Tucked away from the busy centres of St Leonards and Crows Nest, get ready to be whisked away at the Wooden Whisk. One of my favourite brunch spots, I am never let down and the seasonal specials keeps things interesting.


On arrival, I am always greeted immediately and luckily haven't had to wait in a queue (yet?). Once seated, a menu and tap water is provided and my coffee order is taken. This is often now seen "as expected" at cafes but I am always still delighted when this happens.


The coffee is a Wooden Whisk blend by Single Origin Roasters and is very easy to drink. It is more on the sweet side without the bitterness.

Breakfast special stack $16.90 with side of bacon $3.00

The first time I was here, I ordered the breakfast special stack ($16.90). Stacked beautifully was grilled haloumi, roasted tomato and poached eggs on sour dough bread. It tasted as good as it looked but I was naughty adding bacon ($3.00) to a decent vegetarian meal.

The Crossfit $16.90

On another visit, I got the the Crossfit ($16.90) from the seasonal specials which was an enticing spread of avocado, haloumi, hash brown, crispy bacon, poached eggs and sauteed kale and cherry tomatoes.

Croque madame $14.50

From the regular breakfast menu, the classic croque madame ($14.50) is served up with a perfectly poached egg. The toasted sandwich contained double smoked ham, swiss cheese, french mustard and oozing béchamel sauce. Also available is the croque monsieur ($11.50).

Eggs benedict with bacon $15.50

My trusty benchmark, eggs benedict hits the mark here with a choice of bacon, ham, mushroom, spinach or smoked salmon. The classic is dressed in a rich and creamy housemade hollandaise and sits on a toasted muffin that is still soft on the inside but crispy on the edges.

Smoothie, fresh juices $6.20

There's a great selection of hot and cold drinks. For fresh juices there are four set combos which are very appealing - Beet Beauty? Vegie Patch? Kale Crave? The Detox?

Kale Crave $6.20

The Kale Crave ($6.20) is a refreshing mix of kale, apple and mint with cucumber to balance the sweetness. There is also the option of creating your own juices.


The Wooden Whisk is a place where you can easily sit back, relax and enjoy your brunch and even take advantage of their free wi-fi. The kitchen noises mixed with the many conversations creates an upbeat buzz and you will always see Sean (the owner) working hard on the floor and wiping down tables - now that's special service!

Original post 16 March 2014 ♥♥
Re-review post 8 February 2015 ♥♥♥

In a nutshell ♥♥♥
All day breakfast, Monday - Saturday
Coffee: ●●● Single Origin Roasters Wooden Whisk blend
Food: ●●● Delicious, fresh, good variety, organic and gluten free available
Service: ●●● Friendly, attentive, efficient
Price: $($)
Atmosphere: Relaxed, busy, homely. Suits singles, couples. groups, families, pets

The Wooden Whisk - 38 Albany St, St. Leonards
http://www.woodenwhisk.com.au/

It's when you least expect it something pleasantly surprises you - that's what I found when I followed this pretty bike into Jane Eyre in North Sydney.


Stepping into this quaint little cafe, there's a cabinet full of delicious cakes and baked goodies to entice and cosy nooks to hide away in. Maybe this is what Jane Eyre's home was like?

Chai latte & cappucino

Not sure what she would have fed you but the breakfast menu here has meaty and veggie options with a bit of Spanish and Italian influences. So what's on the menu?

Jane Eyre Big Breakfast $16.50

If you are up for a good feed, the Jane Eyre big breakfast is the way to go. It's simply a mountain of bacon, chorizo, tomato, mushrooms, eggs your own way and haloumi.

Eggs & bacon with turkish bread $5.50

If you are only after a light feed, there's the bacon and eggs option which is plated nicely with a salad on the side. There's also toast, organic muesli or fruit and yogurt. 

French toast $12.00

Something sweet and savoury? There's the french toast with bacon which is adorn with fresh fruit and comes with real maple syrup. Did I say bacon? Yes there's plenty of it!

Organic corn & broccoli fritters $16.50 additional egg $2.50

Something healthy? There's the fitness salad or the corn & broccolini fritters with either bacon or smoked salmon. They are crispy on the outside and pretty tasty when combined with what's on the plate.

Omelette $14.50

If you like omelettes, it is quite a generous serving with feta, tomato, mushroom, onion and your choice of prosciutto or salmon. Or there's scrambled egg or smoked salmon wrap options.

Eggs benedict with ham $14.50

If you are an eggs benny lover like me, there's eggs benedict with your choice of smoked salmon or double smoked ham. The hollandaise varies on different visits, definitely is a sign it is housemade.

Eggs benedict with smoked salmon $14.50

There is something about grilled haloumi cheese that just makes any dish better for me. So my eggs benedict with smoked salmon was the bomb :)

Smashed avo with bacon

I don't know who Jane is but this place has little details like the collection of souvenir spoons, mish mash of victorian plates, the vintage phone and mismatching chairs that makes this cafe unique and unpretentious. You could easily unwind inside on a cold day or enjoy the sunshine outside on a sunny day.


In a nutshell ♥
All day breakfast, Monday - Saturday
Coffee: ♪♪♪ Mecca beans
Food: ●● Modern Australian mixed spanish and italian
Service: ☺☺☺ Super friendly
Price: $($)
Atmosphere: Relaxed, charming, quaint. Suits all.

Jane Eyre - 80 Mount St, North Sydney
https://www.facebook.com/CafeJaneEyreNorthSydney



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It's starts off with the light, slightly tangy buttery hollandaise, then the perfectly oozing poached egg, then a mouthful of the combo presented on the plate to taste... That's how I narrowed down the following Sydney brunch spots for eggs benny in 2014.

Four ate Five, Surry Hills Trade the good old english muffin for a croissant and you have the delicious Four ate Five eggs benedict special. Extra butter and pastry - how can you go wrong? Served all day, miss the brunch rush for a shorter wait in the queue.

Eggs benedict special with smoked salmon $18

THELMA & LOUISE, NEUTRAL BAY Is it the soft fluffy bread, the sense of buttery salty goodness or the water view? This has been a long standing favourite for $18, also available with ham.

Eggs benedict with salmon $18

ST JUDE, REDFERN You can get "eggs florrie, royale or gypsy smoked ham bennie" for $17 at this cute little cafe. The smoked ham was a nice additional layer of flavour - .my review

Eggs gypsy smoked ham bennie $17

REVOLVER, ANNANDALE Dijon hollandaise made this version of eggs benedict with free range bacon perfectly right - my review

Eggs benedict $16.50

ELBOW ESPRESSO ROOM, CHATSWOOD Isn't this the prettiest well presented eggs benedict ever? Pomegranate seeds adds a nice touch and also comes with smoked salmon $18 - my review Eggs benedict on brioche with ham $16

CYREN, DARLING HARBOUR Yes in the heart of Sydney city and opened on a weekend, Cyren has eggs benedict three ways on their menu - leg ham or sauteed spinach $15 or smoked salmon $16. Did I mention the waterfront view of Darling Harbour too? my review

Eggs benedict with smoked salmon $16

ZENJA CAFE, NORTH STRATHFIELD Three poached eggs. Do I need to say anymore? This generous serving is also available with double smoked ham or bacon and field mushrooms for $16.90 - my review

With Norwegian Atlantic smoked salmon $16.90

Read Eggs Benedict Quest 2013
A page for the Eggs Benny lovers

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Weekends away seem to be a distant past for me so when the girls suggested a weekend away on the farm, I was in! Eventually not so in as I could only stay for the brunch and tulip adventure to get back to Sydney :(

Bowral tulip time

Searching for a brunch place thats somewhere central, takes large groups, kid friendly, has parking, licensed and has chocolate milkshakes is quite the mission. Luckily this place fit the bill with a bonus waterfront view of Darling Harbour... give or take on the quality and service.


The breakfast menu is simple with the classic big breakfast, eggs benedict and even a bacon and egg roll. I couldn't go past the eggs benedict three ways with smoked salmon.

Eggs benedict with smoked salmon $16.00

As I tasted the hollandaise I thought perhaps this could be the best eggs benny I've had all year... of course that means everything has to be perfect. Unlucky this time though, the turkish bread was a little tough.

Big breakfast $17.50

Big breakfast consisted of little chipolatas, one mushroom, a hash brown, half a tomato and bacon and eggs. If you are up for a bigger meal, there's the breakfast buffet for $25 per person. Hello food coma.

Bacon and egg roll with hash browns $11.50

The good old bacon and egg roll came out on turkish bread with two hash browns but missing the star of the plate - bacon! Epic oops Cyren. The pic here shows it with the bacon.

Eggs Mediterranean $14.50

Both Eggs Mediterranean were devoured with nothing left on the plates. The poached eggs oozed nicely and the scrambled eggs were fluffy adorning the roquette (fancy pants rocket), fetta and avocado which resembled packet looking green mush - perhaps they ran out of real avocado?

Eggs Mediterranean $14.50

If all that wasn't enough, the lunch menu starts at 11.30am with seafood, angus beef, burgers, pizzas and desserts of all sorts. We nibbled on the assorted cheese while others ordered the seafood plate options.

Cold seafood plate $23.00

The drinks menu has plenty of variety to suit all, whether its non-alcoholic, alcoholic, hot or cold, cocktails including huge cocktail punch bowls to share for 4. We really enjoyed the Sangria and Pimms versions.

Cyren Sangria Punch bowl $38

Mission accomplished, this is the location for a lazy long brunch with space and a spectacular view - that's if you're not too picky on service and quality (all you snobs of Surry Hills and the like :)). Cyren is known more for it's lunch and dinner service so it doesn't do too bad for trying out the breakfast service - they kept us happy!

In a nutshell
Breakfast from 8am until 12pm, licensed
Coffee: ♪♪
Food: ☻☻ Modern Australian breakfast
Service: ☺☺ Improved when lunch service started, we had a wonderful lunch waiter
Price: $$
Atmosphere: Relaxed, open, clean, spacious. Ideal for large groups.

Cyren Bar - Grill - Seafood, Shop 197 Waterfront Harbourside, Darling Harbour
http://www.cyrenrestaurant.com.au/CyrensRestaurantAndBar.htm

I recently had the best, yes the BEST eggs benedict while in London at the Breakfast Club and captured the deliciously egg oozing hollandaise goodness on instagram, facebook and urbanspoon.

It seemed like the food that I ate really defined the places I visited and my hips don't lie about it either. So what was for breakfast while I was away on holidays?

The British and Irish love their traditional full breakfast aka fry up or full monty with each country adding it's own little touch, black pudding or hashbrowns (English), white pudding or soda bread (Irish) or haggis (Scottish).

The Europeans weren't so fussed about the big hearty meals instead keeping it simple, light and easy - think fresh pastries and breads.

Here's a snippet of where I disappeared to and ate :)

FRANCE

Croque monsieur

Paris

Croissant

BELGIUM

Brussels

Frites and mayo

Moules, frites and beer

NETHERLANDS

Traditional Dutch snacks

Crossaint and eggs

Amsterdam

ENGLAND

Stonehenge

English full breakfast

Eggs royale

Recommend: Breakfast Club, London


IRELAND

Irish full breakfast

Irish coffee

Ulster fry

Recommend: Gourmet Food Parlour, Dun Laoghaire

SCOTLAND

Scottish full breakfast

Eilean Dolan Castle

Haggis, neets and tatties

Recommend: Loudons Cafe & Bakery, Edinburgh