Snow Pony

Posted by Almost Always Ravenous on August 29, 2010 · 4 Comments 

95 Whitehorse Rd
Balwyn
9816 8911

Sister store of the awesome Porgie + Mr Jones, Snow Pony also serves breaky all day every day, and is MUCH closer to me! Their ingredients are all organic / gourmet.

10.30am on a Sunday morning it was bustling with people & apparently 3 waiters short. Clearly a table for 8 was gonna be VERY difficult!! After an initial kafuffle revolving around whether or not to place us in the courtyard (which they closed off only 30 min prior due to stuff shortage), they eventually put us in the courtyard to our relief, YAY!!! A little bit chilly at first, but the morning sun eventually peeked over the high brick walls… ah warmth! The menu is “deja vu” with Porgie + Mr Jones, with the names adjusted slightly to fit with the theme. John smartly pointed out the pun with “white-horse” road = snow pony??? LOLz

I decided not to go with my usual toasted banana bread, (had to really refrain) so that I could have a crack at some of their other brekky choices. Soy Latte had layer of silky smooth froth atop a brew of lovely roasted aromas.

First up was the McPony – an English muffin filled with creamy & fluffy scramble of emmental cheese + eggs, with their double smoked ham off the bone was far superior to any ‘fastfood’ version. Rating: 14/20

Then came a Bircher muesli w/ pear + cinnamon compote, honeyed yoghurt. There was a generous sprinkle of crunchy bits of pistacchio/almonds with chunks of juicy sweet (with a hint of tart) pear + apple, atop a thick milk/yoghurt/muesli mix. Mmm what an indulgent way to start the day. And i’m normally not a big fan of muesli, so that says something. =) Rating: 13/20

After reading raving reviews over the lemonade scones both here and at Porgie + Mr Jones I had to try some. I pre-ordered 5 for the table before everyone arrived, just in case they’d run out. And surely it was WORTH my pre-planning! They came out warm & toasty. I smeared on a decent amount of bon maman jam (choice of raspberry & strawberry – sourced from an English producer), and dolloped on a huge mound of Chantilly cream. The scone crumbled with each bite. The sweet-lemonade aroma from the scone was just brilliant! mmm will be back for more. Rating: 15/20

By this time, I think I was pretty full, and was ready to just lean back and rest. BUT…

Bonnie having arrived late, quickly ordered a Giddy Up – eggs, bacon, slow roasted tomato, avocado + thyme buttered mushies. This was a HUGE plate. She ate half of it, then ended up offering the other half to the table – – me + chiu took a quarter each, so off I go again munching away. The poached egg was slightly over done, though still flowed satisfactorily from the middle. Roasted tomatoes were sweet and very fresh, as was the huge mound of avacado (ah LOVE avacadoes). Mushrooms had a good flavour but was lacking just that bit more caramalising. But overall a HUGE + satisfying brekky option i’d say. Rating: 13.5/20 (*just needed a little tweeking)

P.S. There were a number of other brekky dishes across the table, and they looked equally awesome.
P.S2. sorry forgot to bring camera … [addit: But lucky for you there is a second post with plenty of photos: SEE HERE]

Overall rating: Yummy. (must say the toasted banana bread still my favourite, though I didn’t eat it today)

Filed under Balwyn, Breakfast, Coffee, Modern Australian