I came to tbsp. a couple weeks back for a fulfilling pre fly-back-to-work meal and that is exactly what I got. Located in Maylands, the venue at 8am was lifely and the service attentive with its crew dedicated enough to explain the techniques behind its dishes. I am finally here.
To start was a doughnut to share. This one in its classic O-shape coated with a berry frosting and to finish were some dehydrated berries.
Initial impressions, perfect. It looked sensational. But for me, that it where it all ends because besides the frosting and the berries, I look for a certain fluffiness when I eat my doughnuts. And I got none. For me, my doughnut experience starts with that outer brownish layer that’s slightly more bitey than the inner bits. When I get inside, I expect a slightly yellow fluff as I pull it apart. Here it was fluffy in the way of a crumbled sponge. It did not have the mild elasticity. The doughnut here was a miss. It was far from the runny ones I have been seeing on Instagram which means I will need to revisit one day because this could be a one-off technical fault.
Next up was the Chorizo toast. I think that is what its called.
A yummy looking dish. Here, scarce is not an applicable word as you can see chunks of chorizo strewn all across the plate in a very good way. You get that runny onsen egg for some TLC coating of all the elements to bring it together. As simple as it looked, my mate enjoyed it heaps.
My choice for the day was none other than the infamous Brisket Benedict.
This calorie monster hit several sweet spots. The onions were fantastic. Caramelised through, the onions were rich in its natural sweetness. The brisket was also another high point, it was tender and absolutely delicious. The seasoning was flavourful from all the marinade and not overly cloying despite being fatty. Eggs I had no complain, as they were typical. With everything on the plate, the Hollandaise was almost a home run but I felt like an additional notch of acidity would have help lifted the heaviness of the meal. Or maybe, do it the Asian way and spike it with some Sriratcha for additional kick. But for me, what made this meal difficult was the bread. The bread in itself was faultless do not get me wrong. But for some reason, there was a ton of oil gushing out from the bread. This was where I died. But once the bread was away, I was good again. Perhaps it was the juicy fattiness of the pulled brisket. If that was the case then tbsp. is better of straining it away and using small quantities to toast the bread where required.
tbsp. was a nice bite but I’m was not overly wow-ed because I find the Spicy Beef Benedict at Typika in Claremont to be equally good. And to think of it, that was back in 2013!! You would expect 3 years to make a difference haha. In saying that though, because tbsp. is nearer to home, I reckon its a much easier location to get to. Over all, the food was above average, the environment was nice and parking was not too difficult. Would I come back? Definitely yes, to try their other doughnuts. But for me, the highlight was the customers service. While you rarely get much interaction at brunch cafes, that little explanation about the doughnut was enough to convince me that the people at tbsp. cared!
WenY
WenY
