This blog may have gotten a rather belated beginning, but that doesn't mean I'd be skipping out on my food adventures this past year! And boy, I've had so many of them.
Let's kick this off with my first-ever visit to the famed Tuck Shop Café.
In early April, my work colleagues (Viv & YL) and I all had a free afternoon to celebrate Viv's further descent into adulthood with a nice brunch. I thought it'd be lovely for all of us to be served instead of having to serve for a change, haha. Quite honestly, when we all arrived to the city, we still hadn't decided where to eat yet. It was a tough dispute between the Tuck Shop Café and its' competitor, the Old Crow, which is directly on its left, one shop-lot down. Ultimately, we decided on the latter - although we are definitely heading to the Old Crow on our next visit! Only took us half an hour to decide though, no biggie.
Upon arrival, we immediately noticed a crowd gathering outside the entrance, all clearly waiting to be seated (mostly Asians, hahaha). The sight definitely brought us unwanted, anxiety-inducing flashbacks to our own workplace, which was so unprecedentedly popular to the extent of having its own constant stream of people queueing outside to be seated (even during off-peak hours).
We waited for a good fifteen minutes, but we were seated promptly the moment a table was prepared for us. To pass the time, we did what all young people do in their free time - take approximately 23,000 selfies.
(While we were there, an acquaintance(?) of the hostess came along too, and she appeared to have difficulties standing/walking, seeing as she had a walking aid with her. It was lovely to see the hostess go out of her way, despite being busy, to rush back inside to find a chair for the lady to sit on.)
As we walked in, we were slightly bedazzled by the organised chaos.The layout of the tables was complicating, but they did work - not obstructing the flow of the waitstaff at all. We oddly appreciated the fact that every table within the establishment had wheels attached to their legs. We agreed that if we had those at work, it would certainly make things a lot easier, particularly in the high demand, high-pressure environment of our own restaurant.
The café was filled with lovely little intricacies and vivid colours, with the daily specials written on a chalkboard wall right at the back. The dark shade of the ceiling provided a sophisticated contrast to the rest of the furnishings of the café and its occupants. I always appreciate a hipster vibe, no matter what form it takes.
In early April, my work colleagues (Viv & YL) and I all had a free afternoon to celebrate Viv's further descent into adulthood with a nice brunch. I thought it'd be lovely for all of us to be served instead of having to serve for a change, haha. Quite honestly, when we all arrived to the city, we still hadn't decided where to eat yet. It was a tough dispute between the Tuck Shop Café and its' competitor, the Old Crow, which is directly on its left, one shop-lot down. Ultimately, we decided on the latter - although we are definitely heading to the Old Crow on our next visit! Only took us half an hour to decide though, no biggie.
Upon arrival, we immediately noticed a crowd gathering outside the entrance, all clearly waiting to be seated (mostly Asians, hahaha). The sight definitely brought us unwanted, anxiety-inducing flashbacks to our own workplace, which was so unprecedentedly popular to the extent of having its own constant stream of people queueing outside to be seated (even during off-peak hours).
We waited for a good fifteen minutes, but we were seated promptly the moment a table was prepared for us. To pass the time, we did what all young people do in their free time - take approximately 23,000 selfies.
(While we were there, an acquaintance(?) of the hostess came along too, and she appeared to have difficulties standing/walking, seeing as she had a walking aid with her. It was lovely to see the hostess go out of her way, despite being busy, to rush back inside to find a chair for the lady to sit on.)
As we walked in, we were slightly bedazzled by the organised chaos.The layout of the tables was complicating, but they did work - not obstructing the flow of the waitstaff at all. We oddly appreciated the fact that every table within the establishment had wheels attached to their legs. We agreed that if we had those at work, it would certainly make things a lot easier, particularly in the high demand, high-pressure environment of our own restaurant.
The café was filled with lovely little intricacies and vivid colours, with the daily specials written on a chalkboard wall right at the back. The dark shade of the ceiling provided a sophisticated contrast to the rest of the furnishings of the café and its occupants. I always appreciate a hipster vibe, no matter what form it takes.
It was so, so so difficult for all of us to decide on what to eat. I have always had a weakness for meatballs of any nature, so after great deliberation, I chose the Moroccan meatballs that came with flatbread, tomato, hummus and a za'atar fried egg. The birthday girl settled the chorizo with paprika'd potatoes, peppers, Spanish onions and mmmm crispy pork belly (my personal weakness). YL decided to get the chilli con carne with a perfectly poached egg, a side salad of greens, avo and cherry tomatoes, and a couple slices of bread. Is your mouth watering yet? Mine is, just from typing this up.
Gosh. Anyway.
Gosh. Anyway.
A close-up of my Moroccan meatballs.
The moment I dug into my meal, I was delightfully surprised by how well all the flavours came together, despite my initial misgivings. My favourite part of the dish was the burst of flavour I got from the meatballs, having been very well herbed-up and marinated. I'm happy I chose it - since I'm not a huge fan of bread, the flatbread was nice and light, and provided a nice base for all the flavours to come together. I did find the sheer volume of the hummus slightly off-putting, since it left a starchy, pasty aftertaste. Regardless, it was still delicious, and very filling on top of that.
My indulgence of a meal was complimented with a lovely rose-flavoured lemonade pop by Fentimans.
I'd stolen bites from both my friend's plates as well. I'd been eyeing Viv's chorizo & pork belly and after trying it, unffffffff, most certainly getting that the next time I'm here. YL's chilli con carne was pretty on point, but you can't really go wrong with chilli. She couldn't finish it though, so Viv and I obligingly vacuumed it up for her, heheh.
I'm quickly ending this review with a gratuitous snapchat selfie of the three of us in the café, post-meal. Hehe. We left the café very satisfied, with a food baby in each of our bellies. And on the verge of a food coma which wasn't a great idea in retrospect, because I had work at 5pm later that day, oops. No regrets though!
Birthday girl on the left! Happy birthday Vivian!
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The moment I dug into my meal, I was delightfully surprised by how well all the flavours came together, despite my initial misgivings. My favourite part of the dish was the burst of flavour I got from the meatballs, having been very well herbed-up and marinated. I'm happy I chose it - since I'm not a huge fan of bread, the flatbread was nice and light, and provided a nice base for all the flavours to come together. I did find the sheer volume of the hummus slightly off-putting, since it left a starchy, pasty aftertaste. Regardless, it was still delicious, and very filling on top of that.
My indulgence of a meal was complimented with a lovely rose-flavoured lemonade pop by Fentimans.
I'd stolen bites from both my friend's plates as well. I'd been eyeing Viv's chorizo & pork belly and after trying it, unffffffff, most certainly getting that the next time I'm here. YL's chilli con carne was pretty on point, but you can't really go wrong with chilli. She couldn't finish it though, so Viv and I obligingly vacuumed it up for her, heheh.
I'm quickly ending this review with a gratuitous snapchat selfie of the three of us in the café, post-meal. Hehe. We left the café very satisfied, with a food baby in each of our bellies. And on the verge of a food coma which wasn't a great idea in retrospect, because I had work at 5pm later that day, oops. No regrets though!
Birthday girl on the left! Happy birthday Vivian!
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Tuck Shop Cafe's Facebook | Urbanspoon
Opening hours: Tuesday-Sunday 7am-4pm
178 Newcastle St., Northbridge
178 Newcastle St., Northbridge
