On a day planned for frantic errand running around the city, mum and I spent the late morning navigating the Jac + Jack sample sale which was conveniently located in the same place as Paramount Coffee Project.
First off, the sample sale was amazing. Rarely do I go to sample sales purely because I never find anything I really love (here's to you, all the Ladakh and One Teaspoon sample sales), or anything that still has my size. The Jac + Jack one however was full of excellent stock, had plenty of XS's dotted around and as we were paying cash we skipped an absurdly long line and probably spent only an hour or so in racks of heavenly cashmere and basics goodness.
Moving onto lunch, we were graciously welcomed to sit on the bar table where our lovely waiter asked if we would like to start off with some coffee. Upon ordering a soy latte, we were then informed that the Paramount Coffee Project makes their own almond milk; which is excellent given I prefer almond over soy any day.
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| Almond Milk Mocha |
Mum's almond milk mocha was what she regarded the perfect balance of coffee and chocolate; personally I prefer a tad more chocolate but mum absolutely loved it and quote her, "the more you drink the better it gets"
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| Almond Milk Latte |
My almond milk latte was excellent as well (but in all honesty I'm not really a coffee snob and I have no idea what I'm talking about generally because my previous coffee order was a decaf soy mocha - lame I know - and I now drink a soy chai latte - not much better eh? -) so I can't really say much.
Sorry for the quality of the below two photos, I used my phone instead because Joe wasn't focussing and in all honesty I was irritated and hungry and really keen for food.
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| Baked eggs: chorizo, cannelini beans, toast |
The baked eggs with chorizo, cannelini beans and toast was absolutely delicious. For this dish alone I will walk the not very long walk to this part of Surry Hills any day. The combination of the fresh and acidic tomatoes, the perfectly spiced chorizo and, surprisingly, the the beans (which I usually hate) made the dish mouthwateringly good. My only pet peeves? The yolk of the egg could've been a bit runnier, the yolk itself was for some reason very salty, and I wish there was more buttered toast! The toast is a delicious way to scrape up the rest of the tomato-y sauce a la baked beans on toast style; albeit in a fancier and more flavoursome way.
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| Crab Po Boy: soft shell crab, house slaw, ranch sauce, milk bun w/ onion rings |
After seeing nearly every Urbanspoon reviewer choose this, I felt more than sure that this would be a good order. Temporarily forgetting that I don't even like soft shell crab (how does one even forget this?), I ordered this regardless. In all honesty I didn't hate it. I liked it very much but it is an incredibly intense dish. The flavour can be quite heavy on the palette and I think I needed a more acidic or fruity drink to offset the rich taste of the soft shell crab and the beautifully creamy sauce. The onion rings were also great, but not going to lie, in retrospect they're a bit on the pricey side given they are at $1 per onion ring.
The vibe of the cafe is like that of most Surry Hills restaurants. A diverse mix of yuppies, hipsters, new mothers, old friends, first dates and bloggers; the minimalist interior and excellent service is something that is probably why people come back and back again. Not going to lie, I'm going to be back just for the atmosphere (and the baked eggs).
