Toast

Ahh Toast.
I adore toast for 2 reasons: 


For what it is - the snack food to line your stomach when you are starving in the moments right before your main meal is fully cooked (try Lawson's traditional bread for its thick, fluffy centres!);
AND,
The Google search for "toast" which led me to discover TFP's site, which I have to thank for my less-than-desirable grades due to intensive studying of food porn rather than why the world economy is headed for doom.


Oh, and the actual place?
After reading many a reviews on why this is one of Perth's best breakfast places plus multiple visits to this peaceful breakfast haven located on the sunniest side of East Perth, I can see why Toast is not only a staple in the household but is also a staple in the online Blogosphere community.

Blimey - $6.50

The drinks category is kind of a serious thing at Toast. With about 2 handfuls of choices of freshly squeezed, juiced and blended fresh fruit juices, these are the next perfect answer to a stinking hot day besides diving into the glistening waters right beside this restaurant.


There is nothing to hide about these pure, fresh, pretty much naked drinks that are stripped from any nasty artificial stuff. Complete with a frothy, pulpy top, Summer arrives in a short, stubby glass cup. Pity, as thin and slender is even more perfect for Summer :) 


A refreshing cup of carrot, apple and watermelon will also have you thinking, "Blimey! Blimey is bloody good!"

Herb & Mushroom Omelette with Fresh Herbs & Tasty Cheddar - $18.50

As a student, I would choose the road less taken, and pick the essay question I suspect most people would scoff at.
So as a diner, I would choose the more adventurous, more exotic sounding dishes less ordered.
Consistency: live your life with some of it in hand.


Thus it is a surprise that I have chosen out of Toast's "Usual suspects" category of the menu, with the seemingly normal, boring, predictable choices. But however average, oldies are goldies and classic breakfast items are fail proof.


With toast and butter sidekicks that unfortunately melted faster than a sweating pig, the plump, mushroom filled omelette burst with sliced mushrooms and oozy melted stringy cheddar - making this golden parcel a deceptively filling meal.

Spiced Ricotta, Honey & Almonds Crepe - $13.50

If we had a rewind button for every time we have a deliciously unhealthy breakfast, or for every time we made a mistake...I would not be the person I am now.


I would be the size of an extravagant mansion.

Look at the way your skin glistens in the sun...

Crepes take on either a sweet or savoury direction but end up at the same end destination of Satisfaction. The delicately thin packages, with light and crisp edged wrapping paper encasing thoughtfully prepared fillings, are personally gifted from the chef themselves out of the kitchen.


With subtle tasting innards that don't overpower other flavours and result in too heavy of a breakfast dish, the creamy filling is contrasted against a handful of crunchy toasted almonds, creating a texture perfect plate of crepe.

Add to that golden blanket a glaze of honey, a dusting of icing sugar, and to your breakfast order.

Another one of Toast's exotic fruity creations...
Seriously, juice with Toast is kind of a big deal.


With their fresh real ingredients and consequential pulpiness (sometimes), it made it possible to choke and splutter "I've got juice stuck in my throat!"

Eggs Norwegian - $16.90

An overindulgent breakfast needs to taste like heaven, just to make sure all the calories taken in haven't gone to a waste. And at Toast, that criteria is satisfied every single time, regardless if you've eaten your whole day's recommended energy intake in a single plate or not.


Simple, decadent layers of silky smoked salmon, poached eggs and golden velvet that is hollandaise are proudly stacked atop toasted english muffins and wobbling high with guilt and pleasure.

Sunshine. Sunshine, everywhere!

I think what makes Toast such a winner are their perfectly poached eggs. With just a slight prick of a fork, or a finger, whatever object you please, you witness a brilliant golden lavafall cascading over the mountain of food, leaving its striking presence everywhere along its path.


The wedge of lemon gives the acidity boost needed to cut through the rich, nearly unctuous taste of the dish from the creamy salmon, creamy yolk, creamy hollandaise and possibly creamy muffin base that will ultimately be drowned in all the excessive creaminess not yet consumed.

Roast Beef Pressed Sandwich - $12.90

I decided to deviate from my usual chicken, bacon, semi dried tomato, avocado and seeded mustard mayo ciabatta roll once in a blue moon and tried another option from their Simple, Fast Work Lunch category. Usually I can't justify the reasons for spending that price for a simple pressed sandwich I could replicate, and replace those reasons with excuses.


However, I can't help it. Simple, but so well made and packed with flavour that I can't resist such a simple order from a place offering so much variety. And while I'm not a fan of rocket most days of my life, my taste buds seem to welcome the peppery crispness of the balsamic dressed salad, giving it an overall tangy flavour.

Too little, gone too soon.

Sandwiched between a paper-thin top layer of turkish bread are equally thin fillings of roast beef, caramelised onions, roasted capsicum, rocket and chilli jam. And while I know perfectly how good toasted turkish bread is slathered with butter, I ask for mine without.


But turns out they include some cheese in here too, which unfortunately costs me my top layer of bread to be uneaten. Deeply saddened, I savoured the rest of the hot crispy roll wishing the ingredients were not so sparse. This roll would not be what it is, if it weren't for the sweet and juicy caramelised onions.


And a word of warning from my poor fingers, this comes out alarmingly HOT. Proceed to stuff in your mouth with limited handling time, 'cause seriously, who is civilised enough to eat sandwiches with a knife and fork?

Caramelized Banana Crepes - $14.90

It's embarrassing sometimes, to be a big eater. After placing 2 dishes for 2 people, staff assumed that was the end and proceeded to ask if we wanted any drinks. Sheepishly we asked for a third dish instead. :) Meal status upgraded to feast level!



While savoury crepes grilled with cheddar requires the suppressing of temptations, I've only ever tried the sweet variety offered at Toast. Yep, Toast does a great crepe too! And while their Rhubarb & Raspberry Compote with Toasted Almonds was something different, the tartness got sickening for me towards the end.


THIS however, is something to love. Banana crepes to top off breakfast is the cherry to top off the cake. 2 neatly folded parcels on 2 plates is the perfect design for sharing if you're not a pig. Hot crepes adorned by thin, crisp edges, with sugar crystals melting slowly into brown caramel, it's just the scatter of fresh bananas that make this a slightly more healthy choice.

So for the moment, I'm quite loving Perth for its (mostly!) undisrupted sunny days through the Winter months. A relaxed breakfast at 3pm by the water with the crisp afternoon sunshine streaming through the windows casting shadows onto my banana crepes -



Not what I asked for, but just what I needed.


...



Love needs patience and because you're going to love your food at toast, you're gonna have to need heck of a lot of patience to get it. I've found a sweet benefit that my laziness brings - a relatively empty restaurant in afternoons, the peaceful aftermath of early morning breakfast floodings. Weekend mornings, although the best time for a leisurely breakfast, is the worst timing for a seat.


Although not entirely fitting with the artificial but aesthetically pleasing Claisebrooke Cove on its doorstep, Toast makes it work by injecting some of its own down-to-earth realness to the place. Its informality is different yet comfortable, with wobbly chairs and tables perched outdoors under big shade umbrellas, colourful Ikea plastic cups (sometimes with too much dust floaties!), and decked out with an overall mismatching dining room.
Very cool. And with the open style room, also very cool.


Loving their all day breakfast availability, as you can get your breakfast at 5pm if you're busy living life to the fullest by sleeping it away. Because eggs should be on a menu all day, all night long :) An ever-changing Specials Board adds novelty dishes and actually seeing (lots of) corn in your corn fritters is always exciting. Smaller eaters can order half serves at 25% off the price, and while I'll never take that offer up, I'm somehow absolutely stuffed EVERY time after Toast that I've needed to complain and sleep right after.
Just not the most recent time, where I took in a waffle an hour later.


And perhaps on par with the food here, is the staff that run the place. Chirpy, cheery and friendly peeps that acknowledge your arrival and come over, even though it's an order and pay at counter system. Everything is more personalised when chefs bring out your orders with a free smile on the side :) One gripe nothing to do with Toast, is the ridiculous $3 for 30 minutes parking across the road. East Perth - high rollers...high rollers everywhere.


Toast, like the piece in my hand at the moment - is so hot right now.
From the 14 different versions they stock, everybody wants a piece of Toast.
With a no bookings policy, you're gonna have to wait patiently for yours.


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(08) 9221 0771
7 days: 7am to 7pm
Public holidays: 7am to 5pm
Kitchen closes 5pm


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