the paramount coffee project, surry hills

A collaboration between Seven Seeds (Melbourne) and Reuben Hills (Sydney) presents The Paramount Coffee Project. The space screams Reuben Hills with a similar neat, minimalistic open plan and lots of natural lighting seeping through its large glass panels. The cafe itself is located in the quieter areas of Surry Hills and because of the lack of signage, it can easily be missed without the patrons seated outside.

I had been stalking the photos from The Paramount Coffee Project on Instagram for quite some time now and therefore, knew exactly what I wanted to order - the Crab Po Boy and the Ox Cheek Waffle.

The menu is unsurprisingly quite limited with very interesting milkshake combinations - caramel popcorn, peanut butter and jelly, vanilla malt and schnickers - all of which sound over indulgent and devilishly irresistible. I will have to try one of these next time!

We arrive for a very late lunch at around 2pm on a Friday and did not have to wait at all!

First up was the Crab Po Boy.

Crab Po Boy ($19.00):
Soft shell crab, house slaw and ranch sauce on a milk bun.

The milky and buttery bun was fragrant and sweet, the soft shell crab is crunchy and not too oily. The slaw was refreshing, cutting through the heaviness of the dish and the ranch dressing definitely complemented the whole burger. However, I would have liked the bun to be a tad bit more softer and fluffier.

Sticky Chicken ($16.00):
Sweet and sour style fried chicken with crushed peanuts.

Six pieces of chicken wings (and tip!) arrive in a suspicious looking foil lined take way hot chook bag with packets of wet tissues and a pair of gloves. These crispy southern style fried chicken are piping hot, full of flavour, moist and had a lovely subtle chilli kick to it. Don't forget about the crushed peanuts - they add a really nice texture to the gooey red sauce.

The best way to eat this is to throw the peanuts into the bag, shake it so the peanuts latch onto the sticky sauce and dig in with your hands! I could eat another serving of this right now!

Coca Cola Ox Cheek Waffle ($19.00):
Corn and tomato salsa, horse radish mayo, coriander on a savoury waffle. 

This definitely lived up to my expectations and tasted as good as it looked! The waffle itself is soft and not too heavy while the stringy ox cheek is sweet and oh so tender, complementing the horse radish mayo very well. The chicharron pork crackling added a new level of texture to the dish and I would have liked just a bit more corn, tomato salsa and coriander!

Although it was an extremely satisfying experience and these dishes were great, they felt pretty heavy and are more on the expensive side of things so I probably won't be rushing back for a full meal!

The Paramount Coffee Project
80 Commonwealth St
Surry Hills, NSW 2010
f: https://www.facebook.com/theparamountcoffeeproject
t: (02) 9211 1122