"Lauren is looking forward to ricotta hotcakes and champagne for breakfast!" read my Facebook status update, the day before my 25th birthday.
To celebrate my quarter-century, Caliban took me to bills for breakfast. One of my favourite places to eat, bills is home to the best breakfast in Sydney. As you already know, I'm a huge fan of the morning meal, and bills is the best place to get it. Everything is sublime, but the ricotta hotcakes with honeycomb butter and fresh banana are like manna from heaven.
Caliban ordered scrambled eggs with sourdough and cured ocean trout, and I stuck with the hotcakes. After refreshing ourselves with a latte (me) and a chai (Caliban), we tucked into the meals. Caliban's heaped serving of soft, pillowy scrambled eggs was amazing - just the right texture, with all the creamy richness you want from a dish like this. The cured ocean trout was, according to Caliban, salty and smoky without being too overpowering or oily. It's a great balance - rich, creamy eggs with fresh, salty trout. Yum.
Three plump, delightfully misshapen hotcakes made a tower on my plate, with two slices of honeycomb butter melting over them, and a tiny jug of maple syrup was served on the side. Long slices of fresh banana lay underneath the hotcakes, warming them and infusing them with the honeycomb butter flavour. As breakfasts go, this is possibly one of the naughtiest and least virtuous (hey, it does have banana) but for breakfast on a special occasion, it's unmissable. Honeycomb butter is a stroke of genius and Bill Granger, the chef behind bills, deserves every accolade heaped upon him just for this little wonder, I reckon. Honeycomb is sweet but not sickly so, and whie butter is butter, you only need two half-centimetre discs of it when the full flavour of honeycomb takes part. The maple syrup is good, even though I don't normally love the stuff. And the hotcakes themselves are exactly what they should be: fluffy, light hillocks of just-cooked batter. Lovely.
We finished off the meal with a glass each of Veuve Cliquot. It was 11am by that stage, so we thought it was acceptable to break out the bubbly. The waiter informed us that while the cafe had run out of the house champagne we ordered, they'd serve us Veuve Cliquot at the same price. What a lovely surprise - one we thoroughly enjoyed, to the last drop.
bills
359 Crown St, Surry Hills
+61 2 9360 4762
www.bills.com.au
Showing posts with label breakfast. Show all posts
Showing posts with label breakfast. Show all posts
Friday, May 28
Friday, April 9
comfort brekky
This morning, I sat in bed, re-reading The Road. It's by far the most tragic, unrelenting book I've ever read - as you flick the pages, an overwhelming sense of dread fills you, and you scan the text for bad news. It's a terribly disturbing read, but for all its sadness, it's a wonderful book. I can't recommend it highly enough.
That said, once I was done, I was in desperate need of some comfort food. As I've mentioned before, I do like to keep things relatively healthy in the kitchen, so I decided to whip up some not-so-bad-for-you banana bread. It's baking as I type, filling the apartment with the lovely whiff of freshly baked goods. So perfect for a miserable Saturday morning!
Not-so-bad-for-you Banana Bread
Serves 8
Ingredients
1 1/4 cups wholemeal plain flour
1/2 cup flaxmeal
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp bicarb soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
Handful chopped nuts (I used macadamias, but anything will do - walnuts and almonds would be especially yummy)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup milk (I used soy)
2 ripe, mashed bananas
2 tbsp manuka honey (it has a more caramel flavour than regular honey)
16 squares Dairy Milk chocolate, broken into individual squares (well, this part is sort of bad for you...but it does make the bread particularly awesome. Use at your own discretion)
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees (centigrade).
2. Lightly grease a loaf pan.
3. Mix dry ingredients in a bowl (except chocolate).
4. In a separate bowl, mix wet ingredients. Gently fold wet ingredients into dry, being careful not to overbeat. When the ingredients are combined, you've mixed it enough. Overbeating leads to tough batter.
5. Pour half of mixture into pan. If using chocolate, drop eight squares, evenly placed, over mixture.
6. Add remaining mixture and remaining chocolate squares over the top.
7. Bake for 25-30 minutes.
8. Devour.
I love this banana bread because you can do so much with it. If you don't have nuts, add something else - shredded coconut, perhaps, or even grated apple. If you don't have chocolate, that's fine too. A ribbon of good quality raspberry jam over the top of the bread, just before you place it in the oven, would be divine. If you have blueberries or peaches, add them to the mix, too. There are endless variations, and I'd encourage you to play around til you find the perfect banana bread for you.
What's more, this is relatively healthy. OK, so it's not exactly rabbit food, but it's way better for you than that ghastly banana bread they sell in cafes. It's overpriced, full of trans fats and artificial ingredients and I'd be surprised if there was any banana in it at all. This recipe uses no butter and just one egg. If you wanted to make it vegan, you could substitute the egg for 1/2 cup of rice bran or coconut oil. And yes, the chocolate is a touch naughty, but you can just as easily leave it out. I love recipes like this - so simple, so quick and so easy to adapt to what's left in your fridge.
That said, once I was done, I was in desperate need of some comfort food. As I've mentioned before, I do like to keep things relatively healthy in the kitchen, so I decided to whip up some not-so-bad-for-you banana bread. It's baking as I type, filling the apartment with the lovely whiff of freshly baked goods. So perfect for a miserable Saturday morning!
Not-so-bad-for-you Banana Bread
Serves 8
Ingredients
1 1/4 cups wholemeal plain flour
1/2 cup flaxmeal
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp bicarb soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
Handful chopped nuts (I used macadamias, but anything will do - walnuts and almonds would be especially yummy)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup milk (I used soy)
2 ripe, mashed bananas
2 tbsp manuka honey (it has a more caramel flavour than regular honey)
16 squares Dairy Milk chocolate, broken into individual squares (well, this part is sort of bad for you...but it does make the bread particularly awesome. Use at your own discretion)
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees (centigrade).
2. Lightly grease a loaf pan.
3. Mix dry ingredients in a bowl (except chocolate).
4. In a separate bowl, mix wet ingredients. Gently fold wet ingredients into dry, being careful not to overbeat. When the ingredients are combined, you've mixed it enough. Overbeating leads to tough batter.
5. Pour half of mixture into pan. If using chocolate, drop eight squares, evenly placed, over mixture.
6. Add remaining mixture and remaining chocolate squares over the top.
7. Bake for 25-30 minutes.
8. Devour.
I love this banana bread because you can do so much with it. If you don't have nuts, add something else - shredded coconut, perhaps, or even grated apple. If you don't have chocolate, that's fine too. A ribbon of good quality raspberry jam over the top of the bread, just before you place it in the oven, would be divine. If you have blueberries or peaches, add them to the mix, too. There are endless variations, and I'd encourage you to play around til you find the perfect banana bread for you.
What's more, this is relatively healthy. OK, so it's not exactly rabbit food, but it's way better for you than that ghastly banana bread they sell in cafes. It's overpriced, full of trans fats and artificial ingredients and I'd be surprised if there was any banana in it at all. This recipe uses no butter and just one egg. If you wanted to make it vegan, you could substitute the egg for 1/2 cup of rice bran or coconut oil. And yes, the chocolate is a touch naughty, but you can just as easily leave it out. I love recipes like this - so simple, so quick and so easy to adapt to what's left in your fridge.
Saturday, September 26
gusto, paddington
Let's get one thing straight, DDS readers. The eastern suburbs and I are not natural bedfellows. I'm an Inner West girl (by way of Ye Olde Windsor Town) and I just cannot handle the eastern suburbs. This makes me something of an outsider in the publishing industry (I'm constantly asked things like, "How many hours should I allow to get to Glebe?" and "Parramatta Rd is in Parramatta, right?") and now that I am a fledgling food blogger, I realise that I'll probably have to get over the phobia. As my friend Bec says, you've got to hold the spiders to get over your fear of them. Last week, I held the spiders. The fear remains.
I met my friends Miss B and Megan at Gusto, at the Five Ways in Paddington for brunch last Sunday. I decided (unwisely, as it turns out) to drive...and it took an hour and a half to get from Ashfield to Paddington. Truly! Unfortunately, there was some sort of marathon on, which caused all manner of traffic mayhem. Luckily, I had my recently downloaded Beyonce/Destiny's Child playlist to play over and over and over again for the ride...but now, I never, ever want to hear "Jumpin', Jumpin'" again.
But I digress. Gusto is a cute corner cafe filled with well-dressed locals. It's a great place to hang out for hours - which we ended up doing. The breakfast menu isn't extensive - it's full of standard favourites like eggs benedict, bircher muesli, fruit salad and yoghurt, and the ubiquitous big breakfast. Miss B, who eats more than anyone I've ever met (that's a compliment, by the way) ordered the big breakfast (eggs, toast, tomatoes, hash browns and sausages) with an assortment of sides - avocado, spinach and mushrooms. Miss B is all about sides - I've even seen her order an entire meal of sides before. She's mad for sides. Megan, who is very healthy, went for bircher muesli topped with grated apple. I ordered a large soy latte and one of the mixed berry and ricotta muffins, with some ricotta and honey on the side. Later, I had a pineapple, lime and apple juice. Miss B declared the big breakfast "satisfying" (with that much food, satisfying is the least of the adjectives one could use, surely?) and Megan loved the fresh, filling bircher muesli. I wasn't impressed with the muffin - it was advertised as fresh, but had a hard, dry crust and the cake wasn't much of an improvement. Pass.
The juice and coffee were great, and I love a cafe that lets you sit and people-watch for as long as you like. Miss B even devoured half of her birthday present from Megan (a box of cupcakes from nearby Cupcake Bakery) without so much as a raised eyebrow from the waiter. But coffee and juice do not maketh the brunch...I won't be heading back to Gusto.
Gusto
corner Broughton and Heeley Sts, Five Ways at Paddington
(02) 9361 5640
Cupcake Bakery
www.thecupcakebakery.com.au
438 Oxford St, Paddington
(02) 9332 3700
I met my friends Miss B and Megan at Gusto, at the Five Ways in Paddington for brunch last Sunday. I decided (unwisely, as it turns out) to drive...and it took an hour and a half to get from Ashfield to Paddington. Truly! Unfortunately, there was some sort of marathon on, which caused all manner of traffic mayhem. Luckily, I had my recently downloaded Beyonce/Destiny's Child playlist to play over and over and over again for the ride...but now, I never, ever want to hear "Jumpin', Jumpin'" again.
But I digress. Gusto is a cute corner cafe filled with well-dressed locals. It's a great place to hang out for hours - which we ended up doing. The breakfast menu isn't extensive - it's full of standard favourites like eggs benedict, bircher muesli, fruit salad and yoghurt, and the ubiquitous big breakfast. Miss B, who eats more than anyone I've ever met (that's a compliment, by the way) ordered the big breakfast (eggs, toast, tomatoes, hash browns and sausages) with an assortment of sides - avocado, spinach and mushrooms. Miss B is all about sides - I've even seen her order an entire meal of sides before. She's mad for sides. Megan, who is very healthy, went for bircher muesli topped with grated apple. I ordered a large soy latte and one of the mixed berry and ricotta muffins, with some ricotta and honey on the side. Later, I had a pineapple, lime and apple juice. Miss B declared the big breakfast "satisfying" (with that much food, satisfying is the least of the adjectives one could use, surely?) and Megan loved the fresh, filling bircher muesli. I wasn't impressed with the muffin - it was advertised as fresh, but had a hard, dry crust and the cake wasn't much of an improvement. Pass.
The juice and coffee were great, and I love a cafe that lets you sit and people-watch for as long as you like. Miss B even devoured half of her birthday present from Megan (a box of cupcakes from nearby Cupcake Bakery) without so much as a raised eyebrow from the waiter. But coffee and juice do not maketh the brunch...I won't be heading back to Gusto.
Gusto
corner Broughton and Heeley Sts, Five Ways at Paddington
(02) 9361 5640
Cupcake Bakery
www.thecupcakebakery.com.au
438 Oxford St, Paddington
(02) 9332 3700
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
