Cappuccino – indeed, not bad I’m told.

And the latte.  These come in small and large. Syrup or non syrup. Quite reasonably priced.

Okay, having gained a bit of a spare tyre aka muffin top over winter, I tried to go for something healthy (ie no sausage or bacon).  For me this came in the form of the mushroom, ham and pesto omelette with no cheese.  With a slice of sourdough and some mange-tout as salad, it was very satisfying, and not over cooked at all. Baby Lucas adored it too and helped me polish off a third of it!  The filling was generous but did not overcome the eggs.

Salmon benedict – perfect chubby ooozy eggs and a generous amount of salmon.  But what puzzled me was why it wasn’t served on english muffins, and instead only one piece of toast? Not that much sauce, but oh well, my friends seemed to not care much!

Now what I SHOULD have ordered and lingered over for a bite was the French toast.  Yuuummm…. it was sooo soft and delicious – soaked brioche, fried until brown, not too eggy, and this gorgeous berry compote on it.  It was delicious and I could have eaten alot more – but definitely not the whole plate as I definitely need some savoury for my breaky.

They also make a baklava French toast which I am curious to try for next time!

We also tried the crab linguine, main sized.  I thought it could be a bit bigger, but otherwise it was nice – the pasta cooked al dente, fragrant olive oil and not stingy on the crab.  It was especially nice with the chilli oil that was offered to us.

I’m please to advise that the cool rooms are now filled with all sorts of goodies now.  Great fresh produce – what a colourful display!  I was hoping there would be some exotic goodies like heirloom tomatoes but alas they were just mandarins

If you like cheese, this could be heaven for you to be locked up in the cheese room!

Some ready made frozen pastas too.  But one thing I did not like in there was some gyoza! Hello! Japanese food in an Italian cafe??  There are ssoooo many Korean shops in Strathfield,  I think that one Italian shop could remain pure please

And as predicted, the hooks above the deli counter, now have meats and smallgoods hanging for you to drool over..

The restaurant itself is a wide open warehouse space on ground level, and a mezzanine level.  A number of very large communal tables made of polished timber are surrounded by trendy stainless steel chairs.  A bar runs along the length of the window for gazing out into the street – or for me to sit and read my paper as I intend to, every single weekend for the rest of my life  There are also tables of four as well.  Well , not time to eat yet – so I browsed around the shop.  It wasn’t so huge, but the offerings were quality.  Fresh italian crusty bread in every shape you would need for your weekend gourmet table, and at VERY reasonable prices.

The deli has a wide variety of salumi and other meats, as well as anti pasti.  Judging by the hooks above it, I am guessing that some lovely legs of proscuitto may soon arrive

Some yummy meat to go?

And for cheese buffs – there is also a climate and humidity controlled room!!!!  Two in fact!  I think they are still to stock, it is opening day after all

And its unique drawcard – the roasting facility.  Shiny, spanking new in red, and enclosed in a glass room for all to watch.  If you want to make your own blend, you can – if you want 50kgs minimum that is!

I had lunch plans… but gee it certainly was hard to resist the sweets on offer there  they looked so fresh they might as well have come from nonna’s oven that day.  Tick to resisting temptation

Although I did have to have a drink.  What’s the point of going to a coffee roaster and warehouse if I don’t sample their namesake?  I had a skim mocha. It was only $3.50.  And believe me, it was GOOD.   So smooth down your throat and not harsh or bitter or burnt at all like some coffees!

Well, I had had a taste.  I wanted more. So I went back that night for dessert!  First up – skim hot choc.  Not bad.  But i asked for more chocolate as it tasted of warm milk.

For dessert – the most inexpensive creme brulee ever – only $8!   Perfect sugary crust, and served generously with four slices of fresh made biscotti.   Sorry that the custard still didn’t beat my gold standard of best ever creme brulee (the Sheraton on the Park buffet one) – but hey, it’s opening day!   There’s still time to perfect it!

I looked longingly at the plates of pizza and pasta going by – sad that I had had dinner already  But…. sad no more, because as I lifted my eyes, this giant mamma of a plate came at me! Wow!!!  Italian waffles, the special – only $9!!!  TWO waffles served with hazelnut gelato and whipped cream.

But wait – there’s more – sandwiched between them were two further scoops of gelato – chocolate and Italian vanilla!  Where in town do you get even just 3 scoops of gelato for that price, let alone waffles!!!  I was informed by the manager that the waffles are made by an Italian lady daily.   Let me say that the chocolate gelato was to die for.  It was dark and rich and I could say that it was probably made with the best quality chocolate money could buy.

This place has so much promise.  I really look forward to trying more things and keeping you up to date!

The menu is vast, and has everything – you get both the teppanyaki and standard food menu in one.  The best thing is that the dishes are small (with not so small prices in some cases!) so you can order a variety of things to try.  I wanted to try the Japanese egg omelette.  Oops, I didn’t realise it was just the sushi egg – but sliced thicker!  It was served warm, with some grated fresh daikon.  It was $8 for four pieces.

We wanted to try the dragon roll, which was $18.  It consisted of 8 pieces of sushi, freshly fried soft shell crab with roe rolled into the rice.  It was very yummy, but alas, no avocado, and to be honest, we thought the servings were very stingy – given that I could have 3 plates of dragon roll (of 3 pieces) at Umi Kaitzen in Haymarket!  But aside from the price, it was very very nice.  What wasn’t welcome however, was the 50c charge for extra wasabi.  I have never been to a place that charges for that – it would have been appreciated if the waitress would warn us beforehand.

I was very curious to try the rice balls.  They were kinda like Japanese arancini of sticky rice – seasoned rice balls, but disappointingly again, with no filling, just rice balls.  They were $8 for two.

For me, the highlight of the evening was the freshly teppan fried gyoza. You can choose from chicken or pork (we chose pork).  What makes them a cut above the rest is the juicy filling which was wrapped very tightly in the wrapper – not loose clumsy parcels like many other versions. Also, the bases were crunchy and the wrapper just the right thickness.  $10 for 6.  You’ll need maybe two serves they are so good!

Another special of the restaurant is the Japanese pancake (okonomiyaki).  Several versions are on offer. Standard chicken or prawn or wagyu beef ones at $13 each, or “special” ones for around $19 each.  They are served with a little box of the condiments – dehyrated parsley, and very finely sliced bonito flakes, you know, those moving tentacle type things that  are served on top!

I have a confession.  I loathe mayonnaise.  And every sour white creamy type of sauce.  Creme fraiche, sour cream, my worst nightmare!  Yes, even sweet Japanese mayo!  So since it happens to sneak itself onto many Japanese dishes, I requested the pancake sans mayo.  We selected the special one. It had pork and two split prawns on top.  It was quite small. I was actually annoyed at the waitress, because we wanted to order 2 pancakes between 4, but she INSISTED that one would be enough… lo and behold, it wasn’t And then when we wanted to order another one, we were told it would be a 30 minute wait! Not happy Jan!  But hungry!!

A-ha!  Just dug out some photos from last year – and check it out, last year it was bigger and thicker

Finally, to taste what we came for – handmade soba. And enter, second issue with the waittress’s recommendations.  At Jugemu, when you order a soba dish to share, they pre-divide it up for you into individual serves, so one order will be brought out in two dishes for you, so you can elegantly share without dripping all over the place.    Actually, this was very nice when I came with one friend, but with four, we thought, let’s just put it all in the middle.  Oh no, can’t do that.  She will split it for us, and therefore we will need to order two serves in order for there to be enough.  (How about increasing the serving size then? ).  So in the end, I thought, right, I would rather order something else, let’s just get one serve and the lady can divide it into three, to please herself.  Not happy with that, she then asked us to order extra noodles for another $4. *sigh*. Very bossy this lady.  Anyway, this experience really wrecked it for me.  Here are the noodles:

Here is the really salty dipping broth.

I really really loved Jugemu and Shimbashi last year, which is why I wanted to go for my birthday this year.  But after the pushy waittress, I really don’t think I will come back Coupled with the poor value for money.    But anyway, if you wanted to try hand made noodles or okonomiyaki, this is the place for you.

The menu was HUGE!  Ssssoooo many choices.  It’s a big menu for  a big breakfast. So many different things to try, ranging from bacon and egg rolls to ‘Voluptuous Veg’ – aka poached eggs on green beans and sweet potato and zucchini fritters.  We opted for the sweet corn fritters with poached eggs, spinach, bacon and tomato relish.  Two big corncakes arrived piled high with bacon (a bit crispier would have been better) and lavished with perfectly poached eggs and a dollop of relish.  Check out the size of this mountain of food!! Exactly what I was hoping for and more!  The fritters were not too doughy yet still held together well.  Sort of like chunky pancakes, with a spicy curry flavour from the relish which added a slight heat.

Everyone was eating mushys and their garlicky aroma filled the air as you walk in.  Side of mushys – $3.

And second most popular choice, the BIG BREKKY, the cafe’s namesake!  Two rashers of bacon, two eggs any way you like, two MASSIVE slices of buttered toast, vine ripened cherry tomatoes, a small chorizo, more mushys, and for some different – potato gratin and pear chutney.  Admittedly, I didn’t really like the gratin that much. A plate full of saturated fat needs a fried hash brown IMHO And personally I’m not a fan of savoury fruit, so my chutney stayed on the plate.  Everything else was delish though. The eggs were cooked crispy on the edges, mushys full of garlic flavour, and the cherry tomatoes a very posh touch.  Great value at $18.

This little cafe must have been a local’s secret – until SMH unleashed it!  It hits all the right notes without being pretentious or posh.  Great food and REALLY good service from the friendly staff, totally unphased by the number of kids there – who can also play outside on the grassy outdoor back area too.  Very quick service too.

Well one disadvantage of sitting near the kitchen is seeing all the goodies go past.  And what we could not let past was a taste of the pancakes.  Baci pancakes in fact.  YUM, two huge thick flapjacks sandwiched with (not enough ) nutella, dusted generously with icing sugar and cocoa and fresh strawberries. See for yourself!   I found them a bit doughy, but my friends liked it that way.  A scoop of ice cream really would have completely made the dish too!  But I think we definitely had had our weeks’ serve of calories hehehe.  What a wonderful way to spend a Sunday.

Also unlike other stuffy high teas in Sydney, Bathers does NOT put everyone’s food onto the one tea stand in an attempt to make it not look stingy! Bathers puts two persons food on the one stand, no need to make it look good value because it already is!

Many people eat savoury sweet sweet, but for me, I start with hot then move to savoury then to sweet.  First up, scones!  One each, still warm, and of a good size, served with whipped cream and strawberry jam.  High tea purists might argue that clotted cream or double cream should be served.  But I prefer my cream with as little saturated fat as possible, it makes it much less heavy.

The sweets of the day were a bread and butter pudding slice, a hazelnut chocolate mousse layered slice, and a passionfruit meringue.  These were all lovely, but probably not up to 5 star hotel standards.  The bread and butter pudding could have been warm for my liking; and the chocolate on the layered slice wasn’t quite tempered, but the gold leaf was a very elegant touch.  The mousse could also be a bit firmer to make the chocolate thing easier to eat, as it squished when you used your fork to eat it.  I liked the taste of the mousse though, as well as the passionfruit tart.  But I was a bit sad that I think the meringue wasn’t evenly torched, and I don’t think it was done the cooked way (ie to add hot sugar syrup into the egg white).

The savouries were a delightful change on traditional crust off sandwiches! We each got a shitake mushroom bun (chinese style), a mushroom tart and a smoked salmon finger sandwich.  The shitake mushroom bun wasn’t quite up to chinese standard, especially since it was cold, as the bun was a bit gluggy, when it should be fluffy and warm.  The filling had a delicious earthy flavour though.  The tarts were absolutely perfect, bite sized and full of flavour.  And finally, the smoked salmon finger sandwich on rye with creme fraiche was as good as the best I’ve had.

Your $25 also includes any coffee including cappucinos, mochas etc, and also a pot of tea. All in all, amazing value.  All so good that in fact I forgot to take pictures of the view! hehe. Oh well.  If you can get here, do try it.  It’s something different from other high teas.  The only problem though is that there are no bookings, and it’s only on Mondays to Fridays.  Don’t let that stop you though!

Of course we had to try the big breakfast.  Two eggs poached, roasted tomatoes, sauteed field mushrooms, bacon, and a jumbo slice of toast.  I found the toast was a bit wet from the poached eggs, so maybe some resting aside would have done it good. But the mushrooms were certainly meaty and delicious. 

We also tried the corn cakes with bacon, rocket and avocado salsa. They also do a smoked salmon one.  Unfortunately, the bacon was cold.  But the salsa was nice, and the corn cakes were flavoursome and crispy on the edges.  I asked the waiter whether they were make “frittery” or “pancakey” and he told me frittery, but in my mind, the flatness makes them more pancakey, and my favourite corn fritters are still at Zenja Cafe or Bills.  But these were really nice corn pancakes!

Breakfast is served all day on the weekends, so we also had the chance to have the beer battered fish and chips.  Crispy and light batter, chunky and crunch chips.  Defintely would have these again.

The staff are lovely, and the place was filled with mothers and prams – it’s so spacious and airy. I would say, only come here if it’s nice weather, otherwise the open-ness of the cafe would be quite cold if it’s rainy or windy!  Brunch for 3 was a total of $60 including a drink each.

Building 13, Blaxland Riverside Park
Jamieson Street, Newington NSW 2127
(02) 9714 7513

Soups range up to $38 per serve that includes shark fins, fish maw and other specialties that may be new to the Australian palate.  But we’re here for the rice!  Delicious black pepper beef tenderloin rice is so tender, just the right amount of spice, and very saucy to mix through your rice.  At $7.50, you’d think yo ureally are eating in China!

Very popular is the chicken and mushroom rice ($7.80), it’s chicken thighs steamed with mushrooms and also chinese sausage.

I was slightly hesistant to order the hand made prawn balls with tofu, as I’ve experienced many a cheap and nasty seafood dish. But seeing that it was so popular amongst the diners, I tried it.  And was very happy that i did.  The balls were made of real chunks of prawn, sweet but spicy also. The tofu was slightly dry – I would have loved some more of that delicious XO sauce, but at $8.80 I was happy to just enjoy!

Personally I don’t eat it, but the eel with rice was apparently very nice, also served with mushrooms and chinese sausage in a sticky sauce.

And for the very brave… durian dessert soup ($4.50) is one of a handful of desserts on offer.

A great place to eat on a weeknight, it certainly won’t break the bank!

www.firsttaste.com.au

For mains – Espetada De Frango (chicken skewer) $17 and Espeta a costa do sol (char grilled lean beef skewer) $19 – both served with salad, rice and fried potato cubes. 

And to finish – Creme Caramel. They ran out of portugese tarts again so be sure to order ahead (despite my doing so anyway!). 

The clams were tasty, with the fresh bread great for mopping up the juices. A tad on the salty side, it was a generous sized serve.  The Portugese sausage is like chorizo sausage – however, instead of lumps of fat – instead there were lumps of ham! Delicious and nutritious!  The skewers are an impressive main – coming out on sword like sticks, hung up on a stand at your table, with butter dripping down onto the plate at the bottom.  This is a fantastic venue for a group dinner – with plenty of street parking, and lively enough to still be intimate.

77 New Canterbury Road, Petersham, NSW (02) 9569-2319 *also in the entertainment book!

La Grotta 104 Ramsay Street Haberfield (02) 9799 0100