The world of food intolerances

It was only for 6 weeks. Honestly, avoiding eggs, dairy and yeast in the brunch game was a real struggle and I couldn't help but sneak in a few eggs #thestruggleisreal

The challenge did allow me to discover delicious alternatives - scrambled tofu, acai bowls (in which I quickly learnt is pronounced ah-sigh-ee) and chia pudding. I also found plenty of brunch spots that cater for the gluten free (GF), dairy free (DF), vegan (VG) and vegetarian (V). Here are a few I checked out...

EGG OF THE UNIVERSE | 711 Darling St, Rozelle
http://www.eggoftheuniverse.com/   
If you're looking for a dish that ticks all GF, DF, VG & V boxes, try the Perfect circle salad ($18). There's also other nourishing, cleansing and deliciously healthy options from their wholefoods menu. Venture out the back and relax in their urban garden and if you're up to it, do a yoga class.

Avocado and tomato ($16) on gluten free bread (+$1)

SPROUTS WHOLEFOODS CAFE | 272 - 274 Willoughby Rd, Naremburn
http://www.sproutwholefood.com.au/
"We believe that a wholesome meal must embody three essential characteristics: it has to be good for you; it must taste good and it should make you feel good." I couldn't agree more Sprouts! This cafe is as wholesome as you can get them and if you have kids, there's a kids menu and playground. Recommend the Sprouted wellness stack ($14) which is GF, DF, VG & V.

Sprouted wellness stack ($14.95) additional poached eggs ($4)

ABOUT LIFE | BONDI~  CAMMERAY~  DOUBLE BAY~  ROZELLE~  SURRY HILLS~
http://www.aboutlife.com.au/
About life in Cammeray is one I frequent regulary and it simply promotes healthy eating. You can find GF, DF and V options from their seasonally changing menu and this cafe is also a supermarket and natural pharmacy. Read my About Life, Cammeray review.

Egg nourishment $15.50

SADHANA KITCHEN | 147 ENMORE RD, ENMORE
http://www.sadhanakitchen.com/
Go here if you don't want to worry about anything expect for which dish to order from their menu. I indulged with the Avo & mushroom benedict ($19.50) and I never thought something vegan could taste so good! Claimed as Sydney's first organic wholefoods and raw foods cafe, all their food is processed and prepared below 40C.

Avo & mushroom benedict $19.50

SUZY SPOON'S VEGETARIAN BUTCHER | 24 KING ST, NEWTOWN
http://www.ssvb.com.au/ 
It is possible to say vegetarian and butcher together and yes, you can buy vegetarian sausages. Plenty of all day vegan breakfast options on the menu although you might need to request for GF and DF.

Hashbrown breakfast $18.50

Iku Wholefoods | Various Sydney locations 
Everything is preservative free, dairy free, additive free and animal free :) It's my go to during the working week.
http://www.ikuwholefood.com/menu/

Kafeine | 260 Darling St, Balmain
One of my favourite cafes, just look for the GF, DF, VG and V options 

Ungaro Raw | 656 Darling Rd, Rozelle
Would recommend visiting nearby Egg of the Universe as a first option

Zuchini fritters

Oneness Cafe | 244 Coogee Bay Rd, Coogee
They have a range of raw, vegan and gluten free options
http://www.onenesscafe.com.au/

Vegan scrambled + beetroot hashbrown

Others on the list to try:
Venus Whole Foods | 352 Bourke St, Surry Hills
Nourishing Quarter | 315 Cleveland St, Redfern
Earth to Table | 85 Bronte Rd, Bondi Junction
Sol Cafe | 5/2-4 Old Northern Rd, Baulkhim Hills
Nourished | 17 Avalon Pde, Avalon Beach
Mint Organics | 26 Nicholson Pde, Cronulla

A foodie's worst nightmare...

I had an allergy test done recently. It was one of those skin prick ones to see if you react to certain things within 15 minutes. My left arm was for food and my right arm for inhalant allergens.

Growing up in Manly, I remember the after dinner beach walks with mum and dad. The first resting spot would be the information kiosk and then I would meet them further along at the playground. That information kiosk is now The Pantry, serving the locals and visitors alike with breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Photo courtesy of ©iStockphoto.com/Spanishalex

My lack of blog posts lately is a sure sign of working too much and clearly not enough blogging and brunching! So where's my blog, brunch balance?

I used to wonder why people took their birthday off from work, sacrificing 1 out of the 20 days of annual leave allowed each year. This year I decided to be one of them as my annual leave doesn't accrue anymore. Now I wish my company just simply gifted us with a day off, now that would be a great present!

Me, myself and brunch!

Ocean views and the sound of waves are a few things that I love (that's non food related) so I treated myself with a visit to Balmoral beach and brunch at Bathers Pavilion Cafe. The drive was a dream run with no peak hour or weekend traffic and I found a free 2 hour parking spot right near the beach first round. #winning

Bathers Pavilion Cafe on a winters day

Even better, there were no queues and plenty of tables although none available by the windows. I chose a small round table just back from the window but still with a beach view.

After ordering I did the unthinkable - I pulled out my work phone and checked my work email. Why did I do that? My stress levels rose as I proceeded to respond to an email I found unacceptable. It was at that point a window table became free and I asked if I could move. As the waitress started moving my stuff, this rather short round lady pushed through, sat down and huffed that she was promised a window seat. How rude.

My waitress was polite and I didn't want any trouble so I just stayed at my table. Wow, I didn't realise it was such hot property. I later hear their waitress advise she had already reserved another table for them. Lucky for me this distraction let me discard that draft email reply.

Mushroom & spinach tart $22

Trying very hard to eat slowly and savouring all the flavours, I tucked into my meal. The chive hollandaise was perfect - light and fluffy. The eggs, liquid gold. Tempted by a nearby glass of champagne I was good and had a green envy fresh juice to complete my brunch.

Rocky point

Bathers' never fails me for a good brunch experience and it was nice the sun peeped out during my walk along the beach. I even found a $2 coin! I think I might do this every year. No traffic, no brunch queues, ocean views and eating my favourite meal of the day #winning

Do you take a day off for your birthday?

My lucky gold coin

Read my Bathers Pavilion Cafe review post.

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Who would think a four hour bush walk in the Blue Mountains was a good idea? I wasn't too sure but I did think that a stop over for breakfast was a great idea. After googling "best breakfast in Wentworth Falls" we ended up at Blue Mist Cafe where I would beg to differ on their random negative reviews.

Stepping inside, cute little booths line one wall and wooden tables and chairs are scattered around. They have an all day breakfast menu and the impressive drinks menu has fresh juices, frappes, smoothies and thick shakes all for $6.50 each.


On the menu, you have all your breakfasts covered with the "Big breakfast", "The breakfast", "Veggie breakfast", "Spicy breakfast" and "Light breakfast". There is also the usual suspects of eggs benedict, omelette, muesli and pancakes.

Veggie breakfast $17.00

The Veggie breakfast had perfectly poached eggs, mushrooms, tomato, spinach, house made beans, a sad looking potato and zucchini cake and toast. A very country home style breakfast.

Light breakfast $16.50

The light breakfast included avocado, two poached eggs, three basil and corn cakes with a choice of smoked salmon or chorizo. We got bacon instead and the basil and corn cakes were like scones, a different alternative to toast.


The juices come in a tall glass, fresh and tasty and my little piccolo was nice. I'm not sure about the bad service reviews they have received as I didn't get to experience that at all. The waitress was pleasant and the food and drinks didn't take that long.


You'll find shelves of second hand books and a lounge upstairs. It seems like a little hidden cove only the locals would know about and there's a bathroom too in case you get lost in a book and need to go.


So stopping by Blue Mist Cafe for breakfast wasn't a bad idea at all and neither was the four hour bush walk. I got to see two amazing waterfalls, got caught in the middle of a storm (yes, got totally saturated) and was able to take some amazing photos like this one (no edits, promise!).

In a nutshell ♥ Breakfast Coffee ●● Food ●● Service ●● Price $($) Atmosphere

All day, everyday $3.50 (piccolo)  Cafe Australian  Friendly  Toast $5.00 Pleasant and comfortable. Suits all

Blue Mist Cafe - 8 Station St, Wentworth Falls

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It was a Friday when I decided that it was a good idea to jump out of a plane. Yes, jump out of a plane at 6am the next day! Fourty seconds of free fall at 14000 ft, it really wasn't that crazy and the view of Wollongong was absolutely spectacular as the sun rose above the ocean.

Having travelled to North Wollongong for the sky dive it was also a great excuse to try a new cafe. It was still quite early and many cafes weren't open so we stuck to somewhere along the beach and found Connie's.


Connie's Cliff Road Cafe has a great view of North Wollongong beach and is busy with the local early risers. The cafe doesn't have the clean modern fit out like it's surrounding competitors but the service, food and prices are worth it.

Skim cappuccino $3.50

The breakfast menu is all day and includes both hearty and light meals, gusto coffee and a selection of milkshakes, fresh juices and frappes. Still high off the adrenaline rush we couldn't choose and just picked the stacks.

Brekkie Stack $16

The Brekkie stack had fresh tomato, crispy bacon, poached eggs and a dollop of hollandaise on top of cheese and turkish bread. It also came with a side of avocado and a little bowl of fruit.

Summer Stack $16.50

The Summer stack was very similar with smoked salmon and sauteed spinach instead of bacon and fruit. Everything was fresh and when turkish bread comes toasted with cheese you know you're onto a winner (straight to the hips!).


It's always nice to pick a cafe based on the local crowd that is unpretentious and serves good food. So if you intend to go sky diving with Skydive the Beach and beyond, stop by this cafe and support a small local business.

In a nutshell Breakfast Coffee ●● Food ●● Service ●●● Price $ Atmosphere

♥ Everyday until 3pm $3.50 (regular), Gusto  Australian Friendly Toast $4 Homely, casual, no fuss.

Connies Cliff Road - 1/16 Cliff Rd, North Wollongong
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Connies-Cliff-Road-Cafe/100164623380616


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On every breakfast menu, there is always the usual suspect - the big breakfast.  Usually it's designed to make that hangover a bit more bearable, feed that grumbling belly or meet the brief to cover both breakfast and lunch.

For me, it is forever a childhood memory where my parents would spoil us at McDonald's for breakfast. Without fail, it was five big breakfasts and one hotcakes to share before the boys ran off to play in the playground.

Old skool slippery dip and the family fast food breakfast spread

So what happened to the McDonald's big breakfast?
No longer on the menu, I suppose no one has really missed it as it hasn't made a return. 

Source: Mc'Donalds website

I remember it was so exciting, every time working out how I was going to eat my big breakfast. I would butter the english muffins with the fluffy white butter that would just dissolve, then it was either the scrambled eggs or sausage patty. Sometimes I would stack on the hash brown too but the challenge was always to eat the muffin without spilling anything.

It may have been that defining moment that has now made me brunch crazy!

What's your favourite childhood breakfast memory?

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