Review: Layup Cafe

This cafe should be renamed Laydown cafe. As after eating at Layup, you will enter a food coma so big that you need to lay down.

2 friends, Miss C and Miss A, and I ventured out to this cafe, one early (and very cold) morning for Miss C's 22nd birthday! (cue Taylor Swift's 22 song). Despite being the one that lives the closest to the cafe, I was running my standard 10 minutes behind. But luckily for me, and as a bonus, there's plenty of free residential parking close by! As I rushed in, I loved how spacious and airy it was with its simple decor and displays of greenery, giving a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere.

Okay, now let's get down to the important stuff. The food!

I ordered the guacamole pico de gallo with slow cooked eggs, charred sourdough, smoked corn and jalapeno custard($20). After seeing this dish pop up numerous times on my Instagram, I was keen to try it. But because of how advertised this dish was, I may have gone in with my expectations too high as I did find the dish kind of average. It didn't wow me. On the positive size, the eggs were perfectly cooked, satisfyingly oozing out when opened. But I found the jalapeno custard quite mild and I think the ratios of components were not as balanced as they could have been or as I have seen in previous Instagram pics. I could have done with a little less tomato in the pico de gallo as the dish tasted more like bruschetta and a little more guacamole and corn, which could have been charred more. I may have chosen the wrong dish for the morning as I think it could be great for a warm summer morning as it is refreshing and light. 

Guacamole pico de gallo with slow cooked egg, charred sourdough, smoked corn and jalapeno custard

One of the reasons why we picked this cafe is as Miss A is gluten intolerant, and this cafe offers many gluten free dishes and options. She opted for the baked prosciutto with herbed potato hash, manchego, poached egg ($19) with added spinach ($4). She found her dish a bit too heavy with the cheese, and was only able to eat half. Miss A is my chai expert. She was a bit disappointed as they used a chai syrup rather than loose tea leaves as it releases less tannins? (Sorry, I was only half listening as I was still busy perusing the menu but I can follow up on this, if anyone is interested). However, Miss C ordered a bagel with a fried egg, avocado and bacon. She absolutely loved it, demolishing the generous portion.

Baked Prosciutto with Herbed Potato Hash, Manchego and Poached Egg

Bagel with Fried Egg, Avocado and Bacon

One of the best things about the food were the generous portions! Hence, we inevitably were left in food comas and so we continued to sit around and talk. The staff were absolutely in accommodating in refilling our water glasses and taking photos of us. Furthermore split billing is offered! On a side note, I do love their tableware with tiffany blue teapots and cups and the different plates our meals were delivered on.

In summary, I had an enjoyable morning at the cafe and I would return back to try some of the other options that people have said I might enjoy more. Plus, those donuts I spied in the cabinet looked pretty tasty!

Love always, 

Sammy K

The Best of The Golden Gate City In A Weekend

Recently, instead of doing my assignments, I've been Netflix-ing and chilling. By this, I literally mean watching show after show, episode after episode, by myself, on Netflix. Within Australia, the American sitcom Full House and its new sequel Fuller House was just made available on Netflix. If you haven't watched it, this show will make you laugh, it'll make you cry as you follow the journey of a single parent, their sibling and their best friend try to raise a family of 3 children. The show is set in the Golden Gate City, San Francisco. So while watching, it got me thinking about that brief weekend I spent in San Francisco whilst on exchange in America.

I firstly thought this city, with its steep hills and strong winds that could blow you away, was pretty much going to be my nightmare as I'm basically cold blooded and I'm not the biggest fan of exercise. But despite this, in a mere 2 days, this city won me over!

Due to the limited time, I did all the classic touristy things and here are some tips and tricks I picked up whilst exploring San Fran! 

One of the biggest tourist attractions is the Golden Gate Bridge. My advice, a great way to view it up close is by bike riding. Definitely rent bikes from Fisherman's wharf instead of Union Square as it is more flat and there is less traffic to fight your way through. The rental places will provide you with a map and along the ride, there will be physical checkpoints telling you where you are relative to the entire ride and how much further each checkpoint is away.

This was the best shot I managed to get of the bridge as it was so foggy the weekend I was there

Me and some of my friends speeding ahead! Taken by: a friend

After completing the bike ride in the day, you can explore the wharf at night, especially Pier 39, which is one of the places I loved. A must do, is to visit the Boudin Bakery and Café. They serve, in my opinion, the yummiest, most sinfully delicious, heart warming to the core, soups and chowder. Plus it comes in a bread bowl so you don't have to be ashamed of licking the bowl in public!

If you're up for more physical exercise, try Lombard St. It is one of the crookedest streets in the world with 8 hair pin turns. I don't recommend driving and trying to find a parking spot as it is simply too crowded and busy. Instead, what we did was walk from Fisherman's wharf, as it isn't really too far. Well, it's walking distance (hahah get it? it is sad that I laugh at my own lame jokes?). Although this attraction is packed with people, it wasn't my favourite, probably because of that reason, ironically.

Lombard St filled with people and cars

A great to view San Francisco if you're limited in time, like I was, is to join a tour such as the Wild SF Walking Tours. We accidentally stumbled upon this group and they were so friendly and welcoming us in joining in. You meet as a group at Union Square (another key attraction! especially if you want to do some shopping) and they take you through different parts of San Fran, such as in my tour, they took us through Chinatown which is actually the oldest Chinatown in Northern America and the largest Chinese community outside Asia.

One place unexpectedly I had a lot of fun was at the California Academy of Sciences. Initially, the $30 entrance fee makes you pause and think, but I found it was worth it. It is definitely a great place to visit with kids. Plus, it is located within the Golden Gate Park. This park is huge and beautiful with all the gardens.

Unfortunately, I really wanted to visit Alcatraz Island but tickets book out pretty fast for it, so make sure you book your tickets early. But I guess it gives me a good enough reason to go back!

Love always,

Sammy K :)

It's not just the place but also the company which makes a trip great!