Day three began as quite a rainy day, which cooled us down quite a bit. Still, my confidante and I braved the rain to walk across most of Melbourne's CBD (we still hadn't gotten used to the trams yet), and made our way to one of the most popular breakfast spots in town. The Hardware Societe, situated on Hardware Lane.
Being such a popular breakfast joint meant that of course it was packed full when we arrived. Having much prior experience with waiting for extended periods of time for breakfast, we had expected quite a long wait. We were given nice cushioned seats in front of the pastry cabinet, and then pleasantly surprised at the efficiency of staff, and were provided with a table in less than 15 minutes.
A menu was provided and we ordered drinks simultaneously (efficiency yet again!). The menu was very extensive, and contained things that I wouldn't normally expect in a cafe, let alone during breakfast time, such as Confit Duck and Lobster Benedict. However, being the risk adverse conservative people we are, we settled for regular breakfast style foods.
Our drinks came within 5 minutes, and we ordered our food at the same time (again, EFFICIENCY!). My confidante had the English Breakfast tea, which came in an adorable tea cosy. It would seem that tea cosies are really popular in Melbourne. So popular that we bought one home later in the day. He liked the strength of the tea and commented that it was perfect to warm him up after the rain. As for me, I got the cappuccino, which was strong but not acidic, whilst retaining its creaminess. What we both particularly enjoyed though was the little cake/cookie? that was complimentary. It was a little crunchy on the outside and coated in sugar, but was soft on the inside like a cake, with a strong caramel smell to it.
We appreciated the sight of the chefs busily cooking away whilst sipping on our drinks, and before long, our food was also served.
My confidante ordered the Croque Madame, which contained pork rillette, seeded mustard bechamel, with a beetroot and fennel salad
I opted for the Deux Baked Eggs, which contained choizo, potato, piquillo peppers, queso mahon, toasted almonds and aioli. It came in a little cast iron pot, and had some bread on the side. It turned out to be a very comforting dish, with the creaminess of the eggs, cheese and aioli contrasted with the spiciness of the chorizos, the almonds added quite a bit of crunch to the pot, and I really enjoyed it.
Taste: 8/10
Value: 8/10
Service: 9/10
Environment: 8/10
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