Aside from Friday morning sleep-ins, Friday morning breakfasts are the ultimate luxury. Foregoing the former to indulge in the latter, MMC meets an acquaintance at Adelaide Central Market's Big Table. The big plan at Big Table was to resist coffee, eat breakfast, and meet friend of MMC at Zuma's for blog fodder. What went wrong? Picture perfect pouring, that's what. The (unintended) Order: one skinny cappuccino and one flat white, have here. The Prices: $3.30.Big Table, to MMC eternally 'the cow-print stool place', is a.m. aflutter. Unnoticed, we slide easily into bench seats, so coveted during busy spells. The Shopspace: effectively a raised corrugated iron shed, customers perch teppanyaki-style to ogle coffee and food prep. The Service: in the lunch-making hour, only the turkish bread is talking. The Greeting: once from an owner-type who chats offside to friends/favourites. Twice from busy barista brings our bevvies, and thrice from busy baguetter who finally breaks from the pack to collect our breakfast order.
First comes coffee. MMC stares barista-ward as much as politeness and proximity allow. Finally, a unique pouring style! Almost a figure-eight/fishtail hand motion. Cappuccino comes heavy chocked - some pre-pour, some post. MMC's breakfast buddy, famous for eating the 'froth' first, dips her spoon, and freezes. With only a film of silken milk, this cappuccino's a genuine faux pour. MMC's cup is a wiggly wonder, and the same froth film is a (good) strike in the flat-white ball game. Predictably, breakfast buddy's coffee is weak - it has a quarter more unfrothed milk than a cappuccino needs. They're sizey teacups - even flat white is on the strength down-low. Temperature-wise, we're in deliciously drinkable territory.
Next comes coffee. After breakfast - buttery mushrooms on high-GI white toast, if you were wondering - MMC is eager to strengthen workday resolve with the decadent Second Cup. Zuma's was the plan, stan, and for some reason - too early for smokers? - an outdoor table is easily procured. We sit down, stand up, turn around and plod inside to order. The Greeting: friendly enough, from owner-type who immediately demands details. We're given change and a funky wrought iron table number with Zuma's name on it.
Speaking of nomenclature, Zuma's Caffe sure ain't owned by Mr Zuma. As far as MMC can tell, in its 15ish years of operation, it has never been. The top 5 potential namesakes? 1. Zuma, clan name from Zulu tribe of Africa. 2. Zuma, from the Arabic zulema, meaning 'peace' and 'full of life'. 3. Zuma, Japanese for 'running horse'. 4. Zuma, name of Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale's second child, itself after Zuma Beach in Malibu. 5. Zuma, name of market in capital city of Madagascar, apparently the largest market in the world. Bingo! MMC likes #5 - to market, to market! Meet me in Madagascar.
Zuma's tables start to fill with basket-pushing marketeers. Inside and through into the market, they're buzzy busy. Back in our lucky spot, we're easy to forget, but the wait ain't long. The Service: somehow, sulky. Our waitress does Act I: 'Which of youse is having wot?' She unceremoniously dumps beverages accordingly. Act II: 'You waitin' on anything else?' closes with a violent seizure of the table number, already positioned for the blog photo. It's not just our blog-bred service-sensitivity - the lady got 'tude.
Ever ready to forgive and forget, friend of MMC dips eagerly into mug o' flat white. He's OK with it, but sans fireworks. MMC agrees, sipping wimpy latte. A sugar tab reveals Zuma use Victorian 'Veneziano Coffee', boutique blenders who described their espresso as 'balanced and versatile'. Unfortunately, we're having difficulty sniffing a 'sweet-toned aroma with fruit
and chocolate complications', or mouthfeeling a tight, 'syrupy' smoothness. It's an OK cup, but if Veneziano's coffee flavours for-real harmonise with 'enzymatic citrus notes', then the current Zuma's setup is not quite doing it justice.The Lesson: the coffee ante ups when you step onto Gouger, and so do customer expectations. Was it a bad day, or are Zuma's Caffe and Big Table breakfast blitzers only?
I am sad to say I agree! Years ago, in a former career I worked in Wakefield St and frequently stopped at Zuma's on the way to work for a great start-of-the-day coffee. Surprised by your three and a half bean score, I decided to pop in to Zuma's for a nostalgic flat white for the first time in I'd say three years. What's happened? Zuma's has lost its mojo. The coffee was overly milky and lacked any of that delicious aftertaste I remembered from previous visits. Very disappointing - but a good call from you and your barrister barista mates.
ReplyDeleteDear MMC,
ReplyDeleteThanking you for your thorough review of Zumma Caffe on Gouger Street. In the interests of accuracy I wish to point out an inadvertent error in the review. The coffee used at Zuma Caffe is in fact Di Bella coffee and not Veneziano Coffee as claimed. Perhaps a clarification is in order as the review was less than favourable towards Veneziano Coffee.
Domenic