Thursday, May 17, 2007

La Plage, Bronte Beach

Morning Light
along the Bronte walk and the Bronte Swimming Pool

I adore breakfast. The very concept of it excites me and as one who isn’t at all interested in engaging in anything in the early parts of the day, the prospect of having a great breakfast is enough to pry my lifeless body out of bed. The odds do get slimmer when the climate becomes much cooler, the warmth and comfort of my bed seems to stitch and hedge me in, and it would take something extraordinary to get me out.

I’m sure you all know what I mean. It is a rarity to find a person who isn’t belligerent when woken up from deep hibernation, especially during cold wintry nights. I’m sure a caterpillar won’t have a bar of being taken out of the comfort of its cocoon until the time is ripe; and okay, I am no butterfly, but I feel the same way.

Chalkboard Specials, La Plage
reading the morning paper...

But with every rule always comes the exception- the however. So if there is one thing that will haul me out of bed prematurely in the morning, it is a little place called La Plage at Bronte Beach. The place is nowhere remotely near my place, but whenever G suggests we go and have breakfast there, I am up and raring to go. The café is one of many open for breakfast at Bronte’s beachfront strip and somehow, this one became our favourite breakfast haunt. Nothing in its nature called out to us in particular, it was by pure chance that we unintendedly entered the place and fell in love with it.

The first time was for lunch, although they serve breakfast until 3pm, so of course I have breakfast. The tunes of Café Del Mar play in the background and the cacophony of electric beats and waves crashing hypnotise patrons into imaginings of Caribbean isles and tropical breezes. The bright pastel interiors- walls of sky blue and furnishings of coral and teal all reminiscent of sun-filled summer days. I don’t want to say it because it sounds so cheesy and trite in a home shopping network segment type of way, but no matter how cold it is outside, the weather in La Plage is always balmy.

La Plage, Bronte Beach

I usually only have either one of two things when I go to La Plage; not that the other stuff on the menu isn’t worth trying but it seems that I go into auto pilot when I enter and order the same two things over and over again. At first I was staunchly dedicated to their Big Breakfast- two pieces of Turkish bread, two sausages, two hash browns, eggs of your choice, mushrooms, and a roast tomato. I was never able to eat another morsel for the rest of the day, but it was worth it. Then I transferred my allegiance to their Eggs Benedict. Two poached eggs perched atop two English muffins, with baby spinach and smoked salmon, all topped with a thick slathering of hollandaise sauce and a side of hash browns. Same thing with the Eggs Benedict, I was ruined for another meal for the rest for the day.

So decided that I need to avert the ravenous appetite my eyes have at breakfast and go for something that my stomach can handle. After all I am merely a 5 foot nothing little girl, my stomach can only stretch so far. So I opt for their Banana Pancakes with Honey Ricotta and Blueberries. I was a little apprehensive stepping outside my norm, although when you give the name of the dish a once over, you realise that you can’t really go wrong with that combination.

Banana Pancakes with Honey Ricotta and Blueberries
Banana Pancakes with Honey Ricotta and Blueberries $16.50

My breakfast arrives promptly to our table, and I dig in. It was delicious and even though it’s something one could simply cook up at home, I just cannot abide by cooking my own breakfast. The extent I go to cooking my own breakfast at home is to toast a piece of bread or quickly fry up an egg. So this indeed was a treat.

G who also can’t go past the Big Breakfast decided on something a little smaller and something a little more vegetarian, he needed to give his inner carnivore a rest. So he went for the scrambled eggs with toast and mushrooms. It was simple and uncomplicated and exactly what breakfast is all about.

Scrambled Eggs and toast with mushies
Scrambled Eggs with toast and mushrooms $12.50

The prices are a slight bit on the steep side, but only slightly and when you consider the view you get from your table there really isn't any reason to complain.

La Plage Café and Take Away
481 Bronte Rd, Bronte NSW 2024
Phone: (02) 9389 3527

11 comments:

Aimée said...

Love, love, love eating out for breakfast. This place looks like a dream! If you've even in Montreal, you must check out Leméac Café Bistrot, my fav place for brunch.

Nora B. said...

I love the view there. Whenever I eat out for breakfast, I can never decide if I should order something savoury or sweet. I wish I could have a kid's sized meal of one of each!

Gattina Cheung said...

really gorgeous view!
That coco on capuccina isn't it a work of art :)

Warda said...

I am like you, I just love my breakfast, never get enough of it. I tell people that I can have breakfast instead of lunch and dinner. La plage sure looks amazing. What a treat for the stomach and the eyes.

Oh for the love of food! said...

Sigh! Jenjen, reading your posts always makes me dreamy and happy. Has anyone else told you ,you have that effect on them? You've got such a positive outlook on life. Good on you!
We love going for breakfasts too, we used to frequent this popular 24hr cafe restaurant in Subiaco (WA) called 'Oriel' -they serve a similar breakfast menu as what you have. After that we'd go to the the fruit and veg markets and spend the rest of the morning shopping and browsing.I'm a morning person, JenJen, I wake up at 5.50am every morning!

Kajal@aapplemint said...

i've been dying to see this place.Even a flickr friend resides at bronte and she has some on the most beautiful shots of the place.BTW the coffee looks amazing !

Anonymous said...

I wish we had places like this to have breakfast in Britain. It could be the best meal of the day.
As part of our greatbigvegchallenge my son and I are attempting to expand our culinary horizons. We have one really good breakfast treat - fresh asparagus soldiers dipped in runny boiled eggs. Delicious. Im going to try recreating your blueberry dish.

Kelly Innes said...

Bronte- my husband lived near there when he taught at Sydney Grammar. I've heard so much about it! I tell you, the way you write, and photograph, Sydney makes me want to emigrate.

I adore eggs benedict.

Deborah Dowd said...

Obviously a beautifulplace with beautiful food. I am not sure which makes me more jealous!

Jerry said...

As much as I like cooking breakfast, a nice homecooked breakfast by someone else makes me salvate. If I'm ever down under. I'll stop by the place because if any person down there wears a Longhorn ball cap, you know the food is going to be good.

Jen said...

Aimee- I am the same, I prefer it when somebody else is cooking it, I don't know why but it just somehow tastes better.

Nora B- I have the same dilemma, if only they had a dish that combined the two. I know some places that serve pancakes and sausages together. It's a great idea.

Gattina- Yes, the view is magnificent. And I love it when my coffee/hot chocolate comes with pretty designs on top.

Rose- I can have breakfast any time of the day as well. If you ask me it's not only the most important meal of the day but also the tastiest.

Oh for the love of food!- Ohh thanks, you are too nice. Thanks for your kind words, it is really encouraging.
And about getting up at 5am in the morning... I don't know how you do it!

Kate- Bronte is beauitful and it's a nice little getaway right in the city. Close enough to Bondi Beach although far enough away from all the hustle and bustle.

Great Big Veggie Challenge- Wow, asparagus soldiers sounds yummy!
And I don't think recreating the pancake dish is too difficult. The only cooking involved are the pancakes and everything else is pretty straightforward.

Kelly- Aren't eggs benedict just the best!
If you are ever in this corner of the world, I will be more than happy to show you around.

Deborah Dowd- Well I think the eggs and the pancakes you can get pretty much everywhere, but the view is unique. It's definitely a beautiful place to live.

Jerry- Geoff (who was wearing the longhorn cap) was amused by your comment. He loves this cap. He got it from a friend who went to Texas last year, you never see him without it.