Showing posts with label Lower North Shore. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lower North Shore. Show all posts

Sunday, 4 August 2013

Café Bolle


This café isn’t fancy.  You won’t be attracted by the decoration.  Yet, it tells you something more important: the passion of the owner in running the café and the good teamwork of the staff there to provide quality service which win the favours of the locals living in Neutral Bay.  Today, I sat silently at a corner of the outdoor area.  Loyal customers seemed to be familiar with the café, food and drinks.  Perhaps visiting the café became part of their life of the week.


Otto, the owner, really had a good memory.  He readily recalled the names of the loyal customers and could even remember their usual orders.  This is called ‘respect’. 
 

Otto shared that it was uneasy to win the locals’ trust initially when he took over the café in March 2004.  Was that because of the myth that ‘Coffee isn’t Asian culture and therefore Asian people can’t make good coffee’?.  Yet, he was so determined to run the café by starting with learning every single detail of coffee brewing and café management.  Every early morning, he goes to the café for the barista role to make sure that customers get coffee with consistently good quality.  This is called ‘passion’.


Café owners know that café management involves a lot of teamwork.  Here, I could observe the high morale of the team.  They were cheerful and attentive to the needs of the customers.  In addition, Otto is ready to send the staff members to attend barista training to ensure that they get proper coffee knowledge and the necessary barista skills.  This is called ‘professional’.


If you think Asians don’t know coffee, please visit this café.  Single shot Vs double shot?  The different tastes brought by full cream milk/skimmed milk/soy milk to espresso-based coffee?  The special flavor of organic coffee? … so much that you can learn from this well-knowledged and dedicated café expert.


Real coffee doesn’t necessarily come from well-decorated café; but the hands of dedicated and passionate baristas and/or owners!


這咖啡店不算得精緻,你很難會被它的裝潢所吸引。然而,它告訴你一點更重要的:咖啡店東對咖啡店的熱誠,及員工團隊合作共同達至有水準的服務,這些足以令這咖啡店贏取在Neutral Bay小區居民的鍾愛。今天,我坐在店外露天的一角,細心靜看常客,他們對咖啡店、食品和飲品都很熟悉,或許,光顧這兒成了他們每星期生活的一部份。


店主Otto的記性很好,他不但能記得常客的名字,甚至記得他們常點的食品及飲品。這就是「尊重」。


Otto說在2004年3月接管這咖啡店的時候,一點也不客易,特別是要贏取顧客的信任,也許,這是大部份人都以為咖啡不是亞洲的文化,而亞洲人大槪不能做好的咖啡。然而,Otto很有決心把這咖啡店搞好,他親自學習沖煮咖啡的每個細節,以及咖啡店的經營管理。每天清早,他就跑到咖啡店當咖啡師的角色,確保顧客享用一杯質素穩定而高的咖啡,這就是「熱誠」。


咖啡店東主都知道咖啡店的經營管理涉及團隊工作,在這兒,我可以觀察到他們職員團隊很好的士氣,他們面帶笑客,而且很細心留意顧客的需要。同時,Otto不時把員工送去作咖啡師培訓,讓他們得到合適的知識及咖啡沖煮技巧。這就是「專業」。


若你認為亞洲人不懂咖啡,你可試試光顧這咖啡店。單份(single shot)與雙份(double shot)咖啡的分別? 全脂奶/脫脂奶/豆奶令意式濃咖啡產生什麼不同的口感? 有機咖啡的特別口感? … 還有更多你可從這熱誠及「有料」的咖啡專家處得知。


真正的咖啡的確不一定出自裝潢精緻的咖啡店,卻是出自專注及熱誠的咖啡師及/或咖啡店東主!

Shop 2, 9-17 Young Street, Neutral Bay, NSW 2089
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cafebollenb
Mon- Fri: 0630-1700
Sat: 0630-1600
Sun: 0800-1500
Phone: 9953 8012
Email: cafebolle@optusnet.com.au



Well-frothed cappuccino

Latte

Latte with Organic beans - different taste

Omelet

Healthy Brekkie

For the meat-lovers - the bread was unexpectedly good!



Sunday, 9 June 2013

Thelma and Louise Café


Situated just beside Neutral Bay Wharf, this little café offers an awesome sea view as luxurious bonus for your breakfast or lunch.  Colors of the walls, fresh flowers on tables and glass doors all concert into a bright and fresh outlook.  Probably your mood will be heightened in such an environment.
 
The Cappuccino I tried was full of nutty flavor, well-frothed and with suitable temperature.

There was almost no flaw in the food ordered by me and my fellows.  All the dishes were well-presented, fresh and delicious.  Service was excellent.  Although we sat on the balcony which was separated by slide doors from the café, waitresses came to check for further service from time to time.

I’d better not write too much.  Hopefully the photos can bring you into an imagination in eating the delicious food in such a well-decorated café with sea view.  This is life!

這小咖啡店在Neutral Bay小輪碼頭的旁邊,在這兒享用早餐或午餐,簡直是豪華的享受。咖啡店內牆的顏色、桌上的鮮華,加上落地玻璃門外的情緻,格外協調,給人一種清新與明亮的感覺,只要你一進去,大槪情緒也會被提升。

我點的Cappuccino充滿果仁口感,泡沫打得充足,而且整的杯溫也很合適。

同行朋友與我點的食物中,我們幾乎找不到任何瑕疵。所有碟上食物的賣相都相當吸引、新鮮及美味!

我還是省回筆墨,少說一點,讓照片帶你走進一個幻想裡,你就在這小咖啡店內,享受著美味的食物,也盡享著眼前的海景。這就是生活!


Mon-Sun: 0700-1700
Shop 1/1 Hayes Street, Neutral Bay, NSW 2089













Sunday, 26 May 2013

Bean Drinking


Bean Drinking has been selected as the top 10 of Sydney cafes in the past few years.  
 
It is a popular café to the locals living in Crows Nest.  It’s probably a good place for take-away coffee, lunch, snack and catch-up, etc.  Nevertheless, this is more than a normal neighbourhood café. On the right corner at the entrance, there is a coffee lab with things ready for coffee education purposes: global map showing coffee belt, tasting chart, test tubes containing beans at different roasting degrees, siphon, hand-drip set, etc.  It’s awesome that products of the highly reputable brand Hario are available for sale here, including the siphon set, hand-drip scale, hand-drip filter, filter paper, etc.

Various brewing methods are carefully prepared.  Apart from the traditional espresso-based coffees, you can also have siphon and hand-drip coffee here.  Wanna try making coffee at home.  There you go.  You can buy some of their freshly roasted beans home.

這咖啡店在這數年內都被選為悉尼十大最佳咖啡店之一 。

這亦是在當區極受歡迎的咖啡店之一,受歡迎的原因,或許是因為它的確是一間幾乎是全能的咖啡店,讓你享受外帶的咖啡、午餐、零食及跟友人交誼談心等。然而,這也是一間非一般的咖啡店,進門口的右邊,你會見到一個咖啡實驗角落,內設不少能隨時提供咖啡教育的教材,包括標示咖啡帶的世界地圖、咖啡品味圖、裝有不同烘焙度豆子的實驗容器、手沖壼、塞風壼等。在悉尼難得一見,高質素的品牌Hario的物品也可在這兒買得到,包括塞風壼套裝、手沖法的濾杯、濾紙和電子量重器等。

這兒你可以享受到不同的沖煮咖啡方法,他們都為你精心泡製。除了常見的意式特濃咖啡及相關飲品外,你還可以享受到手沖及塞風塞的沖煮法。若然心癢癢想在家自行沖煮?! 沒問題,即管在這兒買一包他們自家烘焙的新鮮豆子,包你滿意!


Mon-Sun 0700-1800
Shop 1, 13 Ernest Place, Crows Nest, NSW 2065
9436 1678
Facebook:


Always crowded
 



Single origin coffee available here




Freshly roasted coffee beans ready for you to buy them home

siphon coffee

Different degree of roasting