Brunch. It ain’t quite breakfast, and it ain’t quite lunch…

... But according to urbandictionary.com, It’s reserved for the pretentious that sip tea and have jam? LOL please. It’s universally known that brunch is the perfect 11am cure for that hangover you’re battling from getting crunk on a Friday night. It’s the morning therapy session with your closest friends to rehash some of those (un)fortunate events from the night before (including that questionable hook-up). And us non-pretentious asses aren’t about to travel to Surry hills or Newtown just for bacon and eggs and a cappuccino that’d probably cost 3x the amount it’d normally cost if we ate local!

The Western subs are definitely stepping it up in the fancy brunch department, from the beautiful, Café Harvest in Bonnyrigg, our own "Grounds of Alexandria," to Café Lattetude in Penrith, that possibly do the biggest "big breakfast" in the West. There are some mouth-wateringly, amazing brunch spots that'll convince you this in-between space between breakfast and lunch, is your new favourite part of the day! And most of these places are affordable, local cafés & small restaurants that don't overcharge for a perfectly poached egg. 

Best thing about brunch is you don’t have to decide between sweet and savoury. Want eggs? Get a pancake on the side. Have your heart set on waffles? Add some bacon, baby! No matter how late you hit the sheets last night, or how absolutely turnt you got, rest easy. You haven’t wasted your day because these Western Sydney brunch restaurants and café’s will still be there when you wake up :-)

Circa Espresso, Parramatta

Café Mambo, Giraween

Café Harvest, Bonnyrigg

The Blend, Toongabbie

Paper Planes, Parramatta

Big Tree House, Rydalmere

Café Lattetude, Penrith

Cassandra's on Queen, St Mary's

Baron Café, Castle Hills

Images and Gifs sourced from: Circa Espresso, Café Mambo, Café Harvest, The Blend, Paper Planes, Big Tree House, Café Lattetude, Cassandra's on Queen, Baron Café, Huffington Post

So you've given it a lot of thought lately. You've known him/her for quite a long time now. You think to yourself, I'm a little bit older now and it's time. You're ready to take the next step. It's time for you to speak up. But you're a little worried - you know they're a little frigid when it comes to "new things" and the only "experimenting" on their mind is the titration you've gotta do for your chemistry class (and let's face it. Getting that water just pink was hard enough when you come from a broke ass high school in the Western subs where your pipettes just. weren't. accurate.) The struggle.

Before you read on thinking "The day has finally come. The West Things team have finally branched out to dating advice because I really can't tell anymore if the missus, Krystal, is sick and tired of the $10 schnitty at the local pub?!" To you my friends I apologise because, nope, where I'm heading with this article is just a little different. 

We all have that one friend who's a little bit scared to try new things. They prefer "Modern Australian" to "Indonesian" cuisine. They think chow mien constitutes "Chinese food". They internally cringe at the thought of chicken feet or ox tongue or *gasp* balut (duck embryo). Oh hell no. I just went there. Unchartered territory. Oh the controversy of it all. Too far, Sarah, too far. 

And right now you're pretending that the thought of this food disgusts you when secretly you know deep down inside that it's not all that bad because your parents made it for you growing up. Unless, of course, you are that (poor and sheltered) friend to which I say: live a little, take a chance, live on the edge, be a little ruthless. Or, in the words of my tacky and cheesy thirteen year old persona on Bebo:

•?((¯°·._.• ιη тнε εη∂ ωε σηℓү яεgяεт тнε cнαηcεs ωε ∂ι∂η'т тαкε •._.·°¯))؟• 

- insert photo of two white girls with their bikini tops off standing on a bridge overlooking traffic through the wired fence -

This post calls for you to bring out the inner #yolo in you. You know that feeling you sometimes get at 3am when you're on Expedia looking at one way tickets to Europe thinking yeah, I'll drop it all, I'll just take 12 months off of my life and go travelling? Today, I challenge you all to channel that inner Beyonce in you and take a risk. Try something a little "exotic" and venture where no white 35 year old male has ever ventured before: to the streets of Western Sydney where everything is ethnic. 

I'll even spoon feed you and tell you which places to check out. (And no, I'm not even going to lie and pretend that I'm not secretly admiring my pun. Oh the shade you should all be throwing my way right now...)

Sabu, Parramatta (Japanese)

PAZAR Food Collective, Canterbury (Turkish)

Papparich, Parramatta (Malaysian)

Holy Basil, Fairfield (Laos/Thai)

Jasmine 1, Auburn (Lebanese)

Meze Me, Rouse Hill (Moroccan)

Enigma at the Piazza, Castle Hill (Greek)

Anais Restaurant, Castle Hill (Persian)

SE Jong Korean BBQ Buffet, Campsie (Korean)

Images sourced from: Enigma at the Piazza, Holy Basil, Jasmine 1 now, Meze Me, Papparich Parramatta, PAZAR Food Collective, Sabu, Sydney Food Lovers, Urbanspoon.

Now that there's finally some sunshine and sunlight over in Sydney (meaning it's safer to come out of your securely locked Western Sydney homes fellow West Things readers), it's the perfect time of the year to spend your days marvelling at the single most best thing in life: food. Perhaps you'll even spend said marvelling time alongside the second most best thing in your life: the bae (and for all you hashtag single life readers that might be a bacon and egg roll at a good market).

But Sarah, I hear you cry, the trek to Marrickville Organic Markets or Everleigh Farmers Markets is far too great and I'm not about that life. I get it guys. I get that Sydney trains dealt you all a bad card and scheduled track work on the Western Line again. That's why the West Things team have put together our pick of some of Sydney's finest food and produce markets out here in Western Sydney. Tables stacked with loaves of bread. Baskets brimming with the finest fruit and vegetables. Barbecues sizzling with street food. It's an Instagraming whore's dream come true and we've put it all in the one location for you - check it out below!

Blackheath Growers Market
Where: Blackheath Community Centre, Corner of Great Western Highway and Gardiner Crescent, Blackheath
When: Second Sunday of each month, 8am - 12pm

Fairfield Market
Where: Fairfield Showground, Smithfield Road, Prairiewood
When: Every Saturday 9am - 4pm

Liverpool Night Markets
Where: Macquarie Street Mall, Liverpool
When: First Saturday of each month, 4pm - 9pm

Warwick Farm Trackside Market
Where: Warwick Farm Racetrack, Warwick Farm
When: Every Saturday, 8am - 12pm

Blacktown Markets
Where: Blacktown Drive In Theatre, Cricketers Arms Road, Prospect
When: Every Sunday, 7am - 2pm

Hawkesbury Harvest Farmers and Fine Food Market, Penrith
Where: Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre, Penrith
When: First Saturday of each month, 8am - 1pm

 Hawkesbury Harvest Farmers and Fine Food Market, Castle Hill
Where: Castle Hill Showground, Castle Hill
When: Second and fourth Saturday of each month, 8am - 1pm

Parramatta Farmers Markets
When: Church Street Mall, Parramatta
When: Every Friday, 7:30am - 2:30pm

Images sourced from: Blacktown Markets, Fairfield Showground, Hawkesbury Harvest, Hawkesbury Harvest, Liverpool City Council, Parramatta City Council, Queenie and the Dew, Weekend Notes.