I absolutely love it when friends suggest to me places for brunch dates that I had no idea even existed. It’s especially wonderful when they’re places out in the east, as I’m always looking for good food places closer to home.
Bec suggested that Red Cup might be a good place for us to meet for a catch-up brunch on a sunny Sunday, as it was a halfway point between our respective suburbs. It’s easy to pick out on a residential strip of Whitehorse Road, with families with dogs setting up camp on the pavement tables, above which swings a red sign in the shape of a cup and saucer.
I was feeling like a proper Sunday breakfast dish, which meant I required a significant portion of it to be fried. The potato and pumpkin bubble and squeak fit the bill: a giant slab of cobbled potato and pumpkin served with lightly sauteed baby spinach leaves, a poached egg with a bright orange centre that was properly gooey, topped with a damn good hollandaise that was mustard yellow and delightfully creamy, with just a slight vinegary tinge. It was an enormous brekkie, and given that the potato/pumpkin ratio was heavily stacked in favour of the pumpkin, it also got a little bit overwhelming towards the end. But still, good tasty stuff.
Bec had the eggs benedict, with more of that amazingly bright and creamy hollandaise, and thick slabs of bacon that by their charred bands looked as if they’d been cooked in a grill pan, and were certainly reported as being super delicious. She wasn’t much of a fan of the pot of baked beans she ordered on the side, though, saying that the relish they’d been mixed with was far too sweet.
It seems to be the only cafe of its kind in the area, and therefore was massively busy on the Sunday morning we visited, so a little patience would definitely be a virtue. You should definitely NOT be like the gentleman with three children in tow who decided to complain about the wait in an extremely loud and rude voice that no one could ignore (honestly, anyone who purposefully complains so that the whole cafe can hear deserves a jug of burnt milk to be poured over their heads, but that may just be the embittered ex-barista in me talking). Especially as all the staff bar one were very cheery kids in their late teens who were dealing with the fuss and bubble in a professional and pleasant manner.
Red Cup is worth seeking out, especially if you live out here in the east and are longing for a nice cafe where you can get yourself a nice meal, or even just a simple coffee and cake (seriously, the sweets selection looked quite boss, I was disappointed that I was too full to fit any more in!).
Red Cup
1124 Whitehorse Road, Box Hill
Ph: 9899 1893