Wee Jeanie
Earlier this year, I was in the neighbourhood and saw these beautiful stools sitting confidently behind the glass pane. What was once Yarraville’s old record store was being turned in a café. And from the interior’s fit-out and the bookish typeface used for the its winsome name, I knew I’d want to come visit when it’s opened.
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You could almost consider this food entry as a supplement to Lauren’s food-post about Wee Jeanie that she published 6 days ago. It’s wonderful how the lives of an Australian mother-of-3 and a Singaporean migrant can intersect all because of food. Lauren and I brunched here together last Wednesday and reached similar sentiments about the place: good food, not-so-great coffees, slow service. So both our posts should count as one event and shouldn’t be considered as two independent visits.
It’s a really lovely space. Bright, contemporary, open and chic. I really like the buttery-caramelly finish of the wood on the tables and benchtops. And at the back, there’s a sun-dappled outdoor area with yellow chairs and a communal table that’s got a transparent tabletop! How cool… seeing your legs as you brunch! :p
I sat there for 20 minutes without a coffee before Lauren arrived with a smile. It’s good seeing her. After we ordered, there was again quite a long wait before our coffees arrived. When one of the staff passed our table, Lauren had to gently ask them if our coffees are coming or not. They finally arrived just before our food was served.
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Lauren tells me Wee Jeanie was opened by the same people who own Cornershop just down the road. Cousin trouble, geek hubbyand I have had wonderful coffees at Cornershop when I took them to Yarraville for a visit. The bean comes from Coffee Supreme. My flat white at Wee Jeanie, however, was on the weak side and did not hit the spot. Lauren made me laugh when she candidly said the coffee’s good but “I wouldn’t cross suburbs for this cup of coffee”.
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I’m loving my brunch outings more and more. It’s really such a Melbourne thing to do. These days, on the mornings where I have brunch plans, I’d wake up with this yearning for that one good cup of coffee. Wee Jeanie’s coffee did not hit the mark this time and the service was slow. But the place is new and probably just needs time to find its rhythm and personality. For better or for worse, I won’t be surprised if it becomes a stalwart fixture in Yarraville’s fast-changing townscape.
nice review, awesome that you went with Lauren, too! i love her blog and she seems fab. did you say you were there on Wednesday? ah, i wish my weekdays were spent brunching :)
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Interesting baked egg, don't think I've ever had one with eggplant in it before :) Loooaded with fetta though hey? Shame about the coffees though!
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I fell in love with Melbourne brunches purely through that one trip to Proud Mary. :) Funnily enough, while I hate slow service in Canberra, I haven't minded it so far in Melbourne… though that may be because of holiday vibes and awesome company. THat rice pudding looks divine!!! (Exclamation mark)
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Aah you are very sweet! Hope the mooncake baking going well!
Lol soon we are going to have to take turns who blogs what!
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Lauren's fun to be with! I get Wednesdays off, but have to work occasional weekends as a trade-off. It's worth it though. :)
I don't have baked eggs that often, but I'm used to moorish tomatoey baked eggs. This one wasn't too bad. Actually I wanted to try a chai on your behalf, but service was slow and Lauren had to run, so I skipped.
Proud Mary's got good coffees apparently! I also won't mind slow service with good company, but I sat without a coffee for 45 mins. Gimme one cup first and I'd have been fine. Lol caffeine addict!
Lol yes! And Fakegf is keen on the Sunshine rice paper spring roll place! Let's plan for that :).
You should do an in depth investigation and report into the monopoly of property ownership on Anderson and Ballarat streets. It's 1 guy who owns a lot of it and his rates for rent are steep, it's keeping people who have real ideas for concepts and good food and drink out of Yarraville, leaving only those with more money than sense in a position to run establishments there. Look at what happened with Carsons.. Someone needs to get into the old post office and do something amazing with it too, Yarraville craves it.
I like Yarraville, but there is a serious sense of lack of knowledge about fine wine and food. Like it's all just a fad. Yarraville seriously needs a concept that can stick. If another café opens I'm probably going to be sick on it. The idea these guys had to install a Slayer coffee machine (fully manual operated coffee machine) is sweet, makes the best cup of coffee, but given that Yarraville and it's inhabitants are all about fads, no one is really going to appreciate it, and when it gets even slightly busy you're going to have to wait longer than you should for a simple cup of coffee.
I'm at a point where i prefer to trek over to Seddon for the same cup of coffee from Le Chien, just because I don't have to look at all that is wrong with the scene in Yarraville.
Yarraville please, if you can hear me, just think about what you're doing to yourself..
It seems like Yarraville is the new foodie hotspot these days! The vanilla rice pudding looks delicious!
It's near my home, I should visit Y'ville a little more often. :) What other good eats have we got there?
Oh dear, sounds like another 'know it all' if ever I've heard one! I find it so interesting to read bloggers rabbit on as if they know all there is to know about running a business (especially) in the food industry! Leave Yarraville alone!
your sad mate..
NIce review.. Honest though a little Bitchy? I love this place and go often, sounds like you got a raw deal on this occasion. :(
Thanks for the feedback, John.
Haha… bitchy! I was hoping it wouldn't come across that way! I was just writing my experience there on a Wednesday's brunch hour, it's like a snapshot of one visit to an establishment in its early months. If i hear more people like you say good things about this place, I'm more than happy to revisit. I mean, the space is lovely and food is good!
Huh? Who's my sad mate??
I'll leave Yarraville alone when someone decides to do something worth while there. I quite enjoy Aqua E Vino, the staff there are friendly and competent with styles of drinks and mixology.. and also enjoy the fact that many locals refer to it as 'Aqua De Vino' or something along those lines.. goes to show the amount of class happening down that part of town.
All I'm saying is there's too much of the same thing going on down there, I don't think anyone can argue with that point.
And how is anyone supposed to learn and evolve their tastes in food and drink if there's no one to stand up and be firm in their opinions and offer forum for argument. I mean, your rebuttal wasn't really a rebuttal as you chose not to offer any defense to the points I made, so all you've seemed to prove is the now even more apparent narrow mindedness of Yarravillians.
I suggest this to you, experience establishments such as Seddon Wine Store, La Vita Buona (City Square), MoVida, Siglo, just to name a few, and see how the ideas of those establishments could figure in day to day Yarraville. These establishments are incredibly popular in their own parts of town, why can't something like that be a hit in Yarraville without being another fad?
Oh, and I have it on 100% reliable info there is something of a property monopoly going on down there. Perhaps you ought to go and open something up at the local post office, if you seem to know so much, and as to feel in a position to call someone a know it all for having an opinion =)