Taste of Belgium: Café with freshly made Belgium waffles, Seaforth (23 Oct 2011)

Shop 1, 549 Sydney Road, Seaforth NSW 2092

Phone: (02) 9949 5330

Spoilt for sweet choices

Thanks to Nelly Indrawati on behalf of Chef Didier Lannoote for inviting me to Taste of Belgium as a guest with my family to 'taste' the menu. Upon arrival it was clear to see Didier was certainly a passionate chef seeing so many choices of cakes, pastries, chocolates and their much famed Belgium waffles in the counter display — quite overwhelming actually as they all looked very tempting. He also took the time to greet his customers when he could as he popped in and out of the kitchen for his regular stint of a flat white and it looked like the locals knew they were on to a good thing. If initial plans had gone through to have the shop at The Spot in Randwick I'm sure it would have done very well and fair competition for the likes of Bourke Street Bakery and Croquembouche Pâtisserie. The competent Russian barista made a good Cappuccino ($3.50), Real Belgian Hot Chocolate ($4.50) and Mocha ($4.20) that I'd happily order again and the Malabar Chai ($4) was flavoursome.

I was glad to see that a small selection of savoury breakfast dishes were on the menu and hopefully more choices will be added soon. The Ham, Cheese & Tomato Croissant ($8.50) was light and flakey and the Duck paté with brioche ($13.50) comes with great tasting mushrooms. The decent sized Eggs Benedict with Smoked Salmon ($15.50) and Big Breakfast ($16) are worth having and for those who like it sweet the Belgium waffle with ice cream ($9.50) is probably a must. We managed to try a few tarts and if you dine in they get plated up with a bit of creative fruit coulis. They might be considered a little pricey but they're also big enough to share. I liked the toasted nuts in the Tartelette Aux Noix ($7.50) although a scoop of ice cream with it would have been great as well. The Tartelette Citron ($7.50) wasn't overly sweet and I was impressed to see the number of fruits in the Tartelette Aux Fruits ($7.50) — I counted six. To finish we were given a large selection of Belgium chocolates — I'm always a sucker to try the chilli chocolate. I survived the impending sugar overload, just, and wished such a cafe existed closer to home.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Large range of quality cakes and pastries made daily, Limited breakfast menu but done well, Good Belgium waffles and decent coffees

CONS: Limited seating, Toilet around the side needs a bit of renovation, Website not available

MUST TRY: Belgium waffle, Coffee, Any cake that tickles your fancy

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Owner and Chef Didier Lannoote. Showing off his croquembouche.

Barista of the day

Chocolate tarts in the making

Claim to fame: Pastry Chef to Bill Clinton and George Bush

Cappuccino ($3.50 regular dine in), Real Belgian Hot Chocolate ($4.50 regular dine in)

Mocha ($4.20 large dine in)

Didier's large Flat white

Mocha ($3.50 small dine in), Malabar Chai ($4)

Tea Drop teas: Lemongrass and Ginger tea ($4)

Ham, Cheese & Tomata Croissant ($8.50)

Duck paté with brioche ($13.50)

Brioche with jam and butter ($5.50) with coffee special ($6.50)

Eggs Benedict with Smoked Salmon ($15.50)

Big Breakfast - Eggs cooked to your liking, bacon, pork sausage, roasted tomato & mushrooms on homemade sourdough toast ($16)

Belgium waffle with ice cream ($9.50)

Tartelette Aux Noix ($7.50 dine in)

Tartelette Aux Fruits ($7.50 dine in)

Tartelette Citron - Lemon meringue ($7.50)

Handmade Belgium chocolates ($2 – $3.50 each)

Belgian waffles menu

Coffee and tea menu

Breakfast menu

Croquembouche and chocolate sculptures on display

Pastries and pies

Cakes display

Baguettes and freshly baked pretzels

Belgium chocolate display

Paté and freshly made waffles

Chocolate cake ($35)

Table supports can be a little awkward

Seating and service counter

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Cherubini Espresso Bar: Café, Darlinghurst (4 Sept 2011)

85 Boundary Street, Darlinghurst NSW 2010
http://www.cherubiniespressobar.com

Big breakfast for a small kitchen

Thanks to Food Morning for inviting me to sample the All Day Breakfast Breakfast and Coffee Deal ($9.50, normally $21.80) at Cherubini Espresso Bar. It included any one choice from the All Day Breakfast Menu although if you're after value for money then you're better off going for the Cherubini BIG Breakfast ($18) because everything else is much cheaper. You get two free range eggs, poached with bacon, fresh avocado, roast roma tomato, lemon herb mushrooms and organic sourdough toast. It's served on a large plate although if you're going to call it a BIG Breakfast then surely it should come with perhaps sausage as well. They only have a tiny kitchen so I'm sure this has a bearing on what's achievable. It all tasted pretty good except the poached eggs were overcooked and not as runny as hoped and I would have preferred the side salad of lettuce to be sauteed English spinach instead. The Eggs Benedict ($12) was ordered with ham and the two poached eggs were unfortunately slightly overcooked as well, probably by only a minute I'd say. The Scrambled eggs with roast tomato & organic sourdough toast ($10) was ordered with an extra side of crispy bacon ($4). Now when you describe bacon on the menu as crispy you're expecting it to be crispy but due to the low fat cut of the bacon it wasn't although it was still nice and a healthier version as well.

The Chai Latte ($3.80) was well-spiced with decent flavour and the Mocha ($3.80) had a nice balance of coffee and chocolate with a slightly roasty flavour. My well-presented Cappuccino ($3.80) also had roasty notes which wasn't too bitter so I didn't need to add any sugar. If you're thinking of eating inside then you might find the seating arrangement a bit crowded for sharing and table space comes at a premium if you're consuming anything more than a coffee. I forgot to check if they had a toilet available but I'm assuming they hopefully would being in such an isolated and quiet part of Darlinghurst.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Decent coffee and well-presented, Friendly and down-to-earth service, Free WiFi, Quiet location

CONS: Possibly crowded and awkward seating arrangement inside, Very limited table space, Poached eggs were a bit overcooked, Crispy bacon isn't crispy but it's low fat, BIG Breakfast doesn't come with sausage, Limited menu due to small kitchen including no pancakes or freshly squeezed juices, No prices on website menu

MUST TRY: Coffee

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Cappuccino ($3.80)

Chai Latte ($3.80), Mocha ($3.80)

Cherubini BIG Breakfast - two free range eggs, poached with bacon, fresh avocado, roast roma tomato, lemon herb mushrooms and organic sourdough toast ($18) — would have loved some sausages and hash brown to be included

Poached eggs not as runny as hoped

Eggs Benedict - 2 poached eggs on sourdough toast with hollondaise sauce with ham ($12) — poached eggs not as runny as hoped

Scrambled eggs with roast tomato & organic sourdough toast ($10) with side of crispy bacon ($4)

Coffee menu

Coffee beans and tea

Coffee details

Coffee bean roasting machine

Fresh muffins and table condiments

Very limited table space for cutlery, a magazine or even elbows

Friendly staff

Chalk drawings

Rainforest alliance certified 100% arabica beans signage, magazines

Limited seating inside, low seating options outside


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