The Coffee Club, Albert St, Brisbane CBD

March 20, 2014

Seems that this Coffee Club in the city is getting bustling too with office workers during lunchtime, or maybe just those for a cup of coffee and cake.. Though some may say the location may put it off, but others may like it since it's not too open in the heart of Queen Street.. Decided to come here for brunch since we were hungry already by the time we arrived in the city, and also, despite the fact that our legs just couldn't be bothered to walk that extra mile for other restaurants and cafes (although there are many new and yummy ones that has just opened..)

Ordered a Cafe Latte and a Flat white, nothing extra-ordinary and abit of too much milk were mixed in, leaving the strong taste of the coffee not kicking in.. Coffees are hard to predict nowadays wherever you go, since it all depends on the baristas making them.. I remember when I used to work in a restaurant, we would need to be trained right and know the exact proportions and so on...

'Philly Cheese Steak sandwich' is something I have not tried here so thought we would give it a try... Presentation was simple, everything on a plate as you can see... The sandwich consisted of sliced steak, caramelised onions, philadelphia cheese, roasted red capsicum and melted cheese on a toasted ciabatta bread.. I would have liked the ciabatta bread to have been toasted abit more as the top part of the bread doesn't seem to have that toast marks, or maybe it is supposed to be that way.. I did find the bread to be not as soft and was abit hard to cut or bite through..

The chips was normal, nothing special, however I did quite like their seasoning which I don't think it was like this before.. It reminded me of somewhat Nando's peri peri chips, though these didn't have much seasoning on them and were less crispy..

The layers of the Philly Cheese Steak were neat and consistent which was quite good I reckon.. Some cafes do tend to have lop-sided layered sandwiches which does quite annoy me sometimes when I'm in a bad mood.. not that I'm picky, just maybe paying too much attention to detail.. The steak was not bad for a sliced steak being put in a sandwich and the addition of the Philadelphia cheese made it somewhat interesting and fun to eat.. I'm used to having my philly with ever-so-yummy smoked salmon, as you may have figured that out through my breakfast posts how I always order salmon everytime I see it on the menu..

'Salmon and Avocado Stack' was one of their dishes being displayed on their signs so we decided to give that a try.. Salmon and Avo, who could go wrong with those two combination.. Presentation was quite bland as the stack was just presented on a white empty plate and that's pretty much it.. However, for the quantity of the dish, I would have to say that it was rather decent.. It does definitely fill you up..

Smoked salmon, fresh avocado and a poached cage-free egg served on a toasted ciabatta bread lavished with a dill and cottage cheese spread.. Oh, and I nearly forgot the wilted spinach... Avocado sliced thinly, smoked salmon looked okay but seemed pre-packaged and the poached egg (fingers-crossed cooked well)... I quite liked the addition of having the dill and cottage cheese spread on the toasted ciabatta bread..

Again, the toasted ciabatta bread could have been done better.. Other than that, the combination of the smoked salmon, avocado and poached egg worked well and no, no lemon was used.. wasn't feeling the lemony feeling.. The dill and cottage cheese spread could have been given more on the ciabatta, to give the dish a bit of a saucy feel instead of having no sauce at all.. (not that the spread was suppose to be their sauce..)

Last but not least, 'Le-croque-monsieur' sandwich.. I have seen this online and wondering what the fuss is about so as soon as I saw this on the menu, I decided to order it... I don't think I have ever noticed it before when I come here.. Presentation I think was consistent along with the other previous sandwich but I did notice that there weren't as much chips or chip's seasoning as the other which was dissapointing..

This dish originated from France, and is supposedly a quick snack.. A simple but delicious grilled ham and cheese sandwich.. Lean leg ham, dijon mustard, swiss cheese and melted cheese on the battered ciabatta.. The battered ciabatta was quite an interesting taste but I liked it compared to the toasted ciabatta.. The melted cheese on top became a bit dry after awhile however, it definitely was such a simple sandwich.. Ham and cheese, your typical sandwich.. Why don't all ham and cheese sandwich have a battered bread and melted cheese on top?