We needed a quick dinner option before going to see Lawrence Leung at the Perth Comedy Festival and Mr Munchies was perfect. It was just a 5 minute stroll from the venue and from many past take-away experiences I knew we’d be able to get in and out within 45 minutes.

The décor was fun and cute, my mum who is a bit of a germaphobe was most impressed with the handbag hooks.

Table service was quick and friendly – I love that the staff use a special app on their smart phones to take our orders. My mum ordered the Salmon Sashimi ($14.50), I had the Teriyaki Chicken Bento Box ($14.50) and I can’t help but have the Katsu Kilpatrick Roll every time I have Mr Munchies. Even when I try to be adventurous and try different rolls, I still need my trusty Katsu Kilpatrick (pork or chicken) in the mix. So even with plenty of food we (ok maybe I) decided we could share a small Pork Katsu Kilpatrick Roll (4 pieces for $9).

As we waited for our dinner to arrive, I noticed Mr Munchies do take bookings as there were a few tables reserved. Good thing we rocked up early, as it wasn’t long before the small space was filled.

Sipping on our refillable green teas ($2.50 each), we watched sushi rolls being made in the open kitchen.

This is mum’s salmon sashimi which she enjoyed. The salmon was fresh and served with soy and shallots.

The sashimi sparked conversations about Mr Munchies Japanese fusion style which we thought was creative. I was never a huge sushi fan until Mr Munchies came along, now I crave their Katsu Kilpatrick rolls all the time.

Pork katsu, cucumber and bacon topped with cheese – takes me to foodie heaven every time.

My pink chicken teriyaki bento box was super cute…

The skin was crisp, chicken tender and there was the perfect amount of sweet teriyaki sauce. The bento box came with rice, a light spinach & cherry tomato salad, spring roll and karaage (fried chicken). The spring roll was a bit soft for my liking and there wasn’t much in it but it wasn’t the main event so I wasn’t too fazed.

What I love about Mr Munchies is the ease of dining. They have EFTPOS / PayPass facilities, you can dine in or take-away, book or walk-in and the menu caters for all from sushi to sashimi to cooked bento boxes. You don’t need to dress up but you don’t look out of place if you do – Mr Munchies is perfect for a quick casual catch-up or bite to eat.

Sitting next to Russel, one of three owners of The Fig Cafes and chatting to Jamie the Operations Manager of the Naked Fig. I was told The Fig Cafe’s philosophy was all around serving well balanced healthy food in a creative environment. You won’t find anything deep-fried on their plates.

Each Fig has it’s own personalities by virtue of their location. We were told that the Naked Fig which is named after the Swanbourne nudest beach tends to appeal more to the Western Suburbs diners, Pickled Fig to the quirky / creative Freo crowd and Wild Fig to the younger (possibly wilder) Scarborough beach crowd who are a bit more casual and keen for a quicker meal.

Wild Fig was Mahara and I’s go-to Fig for breakfast when they were located in Waterman Bay. Every time we went, I’d have my usual latte, egg benedict and a Pink Panther juice which is a tropical blend of pink grapefruit, strawberry and watermelon. I’ve only ever deviated from my usual order once for the Grizzly Bear Pancakes – you can find my full Wild Fig breakfast review here.

Last week was my first experience of the Naked Fig and wow, it was completely different to what I had expected. It truly does have a different feel – the meals from the dinner menu were beautifully presented and of a fine dining quality and price.

Naked Fig although serving a fine dining dinner menu doesn’t reflect the fine dining moody feel – it’s creative, hip and family-friendly thanks to the creative design flair of one of the owners, Greer, who has a background in graphics and signwriting.

There’s plenty to look at, from the coloured bucket chandeliers to the photos of the beach…

Then there’s the brightly coloured kid’s playroom…

Naked Fig’s breakfast and lunch menus are more affordable, breakfast ranges from $4.50 for a muffin to a full breakfast for $19.90. Lunch ranges from $16 for an entree sized baked puff pastry with salad to $35 for a 300g piece of steak with wedges.

What better introduction to The Fig Cafes than a three-course dinner by three different chefs from the three different Fig restaurants at the one beachfront venue.

From L-R: Wild Fig Chef Rodrigo da Rocha, Naked Fig chef Chris May and Pickled Fig chef Andy Walton

Keep reading for the feast Mahara and I happily indulged in. We shared three different entrees, mains and desserts amongst the table so we could have a taste of each Fig’s menu.

Pickled Fig menu by head chef Andy Walton

Andy Walton tells us that his Pickled menu is inspired by what’s in season and through experimenting with different combinations.

Entrée: Pitted mixed olives, olive tapenade, olive bread
Main: Crispy grilled barramundi, basil mash potato, chorizo, capsicum & orange reduction
Dessert: Mandarin & thyme crème brulee, shortcake biscuit

I figured being married to an Italian burger boy who doesn’t eat olives means it’s perfectly ok for me not to be a huge olive fan I’ve tried a few times but still can’t get my taste buds to budge. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the lightly toasted olive bread. The olives were nice and subtle.

The grilled barramundi was crispy on top and served with a basil mash potato, chorizo, capsicum and orange reduction. The barramundi was soft and I liked the balance of flavours.

The mandarin and thyme creme brûlée texture was quite thin and the caramel top was crunchy with a slight bitterness. The homemade shortbread was a nice touch and would have been great to dip with coffee if it wasn’t so late in the night.

Naked Fig menu by head chef Chris May

I really loved the Naked Fig menu, everything selected for our bloggers dinner would be what I would normally order. When I asked Chris May what inspires his food combinations, he enthusiastically said his menu ideas are like “lightning has struck” which I can related to as often my best ideas happen at the oddest times and are inspired by random things.

Entrée: Scallop & tarragon tortellini, shellfish cappuccino
Main: Roasted peppered sirloin, beef blade, chickpea puree, sprouts, garlic & rosemary jus
Dessert: Popcorn Panna Cotta with vanilla sugared popcorn and butterscotch sauce

The scallops and tarragon tortellini were soft and creamy. It had a beautiful truffle oil flavour.

There were discussions with Chris May around whether the roasted peppered sirloin and beef blade was a good combination. Like most, I thought that as the blade was so tender it takes away the attention from the Sirloin making it taste tougher than it is. I liked the blade and would have loved a full dish of blade which was slowly cooked to perfection.

Oh Chris May’s dessert just blew me away. This popcorn panna cotta was served with vanilla sugared popcorn, fudge and butterscotch sauce. I love salted caramel so I loved this combination of salted sweetness and the panna cotta wasn’t too rich. I love that food can trigger all sorts of memories –  the popcorn and butterscotch sauce reminds me of the movies and the fudge triggers memories of my school days when I used buy them from the local deli on the way home.

The menu at Naked Fig changes every fortnight so your taste buds will always be tested.

Wild Fig menu by head chef Rodrigo Da Rocha

Entrée: Lemon & thyme polenta, aubergine & tomato roulade, agro dolce puree
Main: Pan roasted duck breast, confit duck & mushroom tart, parsnip puree, sautéed kale, pistachio brittle, plum jus
Dessert: White chocolate & raspberry mille feuille

The lemon and thyme polenta had a strong vinegary flavour which Mahara enjoyed. The polenta was crispy on the outside, soft on the inside.

The pan roasted duck was tender and Mahara loved the buttery carrots & fresh herbs in this dish.

The white chocolate & raspberry mille feuille was Mahara’s favourite dessert. She loved the crispy savory pastry.

After tasting menus from the three Figs, we indulged some more. Mahara had this massive bowl of chai latte, her regular order at the Wild Fig.

I had a pot of green tea…

Although I wish I had tried the new range of tea which launches tomorrow (Mon 13/5) – below is the fresh mint tea and green tea.

I enjoyed watching each of the green tea flowers float to the top and open…

The Fig Cafes serves my kind of food – I liked everything that was served and ate pretty much everything except the olives. Russel tells me The Fig Cafes started with Wild Fig 12 years ago in Waterman Bay, Greer had purchased the cafe from the owner at the time and The Fig Cafes have been growing ever since. All The Fig Cafes cater for vegans, gluten free and vegetarians.

You would have heard The Fig Cafe recently caught the attention of social media with their Chalkboard responses to Paul Tonich’s negative facebook post about their service. So I must admit I was a bit skeptical when I received an invite to this bloggers dinner but what I’ve learnt by being both a business owner and food blogger is that how you deal with criticism makes all the difference. Everyone is entitled to an opinion and sometimes those opinions are warranted and sometimes they are not entirely correct. In this instance, The Fig Cafe owners decided to take a stance which would have both cost them some customers and won them new customers. Being in business is hard and you do make hard decisions – the chalkboard responses wouldn’t have been the approach I would have taken but it’s none of my business. All that matters to me, is that there is a commitment to customer service and to make amends where there has been issues.

I enjoyed my experience at the Naked Fig and The Fig Cafe’s approach with providing healthy balanced food. I’ll be going back soon to see what the service is like at all the Figs for myself on an ordinary day.

Run Amuk is located on the South Terrace cafe strip in Fremantle down the road from Missy Moos. A burger bar we’ve been meaning to try for ages – I was almost tempted to share a hot dog with burger boy to save space for a Missy Moos burger.

We arrived around 2:30pm one Sunday and was greeted by the friendly staff. As soon as we took a seat in one of the booths, our tables were cleaned and we were asked if we had been to Run Amuk before. When we said no, the staff member asked if he could explain the menu to us (great service!). We were told that there were vegetarian and gluten free hot dog options, and we could change whatever we liked on the menu. This was exciting as I’m a picky eater and I don’t often have the freedom to change the menus to suit my fussy tastebuds. I didn’t end up making any changes but was happy to have been given the option.

This was our Run Amuk hot dog booth…

It didn’t take us long to decide what we wanted – burger boy went up to the counter and ordered us both The Punk each. The Punk was filled with a premium bratwurst made with 70% pork and 30% beef sourced from WA farmers, plenty of crispy bacon, aged cheddar cheese, caramelised onion, topped with tomato sauce, a smokey BBQ sauce and American mustard. The bread plays a huge factor with hot dogs for me and Run Amuk’s was fresh, firm but easy enough to bite into.

We also enjoyed a side of fries with aioli sauce. It was a good sized serving for $3.50…

I’m not sure if I ever told you guys that my first ever job was at Wendy’s Super Sundaes – since then I’ve had a slight obsession with strawberry milkshakes I have a slight inkling that my hot dog obsession started back then too. My strawberry milkshake ($5) at Run Amuk hit the spot. The strawberry flavour was perfect – sweet enough without being too intense and I loved the creamy texture.

burger boy had a lime Jarritos – a drink which he has fallen in love with since trying it first at Mad Mex. To the extent that he asked for Jarritos to be mixed with tequila at the well known Mexican restaurant, Mamasita, in Melbourne recently

Run Amuk is THE place to go for hot dogs in Perth. The hot dogs are served on these stainless steel hot dog holders so if you drop you filling, it’s easy to stuff them back in no need to worry about the 30 second rule. Run Amuk is definitely worth the drive and if you’re a local, I’m envious of you!

We checked out the Unveiled Exhibition on entry and admired the wedding dresses which had travelled all the way from the Victoria and Albert Museum in London…

Oh the exhibition brought back memories, I can’t believe burger boy and I have been married for over 3 years now. This was my wedding dress…

I had always imagined a big princess wedding dress but after trying on more than 20 dresses, I decided on having mine made by Bride by Design to suit me and the colour theme of my wedding invitations

We then made our way out to the Gin Garden and enjoyed a few canapés along the way…

We had these refreshing Prawn and Raspberry Cucumber Cups before getting into the hard stuff

We enjoyed Sipsmith G&Ts over a game of giant chess…

These were the Sipsmith cocktails on offer at the Pop Up Gin Garden…

We see Frisk’s Venue Manager Will Holland everywhere! We now know what to expect when he makes our cocktails – it’s always with passion and much focus as you can see by the pic

We tried both cocktails – the Tom Collins with Mint as featured below and A Day at Wimbledon.

A Day of Wimbledon was my favourite as I love sweet cocktails.

By 7pm the Pop Up Gin Garden was pumping with music and people, the coloured tent and white picket fences were cool – we felt like we were at a music festival.

My mum was having her pre-birthday dinner that night so after a couple of cocktails each, we headed to The Crown’s Atrium Buffet. Must say we weren’t able to eat as much as we normally do with all that gin in us and burger boy and I could have (and would have) kept drinking all through the night. Thinking back, it was probably a good thing we didn’t need to leave our car in Northbridge overnight

We can’t wait for the next pop up gin garden whenever it may be!

I still remember the night so clearly, burger boy and I were seated on the beautiful candle lit balcony overlooking the Seminyak beach and listening to the sounds of waves lightly crashing. It was dark so I didn’t manage to take any photos of the venue or the beach but TripAdvisor is filled with pics if you haven’t already visited La Lucciola.

For entree burger boy had the lamb ragyu pasta which he thought was really tasty.

I had the bocconcini tomato salad which was just like burger boy’s Italian mamma’s but a little tastier (hope she’s not reading this blog post!).

For mains I had the linguine osso bucco. The osso bucco was so tender, the meat just melted and the flavours were tasty but not too rich.

burger boy had wanted something light after his lamb ragyu entree so he went the red emperor which was as burger boy had expected but he felt it wasn’t a stand out dish.

During dinner we had a few cocktails…

I was going to go the meringue for dessert but thought I’d check what the dessert platter for two was before deciding. I was so glad I checked as it was perfect – it had my passionfruit strawberry meringue I was intending to order, the chocolate tart burger boy was eying off, a banana lime dessert, a strawberry mascarpone gelato and a coconut pannacotta. The meringue & strawberry mascarpone were our favourites.

La Lucciola serves beautiful authentic Italian food, tasty but not too rich. Dinner cost us 1,020,000 Indonesian Rupiah which is $102 Australian dollars – a bargain considering the five star quality food, service (we had three waiters looking after us!) and setting. I will be going back to have breakfast at La Lucciola when we visit end of May so I can appreciate the beachfront setting even more.

Last week I was excited to have dinner sponsored by EatNow, an online takeaway and delivery website started by Matthew Dyer in 2010 and now owned by the Catch Group (the guys behind Catch of the Day, Scoopon, Mumgo, The Grocery Run and Vinomofo). It was timely as burger boy was working and I was on very little sleep – cooking without sleep usually guarantees a pretty bland (at best) meal

When I think delivery I always think pizza and since recently discovering Saffron Indian Restaurant delivers to our home, Indian has become a frequent home delivery option. Whilst when I think takeaway I think Chinese or Thai.

So it was no surprises when I entered my postcode into EatNow’s website and selected takeaway Perth - a list of pizza, Indian, Chinese and Thai restaurants came up. I didn’t have a specific craving but I knew I didn’t feel like pizza so I decided to order Royal Thai to takeaway.

After reading through the EatNow online food delivery and take-away menu, I added satay chicken, massaman beef and fried rice to my shopping cart. Everything looked so good, I’m glad I only ordered enough for two I could have easily ordered for three or four with the click of the mouse. There were options to pay by Mastercard, Visa, PayPal or cash. I paid by Paypal and received a SMS a few minutes later to confirm my order had been received.

I have driven past Royal Thai many times as it is opposite my fav Japanese restaurant, Ha-Lu but I’ve never really noticed this hidden gem or thought to try it until last week.

Our satay chicken entree ($10)…

The chicken breast was tender and the satay sauce was sweet and tangy rather than savoury. I could still clearly taste the satay flavour and loved that Royal Thai gave this traditional satay chicken dish a bit of a twist which worked.

The kao pad gai aka fried rice ($14) had plenty of meat, fresh veggies and a slightly sweet flavour.

Like the fried rice, Royal Thai’s serving of the beef and potatoes in their massaman beef  ($18) was generous. The curry was beautifully thick and sweet but I would have liked the beef and potato to be cooked a bit longer to allow the curry to soak through and for the beef and potatoes to fall apart on first bite.

I really enjoyed my dinner from Royal Thai, ordering was easy and service was friendly. burger boy was very happy to come home to leftovers and was also impressed with the quality. A big thank you to EatNow for introducing me to Royal Thai, our new local for Thai.

Uncle Joe’s had opened for a short period last year then closed again for further renovations. The first time I visited last year, the coffee wasn’t to my liking and I remember walking out smelling like the food as there was little ventilation – my visits of late have been a completely different experience.

I now visit Uncle Joe’s a few mornings in the week for my caffeine fix. A large coffee at $4 is on par with Perth city coffee prices and my latte is smooth to drink but strong enough to do its important job of waking me up before work. Best of all, my latte is usually ready within a few minutes.

On entry there is now a barbershop which I’m told is open from 10am and don’t require appointments – I almost thought it was just an expensive decoration as I’ve never seen it open

If you do happen to visit Uncle Joe’s don’t let the entry door mislead you, there really is no roof in the passage and the cobble stones are best walked on with flats.

For breakfast, I have tried the ham & cheese croissant ($6). The cheese is sliced too thick for my liking and makes the croissant a bit greasy but there are plenty of other breakfast items on offer which I’ll try next time. The sticky date cupcakes had looked yum!

A couple of Fridays ago, a group of 7 of us headed to Uncle Joe’s for my colleague’s birthday lunch. Uncle Joe’s don’t take bookings so we just wandered over around noon and secured a table before the lunch crowd arrived.

I had the homemade sausage roll with a side of pearl cous cous salad ($12)…

I’m pretty picky with my sausage rolls as burger boy’s Italian mamma and family makes them well. The sausage roll tasted as good as it looked and came with a homemade relish instead of the usual tomato sauce. The cous cous salad was light and complemented the sausage roll well.

I did have food envy when I saw that my colleague ordered the Friday lunch special which was a smoked cheese kransky hot dog and a coke ($15).The kranskies are from Dubrovnik Butchers and normally I can’t go past a Kransky but I was glad I did as I don’t think I would have made it through lunch without staining my white top

Another one of my colleagues had the tuna patty with the same pearl cous cous salad I had and was impressed…

I managed to take another quick foodie snap before the last dish arrived scrambled eggs, avocado and crispy bacon with toast!

Yep, Uncle Joe’s menu includes all-day breakfast options – I know where to go when I’m cravings bacon and eggs on a week day!

My strawberry milkshake was a bit slow and arrived after I had finished my sausage roll. The strawberry flavour wasn’t strong enough for my liking and I prefer it creamier – a bit more ice-cream and syrup would have been great.

Uncle Joe’s Mess Hall is a welcome addition to the Perth CBD, coffee is good, food is fresh/affordable, EFTPOS is avail, service is usually quick and I love the cool décor except for the cobblestone as it is hard to walk on.

I have 5 double passes to a new foodie film Haute Cuisine to giveaway to foodie cravings readers. For your chance to win 1 of 5 Haute Cuisine double passes, simply like my facebook page (if you haven’t already), sign up to receive foodie cravings by email and comment with your favourite French dish by 8pm WST Monday 22/4/13.

Haute Cuisine is a drama based on the true story of Danièle Delpeuch who was appointed as the private chef for President François Mitterrand. Haute Cuisine is filmed on location at the Élysée Palace, in regional France and Antartica and features authentic beautifully presented French dishes.

In the film Hortense Laborie, a renowned chef from the Périgord, is astonished when the President of the Republic appoints her as his personal cook, responsible for creating all his meals at the Élysée Palace. Despite jealous resentment from the other kitchen staff, Hortense quickly establishes herself, thanks to her indomitable spirit. The authenticity of her cooking soon seduces the President, but the corridors of power are littered with traps.

I had my first taste of French food at No. 4 Blake Street earlier this year, I loved the goat cheese gnocchi I had and the presentation of every dish was amazing. Look forward to hearing what your favourite French dish is!

Competition T&Cs

• Competition is open to all foodie cravings readers with an Australian postal address.
• 5 foodie cravings readers who have signed up to receive foodie cravings by email, liked foodie cravings facebook page and commented here with their favourite French dish will be drawn at random to win a Haute Cuisine double pass.
• Competition closes 8pm WST Monday 22/4/13 and winners will be notified by email and announced on foodie cravings facebook page, twitter and blog on Monday 22/4/13. If the winner/s don’t respond within 72 hours with their postal details, foodie cravings will redraw the competition and notify new winner/s.

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