The Missing Piece

If you're ever swamped by the people in Uniqlo Macquarie Center and needed to get away from it all, just out front is The Missing Piece. It's the cafe that occupies a space that seems oddly isolated from other food vendors. There's always a line and some hype about this cafe and I too, like a sheep, conformed and waited for a table.

My friend ordered something from the non-standard menu that plated nicely and deserved a picture. The taste was okay he remarks but I can tell he wasn't impressed enough to Instagram it as a recommendation.

I definitely felt the pressure to order as the waitress hovered over us.. and I didn't have enough time to peruse the menu so I went for the old "What do you recommend?" trick and she suggested the sliders as a crowd pleaser. So I placed my order for their Hashtag Sliders - Three Sliders filled with Slow Cooked Lamb, Jalapeno Mayonnaise and Rocket, served with Four Polenta Blocks. I think there was a naming mistake because what I ended up eating was Hashtag Disappointment. The three sliders were the same flavour, the Slow Cooked Lamb tasted like I was eating canned tuna, and the polenta blocks were so bland I thought they must have forgotten to bring me my side of sauce. At $16 for three sliders that offer nothing but regret, I'd personally stay clear.

Even though I clearly pronounce I'm not a fan of this milkshake phenomena... I clearly am only human and caved into their Marshies in Mars - One Epic Frappe including Mars, Oreos, Nutella and Marshmallow. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this actually. The combination of flavours were to my liking because I'm an avid fan of white chocolate and most things over-indulgent... but I can see others not liking it as much due to the sweetness. I quite literally slurped down the shake like I was dehydrated and can hands down say I thoroughly enjoyed it even though $11 for a milkshake is considered highway robbery.



So because of their odd location by an escalator and very narrow shop layout we somehow manage to score seats behind a large pole that left us feeling like we weren't even at their cafe. The staff did spend a lot of time hovering at our table...

Not sure was it because they wanted to make us feel like we were still their customers, or they wanted a faster turnover of customers or worse they were afraid we'd eat and run without paying the bill.... but whatever it was it felt quite intrusive with a staff member standing over my shoulder while I'm eating bland polenta blocks...

If you're happy to wait and see what the hype is about then I'm not here to deter you as there could have been a better dish I missed out on... but for me this was just another cafe that I just don't get the hype for...