Cafe Ish - Surry Hills, Sydney & Bondi to Bronte Walk

The weather has been a real let down in Sydney recently and the Easter long weekend was no exception. I guess the best thing to do during such unsettled and wet weather is to stay indoors - and eat. I decided to gather a few buddies together for a Sunday brunch at Cafe Ish in Surry Hills.

Window Display

I honestly don't know too much about coffee. All I know is either I like it or I don't. This one was pretty pleasant so it's a like.

Cappuccino

The food arrived soon after an exchange of the usual greetings and round one of the latest goss. My brunch buddies ordered the Crab Omelette, Vege Omelette and Mushroom Brioche. Judging by the silence around the table, the food must be good.

Crab Omelette

Veg Omelette

Mushy Brioche

I ordered the big breakfast with eggs, bacon, tomatoes, croc sausages, mushroom, beans, toast and fried mochi. The size of the dish was certainly enough to feed two and even I couldn't finish it (leaving the toast untouched). The highlight for me was the pot of beans. The flavour of the sauce was awesome, it tasted like concentrated minestrone with cured ham. I was a little disappointed to find that the mochi were not Japanese rice cakes but potato gems, but they were still nice.

Big Ish

After brunch we pondered on our next activity. A friend suggested we do the Bondi to Bronte Walk for some exercise and fresh air. Looking up, we noticed the sky was starting to clear. Actually, it depended on which direction you looked. Facing East, the clouds were breaking with bits of blue popping out. Facing West, the sky was grey and dull. We decided to take a risk and so we headed off, armed with umbrellas.

By the time we got to Bondi Beach, which is only a 15 minutes drive, the sky magically cleared. The rain clouds disappeared and the Sun was out in full force. This is Sydney weather for you.

The walk is a 2.5 km trail and as the name suggests, from Bondi Beach to Bronte Beach. It's a scenic coastal walk which should take less than an hour to complete. The starting point is Bondi Icebergs, an ocean pool at the Southern end of Bondi Beach. The Bondi Icebergs is open all year round and made famous by adding ice to the water during winter.

At the 1 km stop, you can take a break at the lookout point and see a full view of Bondi Beach.

At around the 2 km mark is Tamarama Beach. A small secluded beach surrounded by beachside mansions.

When you get to Bronte, you can either take a bus back to Bondi, walk back to Bondi or even continue walking south towards Clovelly Beach, Coogee Beach and Maroubra Beach. We decided to walk back to Bondi as the storm clouds were rolling in. I'm so glad we made full use of the 3 hours of sunshine Sydney got during the entire 5 day long weekend.

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