July 4, 2010

Cafe 200

200 High Street,
Lower Templestowe, VIC 3107
(03) 8850 0599
Food: Breakfast, Cafe
Date visited: 24th November 2008

We found ourselves at Cafe 200 one morning, eager to try out their offerings for breakfast. The busy cafe is conveniently situated right by a Medical Centre, so not only were locals dropping in for a quick bite and a friendly chat with the workers, but medical staff could also be seen at tables clutching their coffees in one hand whilst flipping through the day's paper with the other.

I ordered my usual of poached eggs and smoked salmon with hollandaise sauce, and Damian his favourite big breakfast, and, boy, were we content with our meals! Beautifully presented, well-seasoned, and the best part was the relief of seeing creamy, runny egg yolk gushing out of the delicately poached eggs as we cut into them - always the test that sets the best from the rest.

Eggs Benedict with Smoked Salmon

Poached Eggs with Hash brown, Sausage, Grilled Tomato & Spinach


A few months later, which was actually on 4th May this year, we returned to Cafe 200, excited for what we expected to be yet another delicious breakfast. I am reluctant to admit it, but my heart sunk as I watched our dishes placed in front of us - I could not believe how different they looked.

Each element of Damian's 'Big Breakfast' appeared to be randomly shoved around on the plate - the bacon was tough to chew through,  the scrambled eggs rubbery and bland, the sausages tepid, and what used to be a lush cluster of spinach was now just a few leaves tossed through the mushrooms. My smoked salmon was flaky dry and looked like it had been sitting in the cooler for maybe a week too long. The biggest disappointment for me, though, was the yolks in my flimsily poached eggs, which were both firm to the point of almost being a hard-boiled consistency.

Scrambled Eggs with Bacon, Sausage, Hash Brown, Mushroom, Spinach & Grilled Tomato

Poached Eggs with Smoked Salmon, Hash Brown, Mushroom & Grilled Tomato

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