Friday, September 18, 2009

The Corner Shop

It’s still got the buzz! I have to say I think the corner shop has permanent atmosphere, if there is such a thing. The last review for this lovely café was in March, just a few months after opening. Since then I have been there, for breakfast, lunch and supper. My favourites have been the soup and the cakes. After our last review and the comments left I only felt it fair to give it another go for breakfast, although I did order something completely different from the first time. If we remember rightly I ordered eggs and a few sides, the standard breakfast that I was reviewing all over SKY. It was the most expensive breakfast, but I have to say that since that review was written both Java and Le Chien have increased their prices so maybe, just maybe The Corner Shop was just ahead of their time.

This particular cold winters morning I decided I would have porridge, I am a huge fan. The porridge was served with the most beautifully coloured rhubarb. It looked sensational! The porridge was not made from oats but from quinoa. Quinoa is a protein rich seed, eaten like a grain and hails from South America. It is fantastic because it is gluten free and has all the essential life-sustaining nutrients. Exotic but good for you! The porridge was a lot runnier than I have had before but not unappealing, however it was ever so slightly burnt and you just got a faint whiff of it. It was still fine to eat and with that beautiful rhubarb it was barely noticeable. At $8.50 this falls into the average price range for the SKY area for porridge or muesli.

Naturally a new business has some teething problems but I guess the key would be to listen and take on board any information that comes your way. I have to say that I am a bit reluctant to mention this, as we are not coffee drinkers but we have been told on multiple occasions that the coffee is sometimes less than hot. It has actually stopped customers from going to The Corner Shop, which is a shame because as I have mentioned it has so many great qualities. Another quality that Ian and Claire have bought over from Le Chien are the teapots. They are fantastic. Great size, not like those canteen ones that have been mentioned, unfortunately, over and over again. The last couple of times I have been there the tea has been spot on! At $4.00 a pot of tea it is really great value because you can usually get over two cups of tea. They are also extremely generous with the milk, so if you are still thirsty you could always take advantage of their generosity and finish the milk!

Monica

3 comments:

Andrew said...

It's funny you say that about the coffee - we were just discussing that amongst some friends. We're going to persevere because we love this cafe but twice we have been served coffee that wasn't hot.
Great blog by the way.

jaye said...

I tend to find the coffee pretty good. I agree it could be hottest, but it does make it pretty drinkable as soon as they put in front of you. I tend to find myself having more than one when I'm there because its so easy to drink. Possibly just a way of selling more coffee?

I had breakfast there on Saturday morning. The Avocado, Rocket, Lime and Fetta is awesome, fresh and healthy feeling. The Black Pudding is waaay better then Le Chine and the baked eggs are something really special.

Rachael said...

Thanks Jaye - will definately have to try the Black Pudding at some stage. R.