Humble Rays

‘French Toast Forever’ is topped with fairy floss.

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71 Bouverie Street, Carlton, 8354 8459

My score: 4/5

If you’re bored with breakfast in Melbourne, you mustn’t be trying. When you’ve munched too much muesli you can move to matcha bowls. If you’re tired of toast there are waffles in the wings. And when you’ve smashed every avocado in sight, you’ll see coconut pannacotta jiggling with excitement as its moment in the spotlight approaches.

Humble Rays plays it both ways: there’s Vegemite toast and poached eggs for Euro traditionalists as well as a suite of new-style brunch dishes that roam from elegant to extravagant, nourishing to outlandishly indulgent. The new cafe, in easy skiving reach of Melbourne Uni and RMIT, is a pastel and plant-strung haven with a cheery mix of bench seats, stools, window tables and shadowy rear nooks where you can hang with a laptop and eat up the wifi.

Chef Tinee Suntivatana calls upon her fine dining training, Bangkok background and passion for desserts to create an all-day menu that’s appealing and creative. Exuberance and frivolity are backed by solid technique and the career cook’s eye for detail. The main focus is on sweet dishes; Tinee also has a hand in Hobart’s Honey Badger, a dessert cafe and, previously, Sweeter Bangkok in her native Thailand.

The puffle waffle is a Hong Kong-style breakfast treat that’s sweet and pretty. The linked spheres of batter are crunchy, fluffy and floaty, dressed up with coconut ice cream, the nutty crunch of praline and black sesame crumble, and the dancing loveliness of flowers and saw-toothed white chocolate shavings. It’s a novelty dish but it’s at the nice end of naughty; it doesn’t plunge the eater straight into a food coma. That’s possibly not the case with the ‘French Toast Forever’, the tallest breakfast dish I’ve ever seen. The toast itself – stuffed with berry-swirled cream cheese and fried to a hot and hedonistic crispiness – is excellent. It’s then piled with ice cream, fairy floss, fresh fruit and assorted sprinkles. There’s method to the munchable madness – the elements combine well, if lavishly. You may wish to have a nap scheduled for afterwards.

Humble Rays brings savoury joy too. The crab scramble is a reworking of khao pad boo, or Thai-style crab fried rice. The rice element includes coconut and quinoa, the scramble itself is light, airy and generous on the seafood front. Fried shallots, fresh chilli and chilli mayo add punch and crunch. The Egg Benny takes classic eggs benedict and punts it towards Japan: there’s melty-soft ginger-braised pork belly, a miso-laced potato croquette that stands in for the traditional muffin, and a yuzu-spiked hollandaise with a spiky citrusy kick to replace the usual vinegar. It’s clever and satisfying though rich as kings.

If I could point to just one trend in Melbourne cafes this year, it’s the exciting surge in Asian-influenced breakfasts. While we’re in the throes of Lunar New Year celebrations, it’s not a bad time to remember that Asian cuisine isn’t stuck in a dumpling and noodle time warp and that new traditions are being created all over town and for every time of day. Humble Rays can stand proudly at the forefront.

See their website.

More Asian Breakfast:

Chotto, 35 Smith Street, Fitzroy, no phone.
Traditional Japanese breakfast sets are the deal at this temporary cafe. Enjoy summer dishes such as cold udon noodles with a sesame dipping sauce, elegant garnishes and yuzu dressing.

Oneyada, 239 Victoria Street, Abbotsford, 9041 1525.
The Thai team have just reopened their breakfast cafe after a long summer break. Thank goodness we can come back for congee, baked eggs with minced pork, and kaya toast.

Orient East, 348 St Kilda Road, Melbourne, 9685 2900.
The colonial Malaysian fit-out of the restaurant at Seasons Botanic Gardens Hotel is purposely kitschy. The kitchen is equally adept at Euro-style eggs or muesli and congee with pork floss.

Luxsmith, 5 Gamon Street, Seddon, 9362 7333.
Weekend breakfast dishes include a brekkie banh mi with fried egg and smoked bacon and scrambled tofu roti wrap, along with Euro staples like muesli and fruit toast.

First published in The Age, 5th February 2017.