Mocha Jo's, Glen Waverley
On Kingsway in the heart of Glen Waverley's shopping and entertainment precinct, we stumbled upon Mocha Jo's, and thus begun another weekend breakfast adventure. Glen Waverley, an outer suburban hub, lies approximately 19km from the CBD. Over the years, Glen Waverley has become widely known for its plethora of Chinese food outlets and entertainment venues so much so that Kingsway has a very distinct Asian feel. In that sense, Mocha Jo's seems to call your attention from it's corner perch as a standout amongst predominantly Chinese choices.
As we arrived at Mocha Jo's on a warm and sunny Sunday morning, the place was busy. There are tables both inside and outside and most were full with the few empty tables donning the dreaded "reserved" sign meaning they were being held for a booking. Luckily, the helpful staff took note of our arrival as soon as we walked through the door and escorted us to one of the few empty but still available tables. A quick look around and we noted that most of the front of the cafe is composed of the bi-folding doors that seem to have become the standard of Melbourne's cafe scene. On this particular morning, not all the doors were open as the temperatures were still climbing and there was a fresh breeze blowing every now and again. Even so, you could see the potential for a really nice open feel on a warmer summer day. The corner location also gives you a good view of the action on Kingsway which means you can people watch to your hearts content.
The friendly staff are all dressed in black Mocha Jo's t-shirts that makes it very easy for you to discern who they are. We were given menus and water for the table almost immediately after we were seated. Princess Pancake and Prince Gobbleguts were extremely hungry and their deportment was evidence of such. As a result, we scanned the menu very quickly and found they had the dish of our children's dreams on offer--"Huge Hot Pancake" served with various options: maple syrup, ice-cream, berry compote or eggs and bacon. We opted for the eggs and bacon as there is nothing Princess Pancake likes more than a bit of bacon with her pancakes.
When the waitress came to take our drink order, we asked for two lattes, two orange juices and the Huge Pancake with eggs and bacon for the kids. The Handsome Australian and I were yet to make our food selections. There were certainly plenty of options. If you like a light breakfast, Mocha Jo's seemed to have a lot to offer in that department. There were plenty of bircher muesli combinations, various toast selections with Phillipa's bread, and even a section of toasted NY Bagels. Unfortunately for our growing waist lines, the Handsome Australian and I are not light breakfast people when it comes to our weekend breakfast adventures. We figure we can eat muesli at home. We were after something a bit more substantial.
The Handsome Australian decided to go with "Billy's Breakie": fresh avocado salsa, smoked salmon and two poached eggs served on spelt wholemeal toast with tomato chili jam on the side. I have to admit, I was thinking quite hard about "Billy's Breakie" as well, but in the interest of sampling as many offerings as possible, I decided to take one for the team. I settled for MJ's Works (basically their big breakfast offering): Fried eggs with bacon, sausages, sauteed mushrooms, grilled tomato and spinach served with crusty white toast. Sounded good to me, except I decided I'd substitute poached eggs for the fried ones.
When the waitress came back to the table with our drinks, we let her know we were ready to order our breakfasts. She took note of our choices and before we could blink an eye, the pancakes we'd ordered only a little while before were heading straight for our table. The "Huge Hot Pancake" was exactly that--it was huge, the size of the entire plate. It was also hot and oozing with butter. The serve of bacon and scrambled eggs sat on top of the pancake and it was enough to send our children into fits as they both clamored to grab their share of the goods. The pancake itself was quite thick and spongy. The Handsome Australian likened it to cake, but I thought it still had a lighter pancake like quality. The little people had zero complaints. This was their breakfast dream come true. All their favourites on one plate minus the maple syrup of course. The kind waitress brought that over to the table only moments later and then it was on for young and old.
The pancake after it's been split apart--the little hands were faster than the photographer.
Princess Pancake's share of the HUGE HOT PANCAKEWhile the children were busy gobbling up their pancake, bacon and eggs, the Handsome Australian and I were left alone to savour our lattes. The Handsome Australian remarked that the coffee was nice and it got me thinking. Most coffees we have in Melbourne these days are quite good. I remember a time about 5 or 10 years ago when 1 out of 3 would be really worth drinking. I told the Handsome Australian that I thought Melbourne had lifted it's coffee game to a new level where now it was almost difficult to find a bad coffee. The Handsome Australian reckons that is a fair statement and added that the coffees that stand out now aren't the bad ones, but the ones that are truly exceptional. The really, really good ones.
A good coffee at Mocha Jo's
Our philosophical musing over the state of coffee in Melbourne was interrupted by the arrival of our breakfast. The Handsome Australian's "Billy's Breakie" was served on a rectangular platter with each ingredient separate to the rest. It was up to him to make up his own breakfast combinations. He enjoyed his breakfast, but would have liked there to have been more toast with the meal. He felt as if he had quite a bit of avocado salsa, but nothing to eat it with as the pieces of toast on his plate were both quite small.
"Billy's Breakie"
I was quite impressed with the size of "MJ's Works". It was a large plate full of food. The poached eggs with black pepper freshly cracked over the top didn't disappoint. They were runny and the made a good topping for the crusty white toast. The highlight on the plate was the spinach which was very tasty. I was again defeated by the big breakfast. There was simply too much on the plate for me to finish. The Handsome Australian observed Mocha Jo's seems to be going for value for money meals as the portions were all quite large.
MJ's Works
Final Verdict on Mocha Jo's:
While the food at Mocha Jo's didn't stand out as anything extraordinary, we did enjoy our meals and felt very comfortable in the casual laid back atmosphere. The service was very good and our table was well attended to. A destination cafe it is not (you wouldn't go out of your way to go there) but it's a great little local. So if you are in the area and you don't already have your breakfast there, then give it a whirl. It's a solid little performer.
Mocha Jo's
87 Kingsway, Glen Waverley
