Lil Boy Blue

Pikelets with poached Beurre Bosc pear, cinnamon ice cream & pistachio praline - $12

Lil Boy Blue
309 High St
Kew, VIC 3101
Ph: (03) 9853-5003
Website

Throughout school, high school and uni, I used to spend heaps of time on High street, Kew - the swimming pool, the music store, the beauty salon, the KFC (hah!), the Leo's supermarket - I even had a part time job at one of the (now-defunct) cafes in the area. However, it's been a few years since I've hung out in my old 'hood, and it seems that loads of new cafes and businesses have been popping up all over High street!

It was this post on Ashlee's blog that alerted me to the presence of new-ish High Street cafe Lil Boy Blue, and shortly after, I arranged to have a weekend brunch there with my family!

Lil Boy Blue is a small cafe, with exposed brick walls, funky eclectic decorations and a low-key feel - we sat at the large communal table in the centre.

We started with a round of coffees. I loved the cute serving cups and spoons! Now, whilst these were well made (you can see the dense creaminess of the frothed milk in the below pic), none of us particularly liked the taste of the coffees. There wasn't anything explicitly wrong with them, but perhaps it was the milk itself or the type of bean that didn't suit our palates. Oh well!

Cafe Latte, Cappuccino

My dad couldn't resist the BLT's displayed on the counter: fat little brioche buns stuffed with crispy bacon, lettuce, tomato and cheese. At first I thought seemed a little small, but with all those rich flavours going on, it turned out to be the perfect size, even for my dad!

BLT on brioche bun - $12

My mum's dish of crumbed poached eggs with salsa verde, mushrooms, pickled capsicum, goats cheese and toast "soldiers" was also very good. (And very filling!) I don't think it quite reached the heady heights of the amazing panko-crumbed eggs at Goldilocks, but it was a solid dish, and definitely worth ordering if those ingredients tickle your fancy!

Poached & crumbed eggs with trio of mushrooms, soldiers, salsa verde, pickled capsicum & goat’s curd - $16

Sandra wasn't in the mood for a big breakfast, and just ordered toast. Unfortunately the toast was rock hard, all the way through, to the point of hurting her mouth whenever she took a bite. Not pleasant at all! Personally, I would have sent it back if it had been mine, but I guess customers aren't always in the mood to cause a fuss.

Noisette bread toasted with chocolate & hazelnut spread, jam - $5

I clearly made the best choice of everyone though, with the pikelets with poached beurre bosc pear, cinnamon ice cream and pistachio praline. This was just incredible!

Pikelets - $12

The pikelets were warm, thick and fluffy, with a nice hint of sweetness from the poached pears, the accompanying syrup, and the pistachio praline. (Although looking at the above picture, I'm wondering if it was a different nut that day - no matter, it was delicious). The standout element on the plate, however, was definitely the cinnamon ice-cream. It was smooth and creamy with a pure cinnamon flavour. All the elements on the plate combined perfectly, and I wolfed it down happily. A fabulous dish!

I think I must have been going on about the pikelets quite loudly, because apparently my loud praise of the dish encouraged another girl on the communal table to order them! And who was that girl but fellow food-blogger Daisy from Never Too Sweet For Me! I thought she might have been a food blogger, when I saw her snapping away at her brunch with her phone and camera (just like me, haha), and it was confirmed when she commented on a picture I took inside the cafe that I posted on Instagram, and we both looked up and were like: "HI!!" Too funny!

Daisy - it was lovely to meet you in person, even if it was brief!! (Don't forget to check out Daisy's post on Lil Boy Blue!)

And finally, I just wanted to show you the little blueberry tart my dad ordered, again, after seeing it on the counter - he must be a very visual person! He loved it! And I loved the insane ratio of whipped cream-to-tart, hehe.

Blueberry tart with whipped cream

Even though Lil Boy Blue very much feels like a cafe, they're also a fully licensed restaurant, serving dinner Tuesdays to Saturdays. I had a look through the dinner menu, and it seems very expensive, especially given the casual cafe feel of the venue. At about $20 for an entree and $25 to $41 for mains, dinner prices are comparable to hatted restaurants in the CBD, not to mention local counterparts: Estivo, Centonove and St Katherine's. Whilst the breakfast items were generally good, the quality was variable, and based on our visit, I'm not convinced that it would be worth paying the higher prices to visit for dinner. My suggestion? Go for breakfast, and definitely go for those pikelets!

Pikelets with poached Beurre Bosc pear, cinnamon ice cream & pistachio praline - $12

Lil Boy Blue
309 High St
Kew, VIC 3101
Ph: (03) 9853-5003
Website

Throughout school, high school and uni, I used to spend heaps of time on High street, Kew - the swimming pool, the music store, the beauty salon, the KFC (hah!), the Leo's supermarket - I even had a part time job at one of the (now-defunct) cafes in the area. However, it's been a few years since I've hung out in my old 'hood, and it seems that loads of new cafes and businesses have been popping up all over High street!

It was this post on Ashlee's blog that alerted me to the presence of new-ish High Street cafe Lil Boy Blue, and shortly after, I arranged to have a weekend brunch there with my family!

Lil Boy Blue is a small cafe, with exposed brick walls, funky eclectic decorations and a low-key feel - we sat at the large communal table in the centre.

We started with a round of coffees. I loved the cute serving cups and spoons! Now, whilst these were well made (you can see the dense creaminess of the frothed milk in the below pic), none of us particularly liked the taste of the coffees. There wasn't anything explicitly wrong with them, but perhaps it was the milk itself or the type of bean that didn't suit our palates. Oh well!

Cafe Latte, Cappuccino

My dad couldn't resist the BLT's displayed on the counter: fat little brioche buns stuffed with crispy bacon, lettuce, tomato and cheese. At first I thought seemed a little small, but with all those rich flavours going on, it turned out to be the perfect size, even for my dad!

BLT on brioche bun - $12

My mum's dish of crumbed poached eggs with salsa verde, mushrooms, pickled capsicum, goats cheese and toast "soldiers" was also very good. (And very filling!) I don't think it quite reached the heady heights of the amazing panko-crumbed eggs at Goldilocks, but it was a solid dish, and definitely worth ordering if those ingredients tickle your fancy!

Poached & crumbed eggs with trio of mushrooms, soldiers, salsa verde, pickled capsicum & goat’s curd - $16

Sandra wasn't in the mood for a big breakfast, and just ordered toast. Unfortunately the toast was rock hard, all the way through, to the point of hurting her mouth whenever she took a bite. Not pleasant at all! Personally, I would have sent it back if it had been mine, but I guess customers aren't always in the mood to cause a fuss.

Noisette bread toasted with chocolate & hazelnut spread, jam - $5

I clearly made the best choice of everyone though, with the pikelets with poached beurre bosc pear, cinnamon ice cream and pistachio praline. This was just incredible!

Pikelets - $12

The pikelets were warm, thick and fluffy, with a nice hint of sweetness from the poached pears, the accompanying syrup, and the pistachio praline. (Although looking at the above picture, I'm wondering if it was a different nut that day - no matter, it was delicious). The standout element on the plate, however, was definitely the cinnamon ice-cream. It was smooth and creamy with a pure cinnamon flavour. All the elements on the plate combined perfectly, and I wolfed it down happily. A fabulous dish!

I think I must have been going on about the pikelets quite loudly, because apparently my loud praise of the dish encouraged another girl on the communal table to order them! And who was that girl but fellow food-blogger Daisy from Never Too Sweet For Me! I thought she might have been a food blogger, when I saw her snapping away at her brunch with her phone and camera (just like me, haha), and it was confirmed when she commented on a picture I took inside the cafe that I posted on Instagram, and we both looked up and were like: "HI!!" Too funny!

Daisy - it was lovely to meet you in person, even if it was brief!! (Don't forget to check out Daisy's post on Lil Boy Blue!)

And finally, I just wanted to show you the little blueberry tart my dad ordered, again, after seeing it on the counter - he must be a very visual person! He loved it! And I loved the insane ratio of whipped cream-to-tart, hehe.

Blueberry tart with whipped cream

Even though Lil Boy Blue very much feels like a cafe, they're also a fully licensed restaurant, serving dinner Tuesdays to Saturdays. I had a look through the dinner menu, and it seems very expensive, especially given the casual cafe feel of the venue. At about $20 for an entree and $25 to $41 for mains, dinner prices are comparable to hatted restaurants in the CBD, not to mention local counterparts: Estivo, Centonove and St Katherine's. Whilst the breakfast items were generally good, the quality was variable, and based on our visit, I'm not convinced that it would be worth paying the higher prices to visit for dinner. My suggestion? Go for breakfast, and definitely go for those pikelets!