Mission12 - Chinta

Tis a long weekend and the operation has been given another target - Chinta in Scarborough. The skies were blue and the day was heating up. We booked for a table at 11am. Us girls must be all wanting to savour the lie-in, we got there right on 1110. THe place had queues of people inside and outside. We were then greeted by the waitress who informed us we were 10 min late so our table had been given away! None of us said much but I wasn't all THAT happy about it. If they were THAT strict, I thought they should have said something when we booked...

Anyway, we waited for about 20 minutes before a table that fitted us came up. In the mean time, there were a steady stream of people adding to the every growing wait list.

It's really a shop plus a cafe with a back yard. I loved the furniture - really quirky and interesting. There were lots of buddhas and dream catchers of all colours. Fortunately it wasn't filled by incense smell.

I loved the wooden bench we sat on. Even in the blazing midday sun, we were well covered by the numerous paper umbrellas over head while still letting lots of natural sunlight through. The seats were all different styles. I particularly liked the big wooden benches with cushions where you could put your feet up or have a lie down - like the Romans did. However, I did find the place a bit cramped, a fault many of these little cafes suffer from. I suppose economics forces do intrude on this little spiritual haven.



The waitress forgot to give us menus but that was understandable as the place was buzzing. The menu printed on A4 refill which reminded us middle aged women of our high school days. And we reminisced over those good old days while we poured over the choices.




We wondered what the "beetroot toast" was in the vegan option but at the end of the day, we ordered choices that were more trusted old favourites. Two chorizo eggs, one atlantic eggs and two modest brekkies. THere was no "eggs on toast" as such.

Everyone were served by paper plates and plastic cups. Friends who have been here before thought it must be a change they made because it was so busy. So it had some negative impact on the aesthetics as everything was kinda squashed and mixed together.



I was kinda disappointed with my modest brekkie although I was surprised by the bacon added. The grilled cherry tomatoes and mushrooms were nice. I found the bacon too salty but then I have never liked bacon. Friends' chorizos were tender and flavourful. Oh and the modest brekkie only gets one egg. The bread was toasted sourdough. The egg was quite disappointed. It was nearly cooked, only the very middle was still a little bit runny. Friends who got two eggs said at least one of them were runny.

So overall, 3 out of 5 eggs from me. I love the surroundings. It would have been even better if it was less busy. To me the food was average, nothing memorable but may be I would go back to try the beetroot toast (hopefully it's not just beetroot on toast :D)

Mission 11 - the old laundry

I work around the North Perth area and had known for some time that Angove Street has sprouted a trendy row of cafes and shops. It was only last week that I had the chance to finally try one of these places for my operation.

It was a lovely sunny day. I was running late as usual. As I became aware that it was ...11 20 am, I started to drive like the Chinese woman that I am... Breakfast stops at 1130. My very considerate friends however, whatsapp'ed me the menu. But having been brunch buddies for so long, she knew my taste already. So her suggestion was exactly what I wanted.

I loved the ample parking on the street which was free although there were a few motorcycles, making sitting outside not quite so pleasant.

The place was busy but not too crowded. The table was a bit small for three plates of food. We however all loved the ledge on the side for us to put our hand bags and phones on. It's a girl thing.

I had the smashed pumpkin bruschetta with hazelnut dukkah, poached egg, feta, honey and dill dressing. My friend had sweet potato and chorizo hash. My other friend had the Old Laundry green eggs and ham. That consists of pork hock, green pea, polenta fried cakes, poached eggs, pesto and rocket. Then we all shared the Old Laundry peanut butter and jelly pop tart.






There was an ancient washing machine in the backyard but the staff didn't think it was a laundromat in the past. Nonetheless, the decor was trendy and unique.


My friends' meals came first so I tried a bit of chorizo and a bit of the polenta. When I saw my bruschetta, I was quite excited. It looked a good size and rather delicious.



THe smashed pumpkin was nice but better when mixed with feta. Otherwise it tended to be too sweet. Mind you, I've never really felt comfortable having pumpkin as a vegetable. There was only ONE egg! I had to deliberate for some time, how to eat it. From the absence of a photo with the egg cut open, you would be correct to assume I ate the whole egg in one mouthful. The yolk was fairly runny. It was a bit on the small side though. THe bread was ok but I always find the toast in cafes too...toasted...dry. One could argue that's why you put the pumpkin smash on it.

Friends had a few misgivings about the pop tart, namely because they made it too early when we told them we wanted it as a dessert. They apologised and later returned with the plate at the right time. However, the pop tart was cold. So we surmised they just left the plate and did not make a fresh dish even though it clearly would have affected the taste. Apart from that, there was a fair peanut butter taste and it was very pretty, with edible flowers sprinkled over.








So overall, it's a 3 out of 5 from me. THere was only one egg. I just though perhaps avocado smash or somehting would be better than pumpkin. I would go back but only because their dinner menu looked interesting and I like tapas - dates, villa queso blude cheese, ricotta, pancetta, lemon!