Perth on a Platter

Toastface Grillah

2014-02-04T05:46:00.003-08:00

"Escape to the simple way of life"

I would have never stumbled upon this little gem had I not browsed through the "talk of the town" section in Urbanspoon. I'm a simple person who loves simple things like toasties, If I could, I'd have a toastie everyday with loads of oozy cheese, but life's unfair, one has to keep a balance and one has to eat vegies, fruits and blah blah..

Toastface Grillah is nestled in Grand lane, an alleyway off barrack st, pretty much opposite takas and before Wellington street. There are no signs directing patrons to the joint, so I pretty much followed google maps. The BF and I went together and as soon as I located the supposed alleyway that we were meant to turn into, the BF asked for my hand and we walked in hand in hand, thats how dodgy the alleyway seemed. As we walked further down the pee smelling graffitti alleyway, I spotted the Toastface Grillah sign graffitted on a wall, behind the wall there it was, a tiny cafe with a cute hipster vibe. J was very impressed with what we found in such an alleyway. I loved the recycled items, such as the tyre planter, toaster pot plant, cracker tin pot plant and the fact that they made the most of a hole in the wall with a cute toy, every where I turn there's something creative to admire.

Toaster pot plant

I love tAUSt face

J was happy to have a seat and just soak in the vibe, but I just wanted to order, so I dragged him into the cafe and I ordered the toastie with bacon, onion, cheese and pear. J had the turkey, brie and cranberry toastie. I also ordered the strawberry and lemon juice, J had the orange juice. Altogether the bill came down to $26, Yes, a little bit pricey for toasties and juice, especially since it's easily made at home, but I've already been jaded by Perth prices so MEH.

Toasties :)

Both of us LOVED our toasties, I already knew we would enjoy it, you can't go wrong with toasties really. The bread was golden brown and buttery crunchy. It tasted like they used garlic butter, but don't quote me on that. Unfortunately, I couldn't quite taste the pear in my toastie, but it still tasted delicious. J loved his turkey, brie and cranberry toastie more than mines, he actually found mines abit salty compared to his, which I agreed after having one of his as a comparision.

Strawberry and lemon juice $5; Orange juice $5

My strawberry and lemon juice tasted more like lemon juice, couldn't really taste the strawberry. Nonetheless, refreshingly enjoyable but would have been spot on if there were more strawberries. J loves his orange juice so there ain't no complaining happening there.

Just being a creepy paparazzi

A simple cafe, offering simple food with a very simple way of life attitude, it just makes you forgive everything about it, the dusty window seal is totally forgiven as it adds character, the very old kitchen also adds character, the lady passed our drinks through the bars of the window since we were sitting just outside her kitchen, totally cool! they could probably get away without dusting the place because it just all adds to the vibe. It's good to have a place where people can really just calm the F*#&! down and chill. I'll definetly be back, I'm already craving for a toastie.

Raw Kitchen

2014-01-26T02:32:00.001-08:00

"Mind Blown"

Chinese New Year is round the corner and H wanted to organise a catch up with the girls before she goes to Malaysia to collect her red packets. H chose Raw Kitchen a vegan cafe as our lunch spot, not because she's vegan, in fact she loves her meat, but because Urbanspoon had high ratings.

A vegan diet is a type of vegetarian diet that does not use any animal derived products, no dairy, no eggs, no meat. Raw kitchen strives to showcase plant-based cuisines using raw and pure ingredients, all gluten, dairy and sugar free (processed sugar).

Raw Kitchen use to be located on South Terrace in Fremantle but moved to a larger venue off High street. The venue is huge and has an industrial, RAW, organic and hipster vibe to it, loving the recycled piano decor, the mini gift store in the corner and sea container gallery. H made reservations for us, but unfortunately we were all late and our table was given away, they gave us a bigger table instead. WIN! it was too big that another group shared with us LOSE :( jks. there was plenty of space in between both groups so we could still talk dirty and they won't be able to hear us *not that we do*.

Interiors and wait staff with cute aprons

Piano decor

Looking through the menu, it is amazing how the dishes they offer are vegan, we ordered the much raved about nachos, pesto pasta, zuchinni pasta and mushroom pizza all to share and to wash it down, I ordered the blue moon smoothie consisting of blue berries, lavendar, banana, agave (nectar from the plant agave used as an alternative to sugar) and handmade almond milk. I'm very impressed that they also use their own handmade cashew, macadamia and date milk, rice milk and organic GM-free soy.

Our table spread

Raw nachos: dehydrated hand cut corn chips, walnut, refried 'beans', fresh tomato salsa, guacamole, cashew sour 'cream' chives $19

The Nachos was hands down everybody's favourite dish, downside would be there was a terrible crisp to dip ratio, we were left with alot of dip left, we even asked for more crisps.

live zucchini pasta: raw tomato sauce, mushroom, kalamata olives, avocado, basil, cracked pepper $22

raw pesto pasta: pink radish, fresh basil, avocado, sundried tomato, capers, baby spinach $23

First slurp of the zucchini pasta and I loved it, I was so impressed by how spaghetti looking these zucchinis were, you could easily fool a kid, this could be the answer to getting picky kids to eat their vegies. I don't quite know what the powder is but whatever it is the flavour was all there. Compared to the pesto pasta, everyone agreed that the tomato base was more to their liking, but both dishes were impressive, the pasta was also made out of zucchini. It's a good thing we shared our dishes, I don't think I can finish the whole plate of pasta without feeling abit sick, perhaps too much healthiness?

Wild mushroom pizza: shitake, marinated field mushrooms, cashew cream, pesto, truffle oil, enokis, pickled onions $28

Mushroom pizza

Everyone enjoyed the pizza, this would probably be second after the Nachos. Eventhough I'm not a big fan of shitake mushroom, I gobbled this down easy. The pizza base was different, it looked like flat bread but didn't quite taste like flat bread. I need to find out. Mushrooms were very mushroomy *Er Derr* so they definetly nailed that aspect of the dish, I think the addition of truffle oil enhanced all the mushroom flavours and that probably explains why the pizza is $28.

Blue moon smoothie (front); Morning glory (middle), Red velvet (back)

My blue moon smoothie had a dominating banana flavour, I couldn't quite taste the blueberries and there was an after taste that I wasn't familiar with, it could be from the almond milk or the agave, I don't quite like it but it didn't stop me from finishing it.

The service was mostly good, our first waitress who took our orders was very sweet and helped us with her recommendations, the man who brought our dishes through was very friendly and was also happy to take photos for us, unfortunately when we asked if we could have more crisps, the third lady coldly said "I'll have to charge you for that" I mean we didn't expect freebies and she didn't even tell us how much more, it could be a bazillion dollars, it also took a very long time for us to finally get it. Could have been a 10/10 with service.

Overall, our experience was mind blowing. call me narrow minded but I am one who loves my cheese and meat and never quite understood how one can be a full time vegan (unless it's allergies/ethics), I am now enlightened, vegans can still enjoy great food and we definetly left with a healthy and refreshed feeling.

Santi's

2014-01-19T00:18:00.000-08:00

I've been to Santi's quite a number of times as it's walking distance from my workplace, my workmates whom require their daily caffeine fix are also a regular to the joint, so I can safely assume that the coffee is good stuff. Everytime I step in Santis, I just admire their decor, am loving the feature wall with photo frames, the cozy couch area, the calming light blue colour scheme and inspiring quotes written on your table numbers.

The first time I went with my workmates and had the pancakes with honeycomb butter, fresh berries and cream. This was delicious and HUGE. The honeycomb flavour wasn't as obvious as I'd like it to be but the flavour was still there. Pancakes were fluffy and they were very generous with the berries. I also had the chai latte *of course* which was perfection!

Pancakes with honeycomb butter, fresh berries and cream

Chai latte

The next pictures are a few of my workmate's dishes, beautifully presented dishes especially the baked eggs which my workmate devoured.

Baked eggs

I have also tried their caesar wraps, roast lamb wraps and the roast vegetable wraps. My favourite would be the lamb and the roast vegetable. I have tried to replicate them at home but always fail :( I have also tried their banana bread, toasted, with butter MMmm..can't go wrong.

My most recent dine in was when there was a false fire evacuation, so what do we do? we go to Santi's. I had the bacon maple syrup french toast which I have to say was HUGE and the best I've encountered.

French toast with bacon and maple syrup

It's a good thing that Santi's is right next to my work place but also a shame since I've always turned down my friends who have wanted to try the place out, it just feels like I'm going back to work on a weekend. One thing I also would like to note is the excellent service. The ladies are always in a good mood and all so bubbly, a great remedy for the monday blues.

Negatives would be the prices, I think it's abit on the pricey side. They have the most expensive sausage rolls I've ever seen, setting you back $8, but my workmate who has eaten it said it's REALLY good, the filling is a combination of beef and pork. hmmm....I'm still reluctant to pay that much for a sausage roll, I mean how good can it get. I think the reason why their dishes are pricey is because they're so BIG!, two people (ladies) could share a dish and perhaps they're taking advantage of the doctors and surgeons who dont' have time to venture further down Hampton road for a meal. Smart move. Time is really money.

Cafe Elixir

2014-01-18T22:22:00.001-08:00

"BEST WOOP WOOP CAFE"

Cafe Elixir has always been on my places to eat list. I have always seen this cafe topping the charts for best brunch cafes on Urbanspoon. Unfortunately Cafe Elixir is SOOO FAR! in woop woop ie. Wanneroo, I can see all the Northies rolling their eyes as I type this, well it's WOOP for me OKEY.

One day I was browsing through livingsocial looking for bargains being the asian that I am. I found a deal for Aerochuting which was something that I've always wanted to try. I gathered my keen friends and up, up we went :) It was awesome! Here's some pictures that you're all dying to see :)

We flew with Aeroflights Australia, click on the link if you're keen :)

ANYWAYS back to the main point, because we were up north in woop woop we took the opportunity to have brunch in Cafe Elixir which was on the way. I was so excited, my excitment to try out the cafe was on par with the aerochuting itself :O

We arrived at around 9am and oh me lordie it was already packed. Shouldn't everyone be sleeping in? It's freaking Saturday. We got a table outside and placed our order through a very friendly waitress.

A and myself ordered the same dish ie the Salmon and gratin benedict $18 consisting of fresh spinach, potato gratin, smoked salmon, 2 poached eggs and topped off with Elixir hollandaise sauce. I loved my dish, though it looked a little on the small side, I savoured every bite and was full in the end. I loved the all so creamy goodness of the hollandaise sauce A engulfed his dish in seconds but didn't complain about the size O-o I guess he was too busy talking and that probably filled him up? I also ordered a chai latte *of course* creamy, smooth and perfect sweetness.

Salmon and gratin benedict $18 and Berry pancakes $16.90

V had the Berry pancakes $16.90 which was MASSIVE! I was actually surprised that she "almost" finished it. I wonder why pancakes are always sOOOooo big.

Berry pancakes $16.90

Y had the Canadian breakfast $19.90 which was french toast served with bacon and maple syrup and vanilla ice cream. This dish was presented in a classy, posh manner. different from the usual french toasts you'd get from other cafes.

Canadian Breakfast $19.90

K was super hungry and ordered the Elixir breakfast $19.90 which was basically everything you can think of in a BIG breakfast.

Elixir Breakfast $19.90

Everyone enjoyed their meal and just by looking at the quality of the dishes served, I can see why this cafe has such high ratings, The prices are reasonable, if anything cheaper than many cafes in Perth. I would definetly come back if I'm ever up in woop woop again. A great end to our adventurous outing :)

SUN BBQ Restaurant

2014-01-17T03:03:00.003-08:00

"FAVOURITIST KOREAN BBQ"

This has got to be my new favourite Korean BBQ restaurant. I am so blessed to have lovely friends who 'live to eat' to have been introduced to this restaurant. SUN BBQ is located in the corner of William St and Newcastle St, despite being a regular commuter in Northbridge, I have never really noticed the joint, I don't think I've seen it crowded for me to ever notice it, but this is where the "don't judge a book by its cover" comes in. Everything happens upstair, if you're wondering where all the koreans at, they're UPSTAIRS! BBQing a storm.

Dined in SUN BBQ on a saturday night with a bunch of friends, the first meet up of 2014. On arrival, downstairs was somewhat empty so I headed upstairs and it was JAM PACKED! I looked around and majority seemed to be korean looking. If there's a bunch of koreans in a korean restaurant you know you've hit jack pot. I was very excited. Ordered the obligatory korean bbq dishes, seafood pancake, kimchi pancake and BBQ meat platters of marinated Waygu beef and pork as well as non marinated thin meat shavings.

Those stools are not just stools

After putting down our orders, the korean waitress with beautiful porcelain skin began serving our side dishes, there were so many dishes, we struggled to find space for our main dishes, you know the dishes we actually ordered. I liked the little things around the restaurant, the little table buttons to call for service which we ABUSED and the bin-like stools for baggage storage TOTES CUTE.

Side dishes only

First came the seafood pancake which was delicious! pancake had alot of filling, almost TOO much but as long as it came with the sauce I'm happy jane! Kimchi pancake was a let down unfortunately, TOO much kimchi, it was basically an orange fermented pancake, still edible but it does not deserve a picture sorry.

Seafood pancake

Marinated waygu and pork platter seemed small but that was forgiven after the first bite. The waygu was good quality meat, tender and deliciously marinated, same goes with the pork. We loved it so much we ordered another one. Non marinated meat was also delicious but i'm team marinated ftw.

Marinated Waygu beef

Those white noodle like things are actually shredded onion

Overall very pleased with the restaurant, the bill came out to be cheaper than we thought around $23 each and we were all full, cheapest korean bbq I've had considering the meat served was Waygu. Service was a quite slow but I will forgive them as it was practically full house and there was a massive long table of at least 30 people.

Felix & Co. Speciality Coffee

2013-12-23T08:04:00.000-08:00

"THAT RELISH?"

Whilst everyone is enjoying their christmas shut down periods, I am still slaving away at work :( Since most restaurants are closed for the year it makes it difficult for us to find food on Hampton road, the main street with numerous eateries we rely on to feed us. One day my workmate was in need of a coffee fix so we decided to suss out what's open. Most of our usual eats were closed except for Felix & Co. S wasn't a big fan of their coffee blend but decided to give them another go, she is now a convert and loved the blend she chose. Whilst we were chilling away in the little cosy cafe (probably could comfortably seat 15 ppl), we saw a couple having a toastie, it wasn't just a toastie, there was some kind of relish? that came with it and we were intrigued, funny how a relish? could just change the overall appeal of a toastie. We wanted to try it after our discovery.

The next time we visited, we both ordered a toastie. Toasties seem to be the main hot food they serve, they offer different kinds of toasties, toastie with ham and cheese, toastie with three cheese, toastie with mushrooms and cheese and toastie with the LOT! aka the godfather. To me if everything seems appealing, choose the one thats got more value for money. S and I chose THE GODFATHER.

Our toasties looked delicious and we couldn't wait to try the relish? I don't even know what to call it, it tasted like a mixture of tomato, chilli tuna and a capsicum, pecorino, cashew and basil red rock deli dip. Whatever it is, it's yum and it goes so well with the toastie. This has changed how I would eat my toasties now :) I also ordered a Chai latte *of course* to wash down my toastie, I've had better, it wasn't as creamy as I'd like it to be. I'll just stick to my toasties :)

Hours

Monday - Friday 6:30am-4:00pm
Saturday 7:00am-3:00pm
Sunday CLOSED

Gusto Cafe

2013-12-21T03:39:00.000-08:00

"Gusto Go"

M and I haven't seen each other in YONKS! She recently broke her foot from jumping?? O_o and moved to South Perth to be a full time princess at her big sisters home. We decided to finally catch up and what better place but in South Perth. South Perth is somewhere that I should dine in more often, there are many cafes with good ratings on Urbanspoon but I usually end up at the foreshore, why waste a beautiful view and the opportunity to have a picnic/BBQ by being cramped in a cafe, UNLESS you have a cripple with you haha..*Sorry M* We decided to try out Gusto Cafe.

After parking the car as close to the cafe as possible for M and totally babying her, we eventually settled on a table, the only table available *lucky* and pondered on the menu. I was told to try the french cinnamon toast with bacon, maple berry compote, banana and handmade honeycomb. It was a difficult move since I like my savoury but I decided to take the plunge. I also ordered a chai latte *of course* M ordered the potato hot cakes consisting of two poached eggs, avocado smashed, smoked salmon and hollandaise sauce.

As we were finalising our orders, we were interupted by the table beside us, they needed to get through and our table was basically blocking their path out. It was a terrible seating plan and poor M had to slowly get out of her chair, we decided to swap sides and I was left getting in and out of my chair, it's no wonder our table was the only available one, nobody wants it *not so lucky after all*. As soon as the table beside us was free we quickly shuffled over.

French cinnamon toast

My dish arrived and OMG it was so BIG!! I knew I won't be able to finish it. The honey comb was home made and I loved it, berries were a little sour, but the sweetness of the honeycomb made up for it and that pile of bread! OMG just thinking about it makes me full. I think they can afford to down size it, but in saying that, two old ladies sat beside us in the shitty table and both ordered the same dish as me and I watched them FINISH it all EASILY. they saved the honeycomb to last to eat with their coffee. Yes I was eaves dropping and my jaw was dropping too :O

Potato hot cakes

M on the other hand had a more decent sized meal , it looked good, I gusto order that next time. She polished her plate with ease.

Overall, I'd still recommend Gusto cafe, it looks like a favourite amongst the locals, I wouldn't discourage those from ordering the cinamon bread coz well, grannies can finish it off, there must be something wrong with me, in my defense, we went at 8:30am and I'm not used to eating that much for breakfast. There are very limited and cramp seating, probably explains that shitty table and I guess people would rather have that slight inconvenience than to wait for a table. Anyways, if the cafe so happen to be empty you Gusto avoid that table *excuse the puns*.

Typika Artisan Roasters

2013-12-21T02:03:00.000-08:00

"A Typika love story"

I have brunched in Typika 3 times and in those three times I've been satisfied *ok that sounded wrong* But like relationships, connections can slowly fade, things can get boring or you're left unsatisfied in the end. This is somewhat similar to my expereince. The first time I went to Typika, it was like a first date, excited but also not sure what to expect. I've heard people say they're really good with their coffees owning a $80 000 coffee roaster *cha ching gold digger alert* I was impressed, although I'm not a coffee drinker, I decided I must try the coffee. I ordered the smoked cod and leek baked eggs and just when I was about to say "I'll have a Chai latte to go with that", the roaster came to mind and I said "Mocha please". *pats back*

Smoked cod and leek baked eggs

I really liked the baked eggs, enjoyed every bit of it, the sweetness of the leek with the salty cheddar cheese and creamy smoked cod was a great combination. The mocha was the best I've had, I actually drank it without putting any sugar in it and apparently to truely appreciate coffee, one should not add sugar. H had the beef benedict, a very popular item on the menu, he absolutely loved it. I plan to order that the next time I go.

That next time came and I ended up ordering the mushroom crepe with feta since alot of my friends in the table ordered the beef benedict and I didn't want to be a sheep. I wasn't too impressed with my dish, there was alot of enoki mushrooms which were rather chewy and not my favouritist mushrooms, I had to eat them with caution just incase I choke. I think mushroom lovers, especially enoki mushrooms would like this dish. The crepe also sat on a big bed of rocket leaves, I think it was abit too much since rocket leaves have a bitter taste to them and it somewhat overpowered the dish. I also ordered the latte, which again I didn't put any sugar *fist pumps* Honestly I prefered the mocha. My friend had the deconstructed hot chocolate which was more the novelty than anything, in the end of the day, you're just making your own drink on the table. C knows her coffee and she ordered the flat white and loved it! from this day on, she is still reminiscing haha.

Flat white and mushroom crepe

The third time I went, I noticed the menu had changed abit, I ordered the Typika breakfast stack consisting of shredded potato crisp, wilted spinach, avocado and house smoked ocean trout, topped with a fried egg, sunny side up. Again decided to save the beef benedict till later since I already knew it was good, its like the saying, "good guys always finish last". In the end, I wasn't too impressed with my meal, there wasn't much to rave about but I also wouldn't say it was bad, the flavours were not exciting and was rather monotonous.

Breakfast stack and beef benedict

Overall Typika has become a MEH cafe, I'm not feeling that bliss that I had the very first time. But I do believe the fire can be rekindled when I go back to try the beef benedict, Typika will always have that special place in my heart, I learnt to appreciate coffee and I will be back. That is my Typika love story.

Momento caffe (Next cafe)

2013-12-15T23:13:00.000-08:00

" New Coffee Experience"

So I'm always on the look out for cafes serving unique food and beverages. I stumbled upon Next cafe which has formerly changed their name to MOMENTO CAFFE. I found out they serve unique coffee flavours and have pretty coffee art and it's down south, a suburban cafe not too far from me. That just ticks all the boxes. S and I organised a spotlight and coffee date on a sunday arvo, it took us a while to find the cafe since we didn't know they've changed their name. Urbanspoon was not updated. We kept walking past Momento caffe just looking at google maps all puzzled it's like looking for treasure and being on X without the treasure. We decided to give up and just try Momento caffe, dragged ourselves in with a long face like a kid having to do chores, until we saw a little notice on the door stating that they use to be Next cafe :O HALLELUJAH!

We decided to sit outside to take in the fresh breeze and was given the drinks menu. I ordered the orange mocha and S had the coconut capuccino, there wasn't a food menu as they only offer what is in the glass display, nothing really appealed to me so I just stuck to my drink.

Our drinks looked so beautiful, prettiest I've seen in Perth so far and I'm forever in search for more coffee art. First sip and I could taste the orange flavour, I loved how it's different and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I could see the orange flavour essence? at the bottom of the cup so definetly give it a good stir, in my case, I didn't want to ruin the art. S also liked her drink, in fact she has been reminiscing about it for awhile. I think super serious coffee lovers may think the flavour essence ruins the coffee, but for those who like a twist or something different should definetly try this place out.

P.S The entertainment book offers a complimentary coffee when another is purchased deal under Next Cafe

P.S.S If you know of any cafes that does coffee art give me a shout out. I'll forever be grateful :)

G' fun Nedlands

2013-11-26T04:34:00.000-08:00

"Famous Chicken Rice!"

G'fun cafe has been around for ages, it took over Chilliz on Hampton road offering similar cheap meals. I use to go to these kinds of cafes when I was a poor uni student, meals were cheap like $4 cheap and unhealthy, I remember the Chilliz fried rice with honey chicken was so oily but so good.

Now that I'm a working citizen, I have this snobbish attitude towards these kinds of cafes, like I'm better than that *what a bitch right*. That changed when I just came back from a holiday in Singapore and was rather depressed, I missed the super cheap meals, I was in the process of transitioning back to my Perth lifestyle, everything being expensive. One day I didn't bring lunch and refused to pay anything more than $5, I decided to try G'fun cafe. Ate my pride and did the long walk all the way to the other side of Hampton Rd from my workplace. Displayed on the window was a sign "Famous chicken rice is back" and I was intrigued, since I just returned from Singapore this is perfect. Went inside and it was rather quiet, I looked in the glass cabinet displaying all the hot meals all being $4.50 consisting of chicken rice, deep fried finger food, japanese bentos and fried rice. I ordered the roast chicken rice. There are also condiments on a table beside the counter where you scoop your own chilli or add soya sauce, I ladelled some chilli in my chicken rice and took a seat.

Looks wise, colour was perfect, chicken looks juicy. Took my first bite and WOW, I have to say it is damn good chicken rice! The roasted chicken was tender and the skin was full of flavour, rice had a good amount of chicken stock maybe a little on the oily side. The chilli sauce is a mixture of sweet and spicy and compliments well with the chicken rice, it is a definite MUST to add to the chicken rice, and it isn't really spicy, I mean if I can take it, I'm sure majority of people can handle the spiciness too.

I did alot of people watching and the business is doing very well, there are alot of regulars who order bulk and is very popular with the labourers, they come in big groups, not to mention students too.

The only negative I'd say is that the dish needs something green, like slices of cucumber, it just makes the dish much more appealing. The photos outside the cafe are pictures of all the meals they offer and it's just all BROWN, I was quite turned off and was one of the reasons why I never went in, I only gave them a chance coz I had the holiday blues and was having a stingy day. In saying that, business is doing well, but I can't help but think they may have lost alot of potential customers, especially in this day and age where everyone is becoming more health conscious.

Anyways back to the chicken rice, I've had this 4 times and I'm beginning to notice a pattern. The two times I went early in the morning, actually waiting for doors to open *shame*. In those times, my chicken rice wasn't as tender and was mostly bones. The other two times I went in the afternoon and the chicken was fresh and tender and more meaty. I think the morning batches are just left overs from the day before.

Wow just realised I've written alot, never had that much to say bout chicken rice, though it may not meet the authentic criteria, I will still name it best roast chicken rice! One day I'll buy a few as a take away for dinner and add my own steamed vegies :)

Pastacup

2013-07-29T04:11:00.002-07:00

"fatto a mano"

If you’ve read my Ciao Italia post, I was raving about the creamy ciao italia fettucine. I have recently tried Pasta cup and I reckon their pasta is just as good. I fell in love with the place and found myself coming back 3 weekends in a row to the Karawara branch. The staff even said “see you later” :O what is she talking about, how does she know I’m coming back? How does she know I like the pasta? Okaaay..she probably remembered me =-= .

Pasta cup is a MAKE YOUR OWN PASTA dish concept, you pick your pasta which is fatto a mano ie. MADE BY HAND and then you pick your sauce which is also fatto a mano. If you’ve heard their advertisement it is the motto of their campaign PASTA..IN A CUP..MADE BY HAND.

Spinach fettucine with creamy sauce

I love their creamy based sauces, I’ve probably tried almost all of them, my favourite would be the creamy pumpkin and the bonnie sauce which is tomato and cream. Pasta wise, I like my spinach fettucine. The bf loves the Chilli fusili which is a great twist to a pasta dish. All this packaged in a cute cup with a bread compartment on the top. Love it! My advice, come in between 11am – 3pm you’ll get the lunch special which is $7.95.

Miss Kitty's Saloon

2013-07-29T04:00:00.001-07:00

The new talk of the town is Miss kitty's saloon, an American themed restaurant. After hearing about this saloon-like venue, I had to try it out. F and I went in on a Saturday morning for brunch before heading off to a cupcake decorating class.

First impressions was wow! Definitely saloon looking with a rustic look accentuated through the wooden decor, cute booth seatings and outdated quirky items.

We pondered over the menu for awhile, there wasn’t exactly alot of exciting choices but also confusing at the same time as there wasn’t much description into each item, does the name of the item really say it all? I usually encounter menu items with a description stating its accompaniments and basically marketing the item. I was juggling between the buffalo wings or the chicken and waffles $19. In the end I went for the waffles for something different. F had the chorizo and eggs $16.

Chicken and Waffles

Verdict, I didn’t find my chicken and waffles amazing. It was basically crispy deep fried crumbed chicken on top of waffles. Put two things people like together and you can’t go wrong. Salad on top was refreshing with pieces of orange slices? sauce was just sweet chilli. Nothing special. Overall I enjoyed it as a dish, but I do think $19 is pricey for what it is.

Chorizo and eggs

F was rather disappointed with her dish, but then again it’s Chorizo and eggs with a green sauce and hash browns. Not sure if she was expecting more, but she scoffed it down easily but wasn’t exactly ranting about it.

Living room area

Overall I enjoyed the environment more than the dishes. It is such a happy venue and so much to look at, even the toilets are cute. They have large tables to cater for big group bookings and even a living room themed area for little catch ups. I looked into the dinner menu and it actually looked more exciting and appealing than our choices for the brunch menu. I would definitely go back to try their other menu.

Pacific Rim Mix Plate

2013-07-29T02:13:00.000-07:00

"Ono"

I felt like trying something new and as I was browsing through urbanspoon in the cuisine category, I came across Hawaiian. Next day the bf and I went to try the place out. After reading reviews I knew we were to expect a fish and chips looking joint and basically a fast food kind of vibe.

We went on a Saturday at 1:30pm and it was packed with customers. We pondered over the menu and wanted to try the very popular Huli Huli chicken, but when it came to ordering, we were informed by the owners who looked hawaiian-japanese that they were out of sauces for the chicken :O we were lucky to be the last to order with what they had left. We ordered the Maui chicken bites and Tarragon fish to share.

Maui chicken bites

Tarragon fish

Dishes were like Japanese food with a Hawaiian name and Hawaiian inspired sauce. Maui chicken bites was basically deep fried chicken but the sauce was something different and unique, I enjoyed it but thought it needed a side salad. As for the tarragon fish, battered fish soaked in sauce was also ONO! *delicious in hawaiian*, again needed more accompaniments. I realised that if I wanted accompaniments, I should've opted for the plate rather than the bowl which the lady asked when I was ordering. I actually did not know there was such a difference and I believe it would only be $1 more *damn*.

Overall we enjoyed our meal and this joint is definitely buzzing, one day I will come back to try this Huli Huli chicken and opt for the plate.

Echye's restaurant

2013-07-02T08:16:00.002-07:00

Authentic Ethiopian

J and I decided to be culinary adventurous and tried a newly opened Ethiopian/Eritrean restaurant in Victoria Park. This was probably one of the most exciting dining experience I've had as I've never tried Eritrean food before.

Echye's is a family owned restaurant with a lovely African feel depicted through their furnitures. The menu is based on a wide selection of curries all accompanided with Enjera (yeast risen flatbread). J and I had our pick of different curries, we chose Zhigni and Goredgored curries. We also ordered the Habesha coffee just to experience it. Menu can be found on their website.

When the Enjera came out, we were so shocked with it's appearance, it literally looks like a sponge, I studied the texture and it accurately resembles one. The colour was also odd. Taste wise, it had a fermented sour taste to it just like DOSAI. Unfortunatly I'm not the biggest fan of dosai.

Our curries arrived in cute African stew pots and we were told to put the curry on the bread and tear it with our hands, the waitress gave us cutlery just incase but we decided to do it the African way.

Zhigni - Most popular meat dish - tender lamb with berbere (mixture of spices with red chilli), onion, garlic and tesmi (purified butter with spices).

Like many curries full of spices, it tasted like an indian curry but probably more intense with the spices. Meat was deliciously tender accompanied with lovely sauce.

Goredgored - tender beef pieces, pan fried served with awaze (chilli paste)

The Goredgored wasn't as saucy as the Zhigni but still delicious.

Since the bread was huge! We struggled to finish our dishes and I wasn't too keen on the bread, the waitress gave us a different kind of bread as she understood Enjera may not be for everyone. We actually prefered the new bread. She also brought us a paste which I wasn't sure what it was called but J loved it! he started putting it on everything. I on the other hand found it abit too strong for my liking.

We started wondering when our coffee was going to arrive, the waitress then came out with a smoking pot with coffee beans and wanted to show us the roasting process. She said in Africa the aroma from roasted coffee is an invitation to come over and have coffee. I thought that was cute and nice of her to show us abit of their culture.

Few minutes later she brought out our coffee in a funky teapot with a wired ball in the spout which much resembled a hair ball, this served as a filter. Teapot was quite heavy than the norm and there was a technique in pouring the coffee. Coffee-wise, we both thought it was very strong, I would have liked some milk and I overloaded my little asian looking cup with sugar. J on the other hand took it in pretty well.

Overall, we enjoyed our Eritrean experience and would definetly recommend it to everyone who has never tried it out, food is authentic and I believe it's as close as you can get.

Foo Wah Seafood Chinese Restaurant

2013-07-01T06:48:00.001-07:00

"Wah..Food so good ah"

Whenever dad comes to Perth, we always go to dinner as a family to Foo wah chinese restaurant. Dad seems to only like good chinese cuisine and Foo Wah ticks all the boxes on the lists, it's chinese, it's delicious and it's nearby to where we live.

Foo Wah is part of the asian hub of restaurants off collins road, I come to this area to fix any asian cuisine cravings. It is always busy during the weekends so definetly make reservations. The first time we came here, we asked the owner what she'd recommend, she told us the vinegar chicken is good, we order, tasted and ever since then have always ordered it. These are our usual orders:

Vinegar chicken

Salt and pepper squid/fish

Sizzling japanese tofu

Beef pepper beef

White rice

At first I thought the vinegar chicken would be bitter and not pleasant but I was wrong, it was so tender with a layer of crispy chicken skin swimming in a pool of sweet vinegar sauce, the sauce was a combination of vinegar, sugar, garlic and chilli, a marriage made in heaven. As we've ordered this dish many times, there have been occasions where the chicken is abit dry and other times when the meat is juicy and tender, it's a cross your finger and hope kind of dish.

Vinegar chicken

I always order salt and pepper squid in every chinese restaurant I go to, you can never go wrong with this dish, super crispy batter around very tender squid.

Salt and pepper squid

Love my sizzling japanese tofu and again can't go wrong with this dish. It goes well with the other dishes that have very strong flavours.

Pepper beef was a big hit with my cousins from malaysia so something must be right with the dish. Beef is super tender and packed full of peppery saucy goodness.

Black pepper beef

Our other dishes also include yam duck and peking style pork ribs. I think the yam duck has too much yam and not enough duck underneath, it's not my favourite dish but my other family members like it, I also think the sauce is rather tasteless. Pork ribs on the other hand can never go wrong.

Yam duck

Peking style pork ribs

Not only is the food delicious, the tea is so fragrant, presented in napkins folded into a lotus flower. Usually I think all chinese tea taste the same but I actually notice the tea here, I guess they're not stingy with the tea leaves.

Overall this would be my favourite chinese restaurant so far, fast customer service, delicious high quality dishes and I'm always amazed with their speed in bringing out the dishes. Chefs must be ninjas.

Food For Me

2013-06-30T08:06:00.000-07:00

"FOOD FOR ME AND EVERYONE"

Cafes are popping up everywhere in Perth and I'm always on the look out for new ones. FOOD FOR ME is currently one of my favourite spots atm. For one, I LOVE THE NAME it's so obvious that you'll be fed here; secondly, I love how you can make reservations, the older I get, I realise life's too short to be waiting in line to be fed; thirdly, Food is delicious! good quality and they have an extensive menu from sweet to savoury, deliciously unhealthy or refreshingly healthy; Four, lovely atmosphere and plenty of seating and booths; fifth, friendly service; sixth, nice toilets :)

C, M and I went for brunch at FOOD FOR ME on a beautiful saturday morning for which C had kindly made a reservation. Nestled in the heart of Victoria Park, this corner cafe isn't hard to find, but I surprisingly have never noticed the cafe until I started hearing about it. After pondering over the menu making that all time hard decision in choosing between savoury or sweet for brunch, I had settled to go for Sweet and Savoury. The French toast with berries and bacon with maple syrup, but the zuchinni corn fritter also sounded delicious! I lined up to order and when I reached the counter I've chosen the Zuchinni and corn fritter *sigh* forever a savoury girl. I also ordered a chai latte for the gazillionth time *I swear I live my life like a broken record player* C opted for a zuchinni tart displayed in the glass cabinets and M had the usual big breakfast which she is yet to finish one.

Chai Latte

I loved my Chai Latte, they were spot on with it, so creamy and frothy. I have concluded that many cafes can do a good chai latte. My work is done *not that I played any influence in this revolution whatsoever*

Zucchini and Corn Fritters with avocado, mixed greens and a poached free-range egg. Served with a preserved lemon, dill and chilli dressing (GF) 15.0

I loved my dish! the fritters had a generous dose of corn kernels with a hint of middle eastern spices, there was a generous serving of half an avocado, yay! I love avocado and considering how much avocados cost these days I think I'm getting a discount with my dish. The poached eggs was perfectly poached, silky egg white resembling cute boccocini looking balls with perfect wet yolk when cut, all this was rounded off with a slightly tangy, sweet sauce that went perfectly with everything. It was a well thought out dish.

Full belly breakfast - 19.0

M enjoyed her breaky and did pretty well with it, the only thing she would fault was there wasn't enough butter to slather on the GIGANTIC toasts, apparently the bread is sourced from Barrett's bakery in Nedlands. Nedlands do have some good bakeries and yay for local.

Frittata and salad

C's meal looked all so healthy and very appetising, the frittata looked beautiful with the stripey effects from the zuchinnis.

Overall, a jolly good catch up and I will definetly come back to try the other items on the menu. At last Perthians can round up a big group of friends and dine in a popular brunch cafe without the long wait.

Fuku - Omakase and Teppanyaki

2013-06-29T09:04:00.000-07:00

"Quality produce, Quality service"

http://thefuku.com

I was blessed to be invited by Milan Rai to dine in Fuku as a guest blogger. Like the many blog posts that have flooded into Urbanspoon by bloggers, there is a common positive consensus. I will now put in my two cents, this will be a honest post, my opinions will not be influenced regardless of the invite in order to keep to my values and the integrity of my blog.

Few days before I recieved the invite, I was coincidently reading into Fuku in search for a place to take the bf on his bday. He loves japanese so I was contemplating on teppanyaki since we both have never experienced it before. When I think tepanyaki, I think a food show with a big price tag, hence it has always been on the "to do" list and under the authority of my wallet :(

On arrival we were well prepared for the intercom entrance, had I not gotten the information from reading blogposts before, I would've tried yanking the door open. After the intercom was pushed, the door slid open and we were greeted with a warm and welcoming dining area, numerous sake displayed on the wall, lovely soft instrumental music in the background, inviting waiters and a good looking chef HAHA! A+ for environment. We were seated and had a look at the menu which consisted of good, better and BEST which consists of luxurious ingredients like lobster, foie gras and truffles . We were informed that we will be having the better menu. *excited*

Calamari with Herring Roe and Antartic Ice Crab

First of 8 courses, simple, fresh and I loved the seaweed crackle giving a good contrast of textures to the dish. They were very generous with the roe.

Smoked Wagyu, Oyster Tempura, Burdock and School prawn Kakiage

This was one of my favourite dishes. I am not a fan of oysters, I don't like the look of them and sometimes chewy but this oyster was big and juicy and so tender, the fact that it was a tempura made it look more appealing. Waygu with a miso sauce was delicious and the prawn kakiage was surprisingly not that hard to eat, it's just like soft shell crab.

Sashimi

Unfortunately I didn't take a picture of the sashimi. Sashimi was very fresh and melted in my mouth. I'm normally not a big fan of sashimi but I gobbled this down easily.

I loved the quality of the service. The chef would prepare and present the dish on the bench top in which the waiters will come in and place the dish in front of us all so delicately.

Partridge

Never had partridge before but tasted like chicken *how amatuer of me* it being wrapped in crepe reminded me of peking duck, it didn't blow me away, but I still enjoyed it.

Scallop, prawn and crispy prawn head

This dish was another one of my favourites. Scallop was volumtious, juicy and perfectly cooked, prawn was well seasoned and also well grilled. Who knew I'd actually enjoy prawn head, it wasn't hard to eat and the chef said it was good for our skin. In that case, good skin is coming my way baby!

What I learnt so far is that tepanyaki is all about working with great produce and simple cooking to keep the natural flavours, in saying that I haven't seen any theatricals and was getting abit disappointed..UNTIL!

The chef started setting things on fire :O!

.........making a volcano

........ Juggling pepper and salt shakers

............... Doing some crazy chopping

............. Pulling out the flesh of the lobster and putting it back into the shell like nothing happened whatsoever

............ Juggling with knives, throwing eggs and cracking it on the knife, as well as picking up an egg yolk and cracking that onto a knife, though there was a couple of failed attempts and a big mess made, it's just all part of the fun.

Now back to the serious stuff..

At this point another chef came to cook, he was wearing a different hat. I think he was not as experienced as the first chef but he was more willing to try out the harder tricks which was entertaining. The experienced chef was left to serve the customers whom ordered the BEST menu. *rich*

Fish of the day

I didn't quite enjoy this dish, I found the fish over cooked and a little tough, I also didn't dare to eat the baby octopus, moved it to J's dish, he enjoyed that part. It also took awhile to prepare with the blow torching of the fish and the leaves, not sure if that added flavour to the dish with the torching of the leaves.

Waygu (full blood) sirloin steak. Mayura Station grade 9+, Fried rice with wagyu flavour

The chef went around asking everyone how they liked their steak, many chose medium rare. In the end he recommended waygu to be medium to medium well done so the fat can melt away to achieve the full tender steak. From then everybody changed their preferences on their steak. I enjoyed the waygu with the garlic chips, full of flavour. Unfortunately I found the fried rice lacking flavour and some rice was abit hard.

Yuzu cheesecake, chocolate drink and mountain peach

I was very excited for dessert and it didn't disappoint. Yuzu cheesecake was creamy and refreshing went well with the chocolate drink. A great end to a wonderful 8 course.

Overall J and I enjoyed our first tepanyaki experience. We can definetly tell that the produce is A grade and they strive for good quality dishes. I highly recommend this place for private parties, it only seats 16 people, but I think the experience would be more fun sharing it with friends and encouraging the chefs to demonstrate more tricks. I'm sure they'll be happy to give them ago knowing that everyone is willing to have some fun. It would definitely be a more interactive dining experience. I believe they have a new WALK-IN menu which I would like to try one day $75, just walk in and make your own menu.

Vons chicken

2013-06-29T00:59:00.000-07:00

There is an invasion of Korean restaurants happening in Perth. In the future we will all be dancing and singing to K pop and dressing up like one. Oh wait. that's now. that's me *shame*. The BF have been going to alot of man dates to Vons chicken in which they all talk highly of including my workmate, so I decided to try this place out myself.

Vons chicken is a franchise restaurant in Korea serving mainly chicken from which you can opt for the roasted or deep fried. I stood aside and let the BF take the reigns for this one ordering chicken and rice, he chosed the roasted chicken with mild chilli sauce. You can choose your level of hottness. For me, i'm not that hot :(

We all sat down and got our plastic gloves which I think is pretty awesome! at that moment I was very excited, who wouldn't be excited with plastic gloves!...PLASTIC GLOVES!! *crazily waves them around* Each table is equiped with a chicken scrap bin and baby wipes.

The chicken arrived and as expected it was a bunch of chicken on a plate, glistening with sauce and a lovely brown, make you salivate colour. At that moment I thought, we should've ordered the fried rice or something, so it wouldn' t be so plain and repetitive, but I need to let the control freak that I am go and just eat.

I slid on my gloves *excited fit* and started digging in, only to realise it wasn't what I imagined it to be, I thought in wearing the gloves I'd be able to devour the saucy chicken with my dignity still intact looking classy and all lady-like, but it proved to still be quite difficult, like I was better off eating it with my bare hands. It was difficult to eat the rice and have gloves too, so I only ended up using one glove. Chicken wise, they were delicious but I think they were too hyped up, I've been told they're better than KFC, KFC is pretty damn good. I think they're both equally good but vons is probably healthier and also pricier . I didn't end up eating my rice, just had the chicken so I guess the rice was really not that necessary nor would fried rice either since I was too busy handling the chicken and was happy with just chicken.

Overall, eventhough it's just roasted saucy chicken, it's still GOOD chicken. The next time I come here, I'd have a take away so I can devour it in my own privacy sauce on my face, clothes, hands and all. I also wouldn't mind a side serving of chips, it would be a great alternative to KFC, without the greasy, unhealthy feeling you get after a KFC meal.

Jamaica blue

2013-06-16T23:30:00.000-07:00

I usually avoid franchised cafes, just coz there's something impersonal about them, they lack character if you know what I mean. I guess you could call me a franchise cafe SNOB. Oneday C and I wanted to catch up but couldn't be bothered travelling out of the suburbs with the worries of finding parking and wasting petrol and dressing up and blah, first world problem. Anyways we chose to try out Jamaica Blue in Riverton Forum, a franchise cafe and lets just say I'm no longer a franchise cafe SNOB, just a SNOB :)

Upon arrival I noticed the beautiful contemporary wall paper which I loved and wanted to take a photo but didn't want to seem like I was taking pictures of all the people sitting in front of it. I know, being a food blogger why would I have any dignity left. WELL I REFUSE TO THINK SO.

I had a browse of the menu and decided to have the smoked salmon potato cakes which came with hollandaise sauce and caramalised onion. All the hot meals were displayed in the cabinet which I dislike, I don't like the thought that the dishes aren't prepared fresh on the spot, anyways I stuck with my order and also had a chai latte *of course*

Salmon potato cakes

First bite. DELICIOUS! Saltiness of the salmon, savouriness of the potato, creaminess of the hollandaise sauce and sweetness of the onions make a perfect dish, I don't know why I haven't seen this combo more often. Salad was pretty much salad with what I believe was store bought balsamic dressing. Chai latte was perfect, very creamy just the way I like it :) I will bring my sister here to show her how a Chai latte is done, she's been trying to make a creamy chai latte at home with many failed attempts. My friend wasn't very hungry so she had a cookie hahah! I dont' think that's worth blogging bout. I forgot to ask C how she thought about the coffee, so I can't comment on that aspect.

Overall enjoyed my meal though I have to admit, I was very surprised, perhaps my expectations were lowered since I'm a franchise cafe snob but it's definetly good stuff. Great environment, lovely food and reasonable prices makes a happy snob :)

Red Opium

2013-03-23T09:16:00.000-07:00

“Hidden gem”

http://www.redopium.com.au

Photos courtesy of Emandy

Red opium is a new concept restaurant serving thai food but in modern tapas style. It is literally a hidden gem being located underground in a basement on Hay St. This restaurant was the chosen venue for a dear friend’s birthday. Walking down the stairs into the basement was exciting, we were greeted with red lanterns and draped curtains depicting a mysterious asian thai feel, there was even a little section to play chess and a lovely bed-like couch as one of the seatings. I was very impressed with the interiors.

Chess area

We were seated and greeted by the lovely waitress whom is the owner with her husband being the chef. My friends have read a critic review before going in and we decided to order some items he recommended and some from the owner. Items on the menu had very unique names, we ordered a total of 6 dishes.

Crudo tuna

Crudo tuna

Tuna was fresh and melted in our mouths, also had a hint of lemongrass which really gave it a punch of flavour. Everyone enjoyed this dish.

Ying and Yang Dips

Yin and Yang dip

Crackers served with creamy prawn and coconut dip and minced pork tomato dip. These dips was so unique and absolutely delicious, the crackers was so light and crispy and presentation was spot on. My fault would be more dips and more crackers please *I will just keep saying this throughout the post*.

Crying Waygu

Again another spot on dish, this reminded me of beef tataki but with a thai twist. Proabably a favourite amongst the group.

Son in law eggs

Son in law eggs

These eggs was exciting to eat. The owner recommended this dish as she told us stories of customers falling in love with it. Double cooked eggs, boiled then fried to give a crust on the outside and a sauce that tasted like the ones you find in maggie mee, packed full of flavour and abit on the spicy side. A rich dish we all enjoyed.

F duck

F duck

Roast duck in red curry. This is probably one of the best red curry I’ve had. So rich and creamy, packed full of flavour with lovely voluptuous duck pieces. This dish brought out the ugly side of me, I just didn’t want to share.

White bait

White bait

Unfortunately our lack of knowledge of what a white bait is led us to expect a big fleshy white fish, we were left disappointed with this dish. All the Malaysians referred to it as Ikan bilis. It was more a snack than a main dish. We ordered this as it was apparently one of the recommended dishes by the critic, but I’m sure there are better dishes than this.

All our meals were accompanied with fragrant white rice and we all left JUST full. We decided to have dessert elsewhere as they ran out of what we wanted, the dessert menu was still being refined at that time, I've recently seen the dessert menu and it looks promising. The bill came out to be just under $20 each which we were all very surprised. I think we could have ordered a few more dishes to bring us over the line in terms of feeling just full and FULL. I would have liked the dishes to be 10x bigger, but that’s just me being greedy and throwing the tapas concept down the drain.

I enjoyed dining in Red Opium and have been recommending the place to everyone I know since then. I have tried dining in again but they were fully booked so word has definitely gone out.

NB: The entertainment card offers a 25% off the bill to Red Opium
NB: They do private functions

Seoul Buffet Korean BBQ

2013-03-09T07:48:00.000-08:00

"Jal meokkesseumnida"

One of my favourite Korean restaurants is Seoul Korean BBQ Situated on William st, Northbridge. I’ve tried many Korean BBQ restaurants but have always gone back to his one. I believe they have a sister branch in Victoria Park and I was told by the owner that their son opened a branch in Subiaco which I'm yet to try.

Seoul BBQ has a lovely environment which is bit more upper class looking compared to majority of korean restaurants, they provide floor seating which I’ve always picked but have accepted that the novelty slowly wears out after the knees start hurting half way.

I have dined in Seoul BBQ 4 times, for this occasion, I went with my family for my birthday dinner. For those who have not tried Korean BBQ before, it is basically BBQ your own meat concept, staff will change the hot plate over if it gets too charcoaled.

When I go for Korean, I always order a seafood or kimchi pancake and a mix platter of meat all eaten with rice. These are usually sufficient. In this occasion, we also ordered a seafood platter which I think the meat combo is better. I’ve tried the soups before but did not find them amazing that I’d order them again. Their steamboats are great but what keeps me coming back is their BBQ meat. I personally like my meat marinated unlike Tong86 which I’m not too big of a fan of, Seoul Korean BBQ has well marinated meat and all so tender after grilled.

Meat combo, marinated and shaved

Seafood combo

Another plus side is the condiments that come with the dishes. I love the potato thing and the dipping sauces for the meat, I'm not sure what they actually are but one of them is probably just salt and butter? Whatever it is, it makes a big difference.

Condiments

Side dishes

The pancakes are crispy on the outside and filled with reasonable amount of seafood or kimchi, this is what I look for in a korean pancake. Many korean places can do a good pancake so it all comes down to how stingy they are with the fillings, the worst I've tried is Tong86 which was filled with spring onions and hardly any "real" seafood. Pancakes also come with a nice dipping sauce.

Seafood pancake

As stated in the name, this place also offers a buffet, I’ve never tried the buffet as I think a BBQ and pancakes is enough for me, but yes it’s definitely one of my favourite Korean joints in Perth. jal meokkesseumnida!

Cookies and donut

2012-12-02T06:31:00.001-08:00

Best Apple Strudel!

I am going to spill information about my favourit-ist Apple strudel!

Presenting to you..COOKIES & DONUTS

In Southlands Boulevard Willetton, there is a little kiosk called COOKIES & DONUTS. Situated in front of Coles selling cakes, donuts and pastries, it looks like the usual cake kiosk but no...they have the best apple strudel EVER! So good that it is always sold out by noon.

I was lucky enough to have the best mummy EVER whom went and bought me some apple strudel. The apples are always crispy, fresh and juicy, custard and cream all so creamy with volume sandwiched between a light and fluffy pastry, topped off with a dusting of icing sugar. Every component compliments each other. The cream and custard isn't like the usual ones you'd find, it's more creamier? with volume yet not overly sweet and does not seem fatty. *when it is?* ugh I don't know what I am talking about..it's just GOOD :)

I can devour the whole slab of apple strudel alone and not feel UGH from the fatty overload, instead I am more refreshed and sad coz it's gone :( I shall now showcase this apple strudel that I speak so highly of.

This slab of apple strudel will set you back $7

Sadly I have to share with my siblings :(

fresh apples, cream, custard what more do you want!

My whole family loves loves LOVES the Apple strudel and we believe it's on par with Corica if not BETTER. Give it a try and be the judge for yourself.

Southlands Cookies & Donuts
Kiosk 3
Southlands Boulevard
45 Burrendah Boulevard
Willetton WA 6155

Bivouac Canteen and Bar

2012-09-10T08:22:00.000-07:00

http://bivouac.com.au/

Bivouac was chosen as the dinner spot for a long overdue catch up with F and E. Initially I wanted to go for the brunch as it seemed very popular, but because I seem to always go in the wrong days ie. Sunday, I decided to try a dinner service first.

Bivouac has a concept of providing a venue for rest and recuperation, much like a Bivouac itself. Dishes are Mediterranean inspired and therefore meals are designed for sharing. True to its name the canteen like venue has a relaxed feeling and a very youthful vibe to it with a few VERY UNIQUE art work displayed.

We were greeted by a young energetic waitress and started pondering over the menu. This was the verdict we came to:

Chacuterie board: wagyu bresaola, serrano style air dried pork, salami tascana, olive mortadella, ham hock terrine, pickles and char grilled sourdough 22

slaughtermans gnocchi, ox tail ragu, reggiano 23

moroccan mechoui lamb, chickpea puree, date and preserved lemon relish 29

gin gin goat chops, chermoula rub 16

First to arrive was the chacuterie board and we were disappointed, it wasn't the fault of the kitchen, more like us not knowing what most of the terms meant on the description. We all saw the word "wagyu" and was like "YEP! iwantthat". None of us knew what bresaola meant and turns out it meant air dried salted beef, in other words, this platter was basically store bought items plated on a chopping board.

Chacuterie board

Although our first dish was a disappointment, it only got better from then on. The gnocchi was well done and I was glad we shared as it got rather repetitive in flavour which is what I usually find with gnocchi in general. Ox tail ragu was so tender it melted in out mouths but I have to admit, I had to get my head around the fact that I'm eating a "tail".

slaughtermans gnocchi, ox tail ragu, reggiano

My favourite dishes would be the Moroccan lamb and goat chops. First of all the lamb was cooked to perfection and packed full of flavour which masked the lamb smell that usually puts me off lamb. Chickpea puree was silky smooth and the date and lemon relish just tied the whole dish together. The goat chops also had alot of flavour, it's flavours you can see and reminded me of what Jamie Oliver would whip up. I would have liked more pieces though, one piece each isn't enough.

moroccan mechoui lamb, chickpea puree, date and preserved lemon relish

gin gin goat chops, chermoula rub

Next was dessert, it didn't take long for us to order as we basically went, "I'll have all of it *finger circling* except that *finger points*" too easy. We ordered the following:

The deconstructed tira mi su, savoiardi biscuits, crema della duchessa and cafe marsala

Persian love cake $9

pistachio white chocolate and cointreau parfait, caramelised nectarine, honey wafer $14.50

baklava $6

When I saw the word "deconstructed", I instantly thought MASTERCHEF, I was so excited and when it came out, I have to admit I was a little bit disappointed, I guess I was hoping for crumbs of biscuits scattered on the board with little dollops of cream and a drizzling of rich coffee, but it was more simpler than what I imagined it to be. The waitress explained to us how to approach the dish, grab a biscuit, dip it in the coffee and and scoop some cream. We did as we were told and as soon as the biscuit hit our palate WHOA! that coffee was strong assss, the second time round, we didn't do a dip, it was more like a skim off the coffee. Despite the let down in my expectations, it was fun sharing the dish with awesome friends.

deconstructed tira mi su, savoiardi biscuits, crema della duchessa and cafe marsala

My favourite would be the pistachio white chocolate parfait, it went well with the caramelised nectarine. As for the Persian love cake, it was basically a cake with syrup, it looked beautiful and went well with the fairy floss as the taste is simple and not very sweet.

pistachio white chocolate and cointreau parfait, caramelised nectarine, honey wafer

Persian love cake

We also tried a baklava and was told it was home made. It was very hard to cut into three pieces, I'm not sure if baklavas were meant to be that hard, I found it rather average and a little bit too dry for my liking. At least I can say I've tried baklava.

Baklava

Overall, I enjoyed my experience in Bivouac and will definitely return to taste their new menu. Service is excellent, food is delicious, beautiful presentation and we left paying just over $40 each with 7 dishes in total.

Pepper Lunch

2012-09-06T07:24:00.002-07:00

"Healthy fast food"

I love it when something new opens in Perth, restaurants in particular. Pepper lunch is one of the new kids on the block and judging from the hype and positive feedback, I think it has been accepted into the cool kids club.

Pepper Lunch offers fast, Japanese, healthy food and has already boomed globally with the 200 outlets in Japan and another 100 outlets dispersed in Singapore, China, Taipei, Korea, Indonesia, Thailand and now Australia. Pepper Lunch works on the concept of having customers grill their own meals in heated iron dish. Their menu offers items from flavours of japan pepper rice to sizzle it your own way fine steak and if you're lost with what to do, there are videos demonstrating step by step methods with each different dish and the friendly staff will also explain the processes.

I ordered the Shimofuri pepper steak and bf had the Cut Steak with Kimchi and Cheese. I was very surprised to find such cheap prices with the steaks offered, waygu in particular, it is definitely worth the money. When my dish arrived, I was told to smear the butter on the meat and grill to my preference, then mix with the sauces provided of my choice, these being soy sauce, garlic sauce and a sweet sauce. It doesn't take long for the steak to cook, so if you like it rare and don't want it to cook further, place it on the vegies.

Shimofuri pepper steak

I enjoyed my meal, it's simple and quick and my steak was tender * I would like to think it's because of my pro grilling skills XD*, the down side would be that it had a lingering force defrosted taste to it (not sure how to explain it), it was very faint that it didn't bother me too much and hey what do you expect with such prices. I had a taste of the cheese kimchi fried rice and it tastes like what you'd find in a Korean restaurant but with corner kernels and cheaper.

Cut Steak with Kimchi and Cheese

Overall, I think Pepper Lunch is here to stay judging from the numerous customers it receives. Though the food is very simple and nothing to rave about, it offers another option of fast food that is healthy rather than the usual kfc, maccas and hungry jacks and I reckon the novelty will keep it going.

Millbrook Winery

2012-09-01T03:04:00.000-07:00

As I'm not appreciative of wine, I haven't been to many wineries, but when I found out that alot of great restaurants are associated with wineries, I was keen to tag along in the next opportunity and just like that, an opportunity arrived on my doorstep like the arrival of my bf's relatives, what better way to show case W.A's fresh produce but through a winery that is Millbrook winery.

We took a 45 minute drive down south through the scenic countryside of Jarrahdale and as we turned the corner we were welcomed by a single building snuggled in the middle of green rolling hills beside a pristine man made lake and vineyards that seem to be vineless? We parked in what was a deserted carpark for which I thought.."oh god..this is when you kill me right?" turns out we were really early and the restaurant wasn't open for service yet.

Sheeps doing their thang

As service doesn't start till an hour, we happily walked around the area taking in the beautiful views, I loved the view of the sheeps in the far distance up the hills just doing their THANG..munching away on grass. We returned to the building and decided to try some wine tasting and as expected I couldn't tell between A to B and the supposedly claimed chocolate notes in wine A =-=.I just swirl my cup and pretend I know my thing.

We then went upstairs for our long awaited lunch and I was surprised to find alot of people dining in the restaurant especially for an isolated venue, the restaurant had views at all angles and had many awards displayed at the entrance, we were seated and greeted by our lovely and very professional waitress whom read out the specials for the day, as good as they all may sound we all opted for the items in the menu. We ordered the following:

Fremantle octopus, rasa's chorizo, pickled potato, smoked salmon

Baldivis rabbit, acciari butchers catechino, tomato sauce, handcut pasta

Market fresh fish of the day

foraged and farmed mushroom risotto, white truffle oil, parmesan

Free range pork loin, braised borlotti beans, local pancetta, caramelised shallots

dandaragan organic grass fed scotch fillet, chilli and anchovy braised brocollini, migas

Shortly after ordering, we were presented complimentary bread with butter and freshly made marmalade and pink salt. This was an odd combination to eat bread with and I was rather confused as to how to go about it. Nonetheless, there was nothing to complain about, it was complimentary after all.

Complimentary bread

I had the mushroom risotto, I was won over by the "white truffle oil" Love truffle! and LOve oil! This dish did not fail to impress, it was cooked perfectly, I've tried making risotto before and after two hours slaving over the stove constantly mixing and still having uncooked rice or rice thats just the wrong texture, I've become very appreciative of risottos and more willing to paying the $36 for what is really just rice and stock.

foraged and farmed mushroom risotto, white truffle oil, parmesan

I tried the pork loin and did not find much to rave about, flavours were rather subtle and very simple, I did notice that the caramelised shallots was done in wine as it had a rather sweet flavour to it. You might not want to take my word for it as I don't like/know wine but it did help with uplifting the flavours of the dish.

Free range pork loin, braised borlotti beans, local pancetta, caramelised shallots

I also tried the rabbit dish and initially, I was going to order this dish, but after realising it was just tossed in pasta, I opted out. The handcut pasta was cooked to perfection and the rabbit meat was lovely and tender enough to call it a good pasta dish.

Baldivis rabbit, acciari butchers catechino, tomato sauce, handcut pasta

Fish of the day

Everyone seemed to have enjoyed their meal, dishes were rather pricey but it is evident that the produce is fresh, I guess they didn't want to ruin the fresh produce with overwhelming flavours, keeping it simple and allowing the ingredients to speak for itself.