Toastie is smack in the middle of Carlton "Corporate" Gore Road, but the fact that it's near the edge of Newmarket (read: no parking) and is still packed makes a testament to its high reviewed reputation.
I'm going to get the worst part out of the way first: the ambience. This place sucks. It's loud, everything is built as cheaply as possible, and there's no variation in colour other than Ikea-level laminated wood and white hard surfaces. Everything is sterile, and without the lack of fabric or any kind of uneven surface, sound echoes. Horribly. Combine this with the coffee machine, the banging of the puck and the grinder, as well as people talking over each other and the hilarious speakers attempting to pipe any sort of music into the place--well, it's prime for overstimulation.
I wanted to grab the owner and just say, "please. let me at least color in some accent walls and hang some paintings up in this place. maybe some fabric to mute the echo."
Also they're incredibly understaffed so the tables aren't cleaned fast enough to welcome new customers, and when they are cleared away of prior plates and cups, all the oils and flecks still remain.
BUT THE FOOD THO.
My friend and I both got the Egg Drop Sandwich; she ordered a flat white while I went for the Kyoto Latte. This kind of sandwich is essentially a milkbread toasted on both sides, then cut open but not all the way so it forms a pocket to stuff in the fillings. For the Egg Drop, it's scrambled eggs (two, by the amount) paired with a spicy sauce, sweet mayo, and ham and American cheese. The ham and cheese is cold. It's intentional. We were surprised as well.
The scramble is extremely soft and fluffy, and we were constantly surprised at how nice the texture was. I thought the spicy sauce was fine (mild-medium by my taste), but my friend was looking at me sadly and saying, "I have a confession: I'm not a true Korean because I can't handle my spice." I do wonder if all the sweetness came from the sweet mayo, because I suspect there's a bit of mirin or a slurry of cornstarch because its texture does feel similar to Chinese whampoa stir-fried eggs.
The pocket of toast is great. Nothing leaks out from the bottom and it's immensely user-friendly to eat despite the sandwich being so thick. I suppose, some might want the toast to be completely sliced through the middle and have the filling go all the way, but there was more than enough food for the price we paid. I loved it.
We immediately made plans to come back.
For coffee, they use Society Coffee beans. This is probably a recent change, since no more than a week ago they were still advertising Ozone which I've talked about before.
The coffee is the usual chocolate, malt, caramel notes. Nothing to write home about. I got the Kyoto Latte out of curiousity which they then told me was a blend of milks with something sweet added to it. My friend who drinks Starbucks said it was nice, but I felt it was too sweet. I can't judge much of the coffee shot either way because of the added sweetness. If you want a sweeter coffee, feel free to order it, but I wouldn't order it again.
Both of us want to try the Bulgogi Sandwich next time.
If you're in Australia, the obvious comparison to Toastie would be Eggholic, but genuinely? I think this is better.
Haha, so this post sat in drafts long enough that I went back.
This is their Bulgogi Toast--bulgogi beef, cabbage, and fried egg. The cabbage is cooked down until it has the texture of caramelized onion, which is nice, and the bulgogi beef marinade gives it the typical Korean sweetness we've all come to expect. The fried egg is the winner here; it's excellently made, crisp, and the texture is what makes all the difference against the contrast between the beef and cabbage. Paired with the toast, it's fantastic and I would say I liked it a lot more than the Egg Drop sandwich.
For the coffee, I got a filter Guatemala. I've confirmed they use Society Coffee beans this time. It's a bit dark, with some light apricot notes and a sweetness that lingers nicely. I did note that the person at the counter didn't rinse nor preheat their ceramic V60, but none of this really matters because the real question is did I feel their coffee was lacking from temperature? Did I taste some paper flavours from the lack of the rinse? No. It was a perfectly fine cup, though I was very distracted by the free Biscoff cookie they gave me.
It's now another month later and a friend treated me to Toastie. I SHOULD POST MORE INSTEAD OF LETTING STUFF SIT IN DRAFTS.
Here's one of those "frot-dogs" transwomen always talk about.
I liked it. 😏
