Bumi is a hidden gem of a cafe is set to be the toast of the town
While the setting of this Hobart cafe is a little unusual, the food is wonderful and I’m just sorry that I didn’t know about it earlier, writes Alix Davis
Food and Wine
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A few weeks ago I took one of my sisters to the wonderful Waterloo Inn in Swansea. As we approached through a dubious-looking carpark, she asked rather apprehensively, “are you sure this is the right place?”.
My other sister joined me last week for another lunch excursion and, as we approached she too asked, “are you sure this is the place?” We were right on both accounts and if you find yourself in the city for breakfast, morning tea or lunch, I thoroughly recommend a visit to this CBD pharmacy, aka Bumi cafe.
I love a good pharmacy. I love browsing the aisles and looking at all the various creams, potions and unguents. I love the hair and nail section and the personal grooming possibilities it holds. I love those jelly beans you can only get at pharmacies that feel somehow healthier than other jelly beans. I know, I know; they’re not. And I especially love a pharmacy that’s home to an under-the-radar cafe serving excellent Indonesian and South-East Asian food. Which, as luck would have it, is the case at Blooms pharmacy in the CBD.
The menu is relatively short, which given the size of the (tiny) kitchen makes sense. There are standard brunch items like toasties ($14) made with Pigeon Whole sourdough and eggs on toast ($13) with your choice of add-ons ($3-7). From there, it starts to branch out into the southeastern Asian cuisine that owner Jeanny Salim and her husband and chef Hapah are keen to share with their customers.
Here, eggs benedict – a brunch staple – is roti eggs benedict ($22) served on a flaky roti bread with five spice pulled pork and calamansi (a Philippine lime) hollandaise.
It’s lunchtime when we visit so I opt for the Bak Mee ($19) with a side of beef meatballs ($4). This noodle dish is comfort food, says Jeanny, that she’d eat for breakfast, lunch or dinner. And, after my first mouthful, I’d be happy to eat it any time of day too. This wonderful dish has a base of chewy noodles topped with chicken pieces sauteed in soy, crisp fresh bean sprouts, and steamed bok choy stems. On the side is a small dish of pickled green chillies and another of a fiery chilli sauce. These chilli condiments are excellent if you like chilli, if you don’t – there’s plenty of flavour in the dish without it.
The side of beef meatballs is a bowl of clear broth with three tender meatballs – these are eaten as a palate cleanser or “refreshment”, Jeanny tells me.
Jeanny and Hapah are originally from Bandung in West Java and opened Bumi four years ago. Their aim is to share the comfort food of home with Hobart diners. One of their most popular dishes is chicken rice ($18), which sells out quickly as they only make 25 portions per day. “Our kitchen is so small and we want to keep everything fresh,” says Jeanny. The dish is made from Hapah’s family recipe and has certainly found a warm reception here.
My sister orders the sambal prawn chilli scramble ($24) and when it arrives, it is a magnificent, restaurant-worthy dish. A thick slab of toasted sourdough is draped with a perfectly cooked omelette that’s topped with four large prawns slathered in a sambal that’s not as fiery as it looks. The prawns have their heads and tails on, but these are easily dispatched for hassle-free eating. This dish certainly elevates brunch or makes an excellent lunch.
We can’t leave without trying the butter pandan kaya toast ($9). A friend had recently texted from Bumi while eating this toast and said I had to get down here to try it. So, mains done with, our toast order arrives. Three slices of Pigeon Whole brioche are sandwiched together with housemade coconut (kaya) and pandan jam. This pale green, creamy condiment is hugely popular throughout Asia and has a slightly vanilla flavour to it, along with the coconut. Bumi serves it Singaporean style by inserting a thin slice of ice-cold butter in the middle of each layer. It’s absolutely delicious and the cold butter is a lovely contrast against the warm toast and the creamy jam.
While the atmosphere at Bumi may not be that of your usual cafe (it is in the middle of a pharmacy after all), the food is wonderful and I’m just sorry that I didn’t know about it earlier.
I have a lot of making up to do and will be back there for chicken rice and bak mee as soon as I can.
BUMI CAFE
71 Bathurst St, Hobart
Opening hours: Monday-Friday, 8am-3pm, Saturday, 9am-3pm, Sunday, 9am-2pm
On the menu
Bak mee, $19; sambal prawn chilli scramble, $24; and butter pandan kaya toast, $9,
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