Review : bangbang

113 Reservoir Street

Surry Hills 2010
 
M-F 8 am-4 pm
Sat-Sun 8 am-2 pm
 
So what do Buggles & Squeak do when they fancy 'Welsh Rarebit' for breakfast on a Saturday & Bar Mattino  is closed? A desperate search for an alternative ensues!
The search for more 'Welsh Rarebit' in Sydney has been a long one for Buggles & Squeak, at long last we thought we found one.
 
 
'bangbang' is a small, jazzy little cafe in a less salubrious part of our beloved Surry Hills (not that we wouldn't give up Tempe in a flash to live there!). There is communal seating inside, as well as a few select tables for two, thankfully we were able to score a table for two, as I can think of nothing worse than having breakfast with complete strangers.
 
The menu is full of promise...the 'Scottish Breakfast' with its traditional black pudding, square-sliced sausage, tattie scone, two fried eggs and roasted tomato, through to the 'Full English'...pork sausage, bubble & squeak, bacon, baked beans, two fried eggs, truss tomato & toast, and finally what we came here for the 'Welsh Breakfast'....mixed cheddar, English mustard, Worcestershire sauce & Guinness grilled on sourdough toast with roasted truss tomatoes.
 
We both wanted the 'Welsh', however for the sake of our review Buggles made the ultimate sacrifice & went for the 'Full English'....as we would soon find out, this really was no sacrifice at all.
 
Our breakfast arrives & all hopes of a Saturday alternative to 'Bar Mattino' are shattered on sight.

The 'Welsh Rarebit' looks limp & dry all at the same time. On cutting into it, there is none of the lush ooze that accompanies the 'Welsh' from Bar Mattino, it barely consists of anything. The first mouthful says it all, it also tastes of nothing....no rich cheddar taste, no hot English mustard kick...nothing but the taste of the Worcestershire sauce I drizzled over the top....I was devastated. It was like having soggy cardboard for breakfast.

Buggles on the other hand did quite well, the 'Full English' delivered....the pork sausage from 'Hudson Meats' was meaty & dense....no fillers here, just pure meaty goodness. The 'Schulz Bacon', perfectly crispy & full of smoky flavour, the 'baked beans',  rich & tangy and though the 'bubble & squeak'  was very good the balance wasn't quite right, too much potato, not enough vegetables. The 'roasted truss tomatoes on both breakfasts was half of a small, ice cold, flavourless tomato....not good.
 
So Sydneysiders if 'Welsh Rarebit' is what you are after, then look no further than Sebastian Tyson's fine example at Bar Mattino, you can do no better. However, if a 'Full English' or 'Scottish' breakfast takes your fancy, then bangbang might just be what you are looking for.
 
Squeak