Kitchen by Mike (Rosebery)

Another trip home to Sydney, another outing for catchups!

This morning was a long awaited catchup with my bestie... it is surprising how long (or short) 3 months feels like, and how much you can miss someone :( Mebbe I should find a posting back to Sydney soon...

Today began like any other: picked her up, and off to brunch we go - but someone forgot to tell the Grounds of Alexandria that we were coming: Sunday morning, and the place was packed by 8.30am !! :( All we saw from the outside were long queues and no car parking :(

So we relied on our favourite app (Urbanspoon) to look up an organic cafe nearby: Kitchen by Mike, which is only a 3min drive across to the next sector of Rosebury.

Situated within a warehouse on 85 Denning Ave, this is a place easily overlooked at first, with an exception: the numbers are painted on the door, so BOLO: be on the Lookout!!

We found plenty of street parking, and strolled in via the main entrance/ramp:

With a large open-space kitchen and a canteen style atmosphere, it is definitely a warm cosy place to enjoy brekkie with the family, and we watched as young couples, new families with a new bub, or those with a trio in tow all come in to enjoy a lovely Sunday brunch. As for ourselves: we found a cosy corner sofa to watch it all go by, nibbling away and catching up on everything that's happened in the past three months.

The nibbles: not cheap, but what do you expect for organic and speedily served?

Eggs Royale ($13) on smoked salmon: hot, gooey and yummy!

Sourdough pancakes with lemon curd ($14) - my favourite: three slices of hot yumminess with a tarty tang from the curd. Overpriced in my opinion, but I ain't complaining

Granola, yoghurt and stewed fruit ($12): our healthy compromise - and a little on the side for filling us up ;)

Oh, and not to mention my coffee!

Overall: good food, great vibe, cosy atmosphere... with a mild zap to the wallet. Worth the trip once here and there: 8/10 for what it's worth



PS: highlights of their homewares/arts store that opened at 10am...

Bread & Circus (Alexandria)

My Supplementary exams are over! Finally!

I was forced to re-sit this Clinical exam as a formality - for a low mark acquired back in March this year, when I was (rather) untrained and unpracticed. In any case, I made it through, and now I can relax!

*ear to ear grin*

So what to do with myself? For this first day out (for the rest of my life, as an Optometrist instead of a student), I met up with a friend, enjoying what little time I have in Sydney (before a Europe trip, then starting a job in Queensland in 2013).

Getting back to what's important in this posting: the food! So it was about 2pm when we started feeling peckish, and we were around Ikea Tempe... so why not a short hope over to the Cafe district over in Alexandria? We were considering Grounds of Alexandria, but they close at 3pm on Saturdays - a bit rushed. Next on the list: Bread & Circus.

This organic cafe is tucked inside the open warehouse at 21 Fountain St, behind Don Campo's coffee at the front. We managed to get here just in time, placing our order shortly before 3pm. Our waitress told us they were out on quite a number of items... so I'm not surprised that they chose to wrap things up early by 3, instead of their usual 4pm closing time.

Despite having a number of items crossed out, we still liked what we saw on the menu... and the choice wasn't that easy, to be honest. Eventually, we decided on the following:

Smoked Turkey with Agave Blue Cheese dip (Sandwich box, $15). Or, as my friend called it - a deconstructed sandwich.

For the Asians (and non-Asians) out there who have tried Stinky Tofu, you should agree with the old saying "there are 2 types of people in this world: those who love the stink, and those who don't". Applies equally to the Blue cheese in my opinion: it stinks. And I had a cheese platter last night (with Blue cheese), so that didn't make things any better.

Next: the Smoked chicken with Dijon-chive-yoghurt dip ($15, Sandwich box) - much the same as the turkey above.

To wash things down, we tried the berry-banana smoothie, with kefir ($12). Now this seems costly for a glass of 'fruit-milkshake', but that's a premium you pay for decent organic food. And if you don't know what kefir is... look it up like I did. Something about healthy lumps of milk-like things... I'll let you form your own opinion about it. Mixed into a smoothie, it was rather nice overall.

Verdict overall? We loved this place. $42 for a lunch is rather pricey... but I write that off as a social expense.

Breaking it down - she loved the Turkey box, I loved the Chicken. For different reasons too - remember I mentioned 'stink' earlier? She likes Blue cheese - I don't. So that split us up... but likewise, I loved the tang of the Dijon mustard in my yoghurt dip... and she didn't. Oh - and the hint of chives just rounded things off perfectly for me... so it was almost ideal with one lunch box each. Turkey vs Chicken... each to their own - I liked the chicken breast, she didn't... turns out she loves turkey as well.

(Some things are just meant to be... =P)

And the smoothie: yummy. Hints of berry and banana, and the kefir didn't overpower the whole thing. Pricey though. Very pricey.

Definitely worth coming back here... after I save up a bit first. =P

Bread & Circus
21 Fountain St
Alexandria 2015

How to get there: Find street parking if you're lucky, otherwise try the Dan Murphy's carpark directly opposite. If you can't seem to find 21 Fountain, then look for the Don Campo's coffee, and follow it through to the back of the warehouse.

Hours: 8am-4pm daily, a new menu every day
Cost: Mains mostly less than $20. Enjoy the organic food =)