My Singaporean friend, who had newly arrived in Australia, wanted to get a taste of Melbourne’s best cafes, so this Saturday we went for brunch at the Hardware Societe. Being someone who is (almost too) serious about food, I always Google a place before I go there, to suss out the general reviews of the place, what people on the internets recommend that other people order, what the place looks like so I can make sure I find it, etc etc. Many people online say that it’s “the best breakfast in Melbourne”, so I was seriously excited!

So we got there at noon, and was told that there would be a minimum 20 minute wait, which I normally would not wait for as I am impatient, but since we specifically came here for this place, and really wanted to experience Melbourne’s best breakfast, of course we waited. We got a table within 15 minutes, which was unexpected, but it was sharing a round table with 7 other people…oh well. We just wanted to get inside for the warmth and also our first feed for the day.

Ordered the baked eggs with chorizo, which seemed like what everyone else was having, and a flat white. The coffee came, I had a sip and it was…all right. Not too bad, not absolutely excellent, just okay. It was also a little colder for my liking.

Out came the baked eggs with crusty bread. I have to say, the pot is really cute, but the serving is so small! Still, it looked pretty damn impressive, all red and sizzling, so I took my first bite with high hopes.

…my first mouthful of chorizo was COLD!

I dug around in the pot and shoved another spoonful of food into my mouth, this time making sure to choose the sections close to the sizzling pot. This time, it was hot. But the chorizos inside had not been warmed through. I was really disappointed. I think for any food or drink, the first mouthful can really make or break the experience. First impressions really do last.

On the whole, the pot of baked eggs was mediocre. Not much flavour, not much I can really say about it. I have had far better, and my favourite place for such thing is at The Goods Cafe in Surry Hills in Sydney. They do A-M-A-Z-I-N-G griddle pans with eggs, in about ten different styles and flavours, and each pan is just an amazing myriad of flavours, so full on, so delicious. The Hardware Societie’s baked eggs are not even close to their standard.

One of my friends had the scrambled eggs with ham hock, which, when we read the menu, universally agreed that it was absolutely delicious looking, but when we tasted it, we all made a face. It was sub par. Eggs were not smooth, ham had no taste, the whole thing was just blah. And not worth the price tag of almost twenty dollars.

Saddened by the whole experience, the next day I decided to make my own baked eggs. The results were absolutely wonderful, and dare I say, give The Goods cafe’s griddles a run for their money!

See next post for recipe.