Tucked in an arcade near Rockdale’s train station is a cafe I would’ve completely missed were it not for the recommendation from a former colleague (now paediatric colleague) CK during a chance encounter at Brothers’ Kebab in Banksia one night.
I visited on a morning in January 2021, a few hours after reassuring a well young man who had been hit in the eye by a low velocity empty plastic water bottle in ED Fast Track.
I had the Gangster Benedict ($21), an eggs benedict gangstered up by the addition of five spice pork belly, served on Pepe Saya’s crumpets. While I think the benedict components of the meal – the Hollandaise sauce and particularly the poached eggs were solid, if I’m being honest I didn’t really feel that the five spiced pork belly really added a great deal. As a person of Chinese descent I have made, eaten, and loved a great deal of five spiced pork belly in my day, and compared to these historical porks the one at Angry Gnome didn’t quite cut the mustard. Despite this, a quite positive mention should be made to the texture and composition of the crumpets, which felt quite complex and premium.
I don’t know if these crumpets were made by Pepe or rather just made with his butter, but they are almost worth ordering on their own.
Doggo outside the restaurant.
The Angry Gnome Espresso Bar
495 Princes Hwy, Rockdale NSW 2216, Australia
0413 131 040