One of my favourite movies growing up, and a constant source
of classic quotes amongst my friends and I, has to be The Karate Kid. Mr Miyagi would
say “Daniel-san”, and when a new café popped up in my area called exactly that-
Daniel Son- I just had to try it out.
With the sun shinning coupled with the warm temperatures in
Melbourne today I jumped at the chance to finally try out this café. Upon
entering I was immediately attracted to the counter filled to the brim with
baked goodies. Croissants, muffins, brownies and pastries of all sorts were
available on offer for those only feeling slightly peckish and wanting
something small.
As I tore myself away from the pastries and sat down to
survey the menu, I noticed that there wasn't a wide variety of options available.
Half the menu was dedicated to breakfast dishes, including your usual fruit
toast, croissant with spreads, eggs any way you like, muesli and so forth. The
rest of the menu listed the sandwiches on offer for lunch. In fact an entire page was dedicated to the variety of drinks on offer, so if you're ever feeling thirsty and happen to be in the area, do pop in to quench your thirst. On a side note, looking down the
list of sandwiches I had a quiet chuckle to myself as I came across the 'Miyagi
melt'. I guess they really did take direct references from The Karate Kid.
On this hot day, and after my short walk here, I opted for a
cool refreshing Iced Coffee. It was large and provided me with the needed shot
of caffeine to pull me from my sleepy slumber. Milky and cold, mixed with the
well-rounded shot of coffee, it was as any iced coffee should be. Of course, topped with the usual suspect of vanilla ice-cream. Smooth,
unsweetened and velvety, it was just how I like my iced coffees to be. [My only suggestion
would be to ask for an extra shot of coffee, as the milk to coffee ratio was
probably imbalanced and I really needed that extra kick of caffeine to wake
myself up.]
Being a self-confessed foodie and a breakfast enthusiast, I ordered my go to dish of choice, avocado and fetta on toast, with poached eggs. These poached eggs were no ordinary poached eggs, they were sous vide. What is sous vide you ask? Eggs cooked very slowly in water that is kept at a constant temperature. A water bath if you will. It’s what the fancy, three hatted restaurants are doing, and this dish at Daniel Son was a perfect inexpensive opportunity for me to see what the fuss with this cooking method was all about.
When my dish came to the table, I immediately noticed how
clean it looked. A piece of toast, smeared with a generous serve of avocado
with feta, with two translucent eggs on top, placed perfectly at the centre of
the plate. At first the sous vide eggs looked freakish and uncooked, but I
thought here goes. I cracked open the egg, expecting the usual ooze of yolk but
none came. Rather the edge of the yolk was quite firm with just a little ooze stemming from the very centre; I guess this is what happens when you sous vide an egg.
The egg white was a translucent ivory colour, sprinkled with a dash of herbs.
It had a soft texture, similar to what I can only describe as baby food. A
jelly-like consistency, the mush of the whites so easily collapsed as I cut it apart. If I had to eat
the eggs alone, I don’t think I could have, but the avocado and fetta mash was
a perfect accompaniment. If I had one negative to say it would have to be that
the bread was slightly sweet, (perhaps it was a brioche) and smothered with way
too much butter. However when eaten together, the eggs, avocado smash and bread
were a lovely introduction to Daniel Son.
Despite the lack of variety on offer, Daniel Son is
still a worthwhile addition to the small strip of shops at Murrumbeena. Located
right next to a station, it provides morning commuters and locals with a perfect avenue for
coffee and breakfast/lunch. Although my first experience here was not as I had
expected, I remember what Mr Miyagi tried to teach Daniel-san: “Balance is
good… balance is key,” he said. And here at Daniel Son, they really do have a
good balance and handle of the café lifestyle.
Daniel Son
471-473 Neerim Road
Murrumbeena
