Hidden gems in Marrickville

I actually hoped to go to Newtown this month - Black Star's "goo" salted chocolate and caramel tart had been calling me - but got the neighbouring suburb instead, thanks to the superb organisational skills of our CEO from exactly the opposite side of the world. The route of our Marrickville adventure spans about 2.5km from start to finish, which meant either a lot of walking (useful for working off our sugar high) or carpooling (if sugar isn't a problem for your blood). It was a lovely sunny but cool day - the chill of the tail of our winter lingers - quite perfect for a stroll, really.

Miss Petty Cash Cafe was an unassuming place around the corner off the main street, but I found it packed with locals. It really was quite lovely sitting by the sidewalk, watching the world go by... and being off the main road, it was VERY pleasant.

Lovely breakfast selection on the menu - of course the chocolate brioche French toast was selected, as well as buttermilk pancakes with fresh fruit and maple syrup. Was it too early for a chocolate brownie? NEVER!

Light, fragrant and syrupy pancakes and piles of fresh fruit adorn the generous plate. The raspberry friand, chocolate brownie and "chocolate friand" (which tasted more like a brownie) were moist, chocolate brownie decadent (KT, come back ...). The highlight was the chocolate brioche French toast though - the waiter said "you might need a box for the left-overs"... to which I replied "you have not seen me eat, obviously".

What else can I say about this tower of brioche stack with chocolate ganache, chocolate sauce, praline and ice cream apart from simply indulgent?  Yes. The brioche was a tad dry. Pity, otherwise a beautiful dessert/breakfast to die for. [KT: note to self, Sunday breakfast at home in BA. *drool*]

Perfect day for a stroll - a little nippy in the shade, but we were armed with chocolatey goodness so fearlessly we headed to the next spot - one of my all-time favourites - Bourke St Bakery. But it's not at Bourke St. Who cares really, if I could get my brulee tart and other delectable goodies, I will happily have it anywhere.

As always, beautiful pastry - either the tart base or the flaky Danish. I will always order a brulee tart from Bourke St Bakery, although I usually opt for the strawberry brulee tart rather than the ginger brulee tart. However there was nothing to hate about the ginger tart - it was just as creamy and luscious. Our favourite was the simple date and custard tart - everyone took one mouthful and said, "mmmm!" because it was just such a simple, subtle but flavoursome treat now added to my "must have" list from Bourke St Bakery (strawberry brulee tarts, chocolate and raspberry tart, croissant). However I'm not quite sure about the cherry and fennel seed sourdough ... excellent bread, just not so taken by the flavour.

Cafe New Deli's cake display cabinet housed some rather unusual tartes and tortes - Belgium chocolate and meringue tart, for example - who has seen a non-citrus meringue tart before? The chocolate ganache was decadently dark but with the meringue, it felt rich. Linzar tart was filled with at least two punnets of berries - a tart of a home made berry jam, it's tangy and packed with flavours, highly recommended. Cafe New Deli makes fresh juices of your choice, I chose an apple, pineapple and lime juice - would have loved to have more lime, but it was still very refreshing.

Our final stop was the sweetest spot of Hellenic Bakery, where we knew we will have all things syrupy. We wished for more company as we entered, there were so many cakes and biscuits and custards and other Greek specialty sweets to choose from. We ended up with just a couple of custard desserts and a take home pack of syrupy nutty citrusy biscuits. Very rich, in need of coffee to wash them down!!

Pity Old Thanh Huong which was just across the road was closed, otherwise I could have used the icy 3-bean dessert drink to refresh myself. Then again, I don't think my body would appreciate the ice on this cool late winter afternoon.... Another lovely day had, as always!

CS

ps it never ceased to amaze me how we always managed a table everywhere we went - but given our next spot is the always busy Newtown/Enmore, we shall try our luck!!