Now and Then Cafe Kew
204 High Street, Kew
03 8658 3137
Cafe
$$$
Food
- Blueberry Hotcakes
- California Hash
- Chilli Scramble Eggs
The Good
The Blueberry Hotcakes were undoubtedly the highlight of our meal. Topped with a generous helping of berry gelato and drenched in maple syrup, this was a sweet treat that was bound to satisfy any sweet tooth. Digging in, the thick, fluffy hot cakes were hot off the pan and were suitably pillowy and spongy. They beautifully soaked up the melting berry and syrup mixture and made for a tasty treat.
The Mediocre
The California Hash was unimpressive at best, and we are still unsure what exactly was Californian about this dish. More commonly known as the big breakfast at other cafes, the components consisted of poached eggs, multigrain toast, spinach and kale, halloumi, grilled tomato, mushrooms, and hash brown. Now the hash brown was actually relatively tasty, with good texture and a crunchy outer. However the positives stopped there. The spinach and kale were unseasoned and blanched, while the mushrooms were lacking in flavour apart from a watery butter residue at the bottom. The multigrain toast was stale and rock hard. I mean, the stale toast would’ve been entirely forgivable if not for poorly executed mushrooms and greens. I mean is it that hard to sautee something in a pan with salt and pepper?
The Bad
The Chilli Scrambled was perhaps even more disappointing. Quite literally the only chilli in our chilli scrambled eggs were dried flakes of chilli. Of course, the effect was lacklustre and wasn’t even remotely spicy – nor did the dish exhibit any other flavours. Missing from the dish were the “angel hair chilli” and “parmesan cheese” both would’ve done wonders adding much needed flavour to this otherwise bland scrambled. The three little chunks of black pudding were miserable. Overcooked, dried, and almost crunchy. These are not the known qualities of a black pudding.
The Verdict
If not for the Hotcake, this would’ve been an utterly miserable meal. After waiting for more than 45 minutes, we received dishes that were generally poorly executed, clearly without much care or thought.
Would Penguin Eat Again?
It’s hard to recommend a visit given our experience. We certainly won’t be back.
Penguineats dined complimentary of Now and Then Cafe Kew.