Tuck Shop Cafe - Northbridge

So whilst I'm not what you would call an early riser, when organising a breakfast catch up with A popped up I found myself suggesting a visit to Tuck Shop Cafe is in order. The good news was it was totally worthwhile waking up so early on my usual sleep-in day, the bad news was that it involved making sure we got there before 8am on a Saturday morning!

Thankfully Northbridge in the morning is a civil affair, families, DINKs and people in cycling gear all gather, grab coffees and chat away the morning in a lively atmosphere in decor i'd describe as eating inside a providore store?

When we arrived it was about 1/2 to 3/4 full already ( seating really was suited for groups of four or less) so I was glad we went early (plus being able to find side street parking was a bonus too)

So here's the skinny, the menu is pretty much a gourmet brunch menu, service was friendly and attentive (quick for food to coffees, food and clearing the table) and pricing wise was roughly $12-20, the cheap end was for their continental breakfast options or from their pie selection and the $18-20 range consisted of more substantial foods. Coffees ranged from about high 3's to $4+. Good quality brews with a frequently rotating coffee blend.

Ordering myself a mocha whilst A grabbed a fruit juice (beetroot celery and apple!) we talked as our hot dishes were served up,

In summary, this is definitely going to be one of my goto breakfast places, only downside is having to beat the rush of people to get a table :((

My dish was average, the pork belly a bit dry and chewy, the crackling crunchy but felt dried out making it a tough chew early in the morning. The potatoes and chorizo were fried nicely and the sweetness of the Spanish onions was a welcome addition. Overall serving size was very filling.

The salmon and ricotta dish looked fantastic, again a good serving size with a good serve of smoked salmon. A lot of ricotta cheese to fill out the dish.

Is Donburi... is good :D

So for our Wednesday dinner and games nights our nom noms was at a restaurant quickly becoming one of my go to Japanese restaurants, Is Donburi on William St (next to Jus Burgers in the refurbished arcade containing Superstar Waffles).

One thing you'll notice is there aren't many seats at the restaurant so I'd recommend coming with groups of less than 8 as they have such limited space you could be waiting for a while. They do take reservations and I was quite tempted to see if the AMEX concierge would be able to reserve a table on the spot since I saw those reserved Amex signs (with no one claiming them....)

Anyhow dinner was kicked off with some Karaage chicken (which were awesome in taste though slightly disappointing as they bulked it up with a lot of salad, so much so it was closer to being a karaage chicken salad entree instead).

Taste wise the batter was great, crispy and not oily, looked slightly too dark though, definitely pass the golden brown stage. There were dipping sauces included (one which looked like sweet chilli and a dollop of Japanese mayo in the corner)

For mains I ordered my trusty I-Bento set (well presented with great variety of dishes for $24!). You choose your main protein of teriyaki chicken/beef/tofu/fish then the side dishes consisted of fried gyozas, pan fried salmon piece, sushi and a serve of sashimi ( three varieties of fish each with 2-3 small servings!) and a Japanese salad to round things off.

My friends had a mixture of S Bento sets a business was bento set ?l( essentially a donburi bowl filled with your main protein with rice topped with the fried gyozas and tempura pieces).

Serving sizes were are generous and plenty for dinner and it tasted very good. A highly recommend from me to check it out! Apologies on the lack of photos, I concentrated more on eating than taking pictures this time round :D)