Moon and Back

Moon and Back is a cafe and lifestyle store by Elvan Fan and Carol Xu. It’s the result of gathering all their shared interests – excellent coffee and beautifully designed homewares included – into one room.

This is the duo’s second store. Their first opened in Kyoto, Japan, in April 2020.

The pair’s shared love of coffee takes centre stage here. Using a seasonal blend by Surry Hills roastery Artificer, Moon & Back creates brews to your liking, whether that’s black, white, cold or batch.

There’s a small rotating menu of sweets to serve as foil to the coffee. Xu draws on her Le Cordon Bleu-taught pastry skills to craft inventive treats that might include matcha-and-yuzu pound cake; canelé in original or matcha-and-sake flavours; and a neat matcha and red bean chiffon sando. There’s also a Lotus Biscoff “croffle” (croissant-waffle).

Other drink options include matcha and hojicha (roasted green tea) lattes, as well as house-made sodas such as green grape, yuzu and peach black tea. Juices by Simon Says and teas imported from Japan and Taiwan round out the beverage menu.

Beyond food and drink, Moon & Back also sells a carefully chosen range of lifestyle products, from ceramics to artworks, by brands such as Sydney’s Chef vs Clay, Japan’s Kinto, and Studio Arhoj from Denmark.

The stylish wares adorn the edges of the minimalist gallery-style space, designed with clean lines and white and grey tones throughout.