The Blue Olive + Harvest

Although i was away for only 5 weeks, being back to Canberra does feel a little bit different. It feels like my lifestyle has completely taken a 180 degree turn ever since i got back. While in Hong Kong, my days were usually filled with catch-ups, shoppings, lunches, dinners that probably made me busier than a CEO (maybe not!). I guess there were so many things to do and places that i wanted to go that made me feel that time wasn't on my side. Being back, life has become somewhat more relaxed and having long lunches and a chat over a cup of mocha is somehow possible. 

On the first week back, decided to catch up with J over lunch. Our initial plan was to go to a newly opened cafe called Harvest but after learning that it did not offer a lunch menu we decided to look for some lunch somewhere else. We stopped by The Blue Olive cafe (56 Alinga St, City), which is not far from Harvest, for lunch. I think it went through some minor renovations because i don't remember the cafe looking like that back in the uni days. I like how the walls are well decorated with some vintagey plates, stuck-on flowers, wooden birds and paintings. Everything comes together nicely bringing a cosy atmosphere to the cafe.

We decided to order some sandwiches because that's their specialty. There are like 25 - 30 types of sandwiches to choose from and we ended up ordering a Botticelli - Smoked Salmon, Capers, Cream Cheese, Avocado and Lettuce (with Handcut Sourdough ) and a Banksy - Chorizo, Spanish Onions, Roasted Capsicum, Roquette and Chilli Jam (with Handcut Seed & Grain Sourdough). I liked Botticelli for its classic combination and Banksy for its Spanish-ish flavours. My little whinge: I would have preferred the bread to be more fresh because some parts were a bit tough to eat.

Botticelli

Banksy

Overall, lunch was good and loved the whole atmosphere and cosiness of the cafe - yes, i am a sucker for nice decor =P. The day didn't end there, we went back to Harvest (40 Marcus Clarke St, City) for a cup of coffee...mocha, to be precise. Harvest is a lovely brown toned cafe with big windows and wooden settings. Harvest claims to offer the best coffee here in Canberra. True? I am no coffee expert to comment on this but please let me know what you think about the coffee if you've been there, my dear coffee lovers =) Ohn...and i also like how they have cute water bottles and even their own logo printed on the sugar packets.

Harvest's coffee counter

I've ordered a cup of Mocha which was smooth, had a good balance of flavours and a nice froth (which i love!). We didn't get any cakes or pastries because there weren't a big deal of them to choose from except from the commonly found banana bread, lamingtons and custard tarts (but i do hope that they will eventually bring out some awesome cakes!). Apart from that, Harvest is definitely a nice place to meet up with friends for a nice cath up over a cup of coffee or tea.