Brunch catch up with Miss Pear and her friend was due and I got to pick and BAM Operator 25. I got there early with Mr D just before 12PM on a sunday (Yep, peak hour for lunch) and I put my name down on the list with an expected wait of 20-30 mins (Mr D wasn’t too impressed at all…).
STOP! Now wait…
Miss Pear and her friend finally arrived and 5 minutes later, we were seated. It was super busy and the baristas were just going full speed ahead (choochoo!).
You could also order take away coffees and look at the cute signs at the counter.
Now, since it was already 12:30PM, coffees/hot beverages were due! It took FOREVER (was dying of starvation now….) for the coffees to come, perhaps 20 minutes or so. We were getting so grumpy by the minute. I know the baristas were busy and all but if your specialty is coffee, be prepared for an influx of coffee orders. Anywho, I got the Yuzu matcha latte (I LOVE YUZU AND MATCHA) and I was disappointed. I wished I stuck to my original chai latte…I generally love yuzu and matcha on their own so when I saw this I was super EXCITED! Next time, will just get a latte…
Yuzu Matcha Latte – $5
Mr D got himself a latte as usual and he said it was pretty decent (he is hard to please that man).
Latte – $4
BRUNCH TIME! My Doctor Reuben came out. So it was crumpets with pastrami, poached eggs with hollandaise and mizuna leaves! So it was like eggs benedict but replace the bread with crumpets. This was sooo YUMMOO!! The yolk oozed out when you break the poached eggs and it was cooked to perfection. Will totally come back for this!
Doctor Reuben – $18
Dr Marty’s Crumpets, Gamekeepers pastrami, poached eggs, Russian hollandaise and mizuna leaves
Mr D got himself the Balinese marinated pork (wanted a filling brunch!) which came with squid ink brioche, poached eggs, pickled veggies and Balinese sambal. Sure the brioche looks weird since it was black but it was pretty cool looking. The pork was so nice and tender and full of flavour. I didn’t particularly enjoy the brioche, found it to be a tad hard. Other than that, all good in the hood with this dish.
Balinese Marinated Pork – $20
Balinese marinated pork on squid ink brioche, pickled vegetables, coriander labna, poached egg, fried shallot and traditional Balinese sambal
Miss Pear got herself the breakfast cous-cous which comes with a fried duck egg and an apple and mint jam. She enjoyed her dish, which was obvious since she cleaned the plate in no time.
Breakfast Cous-Cous – $19
Cous cous with toasted walnuts, fried duck egg, morcilla,
green harissa dressing, apple and mint jam
Finally, the last dish was the five spiced duck leg with a barley puree, shiitake mushrooms and szechuan jus. Miss Pear’s friend thought the duck was a tad sweet and chili at the same time and that they were stingy with the mushroom (a little more wouldn’t hurt guys). Overall, she did like it though.
Five Spiced Duck Leg – $22
Five spiced duck leg on barley puree, pan fried asian greens, confit shallots, shiitake mushrooms and szechuan jus
Such a cute place which is always super busy so if you do want to come here, get in early and put your name down. You don’t want to be the ones waiting for 40 minutes for brunch. Service was slow (real slow) and the food was pretty decent. Actually, come for the Balinese pork!! YUMMO!!
25 Wills Street, Melbourne CBD, VIC 3000
Tel: (03) 9670 3278
Website: www.operator25.com.au