Blaq Piq can be found a stone's throw from Cafe Cre Asion which is widely known for its premium quality matcha dessert creations and drinks. Blaq Piq was a stark contrast against the dull monochromatic buildings on Alberta Street with its vibrantly modern interior and adequate outdoor and indoor seating available.

DT and I visited on a Saturday at around 11am and the place was buzzing with people as expected but it wasn't necessary to wait for a table which earned a silent hooray from me. The service we received was quite prompt and attentive and no issues were experienced. 

The menu

For drinks, I went for the iced green tea latte as the weather was quite muggy and I wanted something cold to combat it. 

Iced green tea latte $6

My iced green tea latte was perfect, not too icy and full of matcha flavour. It was only very subtly sweetened so for the people who are not particularly fond of bitter green tea drinks it may not be enjoyed to the same extent.


Some sugar syrup was provided though which meant we were given the option to customise the sweetness to our liking and that was the point of difference from Cre Asion.

Twice cooked pork belly $17

The first thing I couldn't help but notice was the amount of salad relative to the slices of pork belly. With only three meagre slices I was already sceptical, especially considering the price. My thoughts on the dish may be considered unfairly harsh with the reason being that I dislike rocket due to its overpowering bitterness but truth be told, there was too much of it on the plate and no redeeming dressing to cut that bitterness and as a result lingered unpleasantly on my tastebuds. The pork belly itself was pretty underwhelming to say the least, it could have really done with more flavour and adding to that it was surprisingly dry despite it being slow-cooked so perhaps we caught the dish on one of its off-days. The couple of 63C eggs on the side was overly generous as I didn't think it went well with the pork belly, too many rich textures and not enough seasoning so it didn't bode well when there was also pumpkin puree making an appearance. I really don't have any good things to say about it and was left feeling severely disappointed.

Wagyu corned beef $18

At least this dish was executed well with a better balance of textures and flavours but not outstanding. The lotus buns were amazingly soft and pillowy though and noticeably sweet if compared to normal baos which worked in its favour with the tender and salty corned wagyu beef and further balanced out by the creamy pan-fried 63C egg and overflowing hollandaise sauce.

With my first bite I immediately likened it to the taste of a Bacon and Egg McMuffin but with a sweeter bun. I do enjoy McMuffins so it was most certainly a good thing for me. Although for the price we paid it would have been more acceptable if the serving was three buns instead of two.

Pandan buttermilk pancakes $16

After such a lacklustre experience from the pork belly the gorgeous and colourful presentation of these pandan pancakes was a welcoming sight and even more so since green is one of my favourite colours. Pictures of this dish have been popping up constantly on my social media and not only were they pretty to photograph and admire they were sure yummy too.

Pouring the salted coconut sugar syrup

The aroma of pandan that wafted through was apparent in the pancakes but not strong either. The pancakes were delightfully soft and fluffy and were sweetened by the delicious creamy coconut ice cream and the salted coconut sugar syrup which you can drizzle less or more of depending on your taste. The fruits served to add extra colour and sweetness in particular the mango cubes which were perfectly ripe. I also loved the nata de coco which had an addictive chewy texture to them.

I have mixed feelings about Blaq Piq but would consider giving it another chance to try out the other items on their menu. I would return for those pancakes and their matcha drinks though.

It was a warm Sunday afternoon and DT and I didn't want to travel too far so Buttermelt Cafe located in the heart of Strathfield was the pick for that day. The cafe took up the space where Moochi was once upon a time so it was a pretty small hangout but there were plenty of empty tables so waiting for one was a non-issue. Judging from the abundance of Instagram pictures of their monster of a pancake stack it would be fair to assume that it was their most popular item on the menu and the main reason I wanted to hit the place up.

The menu was easy to peruse, with the food and drink selections all squeezed onto the one page. For beverages, DT and I ordered a taro latte and green tea latte respectively.

With one sip of the green tea latte I was instantly met with the delicate aroma of matcha, the froth was silky and the latte smooth and creamy and was sweetened but not dramatically so where the green tea flavour was masked. It wasn't up there with the matcha latte served at Cre Asion which was unbelievably rich and smooth but it still got my tick of approval and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.

The taro latte was also really lovely as the taro flavour didn't taste artificial at all. It wasn't heavily sweetened either which allowed the taro flavour to really come through and be appreciated. Taro is also a rather unique flavour to have in a hot beverage so it was great to see it executed quite well. DT definitely enjoyed it and preferred it over its green tea counterpart. 

DT was presented with a fairly sizeable burger that was seriously heaped with a mound of slow-cooked pulled pork, diced onions, quartered cucumbers and pickles. Together they made a statement on top of a radicchio leaf which served to provide some textural crunch and prevented the bread from becoming soggy from the juicy pulled pork. The brioche roll encompassing the said components wasn't like any brioche that I had come across as it had corn kernels baked inside of it and brought about a subtle sweetness which I really liked.

In terms of tastiness, it was better than average, the pulled pork was flavoursome and dripping with juices which did cause a bit of struggle during its consumption. It was slightly sweet and more savoury but was letdown a smidge by not being tender enough. The sourness from the pickles, bitterness from the radicchio and the onions were great for packing in different flavours and worked harmoniously to produce a sensible burger. The brioche was especially excellent as it was toasted until it was amazingly crunchy and the discovery of the bits of corn throughout made it less ordinary.

Oh my, I almost forgot about the chips which were described as butter chips on the menu. I wished there were more of them because they were incredibly crunchy and light in texture while still being soft and potatoey inside. 

The pancakes along with their brioche French toast make up their signature section on the menu and are served all day which is fortunate as I could surely have these pancakes anytime of the day or night. It was so visually stunning that I had severe happy feels when it was brought to the table. The pancakes were stacked in a reasonable fashion with generous slathers of berry compote alternated through and plenty of coarsely ground pistachio sprinkled around to add a pop of colour and crunchy nuttiness. 

This was life-changing and needs to be personally experienced as I'm unable to do it any justice by describing it with mere words. Just know that the pancakes themselves were cooked to have a crisp exterior and the innards were nothing but soft and sweetened clouds of fluffiness. The blueberry and raspberry compote was beautiful and delivered sweet and tart bursts of flavour to assault my tastebuds while the delicious scoop of creamy vanilla bean ice cream exemplified the epicness that was these buttermelt pancakes. I need more of this in my life but I don't want diabetes, life is hard. 

If you haven't been to Buttermelt Cafe, do make a trip there as the pancakes were to die for. It was considerably better than the ones I've had from Pancakes on the Rocks. The pulled pork burger was also pretty decent if you're not keen on raising glucose levels with all that sugar. For something warm to drink, their taro and green tea latte were worth having, especially the taro as it's not commonly done. I will definitely need to go back try their other savoury offerings and the brioche French toast. I also wouldn't mind having those fabulous pancakes again.