Shucked

I got invited by the general manager/owner of Shucked Naomi Mawson! They had a new chef join up from London called Colin. As a result, they had a new menu launched and they wanted people to try it. We had a rapid exchange of emails and I managed to snag VGirl along for the ride.

I've only really started exploring Newstead recently and I'm really liking the neighbourhood. We took separate cars since I had work afterwards so VGirl was doing all the navigation. Shucked is in a weird little business/industrial area and so it's a little out of the way and hard to notice. With that being said, there is good signage so its not too bad.

Gotcha!

Gotcha!

There was a bit of an awkward bit initially when I said I had been invited there and no one knew what was going on. A phone call cleared things up and we continued on as usual. I always panic when I get invited to places as I don't publicise my personal details and no one really knows what I look like. I always wonder how I prove myself and sometimes I accidentally delete the email getting me the invite in the first part. That being said though, how ballsy would you would have to be to fake invite yourself to a restaurant and grab a free meal.

With that tangent over and done with, I like the hipster cafe look. There is like a random chair on top of the air conditioner unit which was a bit kooky. We sat in the main part of the cafe as we figured it would be a bit warmer.

So much wooden furniture

That's the other area!

I like places that have fun names for their dishes, I love a good sense of humour. I had a good chuckle over the names of their cold brew coffee range.

Cute names

This is the second section that has more interesting seating arrangements and pretty murals. It is also way more exposed to the elements and was freezing when we walked past.

Pretty~

I liked the murals, they are very bright and attractive to my eyes. I especially liked the couch and the balloons attached.

Cute~

Super cute~

The second area in its entirety

There is an online menu but there are quite a few options that solely appear on the walls only. It is well worth checking out both before you make your decision. Here is their winter menu for 2014!

Breakfast alcohol?

ICED TEA

VGirl and I aren't super coffee drinkers as you know, we're more flavoured coffee, sugar syrup or mocha kinda girls. So I think it was hardly surprising that we went for the more exotic flavoured options. VGirl picked a nutella latte, she reasoned that it would taste like a fancy mocha with a hint of hazelnut and she was right! The milk was beautifully textured, silky and creamy and the nutella smeared over the sides of the glass, added an extra richness to the drink. That being said, she added that she didn't quite like the coffee that they used, although I thought it was a pleasant contrast.

So creamy

I ordered the peanut butter hot chocolate. There was a distinctive creamy, slightly salty peanut butter flavour to the faintly chocolaty drink. There was a gigantic smear of peanut butter down the side of the glass that I kept eating. I found the drink not as sweet as I liked, so I did have to add extra sugar to it.

Wasn't what I expecting I think?

VGirl picked the Fun Guy! Roasted field mushrooms, poached eggs, basil goats cheese curd on top of a piece of toasted turkish bread. She wanted to have haloumi but they were already all out by the time we went there which was unfortunate.

Mmm mushrooms

Lots of mushrooms spilling out everywhere which was a lovely touch. The mushrooms were very meaty and juicy, I loved the flavour of them. The poached eggs popped beautifully as you can see below and the yolks were so bright and rich. The basil goats cheese curd was so creamy, VGirl dislikes the strong flavour of goats cheese but she quite liked this due to the mildness of the cheese used or whatever they did to make the curd.

Oooh~

I picked Compliments to the Chook! Sweet spiced roasted chicken, fried egg and coleslaw burger! It also came with a side of lightly salted potato chips, I was surprised but that sorta of American touch to the dish. I liked the spice coating on the chicken and I have no idea what it was to be honest. The chicken was so succulent, juicy and tender. I was a little surprised that the chicken came out in chunks thought as I had pieces of chicken falling out of my burger, left, right and centre. The coleslaw had a lot of celery in it, so I wasn't a huge fan since I feel celery overpowers everything, it does add a nice crunch to everything though. The fried egg popped inside my burger and made a gooey sauce for everything.

Aw yiss

I liked my little skewer which was in the shape of a heart.

Nice touch!

Both VGirl and myself decided to get a glass of iced tea at the end to finish the meal off. We couldn't decide on who got what iced tea, so we decided to order both and share the drinks. There was a lychee and lime iced tea and a strawberry and lemon iced tea. VGirl shotgunned the lychee and I should have fought for it because she was my +1 but I let her! I LET HER HAVE THE SUPER DELICIOUS ONE.

It tastes like pure fruit. No watered down crap. Pure lychee, sweet, slightly sour and the tang and freshness of a muddled lime cheek added into it. There were two giant lychees in the bottom of the glass which VGirl let me eat. It was a really tall glass and we swapped drinks halfway through. We were absolutely freezing and our hands were so cold from the condensation but we shivered and sighed through the drink. We both agreed that it tasted like summer days, in the darkness of winter. Especially with the cute little palm tree stirrer.

Lychee and lime!

The strawberry and lemon drink was just as good, it had a strong strawberry flavour but with a bit of sourness from the lemon juice. Tasty but still no lychee and lime. I would still buy this drink again, but probably not over lychee because that is probably my favourite fruit.

Strawberry and lemon!

Shucked Coffee House
Atmosphere: 7, cold but a bright and well decorated space. I like the different seating arrangements. I also love me some hand written chalk menus.
Service: 6, pretty solid. I can't think of anything special.
Food: 7.5, I thought the food was pretty good, definitely worth a visit. The iced tea were the real highlight for VGirl and I, and she's adding that she would definitely go back for the iced tea if we were in the area, but not for a meal since its a bit out of the way for us.