Month of the Mo

If you’re noticing a few more scruffy, hairy, unshaven men about town than usual, fear not – it’s probably (hopefully) just a part of the month-long Movember fund raising and awareness campaign. I’m aware of the ‘handlebar’ style but apparently there’s a whole categorisation of the hairy lip numbers that boys around town are starting to attempt.

While oddly enough it suits some guys, in others it evokes bad 1970s fashion and movies, if you know what I mean. But it’s all a bit of fun and for a worthy cause in highlighting men’s health, specifically prostate cancer and depression in men, so support your local moustache grower.

Baffi & Mo, Redfern Street, Redfern

One mo that has a lot of support already is Baffi & Mo in the rapidly changing end of Redfern near Central station, along with The Eathouse Diner and rumours of a small bar on the way too (though shame about Moose).

Outdoor seating on the Redfern Street footpath

Baffi & Mo is conveniently located a few doors down from my shoe man, Roger Shoe Repairs, who has been there longer than I can remember. So after dropping off three pairs of babies for a bit of TLC with Roger, we stepped over to Baffi & Mo and were seated within seconds at the inside communal table. There’s about five or six table settings on the footpath which were filled with people (and smokers) who chat and enjoy themselves despite the Redfern Street traffic including buses.

Charlie's orange and mango smoothie

Breakfast and lunch menu offerings tempt, with the former a little more than your standard brekky offerings. Only orange juice is juiced fresh but there’s a fridge full of Phoenix Organics and Charlie’s juices and smoothies to help yourself to for thirst-quenching and vitamin-boosting purposes.

Potato hash stack with double smoked ham, avocado, fresh tomato, asparagus
and lemon dressed rocket topped with a poached egg

On recommendations aplenty, I bypass the signature Eggs Baffi to order the potato hash stack to break my fast, unaware of its salad-y appearance that appears commonly in front of diners throughout the café.

I noted its grand presence as the plate was set down in front of me, the mostly vegetable stack standing steadily tall. Starting from the bottom up, everything sits on a nest of rocket leaves, slightly acidic, overdressed ones. The potato hash sits in the nest like a golden egg, or at least a golden, flat, compressed pile of potato matchsticks. It’s crunchy on the edges and tastes like hot chips.

On top of this were a couple of slices of fresh tomato and warmed ham, which is then topped with a poached egg and all gate-kept by two grilled spears of green asparagus. There’s no way of eating the stack without partially demolishing the plating and the abundance of fresh ingredients makes for a pretty healthy brunch choice.

The Aussie burger with wagyu beef, bacon, egg, pineapple, beetroot and cheese

A more uncommon brunch choice was the scarily towering Aussie burger, which had the entire café’s attention as it made its way out of the open kitchen. Not for the faint of heart, nor the just peckish, this lofty construction held in place with a skewer was beautiful as much as it was intimidating.

A picture perfect sunny side-up egg peeked out from beneath the burger bun top followed by a bacon rasher, melted cheese, the thick and juicy wagyu beef pattie, shredded beetroot, a lettuce leaf and a canned pineapple ring somewhere within the salad-y stuff.

Overall, the burger was a bit on the sweet side, probably from the pineapple and beetroot. And it was definitely messy eating, with the egg yolk spilling its goodies from the very first instance, followed by ‘bloody’ beetroot splatters and saucy bits ending up all over the wooden board and those eating it. The might have also been bloody juices from the wagyu pattie.

Colourful macarons

There were initial plans to sample something from the cabinet of sweets, but by the end of our meal burger-eater and I were done and dusted; thus missing out on the super-moist orange cake, sludgey chocolate brownies which I’m still thinking about, muffins, colourful macarons and other sweet goodies. Next time.

Super fudgey chocolate brownies

And I trust there will be a next time, as it was a particularly pleasant way to start the day with friendly faces in the staff and fellow diners, and a touch of warm spring in the air. Despite being the suburb just next to Surry Hills, there’s a very different feel to Baffi & Mo; something very local, down-to-earth and welcoming to all walks of life.