Penny University

I’ve been to Penny University several times, but somehow haven’t gotten around to blogging about it until now. On this visit, I started with the tropical juice of pineapple, lychee and mint, which came out with a little cherry blossom flower on top (adorable!). The juice was the perfect size for breakfast and had plenty of flavour balance between the three ingredients. I opted for the breakfast special – za’atar spiced eggs with capsicum spread on Turkish bread and minted yoghurt. My friend ordered the black forest ricotta hotcakes, and was told they would take 10 mins to cook. With great service, both our meals were brought out, hot, at the same time = awesome. These guys are pros. I was a bit disappointed to only have one egg, but excited to see that there was a whole land of salady things that I hadn’t expected – kale, fried chickpeas and baked eggplant. Oh yum. The egg was perfectly runny and whilst I couldn’t really taste the za’atar (it’s amazing at Local Press), the capsicum spread was divine, and was perfectly complemented by the salad flavours and textures – tender eggplant, slightly crisped chickpeas. Oh, and the Turkish bread was easy to cut. Fabulous experience all round!

Penny University, 15 Kennedy Street, Kingston ACT, no website

The Copper Pan

On a stop at the St Ives shopping centre to pick up a few bits and pieces, Dad and I decided to grab a snacky lunch. We wandered the food court, and then discovered The Copper Pan – hello! The setup here is so lovely – lots of pot plants and a nice mix of metal and wood in the decor. The staff happily let me just order a juice, while Dad had a beef pie. My juice came out quickly in a huge mason jar with a handle and had the excellent combination of watermelon, apple and orange – it was so refreshing and the fruit had obviously been freshly cut. I do love a frothy juice and this one had plenty. Dad found his pie a bit lacking on the filling, but with a nice pastry. We didn’t have a lot of time to enjoy our snack-lunch, but I’d happily come back here for a more leisurely meal. It seemed quite family-friendly too. We picked up a couple of pastries on the way out and the caramel slice was to die for. Yep, will definitely be back!

The Copper Pan, 166 Mona Vale Rd, St Ives NSW, no website

Smoothie Stand Aoya

I don’t generally tend to think of vegetables when I think of smoothies, but when I saw this cute little wooden stall on one of Kagurazaka’s quaint backstreets, I couldn’t help but give it a try. The menu is organised by colour, and is also available in English. I picked the ‘orange colour smoothie’, which included red paprika, carrot, tomato, apple, mango, orange, goji and water. This whole stack of fresh ingredients was packed into a blender and carefully coaxed into a smoothie, that was, to my surprise, poured into a plastic pouch rather than a cup. The colour was certainly orange and on first sip I was delighted by the warmth of the paprika (the flavour was just like capsicum) and then the tones of carrot and tomato. The texture reminded me a bit of the fresh, slightly bitey Pressed Juices, but with a lot less sweetness. The portion was generous and the lady was really friendly and chatted to me as she made my smoothie. A lovely introduction to vegetable smoothies!

Smoothie Stand Aoya, 3-1-4 Kagurazaka, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, no website

Cool Mac

I met a friend at Cool Mac for an early weekday breakfast during my training week in Kirribilli, and we were both very impressed with what they had to offer. We sat outside on the sidewalk, which is something I really liked about this place – that, and it was one of the only places at the local shops open at 7am. I started with a Botanica cold pressed juice (bottled in the cutest jar), which was both healthy and refreshing. The owner was very friendly and patient while we chatted away before ordering – eventually I chose the eggs benedict and added a side of avocado (why not?). I consider eggs benedict a good test of a place, and Cool Mac passed with flying colours. The eggs were beautifully poached, there was plenty of rich but not-too-rich hollandaise, the bacon was plentiful and crispy, and whilst the toast was a bit crispy for me, it didn’t spoil the overall deliciousness. The avocado I added was a full half, and went really well with the dish – I’ll definitely keep this in mind for future orders. Cool Mac is a fun, friendly and tasty breakfast venue.

Cool Mac Cafe, 2/34 Burton Street, Kirribilli NSW, no website

Green Park

Friends of mine suggested Green Park as a brunch venue and I happily went along – the place was packed on a Sunday mid-morning and for good reason. The decor is, of course, a gorgeous green with plenty of plants and old books on shelves, making it feel welcoming and homely. We ordered a juice to start with, and whilst they’d run out of oranges, they offered us a detox juice. The waiter couldn’t tell us what was in it apart from ‘fruits and vegetables’ (what else is there?) but when it arrived beetroot was the obvious one. It was both mysterious and tasty! For brunch I had the smoked salmon hash, which was nicely presented with the salmon in a rosette, two hash browns and pickled beetroot. The menu had said it came with a poached egg but I didn’t get one, although what was on the plate was more than enough for me. The salmon had a lovely smoky flavour and there was plenty of it. It went well with the horseradish creme fraishe and the delicately shreded hash browns. All in all a tasty brunch in a relaxed but elegant setting.

Green Park, 815 Nicholson Street, Carlton North VIC.              www.greenparkdining.com.au

St Ali

Note to self: the South Melbourne markets aren’t open on a Monday. Luckily St Ali is – in fact they’re open 365 days, so you can’t get it wrong (like I did with the markets). Instead of wandering through the markets a friend and I settled in at St Ali for afternoon tea, soaking up the sunshine from their outdoor seating which looks out onto the street. We were both tempted by the cake display and I caved first and ordered the fruit danish and a ‘hydrate’ juice, while my friend picked the lemon and marshmallow tart and a ‘detox’ juice. The juices were served in large, tall glasses and didn’t have much foam – mine had watermelon, apple and mint, although I could still taste the carrot from the detox juice which must have gone through the juicer first. The danish was lovely and crisp, with the pastry flaking off in large pieces to enjoy. The fresh blueberries, apricot and strawberries sat on a bed of custard which brought the whole sweet to life.  I could have happily eaten another if it hadn’t been so filling! Definitely a great place to while away an afternoon.

St Ali Coffee Roasters, 12-18 Yarra Place, South Melbourne VIC  www.stali.com.au

Local Press

Getting up for breakfast in a Canberra winter is hard. You know it’s sub-zero outside, you know your car is going to be a touch colder than that and you know you won’t be able to feel your fingers by the time you arrive at your breakfast venue. But in this case, totally worth it. Local Press is on the Kingston foreshore, and actually colder than other places, being so close to the water. But the cafe is so light and airy and, the staff so welcoming that you don’t notice the frostbite setting in. The breakfast menu has some exciting points of difference and I couldn’t resist trying the ‘smoothie bowl’ – muesli served with a strawberry smoothie instead of milk or yoghurt – genius! The muesli had whole macadamias and the most beautiful crispy toasted bits, and the smoothie had a strong berry flavour. I ordered the kale, spinach, mint, celery and apple juice (yep, I was feeling adventurous!) and it was lovely – well balanced, with apple and mint being the dominant flavours. Bonus – the waiter told me I could keep the jar it came in (which I now use as a flower vase)! Worth braving the cold for.

Local Press, 128 Trevellian Quay, Kingston ACT     http://www.localpresscafe.com.au/