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| Queen Victoria Building |
I read it from somewhere that the peeps from Sydney are lovely nice people unless you screw up their coffee. Thus, the first thing we did on the second day is to go coffee hunting. We started the day by walking around CBD area near QVB as opposite the building, there are 2 awesome cafes which I wanted to try.
Our first stop is located at The Strand Arcade, a building with strong victorian influence. Gumption Coffee is a spin off from the famous coffee roaster, Coffee Alchemy, at Marrickville. It can be easily spotted especially in the morning where the working professionals are grabbing their caffeine fix.
This is a place where you get coffee and coffee only. On the day that I was there, there were 3 kinds of coffee blends to choose from but I didn’t indicated my choice thus a default blend was chosen. The ordering of coffee was done in a breeze. Simply indicate whether sugar is needed in your coffee, dine-in or takeaway and last but not least your name if you are ordering a takeaway. There are no seats in the shop but you can enjoy your coffee at the seating area outside.
For dine-in, they charge $4 and above for a coffee while a takeaway would cost you at least 50cents less. I ordered a latte take away as I was feeling hungry then. Interesting point that I have noted in Sydney, the same takeaway cup is commonly used across many cafes. There are nothing fancy here and the focus is really on the coffee itself. Upon trying coffee, I got intrigued by the hint of raisin notes with nutty finish that I went back to the barista to find out what blend I was drinking. It was their house blend, Goodness Galileo. One of my regrets from this trip is that I didnt have time to go back to get some of these back.
Gumption by Coffee Alchemy
Shop 11 Ground Floor The Strand Arcade
412-414 George Street New South Wales 2000
Operating Hours: Weekdays 7am to 5:30pm
Except for Thursday 7am to 8pm
Weekends 7am to 4pm
The next stop we went to The Workshop Espresso at Galleries Victoria for our breakfast and MORE caffeine fix. You are right to say I would love to check out all the cafes in Sydney if time permitted. lol.
We ordered egg and bacon roll ($6.50) and a latte ($4). The coffee beans are from Toby Estate, Woolloomooloo blend. I have tried the blend in Singapore but coffee seem to taste better in Sydney. Perhaps it is my lucky day. If you like something heavy bodied with dark chocolate notes, this might be your cup of coffee. Coffee aside, the egg and bacon roll is really awesome! Warm soft bun with simple ingredients (egg and bacon) topped with homemade chilli jam. This is my first time having chilli jam. It tastes like chilli sauce with a texture of in between chilli sauce and chilli puree. I like the mild heat coming from chili jam and when I bite into the part with the runny egg yolk, it is a simple bliss for me.
Workshop Espresso
Shop RG 01A, Galleries Victoria 500 George Street Sydney NSW 2000
Operating hours: Mon ~ Wed 6am to 5pm
Thurs 6am to 7pm
Fri 6am to 5pm
Sat 8am to 4.30pm
Closed on Sun
After our breakkie at Workshop Expresso, we took a stroll to Hyde Park where we joined the free walking tour. You may wish to drop by
The Great Synagogue if you have intention to join the free walking tour at Hyde Park. It is located just opposite Hyde Park and is known for being one of the most beautiful Synagogue in Australia. They are tours available on every Thursday at 12noon. Do find out more on their website if you are interested. 😉
There are 2 free walking tours in Sydney. The “I’m Free” and “Free Tour Sydney” are both working on a tipping basis. To be frank, I didn’t do much research before my trip as it was booked quite last minute. Thus, we only google about what to do, eat and drink when we were in Sydney. Thank God, with great recommendations from friends, we managed to have a very enjoyable holiday. Before I decide to join this free walking tour, I was quite skeptical but I enjoyed the tour tremendously. It is a mixed of humour, history and exercise as the walk takes about 2 hours. It started from Archibald Fountain at Hyde Park and ended at The Rock.
The tour guide, Lily, was humourous yet precise about the Sydney History. We passed by many historical architecture and I felt “smarter” (or so I hoped :p) at the end of the tour as it satisfied the intelligence part of a Gemini. I would recommend this tour to anyone who wants to know about the history of Sydney while enjoying your morning walk. One piece of caution though, do try to wear comfortable shoes suitable for walking. And please tip generously for the effort she put in to make the walking tour a humourous and enjoyable one. So here are some pictures of where we walked past before we take a toilet break at the Circular Quay.
We walked along Macquarie Street and Lily narrated the history of Sydney to us. A statue of the fifth Governor of Sydney, Lachlan Macquarie, was seen in the “Rum Hospital”. This hospital was completed in 1816 with the promise of profit from rum sales for the builders. Believe it or not, there are no sanitary facility in this building and the architect remained unknown till today. Perhaps no one wanted to own up for the design of such a dysfunctional hospital?? (Just my thoughts on it lol)
As we walked along, there is a bronze ll Porcellino (Italian piglet) status in front of the Sydney Hospital. It is believed to bring good luck to the person who touch its nose. So try to rub on some good luck here. 😉
We have also passed by the Royal Botanic Garden before we walked onto Bridge Street.
Slowly, we made our way to Custom House whereby there is an entire model of the whole of Circular Quay and Darling Harbour down at the foot of your feet. What separated us from the model is just a clear glass/plastic flooring.
As we walked across the road from Custom House to Circular Quay, we had a toilet break where I also spotted another coffee joint. Although they are serving Single Origins coffee blend, I was kinda disappointed by this piccolo latte in my hand. It was so hot that it burnt my tongue. If you do not mind super hot coffee, perhaps this is an alternative to chill and people watch.
Alright then, for lack of better words, I shall end my Day 2 part 1 post here. As I was told that my post on Sydney Day 1 was a tad too long.. Oopss.. =P
Do look out for Day 2 part 2 in a later post =)
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Our first stop is located at The Strand Arcade, a building with strong victorian influence. Gumption Coffee is a spin off from the famous coffee roaster, Coffee Alchemy, at Marrickville. It can be easily spotted especially in the morning where the working professionals are grabbing their caffeine fix.
This is a place where you get coffee and coffee only. On the day that I was there, there were 3 kinds of coffee blends to choose from but I didn’t indicated my choice thus a default blend was chosen. The ordering of coffee was done in a breeze. Simply indicate whether sugar is needed in your coffee, dine-in or takeaway and last but not least your name if you are ordering a takeaway. There are no seats in the shop but you can enjoy your coffee at the seating area outside.
Slowly, we made our way to Custom House whereby there is an entire model of the whole of Circular Quay and Darling Harbour down at the foot of your feet. What separated us from the model is just a clear glass/plastic flooring.
