There are many variables in life, but also some constants – for me, one of those can be expressed as a simple equation: day when I’m not at work = day when I go out for breakfast.
Unfortunately, Christmas wasn’t paying attention and after suffering the indignity of having to cook my own bacon & eggs on Christmas Day, I headed out early on Boxing day and ended up at Maylands icon Rifo’s Cafe with a few other lost and / or hungry souls.
Coffee to start with, apparently from Rewind according to the menu. My long mac was much larger than I’m used to, but still quite decent. The size didn’t seem to dilute the strength, and it was a good start to my day.
Here’s the breakfast menu, taken from Rifo’s website (much easier to read than my dodgy phone photo). Rifo’s is open from 6:30am until late seven days a week, and you can see their extensive dinner menu here.
The left-hand-side lists a fairly standard selection and I was beginning to feel a little uninspired but my eyes lit up when I found the “continental breakfast” section on the right…pancakes with bacon & maple syrup…french toast…baked eggs…and the dish I chose as soon as I saw it: scrambled eggs with Red Leicester cheese and Dijon mustard in a toasted sourdough cob with chipolatas on the side.
This spoke to me on all sorts of levels…and surely it wouldn’t be very big as “continental breakfast” is hotel code for “what’s for second breakfast”…right…?
…and here it is: The Cardiff. Now there’s not a perspective issue with the photo, this thing was HUGE. They are not small sausages, and that cob is completely full with scrambled eggs – surely at least six.
Taste-wise, the chipolatas were of good quality, however I would have liked some more flavour in the egg. It wasn’t bland, there was just so much of it that it would have benefited from being a bit more interesting. Red Leicester is a very mild cheese, and definitely added more colour than flavour. I think a stronger mustard would have helped – a good whack of hot English would have done the trick.
This isn’t a cheap meal at $20 but it’s hardly bad value and could easily be shared between two. I’m glad I didn’t order a side-serving of hash browns.
Since my gastric surgery I usually leave about half of whatever I order, but in this case I didn’t even scratch the surface. Feeling the need to apologise in advance, I told the waitress that I hadn’t realised I was ordering from the “family” menu and she said that no-one ever finishes it, and she thought it should be a “man v. food” style challenge.
Everything about my breakfast at Rifo’s was interesting – coffee, food and atmosphere – and off I went to the Boxing Day sales full to the brim with scrambled eggs, bread, chipolatas and coffee, and happy that the Universe was back in balance.
There are still some other dishes I want to try from the “continental” menu – The Toronto is next – and I’ll definitely be back, although probably with a hungry friend. Recommended.
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