Devon on Danks, Waterloo

After months of deliberation and planning, I decided to make the trip out to visit Devon on Danks, which had been personally recommended by many foodies as the better of the two Devon sites. So on this particular sunny (but windy) day, I walked from Redfern Station through the slightly scary neighbourhood of Redfern/Waterloo and past a small, one-eyed dog to get to the cafe.

Exterior of Cafe

Exterior of Cafe

The exterior of the building is rather nondescript and for a moment, I thought I was lost until I noticed the cafe signs. The cafe inside had a hipster feel with hanging lights and natural, wooden/string textures. The sitting area near the main entrance was actually rather dark so I opted instead to sit closer to the dessert and drinks station, which faced some large windows that let in some of that wonderful sunshine outside.

Inside of Cafe

Inside of Cafe

Dessert and Drinks Station

I ordered their 'Lost in Zen Garden', which was promptly served well within 10 min (quickest service ever!? Surely a sign that the french toast was pre-cooked):

'Lost in Zen Garden' - Brioche French Toast, Yuzu Curd,
Mandarin, Matcha Soil, Meringue

Aerial View of the 'Lost in Zen Garden'

The french toast - brioche coated in batter before being fried - formed the base layer of this dessert. On top of the french toast was a layer of yuzu curd, meringue and fresh mandarins wedges (with outside membrane peeled off - yay!), and this was all topped with green tea matcha soil. The dish was then decorated with dollops of meringue, freeze-dried mandarin wedges and a large scoop of vanilla and olive oil ice cream, with a sprinkle of smashed meringue on top.

The dish certainly looked good... but did the taste match what the eyes see?

In this case, all of the individual elements together formed a great dish. I absolutely loved the freeze-dried mandarin - just melted in your mouth - and the bitterness of the matcha soil counterbalanced the citrus flavour of the yuzu curd. There was a distinct olive oil flavour in the ice cream, which was interesting to eat since it veered away from traditional ice cream flavours, but unfortunately it was slightly icy. This was certainly a well-thought about dish and it could have been better if the french toast had been made fresh to order. The only other thing I wish they did do was apply a blow-torch to the dollops of meringue on top of the french toast so that they had a caramelised taste.

Now, I couldn't leave here without their soft serve with shaved black truffle on top, which is rather exy at $20 ($12 for their usual DD Special of soft serve and chips), but it does come with a premium ingredient (i.e. the truffle. During the wait time for the chips to be cooked, I went around taking pictures of the various baked goodies on display:

Donuts ($5)

Cronnies (a.k.a. Cronuts; $6.50)

Also, from the bar, I could witness first-hand how they constructed the 'Lost in Zen Garden' (yep, definitely pre-make their french toast and assembled it at the counter):

'Lost in Zen Garden' in the Marking

Not before long, I am served with my soft serve and hot chips:

Soft Serve topped with Black Truffle Shavings and Hot Chips ($20)

I don't think I've had as much truffle in my life combined before today and given the cost, this will probably be a one-off (expensive) food experience for me. The shaved truffle did lend a unique, subtle flavour to the soft serve but it's probably lost on me. The chips were beer-battered - crunchy exterior with a soft, fluffy centre - and a perfect salty complement to the soft serve, which gradually tasted sickly sweet by the last mouthful.

Devon on Danks is 20 min walk from Redfern Station or is accessible by bus from the city. However if you're planning a visit, go now (or perhaps you're too late...)! They've announced that their last of service is on 12th Sep 2016, as they're planning to open up a new store in Barangaroo (scheduled for Oct 2016).