Sunday, April 6, 2008

Badde Manors Cafe - Glebe, Sydney

It's hard to decide what to eat in Glebe - the area along Glebe Point road is full of delicious eateries. In fact, it's somehow like Paddington - but for hippies. This road strip is a melting pot of many cultures and races. One can see a seemingly endless myriad of people types - dreadlocked hippie girls, leather fetishists, even Asians in Louboutins. It's really an oasis in suburbia, lined with charmingly un-renovated old townhouses and fabulously dinghy second-hand shops.


This quirky cafe, Badde Manors, is arguably the most popular watering hole for many locals and visitors alike. It's probably the most un-pretentious cafe in the world. Guests seat themselves just like they do at their own homes, waitresses don't look like waitresses - they look like your best friends, and from the big espresso machine, it looks like an Italian cafe - until you see a middle-aged Chinese kitchen staff carrying sourdoughs he just baked while mumbling stuff in Cantonese.


Entering the charming cafe, the atmosphere of 60's cafe is unmistakable. I was very delighted to see this, because I hadn't been born in the 60's and I've been wanting to see one for ages. Mismatched furnitures, unfinished woods, old photographs on the wall - the works. The menu is very eclectic. They've got Italian, German, Hungarian, Portuguese, whatever pleases your appetite. And oh, it's a Vegetarian restaurant, so for us carnivores, it's a very pleasant change. They also have vegan and non-gluten options.

Rye bread
...fresh from the oven. Soft, warm, incredibly tasty and inviting.


Vegetable Lasagna
...with Portobello mushroom, spinach, and ricotta.

-> It's so delightful. I love the meaty mushrooms, and the portion is so generous, it's even too much for me. The salad is dressed in what seemed to be light balsamic vinaigrette and olive oil. All in all, it's a big, hearty, sumptuous meal.


Portuguese Custard Tart

-> If you think that you're in a cha chaan teng in Yau Ma Tei, Kowloon, and the food depicted above is a dan tat (Hong Kong style Portuguese egg tart), think again. This is a custard tart, with lemony sweet creamy filling. The other one you're thinking of is egg-y and not milky. Anyway, both are delicious. I love egg tarts. Or custard tarts.

What I learned from this visit:
If I ever decide to observe Lenten fast and abstain from meat, I know where to go. LOL

3 comments:

Leony said...

Erik and Cla,

I take the new posts as "you guys all have been back in Sydney" hu hu... Wah, too bad yah... padahal a while ago I thought I can see you both around town, while trying on some new places.

Next time you guys are back in Jkt..holler please :)

Erique Fat Owl said...

Hey Leony,

Yes, yes, we're back in Sydney. I almost never update my blog while on holidays in Jakarta (or elsewhere), because...well...I'm lazy. Hahaha! And I'm sure it's the same for Cla. But We'll definitely contact you when we're in JKT. Let's eat someplace we've never eaten before. Maybe somewhere WERIDDD like Lara Jonggrang in Menteng. That place is seriously freaky. I've never got the guts to go there. LOL

cla said...

i want elephant steak... yum