Delicious Breakfasts at Darling Harbour – Plate and Toro

I spent last weekend in the heart of the city soaking up the atmosphere at the annual Good Food and Wine Show. My husband and I have made this festival a yearly tradition; for the last four or five years we’ve rented a room in the city so we could make an early start at the Convention Centre.

But before the show, it’s best to indulge in a big breakfast. It helps those early-morning wines go down without too much damage after all! Thankfully in Darling Harbour we’re spoiled for choice, so we checked out a couple of cafes during our stay.

Saturday morning took us to Plate, which was happily buzzing not long after 9. That saw us waiting a bit longer than usual for our meals, but the apologetic staff ensured we didn’t feel too badly about the delay. And boy it was worth the wait. I had the predictable choice of bacon and eggs, but when a café does this staple so well there’s no need to be fancy. The bacon was cooked to perfection, and the eggs some of the fluffiest I’ve had. I struggled to get through them all, but left feeling satisfied.

My husband was just as enthusiastic about his meal of pancakes. They too were light and fluffy, served up with lashings of maple syrup and strawberries. His cranberry juice was a shade too sweet, but this was really all we could fault. And when you can get out of brekkie for around $30, including a handful of sides, it’s never a bad thing.

On Sunday morning we dined at Toros and relished the Spanish style menu. I settled on an omelette, and was thrilled the obliging waitress happy to leave out the tomato to suit me. Hubby opted for French toast with sides of Spanish chorizo and hash brown. The meal probably didn’t go as smoothly as the one at Plate; I was left waiting for my water long after my husband had finished his milkshake, and beef sausages were sent out as well as the chorizo ones. But the food was impeccable and generous. My omelette must have been made with three eggs, it was so large and thick. It was also oozing with cheese, which bubbled and crisped appealingly around the top. I was in heaven, and desperately disappointed that I was too full to finish it! Our meals here cost us a good $10 more in total, but it was probably worth the splurge. That’s what holidays are for after all!

It’s tough to return home to the boring old eggs I make myself; I’m definitely looking forward to return visits to these cafes in future!

Image source: Andrew Medcraft @ Stock.xchng