Circa Espresso - finally

FINALLY AN AFFORDABLE BRUNCH LOCATION!

There's been so much hype (on food blogs, twitter and IG) about Circa Espresso. I've realised that my recent food trips have been to these nominated restaurants/quick eat locations to confirm (I guess..) other people's opinions.  Everyone's raving on about Circa, and I can definitely see why.

It's located on Wentworth Street in Parra - pretty much adjacent to the station (not on the Hungry Jacks side) and is pretty much a hole-in-the-wall shop.  I think it used to be a tandem garage or something, but it's been decorated in a pretty funky/quirky fashion.  Definitely no time for awkward chitchat here :)

Entrance - no fancy sign! Understated, I like it!

Even though there wasn't really a sign for the cafe, as soon as I walked onto Wentworth Street, I knew exactly which shop it was.  So funky.

Coffee beans

What it looked like inside...

Towards the back of the restaurant

 Birdie painting, cloud wall and fake windows. It's such an odd combination!

Alchemy bottles?

Looks like an old school cough medicine bottle. (And check out that massive lens on that camera! Probably weighs more than the camera ;D)

Quirky wall decor

More walls..

Then the coffees came.  I think we noobed it today.  Normally people get the house special, but it was our first time, so we just ordered a latte and a cap.

A hearty latte

 The hearts they poured were pretty.

Another hearty coffee - cappuccino

A quick check of foursquare told us that they had great coffee. Maybe it's because we didn't get the house blend, or we're just not very good coffee drinkers, but I found there was a sour aftertaste. It just didn't feel very smooth (even though I ordered a full fat latte!!).

Most of the items are $7-10 and the more 'impressive' items on the menu reach about $15 - which is pretty good for brunch.  I went to Little Rock Cafe recently and one dish alone was $20.

Banana bread with passionfruit butter 

This banana bread should be renamed banana cake, because it had the lovely softness and moistness of cake. The melty passionfruit butter on top is so freaking delicious. Butter and passionfruit. A deadly combination. I LOVE THIS STUFF SO MUCH.

Poached chicken, gorgonzola dolce, almond slivers, celery and spinach

Super glad the salad was picked from the menu.  It was the best recovery dish after I ate the baked eggs (below). It's very "fresh" and feels super healthy and cleansing. It must be the combination of cucumbers, celery and lemon juice. I could drink this lemon dressing. Very tangy/sour. The asparagus was very full of flavour. Very asparagus-y. :P  Spinach was a nice base, but the peas were meh. And the poached chicken was just a bit ordinary :)  But overall, a very nice dish!

Baked eggs with sujuk, danish feta, tomato and chili in a pan

BEST THING EVER. Baked eggs. I am totally making a non-chili version of this tomorrow morning (though I admit the spice gave the eggs a whole lotta BITE!) with bacon instead of the sujuk (is this just spicy chorizo?) and maybe I'll throw in a few mushrooms if I can find any.  

But going back to these eggs... This was really enjoyable. I love eggs. I love tomatoes. And I love soy and linseed bread. So this was a clear winner in my books. Such a hearty breakfast. If I ever had a blissful facial expression, I would have been wearing this face when I was eating from this pan (yes, what originally attracted me to this was the fact that I got to eat out of a pan :P).

ORDER THIS IF YOU GO!

I'm going to try and go again before I leave the country. I want to try the other stuff so badly. 

I think w thought I was kidding when I said we should order three things from the menu. But I wasn't. We were really full afterwards, but I'm sure there was no trace of regret anywhere. 

All good for the heart and soul.

Penny farthings! Looks like a smiley face!