Perth Voice Interactive

NEW NORCIA BAKERY, Mount Hawthorn

by JENNY D’ANGER:

IT was hard to picture austere, dark-robed Benedictine monks sitting down to dainty pastries and gurgy cakes as I gazed in awe at the sweet selection at the New Norcia Bakery.

But apparently the sourdough bread, with its wonderfully chewy crust, is something the religious pioneers at New Norcia Monastery, 133km north-east of Perth, did enjoy.

The one I took home was delicious with dinner that night and, incredibly, even better as toast the next morning.

But I’m getting ahead of myself, and my mate and I were at the Mt Hawthorn cafe for lunch.

The service comes in for sharp comments from online critics but we found the staff pleasant, and true to their word, at our table to take the order promptly.

The only glitch was we were too early for the lunch menu, but once we’d worked out what we could and couldn’t order it was smooth sailing.

I’d wanted the feta and herb quinoa fritters ($14), while my mate was torn between the chicken sliders ($16) and the croque monsieur, a toasted sourdough filled with leg ham, gruyere, and dijon and béchamel sauce ($14.95). But they were lunch items.

The house-made pies, meanwhile, are available from 11.30am so I went for the vegetable version, which at $10.50 with a leafy salad was rather good value.

The pastry was crisp and the filling a colourful melding of flavoursome vegetables, a bit like eating a Sunday roast, but without the lamb.

My friend stuck to the breakfast menu—and no, she didn’t go for the New Norcia breakfast, with bacon, chipolatas, eggs, roasted tomatoes, mushrooms and sourdough ($21). And yes, I was surprised too.

Instead she opted for the much more delicate zucchini fritters ($17.95).

And as good as my pie was I wished I’d done the same, because her fritters were bursting with flavour, ably abetted by an avocado puree and a lemon-yoghurt dressed salad.

We washed down our meal with a couple of watermelon and strawberry juices ($5.20), but it was time to go hardcore with cake and coffee.

So we shared a spiced pear and a berry ricotta cake. Both were delicious, although I thought the ricotta mix wasn’t as creamy as I’d have liked, but the pear was an absolute stand out winner, wonderfully moist and fantastically spicy, with huge chunks of poached pear.

New Norcia Bakery
163 Scarborough Beach Road, Mt Hawthorn
Open Mon – Sun 6.30am – 5.30pm | Call 9443 4114