Affogato

All right, this is the magical post I am writing upon. Melbourne has always been touted as the culture capital of Australia. It is reknowned for the cafe culture, the back alleys, lanes, stone cobbled streets. Beinga sydney-sider, I always mocked Melbourne until this time when I visited in Feb 2013. Its was a saturday morningand my last day of the trip.  I have been planning for a lavish breakfast. Ironically, I have only craved for the perfect breakfast spread. It started the day after checking out from my hotel at Elizabeth streetand walking towards Bourke street. A bit of research on the famous breakfast places in the CBD, led me to look for this place called Brother Budan Baba on the Little Bourke street. On the way, I came across Hardware street and took  walk to seethe options. There was Cafe Campari, Le Triskel,Affogato.

I walked further for Brother Baba Budan, but it seemed too far off, so I decided to go to Hardware Societe. Hardware Societe was over crowded at 10 in the morning and a waiting for 30 minutes. Decided to skip this one.eventually walked back and went to Affogato. A small little cafe with seating on the street outside on the stone cobbled street. There was no place outside so we sat inside. A quite and cozy cafe with wooden benches with small cusions. On the extreme end was a hand painting on the wall of a girl. There were racks above the tables with small cups, books, handicrafts. The kitchen itself was in the same room. A bit cluttered but thats what made it cosy.
We ordered
A latte, a chocolate milkshake, a vegetarian omelette with spinach, grilled tomatoes, mushroom and a hash brown as sides. The other thing we ordered was the french toasts with fresh fruits and maple syrup. We had requested for a seat outside as we settled inside. There was something that just made us settled and comfortable inside. The coffee was strong brew. My brother and me started sipping the chocolate milkshake. Let me tell you, I have come close to very few places in Australia where I have got the perfect chocolate shake and ice coffee and this was one of those places. Thick blend , sweet and topped with a generous serving of ice cream.

As we finished the coffee, we got a seat outside. Outside was perfect. Sunny day, with a cool breeze. As the wind occasionally became strong, the leaves from the tree fell down in slow motion like a rain of petals. Gosh, I wish this time never ended. The french toast was soft, well fried, coated with egg and maple syrup. Very light sweet, topped with slices of apples, strawberries, pears. Amazing taste.

The vegetarian omlette -hit the spot. Lightly beaten eggs, pan fried, cooked with mushroons, tomato, chhese, garlic, red onion, spinach and fetta, served with rustic toast topped with butter. I had additionally ordered grilled tomatoes, butter fried mushrooms, spinach and hash brown as sides. Perfect taste, mind blowing. I can assure you if you finish this, you would be orgasmic or on seventh heaven. Each bite was perfect.
Highly Recommended. I'd visit here anytime again.
All this in just AUD 25. This rocks. Melbourne rocks.
www.affogato.com.au
29 Hardware Lane, Melbourne