On looks, Devon on Danks is the same as it’s ever been. This is my fourth visit, and little has changed. The cafe is essentially a very long corridor that’s divided into two sections. At one end, we’ve got the actual kitchen, while at the other end we’ve got the pastries and the cafe area (pictured). It makes the space look bigger than it actually is, but it’s a good use of said area.
The only problem is if you’re seated at the tables to the left of when you walk in (this describes the area behind the picture), they can be a bit too close to other patrons. It’s a problem all cafes have – precious real estate is exactly that – precious.
The breakfast club meet
Welcome to the breakfast club. Featuring: a few old favourites that never get old, as well as three new entrants for the fold.
Meat board for two – Soy glazed braised wagyu brisket, morcilla, mortadella, sai ua’ scotch egg, smoked slow cooked beans, milk buns ($47, $1.5 per extra bun)
By far the dish that requires the most commitment is the meat board for two. To say that this dish is for the meat lovers is a foregone conclusion.
This is a really good dish, pure and simple – causing me to immediately suffer from order envy and FOMO. The wagyu brisket is the star of the show. Extremely tender, and easily amongst the most delicate I’ve had. It breaks apart on the fork and in the mouth with effort that a baby can muster. Flavours don’t hold back – a very punchy sweet soy which won me over right there and then. The meat board can be full of this wagyu alone, and I would be one happy, no longer still hungry guy.
Unfortunately, the meat board isn’t just full of wagyu. Fortunately, the rest is still delicious. My second favourite item is the morcilla, or more commonly known as blood sausage/boudin noir. For those who don’t do blood sausage, skip right past this paragraph. For those that do, you’ll lap these up like it wasn’t even there to begin with. Pan-seared in soy, and heavily salted, these leave no flavour to be desired. They also pretty much melt in your mouth. Holy crap, this board just keeps on giving.
The last meaty goodness to showcase itself is the mortadella. This is an Italian salumi sausage that incorporates cubes of pork fat in the meat. Devon on Danks’ version is seemingly baked, so that there’s a bit of hardness to the meat. It’s a nice contrast to the tenderness of the wagyu and morcilla. Flavours are primarily reminiscent of the classic “porky & salty” that appropriately describes most salumi. Further, there’s a hint of spiciness and berry-like sweetness to it. Honestly, I have no material complaint about any of the three meats on this board.
Can I get extra scotched eggs instead?
And then there’s the sai ua scotch egg. Sai ua is grilled Thai pork sausage, where here it’s ground up and mixed with bread to comprise the mixture that wraps around the egg. While it elicited mixed reactions from my friends, I personally quite liked the extra zing from the spiciness of the sausage. There’s also a strong herbiness and curry hint to the filling. It plays well to my senses, especially as Thai is one of my favourite cuisines.
Anyways, back to the egg – see the yolk? Devon was the master of eggs back at the Surry Hills location, and the Danks location is no different. I’ve never, ever had a problem with Devon’s eggs. For 14+ combined visits, that’s quite the record!
One last thing: the bread. It’s an Asian-style soft sugar bread, so you just go mop those beans right up. Wipe the board clean. There shall be no regrets.
If I were to criticise one general aspect of the dish: definitely very salty. Expect a lot of stomach bloat once you drink the required amount of water to balance out all that sodium you’ve just ingested.
The Manny P burger – Annatto spiced fried chicken fillet, chilli mayo, fragrant herbs, pickles, chips ($19 + $7 for extra chicken)
I’m no wrestler, but this burger looks like it can do some delicious damage, which I would of course completely allow. It’s a shame, because the Manny P Burger is the one dish I have not properly tasted. All I could do was look upon my friend with envy as he demolished a double version of this burger. No kidding:
Doubled up
For an extra $7, you get another chicken patty to play with as you wish. I’ll tell you this: I tried a piece of the skin that fell off, and I knew right there and then that I am going to love this. Stay tuned, I’m coming back for a proper sampling of this burger.
Yogi bowl – Mixed quinoa, yoghurt, grains, nuts, pomelo, mandarin, melon, chia, goji, puffed amaranth, matcha ($15)
The most underwhelming dish I’ve ever had at Danks (not just for this post) would have to be the yogi bowl. It’s a pretty plate of food to be sure, but unlike Aphrodite’s bowl from Devon @ Surry, its beauty was camera-deep. The Danks attempt at a fruity, sweet breakfast dish doesn’t do any wonders for me. The yoghurt is very, very thick, and oddly enough, had a dry, rough texture of sorts. There was too much quinoa, which tasted very plain, even when mixed with the yoghurt. Somehow, it was unable to take up the yoghurt’s flavours. Likely due to the yoghurt’s odd texture.
The rest of the dish was quite busy. I was excited to read matcha as one of the ingredients, but barely tasted it – completely lost underneath all else that was going on in the dish.
Plot twist: I was the one that ordered the yogi bowl. I’ve failed myself. Fortunately, I got a second wind:
Breakfast with the Sakuma’s – Miso grilled king salmon, smoked eel croquette, 63° egg, radish petit salad & kewpie mayonnaise ($25)
Redeemed. Sure, it’s one of the unhealthiest things you could eat at Devon, but there’s no denying that the breakfast with the Sakuma’s is Devon’s hero dish. You know Zacharay has put great faith in this dish as it’s one of the few that’s across both the Danks and Surry menus. Fortunately, it also tastes the same across both. That flavoursome, buttery miso salmon, the gooey, yolkporn-worthy 63C egg.
When in doubt, go for original! I still wish they would go lighter on the oil – my one wish for this dish!
One of the draw cards of the Danks cafe is the soft serve. A Danks exclusive. On my initial visit, it was a salted caramel soft serve. They have since gone through several flavour changes, all of which I’ve missed out on. Shame on me? I agree.
It’s time to make up for it with some tea.
Thai milk tea soft serve ($5)
Specifically, thai milk tea soft serve. I may be guilty for missing out on pandan and mango, but I would be most devastated if I had missed out on this. It’s beautiful, and it tastes almost as good. What do I mean by almost?
I wished the milk tea flavour was stronger. I was left wanting for a stronger flavour hit. I could still tell it was milk tea – perhaps I’ve become too used to Aqua S and their flavour intensity. This is definitely for those who like it more subtle. As for texture, it’s a little icy. A bit of extra creaminess wouldn’t hurt.
Would I get it again? Yes – it is that good. However, I implore Danks staff to improve on the creaminess and intensity of flavour. $5 is a lot to ask for a soft serve!
And that’s the update, folks! Devon on Danks is still cooking good food and keeping things fresh. Not everything was up to scratch, but that was to be anticipated, so no expectations were broken. My new favourite? The meat board. My old favourite? Sakuma still knows what’s up. My new dish to go on the wish list? The Manny P burger.
In the end, if all of that doesn’t get you going, maybe their doughnuts/cronnies will:
Danks-in-Donuts ($7 for 3)
Devon Cronnies ($6.5 – four available flavours on my particular visit)
We didn’t order any, as we were expecting the current star child – a bacon cronut, to be on the cards. Alas, not so. Excuses for more visits, right?
Till the next one, folks!
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