Neighbouring Hash Speciality Coffee and Hardware Société on Hardware Lane, the luxe White Mojo is yet another café with ‘Instagram darling’ enshrined in its DNA. There’s the black bejewelled cow’s head on the wall and the Scandi-cool hexagon tiles and timber features, but make no mistake – you’re here for the café’s signature (and very photogenic) dish, the croissant burger.
Yes, you heard right. Picture a warm and fluffy croissant sliced horizontally. The base is topped with two sunny side up eggs, a princely serving of battered soft shell crab (tiny appendages jutting out at accusing angles) and a generous squirt of pink chipotle mayonnaise. Dotted among this are pickles and coriander sprigs. That the butter/batter/mayo combination is compellingly tasty is no surprise; where the croissant burger is a revelation is that, far from being the greasy monstrosity you might imagine, it is somehow light and airy.
But if the thought of the croissant burger makes your arteries constrict, there are plenty of lighter dishes. It’s easy to see why the salmon tartare is a staff favourite. Glistening cubes of fresh salmon are bound together with lusty mayonnaise and augmented with a trembling, silken 63-degree poached egg. Three crunchy bagel chips sit on the side, primed and ready for yolk dunking and crunchily intriguing in their own right. Even more photogenic is the savoury-sweet cauliflower panna cotta. It arrives under a glass dome which, when theatrically lifted, releases a plume of smoke (cameras at the ready!).
There are plenty of thirst-sating options: a smooth house-blended Sumatran coffee, exotic Asian teas, cold press juices, matcha lattes and smoothie bowls, not to mention the complimentary sparkling water.
White Mojo’s friendly and patient staff add to the experience. They are never too busy to repeatedly list the flavours of the exceptionally cute miniature iced doughnuts on display at the counter. The chocolate doughnut is disappointingly bland. Better to choose the subtly-flavoured mint variety, though be prepared for a texture that’s more cake than doughnut.
With self-conscious flourishes such as its kooky signature burger and puff-of-smoke panna cotta, White Mojo could have seemed contrived. Happily there’s substance behind the style.