Stand By Me

I love that some of Canberra’s best eateries are tucked away in suburban oases – Stand By Me is one such gem. I was so impressed by the staff here; friendly, attentive and professional, not to mention happy to answer my questions knowledgably about the menu. I ordered a bottle of blood orange juice and the Samurai Mushrooms ($17.50) to eat. This is such a fabulous dish! The presentation is immaculate, with two wobbly sous vide eggs sitting atop a pile of assorted mushrooms (swiss browns and enoki were the only ones I could identify), with lovely bread soldiers and threads of dried chilli on top. Wow. The flavour backs the beautiful presentation – the eggs were lovely and soft, spilling out over the mushrooms like a sauce, and the mushrooms weren’t dehydrated or shrivelled. On the contrary, they were plump and rich, picking up the garlic and yuzu koshu flavour which brought a splash of refreshment. The judicious use of coriander also perked the flavours up, and the soldiers were made from a bread that I could happily munch away on for days – perfect for moppning up any bits of egg that escaped. Definitely a new favourite!

Stand By Me, 1 Lyons Place, Lyons ACT, no website

The Gods Cafe & Bar

The Gods is so lovely! I loved working in this space, and was very excited to try my mango smoothie ($7) and P-Y-T-T-I-P-A-N-N-A (verbatim from the menu, $16), a Swedish-style breakfast with stir-fry potatos, bacon and onion, with beetroot and a fried egg. Ok, so it’s not exactly the healthiest breakfast, particularly for the carb-conscious, but there is an elegant simplicity to these flavours that I can imagine being the perfect start to a chilly Swedish (or Canberra) morning. The fried egg was cooked perfectly, oozy and runny, coating the potato which might otherwise have been a bit plain. The sprinkle of spring onions adds a great bit of bite to the dish, the bacon contributes a kick of salt and I loved the tender, flavoursome slices of beetroot that balance out the other, heavier ingredients. The sourdough toast is coated luxuriously in butter too. Oh, and the mango smoothie was spectacular – definitely worth ordering, the texture wasn’t icy at all and the mango flavour was intense and fresh. Yum! The staff were attentive without being intrusive, clearing plates and happily letting me linger to write.

The Gods Cafe & Bar, Building 16 ANU Arts Centre, Union Court, Acton ACT, http://www.thegodscafe.com.au

Remi Food & Wine Bar

I dined as a guest of Remi Food & Wine Bar. Tucked away in the sleek ground floor of 14 Moore Street, Remi has recently come under new management and offers a great value menu breakfast. I chose a comfort food favourite, shakshuka ($14) and a glass of fresh orange juice ($6), made from oranges from Leeton NSW. The juice was served with ice in a large glass, and the shakshuka was nicely presented on a wooden board with a huge pile of sourdough. I was surprised at the generous three eggs included in the dish and only one of the three had just gone past the point of being poached; the other two oozed perfectly into the tomato sauce. The dish itself was full of spinach and tomato, and whilst I would have liked a greater kick of heat, there was great depth of flavour and the sauce was well seasoned. The sourdough was excellent quality and again, I was surprised by how much was included. The service was friendly and prompt, leaving me with the impression of a good, mid-range breakfast venue doing simple classics well.

Remi Food & Wine Bar, 14 Moore Street, Civic ACT, no website

 

Mint Rd

I’ve been meaning to visit Mint Rd at the Narrabundah shops for quite a long time, and finally took the opportunity one warm Saturday morning. This is clearly a place that has its regulars – staff were happily chatting away to customers on a first name-basis, and the small space has a welcoming, community feel. The breakfast menu is comfortingly simple – no chefy pretensions here, just straightforward, good food. I chose the bacon and egg roll ($6.50) and a Noah’s apple and peach juice ($4) – sadly no fresh juice option. My roll didn’t take long to come out, and I was impressed with the size. Served on a round Turkish bread roll cut in half, the fried egg was perched atop a good sized portion of bacon, with just the right amount of my choice of BBQ sauce slathered on the bread. On first bite, I was delighted to discover that pepper had been sprinkled on the cooked-through egg, elevating it from ‘good’ to ‘awesome’. This may not be the place for crispy bacon lovers, but other than that I thoroughly enjoyed this breakfast – I’ll be back to try the lunch menu soon.

Mint Rd, 59 Boolimba Crescent, Narrabundah ACT, http://www.mintrd.com.au/

My Kingdom for a Horse

In the creative naming department, this all-day breakfast place definitely takes the cake – the title is from a line from Shakespeare’s Richard the Third. Luckily getting a good feed doesn’t require such sacrifice. We went on a buzzing weekday afternoon and I started with a fresh orange juice. It was a generous size and very fresh – perfect! To eat, I chose the toast with avocado, roasted heirloom tomatoes, lime and sea salt, and I added a poached egg ($18.50). We did have to wait a while for our food, so I wouldn’t recommend stopping by if you’re in a hurry, but all our food was brought out at the same time, making it worth the wait. The plate was beautifully presented and I couldn’t help but be wowed by the sheer quantity of avocado on the sourdough – there was a lot! Sadly, there weren’t a lot of tomatoes, but they were perfectly roasted and sweet, with just the right amount of seasoning. The egg was perfectly poached and the bread was such good quality (although a bit hard to cut). The dish was simple but tasty – combined with the great atmosphere, the whole experience was fun for a lazy afternoon meal.

My Kingdom for a Horse, 191-195 Wright Street, Adelaide SA, http://www.mykingdomforahorse.com.au

The Front

Canberra has some lovely quirky places, and The Front in Lyneham is one of the funnest (that’s totally a word). With friendly staff and a relaxed vibe, it was the perfect place for a breakfast catch up. The menu has some great classic options, mostly with eggs, and I chose the white bean cassoulet with a poached egg ($14) as something a bit different, with a side of avocado ($4). The dish was beautifully presented on a tin plate, with the cassoulet served in a ramekin, served with fingers of toasted bread and pesto drizzled on the side. I loved this dish. Seriously. It was pretty much the ultimate comfort food, warming and hearty (so probably better suited to winter, but whatever). The poached egg on top was perfectly runny and added greatly to the rich tomatoey sauce. The pesto had such an intense flavour that it was clever to serve on the side – it really brightened up each mouthful and I wished there was more of it. The avocado was a good accompaniment choice – it was nice to have something cool and fresh to contrast the cassoulet. We even stayed to play a few hands of cards afterwards – such a lovely, relaxed morning!

The Front, 1 Wattle Place, Lyneham ACT, http://www.frontgallerycafe.com/

Space Kitchen

I know I’m a bit slow jumping on the Space Kitchen bandwagon, but let’s just spend a moment appreciating what a beautiful bandwagon this is. Located on the ground floor of Skypark, Space brings together industrial and urban chic, with a dose of Ricardo’s desserts thrown in for good measure. I couldn’t go past a fresh juice, so started with the orange, pear, pineapple and passionfruit combo ($6.9), which was beautifully balanced and sweet. To eat, I picked the super-Instagrammable (that’s totally a word) Space Benedict. Now don’t imagine your classic eggs benedict people, this is something on a whole other level. Obviously the presentation is to die for – Space sets the bar high, and the taste doesn’t disappoint. The perfectly poached eggs oozed out over the plate, mixing with the beetroot hollandaise to make a perfect sauce for the crumbed pork croquette that makes up the majority of the dish. Whilst rich, the pork is lovely and tender and has a great amount of flavour on its own, let alone with the hollandaise or pea puree, not to mention the addd textural elements of a crumbled brioche mixed with pork crackling. My only suggestion would be something else to help mop up all those saucy elements – otherwise, I’ll be back again soon!

Space Kitchen, Skypark, corner of Furzer and Worgan Streets, Phillip ACT, no website