Saturday brunch during our long weekend. Luckily for us, we didn't have much planned and I was free to choose where to go that morning for a catch up with some friends. To this we decided to check out the new Halo Grounds which had opened recently along Brookes Street at Fortitude Valley, fairly close to the Emporium.
There were quite a few options on the menu, a lot of the dishes had an Asian twist to them. Other than what was on the papers, there were several off menu specials which I eventually chose from.
Arriving ahead of our friends, we had some coffees to start off. He had his cold press coffee and I my cappuccino with an extra shot for good measure. Once our companions arrived, we ordered quickly. I didn't sample their meals but this is what they had.
First companion had the Falafel Plate comprising of slow burnt eggplant, house made falafel, flatbread, cultured yoghurt, pickled peppers and onions and chickpeas with an addition of slow roasted lamb shoulder.
Second companion had the Cock Waffle made up of a sweet potato waffle, Japanese fried chicken, wombok slaw, poached egg and house fermented kimchi.
As the waffle alone wasn't enough to fill him up, our second companion also ordered a side of Banana bread.
Adam had the Apple Dutch Baby with roasted apple and buttermilk souffle pancake, orange whipped ricotta, doce de leite and candied seeds. For once this was a sweet breakfast that I almost ordered myself, and will definitely be getting when I come back. Whilst the pancake wasn't as fluffy as I would expect of souffle, it was still very soft and delectable. I liked the mix of apple, blueberry and ricotta which struck a good balance between fruitiness and creaminess.
As always, I stuck with the conservative option and once I heard that their weekend special was the Croque Madame, I knew I had to order it. Rich and decadent, there was no shortage in bechamel sauce and the Gruyere was infinitely stringy. Ham was thin shaved and generously layered whilst the egg was runny as expected. Given how indulgent it was, I definitely wouldn't have been able to finish it without help.
Rounding off our meal, we shared two sweets from the pastry cabinet. This was the chocolate fudge brownie, my favourite of the two. Although this was also super rich and filling, it was also amazingly moist. So moist in fact that chewing was not required, you could almost scoop it in your mouth and just swallow like you were eating a room temperature bite of ice cream. The chocolate was intense and bitter, with just the right amount of sweetness to balance it out.
Second cake was the Orange and almond cake. Although it was lighter by way of taste, the texture was definitely denser and coarser for those who enjoy the mouthfeel. It definitely had strong elements of orange and not so strong elements of almond, but I think I still prefer the chocolate brownie more.
Taste: 8.5/10
Value: 7/10
Service: 8/10
Environment: 8/10
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