The Corner Shop

9 Ballarat St
Yarraville VIC 3013
(03) 9689 0052

It is soooo busy,but not just busy, viby, if that makes sense. For good reasons this is where Yarravillians like to hang out. If it is not for the serious business person on the way to work, it is for the harassed mother with children hanging off her, if it is not for the mums after school drop off coffee, then it for the groovy young hip person’s chai latte. This café has an energy that represents Yarraville and all the different types of people who live here. It is perhaps the Heart of Yarraville. I take my hat off to the owners Ian and Claire who seem to have hit the nail on the head with this one.

This morning I had the ricotta hotcakes with Poached fruit(I think I am going through a ricotta phase). They were delicious, but and this is a big but there was the most measly bit of poached pear and rhubarb on the side. I could have had 3 times the amount of fruit with the 3 medium size hot cakes.

I also thought I would try out the chai tea. Chai has been fast becoming my choice of hot drink in a café, but like with my standard tea and as you would find as coffee drinkers the variations are endless. In the corner shop I really think that the barista is key to whether to order a hot drink or not. This is certainly the case with chai. I have noticed if it is not Ian that makes the Chai then usually the mix is not right. At the Corner shop they serve it not as a latte but in a lovely tea pot, with a ceramic mug(no handles, which I love because you can wrap your hands around the mug on a cold day) and a spindle with honey. For those of you not in the know, Chai Tea is generally strongly brewed milky tea with spices such as cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, pepper and ginger. Ian makes a lovely brew. Other brews or lattes I have had can taste like warmed milk with cinnamon so it is important to get those spices in there and brewing.

Overall still one of my fav places to hang out for brekkie. Actually I like to hang out there at any time of the day. For lunch I recommend you try the lebanese Shanklish(a hard Lebanese cheese) salad, so yummy and so good for you. The salad mainly comprises of cos lettuce, crispy pitta, the shanklish, radish and onion.