“Everyday is a birthday; every moment of it is new to us; we are born again, renewed for fresh work and endeavor”
~Issac watts
Good evening dear readers! (: I hope you’ve had a good weekend and your Monday is going smoothly! Cause I had an absolutely beautiful weekend celebrating my hatchday! hehe (: And it couldn’t have been any better! It started with a birthday brunch with my favourite girls (Daisy, Julie, Peachie & Melissa) at Code Black Coffee in Brunswick!
Code Black Coffee
Add : 15-17 Weston Street, Brunswick Vic 3056
Website : http://www.codeblackcoffee.com.au
Code Black Coffee is located just behind Barkly Square in Brunswick and it’s a nicely converted warehouse. The interior design is beautiful and gives a really warm feeling! Unfortunately, they didn’t have a table big enough for the 5 of us at the time we arrived, so we had to sit outside. Thank goodness the weather was bright and and sunny that morning and there were no bees around! hehe (:
We started our day with hot cuppas! I was craving for some coffee so decided to go for a cappuccino instead of my usual chai. The coffee was nice and strong, and definitely perked me up! hehe Melissa had her usual hot chocolate, Peachie ordered her new love – chai latte, Daisy had her skinny mocha and dearest Julie (fellow April baby) had a soy mocha! I love how no two cups are the same! hehe Barristers honestly have my upmost respect with the amazing skills they have!
Had to post another picture of my cappuccino. Love the contrast between my coffee, the cup and the table! (:
When browsing the menu, there were so many things I wanted to try! But one thing that called out to me was the smoked ham hock coquettes! My hats off to the chef, as all our food were so beautifully plated and you just didn’t wanna destroy it! It was a work of art! hehe My coquettes were laid on the creamiest and smoothest cauliflower puree with sautéed baby spinach and pine nuts. In the middle was the perfectly poached egg that burst with the slightest touch of the knife!
The coquettes were crunchy on the outside, soft and fluffy in the middle! And the cauliflower puree, omgness. It was the best bit ever! I could eat it all day! So creamy but light at the same time! Seriously amazing! Needless to say, my plate was close to being licked clean! haha (: I am totally addicted to cauliflower puree. Who isn’t? heh
Melissa had the open bacon steak sandwich and it came with like a whipped avocado. It was delicious and so so smooth! With the tangy-ness of lemon, just cut through the saltiness and richness of the bacon steak! hehe Melissa loved the dish and couldn’t get enough of the bacon steak! hehe She mentioned that it’s even better than ham steaks which we usually have at home on Sundays! hehe Guess I have to hunt for some bacon steaks soon! hehe
Miss Peach knew instantly what she wanted – baked eggs. It had a smooth leek puree (I have to say they do amazing purees here!), baby spinach and goats cheese! A pity that the baked eggs were a little over done but she said the flavours were lovely! The best thing on the plate for her is definitely the polenta fingers! hehe Nice and crispy on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside. She loved it! hehe Of course, she couldn’t resist ordering a side of mushrooms! hehe
Julie ordered the Huon smoked salmon served with a smooth and rich potato aioli with fried capers. The dish looked so so pretty with the heirloom tomatoes placed so artistically! heh But sadly, the smoked salmon was a tad bit too salty! But I would definitely be able to finish a huge bowl of the potato aioli! (:
Miss Daisy surprising didn’t order anything sweet, but that’s because she (the awesome baker that she is) baked us April babies a beautiful birthday cake! hehe So she was reserving her sugar for later. (: She decided to order the Australia’s best toasted sandwich 2012 because she got drawn in by the polenta cake! I can’t blame her, it was one of the dishes I was close to ordering too! The dish was yum but Miss D said that it could be better if the polenta was a little more seasoned. Once again, her dish looked so so pretty! hehe Love it!
The sweet queen baked us a beautiful Jamie Oliver’s pear and pistachio cake with a lemon & honey drizzle! The cafe was really kind to allow us to cut and enjoy the cake in their premises! We were so thankful, cause there was no where else we could possibly cut the cake at! hehe Everyone that walked pass just kept staring at the cake, cause it looked like we bought the whole cake! haha Neither did they know it was homebaked by our dearest Daisy! hehe (: How beautiful does that look? Definitely worthy to be sold anywhere! hehe But please note this is not from the cafe itself.
The cake was slightly dense (and I love dense cakes haha) but was still crumbly! Love love love pistachios, so I was enjoying every single mouthful of it! hehe The lemon and honey drizzle added an extra tang to the cake which was so good! Thank you so much for your effort and time spent on baking us a delicious cake dearie! (: You’re the best! hehe I was greedy and took half of the cake home! haha Oops *hides*
Not only did Peach and Daisy buy us birthday girls brunch, I was also lucky enough to receive presents from them! I was definitely pampered that day! hehe Ms Peach even baked us sugar cookies which were so yum! hehe Thank you all so much! Loved everything! Can’t wait to cook from the Nigella Lawson cookbook too! hehe
I really loved dining at Code Black Coffee and will definitely be back with the mr soon! (: Stay-tuned for the continuation of my birthday celebration! hehe Have a great week ahead everyone!
Remember to always cook and bake with love! (: