Shop 2, 601 Lt Collins St
Melbourne, VIC, 3000
03 9629 6794
Situated in the business end of the city, Brim CC is one of those hidden treasures you only know about if you work around that area or were introduced by a friend. It doesn’t help either that the building is undergoing construction and any visual indication of the business is being obstructed by hideous scaffolding.
Brim CC is a humble little cafe with simple tidy interior. Bits of paper cut-outs pasted on sugar paper and hand drawn deco reminds me of my days working in a child-enrichment center. They have a small selection of dishes plastered above the counter which is befitting because they don’t have menus and take orders at the cashier.
There are no big surprises when it comes to their menu. Selections include well-known Japanese favorites such as curry don, okonomiyaki, soba, sushi, etc. Most come in a set and usually accompanied with your choice of salad and/or soup.
172 Oxford Street
Collingwood, VIC 3066
+61(0)3 9417 5930
It’s been awhile since I had a chance to go out for brunch. Between work, friends’ conflicting schedule and recovering from a nasty bout of the flu, making time for a new review proved to be frustratingly impossible. And to be quite honest lately I’ve been feeling like a broken record when it comes to my reviews. How many times can one rave about bacon, eggs and coffee before it gets old?
Thank goodness then that most places in Melbourne CBD are closed on Sundays, otherwise I wouldn’t have had the chance to experience the beauty of Proud Mary.
Located on the corner of Oxford and Stanley Street, the cafe was surprisingly small and not unexpectedly packed for a late Sunday morning. We were greeted by the husky-voiced hostess (let’s call her Mary) and promptly put on the waiting list. I was prepared for a long wait judging by the number of small groups of people loitering around the area. This is the time when I let my eyes and camera lens wander, soaking in the scene and people.
That however only took about 10 minutes as we heard Mary’s booming voice calling out for our table. With a rough job like that it’s no wonder she sounds as husky as Joan Rivers. Moral of the story: hospitality is tough, tip your waiters well people!
We sat down at our outdoor table admiring the colorfully painted wooden stools and pitied the other patrons crammed inside. Being our first visit (well two out of the three present anyway) we went for the ‘safe’ strategy and ordered the popular and recommended dishes, Ricotta Hotcakes and Potato Hash. In attempt to maintain the balance between sweet and savoury I went for the grilled chicken salad instead.
And man were they good and totally hype-worthy!
In my experience of sampling breakfast menus in Melbourne I’ve never enjoyed anything more original and hearty as these! Describing them one by one would make it too boring of a read and I don’t really feel like cleaning my drool off my keyboard so here’s the low down:
Ricotta Hotcakes
Caramelized mandarin oranges, whipped mascarpone, dark fudge chocolate and a stack of hotcakes swimming in a pool of syrup. The selling point for me are the hotcakes, they may look like your typical pancakes but these have a more chewy soft texture to it and doesn’t fill you up as fast.
Potato Hash
This crappy photo doesn’t do this dish any justice. Grilled potato slice with bacon, spinach and a special Italian sauce called bagna cauda. I’m a big fan of chargrilled food and have fun stealing the crunchy corners away from my friends!
Grilled Chicken Salad
Tender and crisp chicken strips (lots of it too) accompanied by the typical salad experience: cheese, eggs, bacon. My only complaint was that there wasn’t enough greens! I ended the meal with more meat than veges. My friends wanted to shoot me for complaining but I have this weird thing about balancing my food groups…
Round Two
Oh you betcha I went back the next week with a different set of foodies in tow!
Ice White Chocolate
A nice balance of tastes between the white chocolate and ice-cream. Not insanely sweet either which is great!
‘Ghostrider’ Espresso Brownie
I was afraid that the espresso would dominate but thankfully it turned out the other way around and served to compliment the chocolaty-ness instead. Looks dry but is actually quite moist inside. Overall I found the taste to be quite creative but what would you expect from an establishment famous for it’s coffee expertise.
Miss Molly
Didn’t get a chance to try it (my friend looked REALLY thirsty) but sure looks PUR-dy don’t it? Part watermelon and a host of other juicy fruits makes for a visually thirst-quenching drink.
The Final Word:
Is it worth the hype?
Yes, YES, and YES!! Enough said.
Is it worth the price?
Yes. You’re not only paying for your food, you’re paying for the creativity and effort put into making it. Judging from the catchy names and ingredients in their menu any foodie worth their salt will recognize the effort and thought that has been put into each dish. For something less than $20 you’re getting a fucking piece of work!
Will I come back again?
Definitely. Next on my wishlist are their famous coffees and keep them hotcakes coming please!
Cnr. Gertrude &
Brunswick St.
Fitzroy VIC 3065
(03) 9415 7588
Never really been a fan of crepes, to be honest I’ve always looked at them as French thin pancakes wrapped up kebabs. This is probably thanks to the those commercial crepe franchise stalls that I often see in malls and the CBD.
So I was really amazed when I was recommended this place by a fellow foodie. Breizoz is not just any French cafe, it’s a French cafe that specializes in crepes. ALL kinds of crepes.
Just have a peek at their menu and you’ll see what I mean:
Their crepes are basically grouped into 3 categories: Les Galattes (savory with choices of meat), Les Crepes (sweet and dessert-like) and Les Crepes Flambees (crepes cooked with a touch of alchohol).
Each dish was so unique that I had to pay them 3 separate visits before I felt I could write a proper review. I won’t bore you with the details of how they tasted, just take my word for it that they are all damn fracking good and everybody should at least try it at least once in their lifetime!
Basic crepes with butter and sugar. The ice-cream is optional and highly recommended!
Apple & Calvados Crepes. The only one that didn’t hit the spot for me but later I realized that it’s a flambee and meant to be eaten with some cider as recommended by the chef.
Orange and Lemon dessert crepes. Went down really well with a nice cup of hot chocolate!
Provençale (Egg, cheese & ratatouille), can’t get anymore French than ratatouille and a decent choice for vegetarians.
Saucisse d’Agneau (lamb sausage with ratatouille). Didn’t try it but my friend seemed to enjoy it.
Blue cheese and Walnut salade. Wasn’t sure I would like this as much when I ordered it but must say was pleasantly surprised. Cheese wasn’t too overwhelming went really well with the fresh salad. Also really appreciated that the chef made my crepes with extra salty butter. Savored it slowly despite the fact that I was sitting in the middle of cold June drizzle in Melbourne.
Final verdict:
Is it worth the hype?
Definitely. Breizoz takes pride in making one of the tastiest crepes you can find on this side of the hemisphere. Be sure to make a booking or get up really early to get there if you plan on having crepes on a Sunday.
Is it worth the price?
Yes. Everything on the menu is under $20 and the savory dishes make for a very filling lunch meal.
Will I come back again?
Hell yea! I heard that the smoked salmon with sour creme is pretty awesome and I still wanna have a second go at the flambees with cider.
P.S. Save yourself the embarrassment and don’t try to order in French. The waiters don’t speak French and genuinely aren’t bothered at your bad pronunciations. If you wanna practice your French, go flirt with the chefs.
Of Breakfast And Tea is a pet project started by a bored freelance writer. I started this blog in 2011 when I was working in a restaurant in Melbourne. Being Malaysian I was always a foodie but I enjoyed the writing and photography side of food reviewing more and that's when a close friend suggested I start this blog.
Since then I've dabbled in a few reviews, taught myself to bake and worked on a lifestyle web series called 'Chow Down'. I've since relocated from Melbourne to Kuala Lumpur and am in the midst of chronicling my rediscovery of urban Malaysia's food scene.
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