The contents of this blog are matters of opinion formed over one more visits. There has been some artistry applied and metaphors and similes should not necessarily be taken literally.
The Tinhorn is the latest victim of my rolling B&E Reviews.
I quite enjoyed the the Bacon & Egg Roll ($8.50). There was a healthy serving of bacon and egg, and the relish helped to prevent it from being too dry. This is a highly rated bacon and egg roll.
I enjoyed the Pulled Beef Sandwich ($12) less than the B&E. Don’t get me wrong, it was still good, but not what I was after that day. My partner liked it more.
My partner was a big fan of the Butter Pancakes ($17). I enjoyed the fruit and cream toppings but I didn’t think the pancakes themselves really stood out. $17 is also a bit steep for this but I guess that’s how much you pay if you don’t want to crack open a bottle of Green’s or White Wings.
Overall I enjoyed my food from the Tinhorn. I especially enjoyed the B&E, and will likely get a few more from them in future days to months.
Copper Rose appears to be a cafe specialising in American style diner food.
The chilli hot dog ($8) was good. I enjoyed it, but my partner enjoyed it even more. There was a good helping of chilli con carne, which helped to optimise the filling to bread ratio. I still think it could have used less bread, but this was a good attempt. The mustard was a bit superfluous.
The Big Brekky Roll ($9) optioned with tomato relish was really good. A good mix of bacon, egg, and hash brown. I would rate this way over the big brekky burger at McDonald’s, for example, which has similar fillings. Would definitely get this again.
I enjoyed the limited foods that I tried at Copper Rose. I’d like to order more from them again soon, probably try out their Philadelphia Cheese Steak. Judging from the quality of the stuff that I have tried, it’s likely to be good.
UPDATE OCTOBER 2020
I did order from Copper Rose again, but I forgot all about the philly cheese steak. Instead, I got:
The Big Brekky Roll in wrap form ($9) was not as good as the big brekky roll in roll form. Go figure. I even added an additional sausage for $2, however the taste did not please me. Stick with the classics with this one.
The Marinated Chicken Burger ($8) was great value. The chicken fillet is marinated in balsamic vinegar, to achieve a nice and tangy taste, which mixed well with the rocket and mayonnaise. This is a recommendation.
I would estimate that I’ve been to Culture Bean thirty to forty times over the past twelve months. Located on absolute prime real estate across the road from St George Hospital, Culture Bean is the leading off-campus provider of coffee and food to my starving colleagues whilst also commanding its own customer base from the wider community. Culture Bean is the favourite local cafe of one of our consultant intensivists in particular, but also known to frequented by everyone else we work with.
The reasons behind the fact that I’ve got very few photos to show for the sheer volume of food I’ve consumed from Culture Bean is multifactorial. It’s a bit embarassing to take photos of food in front of colleagues at work, especially bosses. Each meal also becomes less special the more you eat somewhere, and therefore in the mind less worthy of photography, even if you never took any photos to start with.
Bacon and egg sandwich
The bacon and egg sandwich ($11.50), not to be confused with the bacon and egg roll, is a fully featured, stuffed with ingredients sandwich featuring egg, rocket, halloumi, heaps of bacon, and your choice of sauce (default is hollandaise and barbecue). It is very filling, and the flavours are perfectly balanced. It is much better than the bacon and egg roll ($7), which I feel to be a bit too bread heavy and dry in comparison.
The mainstay of management at Culture Bean is their fantastically good value egg and haloumi slider and regular coffee combo ($8). These hot little sliders can be optioned with a vast array of sauces if you know to ask (otherwise you will be given barbecue), and make for a great post-ward round snack. The coffee at Culture Bean is from Gabriel Coffee, and is always of good quality.
Acai Bowl
Culture Bean’s literally award winning Acai Bowl ($16) is pretty OK. My first acai bowl ever and was just fine, not mindblowing. Knowing this is apparently one of the best in Sydney did not make me want to get any more acai bowls from anywhere else.
I have enjoyed the bocconcini pesto sandwich but wish it would have some meat in it. Conversely, I have also had the chicken pesto sandwich and wished it were less dry, and thought it could perhaps benefit from some bocconcini in it. Culture Bean would really be onto something if they could put both chicken and bocconcini in the same sandwich.
The Pulled Pork Burger ($10) is a good value burger full of saucy, wet pulled pork and a carroty Asian slaw. It’s quite nice and pretty cheap, but make sure you have some paper towels nearby as it does get quite wet.
I tried the Blue Heaven ($16) with blue spirulina, banana, mango, kiwi, goji & dragon fruit one day after a night shift. While I liked the dragon fruit I wasn’t a big fan of the other fruit, nor was I a fan of the weird blue colour. Just not really my thing to be honest, maybe other people like this.
I enjoyed the Culture Burger ($12.50), which is essentially a chicken thigh burger in an activated charcoal bun. They are able to do this is a normal bun if you ask, which I tend to do since I’m not really sure if activated charcoal is good for you or bad for you.
COMMENTS / VERDICT
I feel AWFUL that the staff at Culture Bean know my name and I don’t know theirs. The service is always really nice and friendly, and the food pretty good too. I always feel guilty when I walk past Culture Bean to go to Concrete Jungle/Cafe 959 and the guys at Culture Bean just look at me with this look of sadness. They are my home cafe but sometimes I want something different. Definitely the best place in easy reach of the hospital (but sadly out of Spectralink reception).
Installing Doordash for the first time and taking advantage of their first month’s free delivery gave me the opportunity to try foods from a whole different catchment. Ho’s Bakery and Cafe in Sydenham, while not available to me on UberEats or Deliveroo, was ripe for the picking on Doordash.
I really enjoyed all the rolls that Hos’ had to offer.
bacon and egg roll
The bacon and egg roll ($6.50) was excellent. The crispy, salty bacon and the mellow egg complemented each other perfectly, and the bread was soft, unintrusive, and not too much. One of the better bacon and egg rolls I’ve had. I’ve literally ordered the bacon and egg roll multiple, multiple times. It’s just that good.
chicken roll
I don’t normally go for chicken rolls ( $7) but for Ho’s I made an exception. I enjoyed the roast chicken, and the slightly peppery sauce that was provided. It did feel a bit more wholesome than the sliced cold pork roll that I usually get. Many stars.
Ho’s pork roll ($6) was good and filling. In my honest opinion the quality rivals Hong Ha’s. I liked that the bread was soft and didn’t cut my mouth.
The fish burger ($6.50) let me down, however, which I guess is understandable as it is outside of their wheelhouse.
The pho ($14) is quite bad and I cannot recommend it.
What can I say? I really enjoyed the pork roll, chicken roll, and bacon and egg roll from Ho’s Bakery and Cafe. Their rolls are imbued with all round good quality and good taste. I would however stay away from the fish burger and far away from the pho.
Café 959 has sprung up from the ashes of the recently defunct Concrete Jungle, on prime real estate on the corner of Gray St and Queens Avenue near St George Hospital.
Cafe 959 plays it safe, featuring roughly the same menu items as its predecessor, including old favourites the warm chicken poke and ricotta pancake. The cafe was jam packed at 2PM on a Saturday, obviously benefiting from its prime location and Concrete Jungle‘s old regulars.
I had a very reasonably priced bacon and egg roll and coffee ($10 – takeaway only price). Service was brisk, and they have introduced innovative new seats next to their takeaway service window for waiting in. While the bacon and egg roll isn’t going to make any top ten lists, it’s definitely adequate with filling adequately moistened by barbeque sauce. A very reasonably quick lunch or breakfast for the weekend shift-worker.
Portuguese tart
The Portuguese tart looked like it would be good but it was not. The pastry looked like it would be flaky but it was rather doughy and sticky. The filling was too sweet for my tastes. A tie with Culture Bean‘s equally disappointing but actually much different offering.
The Chicken Sandwich was actually quite good. There is a lot of mayonnaise and cheese inside, which makes it feel a bit heavier than the sandwiches offered next door at Culture Bean. The bread was the standout component, a light Turkish bread which was actually very good when toasted. A winner.
I hope that as Cafe 959 finds its own they will introduce more of their own items onto the menu.
