Sunshine at Sassy's on the Swan

When it comes to a sunny day in Perth, Sassy's on the Swan offers one of the best sites to kick back, eat, and enjoy the glorious weather.

It's a venue that seems to be frequented by a lot of weekend exercise junkies. Around Jeremy and I as we sit on the outdoor decking is cyclists in lycra and ladies in leggings - sweat patches and all. It almost makes me feel guilty that he and I have just rolled out of bed and headed down to sate our growly bellies.

Sassy's is new for Jeremy, he's never been before. I've come here a couple times in the past with my friend Cliffe, who introduced me to it. It's friendly (though slightly slow) service, with a varied menu that doesn't seem to have changed at all over the years. The only real downfall for me when it comes to here is that it is quite expensive - but when you compare it to other brekkie spots, it's probably on par for Perth prices (which we all know are excessive when it comes to eating out).

Here the best thing to do is grab a menu and pick a table while you peruse the offerings. You need to order and pay at the counter inside, so I leave Jeremy sitting in the sunshine while I place our requests.

He's chosen the dish I'd intended on having myself, which leaves my quickly (and panicking) scanning the menu for a new item. We like to have different choices so we can share and have the best of both worlds. His is the Sassy's Jalapeno Ranchero Omelette ($21.95). The menu describes it as  'hot and spicy' - Sassy's mexican bean mix enfolded in a jalapeno, crumbled feta omelette with avocado, chilli, sour cream and a crunchy melted cheese toasted tortilla.

It tastes so so soooo good. It's smart cooking for sure, with really simple but tasty ingredients. The avocado is fresh and creamy, the omelette soft and light. While both of us adore chilli spice, neither of us like big chunks of jalapenos in things - they're much better when chopped up small to ensure an evenly distributed serving of low heat. But on this dish it's not too noticeable, and when you load up your tortilla points, you find a great collection of flavours and textures in each bite. I really enjoyed my tasting of this menu item.

Jeremy washes it down with a fresh fruit smoothie of milk, yoghurt, banana and mango ($7.50). It's a little expensive given the serving size, but it tastes nice - a strong yoghurt taste though it lacks the lovely impact that banana usually has in a smoothie.

Given my last minute mind change, I've gone for a dish that would normally never catch my eye. It's the Thai Banana Pancakes ($16.95), which they describe as Grandma's buttermilk pancakes with chunky bananas, toasted shredded coconut, coconut syrup and maple syrup.

The pancakes are HUGE. I'm actually incredibly intimidated when they're put in front of me; my eyes bugging out in protest before I even take a bite. I know I am going to struggle eating these, and I'm a little annoyed since I asked the lady at the ordering station if they were dense. Which she said no - though my eyes tell me otherwise.

But thankfully upon my first bite I see she was telling the truth after all. The pancakes are light and fluffy; deep in their size but they have the chunks of banana grilled into the cakes which have become gooey and caramelised as a result. The coconut and maple syrups are sweet and sticky; they add a nice decadence to the dish. The toasted shredded coconut is a great textural element and delicious to chomp away with each bite. I never really used to like coconut that much, but it is so nice in this dish. The only downfall is that the two little half strawberries taste so great, there needs to be much more there if they're going to bother putting them there at all.

Since we're sitting outside and enjoying the weather so much, we decide to finish off with a macaron each. The far below is a salted caramel, and the front a chocolate Turkish delight. They both taste chewy and not overly sweet; the inside fillings different from your standard. But the salted caramel is the definite winner - it's actually salty (not like most places which think one tiny drop of salt makes it what they claim it to be) and is really enjoyable. It's delicious and a nice way to draw out our Sunday morning that tiny bit longer as the sun beats down on our shoulders. It's bliss.