72. Cafe Morso @ Pyrmont

It was a familiar name but I did not expect to stumble across it by pure chance. After our Bondi to Tamarama Scultptures by the Sea walk on the morning of first (1/11/14), my friend and I decided to explore the area around Jones Bay Wharf near Pier 21 because I had wanted to do so in broad daylight since my visit to Flying Fish. Unfortunately, we didn’t explore for very long in the sweltering 35 degree+ heatwave (>.<‘) until we started to feel a bit hungry, but on the upside, we discovered Cafe Morso right on Pier 21 (pretty much neighbours with Flying Fish)! It was an exciting moment and I have revisited since so this post covers two meal trips :D

Location: 26-32 Pirrama Road, Pyrmont NSW 2009 (Pier 21, Jones Bay Wharf)

Hours: 7am-3pm Mon-Fri (food); 8am-2pm Weekends (food); Opened for an additional hour for you to sit and chat over drinks.

Phone: (02) 9692 0111

Website: http://www.cafemorso.com.au/

An amazingly tranquil view of the water and the Harbour Bridge from the desk/platform parallel to Pier 21! This was the view I came to see.

Followed by a nice water view from the cafe on Pier 21 :)

This place has a really chilled atmosphere, no doubt a local favourite judging by how casual everyone’s attire is. That, or it’s cos it was Sunday. And that granny walking out looks like she’s cuddling a huge orange, so cute!

We made it just before 2pm and we decided to sit inside both visits even though the lighting inside isn’t so great. I enjoyed the space inside though, it was very casual and modern.

Visit One (01/11/14):

 
Salmon tartlets with dill, poached eggs, hollandaise sauce and asparagus ($18)

This dish had chopped salmon pieces baked inside a small tartlet topped with poached egg and covered in yummy hollandaise sauce. I think it was sitting on top of a few spinach leaves to make the asparagus look less awkward fencing the small things haha. The tartlet was made up of pie-like pastry, flaky and crispy and the sauce and veggie bits were nice, but the salmon tasted a bit try and nothing could take my disappointment away from that. It was probably over-baked by just a bit. That, or I just don’t know how to admire the texture of cooked salmon.

Pork belly with mango, roasted fennel and crackling ($26)

Pork belly! Mango!! Crackling!!! Reading this off the lunch special menu on their blackboard wall we couldn’t go past this. The pork belly was nice and tender but despite how amazing it looks, the crackling was quite hard to bite through. My friend didn’t have this problem though so I think my teeth may be a bit weak. The mango was really sweet but rather overripe since it was really soft, almost mushy. The fennel though. That was crunchy and perfectly seasoned. Yum! I wouldn’t mind having a side dish of just that to start. It was a bit of a hit and miss with the crackling and the mango but it was overall a nice dish; the pork belly and fennel were worth drooling for.

Back shot of the fennel and beautifully plated mango slices.

Mascarpone parfait with chocolate brownie ice cream & biscuit crumble ($9)

From left to right is the chocolate brownie, a piece of thin dark chocolate, mascarpone and chocolate ice cream sitting on top of biscuit crumble topped with some sort of herb. The chocolate brownie was a bit dry by itself but I loved combining it with the chocolate ice cream and biscuit crumble. I thought it was a match made in heaven. My friend on the other hand preferred pairing the brownie with the mascarpone because it cut the sweetness of the brownie. I found her pairing a bit strange (each to their own) but I did think the mascarpone was amazing. It was super smooth with a strong cheesecake flavour which was a delight to my taste buds – I love cheesecake.

It was overall a satisfying meal, satisfying our peckish bellies with nice food that wasn’t too heavy. My favourite was the dessert :3 The waiter was attentive and there was no real need for us to wave him down for anything. As the wind picked up, the skies turned grey and as all signs pointed to an approaching storm, the waitstaff started to moving furniture inside. We didn’t think much of it but one staff approached us and explained that they were simply packing away the tables to prepare for the storm rather than making us feel like we were in the way. One word, professional. The good food and nice staff certainly got me coming back for more.

Visit Two (09/11/14):

Chai chai chai with soy ($4)

Last time I passed up on drinks but not this time, especially not this ‘chai chai chai with soy’! Enjoyed it.

Sauteed wild mushrooms, truffled scrambled eggs with Sonoma bread ($18)

I was really disappointed with this dish. Scrambled eggs are easily my favourite (along with soft-boiled eggs) so I eyed this dish with much anticipation when it arrived. It’s presentation looked so generous and beautiful which brings me great sadness to recount that, apart from the taste of truffle oil, this was quite bland and flavourless. The mushrooms didn’t taste very good either and the Sonoma toast was very soggy though this may have been because we left it sitting for too long (of the three dishes we ordered, we actually ate this one last). I guess I had high expectations for this given how simple this dish seems which meant greater the disappointment from me :(

Here’s a cross-section of this beautiful yet not-so-tasty creation to feast your eyes on.

Corn & gruyere quesadilla ($17)

The two tortilla pieces were toasted, giving it a crunchy texture, and sandwiched in between was a yummy corn and gruyere (a type of yellow cheese) paste/mix which was more sweet (from the corn) than cheesy, and quite creamy, which I liked. On top was an avocado salsa mixed with cherry tomatoes and onions which was appetising, a spoonful of sour cream, two poached eggs and a piece of lime for a bit of zing.

Smoked pork, spinach, gruyere risotto, poached egg, hollandaise ($19)

This was the most amazing risotto dish ever. Well, I don’t have much history with risotto but after this, I reckon this would be pretty hard to beat. It was creamy in texture and the rice was soft yet it had a good chew to it. The smoked pork shreds brought in a rich meaty flavour which balanced really well with the hollandaise sauce and spinach. And wherever there is hollandaise sauce, there is poached egg. If this were to be compared to a cake, the poached egg would have been the icing on top. The wonderful harmony of flavours still linger in my mind.

Egg shot!

At the beginning of the meal my friend asked me how I liked my eggs cooked. I answered scrambled. At the end of the meal, my friend observantly mentioned that the two good dishes we had had poached eggs whilst the disappointing one had scrambled egg. Well played.

Cucumber, strawberry, almond and lemon with honey ($8.5)

It was an interesting combination but I didn’t like it. It had a strong cucumber flavour which was rather refreshing at first but then I started to grow a bit sick of it. It was a bit overwhelming in nuttiness from the crushed almonds. The strawberry, lemon and honey flavours were quite mild, I couldn’t really taste it. Well, I’m sure it was healthy.

A little side rant: Compared to my last visit it was more busy this time ’round and it was quite difficult to grab the attention of a wait staff; they didn’t seem like they wanted to look in our direction. Fair enough since we’re not much to look at, but we did wish they gave us a bottle of water instead of just two cups. Looking around, we were the only table that wasn’t given a bottle so we just sat there half chatting and half trying to find the ‘right time’ to raise our arms for a refill. It never happened. Our cups remained empty :( Even after asking (when we were paying), the waiter forgot and just proceeded to pack up, bringing the tables and chairs into the cafe. I guess this time around that was our queue to leave, so we did, sour-faced. Oh well, the food was good (especially that risotto!) and with that fact embedded in my taste buds, I’d be happy to give them the benefit of the doubt and pay them a revisit.

:)

—

CJ

Location: 26-32 Pirrama Road, Pyrmont NSW 2009 (Pier 21, Jones Bay Wharf)

Hours: 7am-3pm Mon-Fri (food); 8am-2pm Weekends (food); Opened for an additional hour for you to sit and chat over drinks.

Phone: (02) 9692 0111

Website: http://www.cafemorso.com.au/