Tuck Shop Cafe, Pie-House and Delicatessen @ Northbridge

Saturday brunch at Tuck Shop Cafe.

Anything but quiet, this cafe sees lines of people patiently waiting for their turn on the weekends.

That should say something about the food served here.

We arrive at 1015am in a light drizzle and in just ten minutes, manage to get a table amidst the happy chatter of diners. 

Coffee?

I opted for a Chai Latte instead. 

I probably should've taken the coffee option though. The Chai Latte was a little too watered down for me.

The house specials are written on the chalk board and these inspired breakfast/ lunch/ brunch offerings apparently change daily. 

This was my first time at Tuck Shop Cafe and of course, I'd ask for a house recommendation.

It also helped that the boys at the next table had these amazing looking plates.

Quite decisively, (yeah right.) I settled on the chorizo with paprika potatoes, peppers, spanish onions and crispy pork belly with a fried egg (AUD$18.50).

It's generous and abundant. Call me a typical Asian but I wasn't expecting my pork belly to come fried to death. :p It looked dry which probably made my heart sink further. And I just have to say, that thankfully, it was anything but. Loved the crackled pork skin even though that was a lot of guilty calories I'd have to bear till the next Jacob's ladder run. Same goes for the chorizo slices. Spice kicks to start out my morning.  I did really like the paprika potatoes though :)

And because my helpful dining companion decided I probably wasn't going to be able to finish half of what I was having, he went for a lighter option of the ciabatta with Tasmanian smoked salmon, lemon ricotta, asparagus and fennel salad (AUD$17). 

So even though I hate that he was right about that on all counts,

I loved this!

What a great palate cleanser after my heavy order.

Anything lemon would be refreshing.

So of course we switched plates half way.

This plate of summer colours were perfect for us seeing as how it was to be the start of winter but all we were having was just happy sunny days.

It wasn't anything complex.

Just the simplest of ingredients put together and generously drizzled with olive oil. It was a tad hard to get a bit of everything on my fork all at once though.

And of course, I should've done my research before heading over.

Their house specialties are actually their pies, baked by chef and co-owner Paul Cherry.

And that just means I gotta stop in for some next flight out to Western Australia hey.

It's ticket parking here for $2 an hour at a time.

And there's apparently free parking on Newcastle Street if you're lucky.

We got a space right outside Tuck Shop this time :)

Tuck Shop Cafe, Pie-House and Delicatessen

178 Newcastle Street (corner of Money Street), Northbridge

Telephone: (08) 9227 1659

Open Tuesday to Sunday 7am to 4pm