Mrs S Cafe, Maylands
Posted by | Categories: Breakfast/Brunch, Coffee, Featured, Perth, Restaurants
The first of September marked the last six months leading up to our wedding. Although I realise I am not fat by any stretch of the imagination, just like most women I want to maximise my slim sexy hotness for my wedding day! My problem is that one of my biggest weaknesses is gluttony. As a consequence I have made a promise to myself that once I hit this six month marker, I am genuinely going to try to be more contained in my eating habits. Well … at least save the binges for days that I have managed to pelt out significant amounts of sweaty exercise. After all, isn’t weight loss just a mathematic equation of calories?
So cute
So after running five kilometres to get to the gym followed by a workout, I felt like I had earned the right to go out for breakfast. After previously missing out on my Mrs S fix due to their temporary closure last month, it was logical they would be our choice. I can’t complain about them taking a little break because if they hadn’t we would have never stumbled upon Sherbet Bake Shop which has now been added to my favourite breakfast stops!
Remember Little Golden Books? The menus are inside original copies!
Mrs S’s eclectic décor is almost a bit Freo-esque in nature. With a big communal table running down the centre of the dining room, it feels more like someone’s homely kitchen than a cafe. There is even some oven mitts and other kitchen essentials hanging off the walls.
Love in a cup
Although I was really in the mood for some eggs, we had arrived just a touch too late and they have moved onto serving their lunch menu. I didn’t waste any time and ordered my short mac; Mrs S serve Crema coffee. It is very smooth with a satiny sweet taste. I love the adorable little heart signature the barista makes flawlessly each time we visit.
Charred fennel and white anchovy salad
Their menu changes regularly and always includes a few gluten free options. I chose the charred fennel and white anchovy salad with buffalo mozzarella and blood orange. This was such an interesting salad with unusual but very well matched combinations of flavours and textures. The acidity of the sweet blood orange, the subtlety of the buffalo mozzarella and the salty anchovies alone were an absolute taste sensation. Add to this some crunchy fennel and a real wow factor remained. I would love to replicate this dish at home.
Open steak sandwich with green mayo, aioli, roasted capsicum, gruyere + onion jam
The Boy chose to have a break from our vegetarian stint and treat himself to some juicy beef. Although the open steak sandwich was a little difficult to eat he also thought his choice was out of this world. The meat was tender and had a lovely dark pink colour in the centre.
Salted caramel macaron – so lonely!
Mrs S sells fresh macarons purchased from Chef Alexandre Lui-Van Sheng. After initial humble beginnings selling his delightful macarons at local markets around Perth including the Stirling, Claremont and Manning markets, Alexandre has taken his macarons to the next level and in February this year opened his store Maison Saint-Honoré in Fremantle with fellow chef Jacque Saint-Alme. They now have a second store in Whitfords. I have yet to get myself to one of these stores so in the meantime I can still enjoy his perfectly textured mouthfuls when we visit Mrs S. The salted caramel is my favourite!
Flourless Orange and passionfruit cake
For dessert, I had every intention of just getting us some macarons, but the piglet inside me briefly reared her snout and “accidently” also ordered a slice of the gluten free orange and passionfruit cake. What a wonderful surprise this was! It was so moist and the added passionfruit gave it a tang to set it apart from your usual flourless orange cake suspects.
Poached eggs on gluten free with herby mushrooms and roasted tomatoes
On our subsequent visit to Mrs S a few weeks later we were both much more organised and arrived early enough to catch the breakfast menu. After missing out on eggs last time I was champing at the bit for a decent gooey poached egg. I was not to be disappointed, thank you Mrs S! The gluten free toast was thickly sliced, springy and held it’s shape despite all the egg yolk goo soaking into it.
Oooh yeah…gimme that shiz!
It had been a long while since the Boy had ordered his old time favourite of the big breakfast. It used to be his staple in pre-Chompchomp days, but since then he has been keen to order more interesting dishes that can help showcase a restaurant better. Such a thoughtful lad. He loved all of his meal except for the beans which were a tad cold and lacked flavour.
Big breakfast: eggs, bacon, herby mushrooms, chipolatas and spicy beans on ciabatta
Of course no visit to Mrs S is complete without any macarons; this time we took a few extra to go. The bestie was popping in for an afternoon visit later that day and I didn’t want her to miss out!
Macarons: Lower left pistachio, upper right violet, remaining are two salted caramel of course!
Sherbet Bake Shop, Maylands
Posted by | Categories: Breakfast/Brunch, Coffee, Desserts, Featured, Perth, Restaurants
If you are anything like me and have grown bored of ordering old school basics for breakfast like eggs benedict then head over to Maylands. A decent handful of venues all within close proximity to each other will fulfil your desire for something a bit more original than what you easily could cook up at home. Furthermore they all appear to be very gluten free friendly with a number of options for us allergic types.
Mrs S is one of my favourites amongst these establishments however due to a variety of circumstances we haven’t returned to enjoy her deliciousnesses for over six months! After deciding to finally head back there I got myself in quite a state of excited anticipation. I pre-emptively added to my Sunday run an extra 2 kms to my usual twelve in order to have two guilt free courses for breakfast!
To my complete dismay we were greeted by a locked door and an empty cafe with a sign saying they would be reopening the following week. Perhaps my post run jitters exaggerated my emotions a little but I swear nearly cried in disappointment. After scooping my heart off the pavement, we followed our noses back up Whatley Crescent past Chapels and stumbled upon Sherbet Bake House. This bright café was brimming full of life and aromas of freshly roasted coffee wafted out the door and down the street.
Roast pumpkin and fetta frittata
Sherbet serve Fiori coffee which is roasted locally by a small business that strive to only import coffee harvested from ethical and sustainable plantations. I recently enjoyed Fiori for the first time (along with some amazing scrambled eggs with truffle oil) at The Imp in Vic Park. I love its smooth yet rich flavour. The perfect style of coffee to be served as a traditional short mac. Sherbet do not sell cooked breakfasts as they are more a bake shop than a café, however they do have a counter full of colourful meal options which can be warmed up and served with a fresh green salad. I chose the roast pumpkin and feta frittata which was the only gluten free savoury option.
Pumpkin and sundried tomato tart
Flying close on the coat tails of my perfect frittata I had a few weeks ago at the Little Pantry, this one certainly gave them a run for their money. Its texture was well set and similarly lacked any unpleasant wateriness. There was an abundance of fresh herbs speckled throughout. The pumpkin was particularly sweet and dense making it almost feel like a dessert dish as opposed to something savoury. The Boy’s pumpkin and sundried tomato tart was just as good, with soft flaky pastry and filled with more of the sweet pumpkin.
Gluten free Chocolate berry minicake
For dessert options I was a little spoilt for choice; Sherbet has much more to offer than the usual gluten free choices of orange almond or flourless chocolate! I had been trying to abstain from chocolate all week as I am starting to wonder how I will ever lose any weight before the wedding. In true manner of wanting what you can’t have, all that my self-control achieved was effectively to make me crave and obsess about chocolate even more. Thus there were no surprises when I returned to our table with a berry chocolate minicake. The cake had a wonderful light sponge texture, something hard to replicate in gluten free baking and there were plenty of fresh berries buried deep inside. I cannot wait to return for another!
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Sherbet Café & Bake Shop 206 Whatley Crescent, Maylands 6051 | (08) 9371 8004 | www.sherbetbakeshop.com.au Price: $$ ($ under $15/meal) Food: 4.5/5 (minimal savoury GF options but LOADS of sweets) Service: 3.5/5 (no table service, but were quick and efficient) Ambience: 3.5/5 (bustling and energetic, some alfresco tables in the sun) Drinks: 4.5/5 (serve Fiori coffee – very smooth and rich style) Total: 16/20
Chapels on Whatley, Maylands
Posted by | Categories: Breakfast/Brunch, Desserts, Perth, Restaurants
In recent years Maylands has become a definite stand out location to visit if you want a decent breakfast. There are so many options to choose from including Piccos Kitchen, Mrs S, Milkd, Sherbet Bake Shop and as I recently discovered; Chapels on Whatley.
The café is actually contained inside a shop selling a variety of imported Asian antique furniture, art and bits and pieces for around your home that they source from a number of countries including Tibet, Mongolia, Japan, China and Vietnam. They have a wide range of over sixty different types of beautiful loose teas to purchase and you can book a tea tasting to try them all if you wish.
The café is located toward the back of the store and opens out onto a quaint and relaxing little courtyard. Sounds of the neighbours pet bird’s song echo gently giving a wonderful sense of serenity and peace. My dear friend and colleague Chris had the luxury of a few days break from her second job of being super mum to her two adorable children. Her daughter was having a couple of days sleepover at her Nanna’s and so she only had her youngest little baby boy to watch. This made the prospects of outing much easier and relaxing for the both of us. She loves the Maylands area and visits it more regularly than I do so convincing her to meet at Chapels was easy work.
Short Macchiato
I rose quite early that morning and felt buzzing with energy so I burst out the front door for a quick pre-breakfast run. We are so lucky to live in such a beautiful city and no matter how many times I run along the foreshore I always revel in its beauty. Normally upon my return from a morning run I am literally starving and will immediately commence devouring breakfast of some form; ideally something that includes eggs and strong coffee. However in order to meet Chris on time I had to jump straight in the shower, dress and into my car to head off to Maylands with an empty stomach. As I was waiting for Chris to arrive, I was so hungry it felt like my stomach had started to digest itself in protest. Thankfully she arrived shortly after with her gorgeous little boy in tow and as we waited for our orders to arrive she opened up a little container of puffed corn for him to nibble on. Figuring his food was fair game, I helped the little guy work his way through his breakfast snack as he looked back at me with a slightly astonished and bemused expression.
Smoked salmon and poached eggs on gluten free bread with spinach
Our meals were super quick to come out of the kitchen and I had to conscientiously stop myself from greedily eating it in two seconds flat. My eggs were poached just a few seconds beyond perfection maintaining most of their gooey centres which burst out like lava over my salmon and toast. The gluten-free bread didn’t have that crumbly cake texture I loathe in some but was fairly standard in taste.
Smoked salmon and scrambled eggs on rye with spinach
Chris also ordered the smoked salmon but had her’s with scrambled eggs and on rye toast. Her eggs were airy and fluffy and although her little boy had already had his breakfast, he was totally fine with the idea of helping her finish her large serve. Very cute.
Mixed berry minicake with cream
One of the many things I love about eating out with Chris is her healthy appetite, especially when it comes to breakfast. A lot of people cannot handle a large amount of food first thing in the morning. Neither Chris nor I are one of these people. She was the person who introduced to me the concept of a “second breakfast”, an idea that has great merit to someone like me who is often a very early riser. In addition to this we are also big fans of a two-course breakfast.
Green tea macarons
The dessert menu left me spoilt for choice with a multitude of gluten-free options. We ordered the mixed berry tea cake and a couple of green tea macarons. The cake was fluffy and light with a great tang of tart berries and a dollop of decadent thick cream. The macarons were a little disappointing. They lacked a crisp outer shell and were mostly a chewy consistency. Texture really is key to macaron success. The green tea flavour was too subtle for me and it was also a little too sugary.
Chapels on Whatley are another gluten-free friendly breakfast venue to add to your bucket list in Perth, especially if you love a good cup of tea. Their menu is small but varied and I am interested to return and try their lunch menu.
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Chapels on Whatley 196 Whatley Crescent, Maylands, 6051 | (08) 9272 7738 | www.chapelsonwhatley.com.au Price: $$ ($8-25 breakfast/brunch, gluten-free options available) Food: 2.5/5 (fluffy scrambled eggs but poor quality macaron) Service: 3.5/5 (very prompt service, friendly) Ambience: 4/5 (love the courtyard with accompanying birdies) Drinks: 4/5 (would return just for the tea) Total: 14/20
Piccos Kitchen, Rollie and some Bathers
Posted by | Categories: Breakfast/Brunch, Desserts, Perth, Restaurants
Last week’s blogging silence was a result of our world being turned upside-down due to one of our darling little boys falling ill. Like some other couples our age, we don’t have any human children. In fact there is a very good chance that we never will. Instead, our children are two adorable Burmese cats named Rollie and Eddie (or Roland and Edward when they are naughty!). For those who are unaware of the delight of a Burmese – imagine an animal that is somewhere at the half way point between being a dog and a cat! They sit on command for their treats, they always come when called even if they are not hungry, they both sleep under the bed covers with us every night (sometimes with their head on the pillow) and they will be waiting patiently at the door for our return from work. They will alternate between each other being my constant shadow around the house, and are both happiest when their life includes copious amounts of cuddles and company.
We call Rollie the “complicated child”. I figure there is always one in every family. From a young age he developed a form of obsessive compulsive disorder called fabric chewing. Oriental breeds of cats such as Siamese and Burmese are thought to be genetically predisposed to this condition. We generally keep this condition under control with plenty of “environmental enrichment”. There are a number of ways in which this can be done – the more the better. In order to mimic their natural predatory behaviour, they both have to “hunt” for their food each morning as it is hidden around the house. We ensure our house has a lot of “vertical space” with numerous ledges, tunnels and vantage points to view the world from above in addition to keeping the house filled with kitty happy pheromones using a couple of plug-in diffusers containing Feliway. They have a basket of toys to choose from which ends up scattered around the house by the end of most days, and finally we try our best to avoid letting him have any access to his favourite materials however this is easier said than done.
Despite these strategies, in situations that involve changes within the household his OCD behaviour can start to return, most notably when we have guests stay in the house. Unfortunately during my sister’s recent stay, Rollie managed to get hold of a bathing suit and devoured part of it which then obstructed in his stomach requiring emergency surgery to be removed. Being in an extremely emotional and worried state, I knew it was unwise for me to perform the surgery myself, so I asked my dear friend and trusted colleague Chris if she could come into work and operate for me. Despite it being her day off, she rushed in to the hospital with no questions asked. After initially stabilising our little son with intravenous fluids and pain relief, he went into surgery and thanks to Chris’s gentle yet lightening quick skills he was in the recovery ward before I knew it. The boy and I are both so eternally grateful to her for doing such an amazing job of saving Rollie’s life.
As a gesture of our thanks, I invited Chris out for breakfast at Piccos Kitchen. The two of us often go out for breaky together and we are always on the hunt for new and interesting locations and menus. I have been here once quite some time ago with the boy and recall for once his comments on his food went beyond the normal “nice” or “ok” into the realms of “really delicious”. Not a common occurrence. We were greeted by the friendly staff and our coffees arrived very quickly. My espresso was at the perfect temperature and I noted they use Rubra coffee, a fair trade company that is based locally in Perth. I hadn’t called in advance to notify the kitchen of my no gluten, no onion requirements so I asked the waitress if she could assist me in narrowing down my selection off their creative and mouth-watering menu. She immediately then went to the kitchen and got the chef Sharna, who was more than keen to help me create something delicious. When I asked her if the haloumi and zucchini fritters with house smoked salmon were going to be suitable for me, she informed me that they contained wheat flour. This was of no concern to this passionate and extremely accommodating young chef. She kindly offered to especially create for me a gluten free variety of the original menu item and off she disappeared into the kitchen. She returned with a number of different non-wheat flours to check if they were going to be ok for me – we opted for a combination of millet and rice flours, both are gluten free.
House smoked salmon, zucchini and haloumi fritters, greens and hollandaise
Although Sharna had warned us to expect a bit of a wait, our meals came out pretty quickly especially when you consider she was creating something new. Both of our plates were heaped high with food, if you want a decent sized breakfast you will most definitely get your value for money here. Without gluten to bind everything together, a lot of gluten-free carby things like fritters and breads can have a tendency to crumble and fall apart. These zucchini and haloumi fritters held their shape and texture really well. Piled high on top of the fritters was the house smoked salmon with dill and capers, and big handfuls of fresh rocket and herbs.
Flourless orange cake
Chris ordered the Spanish scrambled eggs with roast capsicum and tomato relish, Spanish chorizo and sourdough. Her meal was also a generous size although in keeping with our usual breakfast outing tradition, we did manage to save a tiny bit of room to share a little bit of sweets. We ordered the flourless orange cake. It was incredibly moist and zesty and despite the fact we both felt like we would explode from fullness, we kept on eating it until it was all gone!
Thankfully back at home our lives are starting to return to normal. After a sleepless week of caring for our convalescing child, his little quirky behaviours started to return one by one. Finally last night when he attempted to steal our pizza (his LOVES pizza), we knew he was thankfully well on the road to a successful recovery.
THANK YOU SO MUCH CHRIS – YOU ARE THE BEST! XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Piccos Kitchen 38 Peninsula Road, Maylands 6051 | (08) 9272 4491 | www.facebook.com/PiccosKitchen Price: $$$ ($12-22 Breakfast, $18-29 Mains) Food: 4.5/5 (fresh locally source produce, lots of flavour, creative options) Service: 5/5 (went above and beyond) Ambience: 3.5/5 (hard to assess on a quite Monday morning) Drinks: 4/5 (great coffee – they also do take-away coffees) Total: 17/20
