Cabrito Coffee Traders

 

In Sydney’s unplanned and chaotic CBD set up, it’s easy to get lost, especially when the only two capital cities I have lived in are both planned grids, that aside, if It weren’t for our displacement one warm summer day, we would have never have stumbled across Cabrito Coffee Traders.  This awesome café situated in the small Bulletin Place laneway (yayyyyyy a laneway cafe) looks like a comfy lounge room on the inside, but is actually a heritage listed building on the outside.

With a few scattered tables both inside and outside, it’s best to find a spot and stick with it because this place has some amazing coffee and some cool bites to eat that you just might want to stay all day.

 

Inside, it has an awesome feel to it and it’s always bustling. The retro paintings and the sporadically placed garden gnomes welcome you to sit and watch the hordes of people who flock to this establishment but it feels like you are in your own lounge room. I hate to say it, but it does remind me of Melbourne and that is a good thing as it is something that Melbourne does so well (I promise I…will..let..go..soon ).  It is warm and dark inside, not because it is seedy but due to the earthy wood floor that lines the place and the dark paint that is highlighted by random and vivid street art.  However, the hustle and bustle of this busy café won’t leave you lurching in the shadows waiting for service, The staff are polite and down to earth which is fantastic when they are so busy and run off their feet.  It is always nice to get a cheery G’day from people even if they are extremely busy.
 

 

There are a few bites to eat such as the wonderful sandwiches which include the NY Pastrami and the Tuna Mayo.  These are served up on sour dough which are a bigger treat when toasted.  They are also presented on retro crockery but before you can even question whether your grandma had the same plates, the sandwich will have your full attention.  Their own special mayo blend in both the pastrami and tuna sandwiches were amazingly light and the flavours complimented each other, hence why I mentioned I could have eaten two.

 

Sorry, yes there is the need to mention Melbourne again because Cabrito gets its own signature blend created by 4 Rascals in Melbourne which happens to be in the suburb of Balwyn.  The coffee here is…Yes I am going to say it… simply amazing!!! It is strong and bold and care is taken by the baristas as the milk is always hot and creamy, there isn’t a hint of watery-ness that you can experience in places where they don’t take their time.  And to get even more excited, in the Mocha, they use real chocolate… Yes REAL CHOCOLATE and I will inform you that they aren’t stingy with the helping either which make it amazing coffee / chocolate blend for you lovers of mocha out there.  Coffee from Cabrito can only be described as luxury.  Grab a lamington with your order which come from Luscious Kiki Cakes in Brookvale NSW.  You will experience exquisite flavours such as chocolate, lemon and red devil. Grab them fast.

 

Coffee is now a big thing and there are places popping up everywhere, but with all the hype, there is always a stand out and Cabrito (in my tiny opinion) is one of these places that does shine and definitely is a winner.  

 

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Le Jardin Cafe and Tahmoor Garden Centre

Hmmmmm, whenever I road trip, I shudder at the choice of the food on the road, let alone the coffee. High calorific fast food, sandwiches with butter that is thick like cheese and coffee that tastes like dirty paint brush water.  Okay, I’m being a bit of drama queen, but that’s just because I have found a beautiful oasis that could put some metropolitan cafes to shame.

Heading down south from Sydney, travelling along a stretch of road called Remembrance Drive between the small towns of Bargo and Tahmoor is the Tahmoor Garden Centre and Le Jardin Café.  You could miss it, I’m not going to let you do that.

              

At first it seems like just any garden centre with bags of soil and lines of terracotta pots, however once you venture towards the end of the car park, you notice a shed with a beautiful outdoor deck and the familiar sound of a coffee machine and you know this is something different. Working in conjunction with the garden centre, La Jardin café not only features a full menu for morning and afternoon tea plus lunch, it also is home to a beautiful French inspired gift shop that also sports that modern Australian touch.

                 

          

As usual, I'm here to talk about the food and more importantly the coffee.  This café is modern looking, it is clean and has some amazing food that you would find in cafes in some of the upmarket cafes in the CBD with contemporary eats to match. There are no grandma plates or tablecloths here.  After chatting to Sylvie in the café about their coffee beans, I sat down to enjoy my usual coffee.  The beans are sourced from a local supplier ‘Coffee Culture’ in Bowral which I think is great that they have stayed local with the influx of so many coffee bean merchants popping their heads up these days.  The serving sizes were more than generous and it was extremely exciting to find a really good coffee.  The milk was extremely fluffy and creamy, not flat at all and the coffee left a warm lingering after taste. My beef with most places is that they serve up warm cups of milk that just do not have that robust coffee hit, however, no matter the size of coffee, It was delivered with that strong coffee punch, a credit to the barista.  My companion to this coffee today was a piece of beautifully moist almond cake, which Angie served to us with a dollop of thick cream and home made jam.  The cake is amazingly dense and also gluten free.

Daily, there is an assortment of cakes, snacks and propped up on a pedestal on the front bench are the scones which look so fluffy and light it is amazing they don’t float.  Go ahead and order some lunch from their menu as they have a selection of made to order bites that you can enjoy inside or by soaking up some rays on their marvelous decking.  I beg you, if you are in the area  and you are swaying towards those ridiculous cafes in with golden arches that feature prominently along highways and freeways (you knowwwwwwwww the place I mean),  bypass it for La Jardin Tahmoor, you will be fed better, the coffee is far superior  and the service is friendly plus, and you might leave with a pet cactus or two.

  

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Haigh's Chocolates - Easter Bilby's 20th Anniversary

As I drew my name for this blog from the Australian native Bilby, (see 'About the Bilby' section on my main page), I wanted to highlight the work that Haigh's chocolates does each year for the preservation of the Bilby with in Australia and to bring awareness to Australians and overseas customers who purchase their ‘Easter Bilby’ chocolate.  Haighs are celebrating the 20^th Anniversary of creating the Chocolate Bilby for Easter.  As a fellow Bilby fan, I wanted to applaud these fine chocolate makers for 20 years of supporting the conservation of the Bilby and putting a truly Aussie 'spin' on every Easter.

The following is taken from the Haigh's Chocolates Website (2013)

“The Haigh’s chocolate Easter Bilby story began in 1993 when the RFA (Rabbit Free Australia) asked Haigh’s to help it develop and promote an authentic Australian icon for Easter based on the endangered bilby. We then produced the RFA approved chocolate Easter Bilby which proved such a success with our customers that after just two years we stopped making chocolate Easter Bunnies and focused solely on the bilby."

"Over the last 20 years we have produced more than 500,000 chocolate bilbies with part proceeds from the sale of every chocolate Easter Bilby to the RFA to assist with their environmental initiatives.”

I don’t work for Haigh's, nor are they paying me to post this, but I was born and bred in the city of Adelaide where the first Haigh's store was established many years ago.  Its nice to see that during the hype of the Easter holidays that a store is still embracing the ‘Aussie’ touch and creating these delicious chocolates, moulded in a cute Bilby shape.  

Not only is Haigh's uniquely Australian (and quite proudly, South Australian), the chocolate is luxurious and delicious.  It is one of my favourite chocolates and each time I visit a store, my senses are engulfed with the sense of milky delight.  It always takes me back to when I was a child and my mum would buy me a Haigh's Chocolate frog (Just the little one, not their mammoth Super Frog - 375grams) from the 'Beehive Corner' store in Adelaide.  They have developed such a range of chocolates and chocolate related products, that the stores are expanding in size.  If you’re not a fan of the Easter chocolates, I beg you to try the chocolate ‘Speckles’ and also the MarshmallowKokettes.  On a more up market scale, a variety of gourmet loose chocolates are available either singly or in beautiful boxes, which are all prepared with the assistant wearing white gloves, and you never leave the store without a taste test.  Ive only just begun to scratch the chocolaty  surface.

The Easter Bilby range is now available in All Haigh's stores and will sell fast…Go and try Haigh's chocolate, I urge you to try the chocolate and support this amazing Australian company who continually support the Bilby.

Stores are now located in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney  

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Dulce Luna

Upon moving to Sydney, I was scared that the coffee culture that I had learnt to love in Melbourne would be hard to replace.  Melbournians know their coffee, Melbournians love their coffee.  So, now residing in Sydney, I want to prove that Sydney has some amazing places to match.  No, you will never get me supporting a NSW based sports team, but you can convince me that Sydney has great coffee, and I want to convince everyone else that this is also true.

 

 

Sydney is busy and trying to find a place in the hustle and bustle can be time consuming, however one busy day, I stumbled across the beautiful Dulce Luna, located in the CBD on King Street but facing ontoYork Street.  This ‘Hole in the Wall’ type café is actually called a ‘Viennoserie’ which has an amazing European feel to it which is matched by a beautiful smell of pastries which hit your senses as you step inside.  The cleanliness of the store is matched by the amazing customer service when you arrive.  Definitely like stepping into a beautiful oasis off of a busy Sydney Street, the smell of coffee and pastries definitely make you forget where you are.

 

The cafe prides itself on these amazing pastries that are an amalgamation of French, Italian, Austrian and Argentinian influences, which form a croissant like pastry called a Viennioserie, which is sweeter and smaller than a traditional croissant.  The café also prides itself on a mystery flavour which is created each week, just to keep you guessing.  Flavours include Dark Chocolate, Raspberry, Almond, Pistachio, Milk Caramel (Dulce De Leche), Crème Patisserie, Glazed and Original.  Not a sweet tooth?? Not a problem, try one of the savoury Lunas known as a Sabroso which feature flavours such as Ham, cheese and Béchamel and Spinach and Feta. Today we feasted on Pistachio, raspberry, Dulce De Leche and the weekly secret flavour which was sweet ricotta. All so light, that we could enjoy the multiple flavours without feeling sickly.  We were also treated to a glazed croissant which was also light and buttery but the glaze gave it an instant sweet hit. I tell you, if you are reaching for those mass produced glazed donuts, think again, you must try a glazed croissant from Dulce Luna. 

 

 

The most important part to me is the coffee.  Not only was the Barista one of the friendliest people who has served me, the coffee machine is right in the shop front, there is no counter separating you, you almost feel at home.  The coffee they use is Delano Coffee.  Ethically Certified coffee that is also organic.  As per usual, I order a mocha first up to see how they blend a coffee with chocolate. I was so excited to taste that they use a lovely dark or strong cocoa blended chocolate which made such a warm after taste when mixed with the coffee.  The coffee was so smooth and when I got a hit of chocolate, it was also not so sweet, but bitter, but in a good way, like good dark chocolate should be.

 

  

The next treat was an Espresso.  Again, I was looking forward to the Ethiopian Blend and the familiar rich taste was amazing, and the warm after taste was left lingering which became more subtle. I definitely recommend you sit down and enjoy, rather than taking it away. The servings were very generous and I was so excited to find a coffee in Sydney that really would give some cafes in Melbourne a good run for their money, I would be proud to call this place my new hang out. 

While in an extremely busy part of Sydney, I recommend you take some time out of your busy schedule to give Dulce Luna a try.  It tops my list on service, cleanliness and also quality.  It also has made me feel less home sick for my Melbourne coffee hang outs.  Just remember when you walk out of the shop with your head in the clouds to remember to look both ways when you cross the street because those buses do not stop for anyone.

 

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Hush Hush Cafe Camberwell

Call me a little bit biased but, I love Camberwell.  I had lived there for approx. 11 years and one of my favourite cafes is the well hidden, Hush Hush Café.

Nestled in between a bank, a juice bar and a newsagent and also tucked down a laneway, you could miss it, but with the crowds that this place pulls, it seems like it gets great exposure.

I love their coffee. I know it is bold statement to make, but in this day and age where a cup of coffee can be hit and miss according to which staff is working on any given day, Hush Hush always delivers, no matter which staff is on.  Most recently, they have changed their coffee beans to the ever popular (and growing) Toby’s Estate.  Melbourne cafés who stock and use the Toby’s Estate beans, have a special blend called the ‘Brunswick’ Blend which is only available for use in Melbourne cafes.  This suits Melbournians and coffee connoisseurs palates as it is a punchy, strong blend but never leaves you with a horrible after taste.

Every time I receive my coffee, the milk is creamy and more so, when I have a mocha, it is never overtly sweet. I can sense the chocolate is there, but its not so sweet that I feel like I have 8 sugars in it.  The mug size is generous and cheap and the cafe has some amazing accompaniments such as home made almond bread, amaretti biscuits or their famous raspberry muffins which they warm up for you and and serve with butter. Not the ideal thing for your waist, but if you save it for a special occasion, you won’t be disappointed.

Hush Hush serves breakfast all day and even simple things like toast and Vegemite are large serves and you can always find some delicious home made sides such as the hash brown which is the size of a hockey puck and is so fluffy and filled with large chunks of potato and lightly seasoned.

One dish I can suggest is the lunch time semolina dusted calamari.  As the name suggests, it is only lightly coated in semolina therefore it isn’t caked in batter or fried beyond recognition, but instead you have a light and tender dish which is accompanied by peppery rocket and their home made aioli containing tiny pieces of Spanish onion and tomato.

The café is open early and generally shuts up around 3pm on each day.  Its open 7 days a week and is extremely busy on Sunday mornings when the Camberwell Sunday Market is on. Pets are allowed on the outside laneway seating.  Best spot to sit is on the large lounges with the kitchen behind you, just don’t hit your head on the lighting fixtures on the way out. Those of you who have done it, know what a mean.

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Red Robyn Cafe

I noticed this small café had opened up on Camberwell Road and I wanted to try it out because it was a new café in the area and I like to give credit to the smaller businesses who are up against the coffee chains which are popping up everywhere and this place also had a cute logo... but that is me, I love cute logos

I decided to stay in other than take away and the café had an amazing homely feel to it, featuring a red theme with tiles and dark stained wood furniture made it a comfy choice out of the cold.  I also noticed that it had renovated into the back of the old noodle shop and there were large lounges to sit and relax in.

To my surprise this café is 100% Gluten Free and also caters to people's intolerances. This is awesome!!! It's so hard for people with intolerances to go out and have a great meal with friends.  Why should they miss out… Well now you don’t have to… I noticed on the coffee machine there were lables for the normal milk and also the soy milk so there was no cross contamination on the steamers.  They use A2 Milk and also have Rice and Soy Milk available.  I also noticed large scones and custard filled donuts on the bench which were all gluten free.  They also have a seasonal menu available, these menus are obviously still catering for Winter.  This is a great idea, because Melbourne has such varying weather, nobody wants soup in 45 degree heat.

I ordered a large coffee and it was brought to me in a large ceramic cup.  I am often wary of large servings as they tend to be weak and more on the milky side. For its size, it wasn’t like drinking a hot cup of plain milk, therefore I was impressed. For the size, it was quite affordable because it was larger than usual. I ordered a mocha (the chocolate is vegan friendly) and the coffee was strong enough without being bitter.  Is it just me or does A2 milk taste different? Not complaining though because I found that the milk left me without a bloated stomach which was a plus.  I really like to see places like this get off the ground and I will go back to see if they preform to the same consistency… They sell their own beans in brown paper bags, stamped with their logo.

Red Robyn Café needs to be congratulated.  It isn’t easy being a café that caters for intolerances but with the variety in its menu teamed with the friendly staff and warm vibe, I hope it takes off. 

www.redrobyn.com.au

393 Camberwell Road 

Camberwell VIC 3124

Ph 03 9077 3763

Opening hours

Monday to Friday - 7.30am - 3.30pm

Saturday and Sunday - 8.30am - 4pm

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Welcome to the New Look!!

Hi All...

The Travelling Bilby Returns...

With the new look blog comes new blogging.
Coffee is going to be the main focus of the blog, however I am still going to review that special bar, restaurant, pub, cafe or diner but with the added bonus of my chewing gum reviews and also where to find a public toilet... yes you heard right.  Too many times I have been caught in a city where I am busting to go and I can only find the equivalent of the toilet in the 'Trainspotting' movie... So the Bilby has taken the hard work out of it for you... When you gotta go, check this blog to see where you can bog...

Any questions? Want the Bilby to try something? Email me
followthetravellingbilby@gmail.com

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World Bar - Southbank

When the sun comes out in Melbourne, there is no greater place to be and especially on Southbank. My beautiful companion and myself were looking for a easy going place with some little tid bits and perhaps a drink or two. We chose the World Bar on Southbank that was bustling with people basking in the sunlight outside on the massive decking or retiring inside, while listening to the acoustic melodies of the musician out the front. We decided to sit inside however it still felt like we were sitting on a verandah as the doors were wide open and the warm sun poured in. The view of the city is amazing from Southbank and I believe there is no better way to spend a sunny day.

We were handed the Menu and the sheer size of it was amazing… I wasn’t feeling too hungry but I was looking forward to trying perhaps trying a variety of smaller entrees. I located the Tasting plates and within seconds my beautiful companion also stumbled across it and decided this was the way to go. There were two choices… The Vegetarian Mezze or Just the Mezze Plate… Both had such a fine selection of food, it was tough to choose, however after summing it up, we decided on the Vegetarian one.
When the plate was brought to our table, the sheer size of it made me giggle as it was massive. A large rectangular plate, almost the size of a pillow case was placed between us with a huge amount of delicacies. We also got an accompanying bread plate which had Turkish bread, Crispy Bread sticks and a flat, almost cracker like bread. There was such an amazing array of culture on the plate, Greek based Dolmades and Olives, Italian Mixed Pickled Vegetables, Middle Eastern Falafel, Spanish Manchego Cheese plus other assortments. This was the perfect way to spend the afternoon, grazing on food, savouring different flavours and enjoying the sun. I felt even though the place was packed, there was no rushing and we were able to enjoy this plate at our leisure, without being dropped hints to move on.

The drinks menu was also as big and I found it difficult on deciding what to have as I was spoilt for choice. I decided I felt like a juice and I settled on a mango juice which was like liquid gold. Thick and tasty, it automatically made me feel like I was in a tropical location. I then also tried an Iced Tea variety and I decided on the Minty Strawberry Tea, which also included Lychees and Ginger Beer, a tangy concoction that I thought would be sweet but wasn’t therefore making it extremely refreshing. My beautiful companion tried a variety of ciders, which featured both local and overseas based varieties.

The world bar is a definite for people who can’t decide on what type of food they feel like as there is a vast array of choices from cultures from all over the world, It is open as a bar as well as a restaurant and there is plenty of lounge seating either down the back, around the bar area and out on the decking for those sunny days. The staff were also extremely down to earth and friendly which makes the experience just that extra bit better. With the Australian summer around the corner, the World Bar is the perfect place to take you away to another country, while still being in the heart of Melbourne…

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