CAFE LUMOS, White Gum Valley
by BRENDAN FOSTER:
Apparently Le Whaf dining—where a machine transforms food into breathable vapour—is the latest fad in Europe. Crack for foodies.
Well, those crazy euro-cats can keep their meal-in-mist because breathing in food must be a poor substitute to delighting in the real thing.
White Gum Valley’s Lumos Cafe had been a bit hit and miss at first with its food, but the place now continually serves up quality, contemporary Australian fare.
Many of the dishes can be tweaked to become gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian or even vegan.
Nestled amongst shops on Minilya Avenue, the eatery is light and breezy, if a little pokey on the inside. The new deck out the front is a hit with the locals who’ve adopted the place as their home away from home.
The menu offers a delectable array, from the nibble-size oven-baked field mushrooms with roasted butternut pumpkin, grilled haloumi, drizzled with basil pesto to something more substantial, such as crispy-skin Tasmania salmon with royal blue potato rosti, wilted spinach, cherry tomatoes and home-made hollandaise.
As it was breakfast I couldn’t go past the Lumos universe ($22). It comes with free-range eggs, bacon, chipolatas, hash browns, grilled tomato, beaked beans, mushrooms and spinach.
The last time I’d ordered a fry up was when Kevin Rudd was PM. I’ve certainly missed one of them (tip: it’s not one KRudd).
As any big brekky aficionado will concede, runny eggs are the “sauce” that brings the whole dish together. These were slightly runny but not gooey and had a great texture and consistency.
Some folk don’t like the inclusion of beans but I think they anchor the meal. And just a splattering of fried mushrooms and spinach is a nice inclusion because it offers a meatless pause from chipolatas and bacon.
Despite the ingredient list reading like a Russian novel, there’s no chance of leaving any behind—the bread mops up drips with decorum.
My eating companion, who always shakes her head at my carnivorous ways, demurely chose the vege big breakfast ($20). Basically the same as mine, with bacon replaced with avocado and no chipolata.
She loved the stodgy beans and the mouthwatering mushrooms, hash browns and bright red tomatoes were full of flavour.
What I like about the cafe is you are well looked after by friendly and efficient staff. Despite it being busy, the food arrived in good time. Famous cafes on the strip could take note: Breakfast shouldn’t take till lunch to come out of the kitchen.
Quaint, cute and reliable for serving up excellent local food, Lumos is ideal for folk who can’t be bothered with the myriad hassles of going into town.
Cafe Lumos
16 Minilya Ave, White Gum Valley
9335 5332
Open Sun–Thurs 7am to 4pm
Fri and Sat 7am to 10pm