Determined to find more breakfast options closer to home, I spent Saturday morning scouring the internet trying to find new places. The search provided me with a few options, and I decided to start my adventures the next day at Spilt Milk in Carnegie.

Located on Neerim Rd, just around the corner from the Carnegie shopping precinct, Spilt Milk is a tiny little cafe, with a cute cow print on the front. The cafe was tiny, with only five little tables and a window seat, but this ended up being a positive because it meant every diner received individual attention. When we walked in, all the tables were taken, but luckily someone was just finishing off their coffee, and they happily left their table so that we could sit down. Thankyou very much to this kind mystery gentleman, you certainly helped start our morning off on the right foot.

The interior of the cafe had a very rustic feel. All the original brick walls were intact and visible, exposed rafters, and the furniture and fittings had a very warm and homely feel to them. We quickly ordered coffees and proceeded to make choices from the menu. All the items on offer were named after animals, and after some internal debate I settled on the Flamingo. The description promised Asian flavours of lime, chilli and coriander, so I was excited to see what would arrive.

The coffee arrived first and it hit the mark. It was Padre coffee and it went down a treat. Clearly I wasn't the only one with this opinion because the takeaway counter for coffee had a constant stream of customers the whole time we were there. Through a little hole in the wall, the staff served coffee after coffee to customers who were simply checking in for their morning caffeine. Watching their interaction it was apparent that this was a regular occurrence and most of these customers came regularly and the barristers had memorised their order. There was lot of laughs and chatter and everyone was happy.

Our food arrived shortly, and it was exactly has described on the menu. There were two pieces of lightly toasted rye bread that were topped generously with scrambled eggs. This was garnished with pieces of cucumber, coriander, some homemade chilli jam, and a wedge of lime. As I chewed on the first bite of my meal, the chef arrived at our table, and asked me if I liked it, whether it was hot enough for me, or whether I would like it hotter. In typical Indian style, I told him that I could have it hotter and he immediately whisked my plate back to the kitchen and brought it back seconds later with more cayenne pepper sprinkled on top, and a little bowl filled with more chilli jam.

It was the chilli jam that made this meal. It was sweet and hot and combined with the tang of the lime, created a party in my mouth. I was so excited by the discovery of chilli jam that I actually went home and started Googling recipes. I’m hoping that I’ll find a recipe that replicates what Spilt Milk serve (or perhaps the boys at Spilt Milk can give me their recipe *wink*)

The other half went for the Donkey, which was toasted sourdough, with poached eggs, spinach, bacon, cherry tomatoes, parmesan and a little blob of aioli. According to him, the dish could have done with some more aioli, after all aioli always needs to be slathered on liberally, but he had some of my chilli jam, and apparently this worked just as well with his dish. Didn't I tell you that the chilli jam was magic?!

Whilst my breakfast was a winner, what struck me as the most special was the service at Spilt Milk. Every customer was looked after and given personal attention. Those that were regular patrons were easily identifiable through their chit chat with the staff about their children, their weekend, and various other personal stories. It was this touch that really struck me about what made Spilt Milk so good. Obviously food is a very important focus, and there are many cafes that do good food, but not everybody remembers that a little bit of special service is why many people go out for a meal. Luckily Split Milk have this part down pat, and I think this is what will keep them going for a long time. And the chilli jam, of course...

There aren’t many local breakfast haunts near my place. Hyde and Seek is probably the closest, and it’s still a good 45 minute walk away, so when I heard that a new cafe had opened up a ten minute walk away, I was pretty excited. South Society is located in Pinewood, just around the corner from Proud Peacock (if you haven’t been to Proud Peacock yet, you need to do so ASAP!) and looks pretty fancy to be nestled in amongst the local shops.

We went on a public holiday, soon after it opened, and it was clear that we were slow on the uptake. The cafe was bustling and the clientele were varied. There were elderly couples enjoying their morning coffee, families making the most of the public holiday and enjoying time spent together and girlfriends catching up over brunch.

I was armed with my camera, so I walked in and tried to pick a table that would give me the best vantage point to take photos. The space was large, the windows light, and the fittings were modern and funky. It was comforting to know that this cafe looked like it was suited to the inner city, yet was just minutes from my doorstep.

A perusal through the menu revealed that they had cauliflower, carrot and quinoa patties, which sounded like they would resemble fritters, but I decided to deviate from my standard choice and went for smashed avocado, broad beans and peas on rye bread with pan fried haloumi, poached egg and truffle oil. The remainder of the menu had a decent selection of other sweet and savoury breakfasts, including the cleverly named Van Damme waffles which were in such a large serve that they looked like they would be impossible to demolish.

Our coffee arrived promptly and our space filled with a rich aroma. I am not sure what coffee beans were used, but a brief look at their Facebook page reveals that they may be using St Ali coffee. I’ve always held St Ali coffee in high regard, so this would explain why the coffee at South Society was pretty impressive for a little suburban shop.



The meals arrived soon after, and it was clear that this was a cafe that took its food seriously. A top a thick, toasted slice of rye bread was a beautiful mash of avocado, broad beans and peas. What made this mash perfect was the texture, there was the smoothness of the mash contrasted by interspersed bites of whole peas and broad beans that added bursts of sweetness to the meal. The haloumi was well fried, but then again, how can anything go wrong with fried cheese?

And then the ultimate test, the yolk porn test.

A clear pass.

The other half also went for a savoury breakfast, with bacon, because apparently bacon makes everything better. I tend to disagree, but each to their own! He had mushrooms on cornbread, served with char grilled peppers, bacon, poached egg and pesto. According to him, the char grilled peppers were the star of this dish, yes, they even beat the bacon! The were well charred, with plenty of olive oil and thyme, and full of flavour. This combination  has become such a favourite, that I now regularly char capsicums with olive oil and thyme, and they are always appreciated.

South Society also have great customer service. I saw quite a few people come in with dietary requirements, or they were just fussy eaters, and the wait staff had no issues adapting the menu to meet everyone’s needs. What won me over was the fact that when I pulled my camera out to take photos, they turned all the lights on, to make sure I got a good shot! A place that caters to a camera wielding vegetarian is always going to get my vote!