Hardware Societe

Hardware Societe was yet another recommendation from the very useful Urbanspoon.  Nestled in the non-spruiker section of Hardware Lane (technically Hardware Street) next to Pugg Mahones, this is a cafe easily missed.  The cuisine on offer is a mix of cafe, French and Spanish yet somehow when surveying our plates, it just all looked 'Australian' to me.  A vague cuisine of no distinct definition - a mish-mash of many cultures - yet it all still works.

Some reviews pointed me towards the baked eggs with chorizo.  Mmm mmm mmm.. I love eggs!  I love chorizo too!  Yes, I had settled on what I was going to order.  Stupid me didn't read the blog review properly and it was only when me, Spu and Ma got there that I was informed that the eggs are for breakfast only.  Boo.

Spuey not so sure about being photographed for the blog. 

I'm a bit cautious about ordering coffee in public places.  Not because I dislike coffee but because of my lactose intolerance.  Soy milk it is!  I had a mocha, Spuey had a hot chocolate and Ma ordered a latte.  Nice, nice.

Ma's a bit funny when eating food not of South East Asian origin (Strange foods!  Don't know what to order!) so Spuey decided that she would like to have the grilled scallops.

I had the confit duck with quinoa, goats cheese and beetroot.  Spu had the pork belly with cous cous.  Ma's grilled scallops with potato rosti, jamon and watercress. 

For the typically cafe price of ~$16 a main, this was quite decent.  Ma even chirped 'This is cheap!'  It's a slow shift but I am now getting used to prices in Australia and yes, for the size of our dishes this was indeed a pretty good deal.  Ma was particularly fascinated by the jamon, urging Spu and I to taste it.  (Hehe Ma so cute!)  We both declined as neither of us are strangers to jamon.  In fact, I consider myself a Jamon Lover.  None of us have a bad word to say about our dishes.  We all thoroughly enjoyed them.  I usually am not a big fan of goats cheese but this was quite mild and was a nice touch to my duck.

Despite being full, I decided to treat myself to some takeaway macarons.  I really did consume an excessive amount in in Paris but I thought, 'Hey, why not?  Let's see how these stack up.'

Several flavours were on offer and I chose the rose & vanilla, raspberry and lemon. 

They definitely were not the prettiest which I've seen - bumpy shells, tsk tsk!  But oh well, we all can't be Pierre Herme.

The shells were just a bit too crumbly and the meringue no way near as dense as the Parisian versions but I have to say, these are probably the best ones (most moist) I've had in Australia so far.

So yes, Hardware Societe gets my thumbs up.  I'm going to go back for the breakfast menu one day.  I should also mention that the service was very genuine and friendly.  The team all were cheerful and ensured that our water glasses remained full.  A word of warning though - bring cash.  I was surprised to be informed that no card payments were accepted!