Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Outdoor breakfast hits sweet spot
Cafe: Sirocco Main Road, Kalk Bay (next to the train station) Contact: 021 788 1881 Hours: Monday to Sunday, 8am until 4pm Dish Eaten: French toast croissant Price: R55
WENDYL MARTIN
SIROCCO is not hard to find. In Kalk Bay’s narrow Main Road, I’ve passed this outdoor restaurant many times on my exploration of the boutiques and cafes.
It’s the sort of place where I’d enjoy Champagne breakfasts if I had the money. That doesn’t stop other people from doing so. It’s a place you can be spotted at, preferably dressed in white sitting against the palm tree.
That didn’t work with me this week at Sirocco. It’s only open in the summer months as there is nothing besides the tree and some canopy for cover.
Clouds threatened my glorious day of outdoor eating with slight drizzle. The first good thing I noticed about Sirocco was that it has wide tables. There is plenty of space for newspapers, food, drinks, stationery and electronic devices.
The Americano had good strength but as the day was a bit chilly, it got cold quickly. I should have asked for warmer milk.
The presentation at Sirocco is thoughtful. A little rose petal was placed on the coffee cup saucer. The food looked very purposefully arranged.
I think I made the wrong food choice, though. Not considering my palate at all, I ordered the French toast croissant.
The ingredients were quality: fig preserve (not syrup), chopped strawberry and banana, fried croissant and crispy bacon. I like all those things but I still can’t completely understand or easily digest bacon with sweet flavours.
It was very sweet. I could smell the fig preserve with every bite.
I was so tempted by the crispy promise of bacon and croissant that I didn’t give a thought to the sweet stuff on the plate. I’m sure many other people would enjoy it.
My colleague made the right choice. He chose eggs benedict with crispy bacon (R75). I might have opted for the cured salmon for R10 more. I feel like it might have worked better with hollandaise.
It had all the pluses of my dish but without the sweet stuff.
To off-set the sweetness, I ordered a side of cheese. From the options of emmental, brie and cheddar I chose brie. The portion was big and it was a good call. If I did it again, I would probably choose emmental and ask them to melt it a bit.
It was turning into a bit of a charcuterie board. Co-incidentally, my dish was served on a sheet of paper on a board. My colleague got a plate. My experience with the board was fine for the most part, until I started tearing through the paper with cutlery. I’m not too comfortable eating off a board with cut marks.