Reuben Hills.

Weekends are for sleep ins and brunch. But unfortunately that doesn’t always work together because everyone seems to have the same idea. If i wanted to go to anything good i’d have to skip the sleep in to get a table, or find myself at the end of a very long queue. But when there’s good food and good company i make sacrifices, and at 8.30am on a wet rainy Sunday morning i found myself at Reuben Hills for a long overdue catch up with a friend and ImStillHungry.

Coffee was definitely a priority at this time as i found myself struggling to  get out of bed.The menu had change a little with new additions here and there so we got greedy. Between the three of us we ordered five dishes.  I did sense a little bit of shock from the waitress’s face but sharing is caring and this is the best way to try a bit of everything.

The Charquican (16) is the first to arrive , a hearty Chillean beef stew with soft fried egg, tomato rice and fermented pebre. This is one of their dishes that was inspired from their coffee buying trips to Central and South America and one that was so appropriate for the wet weather. I love beef stew and it’s a tasty dish with tender soft chunks of beef, peppers, fried egg and rice.

Salmon Moqueca (18.5) is a Brazilian Stew with ancho and orange salmon, crispy spuds and farafa. This was lighter in comparison to the Charquican beef stew, but definitely did not compromise on flavour. Something i would re order for next time.

Soft shell crab seems to be in trend and  Reuben Hills offer their own version with the Soft Shelled Crab Tostada (18). The Soft Shell crab comes sandwiched between two tacos covered in a pineapple slaw, queso freco and “Return to life sauce”. I really dont know what “Return to life sauce” was but it sounded interesting enough to order. It’s a bit messy to eat and definitely a bit hard to share but the slaw was addictive and had a delicious tang.

This is an old favourite but i really cant avoid ordering their Soft Baked eggs (18) with jamon, spinach, ranchero and rye. It’s a simple and currently, Reuben Hill’s version of the baked eggs are my favourite in Sydney.

Runny baked eggs? Yes please.

I love anything with eggs for breakfast and i was instantly drawn to the Broken Omelette Roll with fried shrimp and bacon jam (14). The roll arrives looking more like a bacon and egg roll, and the fried shrimp was actually more like prawn crackers on the side. But what really surprised me was not how great the egg was but bacon jam (yes please !) . Initially i had mistaken it for beetroot relish but upon tasting, i was so amazed by how good it was. Where have you been all my life ? Bacon jam is amazing. This was probably a dish i would’ve gladly eaten on my own all because of bacon jam, definitely some next level bacon and egg roll.

How time flies and Reuben Hills can no longer count as being new, but it’s definitely an oldie but a goodie. Catching up with food loving friends is always the best part, and nothing beats getting greedy over brunch food on Sundays. It’s been a long while since i visited Reuben Hills but from this experience, i can understand why they still have very long queues. The service is polite, the food comes at a good efficient pace and the food is definitely well worth a try.

 

Devon Cafe

It’s always an exciting experience to try a new cafe, especially when there seems to be so much positive feedback already. Devon Cafe (located on Devonshire St), is a relatively new addition to Surry Hills, conveniently only a short moments walk from Central Station.

I’ve been meaning to visit Devon for a while, especially after seeing photos of their beautifully presented food appearing on my Instagram feed in the recent weeks. I can be a rather impatient person when it comes to food, and to reduce the chance of having to wait in line we visited bright and early on a cold sunny morning. We were all eager to see if the cafe lived up to our expectations.

Upon entering, the cafe seemed small until we were lead to the open back area featuring an interesting grafiti wall. Sitting outside is a usually a good option for a sunny day, but a bit too cold for an early morning in July. Luckily our coffees arrived shortly after we ordered, keeping us warm while we waited for breakfast.

There was a lot of photo taking and happy smiling faces when our food arrived. Between four we ordered the Citrus cured salmon (x 2), Two chicks in a Basque, the Mushroom Open Toastie special (served with truffle) and the Breakfast of Champions.

The beautifully presented Citrus cured Salmon (17.5) arrived with a perfectly soft boiled egg served with cucumber, fennel and split dill cream. Taste wise it was both light and refreshing, however it is a bit cold as an breakfast option on an early morning in July. My friend commented that she would have preferred ordering this if the weather was warmer.

My Two Chicks in a Basque (14) arrived in a hot stew of bell peppers served with a dollop of goats curd and a generous slice of  slightly charred sourdough toast. The eggs arrived still runny in the hot bell pepper stew, a comforting warming dish in the cold weather. The large slice of sourdough also helps to finish off the remainder of the tasty bell pepper stew.

The open Mushroom Toastie was a special of the day, a very fragrant simple mushroom option with fresh truffles shavings on top. Truffles can be added to other dishes too with an additional cost of nine dollars.

My friend is a believer of eating big brunches on the weekend so he orders the Breakfast of Champions along with his Citrus cured salmon dish. In contrast to the cured salmon, the Breakfast of Champions is a heartier option with a runny soft boiled egg, morcilla sausage and a potato gratin. This also seemed to be another popular order among other diners in the cafe.

Apart from the savoury breakfast options, there is also a variety of tempting baked goods ranging from muffins, macarons and croissants. The sweeter options can be taken away for later or eaten as a sweet alternative breakfast option.

Overall, we were pleased that the food and friendly service at Devon lived up to our expectations. The prices are also reasonable and is a place i would happily revisit again.

E.