Min Lokal

So, my first local breakfast joint, ‘Min Lokal’, or my local in Swedish. I was put onto it by K from my German class – we got to do a whole class talking cafes (mainly about Austria, but hey, we compared and judged) and then (as is the way of Melbournians) we started talking about our favourite cafes (in Melbourne, none of them in Europe… just to rub it in).

With great excitement I made a brunch date with The Boy and we met up after our respective weekend exercise activities (his, the ‘hell ride’ to Mt Eliza; mine, Bikram Yoga) and drove to Min Lokal. Yes, I am aware I could probably walk from my place to there in 10-15 minutes, but I was VERY hungry and very lazy.

Considering the depth of our respective hungers, we ordered 3 breakfast dishes to have between 2.

I was a bit overwhelmed at the start, coming into this cute little converted terrace house, wondering whether I should sit at the two main large tables out the front or if there was sufficient seating out back (turns out there’s a room behind the kitchen, like a dining room, then there are a few seats out the back in the cramped backyard) but we put bums on seats and perused the quite overwhelming menu on the blackboard above the baristas. Huh… breakfast (from eggs on toast, crepes of the day, chai rice pudding) AND lunch (pork and apple cider pot pie, a few other interesting gems) and a few somethings in between (baked eggs with bread, 3 different options)

We settled squarely on chai spiced rice pudding (me), poached eggs with hollondaise sauce (him) and fruit salad with yoghurt and muesli (to share).

The chai spiced rice pudding is, in my eyes, an absolute winner. Served cold, with poached pears (deliciously sweet and smacking of vanilla) and a thin almond biscotti, pushing my spoon through the creamy mixture is an exercise in willpower – I’m tempted to scoop the whole thing up and into my mouth. It’s not as sweet as I’d imagined (my overactive taste buds first thought I was eating sweet and condensed milk straight from the can! I think it was probably a sweetened coconut milk) but it definitely has a rich spice blend – tea, ginger, cardamom, cinnamon and cloves. I could’ve done with not ordering extra fruit, it was certainly enough for my rabid hunger.

Unfortunately, The Boy could not say the same. I could see his face fall as soon as the waiter skipped over and presented his tiny dish of two tiny poached eggs on a little bed of spinach and a slice of bacon (he detests mushrooms, it usually comes on top of a field mushroom) and a toasted baguette on the side. At this point I was glad we had ordered three dishes. But at $16 for the poached eggs, you’ve got to be wondering how that tiny serve can compare with the baked eggs dish, or even the scrambled eggs. When you come, ravenous, for a hot breakfast, you want a full serve of everything – plate at least piled up with spinach, bread and chorizo (which, sadly, was nowhere to be found)

The redeeming factor was the really nice atmosphere, kind of like sitting in somebody’s kitchen as they whip up some breakfast for you. You can even have a sneak peek of the kitchen as you walk past to get to the other dining room and backyard.

I’d say I’d be coming back here, but it has offended The Boy just a little bit (it’s also not very Lokal for him). It’s also slightly expensive – for $45 we had at least satisfied the hunger, but we shouldn’t have had to. Good foresight on my behalf.

Ambience: 9/10
Service: 7/10
Food: 8/10 (all things considered, it was still delicious)
Value for money: 5/10
Score (food is weighted double): 74%

Other bloggers who have been to Min Lokal include: Mel: Hot or Not  – didn’t really think the service was up to par and also found it a little expensive, Eggswithsides – also had the poached eggs and did comment on the size… in a positive way, and Melbourne Coffee Review thinks the coffee is a decent drop.