tastebudds

Prepare Thy Wallets- $14
You must try this- Blueberry Pancakes! and Polenta


Slapped next to Bang and Ofulsen in South Melbourne is Café Sweethearts. This is a place not only for sweethearts but people of all ages and sizes are welcomed (if you cannot fit through the door, you can sit outside). This building of yellow is situated around the corner of a small lane (what is it with corners man!) with seating on both the inside and outside. The opening hours for breakfast are from 7am to 3pm, accommodating for both the early and the late riser.

Due to our late arrival and the lack of foresight to reserve, we ended up sitting outside in the sunless, cold-breezed air. However, we had a little peek of how the inside looked like. The ambience feels quite laid back, good for wasting a lazy Sunday afternoon reading or talking senseless nothings. It gave the feeling of a scene right out of a French film where the protagonist invites his beloved for coffee and they sit there chatting nonchalantly for hours. Proceeding to the outside, the three tables were positioned side by side right under the tree. Thankfully there weren’t any birds so we didn’t have to worry about nature’s calls and the associated bombing.

The menu comprises different savoury and sweets for breakfast. They had an array of ways to do eggs, different types of pancakes, a couple of choices of croissants, side dishes and last but not least, tea and coffees.


The Lumberjack Pancakes ($11) comprises plain pancakes topped with a fried egg and grilled bacon accompanied by a tiny ewer of thick maple syrup. The fried egg, sunny side up had the yolk a little off the middle of egg.. The pancakes were too moist, sticky and the batter was somewhat uncooked. Other than that, it tasted pretty standard, nothing fancy or different from the normal kind. They didn’t score many points with its consumer. However, the portions were just right, not too big and not too small but it was quite expensive.

Blueberry Pancakes ($16) were one of the nicest dishes around. The pancakes, (surprise surprise) had blueberries in it. You can actually eat the blue berry fruit! How cool is that! It is served with one hash brown that consisted of potato and a tad of spring onion and grilled bacon. It had a nice fluffiness of mashed potato. The hash brown was not too salty but it was salty enough to blend in, contrasting it to the sweetness of the pancakes. The pancakes had the right level of moisture in it, making it soft and there was enough air incorporated into the batter; allowing a flounce and bounce of fluff in every bite. On a whole, the dish was good even though the price was considerably steep.


Next up, the Ham, Tomato and Cheese Croissant ($8). The croissant was sliced in the middle and stuffed with tomatoes, ham and cheese. The pastry was light and flaky, with a tint of sweetness to it. The tomato had a light sour and sweet taste to it with the salt from the ham and the chalky taste of the cheese. The dish just came together nicely. It has a good mixture and blends of the all the flavours with no ingredient dominating the entire taste of the pastry. Besides the dish, a beverage, Hot Chocolate ($2.90) ordered to accompany the croissant. The hot chocolate was quite chocolaty and rich. It came with two marshmallows and loads of froth topped with chocolate powder. It had a good taste even though it is small. In all, the portions were filling enough for the taster who willing paid for her breakfast.

This section up next will definitely intrigue scramble egg lovers. There were five ways in which scramble eggs were introduced in a dish. In the five ways, the two similar ones were the Scramble eggs on light rye toast with grilled bacon or grilled ham ($10 each). Reviews on the former thought that the eggs had a good texture it and every bite had real eggs in it but the comment were that it tasted too plain and there was a need to add your own salt and pepper. The toast hiding underneath the scrambled eggs were too soggy for the taster but the bacon was good, it was not too oily and the salt level was good. Special mentions were given to the cup of Mocha ($2.90). There wasn’t too much milk and the coffee taste was just enough to kick start your day. Overall, the price of the food was a bit too expensive but other than that, it was good.

Scramble eggs with grilled ham had eggs that were too dry and too bland. We speculated that the eggs were left out in the cold for too long; same going for the salty and fatty ham. The taste of the ham overpowered the whole dish. This dish was a flop. To add fuel to the fire, the English Breakfast Tea ($3.00) ordered had a bitter taste at the start. The taster was a little unsatisfied, having to pay so much for something not up to standard.


Third on the scrambled egg list is the only vegetarian dish ordered, Scrambled eggs with Rocket and Cheese ($7.50), the cheapest dish of the day. It came with toast, scrambled eggs and leaves of vegetables shaped in a funky way. The vegetables were raw and taste fine and fresh. Whilst the eggs will turn out better with a bit more water in them. The dish was filling enough and there were no complaints on the price range.

The next dish is the Florestiere scrambled eggs served on toasted English muffins with Grilled Bacon on Hollandaise sauce and Mushrooms with fresh herbs ($15). The dish received some favourable comments from the other tasters. Even though it is a little pricey, it tasted really good. The hollandaise sauce on the eggs were really creamy and it went well with the rest of the set. The muffin was toasted to crisp perfection and the mushrooms were fried to a light brown color, moist, juicy and not too salty. All in all, the dish was fulfilling and satisfactory.


The very last dish ate for breakfast is the Scrambled eggs with Polenta, Grilled Tomatoes and basil leaves ($9.50). The taster of this dish was extremely contented with the polenta and the tomatoes. The corn in the polenta was cooked just the way she liked it- flavourful with garlic and salt. Like all the other eggs, this one was smooth and milky, but needed more salt. Tomatoes were nice and charred on the outside, juicy on the inside. For the price paid, our taster was really full and thought that the dish was value for money.

Lastly, we were greeted with service that was quite personal. Even though there weren’t any exchange of names or self-introduction, we felt warm (if you were wondering, it is not the temperature) and welcomed. The waitresses were quite hospitable even though they were quite busy, having the need to feed a house full of hungry people. They were also quite prompt with finding a table of arriving customers. Overall, this place is a place worth going to if you have a car. Even though its transport is not readily available, the ambience and food will make it all worth while.

Lesson learnt: When it is windy, always put utensils on your napkins as paperweights


15/20 budds

Café Sweethearts
263 Coventry Street
South Melbourne 3205
Ph: 96906753