Haven: Tailoring Coffee Joyously, Surry Hills

Haven: Tailoring Coffee Joyously opened up recently in Surry Hills.  A short walk away from Central Station, it's a must visit for all you coffee lovers.  Not only is the coffee good, but the dishes we tried also hit the spot and even C (who is not a coffee drinker) is keen to come back for both.

The interior is spacious and well-lit.  A nice change from many cramped and uncomfortable inner city cafes.  This is a place you can come to enjoy a morning brunch, sunshine and not feel a rush to leave. 

Haven allows you to tailor your coffee based on 5 criteria: aroma, acidity, sweetness, body and after taste.  K tailored her coffee to have more aroma and less acidity. Although we didn't order another coffee with different options to compare, it was definitely a perfectly made latte.  The coffees come with a serving of sultanas which you are meant to eat with the coffee to accentuate the flavours. We could definitely taste the difference with it!

Being a (fake) coffee drinker, C ordered a mocha.  The chocolate sauce dripped over the edge of the cup made for great presentation.  C tailored his mocha to be less sweet and with more aroma. The chocolate sauce (made with 73% Madagascan dark chocolate) was delicious and K kept sticking her finger over to get some leftover chocolate around the mug.

For our meals, K ordered the drunken chicken kale caesar salad with crystallised bacon, confit garlic and a poached egg on top. For those who don't know, drunken chicken is a traditional Shanghainese dish where the chicken is poached and then marinated in a Chinese rice wine and served cold.  K loves this and was curious to see how it would work in a westernised dish.

To our pleasant surprise, the flavours worked perfectly. The rice wine flavours are strong in the chicken but nicely balanced by the creamy dressing, garlic and bursts of umami with the crystallised bacon bits.  And with all the hype about kale being a superfood - what other reason do you need to try this dish?

Drunken Chicken Kale Caesar Salad

As we first entered the cafe, we saw a giant sign saying that the pork belly kimcheese burger is a "must try". C didn't really need much more (if any) convincing and K admittedly had a bit of food envy when she tried this dish. It is seriously a must-try (even for any Koreans out there who may think this is an insult to their national dish). The spicy and sour flavours of the kimchi balances perfectly with the saltiness of the roasted pork belly and the grated apple gives a refreshing lift to the dish. Believe it or not, kimchi actually works well with Bocconcini Cheese!

Pork Belly Kimcheese Burger

Getting up close and personal with the pork belly

Portions wise, we probably could have stopped at those two dishes, but for the sake of our blog (that's our excuse at least), we had to try their Soy Chai Pannacotta.  The chai flavours are intense but balanced by the sweetness of the candied lemon and pistachio. You should eat every element of this dish together in order to appreciate how delicious it is. 

Soy Chai Pannacotta

Not being experienced filter coffee drinkers, we asked Roy Yu, one of the owners to recommend something for us. There are 3 single origin filter coffee options - fruity, nutty and chocolatey. Ron recommended the "nutty" option for us. Having never tried a filter coffee before, we were surprised by how smooth, light and delicate the flavour is. Our coffee came with a side of crushed cacao to accentuate the nutty flavours of the coffee.

Single Origin Filter Coffee (nutty option)

We got chatting with the owners of Haven and it turns out they are originally from Hong Kong and have been in the coffee industry for a number of years before starting Haven. With K originating from Hong Kong herself, there was certainly a fair share of Honkie pride.

The owners of Haven

We have a soft spot for Asian inspired western food.  We love the idea of modernising and refining familiar Asian flavours and combining them with western dishes.  It reflects the identity of third culture kids, bringing back memories of food from our childhood, but with a twist.  This is why we liked Devon Cafe and Kin by Us and is the reason why we thoroughly enjoyed our visit of Haven.