Local Mbassy, Ultimo

Cappuccino (Lge $4)

We'd been due for a coffee date at Local Mbassy before I left for Broken Hill more than 9 weeks ago now, but never had the time to go so now that I'm back and not too lazy to go out, we decided to make a trip to try out this cafe!

It's pretty hard to not have heard of Local Mbassy, with pictures of their famous red velvet pancakes popping up everywhere around the internet these days. And so popular are these pancakes that pretty much every single table has one of them!

Mocha (Lge $4.50)

It's early and we haven't eaten so pancakes with whipped cream aren't what we're in the mood for unfortunately, but their menu also has plenty of other brekkie options which are perfect for us.

But first, a coffee to warm us up from the cold morning weather! We weren't able to grab a table inside so we're slowly freezing from the icy cold wind. I'm not a huge coffee drinker, although I think I'm drinking more coffee these days, but I did quite enjoy the mocha without having to add any sugar which is always a good sign!

Full English Breakfast ($18) + side of smoked salmon ($4)

We love the presentation of the English breakfast, and the fact that the sizzling plate keeps everything warmer for just that little bit longer. It's no match for the chilly breeze though, as our breakfast cools down pretty quickly anyway but it's still a different way to eat our brekkie!

We're quite impressed by the whole breakfast. Though it might not look it from the picture (there's still about half the dish hiding under the toast!), it's a good serve size for a our big morning appetites. The scrambled eggs are soft and fluffy as we like it, and the grilled tomatoes and mushrooms are nice and buttery.

Vegetarian Shakshuka ($17)

I'm usually hopeless when it comes to choosing off menus, but I'm a huge fan of shakshua, and seeing as almost every table had ordered one, the only decision I really had was whether I was going to order the bacon or the vegetarian one.

I ended up going for the vegetarian, which comes with eggplant and zucchini in place of the bacon which makes for a relatively healthier meal! It's tasty, but I'm a little disappointed with the dish overall because it was more watery than I'd like, being of a more soup like consistency. The poached eggs were also a little undercooked, with the egg whites still being clear towards the inside of the egg. (Not sure if it had something to do with the fact that it was a busy morning?)

Nevertheless, I did enjoy the combination of veggies in tomato sauce and especially loved the crispy hashbrown that is was served with.

We did make a visit the next day to try out the red velvet pancakes, but unfortunately I didn't bring my camera with me. Not a huge fan of red velvet myself, but my friends loved them, so it's worth a try!