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Maslow's

Lenny Ann Low
Lenny Ann Low

Brioche bliss with Mr Pig at Maslow's.
Brioche bliss with Mr Pig at Maslow's.James Alcock

Modern Australian$$

Once, sometime in the early 1970s, people rose and poured toasted corn flakes into a bowl for breakfast. They put a spoonful of instant coffee, sugar, boiled water and milk into a mug and drank it.

Cooked grain and rehydrated caffeine was all breakfast was, unless there was time to make porridge and a slice of toast, and to boil an egg. Or eat kiwifruit and rockmelon because you were some kind of fibre-loving, hippy health freak.

Going out for breakfast was rare unless it was a hotel holiday, whereupon the Corn Flakes and Rice Bubbles were served in exciting mini-multipack boxes and arranged in a basket decorated with a gingham napkin.

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Roll up: The rustic renovation at Maslow's.
Roll up: The rustic renovation at Maslow's.James Alcock

If mornings did require a cafe visit it was a greasy spoon and baked beans, sausages, fried eggs, grilled tomatoes, mushrooms, bacon and chips on one big plate. This breakfast dish was called Baked Beans, Sausages, Fried Eggs, Grilled Tomatoes, Mushrooms, Bacon and Chips and it was delicious.

It still is, but 40 or so years later, having breakfast out has evolved.

At Maslow's, a just-opened cafe in Pymble on the north shore, the breakfast menu has six options. There is Mr Pig, the house dish, which features braised pork belly, eggs slow-poached to exactly 62 degrees, chilli sauce and Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise.

Breakfast includes the artful Draco Mille Feuille.
Breakfast includes the artful Draco Mille Feuille.James Alcock
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Draco Mille Feuille (remember the Harry Potter character Draco Malfoy?) is a multi-layered artwork featuring slices of black pudding, more exactingly slow-poached egg and beautifully light and flaky triangles of golden pastry.

The cafe inhabits the converted rear double garage of a former police station, a homey-looking brick bungalow sitting beside the Pacific Highway and near the Pymble Railway Station underpass exit.

Chef Jack New, who has worked at Cafe Sydney, Sokyo and Ananas, opened it in August. It is smallish, with long bench seating and tiny tables inside and out, and is a sweet, cheery and industrial-looking oasis of thoughtful food and drink. Plus the service is prompt, informed and generous-spirited.  

Running along one side is New's open kitchen, an amazingly simple set-up featuring one oven, a plug-in stove-top and a tiny fridge.

The walls are roughly white-washed brick decorated with circular paintings of street scenes, and hung with  T-shirts spruiking Seven Seeds Coffee Roasters, the Melbourne roaster that provides Maslow's espresso house-blend. Drop Coffee, imported from Sweden, is the filter coffee choice.

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Tables feature dinky glass vitrines of green foliage and tiny jars of raw sugar and salt flakes.

Music comes from a record player in the corner, currently playing Jimi Hendrix with good crackles. At one point, New, standing at our table to ask what we thought of the Draco Mille Feuille, walks over to the player to give it a thump when the needle sticks.

The verdict on the Draco Mille Feuille, a clever blend of pastry crunch, yolky ooze, grilled onion reduction and deeply tasty black pudding, is heavenly. It is hard not to raise the enamelled plate and drain its warm onion and egg juices at the end.

Mr Pig, a top-drawer pork burger served on a soft brioche bun with baby salad, is a sparky blend of rich meat, sweet mayonnaise and chilli bite.

We also try a Brie-Have Yourself, a smoked chicken, apple sauce and brie open melt. Garnished with cress and a yellow flower, it is fragrant, buttermilk soft and verging on comfort food.

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A round of flat whites and a long black establish the deeply rich and creamy qualities of Seven Seeds. Also rather fab is a Prodjuice cold-pressed pineapple, apple and ginger juice, served in a dainty glass bottle, and, from a selection of scones, cronuts, friands and chocolate cakes, a big fat biscuit chockful of Mars Bar chunks.

A glorious ending to a suitably modern breakfast banquet. 

THE LOW-DOWN
THE PICKS Mr Pig, Draco Mille Feuille
THE COFFEE Seven Seeds, Drop Coffee
THE LOOK Rustic, artisan garage space
THE SERVICE Smiley, helpful

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Lenny Ann LowLenny Ann Low is a writer and podcaster.

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