Reading Room Cafe

Remember how I was all excited to try out the much raved about Reading Room Cafe but due to Victoria University's Open Day, we had to settle for Tan Thanh Loi which we were glad we stumbled upon?

Well, I made it a point that we all returned to Footscray again the following week... and there, I found myself skipping my way up the stairs towards Reading Room Cafe.

I've read raving reviews about how great the coffee is and my dining companion did report that it was smooth and "pretty good eh" in his exact words and Malaysian accent. :P

How pretty is the coffee art on this cuppa mocha? Love it!

The dishes did take quite a good while to arrive as there were a couple of tables who arrived before us, and they served all 5 of us in a go.

For someone as impatient as I am, I'll tell you it was well worth the wait. You can take my words for it. Lo and behold!

Brioche French Toast with a generous serve of
crispy bacon, candied walnuts and maple syrup.

Instead of calling this dish The BFG, they should have named it The BOMB, because it was seriously like an explosion of flavours, textures and wow, I was just blown away.

The brioche well-soaked in maple syrup was so soft and fluffy, I'm gonna die! It was perfect with the bacon pieces, all fried to a crisp.

Ahhhhh, I really loved it! The combination of both sweet and savoury all on one plate was simply fantabulous! ;)

Roasted pork belly sandwich, served with roasted
peppers hommus, apple and zuchini slaw and chilli jam

I was really disappointed to find that the Crackle & Pop (roasted pork belly, apple and zuchini remoulade, coriander, served with chilli jam and toasted flatbread) was no longer on the menu when I first visited.

Thankfully though, they've replaced it with this amazing Crackle's Twin which was DIVINE. The pork belleh was so tender and with that crunchy crackling... oh dear, can I just give it a whoop whoop?!!

But whilst most of the elements are rather similar, I would have very much preferred if it was served with flat bread as the baguette was really messy and difficult to handle.

Tiger prawn spaghettini, pachino tomatoes, rocket leaves & pinenuts.

The Asian Italian, in Steve's opinion, was pretty damn good. The generous portion will definitely keep your tummy well-fed but at the same time I remember Steve saying how light and easy it was on the taste buds so don't worry, you wouldn't get easily surfeited. ;)

We love The Reading Room Cafe and have since been there twice.

I didn't bring my camera the second time around, and the others who had The BFG were glad I already had a shot of the dish and didn't have to go all "PAUSE! Don't eat first!" on them.

It's hard y'know, being the only foodie in the group. :P But I've got some shots from Instagram to share. Boy, do I love my iPhone camera and Instagram! ;)

Whilst I am not usually a coffee drinker, I still wanted to try a cuppa and I am proud to say that with two heaping teaspoons of sugar later, I quite enjoyed it. :P

Of course, my dear heart did its usual palpitation which I did not appreciate... sigh, I think I'm destined to only enjoy the fragrant aroma of coffee beans. :(

Slow braised lamb shoulder with sweet potato,
parsnip, harissa yoghurt and flat bread.

The Boyfriend and I had My Greek Wedding. Geddit geddit? I'm so punny, it's not funny. Haha, I amuse myself sometimes.

But anyways, this isn't the best option if you're out on your first date, because similar to the Crackle's Twin, heck did it get really messy!

I tried then gave up using any cutlery and had yoghurt dripping down my arm, but lemme tell you, it was *slurps* soooooo friggin' good!

Seriously, how can everything from this cafe taste so bloody good, you tell me?!! I wish I had a cafe like this back then when I was studying at the University of Melbourne.

I often had to venture out of uni for food around the Carlton area, I mean that's so unfair! Students of VU, count yourself very very lucky!

I'm glad everyone of whom I've brought with me to The Reading Room Cafe have really enjoyed it. I can see us returning again and again - you never know, it might become our Footscray hot spot.

I highly recommend that you venture down the West to this little gem. Here's the link to their weekend menu. Yeap, you're welcome.

And they also update their weekly specials menu on their Facebook page. Trust me, you'll only thank me for the temptation I'm putting you through. ;)

Hmmm, I think I already know what I'll be having the next time I head back - Fritter's Lane. I might or might not blog about it, but I will definitely be Instagramming. Follow me @thebakeanista ;)