12 May 2012

L'Espresso - Ballarat, Victoria

L'Espresso in Ballarat is my absolute favourite breakfast spot in Australia. We stay in Ballarat every time on our way to Melbourne just so we can wake up and go straight to L'Espresso.

Inside L'Espresso

They're in one of Ballarat's cool heritage buildings on Sturt Street and there's always some smooth tunes playing from their wall of CDs. The chalkboard to the left of the entrance shows a list of new arrivals in their music collection.

inside L'Espresso

This is a real cafe with all the good stuff including a coffee machine made by Faema, Italy’s number one professional espresso machine manufacturer.

Darren says the coffee is awesome

The coffee, according to my cafe latte drinking hubby, is superb. Just like what you would find in some of Europe's best cafes. Smooth and delicious.

Cafe Latte

If you aren't a coffee drinker, I recommend the fresh squeezed orange juice. There's minimal pulp and the taste is absolutely perfect.

perfect Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice

And here it is, my favourite breakfast in all of Australia! It's the Free Range Eggs (scrambled) with Bacon Tomato and Toast ($14.50). The eggs are silky smooth and perfectly cooked. The bacon is lean and tasty. The tomatoes are a deep red colour, not that pale supermarket crap, and nicely grilled with a beautiful pesto on top. The toast is fluffy turkish bread with a slight toasted crunch on the outside and soft in the middle. And oh the butter!

Free Range Scrambled Eggs & Bacon - best breakfast ever!

Or here's the Eggs Benedict ($16.50) with those grilled tomatoes, poached free range eggs, grilled ham and hollandaise sauce on an English muffin.

Yum

There are plenty of other options for breakfast too such as fritters, pancakes, lamb's fry, muesli, toast, croissants, etc. I'm sure you'll find plenty to love. L'Espresso is also open for lunch everyday, serving up traditional Italian fare like pastas and open focaccias. They're sometimes open on Friday and Saturday evenings for dinner as well. If you're in Ballarat, don't pass up the opportunity to visit L'Espresso!

L'Espresso on Urbanspoon

22 April 2012

La Belle Miette - Melbourne, Victoria

We made a quick macaron stop in Hardware Lane in Melbourne and it was one of the highlights of our trip.

La Belle Miette

La Belle Miette means "beautiful crumb" in French and this patisserie definitely lives up to its name. We were greeted just after opening by a full case of macarons.

Full case - a rare & beautiful sight

All the beautiful colours and flavours were slightly overwhelming when it came to choosing our assortment.

Macaroons

We ended up with a 6 pack containing: 72% Cocoa Single Origin Chocolate (Venezuela), Caramel a la Fleur de Sel, Raspberry, Violet & Blueberry, Cherry Blossom & Sake, and Strawberry & Vanilla.

6 pack of perfect French macaroons

Each macaron was perfect in its size, flavour, colour and texture. Buy as many as you can, people! Sydney may have Zumbo, but Melbourne has La Belle Miette.

La Belle Miette on Urbanspoon

07 April 2012

Caffeteca - North Adelaide, South Australia

We've recently discovered a great little cafe hiding in Tynte Street, North Adelaide called Caffeteca. It's across the road from Perryman's Bakery.

Caffeteca

Caffeteca feels more like a little cafe you might find in Melbourne or Sydney. Find a table and place your order at the counter.

inside Caffeteca

I was keen to try the hot chocolate and it certainly didn't disappoint. I absolutely love the rich, dark, European style hot chocolate they serve up at Caffeteca. Under that milky froth is a whole lotta chocolate goodness.

Hot Chocolate

Coffees are excellent quality and hard to fault. This is the Caffe Latte (large).

Caffe Latte (large)

They also offer some great freshly squeezed juices - Ruby Red Grapefruit Juice ($5.50) or Orange Juice ($4.50). If you don't like pulp, you might want to stay away from the OJ because it's pretty chunky. I didn't mind the pulp as I felt I was getting all of the goodness of the orange without any of the work. Naturally delicious!

Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice ($4.50)

The serving sizes at Caffeteca are generally on the small side, but they're still great value for the price and still leave you feeling satisfied because they're so darn tasty. The Egg and Pancetta Brioche ($7.50) is probably the smallest choice but it's delicious.

Egg and Pancetta Brioche Toasted ($7.50)

If you want a slightly larger meal, go for the Breakfast Piadina ($9.90). It comes with free range scrambled eggs, fontina cheese, and crispy pancetta inside. It's divine!

Breakfast Piadina ($9.90)

The other breakfast options include piadinas, croissants, breads, fruit, muesli, porridge and they serve lunch as well. Caffeteca is open Mon-Sat 7am-4pm (closed Sundays).

Caffeteca on Urbanspoon