Blond Coffee - Angaston, South Australia

You'll find Blond Coffee situated at the corner of Murray Street and Sturt Street in Angaston, directly across the street from the Angaston Hotel.



Step inside to find plenty of space and seating.



Walk up to the counter to place your order. There's certainly no shortage of hot drinks to choose from, including coffees, T2 teas, chai lattes, and a variety of hot chocolates.



On our most recent visit, Darren went with his usual Cafe Latte (large - $4.90).



I went with the White Hot Chocolate ($4.40). I especially enjoyed the amazing froth with bubbles that continued to burst for a few minutes after arriving at the table. The flavour was impressive too, very smooth and creamy as a white hot chocolate should be.



The breakfasts at Blond are brilliant. Darren's favourite is the Blond Big Breakfast ($21.50). Seems a little pricey for breakfast but the quality and quantity is all there so it's money well spent. You get Rosie's free range eggs cooked the way you like, Mount Pleasant bacon, breakfast sausages, spinach, mushrooms, tomato & sourdough toast.



If you're looking for something smaller, go for the Scrambled Toastie ($10.50). It's filled with Rosie's free range scrambled eggs, Mount Pleasant bacon, tomato and cheddar cheese. I usually get strange looks if I ask for scrambled eggs in a breakfast sandwich, so I was delighted to find this sandwich on the menu. The cheese helped hold the egg in place so there were no problems with anything falling out.



On another visit, I was lucky enough to find this special on the menu - Blond Potato Hash, Chorizo, Cheddar Cheese & Spring Onion, topped w/a Poached Egg. The dish was delicious and refreshingly different from the usual standard bacon and egg breakfast. Specials change depending on the day so keep your eye on the specials board.



Before you leave, be sure to also check out the shop at the back of the cafe where you can buy gifts, T2 teas, and local produce such as Rosie's free range eggs and Mount Pleasant bacon.



Blond Coffee is definitely my pick for breakfast in the Barossa Valley.

Bread Garden - Adelaide, South Australia

Bread Garden is a great new Asian bakery in Glynde. It's just across Payneham Road from one of our favourite Korean restaurants, Sushi Gallery.



Bread Garden is similar to Breadtop, but it's a one of a kind gourmet bakery and not a franchise. Because of its smaller scale, there's more love and attention to detail in the baked goods at Bread Garden.



The decor is eclectic and draws you in as soon as you walk through the door. There are comfy tables and chairs, which make "eating in" all the more enjoyable. To get started, you'll need to pick up a plastic tray and tongs to gather your selections.



At Bread Garden, everything is made with New Zealand butter and filtered water - no margarine, shortening or preservatives. It all looked so delicious - fluffy, shiny buns and loaves of all shapes, colours and sizes. I seriously wanted to buy one of everything. To make matters worse, this man was going around brushing the pastries with melted butter. Evil!



One of my favourite savoury options is this amazing Sausage and Lots Leaf Bread aka "The Leaf" ($3.20). It has slices of sausage, corn, cheese, tomato sauce and mayo inside. Absolutely irresistible!



There are also plenty of great sweets such as the Blueberry & Creamcheese bun ($2.40). As the name suggests, it's got plump blueberries and smooth cream cheese in the middle. The bun itself is ultra soft and moist.



One of the cutest buns has to be the Smile Custard Bun ($2.00). This one is sure to put a smile on your dial.



There's quite an extensive drinks menu as well, including coffees, teas, iced drinks, shakes, fruit ice crushers, and ice shavers. Darren had a coffee and said it was very good, smooth, high quality coffee. He was very impressed. Here's the small Latte ($3.30).



We couldn't resist taking a Chocolate Croissant ($2.00) for the road. Boy is this a bargain! We zapped it in the microwave for about 10 seconds and it was incredibly good. Perfect croissant pastry and a good amount of dark chocolate inside. Yes, please!



They sell made to order cakes as well. This one on display looked amazing! They've also got cake slices for sale.



Bread Garden is open 8:30am to 7pm (to 9pm on Friday), closed Tuesdays. This place is so good, we're already planning our next visit.

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.



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.



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.



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.



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



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!



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.



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!

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

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.

Coffees are excellent quality and hard to fault. This is the 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!



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.



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!



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).

Il Toro Pasta & Espresso Bar - Adelaide, South Australia

There's a new place open at 1/321 North East Road, Hampstead Gardens and it's Il Toro Pasta & Espresso Bar. They're open for breakfast, lunch and dinner 6 days a week (closed Tuesdays).



The owner, chef, barista, waiter, cashier and all around nice guy inside is Jim. So far, he's running the place on his own. This is good news for customers because Jim makes great coffee and food and he's the one making it for you each and every time. As his clientele grows, I think he'll need some additional staff but so far so good.



The coffee is a strong Italian style coffee and comes in a speccy double walled glass.



The food is made with care and it's great value too. Just Eggs $6.90 (free range eggs cooked to your liking on ciabatta toast) and Bacon $1.50 adds up to $8.40 for a delicious bargain breakfast. And a generous serve as well.



There are other breakfast options too such as Calabrese Eggs, Asiago Omelette, Colazione Completa or Eggs Benedict. All are made with good quality, tasty free range eggs which should keep most people happy. But if you're not in the mood or time of day for breakfast, that's ok too. Make sure you start with the Garlic Bread (3 slices wood oven bread with organic butter, garlic, parsley), another steal at $2.50.



The pasta doesn't disappoint either. It's all handmade traditional artisan Studio Panagrazio pasta, which is Jim and his wife's other business. Our favourite dish so far is the Fettucine Al Pollo $11.90 (Studio Panagrazio laminated fettucine with pan fried free range chicken breast, smoked bacon, field mushrooms and rose sauce).   Balanced, full flavoured and an awesome dish.



Before you pay your bill, make sure you check out the glass cabinet (left of shot below) for some Italian treats. The cakes change regularly and there's always something tempting.



I can recommend the Sfogliatelle $3, a shell shaped Italian pastry. This was my first sfogliatelle (still practicing my pronunciation), and it certainly won't be my last.



Adelaide's new hidden Italian gem is Il Toro Pasta & Espresso Bar. We need more places like this in Adelaide.

Update 1 June 2012: Il Toro seems to have closed. I don't have any other information at this stage.

Update 20 Oct 2012: Il Toro has reopened. There was a fire in May, forcing some renovations which have now been completed. Jim is back in business!

UR Caffe - North Adelaide, South Australia

We ventured to a new cafe over the weekend. It's called UR Caffe and it's on Melbourne Street in North Adelaide.



UR Caffe is run by a young couple who recently moved to Adelaide from Sydney to start their very first cafe. It has been open for around 6 months now and business seems to be picking up. We really liked this idea of a whole wall painted black and used as a chalkboard menu. For those who prefer paper menus, they've got those too.



The guy behind the coffee machine is very serious about his coffee. He's the one who usually takes orders at the front counter as well, but those wanting to place orders while a coffee is in progress will simply have to wait. His coffee concentration pays off. Since I don't actually drink coffee myself, I got the low down from my hubby who says it's on par with the best we've had in Adelaide at Signature.


Cafe Latte (Large - $4)

Plus, they do a wickedly good White Hot Chocolate. It only comes in one size, big mug, at $4.40.



They also sell heaps of different fruit smoothies, milkshakes and teas. The owners' Thai influence comes through in quite a few areas such as: some of the drinks, the Moo Yhong (flossy pork and mild chilli jam on toast - $4.90) and the fresh fruit and salad that come with the egg breakfast meals. On our first visit the fruit and salad consisted of watermelon, lettuce, tomato and cucumber.


Bacon & Eggs ($8.90)

The Bacon & Eggs for $8.90 was a big and satisfying meal. The fresh salad and fruit also gave it a unique flair. I noticed that you can also get avocado paste spread on your toast for no extra charge. When ordering a second coffee, we also noticed a glass display case to the right of the cash register and I fell in love with the Raspberry Lamington ($4). Had to get one to go and it was divine. The sweets are all baked on site and I can definitely recommend them as a good investment.



We were impressed with the prices, the quality, and the freshness of this little cafe. We will definitely be back for more.