Baffi and Mo, Redfern

I could end this post right now after that photo right?

Here at The Empty Fridge, you should really believe that we don't do things in halves, especially with breakfast. We really do mean business when it comes to the morning meal - or noon depending on the prior evenings' shennanigans.

Demos, Myself and this post's honorary fridgemagnet - the Safa were in serious recovery mode one morning and  in search for a breakfast that would repair us. We found ourselves at Baffi and Mo, a cafe in Redfern renowned for kickstarting the broken with their hearty breakfast offerings. Below is how we roll..

The Hardware Societe, Melbourne

Sleep-ins. They are not supposed to exist in the Empty Fridge holiday schedule. Not even when your flight arrives Melbourne at 10pm and your roam the streets until you find a wine bar than make friends with a bottle of red until 4 in the morning.Why are sleep-ins the enemy? Because in most cases they make you miss the breakfast menu.

I love sleep more than anything but when in a different city where there are streets to roam, I feel a bit guilty for not being out and about. This shits Demos to tears and this is the reason why we have never had a "relaxing" break. I try to fit in as many activities as humanly possible. 

After few late night cheeky drinks at our favorite Melby rooftop bar Siglo.. we stumbled back to our temporary hotel home and ready made bed. I already had my heart set for Breakfast at Hardware Societe.

And then the unthinkable happened. We didnt forget to deactivate our alarms. There were no noisy hotel neighbours. The curtains blocked out sunlight. The pillows were ridiculously comfortable. We slept in, and I missed my Hardware Societe breakfast menu. 

After a short stroll to Hardware Lane, we found that 11:59 am was close enough to midday so ordering some of their sweet homemade ciders were totally acceptable. A glass of pear and another glass of apple - these ciders were so refreshing. We were able to miss the early breakfast crowd and perch ourselves on the barstools by the busy kitchen.

As this was a weekday, Breakfast was on from 7:30 am to 11:30 and then its lunch all the way to 3pm. Now try and say no to an empanada on a chilly morning.

Luxe Bakery, Newtown

I love coffee. I love breakfast. I love Luxe Bakery. / End Post

Okay fine, I know I need to elaborate a bit more but to be perfectly honest - I'm just about ready to run back to Luxe Bakery at Newtown as I write this post. Why you ask? I'm an absolute sucker for the smell of warm and freshly baked treats and a bang on cup of coffee.

Ham & Cheese Croissant $6

Come on, who can say no to a deliciously crunch toasted ham and cheese croissant? Not that I come to Luxe just to have this to start my day. And you know.. years of seriously researched studies show that the best start to any day is with a toasted ham&cheese croissants but coffee here is the main drawcard!

Picollo's ($3.50) are predictably ordered by us (I followed it up with a takeaway strong small latte too..) The Single Origin Roasters beans are roasted to absolute perfection, giving a creamy but strong dark lingering flavour that has you loved up with coffee all morning.

Luxe Bakery is a one stop shop. You can get your superb coffee fix, A sweet or savoury breakfast treat or a sandwich for lunch - and you can take some of their freshly baked bread loaves home too. Convinient!

Yes, nothing like sweet sweet carbs to start your day. Demos and I share a Blueberry Danish and an Almond Tart ($4.50 each) on top of the Toasted Croissant. The sweet pastry flakes away and are so light and sweet - a perfect companion to the strong flavoured coffees we ordered. Am I the only one getting excited about food and coffee pairings here?

The Fern, Redfern & a Dessert favorite.

"Poached eggs, smoked bacon, bacon gravy over english muffins" have I got your attention now? Because seeing that description on a breakfast menu certainly did, and boy did it get my heart in a flutter. But we'll get to that again later. Weekend Breakfasts are definitely our forte here at The Empty Fridge and boy do we love them. The more interesting, the better and everything about The Fern has grabbed my attention thats for sure. It is another eatery located in the up and coming fipster (foodie hipster) mecca of Redfern.

Gone are the days of Redfern being a rough and tumblesome neighborhood, dining precincts are popping up around the 'hood and what better way to spend a Saturday morning than getting to know a great new venue. Of course we start our mid-day (thank you weekend sleep-ins) with standard piccolo latte's. The freshly roasted Gravity Espresso blends from Melbourne add some cool coffee cred to The Fern, and of course a good caffeine fix is just what we coffee fiends need to get cracking.

 Things slow down once the coffee comes, and I do believe it's a tactic to get everyone calm down and enjoy the quirky surroundings. Taking advantage of some recent sunshine we prop ourselves in the courtyard and spot as many mini chairs and random objects we can find. The restaurant could just be mistaken for any small terrace in the area if it wasnt for the bustling customers dropping by. The "front yard" is quaint and leafy with added pops of colour from the mini chairs - super nostalgic for those childhood days when i'd actually fit into one of those kindy seats! Mis-matched furniture, vines and herbs growing and even a little chilli bush is quite a relaxing surrounding and fipster points for having issues of Vice and Acclaim magazines on hand.

 Now here's what we came here for.. the food. Grab on to your screens folks and behold The Fern Benedict. An English Muffin topped with two poached eggs, thick cut smoked bacon rashers and BACON GRAVY. Forget about your standard eggs boring-dict, this slaps it right in the face.

Oozy Egg. If this dish sounds a bit too sinful for you, don't fret. This breakfast dish is not just about the shock value, but very delicious also. The Bacon gravy isn't overpowering at all, and reminds me of a thin pasta carbonara sauce when the egg is mixed into it. Very very tasty - and that bacon? Thick rashers of bacon  is the healthier bacon option right?

Robo Cog Cafe, Surry Hills

Robots, Bikes and Brunchtime Burrito's - Oh My! These are a certain Empty Fridger's favourite things, in the one convenient location - Robo Cog in Surry Hills. The other Empty Fridger happily waddles along with the promise of Burrito's. Can you guess who that one that was? But that's it; shut the gates, the promise of toys and good food was enough to make any either of us happy so we decided that a visit was much needed to this super cool cafe on one of our weekend dates.

Chill Frappe - Mint, Rockmelon and Pear

Piccolo latte

Robo Cog is not your run of the mill cafe - for starters it is an unassuming white converted cottage. Hungry patrons spilling onto the sidewalk was the only indication we had found the cafe. We talk about toys we had as kids over a first and second piccolo latte. The coffee here is fantastic, with the Green Bean Coffee roasted on site. Inside there are pieces of cool art and robot motifs that adorn the walls. Littered about on shelves and invading almost all the spaces, the variety is amazing. They are just the coolest thing ever, and this made someone feel particularly regretful for neglecting Megazord all those years ago. 

The robot theme runs supreme and does the name of the cafe justice. The other part though involves that of the bicycle. The cog component of the cafe is in reference to the owners love of all things bicycle. On our visit the brick wall bicycle display was that of a yellow Cinelli fixie. A certain Empty Fridger is quite the bike enthusiast and tends to wax lyrical about frames, wheels and italian bike brands that sound like pastry names ("What are you eating?" "Oh this..it's a custard filled Cinelli..you should try the chocolate Pinarello"). Whist thinking about bike pastries, a certain opportunist also manages to swindle a fruit frappe whilst the other remained distracted by the colourful objects.

RoboCORN BACON BACON Brekkie