coffee Archives - The Wifey's Corner

October 8, 2017

Platform Eighty Two, Concord West

Another cafe that we have often passed in these past couple of years and always have a big line outside. We even tried to go there before and got turned off because of the wait. But we made it there few weeks ago, went there before 10 am to avoid the brunch peak hours on Saturday.

Located in the heart of Concord West and very close to its train station, this little cafe often digs our curiosity. It seems they are serving big breakfast type of meals, pancakes and drinks. And yet, people always flock in here even after years it opened its door. A quick search on this place shows numerous pictures of huge platter of big breakfast on tiered settings. Almost like how they serve high tea, but instead of tiny elegant plates, they use a massive wooden board platters.

And of course we have to order the breakfast platter, here are the pictures of what we had:

The breakfast platter for 2, we upgraded the waffle to pancake with ice cream for an extra $2 per person

And the verdict…

We feel Platform Eighty Two is a little overrated in term of queuing. It is not exactly cheap brunch, but don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of food served for 2 people. Eggs are served in three ways (scrambled, sunny side up, and poached). Generous amount of button mushroom, bacon and salami. Love the avocado with feta cheese and hash browns 🙂 No regret on upgrading the dessert to pancake, very delicious! I feel this is a nice place for get together with few people, it is fun, and very instagram-able, right? But make sure to make a reservation ahead if you are coming in groups, just to be sure you will get a table with no long wait. Also, thumbs up for the coffee, very smooth!

Platform Eighty Two

82 Queen St, Concord West NSW 2138

Phone: (02) 9743 0002

Facebook page

April 21, 2017October 20, 2023

Cumulus Inc, Melbourne

As I do posts about our Melbourne trip, I only realised how many of the places we had gone to were the ones people rave about. Thanks to Zomato, we had made it quite a few on the list. And this next post is about Cumulus Inc, thanks to my cousin and Zomato again 🙂

Located close to the hotel we were staying at, we hoped by going there on week day at 9 would be not so packed. I imagine, the office workers would have been busy at work, right? And of course, we were wrong! It was packed!!!And not just the take away lines, the whole place is packed with people having breakfast. And that raises the question in our mind: so, what time do these people actually start working? ( ⚆ _ ⚆ )

Thankfully it was not a long wait for seating on long sharing bench, which we did not mind at all. We mostly knew already what to order, so did not spend long browsing on the menu this time. It took a while for our order to come, but again thankfully for the seating, we can see one of the chef prepared breakfast orders. That was awesome, we enjoyed seeing her work, how fast and smooth she did one after one after one order.

Anyway, I ordered their housemade crumpets while hubby got their full English breakfast. Don’t they look lovely?

The housemade crumpets were lovely, golden crispy on the outside, light and fluffy on the inside. It pairs deliciously with that ricotta and honey. It is a perfect dish to me and hubby agreed as well. Hubby said his full breakfast was also yummy – it is not overly greasy but tasty. And the blood sausage was actually good, he says.

After breakfast, we walked around and found ourselves needed another caffeine kick – so we went to League of Honest Coffee. We actually went to this place last year but it was closed, so it”s great to see it open and busy this time. My understanding is they also uses coffee bean from Padre, the Seasonal Blend. And of course, it is so good!!! I can confidently say that my favourite coffee is from Padre – loving both their Seasonal and Daddy’s Girl (DG) Espresso Blend. The seasonal blend is more of toffee notes, rich and full bodied. The DG blend is more mild in acidity and creamy. DG is the one used in Hardware Societe, which I am also a big fan of their coffees.

The bustle and bustle during morning tea (or coffee) break

Cumulus Inc.

45 Flinders Ln, Melbourne VIC 3000

Phone: (03) 9650 1445

Email: info@cumulusinc.com.au

cumulusinc.com.au

The League of Honest Coffee

8 Exploration Ln, Melbourne VIC 3000

Phone: (03) 9654 0169

leagueofhonestcoffee.com.au

April 17, 2017August 25, 2023

St Ali Coffee Roasters, South Melbourne

My cousin recommended us to try the iced filtered coffee at St Ali Coffee Roasters, which she spoken of highly. So, after our burger meal on a very nice Saturday, we headed to South Melbourne. It didn’t take long to get there by tram and a short stroll in the area. Even though the distance is not at all that far from CBD, South Melbourne surely has a different vibe. It is a lovely area, laid back and has so many local shops that offers many interesting items. And of course, all the hidden little shops inside those little lanes also can be found in the area.

St Ali is located in another alley, inside a looks-alike-ex-warehouse building. Once you entered the door, it is actually much spacious than it looks from the outside. There are crowds of people, graffiti on the walls, and smell of coffee and delicious looking cake displays near the cashier.

And as per the recommendation, we tried their iced filtered coffee, flat white and one of their yummy cake. The food menu actually looks very appetising and delicious, but unfortunately for us who just had our lunch, therefore the cake.

The recommended ice filtered coffee in bottle

I personally am not a big fan of the filtered coffee because it has that acidic after taste. But it sure is refreshing for that hot sunny weather. On the other hand, hubby thinks the filter coffee is great. I, however, love the flat white – smooth and slightly fruity.

From there, we walked to South Melbourne Market and it was delightful. A huge building, with many shops and stalls and so many people. A lot of the products sold here are local produce, or made by local artists/designers – everything are just exciting! And there is also the Padre Coffee stall there, which I really love their coffee. So of course, we had to buy couple bags of their coffee beans to bring home 🙂

St Ali Coffee Roasters

12-18 Yarra Pl, South Melbourne VIC 3205

Phone: (03) 9686 2990

stali.com.au

April 4, 2017April 2, 2017

The Kettle Black, South Melbourne

Another cafe that I had wanted to go is The Kettle Black. There are numerous positive reviews and high rating of this place. Located in South Melbourne, it is easily accessible by trams from CBD or even walk past the beautiful parks. But on this occasion, we went there by tram. It was chilly and windy that morning and as always the case in Melbourne, this cafe was busy when we got there. Waited for about 15 minutes and we were shown to our table.

These were our brunch orders:

Soy chai latte for me, served with honey

Seasonal local mushroom – cooked and raw

Hot cake with ricotta, blueberries, maple, double cream, seed and nuts

Coffee was good according to hubby – maybe not wow, but good. I love my chai latte, it is warm and not overly sweet, definitely can taste the spices. Perfect drink for cold windy day!

The mushroom dish was spectacular, hubby said it was the most satisfying no meat dish he has had. All the mushroom there, whether cooked or raw, powdered, sliced, or whole; everything was beautiful and tasty. The goat curd was yummy without being too overpowering – perfectly balanced dish.

The beautifully presented hot cake, too pretty to cut into. It also tasted delicious!! The hot cake was light and fluffy, the maple syrup and double cream makes gives it just enough sweet and richness. The tartness of berries help to balance the sweetness. And those seeds and nuts gives multiple texture to the dish. This dish is probably best for sharing as it is huge, I am not kidding!

The service was great, very attentive and friendly; food came out quick. On top of that, it has a lovely environment. It was a happy visit to Kettle Black and no wonder all the praises it gets; would love to come back again in the future!

The Kettle Black

50 Albert Road, South Melbourne

Phone: (03) 9088 0721

Email: info@thekettleblack.com.au

www.thekettleblack.com.au

March 26, 2017October 28, 2023

Operator 25, Melbourne

After checked-in at Best Western Atlantis, we were initially going to have lunch at Hardware Societe. Being highly rated on Zomato and seen such long queues from previous trip, we were looking forward to come back for lunch on weekday hoping it will be less crowded. And boy, we were wrong! There was a long queue just as bad as any weekends and by the look of it, we would not get a table in 30-60 minutes even.

Quick stop at Brother Baba Budan for take away flat white – a nice kick of caffeine to start our holiday!

We walked around the Hardware Lane a bit and could not decide what to eat. And somehow we walked north and went to Operator 25. This is also another cafe that receives many positive comments. So, let’s check out if it really lived up to that praises 🙂

We got there around 1 pm and it was still quite packed with patrons, a few free spaces only. And there were a short queue of people getting their take away coffees. A waiter quickly showed us to our seat in the long bench, sharing it with few other patrons and handed us the menu. We ended up ordering these:

Hubby loved his meal – said the yuzu hollandaise sauce is very delicious and it has the tanginess to cut trough creaminess of hollandaise sauce. The crispy wonton was also a nice addition to the meal, provides a different texture to the dish. Overall, this dish is very well balanced, taste wise and texture wise. Yummy!

While I am as happy with my omelette as well. Those big chunks of grilled octopus turns out really tasty and not chewy at all. They are seasoned well and cooked well, the omelette is light and fluffy. Also love the wakame seaweed salad, it works well with everything else on the plate. But, I felt my toast was just normal buttered toasts, couldn’t really taste the miso in them.

Over all, I think they did a great job coming up these dishes. Must be a lot of planning and efforts to finally come up with a dish with multiple ingredients that compliment each other. Definitely live up to the positive reviews!

Operator 25

25 Wills St, Melbourne CBD

Phone: (03) 9670 3278

operator25.com.au