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Published: November 19th 2010
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After spending more than six weeks in Melbourne and not keeping up with the blog we will split it into several entries. We have decided to start with the most popular meal of the day and being a self confessed glutton Emma has left it to me to do it justice.
Eating out in Melbourne is a part of life that most residents relish. I have seen it written that if people fail to eat out at least three times a week they feel unfulfilled and hard done by. The choice of food from around the globe available is astonishing but the Melbourne institution that is breakfast is worthy of attention in its own right. Breakfast is served in most establishments till 3pm so can easily take the place of lunch if you so wish. Each person has their own favourite venue which they swear by and will travel for some distance to patronise. The reason for choosing a favourite varies from one individual to another and could be based on a preference for best coffee, tea, bread, polenta bread, toast, sausages, beans, bacon, eggs (poached/scrambled/fried), omelette, hash browns, corn fritters, avocado, avocado mash, chorizo, salsa, pesto, feta, spinach or
mushrooms. Now you are probably thinking what I did when I first glanced over the menu - polenta, avocado, salsa, pesto & spinach! What place do these things have on my breakfast plate beside my eggs on toast?
My worries were unfounded and although not all the combinations worked for me some of them added an amazing extra dimension.
Toast was usually sourdough bread. Fresh and filling it worked well with eggs. The eggs were free range - deep yellow and poached, scrambled or fried to perfection every time. Sausages were good and meaty - no sign of rusk and mostly gluten free pork or chicken. Bacon was not what you expect in the UK and was a little more ‘ham like’ but still worked. Beans varied the most from place to place with the inclusion of the likes of chorizo, spinach and feta meaning that they were either awesome or just plain wrong. Mushrooms were very flavoursome - you would hope so as they can cost upwards of £10/kilo in the supermarkets. Chorizo fried till golden brown added another aspect to eggs on toast and will be something I will continue to cook and enjoy for years to
come. Hash browns always hit the target with a crisp outside, soft centre and some interesting flavour additions. Pesto with eggs turned out to be a huge surprise and something we all liked.
We visited many different cafes in the interest of research and none of them left us feeling cheated. Ranking them was always going to be a matter of personal taste but between myself, Emma, Gemma and Kieran the places occupying first and second in either order were the same.
Galleon off Ackland scored high for atmosphere, top coffee, great eggs on toast and hash browns with sweet potato and feta that were to die for.
Batch on Carlisle scored high on every front with the killer blow being the breakfast omelettes . I still dream of this omelette most nights.
Other places worthy of note are MART 130 - best beans I‘ve ever had, Las Chicas, Gattica and Grocery Barn.
We did not get to try one regularly highly ranked place called APTE (a place to eat). We will be checking this out when we return to Melbourne at the end of January.
Right I am off to scramble some eggs, toast some sourdough and fry some chorizo.
(If you think it is a little OTT to do a whole blog page on breakfast in one city then check out these websites dedicated to nothing but breakfast http://thebreakfastblog.blogspot.com/2008/01/top-20-melbourne.html http://www.breakfastout.com.au /)
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anonymous
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My My you are moving around, its Friday eve in Sunningdale and you are making me feel hungry. Is it summer time in AUS as we come in winter here? Best Wishes. Rex xx