Gold Coast: Breakfast at Bahia

Bahia Cafe Restaurant Bar
http://www.bahiarestaurant.com.au/



There are a few reasons why I wanted to go to Bahia but ONE OF THEM was that I thought it'd be a great idea to get up and take a walk along the beach, thinking that Bahia was a reasonable walking distance away. My GPS told me it was 3, nearing on 4km. Something inside me warned that this is a LONG TREK but I ignored it and dragged Charlie out with me.

It just so happens that the weekend that we were at the coast, there was incredibly high wind, rain and severe weather warnings. To give you an idea, the beach out from Cavill Ave was closed off due to the fact that... well... it was eaten up by the surf and therefore pretty dangerous. Seriously, the water was right up near the road. Ok, that's a slight exaggeration. I didn't find it that scary, but it was WINDY. Like, walking down the stairs was torture because I nearly got blown off into the atmosphere. That kind of windy.




Probably a stupid idea to go on a 8km return hike. I hate admitting I'm wrong so we walked for a good 10min or so before I subtly suggested to Charlie "if you think we're getting close, let me know so I'll check the GPS and make sure we haven't passed the turn off". This is because I didn't want to check the GPS myself and seem too 'paranoid' or 'keen'. If you have no idea about what I'm talking about, you have no understanding of our relationship dynamics which are all about powerplay and undertones.

Anyway, Charlie replies that he didn't think we were even 1/2 way there. I reluctantly check my GPS and am shocked to find out that we were maybe not even 1/8 there. What a failure. We ended up walking back to the hotel and driving to Bahia. But the good thing is that I got my walk and could feel slightly healthier (as opposed to doing nothing but eat and lounge for 2 days). Bahia is located on Tanner Ave around the Seaworld region of the coast (I mentally divide the coast into 3 sections going along the Gold Coast Highway: Seaworld region, Surfer's Paradise region and the Casino region).

There are quite a few cafes in that area so it's a nice place to have breakfast or lunch if you're feeling undecided. We headed right into Bahia because I wasn't undecided (and regarding food, probably will NEVER be undecided). Bahia does breakfast, lunch and dinner. Oh, and it's also got a bar. We ordered lattes to start off with and read the paper whilst waiting for our food. I had chosen a savory French toast and Charlie chose the Bahia brekkie. Our waitress was slightly grumpy without being outright rude. I didn't mind so much but Charlie felt cheated out of having a nice waitress because the one serving the table behind us was contrastingly very enthusiastic and bubbly.

Latte

The coffee was a bit too milky for my liking. Not undrinkably bad... it was decent but not close to the best I've had.

Bahia's Brekkie - aspargus, bacon, poached eggs, potato rosti & mushrooms

The food came out and there was a bit of trouble trying to fit everything on our little table with the newspapers all spread out so we moved them out of the way and hey presto, problem solved. Servings are big.

Side of toast

Charlie had somehow felt that his breakfast would be insufficient and ordered himself toast on top of everything else. I have a feeling he ordered multigrain bread but the actual toast he received was white bread. He was too confused and "I don't care" to do anything about it, which is fair enough.

Cinnamon glazed French toast topped with bacon, banana and maple syrup

My breakfast involved cinammon French toast, bacon, grilled banana (still in their skin) and lots of maple syrup. Bacon, maple syrup and eggy bread is one of my favorite combinations ever. I hadn't had bacon in so long. What a simple pleasure in life - we all know that even the smell of bacon cooking is heavenly. I normally resist for health reasons but the odd, infrequent serving is truly enjoyable. Lots of people don't understand how maple syrup can be combined with bacon and they sort of pull a face and think I'm weird. Hello, pork is almost ALWAYS cooked with something sweet. Honey ham? Pork with apple sauce? Sweet and sour pork? Pork and apricot? It's natural. Also, maple syrup has this smokey quality to it that makes it work. Whatever you might say, this is a Canadian style of eating. I didn't invent it. If you think it's weird, don't blame me...

Charlie's breakfast plate looked lovely. Usually these things are a pile of grease (yummy grease, but grease all the same) and carbs but this one somehow managed to look slightly healthy. Could be deceptive but hey, it tried. There was green (asparagus) and grilled mushrooms. Eggs were poached, not fried or scrambled. That's about where the health-factor stops because the rest of the breakfast included bacon and a potato rosti. Potato rosti is like shredded potato, pressed together and fried. Tasty but just like most other yummy potato creations, it's a pimple hazard.

I thought Bahia was a decent cafe. The breakfast offerings were good and serving size was impressive. It wasn't the best breakfast I've had and the menu is a bit pricier than most but still, it's got a nice location so it's not too bad.