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| Entrance of Cafe |
Left of Field is within 10min walk from Rhodes station and is situated right next to where the Homebush Bay Bridge is being constructed (expected to open by the end of May 2016). Hence if you currently sit outside, you will face (and eat) the dust/dirt/debris from all the construction work right outside the cafe. On top of all this, there was major haze affecting the local region today from back-burning across Sydney - not the best environment for asthmatics and allergy sufferers out there.
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| Drinks Station |
The inside of the cafe is refreshingly bright and airy - filled with many indoor houseplants, although I thought it was rather awkward sitting in front of the built-in wall shelves. In order to provide adequate passageway between the drinks station and diners, the row of tables and seating were placed really close to the wall and you would basically hit the shelves (and anything on it) if you so much as sat up against the back of your chair, let alone lean backwards.
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| Inside of Cafe | Obtrusive Shelving on Wall | Chai Tea ($4) |
When I first placed my order, I was surprised when I was asked if I wanted milk on the side with my chai tea - normally chai tea is brewed in milk so this raised alarm bells in my head. When the tea arrived, the (second) waitress introduced it as a "chai latte", which was definitely not what I was given. The chai tea was brewed in water and the resultant beverage was a watered-down spiced tea that could not be saved, despite multiple mini-scoops of raw sugar.
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| Raw Sugar, Rock Salt and Pepper |
Soon afterwards, the instagram-worthy hot cakes was served at the table, along with extra sauce/custard:
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| Hot Cakes with Caramelised Banana, Earl Grey Custard and Maple Popcorn ($18) |
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| Side View - Like the Leaning Tower of Piza |
Unfortunately, I fear it was another case of looks-good-but-tastes-meh. The hot cakes were rather thick and there were a few slices of banana between each layer, which gave it an unbalanced structure. The popcorn was getting a little soft (pre-made and exposed to the air for too long?) and the custard was not good at all - it was thick, lumpy, and vaguely sweet. My initial impression was that it was a dulce de leche sauce gone wrong, as it had a subtle caramel-y taste, but there was just something not quite right about it...
This cafe seems to have hired plenty of waiters, however they had a tendency to stand around near the doorway and chat... I had issues flagging down a waiter to get the bill. In the end, one of the bar staff ended up noticing me and informed a waiter to hand me my bill.
Next to the cashier, there is a drool-worthy display of scrolls and doughnuts, however they're rather pricey:
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| Baked Goods - Scrolls and Doughnuts ($7-8) |
If you are to visit Left of Field, I would suggest coming after the nearby bridge/road construction has finished - by then, hopefully most of the dust would have settled and there is a better scenery outside.
Visit #2 - 06/Aug/2016
Okay, I've been meaning to visit again since the first time was rather disappointing and I finally had a Saturday when I was free. Since I was already in the area, I decided to check out the new Bennelong bridge that now links Rhodes to Wentworth Point. (Un)Surprisingly, in the time that it took to walk across the bridge and back with the occasional stops to take photos, I saw lots of walkers and people riding bikes, two buses, one ute/truck, one pigeon and a flying pelican...
Interestingly, as a lone diner, I was directly taken to the bar table facing the external windows overlooking the outside tables and surrounds:
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| Cafe Sign |
Staff is once again in abundance but busy doing I-don't-know-what cos it took a while to flag someone down to place my order.
This time, I decided to try something new in the form of their pork burger:
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| Pork Burger from Above |
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| Pork burger with Pork Cheek Schnitzel, Kimchi Slaw, Fried Egg and Mayo, served with Crispy Pig Ear Fries ($22) |
The pork cheek schnitzel was filled with soft, slow-cooked pork with a crispy exterior; egg was perfectly fried with golden gooey yolk; kimchi slaw had a chilli kick and was refreshing against the chicken schnitzel. Overall a satisfying burger but the schnitzel was a bit too salty for my tastes as I was grasping for my cup of water after I demolished it.
The crispy pig ears were definitely unique and most people would probably be grossed out by the thought of it. The pig ears are coated in a crumb and deep fried so when you chew on it, you can barely notice the crunch from the pig ears. They were well-seasoned and served with some kimchi mayo. However, after eating a few, it just felt greasy and all I wanted to do was grab a salad and munch on some leaves.
Overall, this experience was better than the previous one I had here but I'm still not sure how it was recently voted by Broadsheet as one of the best new cafes in Sydney....
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