Race, Brunch, Repeat

Monday - Mount Wellington

Fought tooth and nail convincing the missus to visit the Mt Wellington pinnacle ... that is without car assistance. Food can be a wonderfully powerful bribe.

Easy 12km run through Hobart North before sunrise (7:30am). Why do this? So I would not be tempted to run to the summit of Wellington straight after.

Got back to the hotel, grabbed Lorie and we drove out to Fern Glade Tavern to start the hike. Signs says 5.5 hours return but in the end, it took us 4:30.

Excellent tree cover with a good mix of fire trails, rocky 'steps' and just plain old loose rocks as you ascent from zero to 1,200m.

Being let off the leash, I tended to run ahead before back-tracking every 20 min (or so) to make sure my wife not victim to a bear mauling or lying broken on the rocks below. Lucky she kept a good spirit despite being alone for 70% of the climb.

I'd say the last 400m ascent was too hard and technical to run.

Lorie on the ascent

Got to the pinnacle in 2:30ish. You can also drive / cycle to the top via a winding road. This is also the Point to Pinnacle course ... one that I should run (November).

Summit of Mt Wellington

Saw a school bus returning to base and contemplated sneaking Lorie in disguised as a child.

Having had enough of rough trails, we jogged down the actual paved road from Pinnacle back to the car. Probably very unwise in hind site (no pedestrian pathway) and turns out it was a REAL shock to Lorie's poor knees. 8km steady descending does wonders to the legs.

Got back having covered a solid 19km. Lorie could barely walk for the rest of the day (and the two days thereafter).

How did I feel? Tight hips but surprisingly fine given 30km covered for the day and big mileage in the two prior days!

Tuesday - Cornelian Bay

Last morning in Hobart. Left foot, quads, calves all remarkably fine. Hips...still tight.

Still getting used to 7:30am sunrise, meaning my run along the bike track north was in pitch black. Turned at Cornelian Bay before deciding to head back. Worked against the clock on the return as the street parking outside the hotel expires at 8:30!

12km all up in 65 min. This was a precursor to another (not so) solid brunch at Pidgeon Hole Cafe before driving up to Swansea, near Freycinet National Park.

Saturday - Mt Nelson
 An early flight and delayed hotel check-in ... hence took to the Hobart wharves mid afternoon. Told Lorie I'd be doing 8km only. Discovered a strange trail starting at Bicentennial Park. This rapidly ascended over 2km, dumping my tiring self at Mount Nelson. Ended up on top of a hill at an oval with a sore left foot. Got lost heading back to Hobart, running down the side of the highway with no path

17km all up at 5:15 min/km

Sunday - Long Run North
Strangely sunrise is at 7am. First 30 min in darkness following the water north. Crossed a long long bridge which cars pass en route to Airport.

Tasman Bridge

Tracked the water on the opposite side with no apparent purpose. Lots of roadkill, farmlands and dead ends left me incredibly confused. Turned at 12km and traced my steps back to town. Huge winds on the return, almost got blown off the bridge.

On the bridge

25km all up in 2:15. Not too many hills in this run.

Realised this was a 110km week. Probably not a wise idea just 2 weeks after a race.

Got home to a hungry missus. We celebrated our hunger with a huge brunch at Salamanca Place. Review pending but it was excellent!

Still sticking with the basics whilst the niggles from 6FT persist. Short, easy 7km or so runs at 5:30 pace. These are the same left foot niggles I've carried since maybe September last year. Comes and goes.

Thursday - Joined by Wooey for a swim at ABC pool at lunch. 30 laps (1.5km) freestyle. An alarming lack of discipline to improve my scrappy technique. There's a few pointers I need to digest from the likes of Conway / Brendan W - stay horizontal, straighten the legs and pull the water with the palm. Nonetheless, felt great in the aftermath.

Good Trivia night at Randwick with the HuRTS crew. Some pretty seasoned trivia heads on my table - Sam, Birchy, Fenton and Charlie D. Conway and I contributed an embarrassingly small amount.

Friday - with such brilliant weather it was criminal not to head out. 9km around Hickson and through Darling Harbour with Wooey (once again). Easy again and the notable difference was 20 double push-up burpees outside the casino in Pyrmont. Shoulders felt like death after.

Off to Hobart for 8 days from tomorrow. Huge amount of trails to explore and food to eat... Mt Wellington is first up on the hit list.

Left foot niggles persisting. Increasingly frustrating as I'd love to get back on the horse. I'll need to keep the mileage low and slow.

All I could manage was 8km around Botanic Gardens mainly on the grass. Broke up the run with 15 push-ups every 1km. Hence arms felt ready to fall off by the time I got back to CQ.

Lucky to get out in time for the HuRTS 45 min progressive tempo. Typical large turnaround with the usual suspects upfront (Tom, Barts, CT etc.). Had to let them go - it's too soon for speed and the left foot 'tingling' sensation is a warning sign.

Headed out at a leisurely 4:20 pace with Steve Perry, Pete Walker and a whole bunch of others. Generally a very relaxed effort with a turnaround near the squashed car at Hickson.

On the return, I picked up the pace a little only motivated by the need NOT to be overtaken. Success achieved and I returned in 44 min. Pat on the back for turning this from a 'cruise' to a 'poor man's speed' - two hill surges and 3:35s to finish.

11.1km all up at 4:00 min/km. Add 2km for warm-up and warm-down.

Given I had also run 6km to work, I tried catching the bus home...what an embarrassingly slow trip.

19km for the day.

So I actually 'walked' out of yesterday's massage from KM feeling like magic. Given he's run 6FT many times and had already seen a few from last weekend, he knew exactly where to work on - hip flexors, knots in both calves, tight quads. Nothing too serious thankfully.

At the time, 20 min of considerable elbow-to-quads left me somewhat disenchanted with the idea of paying $$$ for pain. Nonetheless, it's all for the best.

Being at the in-laws, I felt strong enough for an easy 20km around Kellyville. Streets are flat, quiet and uninterrupted. Maintained a 5:15ish pace, tracking up Windsor Road before venturing into Norwest and later Castle Hill.

Perhaps a bit too early to be ramping up again, but felt great nontheless.

90km all up for the week. Pretty solid.

With the body slowly bouncing back, it's the old 2 week reverse taper for me. Steadily building the mileage in the 7 days post 6FT.

Thursday - 15km all up, split 7/8 running to the CBD and back across Blackwattle. Stiffness in the hips persist but quads OK.

Friday - 9km in the morning. Jogged down to ABC for a lunch swim with Matt. There I was, running through the Botanic Gardens innocently. Some bloke ran up behind, started breathing heavily down my neck. Scared me to death ... thinking 'is this the adult equivalent of a kid in the playground when an old guy pulls up with a lollipop in an unmarked van?' Anyway, turned out it was Charlie D.

24 x 50m laps of freestyle (or an imitation of it) before I was roped into a mini-relay with HuRTS swimmers including PW, Conway, Wongy, Timmy et al. Got paired with PW for me 100m. Embarrassed myself leaving him too much ground to recover. Fun nonetheless but lots of work to do on my swimming.

Saturday - though I had slept in (late night out), I headed out for a planned <10km 16km="" 85="" abbotsford.="" all="" around="" back="" bay="" but="" drummoyne="" excited.="" feel="" get="" hence="" i="" in="" initial="" m="" min.="" no="" normal.="" of="" p="" plan="" rain.="" really="" reason="" run="" shot="" starting="" the="" then="" to="" tracked="" up="">

MLR

By far the best I've recovered from a marathon. 75km and few niggles in the 7 days post race.

Sports massage today ... was in tears last time I hobbled out.

Tuesday - Hickson

6FT is a bucket list race. I signed up on a whim thanks to Charlie D. Looking back at my extensive lead-up trail / hill training ... 5km jog around the dirt track in Centennial Park in January. That's it.

Nailing a 10k road race PB just 7 days before at the Striders North Head? A false confidence boost.  

So there I was toeing the line (Wave 1) in the cold ... to my left, a few friendly Striders/HurTS trail junkies including Tony Fattorini (Fats), Andrew Tuckey (Tucks) and Quentin. Fats gifts some pre-gun advice - 'easy on the down, pick people off after the crossing'. Sounded simple enough.

This course is a nasty one to crack the first time (speaking in hindsight). A quad-breaking 15km descent, lung-busting 10km climb then 20km grinding out rolling trails. Very unforgiving.

The start is a frantic plummet down Nellies Glen for 2km. I was scared. Very scared. Even now I have NO idea how to descend ... leaning into the slope jackhammers the quads/calves. Leaning back to softly 'flop' the foot fatigues the quads. Lose lose.

Chased by unknown individuals along Megalong

Scenery changes at the Megalong fields (8km). Quads screaming but delighted to be alive. The relief was short-lived. I decided to compromise my left knee by wedging my leg inside a cattle grid. What a ludicrous way to DNF. Lucky the throbbing sensation turned into a dull ache. Hence I kicked on.

It's technical as you descend to the 15km river crossing. Like clockwork with 2 others, I'd lose on a technical section, then fight hard to win on sharp climbs. Shown below is my delight when there's a hill!

Winning on the climb, losing on the descent

The Cox's River crossing had me slowly wading waist deep, accumulating sand in shoe. Momentary relief and oblivious to the crippling climb ahead.

Cox's River Crossing at 15.5km

Split (15.5km) - 71 min in 34th place at 4:37 min/km

Then starts the 5km grind up Mini Mini hills - relentless the whole way. Biggest win was not walking, but then my hips really started to tighten. I counted 6 scalps on this section... when you know others are hurting more, the prospect of another climb is perversely welcoming. Elevation grade peaks at 29 degrees!

Six Foot Track elevation profile.

Relief getting to the saddle. Again short-lived, with a 3km descent and the feeling of two more stakes through the quads. Embarrassingly short respite to my lungs.

It's not long before the ground kicks up again towards Pluvi. The shuffle started again and this time I caught a fatigued-looking Quentin. Tried to rally him with limited success and moved on.

Pluvi peak arrived at 26km. My breathing was quite ragged, quads and hips finished. Sadly I couldn't remember the remaining course profile ... more hills???

2nd split (10.5km) - 63min in 22nd place at 6:01 min/km. Respectable but not too flash.

Last 19km - the task of dragging a 60kg corpse across beautiful fire trails. The loneliness of the section allowed me to mostly run my own pace.

7km to go, a familiar bald head and Striders singlet starts coming back to me. Is that Fats? I checked the watch (read 3:15) and thought he should be sipping a beer at the finish by now. Turns out his hammy's had other ideas.

Tony Fattorini (Fats) in close pursuit at 35km

Desperate for human company, I latched on to the eventual 19th and 20th for the final 5km. At 5 min/km, leg fatigue stabilised and breathing remained controlled. Felt tired but great.

Then comes a diabolic 2km descent into the pits of Jenolan caves to finish. Like a basketball in the face, the nose bleed is how broken quads respond to one final pounding. With such little interest in doing a face-slide, I resorted to a 'safe' pace. Yes it cost me a top 20, but at least I kept my face.

Hitting the final bend with the loud cheers was magic. Minus the broken quads, I was feeling fresh and energetic. I crossed the chute with a retarded jump for joy below.

Time - 3:51. Place - 21st. 

Crossing the line with a jump

Last split (19km) in 96 min at 5:05 min/km. 


Stoked to come inside 4 hours, and ecstatic to be uninjured. Doubt I could have gone faster given the lack of training and 5 day taper.

I soaked in the atmosphere, fed Lorie a sausage sizzle (reward) then slept like a baby on the way home.  Nutrition was spot on - a single pre-race banana and one gel at 35km. Zero stomach issues and felt the gel was not needed at all.

Finish chute a few minutes after

I have LOTS of work to do on downhills. Incredible how this makes or breaks the race. For now though, it's on to road races for the rest of 2015.

Run of the day goes to Tucks. How do you run 3:25 and only come 6th? Fats (3:55) and Quentin (touch over 4) did well on slightly off days. Charlie D gets play of the day ... recorded a tidy sub-4 hour PB despite being spotted frolicking in the Manly surf the same morning. Amazing. Several other brave efforts and PBs further back. Easy to see why people return year after year...

Waiting for the bus with Lorie

OK so I know a SFT race report is due. Fully written up, just waiting on the photos but I was stoked with a 3:51. The descend down to the river crossing at 15km destroyed my quads.

Sunday
No surprise how my quads felt. Took the dog out for a 6km walk with some light jogging down to Stanmore station. Descending the first two stairs outside my house took 30 seconds. Tried a short jog and strangely felt OK on the flats. Plan

Monday 
Early morning cycle really did wonders to flush the lactic from the legs.

I then headed out at lunch for an easy 7km with Wooey around Hickson Wharves. Continually jogged, held back by legs that are still seriously tender. Got passed by the HuRTS crew at CQ as I was finishing up. Apparently Tucks and the two Johns are already back running after 6FT... amazing.

Cuckoo Callay has an enchanting bacon selection. Like a bawling toddler locked in the car park, 'normal' items are an afterthought best forgotten.

Cuckoo Callay, near Newton station

Wind the clock back one day ... 4 hours, 45km running up a 1.6km vertical ascent in my maiden Six Foot Track marathon. Delayed hunger was rearing its nasty head 24 hours later.

I love the pink pig with balloon-like proportions on the menu. Enough to scare any vegetarian away. Probably highly arousing for everyone else (including Lorie).

Cuckoo Callay - 12 week Bacon Festival

If the $20-odd prices are an eye-sore, then add gimmicky dish names and you've got menu conjunctivitis.

Cinderella's Breakfast is one of few interesting yet healthy choices. In the waitresses words - 'our dishes are very large'.

Cinderella's Breakfast - pumpkin fritters, house cured salmon, poached egg, basil pesto and tomato - $18

Though I expected a certain fritter-crispiness, the pumpkin was beautifully silky. What a shame it was so unseasoned. Salmon was strangely tough but yummy and I enjoyed the pesto. Let's be honest, the suspense of a poached egg lies in the magical moment that follows ...

Bursting yolk on top the pumpkin fritter

Any such pros were railroaded by the miserable portion size. Appreciate times are tough, but that's no excuse for rationing a single cherry tomato with the neighbouring table.

The biggest culinary tragedy is when the fork and stomach violently disagree. With an empty plate and no food to stab, my stomach was one unhappy customer.

Dish 2 is #Hashtag Browns 3.0. Try reconciling that name to fried croquettes with an egg, half an avocado and two rashes of bacon.

#Hashtag Browns 3.0 - Basil and cheese croquettes, poached egg, pea puree, avocado and bacon

Croquettes were the unremarkable highlight. Satisfaction of a cheesy 'crunch' is similar to an arancini ball. The avocado and pea puree was creamy but added little flavour-wise.

How do you distinguish between 'Black Forest Smokehouse' and supermarket bacon? (i) price, and (ii) word count. I don't understand the hype.

Best element of the dish? The croquette

Choc-covered crispy bacon

You'd think chocolate and fried bacon is a water-tight marriage of obesity. It was hard to overcome the damp cardboard-like texture suggesting day-old product. Shame shame shame.

Cuckoo Callary interior

Tuesday - Brisbane River

Short 2 day QLD trip left a great chance to do an easy taper run circling the Bribane River. Found a sneaky 30 min before dinner.

Started at Riverside district, tracked the river and crossed over to Southbank. Dodged the uni students, crossed back over to CBD and followed the river back to Stamford. 6km all up. Nice little track along the river.



The run was a precursor to a feed at nearby steakhouse Cha Cha Char in Riverside. Tempted to review it but I can't do it objectively if I don't pay. Else the $40 for a small barramundi fillet and single prawn would have me in tears.

Wednesday - Brisbane Again

Roped Charlie into a 6am run which started on a similar southwards course. Crossed the river, headed north this time. Found a good loop dictated by the Story Bridge. Got nervous when I saw the mileage tick over 7km. Eased back the last km and let Charlie pull ahead. Some small stretching in the Botanic Gardens before hitting up the Stamford Buffet for a three course breakfast.

Spent the later part of the day at Gold Coast for work. Shot below was 5 minutes before I tried to rediscover my childhood.

Dreamworld ride.

Ended badly. Got put upside down, felt sick for the next 12 hours. Lesson learnt.

Thursday

Sunday - Bay Run
With the looming Six Foot less just 6 days a week, less is more. Saying that, sore left foot and quads still recovering from the weekend race.

No idea if a 5-6 day taper is enough but we'll see.

Jogged down to the Bay Run and managed a very easy loop at 5:45 min/km. It's a 7km loop, but add the 1.3km (and return) trip makes just shy of 10km. Good to stretch the legs out

80km for the week.

Monday - Domain
The cracking weather and a 1 hr window conspired to pull me off my desk chair. Did a very easy 9km around the Opera House and through the Domain with Wooey.

Passed an 8 or so strong HuRTS squad in opposite directions twice. Their pace was probably too strong for me.

Plan is to wind back to 6km or less each day, then rest Thurs/Fri. See how that goes.

Enmore main street at 10:30am ... you'd see the remnants of an ultra-active, food-obsessed Asian male wheel-chaired out of Shenkin Kitchen.

Sporting a delirious grin and in a food-induced coma, you wouldn't believe he was the same cranky, underfed amateur blogger just 45 min earlier.

Shenkin Kitchen ... a cosy outdoor courtyard

I drag two of the most important women in my life along to check this Israeli-themed cafe out.

Taking the wife and mother out for brunch

Middle-Eastern twists on Western brunch staples gives a wide array of amazing choices.

A lovely waitress orders us the top three dishes. She also scolds us for an initial mistake of choosing a 'powdered' chai latte over a honey-infused, sticky chai tea with soy. Honesty is best served brutal.

The Bite - avocado falafel with poached egg, mushrooms, lettuce and dark rye toast - $16

The magic of 'The Bite' is a nondescript fist-sized ball lazily straddled by a poached egg. Add dark rye with mushroom popsicles and a drizzle of mysterious creamy sauce. Just like my first-and-only appearance in the school debate team, I'm lost for words.

Amazing texture combinations from a falafel ball, egg and mushroom

Inside the deliciously crispy falafel crust is, lo and behold, a creamy avocado centre! Crunchiness (falafel and lettuce) with creaminess (avo and egg), deep earthy flavours and huge portion side left me in tears.

The poaching job is beautiful, shown below ....

Avocado falafel ball drizzled in a perfectly poached egg

Lorie has a go at the Israeli Big Breakfast...way more than she bargained for. Being a team player, I got heavily involved.

Israeli Big Breakast - srambed eggs with labanne, avocado, salad, salmon and pita - $18.50

Scrambled eggs beautifully fluffy, well seasoned. Smoked salmon and avacado always a safe bet and I loved the freshness of the salsa. Pricey but excellent value.

Simple flavour combinations that just work

House-made warm pita bread pouches remind me of two french berets. This pillow-soft interior makes an excellent pouch for the eggs, salmon and salsa. Labanne yogurt is a bit of a cleanser. Delicious, filling and perfectly executed. The charm of an edible beret puts an Aussie bacon and eggs breakfast to shame.

Shakshuka with chorizo - $19

Double poached eggs with chorizo hiding inside

Food coma

Honestly, I was so full that I had to give lunch a miss. This last happened after I was stretchered out of the Park Hyatt Melbourne breakfast buffet back in March. I'm on a first name basis with the chefs at that joint...

Shenkin Kitchen shoots the lights out:

- Food - 9.5/10 - remarkably authentic and tasty dishes difficult to find elsewhere.
- Value - 9/10 - mains under $20 but huge portions.
- Other - 9/10 - loved the waitresses, cosy little setting but long black coffee a fail.
- Overall - 9.5/10 - a near-faultless experience. I left so happy.

Conclusion - full stamp of approval, happiness guaranteed. Ignore the 77% urbanspoon rating, it's rubbish.

Dish of the day?
The Bite

Would I return?
No, because I refuse to leave.

A hidden gem and my current best brunch pick

Thanks Lewis for the recommendation.

So there it is. My quest for the perfect brunch could be over. Going forward, do I bother with this blog knowing Cafe Shenkin is almost certainly the go-to place in Sydney?

Dragged Lorie and the dog (Molly) out to North Head for a 10km 'taper' run with the Striders. Felt sorry for the wife ... pitch black, raining and on chauffeur duties.

No hiding behind a '45km ultra 7 days away' excuse. With Barts, Tom, QR, CT, Criniti and Lewis all at the line, there was plenty to chase.

Attack early was the plan, and by 3km I'm struggling at the wrong end of a 6 man band.


Once it snaps (as is inevitable), you never want to be plopped out the back. Strangely Criniti had a really slow start then passed the pack with ease.

I decisively move past Lewis, CT, Neil and finally Quentin around the peninsula loop, hoping to latch onto a surging Tom. I celebrate this in front of the camera...


5km at the Stone Arch turnaround in 16:10ish (PB for the distance).

By now its down to drafting off Tom for 5km. No different to me in the 1990s: I'd chase the Mr Whippy van up the street with the lure of a $3 choc-top soft-serve cone and that creepy music. The back of a sweaty shirt is certainly no tasty treat, but I still hung on for a good 4.5km at sub 3:20 pace.

The final turnaround with 400m to go had me searching for reserves for a final surge. I found nothing and despite a respectable 3:17 final split, the gap widened to 15m by the chute.

Delighted with the 32:45 10k PB. 30s faster than my effort at Homebush last month.

Splits below show how destructive the early splits were:

First 5km in 16:09 (3:16, 3:11, 3:09, 3:18, 3:11) - PB for 5km
Second 5km in 16:35 (3:24, 3:18, 3:18, 3:16, 3:17) - PB for 10km

Some of the HuRTS guys after the race

HuRTS summary: Barts (32:20) left us all for dead and Tom (32:39) looked too unnaturally comfortable. Quentin, CT and Lewis all 33s and Andy and Macca sneaking a sub 35. Forgot to offer Timmy a handicap (37s). Rumours that Charlie races well (40 flat) proved true ... 2 min ahead of Wooey.

Finished with a 4km warm-down with Lewis, Barts, Tom and Criniti before returning to a miserably soaking and hungry wife. Great morning all round.

We've been looking for a new addition to the family. Kid or puppy.... well I've agreed to the later only for now. Puppies are cheaper and you can kick them outside if they misbehave (I think).

Wife has been particularly keen for a cavoodle (Cavalier King Charles / Poodle) for about 12 months now.

Lorie jumped on a gumtree ad and found 3 year old Molly to adopt. Long story short, the family is moving o/s and we picked her up from Bondi yesterday. Perfect age where she's already trained, but still got a good decade left.

Considered renaming her to something food related, but Molly works well.

Molly

The hope is now I have a running companion. Not sure Cavoodles are a running dog, but my aspiration is a double bay run (14km) at 5min/km.

Will give the dog a test run this weekend.

Lunch run
On the running front today, just a solo effort at lunch. Dying to get out after a string of lunch meetings this last 2 weeks. Headed out to Garden Island and return to make 10km. Added some push-ups and dips to work the shoulders.

Pace was about 5:15 min/km. Lightning fast. No signs of foot pain today which is great!

All I've been doing since Monday has been the 6km journey plus return to work.

Generally trying to mix it up by switching between Anzac Bridge vs. Blackwattle Bay.

Left foot continues to give me issues. This is despite the pace and mileage being incredibly light.

The endless churn of lunchtime meetings also disrupting my routine.

May rest Thursday and Friday. Will substitute with swimming on either or both days.

The name alone (Big Brekky) was what won me over. Absolutely no gimmicks to this cafe and its offering. You'll see why soon enough.

Target audience seems to be any or all of:
- four person family looking to share one dish.
- rugby players, wrestlers or other large individuals.
- those with morbid obesity aspirations.

James, Renee and myself at Big Brekky for one purpose...a big brekkie.

Luckily Lorie and I are joined by two very passionate and hungry triathletes - Renee and James.

Stock-standard menu, mid teens pricing. I default to the 'Qeuf en cocotte eggs' upon learning this to be baked eggs.

Qeuf en cocotte eggs (baked eggs) with wholemeal toast - $15

Instant mark-down for the vehicle that housed the eggs. It's all about theatre, and a ceramic dish is no match for a cast iron pan.

Composition - egg, tomato and mushroom. Close your eyes and imagine that in omelette-form on toast. That's exactly how I felt.

Such generosity of bread is best matched with a highly spreadable sauce that holds a thick, consistent texture. Overcooked eggs and 'wateriness' at the base did this dish no favours.

Tasty enough from the seasoning, but lack of next-gen protein left me disenchanted.

Baked eggs side shot

James goes for the Chilli Feta Eggs on toast.

Observing such an amalgamation of bacon on one plate was as steroidal an experience as seeing Serena Williams in a mini-skirt at the Aussie Open last year. Mind blowing, but almost unappetising.

Chilli feta eggs with smashed avacado and crispy bacon on toast - $17.50

Biggest criticism - we have the sourdough flat on its back, pleading desperately to be hosed down by the runny yolk of a double-team of perfectly poached eggs.

Because the eggs were over-poached, no such scenario crystallised ....

Eggs that were too hard

Dish one liner - hugely satisfying, artery clogging, relatively tasty but too dry.

Next up (Renee's order) was grilled haloumi. To be fair, even the most unsophisticated kitchen can get this right. Salty, yummy and ridiculously large.

Grilled halloumi and poached eggs on toast - $17.50

Final order is the sweet one. No surprises this is the wife's choice, and one that dwarfed her head.

Ultra-thick brioche french toast, dunked in maple syrup and slathered in rhubarb and mascapone is exactly as decadent as it sounds. Brioche was excellent, making this the dish of the day.

French toast with rhubarb, strawberries and mascarpone - $15

Frankly after a few bites, I felt like a fat kid high on red cordial... the sugar was too much.

The missus had to employ the help of Renee to finish the job.

Summary scoring below indicates a middle-of-the-pack experience.

Food - 6/10 - lack of an imaginative menu, easy to replicate at home.
Value - 8/10 - for the serving size and mid-teen prices...excellent.
Other - 6/10 - completely unremarkable fitout, long wait for food, served me the wrong bread.
Overall - 6.5/10 - opposite of a degustation - substitute finesse for size.

It's quite simple. Visit Big Brekky only if you want a well-priced calorie injection, but care little for (i) imaginative dishes and (ii) plate presentation.

Would I return?
No.

It was hard work making the food look appetising in the photos. The sexiest object from my shots was my dream car, the Nissan 370Z directly outside.

My next car .... Nissan 370Z