Purveyor of the decadent soft serve with hot chips, Devon has been on my list of 'must try' for quite some time now. I never got round to visiting their original Surry Hills joint, so I decided to give the Barangaroo cafe a visit.
But first, coffee.
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| Cappuccino, $4 |
The drinks at Devon arrive at the table at lightning speed. Hats off to them, they are nothing if not highly efficient on the beverage delivery front. They are also excellent at following instructions - my friend ordered her coffee "weak and extra hot", and that's just the way the coffee came - more impressively still, despite the tailoring, Devon managed to produce a coffee which was robust and of high quality.
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| Matcha white chocolate, $5 |
I have a matcha latte addiction problem. I love it above all else, even coffee. However, you won't see me ordering matcha lattes very often, because the usual overly-sweet powder most cafes use is simply too frightful. I was on the brink of ordering a matcha latte when my attention was caught by the matcha white chocolate - I have never even heard of such a combination, so I had to try it. I had my reservations, of course - I was worried the white chocolate would take the matcha to a whole new level of sweetness, but thankfully that was not the case. The matcha white chocolate is rich, silky yet not overly sweet at all. The white chocolate does, however, blunt that refreshing, distinctively bitter quality matcha has, so next time I think I'd stick to a matcha latte. On the other hand, if you are not a fan of that grass-like bitterness, the matcha white chocolate could very well be the drink for you.
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| Breakfast with the Sakumas, $26 |
Breakfast with the Sakumas is Devon's signature dish. Who are the Sakumas? I have no idea, but they sure know how to breakfast. The meal consists of a generous, soft, moist piece of miso-grilled king salmon which is still slightly pink in the middle, a 64' egg (sous vide egg) which is ooey gooey, a smoke eel croquette which one can enjoy with dollops of kewpi mayonnaise and a raddish salad. A generous sprinkling of furikake completes the meal and adds a wonderful umami flavour to the whole affair. Breakfast fit for a queen.
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| Eggs Blini, $23 |
Though named blini, the dish would be more appropriately named pancake (as blinis are teeny tiny pancakes, but what we were served with was normal sized). It is Devon Cafe's version of an eggs benedict. The base is a buckweat blini (pancake), topped with poached eggs, citrus cured salmon, salmon roe, broccolini and maltaise sauce. The flavours are well-balanced and absolutely delicious.
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| Fig French Toast, $18 |
The entire menu at Devon was so drool-worthy that we had quite a difficult time picking the final breakfast, when the waiter sailed past us carrying this work of art to a neighbouring table. We immediately flagged her down, wanting to know what this marvel was. It was a broiche French toast piled high with fresh and dried figs, candied walnuts, freeze-dried balsamic, generous drizzle of honey and a perfect globe of sheeps milk ice cream. I was particularly impressed by the quality of the fresh figs, though I did find the pile of dried figs slightly overpowering. Overall, a wonderful dish - breakfast doesn't get much more decadent than that.
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| DD Special, $12 |
And finally, what Devon is best known for - hot chips and soft serve. On the day, two flavour were on offer: coconut and taro. This bright, resolutely purple soft serve is obviously the taro version. Taro has a deep, earthy sweetness that makes it a favourite ingredient in Asian desserts, and it paired beautifully with the piping hot chips. The chips are genius - mushy inside, crispy outside, with a sprinkle of sea salt that only serves to compliment the soft serve even more. The only down side is that I find it a tad steep at $12.
Score: 4.5/5
I came for the DD Special, and was delighted by every other item on the menu. I'm keen to try the Surry Hills location as well as the North Sydney location - as every cafe has a slightly different menu. If you're after a place to enjoy a seriously good brunch, Devon is the place.
Cost: slightly steep, but given the quality and creativity of the ingredients as well as the excellence in execution, it's well worth it.
Address: Shop 19, 200 Barangaroo Avenue, Barangaroo
Website: http://www.devoncafe.com.au/
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