Breakfast Club Meeting Numero Cuatro @ The Duchess of Spotswood, Spotswood

After a looooong break, the BC is back in action!!

My musical forays are temporarily over, and so now I can focus on my love of food again!! (NB: I'm ABLE to multi-task, I just don't have the TIME to..)

So the Breakfast Clubbers (sans good 'ol Nintendo DS who was away partying it up in Singapore) happily trudged to Spotswood. It had been about 2 months since our previous meeting so we were naturally very excited! (And also slightly sad that DS couldn't make it). It had been EP's turn to choose a cafe - and The Duchess it was.

So MK, the walking map of Melbourne, and I made our way from Parkville to Spotswood through the secret back roads that we knew so well - zipping through industrial and residential areas that we knew like the backs of our hands (no need for GPS!). Until we reached a road closure... Uh-oh. Then the real test began... Using our natural sense of direction, MK and I managed to wind up in 2 consecutive dead ends before we finally conceded defeat and consulted the trusty iPhone navigator.

We managed to arrive at our destination only 15 minutes late! EP and AA were already inside and gave us amused smiles as MK and I giggled and guffawed recounting our journey. It was another 10 minutes before BNL (formerly known as BL - the newly added N stands for Ninja, coz he so stealthay!) literally stopped traffic as he crossed the road, en route to silently materialising in the empty chair at our table. We enquired regarding his secret ninja training, but he wasn't going to give up the secret that easily to us non-ninjas!

The service was laid-back and friendly - no super hipster types here. The ambience was bright and welcoming - I really liked the white walls and the glass door and windows that let plenty of sunshine in.

The menu consisted of interesting and quirky-named dishes like "Breakfast of champignons", "Poetry (in motion)" and "Duchess of pork". Loved the names! EP ordered the breakfast of champignons - mushrooms on a potato+barley hash with poached eggs and English stilton. Stilton is a type of cheese - it was very yummy. The poached eggs were poached to perfection, which was good because the first time I'd been to Duchess, my poached eggs had been overcooked..

AA ordered a more traditional eggs on toast with mushroom and bacon on the side, BNL had the Duchess of pork - crispy pig’s jowl with fried eggs, rich truffle sauce, and sourdough toast. Oh. Man. The. Pork. And that truffle sauce. What a combo. Yum. If I hadn't had so much pork the night before (birthday celebrations at Hoffbrauhaus), I would've ordered that dish too. So I decided that I was in the mood for some Poetry (in motion) instead. Poached seasonal pears, apricots, and prunes with puffed grains and vanilla yoghurt. The mix of soft, crunchy and chewy textures was absolutely delightful! 'Twas poetry indeed. MK had the Simple Pleasures - thinly sliced toast with roast beetroots, candied walnuts, goat curd and poached eggs. So easy to please.. Haha.

And so we talked and ate, and were (very) merry. I was particularly off my rocker that morning for some reason, much to the amusement of the others. Think lack of brain to mouth filter. EP kindly photographed each of us (except himself) to send to DS, to show her what she was missing (what a friend). To which DS replied "but where's EP?". Lollers. All-in-all, another fun BC outing.

And so with full bellies and light hearts, we parted ways, knowing that another BC outing was soon to come.

Already looking forward to the next one!