Early Birds @ Sydney

siride June 30, 2022

Hello readers! When you think of food culture in Australia, what comes to your mind? For me, it is a brunch with bacon, avocado and poached eggs. Well, Melbourne and Sydney will also appeal to me as the food paradise in Australia. As a result, I prepared an extensive food list before I visited Sydney half a year ago. Follow this blog post for my Sydney food adventure.

Waking up in the morning to refreshing breeze, what is much better than a satisfying breakfast or brunch ? In Sydney, you will never run out of ideas on where to go (or maybe you will be headache due to myriad of choices).

1. Bourke Street Bakery, Surry Hills

No.1 Bakery in Sydney and the bread is freshly baked everyday. They do offer sourdough, sausage roll, pastries and coffee to their customers. A great place to spend your morning if you want a light breakfast.

Pork and fennel sausage roll

The popular bakery item is the pork and fennel sausage roll. The crispiness on the outside and its generous fillings will satisfy your tummy. Do accompany this sausage roll with a cup of hot chocolate or coffee.

The exterior

The queue will never cease ever since the bakery opens its door everyday. Most often, the customers opt for take away because there is limited seat inside. But a couple of outdoor seats will do the favour if you want to dine in.

Ginger creme brulee

Another popular item up the rack is the ginger creme brulee. Different from the conventional creme brulee, the tinge of ginger gives a refreshing vigor to the day. The crunchy pistachio and burnt caramel add in the excitement. Apart from that, the custard is light as well. Highly recommended if you are a fan of ginger.

Website: http://bourkestreetbakery.com.au/
Address: 633 Bourke Street, Surry Hills. (Corner of Devonshire and Bourke Street)
Trading hour: 7am-6pm (Mon-Fri), 7am-5pm (Sat-Sun)

2. Reuben Hills, Surry Hills

Reuben Hills is famous as a coffee roastry and cafe in Sydney. It has been awarded as Latorre & Dutch best boutique roaster of the year 2013. Besides coffee, it does provide its customers a comfy environment to have brunch.

Contemporary interior design

Cappucino

I ordered the 'NOT reuben' (pretty ironic!). It consists of wagyu salt brisket, pickled slaw, manchego and horseradish cream on rye. I guess one of the reasons behind the name is that typical reuben sandwich normally has corned beef, Swiss cheese with Russian dressing and sauerkraut, grilled between slices of rye bread, whereby Reuben Hills' creation is different.

Not Reuben

The portion comes out to be pretty small, in size of a typical rye bread, being divided into 2 halves. The wagyu brisket is a tad dry on overall.

Not so Reuben

Aside from the NOT reuben, they do have other breakfast options and sweets. A place to consider for catch up over coffee. Their coffee options range from filter, cold filter, white, black to affogato.

Website: http://reubenhills.com.au/
Address: 61 Albion Street, Surry Hills.
Trading hours: 7am-4pm (Mon-Sun)

3. Grounds of Alexandria

Nestled at industrial area in Alexandria, Grounds of Alexandria is a family friendly brunch place. It is also a good idea for someone who wants to escape the hustle and bustle of city during weekend. The seating area is spacious and there is a small barn for the little ones. In addition, there is also florist at the precinct, selling fresh flower. There is also a garden with fresh vegetables and herbs, where the fresh ingredients on your plate come from. The combination of freshly brewed coffee, giggling from children and appetizing menu does make a short satisfying weekend getaway.

The exterior

The interior

Grounds of Alexandria is the flagship venue for its specialty coffee. Formerly an old pie factory, the Grounds has been transformed into a rustic, yet stylish cafe. Besides hosting a coffee research, the kitchen also practice holistic approach to food and design, as well as picking herbs fresh from garden every morning. The Grounds also offers its customers seasonal menu whereby we can taste the best in every season.

Bakery area

Latte

Mini barn with roosters

Outdoor seating

Family area

I ordered the smashed avocado on sourdough with haloumi and poached eggs. The ingredients were indeed very fresh! There is another popular menu item, which is the Grounds Breakfast Platter. It includes a couple of items such as cured meats and poached eggs.

Smashed avocado on sourdough

The Grounds of Alexandria is highly recommended! Be it bakery items, or coffee, or breakfast menu, they will surely tantalise your taste buds, with bursts of freshness in every ingredient. Not to mention that the Grounds does have its own market on every first weekend of the month, providing live music, great brunch and own-roasted coffee.

Website: http://groundsroasters.com/
Address: Building 7A, No.2, Huntley Street Alexandria

Trading hours: 7am-4pm (Mon-Fri), 7.30am-4pm (Sat-Sun)

4. Mad Spuds Cafe

Reflecting the name of the cafe, Mad Spuds Cafe is all about potatoes. According to the website, the potatoes are sourced from Robertson on the Southern Highland of NSW. Robertson is famous for its rich volcanic soil, which provides lots of nutrients to the potatoes, giving them a robust unique flavour. This cafe also advocates healthy living as the potatoes are all baked.

From the outside

I ordered the Mad Spud Stack. It consists the crispy potato cake, halloumi, avocado, roast onion, spud skins, sweet potato and mint yogurt. Trust me, this will be a heavenly meal for the potato lovers. I especially love the spud skins. Crispy and crunchy, accompanied with the soft mashed texture of the potato cake, I finished the whole plate within no seconds. As potatoes contain a lot of carbohydrate, I was full to the brim after a stack.