Perhaps it might be a wise thing to keep going with the blogging momentum, while I'm at it. The neglect of this blog can be mainly attributed to real life being too much fun, compared to sitting in front of a computer in the office, which makes the thought of heading back to work rather intimidating after getting used to sauntering into a cafe for brunch around 1030 in the morning.
But I digress. Our next brekky adventure was at Hammer and Tong, an outfit located along the once-uber-hip-but-still-hanging-in-there Brunswick St near the Alexandra Parade end, opened by two alumni of Vue De Monde. It turned out to be one of our favourite brekky places, with deceptively simple menu descriptions but super good food.
During our first visit, we were seated in the back room. It filled up soon after we arrived.
Some of the stuff on the menu
What the husband and I ordered our first time
The wagyu +7 beef tri tip with herb salad, sticky truffle and madeira ($24), which I noticed was off the breakfast menu 2 weeks ago. A strange thing to have for brunch, but it sounded so good that we caved in.
Duck egg, oyster mushrooms, watercress, brioche soldiers and truffle butter ($18).
BBQ corn cob, popcorn butter, chipotle, shredded pecorino cheese and lime ($9). A tad expensive for one corn cob at 9 bucks, but it was well executed. Everything blended well with the grilled corn flavour.
So pretty.
According to wikipedia, the tri-tip comes from the bottom sirloin subprimal cut, and it was a really tender cut.
The subsequent time we went, we ordered the corn and zucchini fritters with avocado, salsa, spinach and a poached egg ($17).
I didn't enjoy this as much as the other dishes; it seemed a bit oily but that didn't stop me from finishing the entire plate.
My favourite dish from the entire menu, however, had to be the soft shell crab burger ($12).
The brioche bun was tender and soft, the crab was crispy and the shredded cabbage and coriander worked so well together. It was an amazing dish.
The husband ordered a sausage and egg muffin with maple butter.
The maple butter was yummy but I couldn't quite shake the idea of this being very similar to the sausage and egg mcmuffin at maccas for a quarter of the price, sans microgreens. So this doesn't make it to the cards for a second try for me.
Another place with a surprisingly good brekky is Campos. They've got excellent coffee and it was surprising to find out that their food was seriously good too.
The classic Campos leaf. We deduced that the trainees must have had heck of a lot of practice trying to get the leaf right.
The execution was on a completely different level compared to the Hammer and Tong fritters. They weren't oily, and were perfectly crispy on the outside. Perhaps it was the type of breadcrumbs used; I'm guessing panko.
The wagyu Reuben with corned wagyu, sauerkraut and gouda cheese ($18)
Very very tasty. The memory of melted cheese on toasted sourdough, with the tartness of pickles and sauerkraut against soft beef slices was unforgettable.
Good value for 11 bucks too
I managed to spot mint leaves, peas and leeks. Perhaps some potato too. I'm gonna give this a go at home. It matched the lemon creme fraiche and the haloumi perfectly.
Campos Coffee - www.camposcoffee.com
Thanks for sharring
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