Aussie coffee doesn't come in big gulp-sized paper cups because it's not watered down and chugged on the go. Because it is espresso-based, each individual coffee is made to order, and it's meant to be sipped slowly and enjoyed in the context of the unique café in which it was prepared. If you do need to take away coffee, just know that in Australia, you're not walking away with anything grande-, venti-, or trenta-sized. For anyone back in the states who wants to a sample a taste of what coffee is like here, Starbucks (gasp!) has recently started offering flat whites. This is my favorite form of coffee here...be warned though - it may put you off that drip swill and turn you into a coffee snob too ;) |
This has been the week of beautiful brekkies! Over the weekend, we stumbled onto "Sydney's Best Breakfast" (so says The 2014 Sydney Morning Herald) at Efendy, a Turkish restaurant in Rozelle. When I say stumbled, I really mean I stumbled across it online in search of our next great Sydney food find, so we called ahead for a 1:00 booking for brunch on Saturday. Efendy is a large, stand-alone restaurant, a bit of a novelty among the endless strips of shops and cafés. It has a beautiful patio area out front with an outdoor spit on which I believe they were roasting some lamb. The inside feels like a converted farm house, with its distressed wood floors, exposed brick walls, crackling fireplace, solid wood farm tables with mismatched chairs, benches and cushions, and beautiful staircase leading upstairs to the kitchen and a second level of dining space. It's got character, and a bit of quirkiness too - Turkish comic posters cover one of the downstairs walls and our bill came nested in a Turkish comic book. Our brunch was served on a giant plank like a 2-person buffet (well, really like a 4-6 person buffet, but it was just for the two of us!). It included assorted spreads, jams and honeys, olives, meats, cheeses, veggies (both hot and cold), fruits and helva (oooooh, holy helva it was good!). We were seriously impressed...then a cutting board with various breads and pastries came out, and we were a little stunned....and then a separate bowl of sausages and a serving dish of eggs with tomatoes came out and kind of overwhelmed us. I mean...we tackled it, but it was pretty daunting... deliciously daunting. All of this came with Turkish coffee and tea. We also made it back to The Laughing Goat Café - the cute little place attached to the antique shop we discovered a few weeks back. This time, we split the Eggs Benny. It came with smoked salmon and was scrumptious! And we made it back to Kanzo for lunch...twice. We don't mess around here...it's all about the salmon sashimi. Yesterday, we took advantage of the school break and hit up The Grounds again - this time for breakfast. Our order got a little out of control when we couldn't decide what to get...we ended up with the Brekkie Board, with smoked salmon, goat cheese, smashed avocado, two poached eggs so beautiful they looked like mozzarella, olives, tomatoes with olive oil and herbs, Serrano ham, grilled asparagus, and crusty sourdough toast, and Summer Berry Hotcakes with blueberries and raspberries, vanilla infused mascarpone cheese, edible violets and agave syrup with a side order of polenta chips. We also shared a deconstructed iced coffee, which came with frozen espresso cubes, a shot of espresso, a syringe of simple syrup and milk. I think I've mentioned previously that coffee here is an entirely different construct than what we have in the U.S. First off, when the topic of coffee is brought up, the Aussies I've spoken to have been quick to note (proudly) that they (speaking on behalf of the country's population) are coffee snobs...that there is a rich European tradition here where coffee is concerned, and the standard is just plain higher. Starbucks has failed miserably in Australia, as people see it as a super-sized, high sugar, high calorie, low quality, Americanized fast-food bastardization of the beverage. In fact, drip coffee in Australia is basically considered swill. It's difficult to find, and on the rare occasion that it's available, people refuse to drink it. They actually served free filter coffee at an orientation session Pickle attended at the uni and literally no one (besides him) would drink it, instead waiting for tea time to go across to the local café to pay $5 for a "proper coffee". Coffee here is all based on espresso. You can order coffee in various formats, including differing amounts of espresso, water, milk and hot chocolate, but it's a very purist approach...you won't find flavored coffees, creamers, or syrups and you can't have your coffee blended with oreos, cheesecake chunks, caramel, peppermint sticks or pumpkin pie filling. There are quite a few ways to mix up this combination of ingredients though, and it's amazing how rich the coffee tastes (even sans the cookie sundae additives)...
4 Comments
Diane/Mom/MiL
20/4/2015 02:41:55 am
Warren and I felt like "snobs" when we upgraded from drinking Folgers to Starbucks! I think we would LOVE Australian coffee! What do Aussies do if they want to stay home on a cool rainy day and "drink a pot of coffee"? Also, I'm buying "Sushi for Dummies" ( yes, it really exsists) so I can work up the courage to finally try it. :) As always, we enjoy reading your blog and are happy that you're together and having these wonderful experiences! Love, Mom
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Jamison Lorraine
20/4/2015 04:44:30 pm
Sushi for Dummies - I love it!!! The California roll is a good starter roll - nothing raw (just cooked crab meat, avocado and cucumber) and it's made inside out so the nori (seaweed) is on the inside and rice is on the outside (in case you don't care for the texture of the nori).
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Mom Denise
25/4/2015 01:33:12 am
Diane will work up to sushi, and I will have to do the same with the coffees. Don't expect much, but you make it sound so scrumptious!
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Mom D
25/4/2015 01:35:09 am
I love the way they serve their dishes deconstructed. It looks so fresh and beautiful...a real dining experience.
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