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Oregano Bakery, South Hurstville

Caffe di Gabriel. 56 Connells Point Rd, South Hurstville. Doing an excellent job on an upmarket version of Lebanese pizza (the meat pizza is crispy, the Zatar is generously flavoured), their real strength is in the scrolls, where a range of flavours are on display. I try the Tahini scroll, which is a delightful mix of sweet and savoury.

Coffee is really good: the decaf is fresh ground and the milk work is excellent. This is a great spot to sit down and enjoy the passing of time. It’s a little more pricey than the usual, but the quality justifies it. Recommended.

http://www.oreganobakery.com.au/

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Marlo Bar, Chippendale

Campos Coffee. 79 Regent St, Chippendale. This place is a re-invention of “The Angry Fix” – the wifi network still bears that name. Look inside, and a lot has changed. There’s less seating, but a larger kitchen area, and the menu has expanded accordingly.

A welcome addition is a decaf grinder, and their decaf is quite good. The highlight beverage for me, though, is the Nutella hot chocolate (you can see the giant jar of Nutella above the coffee machine) – it’s an excellent blend of flavours, and bodes well for future visits.

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aslan coffee, st peters

Aslan Coffee. 1 Council St, St Peters. In a little corner shop next to Camdenville Park in St Peters you’ll see this unassuming space. A little bit of outdoor seating, and some well-branded signage lets pedestrians know they’re in the right spot, but I’ve managed to drive past a couple of times without realising, so pay attention to the map below if you’re going to visit by car. Full disclosure: I know the barista who works here.

Walk through the door and you’ll notice this blackboard that tells a bit of the story of Aslan coffee. Their specialty is Indonesian single origin coffee, and they’re working on having a relationship with the farmers themselves. Note also that they have a foursquare special which can get you a discount on first check-in.

As you step up to the machine, you’ll know they mean business with their coffee: two grinders and enough attention to detail to make sure you get the right spoon with the right cup for your order. Glance to your right and a tiny (2kg!) roaster is working away, turning single origin green beans from a hessian sack into their latest roasted offering. Establish yourself as a regular and you’ll have access to some very special coffees that will be hard to find elsewhere in Australia.

Coffee is really good. The decaf (a long black) has enough complexity to hold interest, and is very pleasant. A short black is a little grassy, and again has more to it than you might expect from a single origin.

Special mention to the babycino, which is a great mix of 90% froth, 10% milk, ready to drink, with a complimentary marshmallow.

Overall, it’s worth a visit – if it’s a pleasant day, they even have picnic blankets you can borrow and sit in the adjacent park.

Aslan Coffee website

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at all and sundry, Woonona

Golden Cobra Coffee (including the Timothy Dalton decaf). 7/383-387 Princes Hwy, Woonona (down an alley, look for the yellow ramp). I had a conversation with someone I met at a party and found they were opening a cafe south of Sydney, north of Wollongong. A week after their grand opening, and I’m impressed enough to trek back and see what their normal Saturday trade looks like.

One of the challenges at first is to find the place – the street address indicates that you’re looking for a place on the Princes Highway, but you’re actually walking down a lane way in search of a large yellow ramp. Step inside (or sit outside on the garden benches) and you can sample a menu of delicious food, and some of the best coffee you’re likely to sample in the south of Sydney.

There’s a variety of methods of coffee preparation on offer here: the usual espresso variations, but also aeropress, pour-over and filter for those who are interested. For the non-coffee-drinking crowd, there are tea craft teas. Order a beverage, and you’ll be treated to a variety of cups and saucers from a simpler time.

This is counter-balanced with the modern, bright colours of the outdoor furniture, and the indoor seats that are, for want of a better word, reminiscent of old church hall furniture.

Food is of an excellent calibre, well prepared – I’m looking forward to a trip back somewhere around a mealtime so I can sample something more substantial than avocado with olive oil on sourdough toast ($6).

Coffee is really the best news of the place. The best decaf coffee I’ve had in a long time, and delivered consistently. Ask Josh – the man behind the counter – and you’ll receive an education on the nuances of coffee selection: worth the price of the coffee in itself.

Highly recommended.

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something for jess, chippendale

Five Senses coffee. 27 Abercrombie St, Chippendale. A coworker put me onto this place – I think I’d walked past and not noticed it at all (there’s not much of a street presence), but it’s worth seeking out.

The cafe is filled with furniture sourced from the surrounding area – there’s lots of furniture to be reclaimed, and just need a bit of work to bring them up to a usable standard.

The menus are on chalkboards around the place – lots of colour, and an elegant handwriting style. The menu varies based on what kind of produce is available – there’s an emphasis on sustainability.

There’s plenty of natural light coming in through the windows: a selection of music washes across the space, drowning out the noise of the traffic, but not overwhelming: it’s easy to have a conversation here if you need to. For me, it’s a place to get some work done, away from distractions, but there’s wifi available if you want it.

Their decaf is really good. Made with a lot of care in the relatively small kitchen. Also worth a try is their chai – it’s one made in the Blue Mountains called Sticky Chai.

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DVD: We need to talk about Kevin

DVD: We Need to Talk About Kevin

I’d read the book back when Kel was pregnant with Huff and found it a pretty tough read, so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from the movie version. It took me a long while to make the time to watch it (in fact, I did it in three sittings, as Kel has no desire to watch it).

It’s a faithful adaptation for the most part, revealing most of the book’s surprises in the same order, and is suitably harrowing throughout. Tilda Swinton turns in a great performance, as does Ezra Miller as the eponymous character.

If you like feeling uncomfortable, you’re in good hands here.

Book: The Shallows

The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains

I was reading an article written by the author, Nicholas Carr, on the subject of whether Google is making us stupid, and thought it would be worth reading the whole thing. Carr steps through all the history of a number of pieces of technology (after all, Plato argued that writing would “make us stupid”) and the topic of neuroplasticity.

Carr argues that what we think about changes the way we think, and makes a compelling case for it. Reading the book has persuaded me to deliberately make blocks of time for slower-paced, more detailed thinking.

Chinchilla Coffee House, Bankstown

Campos Coffee. 392 Chapel Rd, Bankstown. Spotted this place at random out the car window one day, and thought that a place selling Campos coffee in Bankstown had to be worth a look. As you can see from the photo, there’s lots of outdoor seating, but the inside is a comfortable place to sit too.

The menu, the signage and some of the interior photos have a playful typography to them, and the kitchen out the back works busily the whole time we’re there, filling orders at a comfortable pace.

One offering they have is something I haven’t seen before: it’s called a Bombon – espresso coffee poured over condensed milk: you’re meant to stir it, and then drink it in one go. It’s a syrupy beverage, as sweet as you would expect, but an interesting way to consume coffee.

They have a decaf grinder, and the decaf latte I had was very pleasant. Come for the coffee, stay for the food: try the beef bacon: thinly sliced strips of beef that are cooked up (as far as I can tell) to be a bacon colour,flavour and texture.

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Chinchilla also have Facebook specials for their fans.

Extremes

A couple of moments I wanted to scribble down. Both involve my two year old daughter, who I don’t often mention on the blog.

In the last week, she has started wearing shoes. She loves walking and running (having started out with these hobbies fairly late), and the shoes have opened up a world of possibilities for her.

We were walking outside together. She was holding my hand. It had been raining, so there was a little bit of water on the ground: a trail of sorts. This trail was, to her, the best thing in the world. The excitement and happiness she brought to following that trail was the sort of thing you never see a grown-up bring to anything.

Then, later, after bedtime, the sound of crying emanated from her room. I went in, and she was upset (perhaps a bad dream) for a while, then wanted a cuddle, and then was ready to go back to sleep (lurching back out of my arms towards her bed.

It’s a good feeling to be useful, but even better to watch her joy.

Blackflower Patisserie, Haymarket

Pablo and Rusty’s Coffee. Shop 5, 37 Ultimo Rd, Haymarket. From the creators of Passionflower ice cream and dessert bar comes this new cafe on the edge of Chinatown.

It’s these macaroni pyramids that draw me in to have a look at the place – the desserts seem inspired by Adriano Zumbo but with their own approach to naming.

Coffee is not the focus of the place, but their decaf is perfectly adequate as a compliment to the desserts.

Have a look at some more of their offerings: http://blackflower.com.au/

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