Feeding my obsession with kaya jam at Sprolo

Spro. Barista abbreviation of espresso. Yolo. You only live once; carpe diem. And with those two, a new coffee specialty eatery is born under the name of Sprolo. Opening in 2014, this cute little cafe on Canning Highway is owned by Gabrielle Tan and Darren Woon - two individuals who take their coffee so seriously there's a micro-roasting venture in the back part of the South Perth space and a strong team of baristas including Rie Moustakas who is actually one my boy's friends. 

Mentioning to Jeremy one morning as we mused over possible breakfast destinations for a quick Saturday morning date before he went off to work, he happily agreed to Sprolo hoping we'd run into Rie. While she wasn't there that morning, the breakfast we experienced was so lovely that I know we'll be back soon for more.

Arriving just before 9am the cafe is already in full swing, with patrons lining up waiting for takeaway coffee or to place their breakfast orders. The space is lovely and bright, with lots of natural sunlight streaming in and a good use or organic materials. I particularly love their deconstructed guitars on the wall as artwork! Very funky.

We take a seat at the long bench since all the tables are full and immediately dive into the menus as we assess what's on the cards for our breakfast. I already have it in my mind that I'll be ordering their star attraction, the traditional Singaporean breakfast ($12.00). Jeremy picks the poached chicken salad rolls but after he returns from ordering at the counter tells me he changed his mind and went for the mashed peas on rye ($14.00) instead.

Our drinks come out very quickly which is really great considering they're so busy and coffee is definitely at the forefront of almost all patrons (probably I was the only one who wasn't drinking coffee!). Jeremy's ordered a flat white using the house blend which he tells me is just the right temperature and creaminess - he downs it quickly, declaring it really tasty.

We were both expecting big things for the coffee considering that's their forte so it's affirming to hear that all the hype is definitely warranted.

The whole drive over I'd told myself repeatedly to order a chocolate milkshake after spying a mouthwatering concoction on the I Drink Milkshakes instagram page. But all my grand plans disappeared when I noticed they had raw cold pressed juices on offer. I was sold! 

The Juice Company's new look juices still have all the wonderful taste I've grown to love. Hailing for our own Swan Valley, the combination of strawberry and lemon had a perfect balance between sweet and sour, and was served icy cold - very refreshing! If a cafe/restaurant isn't going to offer freshly squeezed juice, then cold pressed is definitely the next best thing. 

When our food comes out my stomach is growling and ready to gobble it down. Jeremy's dish looks so vibrant and fresh with it's smashed sweet pea and edamame, cherry tomatoes, alfalfa sprouts, pomegranate molasses and fried shallots on rye bread. It's a very summery dish and has lovely contrast in textures and flavours.

The smashed peas and edamame are still a little chunky which I like rather than it being overly smooth. They work well with the pomegranate molasses which is something I've mentally filed away since I have a bottle of that at home and tend to usually only use it as a salad dressing. Anything with fried shallots gets my boy's vote since we have a big container of them at home and they tend to get sprinkled on lots of dishes! It brings a little Asian flair into the meal.

My traditional Singaporean breakfast comes out as three slices of sourdough, two soft sous vide eggs, kaya jam and toasted coconut flakes. I move quickly, spreading butter onto the sourdough first, then the jam. Then I add the provided dark soy sauce and white pepper to my eggs - and voila! You have one of my favourite comfort foods.

Sprolo make their own kaya jam in-house and let me tell you, it is damn good. Just lightly sweet, packed with coconut flavour and perfectly offset by the saltiness of the butter and the soy sauce. I love how spot on the eggs are cooked - the outside still just a little translucent and the yolk inside slow and oozy. It clings to the soy sauce and pepper, transporting them onto the toast as I dip and dunk and munch away.

I don't know what it is about kaya toast with eggs but it always gets me. It's always such a pleaser dish - and I was so pleased with Sprolo's version of it. And having three slices of bread was also a very generous serving size. I was too full to finish the third slice but bigger eaters would welcome that additional piece happily I'm sure!

Lately I feel like I've had breakfast hit after breakfast hit with all the new and amazing places popping up around Perth. It's such a great thing to see that there's more choice than ever - and that some places like Sprolo are offering some dishes a little different to their competitors. It makes driving out this way from our house north of the river worth the commute.