If you so happen to find yourself in Xinjiekou, pekish and wondering where to go for good Western food, then skip on down to 31 Morning Brunch, an Australian inspired restaurant specialising in, you guessed right, brunch.
A newly embraced idea, Saturday brunch is all the rage. A late, lazy breakfast enjoyed in the sun with conversation and friends is on everyone’s weekend list of must dos. Much the same as their Western counterparts, the young people of Nanjing are swapping Friday-night cocktails for Saturday-morning Eggs Benedict.
Breaking up the hustle and bustle of Xinkjiekou center 31 Morning Brunch has chosen a sunny position on Huanghe Lu. We took a window seat on a cold winter’s Saturday morning and enjoyed the warmth of the sun as we sipped our hot Americano and flat white.
The place quickly filled with 20 somethings, chatting and snapping, sharing and laughing. As an Australian myself, I found the menu intriguing, “Sunny Sydney Bruch” … “Australian Big Breakfast”. Upon closer inspection, I can say fairly these menu items are certainly inventive, how much is “Australian” remains a mystery. Along with two Australian state selections which travel from Canberra to Sydney and a couple of meat lover options, the restaurant offers a list of Eggs Benedict variations too!
We went for the “Classic”, which included Norwegian smoked salmon, avocado and spinach. There was no fault in this dish, the salmon was fresh, the eggs dark and runny, the spinach nice and buttery, the muffins fluffy. My only gripe was that it was too small, for what it’s worth, ¥52; a few sides thrown in couldn’t hurt, as I was still hungry when we left.
The Nanjinger also sampled the “Canberra Holiday Brunch”, that which includes a cheese and ham toasted sandwich, vanilla sausages (yes, we thought the same thing), potato wedges, scrambled eggs, a fruit cup and baked beans. Indeed, this dish did come as described, minus the beans, which is a shame because, well, you can’t have a fry up with out beans! The eggs were as described on the menu (slippery), and the vanilla; perhaps they meant white? To us, it more so resembled chorizo.
31 Morning Brunch deserves 4 out of 5 when it comes to that which is most important; taste, service and value. The restaurant also offers rice and pasta dishes, and after 8pm doubles as a bar. It is a lovely place to come for a seat in the sun and a coffee with eggs.
31 Morning Brunch is located at 50-8 Hongwu Lu 洪武路50-8 Tel 13912941854.
