The Deliciousness of Passion Part 1

After some significant time spent trawling the cafes of Melbourne, I've realised what makes something exceptional. Passion. It sounds stupidly obvious, but the difference between somewhere run by people who are truly passionate about what they do, and by those just going through the motions is huge. I've decided to review two wonderful cafes that so clearly love what they do. They have been receiving a fair amount of attention lately, and are deserving of almost all of it! Monk Bodhi Dharma and The Hardware Societe.


 Today, you get to read about Monk.


Monk Bodhi Dharma

Costa Rican syphon

In typical Melbourne fashion, tucked away in a parking lot behind a main street with minimal signage. If you don't know where it is, you could spend days looking. Tiny space, wooden stools, huge communal table. This place is so cool, even the air-conditioner had a wooden cover so that it doesn't interfere with the aesthetics. Whether you love or hate the reclaimed warehouse craze sweeping our town, check out Monk anyway. It's truly one of the only places in Melbourne that is equally as passionate about its coffee, tea and food.

The coffee: Wonderful. Always. I've never had a bad cup. Being a sucker for the syphon, that's what I always get, and it's always done to perfection. The ordinary coffees are beautiful too, always made with love. My only gripe is that the staff rarely have time to discuss the coffee with you, unlike the larger setups like St Alis. Its the trade-off for the homely atmosphere, and its not the worst. And the tea.... Oh the tea! Delicate blends, and they actually care about the brewing times! I've never understood why tea and coffee are so often mutually exclusive at good cafes. As a lover of both, it's heart-warming to find somewhere that is as passionate about all warm, caffeinated beverages, regardless of whether they started as bean or leaf.

Saffron French toast with Poached Pear and Lemon Ricotta

The Food: The food at Monk was a bit disappointing on the Gluten-free front when they fist opened. Although they had a great vegan and wheat-free selection (and still do!), they hadn't quite made the gluten-free leap. They finally have, and boy am I happy they did! The menu is fairly simple, but with delicious flavour combinations.  The french toast was the best I've had in a long time. The saffron and lemon perfectly balanced the sweetness of the chai pear and sugar syrup. I love a good ricotta, and this one was truly up to scratch. Sweet, savoury, chewy and filling: just about the perfect breakfast.

Sadly, I don't know what bread they used, which ties in to my only gripe: The service. (Ok, I lied. I have two gripes. They really need some comfy seats!) The service is fine, friendly and quick. But the passion that is apparent behind the food and drink preparation just doesn't come across in the service. It's as though the customer is an almost irrelevant part of the whole process. I hope this changes in the near future, because everything else about Monk deserves our love and adoration.

http://www.monkbodhidharma.com.au/