The Missing Piece

Apparently this place is related to The Vogue Cafe, but not as nice/well known. This cafe was actually one of my first times having brunch inside a busy shopping centre without the cafe having its own space rather, it's out in the open and you're looking down onto different levels of the shops with natural sky lighting. There's a few in Castle Towers which are all out in the open, but stuff there is more on the pricey side...There's a lot of tables, but each table is very small and quite close to the table next to you, and the three of us aren't particularly tall either, so don't expect heaps of 'eating space' especially during lunch time.

We got there around 12.30pm, and there were already queues forming, and even when we finished at around 2, there were still some lines.

menu. They have pretty weird names, so you do have to read the descriptions

drinks

double O!: oreos, oval tine, nutella and maltesers milkshake: $9.50

iced tea: black tea with pomegranate, blackberries, strawberries, mint: $7

(regular lattes are $3.50, but I didn't get a chance to try it)

The milkshake is definitely expensive for a cafe, but it was that week's special, so we decided to get it. It's definitely not as thick compared to the Nutella milkshake from tThe Vogue Cafe which you actually have to put in some effort to drink it through the straw...This one was a very drinkable without being to thick or runny. I'm not a massive chocolate fan, so even though it's piled with chocolate toppings on top, the actual drink wasn't too decadent/rich.

close up

When the iced tea came out, everyone around me asked me what drink I ordered (even when I half finished it and new people sat on the table next to us, it still looked pretty, and people still asked what was in it). This was super nice, loved how they put lots of berries there, and the drinks was super refreshing. Not artificially sweet and balanced well with the sourness of some of the berries. They did use a mixture of frozen and fresh berries. Loved the sugar rim as well (looks pretty but doesn't really do anything else, I've always wondered how they wash these glasses...)

foood

Smashin and smokin: smashed avo served on toasted soy/linseed sourdough, topped w/ marinated wood-smoked salmon, lime and olive oil

Would have preferred the salmon the be more smoked, but loved the addition of the lime to give it some more freshness. The bread's crust was slightly harder to cut through and not toasted enough to have crunchy-ish toast. The olive oil made it slightly messy if you picked up the toast with your hands...

Air: confit duck fillet tossed with buckwheat, beetroot, baby spinach, rocket, parsley, walnut, chick peas and orange-$19

Definitely are favourite dish here. This dish is so generous with the amount of duck and other toppings in the salad, I would definitely recommend. Duck isn't a cheap protein, and to have a whole duck fillet with heaps of other stuff is pretty generous. The dish is actually a bowl which is quite deep rather than a plate of salad. The duck isn't too heavily seasoned, and the salad is super fresh with the orange segments. Loved the buckwheat and chickpeas to make to even healthier and make you feel full, plus the walnuts for a crunchy element. The balance of everything was so delicious.

Hashtag Sliders: slow cooked lamb, jalapeño mayo and rocket, with polenta blocks

I didn't understand why they called it "hashtag sliders" until I saw the dish, because it was literally hashtag sliders. The polenta chips form a hash sign, then you have your normal trio of sliders. They are a bit on the small side for sliders. I wanted to try the lamb even though there was jalepeno mayo which was definitely spicy, but luckily I ordered some drinks to help with the spiciness. It was a nice spiciness even though I can really eat spicy stuff. Loved this sprinkle of rosemary on the polenta chips. They did forget this order for us until we asked them, but it didn't really matter since the table was too small to fit 3 dishes and 3 drinks.

Didn't expect so much good food from a cafe with a small kitchen next to UniQlo. Have to give credit for the staff for bringing the dish from the kitchen to the cafe on the other side of the busy walkway.