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Golden Child

Kylie Northover

Golden Child keeps the interior simple.
Golden Child keeps the interior simple.Anu Kumar

Modern Australian

It doesn't get much more sleepy than the residential streets of suburban Glen Iris, particularly at the weekends, but a small, almost deserted strip of shops behind Burwood station has recently been resurrected with the addition of new cafe Golden Child.

In the perfect spot for commuters - you can see your train coming over the barista's shoulder, out the cafe's back window - Golden Child is another venture from the team behind Ripponlea cafe Hawk and Hunter and Little Ox in Brighton.

Housed in a former yoga studio, the small space is stripped back and rustic, with huge windows looking out to the street, simple whitewashed brick walls and reclaimed, mismatched chairs and tables. There's a stylish wooden booth-like table out front in Bardolph Street, and out the back a handful of super-casual recycled soft-drink crates face the railway line, perfect for sipping Code Black coffee while you wait for the train.

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Chinese pretzels with chilli pork mince, spring onions and poached egg.
Chinese pretzels with chilli pork mince, spring onions and poached egg.Anu Kumar

The interesting menu ranges from the non-challenging muffins (baked fresh daily, $3.50), toast from Hogan's artisan baker ($6.50) and sweet pumpkin loaf with butter and preserves ($8) and simple fruit salads with yoghurt and ''pale crunch'' ($12) to some decidedly more quirky breakfast-brunch options.

Golden Child steps up the obligatory smashed avo by serving it with house-made lemon oil for $10, or add salmon tartare for an extra $6. Then there's poached eggs on toast ($9) with a selection of sides - garlic thyme-roasted mushrooms ($3.50), fresh tomato ($3.50), salmon tartare ($6) or proper thick-cut bacon ($5.50).

For a more adventurous take on eggs, though, there are curried eggs served on multigrain bread with Indian salt ($12) and the dish that's bound to become the Golden Child signature, Chinese pretzels, inspired by a dish from one of the owner's grandmothers.

A handful of star-shaped light, crispy pretzels is served with a cocotte dish of Asian pork mince, spiced with chilli and spring onion and topped with a poached egg. The egg is optional ($12 without, $15 with), but really, it makes the dish. Crack the shell and let the yolk run into your pork mixture, give it a stir and dip in your pretzels. It could do with a touch more chilli, but it's something of a revelation.

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The breakfast menu runs until 3pm, but there's also a great lunch selection, including crumbed steak sandwich, with Sweet Baby Ray's barbecue sauce, Kewpie mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato and cheddar ($15) - simple but tasty, capped by the tangy-sweet mayonnaise-sauce mingle, a chilli pork roll with pickled vegetables, spicy Sriracha sauce, shallots and coriander ($14) and two salads - panzanella ($14) and chicken and quinoa, with feta, pomegranate, beans and tahini yoghurt ($17).

Cakes and cookies are from Hawk and Hunter and milkshake flavours include marshmallow and strawberries and cream, but you may not have room after the pretzels.

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