The Golden Ticket! I mean the Green Ticket…

The queue at Milson’s Point

Queue entertainment

It’s 5.47am and I’ve already been awake for almost 2 hours. Whilst I’m a mixture of barely coherent and half present, I’m also extremely excited. For this morning, starting at the ungodly hour of 6.30am Mr NQN and I are two of 6,000 lucky residents of New South Wales to be breakfasting on the bridge. Done by ballot, 40,000 people (although in some reports up to 190,000 people) in the state entered the draw to secure a seat to have breakfast on the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the first time ever that such an event has been held. And the cost? Free to the lucky 6,000 (but at a reported cost of $1 million to stage).

The entertainment

The cows!

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“Have you been to Cafe Giulia?” Mel asks and when I say no but I’ve heard good things about it, she swings her Mini Cooper across a few lanes and zips up some side streets. “That was very naughty to do that” she says half seriously. Within a few minutes we’ve stopped near Cafe Giulia, famous around Sydney for their meals. “Why exactly is it so famous?” I ask Mel and she replies “The serves are huuuge and the service is wonderful and unpretentious, and that’s from everyone there”. A minor miracle has just occured and I check the ground for signs that hell has frozen over.

Housed in a renovated corner Butcher shop, it’s a large and long space with room out the back for a little courtyard. We’re greeted by a gigantic chalkboard menu and Mel goes through what is good. I have a feeling this a regular haunt of hers and I decide on the Breakfast Special (as a late riser, I love an all day breakfast). Juices are also said to be good so I order one of those. We order and pay at the counter and the staff are friendly – as the sticker on the chalkboard menu says “Campbelltown is for Lovers”.

Beetroot, orange, pineapple and passionfruit juice (left), Pineapple, mint, apple & ginger juice (right) $5.90

Our juices arrive and mine is sweet and delicious. Thankfully ice free and just full of fantastically fresh flavours and it’s a huge, fresh, frothy serve.

Breakfast Special $17.90

My breakfast special arrives and it’s a stack of three corn fritters, poached eggs, bacon, avocado, beetroot & onion jam and a yogurt sauce. The corn fritters are lukewarm (not because of excessive photo taking!) which is a bit disappointing (I like freshly fried corn fritters) and they more pikelety than other corn fritters I’ve had before. The rest of it is very filling though and there’s a lot of bacon and I particularly like the beetroot and onion jam.

Chips $4

The Rosemary and Sea salt chip serving is huge and they’re a tad more cooked that I like and a result a bit dry although this doesn’t stop me from polishing quite a few off.

Burger with bacon and egg $8.90

I don’t try any of Mel’s burger but she has trouble finishing it even though the bun goes untouched. A testament to it’s size methinks. It’s not fancy food, hell sometimes it’s cold, but with such friendly service and fantastic prices and ginormous serves I see why it has become such a hit.

So tell me Dear Reader, what is your weekend morning routine?

Cafe Guilia, Chippendale

92 Abercrombie Street, Chippendale NSW
Tel: +61 (02) 9698 4424
Open Tuesday to Friday 6.30am-4pm
Saturday and Sunday 8am-3pm
Closed Mondays and Public Holidays

“Morning Lorraine! Have you been to …at Perry Lane in Paddington? I grabbed coffee there on Sat & it was packed-wld love to hear your take!” said the lovely MsUnreliable from That Unreliable Girl in her twitter message to me. Upon further reading I find out that it’s bit of a local’s secret cafe in a little laneway cafe that’s only open as a cafe on Fridays and weekends so I immediately put it in the black Moleskine. One Sunday I had a meeting with a girl called Piglet and At Perry Lane it was. And little did I know that there would be Tarot reading involved…

Approaching it, it is indeed a hidden away cafe at the back of the Oxford Shop on Oxford Street in Paddington. It’s a multi level space with the kitchen set lower and chairs and tables set on three levels. I sneak upstairs as it’s busy and nab an empty table. I look down and a few minutes later there’s a smiling face looking up at me which I later learn to be the owner Chris. At Perry Lane is run by Chris, his mum and his partner all doing the cooking, coffee and waitering duties and on weekdays the space is hired out for fashion shows, events and commericals as well as Tarot and Jewellery reading. But more on that later!

He shows me the menu and explains that it’s a reduced size menu today as the chef is away and normally there are more complex choices but I am relieved to see that there is an all day breakfast available (you’ve got to love those fellow late risers in Paddington).  Prices are  reasonable with the most expensive item hitting the $16.50 mark with most around the $13-$14 mark. Teas are by T2 and coffee is by Campos and there’s a selection of several types of breads from a kalamata olive roll to a rye sourdough as well as gluten free bread (although they are out today). Piglet chooses the Proscuitto, two poached eggs and asparagus on kalamata olive bread and I choose the French Toast with bacon, banana and maple syrup.

Cappucino $3.50

The coffee is that uber rich and heady blend that Sydney siders clamour for. I’d love a little more foam on my cappucino but the coffee is fantastic-rich and with that unmistakable Campos flavour.

French Toast with Bacon, Banana and maple syrup $12.50

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