Swiss Cafe (Gordon - Sydney North)

A slight pity that I have nothing great to say. It's a lovely deli cafe tucked within the Gordon Centre, having been next door to Woolies for quite a long time now. So there's good reason to come back here for the fresh sandwiches made daily.

On the breakfast front, it really depends on what you're looking for. On this rare surprise trip home, we were looking for a decent place to enjoy a breakfast for four and decided on this place. Ma had a Pear & Blueberry slice ($5, hint of fruity flavour on a banana/pear flavoured bread), Dad for Scrambled Eggs and Toast ($8.50, okay value). My brother leaned towards French Toast (two slices, $8.50) and I topped it with the Eggstravanganza - $14 for two slices of salmon on cream cheese with a side of scrambled eggs, all on toasted Turkish bread.

Coffees tasted good though: $3.50 for small, $4.50 for a medium cuppa brewed strong and hot.

Rating: 6/10 - Decent place for sandwiches, good coffee, but nothing exciting about the brekkie menu. Plenty of ham and bacon options available though.

85 Degrees Cafe (Selections around Sydney)

So I start a short blog update from a VERY short trip - Mumsie's Birthday!

Okay, not quite - I couldn't get time off work to leave Queensland on Mumsie's actual birthday, so called home as any good boy is required to. Little did she know that my brother and I had been cooking up a bigger surprise - that I'd be popping home for the weekend.

Unplanned.
Unscheduled.
Unannounanced.

UTTER TOTAL SURPRISE!

In hindsight: definitely worth it, and a very Happy Birthday to my dear Mumsie.

==========================

Aside: well, we have to do something on the cake front. Last time I was home, we started a habit of purchasing four different slices, rather than a small cake to share. I think you guys have guessed it: we surprised her with another batch of flavours.

From left to right, these morsels can be purchased at 85 Degrees Cafe (Chatswood is my local one) for $3.50 - $4.20 a slice, and check in store for availability as 6oz or 8oz full cakes.

Hokkaido Strawberry: light milk (Hokkaido milk?) layered sponge cake on strawberry jams topped with crushed pistachio.
Blueberry Cheesecake: heavy on the cheesecake flavour, intermixed with blueberries and berry jam striping.
Taro Paradise: thick Taro-infused sponge coated liberally in Taro-infused purple cream. Decorated with a dollop of whipped cream and petal of white chocolate
Shangri-La Mango: cute decoration of strawberr(y) and cream encircled by a ribbon of white chocolate sitting on strawberry jelly. Multiple layered sponge cake separated by thin layers of (top) cream, (middle) strawberry jam and (almost bottom, orangey) mango.

Verdict: 8/10 - love the variety. Rumour has it that it may be all imported from overseas... - could anyone substantiate this??

My picks: Shangri-La Mango. Pretty & YUMMY. Not much on the mango side, but you get a nice refreshing mix of flavours throughout.
Hokkaido Strawberry gets a thumbs up: light and refreshing tang without a heavily kick of flavour - "Delicate and Fluffy"

Cheesecake is a no from me: too 'stodgy' and dense on the cheesecake flavour. Put in comparison to the others, the heaviness stands out =(
Taro Paradise - neutral: in essence we have a tradition Asian Cream cake without the fruit, lightly infused and coloured in the expected manner of any Taro offering. Without a strong Taro taste, this might turn away those who expect more.