Living in South Melbourne has many perks, one of these is the abundance of cafes to have breakfast at on a weekend. Last weekend we went to St Ali with some friends, I had been before during the week so I knew the food was good but the atmosphere was completely different. As with most places on the weekend it was very busy but we got seated straight away.
We ordered our coffees and turned our attention to the extensive menu to choose from dishes like 'Hey Mr Tally Man' and 'Koo Coo Ca Choo'. What stood out apart from the cool names was that they offered a lot of gluten free option (my friend is gluten intolerant).
My friends both went for the Koo Coo Ca Choo which was potato hash with mushroom duxelle, poached eggs, Gruyère baked field mushrooms, chlorophyll & truffle vinaigrette.
When their dishes came out I did get a bit of food envy but I was allowed to try some and it was super tasty (I think I have to go back and get a Koo Coo Ca Choo myself next time!).
L got one of the specials 'Greenvale farm house' which consisted of house bacon, ham hock croquettes, green pea puree and a fried duck egg (and he got a hash brown on the side as well). Pretty amazing! I didn't get to try the duck egg but L said it was like a really delicious and rich chicken egg. The croquettes were amazing, I ate most of them, crunchy on the outside and just the right amount of saltiness from the ham hock on the inside.
I chose the 'Roe Roe Roe Your Boat' - scrambled eggs with house smoked Yarra Valley brook trout, chives, Lilliput capers and caviar.
It was a massive serve and I didn't manage to eat it all, but I did also order two slices of sourdough bread. The eggs were lovely and fluffy and the trout added a nice saltiness and texture to them.
When I had been before by myself I had a nice lazy long breakfast, reading a book and enjoying time off between jobs. At the time I had the 'Pepe's Fluffy Bits' - buttermilk pancakes, with poached quinces, ginger syrup, crushed hazelnut & Pepe Saya crème fraiche.
I loved the ginger syrup and quinces, however the menu has been changed since, they now have the 'Hey Mr Tally Man' pancakes with caramelised banana.
L and I both agreed that we should go more often as it's close and due to the size of the place (it's inside an old warehouse) it doesn't take too long to get a table.
