October 18, 2008: Gingerlee II

27/04/2014: Gingerlee has just had a makeover and become The Old Bike Shop Cafe. It seems that some of the same key staff are involved.

   

I made good use of the spring morning and headed out very early for a wander through Studley Park and along the Merri Creek trail (highlights: red-browed finch with nest, nankeen night-heron, collared sparrowhawk). Cindy enjoyed a bit more of a sleep-in, and we coordinated our arrival at Gingerlee for a 9:30 breakfast. It had been a while, but things were still running smoothly at Gingerlee - attentive service, an interesting menu and lots of windows and light. The coffee machine gets a bit overrun, but the coffee that eventually comes out is worth the wait. I resisted the eggs this time, instead opting for the Moroccan tagine style baked beans, with yoghurt, coriander, lemon and sourdough toast ($10.50 - see above). This had it all going on: wonderful crunchy toast, warm, slightly spicy beans and some stronger flavours from the coriander and lemon. I was famished after walking 8 or so kilometres and polished the beans off before Cindy had even made a dent in her meal.

   

She opted for the bircher muesli with stewed rhubarb and cinnamon yoghurt ($8.50). It was pretty stunning to look at - the green sprinkle of pistachios and the pink of the rhubarb looked very appealing. Cindy enjoyed it a lot, but needed some milk to cut through the density of the muesli. I'm still surprised she didn't order the French toast again. We were both much healthier this time around with our Gingerlee orders, and the food hit the spot again - the prices are starting to look pretty good these days too (at least in comparison with El Mirage).

Read about our previous visit to Gingerlee here.