253 – 255 Albany Highway, Victoria Park
Ph: 0491 260 941
www.socialmanna.com.au
Fabulous and Fun
At the city end of Albany Highway in Victoria Park, there is a corner cafe that stands out from the crowd. We had so many people contact us about Social Manna after we profiled them in our last issue, that we decided to share more of the wonderful things they do. There are a lot of places to eat in Victoria Park, but this is one with a definite point of difference: inclusive and welcoming, intriguing, amusing and comfortable. You can sit inside or at the tables outside on the street under shady umbrellas. They are open seven days a week from 6:30am through to 2pm.
I had heard of Social Manna, but this was the first time I have been there. My first impressions were that it was an interesting place full of lots of funky bric-a-brac, but immaculately clean; no dust, despite almost every surface being covered with fascinating stuff. The back wall was covered with an enormous collection of teaspoons, which apparently started with owner/chef Sandro Puca’s personal collection, but has since been added to with teaspoon donations from many loyal customers, each representing a fond memory of whoever originally collected it.
There was a row of quirky pots painted with individual faces containing living plants, sitting on a glass-fronted cabinet displaying various baked goods. A couple of colourful strings of flags in a rainbow of colours were hanging across the ceiling. There was a high shelf covered with hundreds of miniature figurines and an old cash register decked out with cute toys and memorabilia. Each table had a wooden caddy containing cutlery, napkins, salt, pepper, sugar, and an amusing small book (different ones for each table), with titles such as Instructions for American Servicemen in Britain 1942 or Wine Makes Mummy Clever.
We sampled some juices and smoothies from Pure & Healthy, a company that grows its own organic fruit and vegetables and recycles everything so there is no wastage. It is all very eco-friendly and nutritious. I particularly enjoyed the berry smoothie, which was delectably fruity.
The first dish we tried was from Social Manna’s new menu, Smashing Geisha, a unique twist on smashed avocado with a definite Japanese influence. It consisted of avocado and edamame smash on a vegetable tempura fritter, with Japanese mixed pickles, chilli crunch and wasabi sesame Kewpie mayo, the final touch being topped with a crispy fried egg. This was a fantastic mix of flavours and textures. All future avo smashes I eat will pale into insignificance by comparison.
Next came Stuff On Toast, an enigmatic title for a dish that was unmistakably Italian inspired. Grilled garlic sourdough (thoughtfully cut into bite-sized chunks) topped with shaved mortadella, creamy stracciatella, piquant peperonata and pistachio pesto. This was delicious and another different take on a classic meal.
We tried some of the quality gourmet baked goods, all made in-house and very tasty. Reminiscent of the British Isles, the selection included Cornish pasty, quiche, meat pie, a pork, apple and sage sausage roll, as well as a spinach and ricotta sausage roll, delightfully accompanied by a sweet and tart house-made chutney, which complemented the rich pastry and savoury fillings.
After our virtual visits to Japan, Italy and the United Kingdom, we took a short break from eating to chat with Sandro about the history of Social Manna. He told us how they pride themselves in providing a different experience to the usual cafe. The coffee, by the way, is excellent. Each cup comes with one of Sandro’s special teaspoons and as well as the usual varieties of coffee (cappuccino, latte, macchiato, etc.) the menu includes babycino for the little ones. You can even get a dog-a-chino for the fur-babies made from frothed lactose-free milk with liver sprinkles which comes with free dog treats, pats and cuddles from the staff. Woof.
Sandro is an interesting and entertaining host, who keeps a library of recipe books in his head. If you ask him what makes them taste so good, he can tell you the list of ingredients in each dish or sauce. Harking back to his Italian roots and his natural flair for hospitality, Sandro obviously enjoys sharing his passion for food and his collections of memorabilia with customers.
We continued our virtual world tour with a trip to the USA for Fried Chicken and Waffles with bourbon butter, maple and bacon. This was a decent sized portion of tender, marinated chicken coated in a flavoursome crunchy batter sitting on a soft waffle, along with rashers of crispy bacon drizzled with bourbon butter and maple syrup, topped with a garnish of chilli threads. A great combination of sweet, savoury, chilli, crunchy and tender tastes and textures. Served with iced black coffee, of course.
Our final destination was China with XO Sauce Chilli Scram. This extremely colourful and tasty dish consisted of toasted sourdough topped with creamy scrambled eggs, house-made XO sauce, thinly sliced fresh chilli and crispy shallots. The traditional Chinese-style XO Sauce is made in-house from minced dried scallops and shrimp, garlic, soy, chilli and shallots, plus smoky American-style bacon.
Of course, if you are not too adventurous in your tastes and just want a basic breakfast like eggs and bacon on toast, that is available too. The same care and attention to detail will be lavished on your meal to make it superbly satisfying, nutritious, delicious and a feast for the eyes, as well as the taste buds.
Their new head chef Valeria Giannone joins Sandro, cafe manager Fatoumata Bayo and the rest of the richly gender and culturally diverse team at Social Manna who keep everyone happy with their high level of service, and a happy and bustling vibe. Whether you are out for breakfast, lunch or something in between, you will not be disappointed with the repast on offer at this delightful venue. Every dish has a wow factor. It is not what you might have expected, is so much more wonderful.
By Georgina Goss
