park 6100 | 0416 397 088 | Facebook Price: $$ ($9-20/meal, Cash only) Food: 4.5/5 (eggs are amazing, need more GF sweet treats!) Service: 4.5/5 (super friendly positive vibe, proud of their café and the food) Ambience: 4/5 (light, airy and homely) Drinks: 5/5 (5 Senses coffee. What can I say!?) Total: 18/20
Sayers Sister, Northbridge
Posted by | Categories: Breakfast/Brunch, Coffee, Featured, Modern Australian, Perth, Restaurants
I have worked at the same practice for nearly ten years. It has been both an unavoidable yet enjoyable experience to form strong bonds with some of my team members over this period of time. Despite wishing that all my good staff would stay with me forever, I respect that people’s lives change and they move on. When a true friendship is formed in addition to a professional relationship it actually ceases to become that important that you remain working together as you will always stay in touch with each other.
Bright, airy with communal tables
It was sad to lose Tracy from our highly talented team of vet nurses, but dealing with other people’s naughty animals can be emotionally trying work and like many others she eventually got fed up with her career choice. Tracy and I share a lot in common: we love our food and wine, have similar alternative music tastes and appreciate the finer things in life. After a few months of settling into her new job we realised we must make more effort to catch up socially and organised a brunch outing sans children and men.
Frittata freshly made
Sayers Sister is the new venture by Mark and Steph Sayers in the leafy suburban part of Northbridge. The original café Sayers Food in Leederville has been open since 2006 and continues to fill up with hordes of hungry people every morning. It appears that Sayers Sister is following in her footsteps and similarly shares in such popularity. To my relief Tracy managed to score us table only minutes before the morning rush began. As we sat and sipped our coffees, we watched people eagerly queuing out the door and down the street desperate for a table.
Scrambled eggs, citrus salmon gravlax, Persian feta & gluten free toast
As many of my dear readers may know, I have an infatuation with poached eggs. I truly believe one of the simplest and most satisfying things in life is that burst of molten sunshine when you gently cut into them. So to prove to myself I’m not entirely predictable, I decided to order the scrambled eggs. Folds of foamy eggs flopped over the plump gluten free toast and were draped generously with citrus salmon gravlax. I gasped at the size of my dish; this was one serious looking breakfast! The eggs literally dissolved in my mouth however I didn’t enjoy my gluten free toast as much as last time. It was slightly under-toasted leaving a slight doughy aftertaste.
Buttermilk pancakes, blueberry compote & lemon posset
Tracy chose the buttermilk pancakes with blueberry compote and lemon posset. Her serving size was not for the light hearted either and you can be rest assured that the men in your life will not walk away from this place hungry. The lemon posset was set like custard and so delicately fragrant. With Tracy’s encouragement, I couldn’t resist a little taste. Imagine creamy lemon butter crossed with a soft gooey pudding. It was totally divine.
Sayers Sister sure does give her sibling a run for her money. The ambiance is much brighter, lighter and has more energy and as seen by the lengthening queue as we left it is hitting the spot for many punters. I thought the execution of the food could have been slightly improved; toast is not a hard thing to make however this was made up for by the use of extremely fresh ingredients, an interesting menu and very good coffee.
Sayers Sister 236 Lake St, Northbridge WA 6000 | (08) 9227 7506 | Facebook Price: $ ($11-22 for breakfast meals) Food: 4/5 (great menu choices, huge meals) Service: 4/5 (similar vibrancy and warmth as at Sayers) Ambience: 4/5 (fresh flowers, communal tables, bright, clean open kitchen) Drinks: 4.5/5 (5 senses coffee…winning) Total: 16.5/20
Sayers Food, Leederville
Posted by | Categories: Breakfast/Brunch, Coffee, Perth, Restaurants
Dispersed throughout my eleven year friendship with my Bestie there has been prolonged times of separation where we have lived in different cities, states and even on different continents. In true testament to our strong connection to each other, distance has only ever served to make the heart grow fonder. In the past when our times together were limited, our catch ups would often tend toward the excesses and we both have a number of scars and hilarious but foggy memories to remind us.
In more recent times, we are lucky enough to finally both be settled down in the same city. No longer do we have to schedule our fun times to those infrequent occasions when our paths cross as we only live a short drive away from each other. Impromptu brunches and sleep overs can now be a regular occurrence. After an exciting morning a few weeks ago at Elixir Coffee, we made last minute plans to meet up for brunch before work.
I have had a bit of an emotional week where I have had to make some firm decisions on where I am going to draw my line in the sand with recent family issues. These things always seem to raise their head at weddings. What they say is right: weddings really do bring out the best AND worst in people! My thoughts progressed to a little nostalgia for my Mum’s last visit to Perth where we ate and drank our way around this wonderful city. One of our many eating stops was Sayers in Leederville, so I figured returning there may help re-live some of those happier times. Better still I would be accompanied by the one person in my life that is always guaranteed to make me laugh.
Five Senses special Sayers brew
I arrived about ten minutes prior to my Bestie so I ordered a short macchiato and sat back to soak in the atmosphere. I became increasingly overwhelmed with indecision on the menu because everything sounded so delicious! Sayers serve their own special blend of Five Senses coffee. It contains a mix of Brazilian and Balinese beans both sourced from fair trade plantations. The coffee has a very smooth and creamy flavour yet still retained enough kick to wake me up out of my hazy thoughts just in time for the Bestie’s arrival.
Slow roasted mushrooms, crumbled feta, poached egg, truffle rocket, toasted GF bread
I ended up deciding on the slow roasted mushrooms with crumbled feta, truffled rocket and a poached egg on gluten free toast. For those who must endure the rollercoaster ride of hits and misses with gluten free bread, you will understand how exciting it is to firstly discover a venue actually has gluten free bread, but then even better still that it is good!
The essential goo shot!
This bread had texture resembling a freshly baked crumpet and was fluffy, light and slightly sweet. Confronted with a mound of food, I initially decided it wise not to eat it all, especially not all the bread. However once again my stomach won the battle; good gluten free bread doesn’t come around often and I have to make the most of such moments!
Porridge with poached pear and blackberry compote
The Bestie has been a long-time fan of her oats so it was certainly no surprise as she ordered the porridge with poached pear and blackberry compote. It was served with a dainty little pint size milk bottle filled with fresh locally sourced milk. The small little spoon of honey gave her meal just the right level of sweetness she wanted. She commented that the pear was poached just to the point of melting in the mouth and not a moment prior.
Flourless chocolate cake
We honestly had no room for sweets but we both just wanted to remain in our blissful states for a little longer so we ordered a piece of flourless chocolate cake to share. We certainly were not prepared for the enormous wedge of nutty rich goodness that appeared in front of us only moments later. It had been warmed allowing the decadent ganache to drizzle randomly down the sides onto the plate. It was absolute heaven. Exploding at the seams this was a day that our eyes really were bigger than our stomachs. We were unable to finish it not because it wasn’t good, but because we were too insanely full. Better luck next time I say!
Sayers 224 Carr Place, Leederville 6007 | (08) 9227 0429 | www.sayersfood.com.au Price: $$ (Breakfast $13-22, Lunch $17-27) Food: 4.5/5 (excellent gluten free bread, more than the usual breakfast items on offer) Service: 4/5 (funky, friendly and fast) Ambience: 3.5/5 (buzzing and busy, would have been cosier with a table inside) Drinks: 4.5/5 (Five Senses sure to please coffee connoisseurs) Total: 16.5/20
