Nic & Kolo is a new establishment in the Applecross Cafe strip. It opened its door to the public 2 weeks ago and a quick tag from fellow foodie Nini @ Ninifoodielicious means my next brunch venue was sorted. Coming in, the service was a tad slow as they were clearly understaffed. But hey, all new cafes have this issue right? We eventually sat ourselves down and instantly, the interior was admirable. The layout was very clean and at the entrance was a very blingy counter.
Mocha for Bel & Tea for me:
My tea was right from the shopping aisles so no dramas on my side. Bel enjoyed her coffee which dispel any concerns for the curious diners.
The menu came a little later and had the usual suspects. A few savoury choices and sweet one to seal the meal. Bel ordered the Shrooms, with Horseradish Créme, and Eggs on Toast.
A simple people-pleaser kind of dish. The thing about simple is that every element has to be executed spot on which leaves it very exposed to errors. But no dramas here. Bel was pleased with the tender shrooms! Her only comment? It is very hard to eat when everything is stacked on the toast. Definitely a first world problem haha.
As I had something savoury earlier on at home, I decided to go for Nic & Kolo’s buttermilk pancake. The Buttermilk Pancake with Slab Bacon, and Caramel Créme.
For me, the dish looked damn good. The thick slabs of bacon were smokey and meaty in each bite without an overbearing saltiness. The caramel had a beautiful nuttiness to it which help bring the pancake breakfast together. But where the pancake was meant to be a pancake, was where I felt let down the most. When someone offers me pancakes it immediately springs to mind; light, fluffy, evenly browned and with the use of buttermilk a lovely aroma when it hits the table. While I definitely did get a whiff of buttery fragrant, it fell short on the rest of my preferences. My pancake was cooked unevenly so one side was cooked well while the thicker half was undercooked, wet. One the outside, the pancake had more browning that I would have liked. More crisp than a nice fluffy top. Then again, all the Instagram post are showing the same!? Intentional? I wonder.
The thing about new openings are that they can be bit of a curved ball. You can never quite predict the outcome of a meal. But with new cafes, it was something I expected anyways. Over all, the food here had a clear and concise concept with the qualities to reach the level it wants to be at. Perhaps a few more weeks of fine tuning at site before Nic & Kolo reaches that mark but it is looking very promising. I guess Cioccolato Espresso has finally got a challenger on the Applecross Cafe strip.
WenY
