Devon Cafe By Day (Surry Hills, Sydney)

I finally found the opportunity to check out Devon Cafe, not just once but twice! This cafe has been opened since 2013 and has been pulling in the crowds ever since. What is it about this cafe that attracts the hordes? Is it the coffee, is the the food, or is it the quirky dish names on the menu? Better still, is it the friendly service? Let's find out, shall we? :)

My first visit was on a Saturday morning and I came with my friend CW. We arrived around 11.15 am and were told it would be around a 15 minute wait before we could get a table. When we did get our seats, it was at the communal table sharing with other diners. Did I ever mention I love communal tables? I get to be a sticky beak and see what others have ordered!

After poring over the menu which had some interesting dish names, we decided on sharing all our dishes.

Watermelon, apple and mint juice

Kaya Toast - coconut jam, with 63' eggs served in light soy sauce,  and brioche toast lightly buttered. I ordered this dish because kaya toast is such a typical breakfast dish in Malaysia. It brought back memories of my childhood when I was living in the small town of Klang. But back then I would have had the kaya toast on its own and the soft boiled eggs on its own slathered with white pepper, light soy with dark caramel sauce and dipped with soft white bread! At Devon Cafe, you are encouraged to venture into dipping the toast into the eggs and have gooey soft eggs which are slightly salted with the sweet caramelly kaya toast. Nice!

Breakfast with the Sakuma's - I absolutely love the name of this dish! I wonder who the Sakuma's were? It was Miso grilled salmon, smoked eel croquette, 63' egg, radish petit salad and kewpie mayonnaise. Firstly, before I describe the flavours I would like to state how excited I was to see the dish was back on the menu. The menu had gone through a change recently and the Sakuma dish was off the menu. And I had heard how good it was!

The salmon was perfectly cooked, the croquette was full of flavour and and at that point in time I did not even realise it had eel in it until after. I could not have had a better tasting croquette. And the eggs! Again they were perfectly cooked and oh so delicious! The favour combination was great. Yum to the max!

Mr KJI Chicken Burger - Korean fried chicken served in a brioche bun, go jugang and peanut sauce, brussel sprouts and kimchi slaw with a side of chips. The kimchi slaw was the star! It brought out the flavours of the fried chicken and turned out to be a delicious chicken burger with a soft brioche bun.

On my second visit, I rocked up early one weekday morning around 7.15 am and it was so nice to step in and not have to queue in. My friend DD joined me and had the kaya toast. I think he found it interesting and different.

I decided to have the Eggs Blini. Blinis are pancakes made from buckwheat flour and these were served with cured king salmon, salmon caviar, broccolini, sauce Mikado and poached eggs.

What a colourful looking dish! Definitely puts a smile on your face when you see such glorious bright colours on a dish! The saltiness of the salmon was toned down by the neutral tasting blinis. Loved the poached eggs, it definitely brought another dimension to the dish. And the salmon caviar brought 'pop' to the dish! :)

And the side of sliced avocados which were slightly salted was a great addition to an otherwise rich breakfast dish.

On both visits, the wait team were friendly and were happy to suggest dishes to us. The baristas were happy to pose for a photo even though it was Saturday rush hour.

Love this sign!

One thing I could not get over was the ratio of Asian diners vs. non Asians! This was prevalent on the Saturday visit. A large portion were Asians and I was trying to work out what was drawing them here? Could it be the dishes all have a touch of Asian in them? Or could it be the food was good and located in a great spot in Surry Hills?

The queue for a table that Saturday afternoon

If you haven't been to Devon Cafe, don't be like me and take too long. Go check it out, it is a stone's throw away from Central station. I doubt you will be disappointed!

P/S Next on my agenda when at Devon is to check out their newly launched Devon by Night. The menu certainly looks interesting! Their lobster roll is calling me! Hehe! :)


Devon Cafe
76 Devonshire Street
Surry Hills
NSW 2010
Facebook: Devoncafe

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