Two Sis & Co

I have to admit, I love it when friends let me pick where to eat, since I can also 'tick' off more places on my place to eat (which has long turned to a mental list of place, since if I write them down, I know I'll never be able to complete it then feel sad the list will never be finished). These days I just go to places at the top of my head. This cafe wasn't too busy around lunch time so managed to get a seat quite easily.

food spread

Blue matcha latte-$5

Rose latte-$5

Love the colours and edible flowers on the latte

The blue matcha latte was pretty flavourless and tasted just like milk with fragrant edible flowers. They used butterfly pea powder, which apparently is some sort of superfood plant. The rose latte was super fragrant and smelt like roses, but the flavour was quite subtle as well. Compared the the blue matcha, it was a tad bit more flavourful.

these days, just get random wall paper to make your cafe more 'Instagramable'

French toast: crunchy brioche, fresh berries, nuts, chocolate pearls, mascarpone salted caramel and Persian pashmak-$18.50

I wasn’t really in the mood for french toast, but when it looks pretty and it’s a recommended dish, I gave in and decided to order it. The french toast here is more bready and less fried, so it did taste more like bread, but it was quite soft. I loved the fairy floss on top as it made the dish so pretty, also wasn't too sweet like normal fairly floss. Liked the texture from the nuts and chocolate pearls. It wasn’t overly sweet, since although I like sweet things, for this stuff I do have a tolerance. Couldn’t really taste the salted caramel though.  

Our famous Dukkah eggs: smashed avo, bacon, poached eggs, lemon sukkah and balsamic glaze-$17

Normally I don't order avo toast since I can make it at home, but they recommended this dish, and it also had the word 'famous' in it so I gave in. Didn't really feel like a sandwich or a burger, which is pretty much the majority of the menu, The dukkah could have had more herbs and spices. Bacon wasn't too fatty and eggs cooked well with a runny yolk. The balsamic glaze was more on the sweet side, would have liked a bit more vinegar to cut through the bacon flavour. Adding edible flowers just takes any food presentation a step up.

#yolkporn

Glider KS

This cafe only has a few seats inside and is next to Spice Alley, but almost missed the entrance into it. There’s a front and back entrance, and somehow we both missed both entrances trying to find this cafe. 

food spread

Hojicha french toast, genmai with taro ice cream-$17

I think I was expecting a bigger hit in flavour in this dish, since the hojicha in the toast was very subtle, and the piece of toast wasn’t that pretty. The purple in the taro ice cream and edible flowers did help brighten the brown hues in this dish. There was a decent amount of taro flavour, but I also would’ve liked more. With Asian flavours, I prefer more stronger flavours without being sweet, so I guess they may cut back on the flavours for people who aren’t as accustomed to those sorts of flavours.

Glider thai omelette (plain)-$13

I wanted to order a savoury dish but not a burger so settled for this omelette (too cheap to add extra money for chicken). It’s a nice omelette, but nothing amazing. Could be fluffier and had more Thai flavours rather than just using Thai toppings. I think if I tried, even I could make something like this.

 

Butterfly effect: lemon iced tea-$7.50

love this purple shade

When you poured out the drink, it had a lovely purple colour-one of my favourite shades of purple. It was a little bit bubbly and slightly sweet, but tasted more like carbonated water with a bit of lemon. 

cool cutlery

sort of open kitchen

front entrance 

The Hardware Societé

When you go Melbourne, even if it's only for 7 hours, brunch still has to be a priority. This cafe is known for its lines. We got there around 12:30pm on a weekday and waited for around 15mins. 5 mins after we got there, the line was massive. I didn't even realise they have another cafe in Paris, but then why would you go Paris to have brunch when Aussies do brunch best. You go to Paris for the pastries, macarons, unlimited amounts of desserts, and all that French food...As I've said before, I would go back to Paris just for the food...

food spread

drinks, love the pretty latte art

  

Matcha maiden green tea latte-$5, capp-$4

I had the capp and it had a good depth of coffee in it. I feel like to have good latte art which doesn't sink/disappear in the froth, the froth can't be too airy/foamy, and needs a thicker froth consistency which this one does. The coffee art is a lot more refined here, they did hire a good barista. Tried a bit of the matcha and it had a lovely intense matcha hit in it, more bitter for those who also like their matcha lattes not sweet.

Fried brioche, meringue, passionfruit curd, chocolate chantilly, blueberries-$18

The bread was super soft which is expected from a brioche. First time having fried brioche. I loved the acidity from the passionfruit paired with the not too sweet yet light chocolate chantilly. The blueberries added just the right bit of sweetness, and the meringue had a good crunch without being overly sweet.

Lobster eggs benedict: citrus hollandaise, soft herbs, bun noir, poached eggs-$26

#yolkporn

Anything with lobster just elevates a dish to another level, because lobster ain't cheap. There's not a lobster here, but the pieces you get were really fresh, sweet and juicy. It was balanced well with the citrus hollandaise which had just the right amount of acidity, although I do wish there was more sauce since the bun is more bready compared to just having a piece of toast. Yay for runny yolks. I feel like these days, you're cafe won't be successful if you can't make nicely shaped poached eggs.

Baked eggs: chorizo sausage, potato, piquillo peppers, queso mahon, toasted almonds, aioli-$19

Loved how this came bubbling in its cute little pot when it arrived on the table. I tried a bit of this and it wasn't too tomatoey or spicy.

There were other dishes which looked really good as well, but limited time/stomach space to try other things.

it's actually not too small inside

cute tea cups

Meet Mica

New cafes are still popping up in Sydney. It's pretty much impossible to visit all these places even as a uni student where you technically have more time for brunch compared to a full time worker since all these places close in the afternoon. I like how this cafe does a modernised take of some Jap food and flavours.

food spread

Matcha french lava toast: matcha lava toast with matcha milk foam, strawberry dust & seasonal fruit-$18

 

look at that matcha lava-ness

this is what I came for

condensed milk syrup-mid drip

I've had a fair bit of french toasts and tend to not order it as much when I go to cafes, unless they're different like this one. First time having french toast with matcha sauce inside. I don't think there's a nice way to cut into it, but I just loved how the sauce oozed out. There was also a good hit of matcha, and if you like your matcha strong, then there's not much need to add the sauce. I originally thought it was a white choc sauce, but it's a bit more viscous/stringy. Personally I don't think it needed it but it really depends on how sweet you like things. The actual toast was more on the bready side, but it was thick enough to mop up the sauce.

Porridge: classic oatmeal porridge with yuzu, banana custard, seasonal fruit, coconut foam & roasted almonds-$14.5

This is actually a pretty big bowl of porridge, so if you're looking for something filling then order this. Loved the presentation with the strawberry dust, but was hoping for more yuzu flavour and coconut flavour in the foam. Once you eat the top layer, the porridge near the bottom is a bit flavourless, so would've liked more flavour throughout the bowl.

lite sammies bento-$14.5 

smoked salmon, mustard dill cream, pickled fennel & mixed greens

avocado, grilled zucchini, roasted pepper, spinach, pesto

japanese egg roll & lettuce

You don't often see bento boxes at cafes, but I guess this is a modernised cafe so why not? They come with 3 cute sandwiches, each with a different filling and sort of Jap flavours. Loved the crispy lotus root chips.

capp-$3.50

I also came for the cute latte art-can't resist cute food. The milk was frothed well and coffee flavour wasn't too bitter or weak. Also tried the organic chai tea ($5) and loved the intensity of the spices in it. I feel like sometimes you can taste the different between organic and non organic tea since it's normally has a stronger taste.

inside

Seating inside isn't too cramped. It's a nice cafe to meet new people at Meet Mica.