Mrs S Cafe, Maylands
Posted by | Categories: Breakfast/Brunch, Coffee, Featured, Perth, Restaurants
The first of September marked the last six months leading up to our wedding. Although I realise I am not fat by any stretch of the imagination, just like most women I want to maximise my slim sexy hotness for my wedding day! My problem is that one of my biggest weaknesses is gluttony. As a consequence I have made a promise to myself that once I hit this six month marker, I am genuinely going to try to be more contained in my eating habits. Well … at least save the binges for days that I have managed to pelt out significant amounts of sweaty exercise. After all, isn’t weight loss just a mathematic equation of calories?
So cute
So after running five kilometres to get to the gym followed by a workout, I felt like I had earned the right to go out for breakfast. After previously missing out on my Mrs S fix due to their temporary closure last month, it was logical they would be our choice. I can’t complain about them taking a little break because if they hadn’t we would have never stumbled upon Sherbet Bake Shop which has now been added to my favourite breakfast stops!
Remember Little Golden Books? The menus are inside original copies!
Mrs S’s eclectic décor is almost a bit Freo-esque in nature. With a big communal table running down the centre of the dining room, it feels more like someone’s homely kitchen than a cafe. There is even some oven mitts and other kitchen essentials hanging off the walls.
Love in a cup
Although I was really in the mood for some eggs, we had arrived just a touch too late and they have moved onto serving their lunch menu. I didn’t waste any time and ordered my short mac; Mrs S serve Crema coffee. It is very smooth with a satiny sweet taste. I love the adorable little heart signature the barista makes flawlessly each time we visit.
Charred fennel and white anchovy salad
Their menu changes regularly and always includes a few gluten free options. I chose the charred fennel and white anchovy salad with buffalo mozzarella and blood orange. This was such an interesting salad with unusual but very well matched combinations of flavours and textures. The acidity of the sweet blood orange, the subtlety of the buffalo mozzarella and the salty anchovies alone were an absolute taste sensation. Add to this some crunchy fennel and a real wow factor remained. I would love to replicate this dish at home.
Open steak sandwich with green mayo, aioli, roasted capsicum, gruyere + onion jam
The Boy chose to have a break from our vegetarian stint and treat himself to some juicy beef. Although the open steak sandwich was a little difficult to eat he also thought his choice was out of this world. The meat was tender and had a lovely dark pink colour in the centre.
Salted caramel macaron – so lonely!
Mrs S sells fresh macarons purchased from Chef Alexandre Lui-Van Sheng. After initial humble beginnings selling his delightful macarons at local markets around Perth including the Stirling, Claremont and Manning markets, Alexandre has taken his macarons to the next level and in February this year opened his store Maison Saint-Honoré in Fremantle with fellow chef Jacque Saint-Alme. They now have a second store in Whitfords. I have yet to get myself to one of these stores so in the meantime I can still enjoy his perfectly textured mouthfuls when we visit Mrs S. The salted caramel is my favourite!
Flourless Orange and passionfruit cake
For dessert, I had every intention of just getting us some macarons, but the piglet inside me briefly reared her snout and “accidently” also ordered a slice of the gluten free orange and passionfruit cake. What a wonderful surprise this was! It was so moist and the added passionfruit gave it a tang to set it apart from your usual flourless orange cake suspects.
Poached eggs on gluten free with herby mushrooms and roasted tomatoes
On our subsequent visit to Mrs S a few weeks later we were both much more organised and arrived early enough to catch the breakfast menu. After missing out on eggs last time I was champing at the bit for a decent gooey poached egg. I was not to be disappointed, thank you Mrs S! The gluten free toast was thickly sliced, springy and held it’s shape despite all the egg yolk goo soaking into it.
Oooh yeah…gimme that shiz!
It had been a long while since the Boy had ordered his old time favourite of the big breakfast. It used to be his staple in pre-Chompchomp days, but since then he has been keen to order more interesting dishes that can help showcase a restaurant better. Such a thoughtful lad. He loved all of his meal except for the beans which were a tad cold and lacked flavour.
Big breakfast: eggs, bacon, herby mushrooms, chipolatas and spicy beans on ciabatta
Of course no visit to Mrs S is complete without any macarons; this time we took a few extra to go. The bestie was popping in for an afternoon visit later that day and I didn’t want her to miss out!
Macarons: Lower left pistachio, upper right violet, remaining are two salted caramel of course!
HAPPY 1ST BLOGIVERSARY!
Posted by | Categories: Events
It has been twelve months since the Boy finally managed to convince me to start a food blog. My reluctance to blog was fuelled by the fact that spare time was already a luxury I never seemed to have. Despite these hurdles, Chompchomp has managed to grow to more than 1200 page views a week and will hit 40,000 total page views in a couple of weeks. Mental!
I have no training in cooking, journalism, photography or creative writing and will never profess to be an expert in any of these things but my passion for food is never ending. There is great satisfaction in finding a restaurant which shares this joy and then being able to capture this moment with photos and words. I am just so flabbergasted that there are many others out there that enjoy reading my blog as much as I do creating it. Thank you so much!
The frustration and anguish of being a foodie with complicated intolerances and allergies is something many have to deal with on a daily basis. Although I realise this is nothing compared to the real trauma and illness that some poor individuals have to bear, I hope my gastronomic journey helps give hope and enjoyment to fellow intolerants out there.
InContro, South Perth
Posted by | Categories: Degustation/Fine dining, European, Perth, Restaurants
I have very fond memories of my last time at Matilda Bay Restaurant with two of my favourite people in my life; the Boy and my dearest Mum. It was Christmas Day lunch some years ago and it remains one of our most relaxing and stress-free Christmas’s to date. So when the Boy invited me to join him there on a business dinner recently I didn’t have to hesitate in my response!
Being so food obsessed is proving to be my Achilles heel by hindering my success in achieving the svelte bride body that I want. I have a bad habit of over eating and seem to enjoy the feeling of being insanely full. My solution is simply to focus on eating less for the last six months in the lead up to the big day. This night out was to be the last night of uninhibited eating before the frustrations of restriction begun so I wanted to go out with a bang.
You can only imagine my disappointment when a few hours before we were to all meet for dinner, the Boy was informed by email that the invitation didn’t extend to partners. Knowing how much I was looking forward to the evening and presuming the refusal was due to a strict budget, the Boy explained that we were not expecting a free meal and I was more than happy to pay my own way. Unfortunately this wasn’t good enough for the agency and after receiving a fairly patronising reply the Boy’s blood started to boil.
Even on a stormy night….Perth skyline is so beautiful
Not wanting to disappoint his food obsessed wife-to-be, he softened the blow of the bad news to me by offering to still take me out somewhere nice. We toyed with the idea of getting a table right next to the one I got booted off at Matilda Bay purely for entertainment value. However after briefly thinking about this further we figured that probably wouldn’t gone down so well! After a few unsuccessful calls to some favourite venues, he managed to secure us a reservation at InContro in South Perth. We even managed to get a table with city and river views. (My apologies in advance for the photos…even Gordon didn’t cope in such low level lighting!)
Tempting but once I started on the Billecart nothing else would do!
InContro offers a style of dining they call “piccolo dining” which is a bit like a Mediterranean version of tapas. They create small dishes for the entire table to share and it is brought to the table in a tiered rack reminding me of years gone by where I shared High Tea with my Dad and stepmum at Brown’s Hotel in London. After discussing my allergies with our waitress, she offered for the chef to select appropriate dishes to make up a two courses of a piccolo experience. Not being in the mood for anything specific, the Boy and I both smiled at each other and chose to go ahead with her recommendation. I love surprises!
Moroccan spiced cauliflower and Dorper lamb
Each course contained three carefully selected and quite interesting dishes using lots of fresh seasonal local produce. The succulent frenched Dorper lamb cutlets were topped with Moroccan spiced cauliflower. The sweet tasting cumin paired harmoniously with the tender lamb leaving me wishing we had more.
Scallop with pea puree and prosciutto
Our seared scallops were plump with a crisp browned surface and a nearly creamy centre of amazingness. On a bed of pea puree and topped with crispy shreds of prosciutto these little morsels were nearly as moreish as the cutlets. I was pretty excited about what else was to come.
Lobster salad
Our third entrée was simply described as a lobster salad. A fairly decent serve of decadent lobster sat innocently hidden underneath a handful of shredded greens. Further hiding below the lobster was bite sized chunks of thoroughly dressed avocado, tomato and fresh herbs. Although this dish wasn’t much to look at, each mouthful was bursting with flavour.
Sticky Black Angus short rib – sorry about the blur!
The sticky Black Angus short rib was the “to die for” dish of the evening. Unfortunately my photos didn’t turn out as well as I would have liked them to due to the beef sitting at the top of the three levelled tier. Not being a very tall person I really struggled to steady my camera. Of course my lack of hand stability that had nothing to do with the three glasses of Billecart I had drunk previously. Not at all.
Gone!
The meat didn’t just fall off the bone it slivered off and dissolved in the mouth like cotton candy. The marinade was thick, sticky and subtly sweet and neither of us could help ourselves as we scraped the remaining sauce off the board with our forks, trying to savour its flavour for as long as possible.
Linley Valley Pork belly, vanilla pear, pomegranate
In my excitement of this final night of excess I had not bothered to go through the nitty gritty of my fructose malabsorption with our waitress. I had purely just requested no gluten or no onion. Thus I did have to sift through our pork dish to avoid the little cubes of pear. The pork belly had just the right balance of fat, meat and crackling and didn’t leave any unpleasant porkiness taste in my mouth. The crackling gave a satisfyingly loud crunch as I bit into it.
Shaved fennel, pear, candied walnut
The salad to accompany our mains dishes contained shaved fennel, pear and candied walnut. Again I had to dodge the pear (my own fault) which was easy enough to do. The salad was light and refreshing on the palate after the two heavier meat dishes.
Trio of ice creams
For dessert the Boy ordered his ice cream as per usual; as you may already know it is fairly uncommon for him to ever order anything else for dessert. I settled for the only gluten free dessert option which was the polenta cake with butterscotch ice cream. It was moist and didn’t crumble apart but the butterscotch ice cream was a little sickly sweet for my liking.
Polenta cake with butterscotch ice cream
InContro is a great local option if we feel like a night out with a bit more class than casual. We have dined here on several occasions over the years and have never been disappointed with either the food or service and they take good diligence in catering to those with allergies. Of course we will be back.
InContro 79 South Perth Esplanade, South Perth 6151 | (08) 9474 5566 | www.incontro.com.au Price: $$$$ (Piccolo $9-16/dish, Entrees $22-28, Mains $35-48) Food: 4.5/5 (sticky beef ribs were out of this world) Service: 4/5 (attentive, efficient despite a full house) Ambience: 5/5 (views of Perth city skyline, how can it get better?) Drinks: 4/5 (great wine list but I confess I stuck to my Billecart all night!) Total: 17.5/20 
Truffle Degustation at Darlington Estate Winery, Perth Hills
Posted by | Categories: Degustation/Fine dining, Events, Featured, Modern Australian, Perth, Restaurants, Winery
I know, I know; I whinge about the winter chilliness a bit too much. You see, I’m not normally that much of a whinger unless I’m sick or I’m cold. However during winter I am generally both of those things more often than I am not. This is why I am so thankful for the wondrous fungus Tuber melanosporum, or more commonly known as the black truffle. Its short season coincides with the deepest part of winter here in Perth and is becoming a key element to my winter survival strategy.
Being right in the height of the truffle season I had already gone a bit giddy with my annual winter addiction at our truffled dinner at Divido and then even further at Clarke’s. Although I knew the Mundaring Truffle Festival was only a few days away, I figured why not bury myself even deeper into truffle glory and enjoy it to its fullest!
Darlington Estate had kindly extended the invitation on Twitter to Perth bloggers to create a foodie table on their opening night of their Truffle Degustation. I was joined by fellow bloggers Strawberry Thief, Red Hot Spatula and Perth Food Journal. Being relatively new to the blogging scene it was wonderful to be able to put faces to the blogs that I read each week. Better still I knew that I would be dining with like-minded people who consider constantly photographing their food is a normal way of life.
Darlington Estate is one of the oldest wineries in the Perth Hills, and over the years they have won many awards both for their wines and for their restaurant. The vineyard is set on steep terraced slopes surrounded by bushland and is supposed to offer lovely views from the restaurant. Having only dined here at night, I have missed out on this part of the experience….poor me, I will have to come back again sometime! It can be hard work being a foodie!
Amuse bouche
Prior to commencing I was informed that the chef was well aware of my allergies and that all the dishes were able to be served to me relatively unadulterated except for the truffle brioche. I was assured that the chef would come up with something else for me for this course. To get us in the mood out came our amuse bouche; a seared scallop wrapped in prosciutto on a bed of cauliflower purée with salmon roe and truffle. This was a beautiful blend of flavours and balanced nicely although my scallop was ever so slightly overcooked.
Truffle brioche, truffle butter
I cursed my wretched gluten intolerance as I watched everyone sink their teeth into the soft and buttery brioche. The truffle flecked butter spread creamily over it like velvet and was definitely a hit.
Truffle parsnip chips
Just as my jealousy started to heighten our waiter came over with my special gluten free replacement dish; a very generous sized bowl of truffle parsnip chips. They were crisp and perfectly seasoned and I had to fight off the Boy from trying to steal a few from me (which he did actually successfully manage twice before I gave him a cold steel look….”don’t steal MY truffles!”).
Hervey Bay scallops, barigoule potatoes, truffle and cauliflower puree
Each dish that came out was so beautifully presented and the scallops were no exception. Again my scallops were cooked just slightly past that soft delicate point of perfection. There was a hint of firmer chewiness but certainly not enough to be a significant detriment to the dish. The cauliflower purée and barigoule potatoes gave a hearty more wintery depth to this light dish making it a gorgeous entrée to kick off this cold night with.
Braised Linley Valley pork cheek, truffled almond puree, parsnip crisp, red wine jus
The braised Linley Valley pork cheek was also plated beautifully, if only I had better light for my photos to do this dish justice. The meat was tender soft and the subtle sweetness of the truffled almond purée was delightful. The jus was nearly good enough to lick the plate for.
Tinder Creek confit duck leg, wild mushroom risotto, truffled gruyere and white wine sauce
The duck was most definitely my favourite dish of the evening. The meat was richly flavoursome and simply fell apart under my fork. The truffled gruyere oozed through the meaty flavoured wild mushroom risotto forming fabulous strings of cheesiness joining every forkful.
Lychee, rosewater and truffle sorbet with sparkling shooter
The palate cleanser was very refreshing with the delicate flavours of lychee and rosewater with just a hint of truffliciousness in the backdrop.
Coffee and truffle pannacotta, passionfruit and truffle marshmallow, truffle foam
Coffee and truffle pannacotta, passionfruit and truffle marshmallow, truffle foam
Pannacotta is on my list of favourite desserts of all time. This coffee and truffle version did not disappoint. It held perfect shape on the plate and was delicate and silky smooth. The adorable little fluffy truffle passionfruit marshmallow gave the dish a twist of originality.
Truffle infused double cream brie, linguette, candied walnuts, quince and muscatels
Unfortunately for me there were no gluten free crackers available for the cheese course. Not that this ever stops me, I am more than happy to eat brie sans crackers! Especially if it’s been truffled! The brie was soft and creamy and served at just the right temperature to allow the flavours to develop.
Truffle infused double cream brie, linguette, candied walnuts, quince and muscatels
The petit fours consisted of the cutest little miniature toffee apples. I have never really been into toffee apples myself and personally I would have preferred something chocolaty but if you are indeed a fan, these candied morsels would have been right up your alley. The apple inside was cooked until it was soft and the toffee was hardened to a thin crisp shell.
Petit fours
For a degustation meal I was impressed with our serving sizes and considering the added truffle in every single dish I also thought the full ticket price of $110 (excluding drinks) was extremely good value. The service was attentive and friendly and we look forward to returning to the hills to visit Darlington Estate again.
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Darlington Estate Winery 1495 Nelson Road, Darlington 6071 | (08) 9299 6268 | http://www.darlingtonestate.com/darlington/news.php Price: $$$$ (Entrees $14-18, Mains $32-40) Food: 4/5 (accommodating for allergies, fresh produce, beautiful presentation) Service: 3.5/5 (friendly positive attitudes but just a little slow on serving drinks) Ambience: 4/5 (lovely setting up in the hills, I have to return for lunch as the view is apparently superb) Drinks: 3.5/5 (I only got to try their unwooded chardonnay 2010 so will need to come back to the cellar door for a proper tasting) Total: 15/20
Bonsai Restaurant & Cafe Lounge, Northbridge
Posted by | Categories: Featured, Japanese, Perth, Restaurants, Seafood
This winter I have had a terrible time with my allergies. My knuckles are often cracked and bleeding and my face can just erupt into hives without any real warning. What has made it all even more upsetting and frustrating is that I cannot seem to identify my triggers. I know very well I cannot touch gluten, but to complicate things I also seem to flare up if I have too much dairy or soy. The problem with those allergens is I can actually have a small amount, says a small piece of cheese or a couple of splashes of soy sauce and I’ll be fine. But if I have loads of cheese, or if I eat a gluten free muffin with soy flour…..scratch, scratch, scratch ALL night for days on end.
Eczema sufferers will empathise with this. When your skin is bad, you become overwhelmingly self-conscious of your appearance such that all you want to do is hide away in a dark cellar where no one can see you. You are so sleep deprived, distracted and on edge because you just cannot stop that burning desire to scratch even though your damaged skin is weeping and sore. With my up and coming wedding, my anxiety levels heightened even more; I don’t want to be a blotchy scabby bride! My mind was in a dark and not so attractive place all week, and so it was a complete relief to learn the Bonsai Restaurant in Northbridge not only have gluten free soy available, but have much of their menu easily adaptable to accommodate for difficult people like myself. Praying for dim lighting I made a partially successful attempt at covering up my skin with some makeup and headed out with the Boy.
Californian rolls Blanched prawn and avocado sushi coated with tobiko, and finally dressed with caramel soy & aioli
To try and get myself in a better mood I started off with ordering some sparkling Yuki sake. The waitress described this drink as Bonsai’s take on an alcoholic bubble tea. In the brief time we sat waiting for our drinks, I envisioned a glass of amber coloured liquid with clear balls of jelly floating around curiously. What arrived was not what I expected and looked like nothing more than some lemon soda in a wine glass. I can’t deny I was initially disappointed by its appearance as it was, well, kind of boring. But upon sipping my drink I was taken by surprise as I felt various sized gloops of invisible jelly slurp into my mouth. I was hooked.
Roast duck slices
We started off with the roast duck slices dressed with garlic soy caramel and shichimi. Shichimi is a Japanese 7-spice blend typically containing ground red chili pepper (the main ingredient), roasted orange peel, yellow and black sesame seeds, Japanese pepper (sansho), ground ginger and nori. It gave an obvious heat to the tender duck breast yet the flavours were freshened by additional citrus notes and more oceanic layers from the nori.
Shichimi salsa on pork belly slices
I used to hate all things pork but recently I confess I have had some mouth-watering experience and I think my tastes are a turning. But I have now learnt that cold pork belly however is not my thing. Pale, fatty slices of blanched pork belly were topped with a shichimi flavoured salsa dressing of red onion, red capsicum, cucumber and olive oil. I should have thought more carefully before ordering this one.
Tuna tataki on avocado
The tuna tataki was seared and served on a bed of avocado wedges and thick teriyaki sauce. The tuna had a wondrous rich dark pink colour and practically dissolved on the tongue.
Soft shelled crab served with wasabi mayo, salt and pepper
Of course once again the Boy had to order the soft shelled crab. It is rare that I get to share this dish as it is deep fried and usually coated in a wheat flour batter. This dish was no exception and although there were loads of gluten free options, all the fried dishes were off the menu for me. A big helping of crispy, meaty crab served with some wasabi mayonnaise quickly vanished off from his plate accompanied by much lip smacking and finger licking. I was very jealous!
Pan fried mushrooms with karashi-sumiso
What is a meal without mushrooms? I am starting to wonder if I can actually survive for more than a few days without my mushroom fix. Being involved in Mushroom Mania month earlier this year has only proved to make my addiction worse as I feel like I need to continue to “do my bit” to promote their awesomeness! The pan fried mushrooms came topped with a mustard miso dressing and a sprinkle of shichimi.
Seared scallops with red pepper miso
The seared scallops were cooked perfectly with a small amount of bouncy firmness to the outside but soft tenderness on the inside.
Eggplant and red capsicum namuru
The eggplant and capsicum namura was unexpectantly one of my favourite dishes of the night. The eggplant had an amazing texture that was close to that of set custard, held together only by its soft but firmer skin. The goma miso sauce was slightly sweet and salty with a nutty aftertaste. Goma miso is a thick sauce that is made with miso and sesame seeds.
Seaweed salad
I have to admit I didn’t really read the description of the seaweed salad before ordering and I expected a standard small bowl of brilliant green seaweed. Out came an enormous salad bowl filled with a variety of seaweeds in addition to cabbage julienne, Swiss chard leaf, mizuna, coral lettuce, tat-soy and red radish all coated well with a sweet mustard miso dressing. It was really easy to eat and we both crunched and munched happily away like rabbits .
Crème brûlée
Although we had ordered a lot of food, neither of us were overly full and agreed there was a tinsy bit of room left to share dessert. There was only one gluten free option; the crème brûlée. The surface of our dessert was hot to touch proving that it was indeed torched traditionally to get the burnt crust that makes crème brûlée such a treat. With a gentle tap of the spoon the wafer thin caramelised shell cracked and broke into bite sized geographical shaped pieces. Underneath the custard was tasty but its texture wasn’t smooth enough and actually looked a little on the lumpy side. It was still delicious however, and certainly didn’t go to waste.
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The Bonsai Restaurant and Café Lounge 30 -36 Roe Street, Northbridge 6003 | (08) 9227 5756 | www.the-bonsai.net/ Price: $$$ (Share dishes $7-20, Mains $17-29, accepts Entertainment Card) Food: 4.5/5 (must try the eggplant and the duck) Service: 5/5 (impeccable, attentive without being obtrusive) Ambience: 4.5/5 (funky, busy but can get quite noisy) Drinks: 4.5/5 (LOVED the sparkling Yuki saki!) Total: 17.5/20
Snags and Sons, Leederville
Posted by | Categories: Burgers & Snags, Fast Food, Perth, Restaurants
The Boy had been given a corporate box ticket for the Western Derby game by some work mates and although he is not the hugest follower of AFL he was still pretty excited with his score. There was only one ticket on offer meaning I missed out and so off he headed into Subiaco solo. In order to try and compensate for leaving me home alone, he was kind enough to send me photos of all the delicious food on offer and update me regularly on the game progress. (Not that I’m any more of a footy fan than he is.) Presumably the beer was freely flowing because after the game had finished I receive yet another text message:
“How do I get home? :(“
Considering he was one amongst another 40,000 fans trying to get home, I didn’t like his chances of hailing a cab, nor did I like MY chances of getting through the traffic anytime soon either. After initially considering walking home (so the beer was definitely flowing fast) he offered to meet me over in Leederville where we could stop for a bite to eat before driving home.
At this point in time I was devoid of any makeup, in my track pants and snuggled on the couch with the boys (our two kitties Rollie and Eddie). Any normal person would probably decline an offer of a night out especially considering how cold and wet it was outside and how warm and cosy it was in. But I am never one to turn down a spontaneous night out to eat something other than hum-drum home-made bride food.
Marinated olives
After a fairly pricey foodie month of July which included two nights of degustation at Clarke’s of North Beach and Darlington Estate Winery, we opted for a cheap dinner and headed into Justin Bell’s new(ish) venture Snags and Sons. I found out recently at the Mundaring Truffle Festival that they now stock gluten free buns and have a variety of gluten free sausage choices. Many of you are familiar with Justin Bell; several years ago he was one of the first to open up a gourmet burger bar here in Perth namely Jus Burgers. Promoting use of locally sourced produce he has now expanded to include restaurants in Subiaco, Fremantle, Northbridge and now on Chapel Street in South Yarra. S&S is the next chapter for his casual eating empire. As with Jus burgers, the menu is filled with WA produce right down to the desserts. (More on this later!)
WA Chapman Valley grilled Capretto Chorizo, quince, lemon, rocket (gluten free)
Having trekked on foot in the rain from Subiaco, the Boy was keen to order more than just a sausage in a bun so we ordered some marinated olives and some grilled goat chorizo to start. The chorizo was juicy with a subtle hint of chilli heat. The olives were fairly standard and nothing too spectacular.
Beef Boerwors, South African peach chutney, smoked Dutch cheese and baguette (not gluten free)
The Boy ordered the beef Boerwors with smoked Dutch cheese and peach chutney. Although tasty, he wasn’t wowed by his choice at all and felt after the succulent chorizo his sausage was a little dry and lacklustre.
Chittering Valley Venison snag, horseradish cream, beetroot, gluten free bun
My venison sausage was very succulent and the gamey taint of the meat matched well with the sweet beetroot. The horseradish was barely noticeable through these flavours and a more generous helping inside would have gone down treat. My gluten free bun looked similar to that you find in Jus Burgers, I have to presume the same supplier, and it held its shape well despite all the delicious juiciness contained inside.
Chittering Valley Venison snag, horseradish cream, beetroot, gluten free bun
A meal ended on a savoury note just doesn’t make any sense. At least that’s what I keep telling everyone. I shimmied out of my corner to wander over and investigate the sweets cabinet. There wasn’t any gluten free cake options however amongst the minitarts and brownies I did notice some vaguely familiar looking nougat chopped up into bite site pieces.
Rochelle Adonis nougat
I enquired if it was gluten free upon which I was told they did not know as they buy it straight from Rochelle’s café. “Rochelle Adonis?” I ask. To which I received an affirmative reply. Having feasted on her nougat many times I know for certain that it is indeed gluten free and bought a piece for us both to share. It was perfection as all her creations usually are.
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Snag and Sons 749 Newcastle StreetLeederville, 6007 | (08) 9228 3008 | www.snagsandsons.com.au/ Price: $ (Under $15 per meal) Food: 7/10 (may be gourmet, but they are just hot dogs! Keen to try a few more tho) Service: 2.5/5 (our waitress seemed a little distracted but still served us promptly) Ambience: 3.5/5 (funky, vibrant & fresh)
Total: 13/20
Sherbet Bake Shop, Maylands
Posted by | Categories: Breakfast/Brunch, Coffee, Desserts, Featured, Perth, Restaurants
If you are anything like me and have grown bored of ordering old school basics for breakfast like eggs benedict then head over to Maylands. A decent handful of venues all within close proximity to each other will fulfil your desire for something a bit more original than what you easily could cook up at home. Furthermore they all appear to be very gluten free friendly with a number of options for us allergic types.
Mrs S is one of my favourites amongst these establishments however due to a variety of circumstances we haven’t returned to enjoy her deliciousnesses for over six months! After deciding to finally head back there I got myself in quite a state of excited anticipation. I pre-emptively added to my Sunday run an extra 2 kms to my usual twelve in order to have two guilt free courses for breakfast!
To my complete dismay we were greeted by a locked door and an empty cafe with a sign saying they would be reopening the following week. Perhaps my post run jitters exaggerated my emotions a little but I swear nearly cried in disappointment. After scooping my heart off the pavement, we followed our noses back up Whatley Crescent past Chapels and stumbled upon Sherbet Bake House. This bright café was brimming full of life and aromas of freshly roasted coffee wafted out the door and down the street.
Roast pumpkin and fetta frittata
Sherbet serve Fiori coffee which is roasted locally by a small business that strive to only import coffee harvested from ethical and sustainable plantations. I recently enjoyed Fiori for the first time (along with some amazing scrambled eggs with truffle oil) at The Imp in Vic Park. I love its smooth yet rich flavour. The perfect style of coffee to be served as a traditional short mac. Sherbet do not sell cooked breakfasts as they are more a bake shop than a café, however they do have a counter full of colourful meal options which can be warmed up and served with a fresh green salad. I chose the roast pumpkin and feta frittata which was the only gluten free savoury option.
Pumpkin and sundried tomato tart
Flying close on the coat tails of my perfect frittata I had a few weeks ago at the Little Pantry, this one certainly gave them a run for their money. Its texture was well set and similarly lacked any unpleasant wateriness. There was an abundance of fresh herbs speckled throughout. The pumpkin was particularly sweet and dense making it almost feel like a dessert dish as opposed to something savoury. The Boy’s pumpkin and sundried tomato tart was just as good, with soft flaky pastry and filled with more of the sweet pumpkin.
Gluten free Chocolate berry minicake
For dessert options I was a little spoilt for choice; Sherbet has much more to offer than the usual gluten free choices of orange almond or flourless chocolate! I had been trying to abstain from chocolate all week as I am starting to wonder how I will ever lose any weight before the wedding. In true manner of wanting what you can’t have, all that my self-control achieved was effectively to make me crave and obsess about chocolate even more. Thus there were no surprises when I returned to our table with a berry chocolate minicake. The cake had a wonderful light sponge texture, something hard to replicate in gluten free baking and there were plenty of fresh berries buried deep inside. I cannot wait to return for another!
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Sherbet Café & Bake Shop 206 Whatley Crescent, Maylands 6051 | (08) 9371 8004 | www.sherbetbakeshop.com.au Price: $$ ($ under $15/meal) Food: 4.5/5 (minimal savoury GF options but LOADS of sweets) Service: 3.5/5 (no table service, but were quick and efficient) Ambience: 3.5/5 (bustling and energetic, some alfresco tables in the sun) Drinks: 4.5/5 (serve Fiori coffee – very smooth and rich style) Total: 16/20
Stuffing my face at V Burger Bar
Posted by | Categories: Burgers & Snags, Desserts, Fast Food, Perth, Pub, Restaurants
We are not big eaters of classic fast food; I’m talking burgers, pizza, kebabs and the like. Ultimately I prefer much more refined dining but let’s be honest, one simply cannot afford to do that every weekend. At least not on my income. So when we both got a craving for junk, we decided to head to our local V Burger Bar excited about our naughty treat. Last year our initial attempts at visiting this popular place resulted in us being diverted over to Pancho’s Mexican Villa due to a lack of gluten free buns. Now that was some night…..sloppy microwaved food, blistering burns and a scathing retaliation from a fan (or owner) in the wake of my review; the Pancho’s post has certainly become infamous!
The Balmoral Hotel
We stopped in at The Balmoral for a couple of pre-dinner drinks and bumped into some old friends that we hadn’t seen for a long time. As we chatted away a local band called Retriofit set up in full view of our tables and started playing some funky acoustic covers. After some time our friends departed to make their own dinner reservations leaving us sitting alone together. We were both in such a fabulous mood so we took the opportunity of using some interesting mood lighting to take portraits of each other with Gordon my SLR (yes, I named my camera!)
Live music by Retriofit
After several rounds of drinks and photos my post-run hunger started to climax and was accompanied by some rather unladylike noises erupting from deep in my stomach. We skipped across the road to V Burger Bar nearly drooling in anticipation. I had already called ahead to make sure they had gluten free buns in stock.
After briefly scanning their menu my not-so-sober eyes saw the words “fried egg, beetroot, cheese and bacon” and without giving it one more second of thought my decision was made. I vaguely remember the Boy making some comment about how enormous my burger choice was but in my hunger and excitement I didn’t really register or pay much attention. I was quite disappointed to hear that all the sides on their menu are not gluten free but we ordered a serve of their beer battered chips for the Boy anyway.
F.B.A. (Full Blooded Aussie): Our classic V burger topped with melted cheddar, bacon, fried egg, sliced beetroot and BBQ sauce (gluten free bun)
Our burgers came out in super quick time and we tucked into them immediately. I observed that my F.B.A. (Full Blooded Aussie) burger had a significant amount of extra height in comparison to the Boy’s Blue Mushie burger choice. I actually struggled to get both by hands around it let alone my mouth! As the Boy finished his burger he started to make wise cracks about my eyes being much bigger than my stomach as I was only half way through mine. Thankfully earlier in the day I had run 12 kilometres around the river at a cracking good pace so like a horse being whipped into action I successfully polished off all of my delicious juicy burger! It was faultless!
Blue mushy: Prime beef, blue cheese, grilled mushrooms, mixed gourmet lettuce, tomato, aioli & relish
The Boy really enjoyed his Blue Mushie too. He was surprised how well the burger held together and didn’t crumble or fall apart in his hands. He loved the hint of blue cheese with earthy undertones of the mushrooms and the succulent perfectly cooked meat patty. The chips were less impressive, they lacked the expected crunch of beer battered chips and needed extra seasoning.
Taro Taro Taiwanese Desserts
Despite feeling like I was literally going to explode I needed something sweet on my palate to end the night. I had recently read about Taro Taro on WenY Wonders Why and was desperate to check it out. I have always LOVED Asian desserts however there isn’t a great amount of options available here in Perth. Given that Taro Taro is a mere ten minutes’ walk from our front door I had high hopes it would be awesome.
Preparing our desserts
It was getting quite late and much of the bustle of the café strip had started to die off however at Taro Taro it was absolutely packed full of customers. We shuffled into the brightly lit store and felt like we had been transported into another world! Despite being such a fan of Asian desserts I have to be honest, I haven’t got to try nearly as many as I would like. This was my first experience trying herbal jelly and taro.
Taro Taro Signature Herbal Jelly Ice (Herbal jelly, herbal ice, taro balls, taro, pearls)
If you are not familiar with Taiwanese desserts the menu can be a little confusing, so to simplify things for ourselves we ordered the Taro Taro Signature Herbal Jelly ice which contained herbal ice, dark black folds of herbal jelly, balls of sweet potato, sago and taro and lots and lots of sugar. Underneath all the intense sweetness, the flavours were quite soft and delicate and the texture of each type of ball was slightly different ranging from jelly like to nearly chewy. I honestly really enjoyed it but I realise it probably isn’t for every Westerner’s palate.
As we sat outside on a park beach we watched more and more cars turned up full of hungry customers all looking for their taro hit. Such a hive of activity in sleepy Vic Park! We will definitely return again but this time I might be brave enough to create my own dessert of the custom menu.
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The Balmoral Hotel 901 Albany Hwy, Victoria Park 6100 | (08) 9355 4533 | www.thebalmoral.com.au/ Price: $$$ (Entrees $7-23, Mains $22-35, accepts Entertainment Card)
V Burger Bar
12/910 Albany Highway, East Victoria Park 6101 | (08) 9355 3702 | www.vburgerbar.com.au/
Price: $$ ($10-15 burgers, accepts Entertainment Card)
Food: 7/10 (excellent burgers need to be accompanied by excellent chips)
Service: 3/5 (functional and no fuss)
Ambience: 3/5 (it’s a burger bar……I don’t expect it to be cosy!)
Total: 13/20
Taro Taro
Shop 2/ 393 Albany Hwy, Victoria Park 6100 | (08) 9361 0098 | https://www.facebook.com/TaroTaroTaiwan
Price: $ ($10-15 desserts)
Food: 4/5 (if you love your Asian dessert worth a try!)
Service: 4/5 (very efficient considering how busy they are)
Ambience: 2/5 (bright white and gleaming)
Drinks: 4/5 (good range of teas and other Taiwanese drinks)
Total: 15.5/20
Aubergine Gourmet Foods, South Fremantle
Posted by | Categories: Breakfast/Brunch, Perth, Restaurants
It had been some time since Chris and I had managed to coordinate a morning off together for our regular breakfast outing. Normally this is something we do on a regular basis. After a couple of false starts and cancellations we finally tallied up a Monday morning where we were both available. It was the day after a very long-winded business meeting where we had all sat and chewed the fat for far too many hours. It was so good to be able to sit down together and for once actually have time to chat about stuff other than work.
It was her husband’s 40th birthday that week and she had planned a surprise trip over to Melbourne without their two young children. She had organised for him to catch up with some old friends he hadn’t seen in years in addition to anticipating a lot of child-free wining, dining and shopping – things they both love!
After a brief peer into the colourful sandwich cabinet we both agreed that the potato cake with poached egg, prosciutto, asparagus and hollandaise sauce sounded really good and ordered one each. I have to say this dish looked much better than it tasted. My egg was slightly over poached and had nearly lost its runny centre of yolk-lava although I do understand not everyone likes a gooey egg. The ratio of hollandaise and egg to potato was all out with an overwhelming amount of dry potato. If there was more yolk or hollandaise to mop around my plate this dish wound be much more enjoyable.
As we chatted about great places to eat out in Melbourne (of which there are so many) my eyes turned to the sweets counter. Surprisingly Chris’s initial reaction was to decline having a second course for breakfast which is very unlike her. After only a small amount of persuasion I managed to twist her arm to share a small cube of fresh chocolate brownie with me. After a lacklustre main dish, this decadent chocolatey treat made up for some lost ground. It was moist and richly flavoured with a nutty praline aftertaste.
This wasn’t my first visit to Aubergines and previously I have had some better experiences. They do have a reasonable range of gluten free options and there is outside seating where you are welcome to bring your canine companion. They even sell doggie treats at the counter. However given the plethora of fabulous breakfast locations in Fremantle I didn’t get enough wow factor to return in a hurry.
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Aubergine Gourmet Foods 231 South Terrace, South Fremantle 6162 | (08) 9335 2115 Price: $$ ($15-25 per meal) Food: 3/5 (for me a good breakfast is defined by a perfectly poached egg) Service: 2.5/5 (a little slow and inattentive) Ambience: 3.5/5 (funky, lots of natural sunshine flooding through, could relax here for hours) Drinks: 4/5 (great coffee) Total: 13/20
Clarke's of North Beach, North Beach
Posted by | Categories: Degustation/Fine dining, Featured, Modern Australian, Perth, Restaurants
My soon to be parents-in-law are always complaining that they never get to spend enough time with us. Both the Boy and I have pretty hectic careers, so when we do actually have a bit of spare time, we want to spend it out and about enjoying good food and company. So when Christmas approached us last year, instead of buying his parents a gift, we offered to take them out to a fancy meal all expenses paid.
Just as we managed to lock in a weekend for our dinner, we were blessed with our brand new little niece who was born on the other side of the world in Texas! The Boy’s parents jumped on the first plane out to the States and didn’t return back for three months! We were all so envious of them as they got to meet her and we cannot wait to eventually get over there ourselves.
Upon their return to Australia I was keen to book our outing as soon as possible. This was meant to be their Christmas present after all! The timing worked out quite well because we were in the thick of the truffle season and neither of them had ever had either degustation OR truffles before! I booked at Clarke’s of North Beach as it is local to their house.
Amuse bouche
Those who have met me you know I am a bit of a talker; however my dearest mother in-law gives me a run for my money in the talking stakes. As a result my usual attentive listening skills were lost amongst all our animated gas bagging and I missed much of the descriptions of our dishes! I will do my best to remember. Forgive me if my distracted palate is incorrect.
Amuse bouche
The Amuse Bouche was a braised beef shin with cauliflower foam. It contained very interesting combinations of textures; with shredded tender shin accompanied by barely existent foam and the crisp crunch of calamari. It entertained our palates perfectly and we were ready for more.
Linley Valley pork belly, crackle dust, apple textures
We opted for the truffle supplement which meant that once every dish was served, our waiter came over to our table donning white cotton gloves and shaved fresh black truffle over each of our dishes. The Linley Valley pork belly entrée was beautifully cooked; the fat was soft like custard and the surface of the crackling had a caramelised shimmer to it. It was sprinkled with “crackle dust” and a variety of textures of apple decorated the plate.
King George Whiting, Scallop and snapper mouse
The next entrée was a sliver of King George Whiting, scallop and snapper mouse. The whiting was pan-fried to give a subtle crisp to its surface which contrasted beautifully with the smooth mousse and succulent pillow of scallop. Although not specified on the menu there was also some fresh salmon which added an oilier almost satiny element to this dish. Shavings of fresh black truffle once again graced our plates. The Boy’s Dad swallowed this dish in a few quick mouthfuls, but his Mum deliberated in taking her time, differentiating out all the different flavours. She was learning the art of degustation quickly!
Slow cooked free range Hen’s egg, pulled ham hock cassoulet, brioche (supplement course)
Our next dish was an optional one and when I saw the words “slow cooked egg” on the menu my heart leaped with excitement. My introduction to slow cooked eggs happened quite some time ago at Greenhouse and since then I insist on ordering them wherever I see them. They are like the holy grail of poached eggs to me and I am so elated when I see them feature on menus other than just for breakfast!
Slow cooked free range Hen’s egg, pulled ham hock cassoulet, brioche (supplement course)
In order to successfully cook a slow cooked egg, one must cook them at a much lower temperature of about 60 degrees for 1 hour. The end result is like an improved version of a perfectly poached egg. The egg white has a nearly translucent appearance and the yolk is perfectly molten. Imagine this served over a pulled ham hock cassoulet! The cassoulet was wonderfully deep and rich in flavour but unfortunately there was no gluten free replacement for the brioche for me, considering the price of our meal this was a bit of a disappointment ($155 per person, not including BYO wines). I watched enviously as my family all mopped up the delicious juices pooling in the bottom of their plates.
Some may remember my most recent degustation at Petit Mort for the last in the series of Largesse dinners. For these amazing dinners the Head Chefs from six award-winning restaurants from around Perth donated their talents and time to each create one dish to contribute toward a six course extravaganza. All of the proceeds from the evenings went toward a charity of the host chef’s choosing. The head chef of Clarke’s Stephen Clarke was one of these six chefs and his braised Venison shin with Foie Gras Espuma was a definite show stopper for us all.
Honey roasted duck breast with boudin confit leg, glazed beetroots, Foie gras espuma (supplement course)
The foie gras espuma featured again in this dish but a much larger more generous glob was piped out this time round! The confit leg was encased in chicken mousse to make it into a boudin (sausage) and the buttery breast tasted nearly too soft to be duck! We were all so glad we chose to have these two supplement dishes as they were each outstanding and really completed the meal experience.
Once upon a time…New season lamb, boulangerie potato, Jerusalem artichoke puree
Where’s the lamb gone you ask? When I returned from the bathroom, our next course had already been served and everyone had decided to start tucking in without me. I sat down quickly and followed suit savouring every morsel on the plate. It wasn’t until I started scraping the plate clean that I realised I had completely forgotten to take a photo! It’s been a while since I’ve done that! Sorry dear readers! The new season lamb was incredibly delicate and tender. The boulangère potatoes were just like my mum used to make with the chewy outer crust and inner discs of potato encased in slippery creaminess.
Cheese course: Miguel (Portugal), Valdeón (Spain), Buche d’Affinois (France), Will Studd Brillat Savin (France), Queso Manchego (Spain)
I was in for some fortunate luck with our cheese course. The plate included a massive FIVE different cheeses: Miguel (a semi-soft cow’s cheese from Portugal), Valdeón (a blue made with goat and cow’s milk from Spain), Buche d’Affinois (a beautifully smooth and buttery surface-ripened cheese made with cow’s milk in France), Will Studd Brillat Savarin (a classic French triple cream brie from France) and Queso Manchego (a hard sheep’s cheese from Spain). Already a plate with five cheeses is pretty exciting but even better still amongst these portions were not just one but two of my favourite cheeses of all time!
Brillat Savarin is in my humble opinion one of the creaminess and most luscious of the French brie. Thankfully it is a regular resident at my local greengrocer’s Scutti in South Perth so I can spoil myself whenever I wish. My waistline may tell you otherwise though! My other favourite cheese is the Spanish sheep’s cheese Manchego. It is a firm compact cheese with a well-developed, slightly salty flavour and has that characteristic aftertaste of sheep’s cheese that I really enjoy. The cheese was accompanied by some crisp lavosh – once again there were no gluten free alternatives here.
Strawberry espuma, raspberry gel, popping candy
For our pre-dessert we were all in for a fun surprise. My dish was a strawberry espuma with raspberry gel and the rest of my family received an Irish coffee espuma. Sprinkled over all of our dishes was something that took us back to our early childhood: popping candy! After such a decadent and luxurious meal, it was very entertaining for us all to sit there like amused school kids noisily cracking and popping away!
Caramelised mandarin tart, raspberry gel, mandarin macaron and sorbet
I was amazed that for the whole ten course experience only the two courses that had to be significantly altered for my dietary requirements were the desserts. Not being the odd one out greatly enhanced my evening as I didn’t feel like my dishes had key elements omitted (with the exception of a brioche alternative). My family’s dessert course was described as caramelised mandarin tart, raspberry gel, mandarin macaron and sorbet.
Gluten free dessert course
Before I had time to feel any macaron jealousy I discovered that scattered across my own plate was even more popping candy! Stretched across the plate was a colourful array of sumptuous morsels including raspberry gel, pistachio nougat, chocolate ice cream, mandarin jelly cubes and some more strawberry espuma. I wasn’t sure which element to savour the most as they were all so different yet so delicious.
As our evening drew to a close I was left with the feeling of complete satisfaction that we had thoroughly and deservedly spoilt our parents. We drove them home in a comfortable silence full of so much trufflicious food. Clarke’s is definitely a great choice for special occasions….it just might break the bank a little!
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Clarke’s of North Beach 97 Flora Terrace, North Beach 6020 | (08) 9246 7621 | www.clarkesofnorthbeach.com.au/ Price: $$$$$ (Basic degustation $120 including cheese course and Manjimup truffle, supplementary courses an additional $15/20 each) Food: 8.5/10 (exquisitely prepared, need to provide bread/crackers for us GF-ers) Service: 4.5/5 (attentive without intrusion) Ambience: 4/5 (don’t judge a book, enter to find a warm, unpretentious atmosphere) Drinks: N/A (BYO – I tried to cater for the ranging wine palates of the group, starting with Perrier Jouët, then Millbrook Viognier 2009 and ending on Moss Wood Cab Sav 2009) Total: 17/2
The Precinct, Victoria Park
Posted by | Categories: Coffee, Perth, Pub, Restaurants, Tapas Bar, Wine Bar
I had been stuffing my face with scrumptious gluten free cakes at the Clandestine Cake Club all afternoon. Despite my gluttony I wasn’t feeling overly full and seeing as the Boy had actually gone to the effort to book us a dinner reservation at The Precinct in Victoria Park so I couldn’t exactly refuse. Being the obsessed foodie of the house, I am generally the one who arranges our regular eating expeditions and so I get very excited when the Boy does it all for me. I was hoping I could extend my afternoon with the bestie and drag her along too especially as she hadn’t hung out with the both of us in some time. However my powers of persuasion were seemingly dulled by all my cake indulgence because she declined my pleading to return home to study for her yoga teacher training class the following day.
The preceding week had been a fairly traumatic one for us both due to some distressing major family issues all finally coming to a head. To add insult to injury, we were both under the weather with the winter sniffles and as if things couldn’t get any worse I had accidentally reversed into the Boy’s car in the pitch black of the early morning. Eeeek! So I’m sure you can understand why we just wanted to put all our cares aside and do what we both enjoy most….dining out together.
The Precinct in Vic Park was opened earlier this year by Daniel Morris who is well-known for also running the highly successful Little Creatures, Balthazar and Il Lido. It was to be our first proper wine bar here in Vic Park; something many of us locals feel has been a long time coming. But despite public support they were knocked back twice for their Small Bar license and operated as a BYO wine bar for several months. Finally they have managed to secure a restaurant license and have ensured that all their staff know their wines exceedingly well. We have revisited a number of times since they have opened and I have confidence that they can always recommend a suitable choice for us both.
Initially I found that their gluten free, onion free options were quite limited for me but since then I have noticed that this has improved somewhat upon subsequent visits. The food style is quite casual and simple but seemingly executed fairly well. In usual style we started off with a couple of share dishes before our mains. The marinated olives contained a mix of black and green olives with a variety of types and intensity of flavours.
Whitebait, beer aioli
As the Boy wasn’t nearly as full of cake as I, he also ordered the whitebait (not gluten free). They were very crispy, perhaps a little too much so and came served with a beer aioli.
Charcuterie plate
The Precinct’s charcuterie plate changes regularly and although we order it nearly every time we visit we have never had the same plate twice. This night we had some fresh sliced Angus beef salami, some orange chicken pâté and a pair of pork rillettes. Some cornichons and mustard were served on the side. The salami was delicate and soft with a slight salty aftertaste. Hints of citrus undertones came through beautifully in the pâté although I wish they had some gluten free bread for me to smear it onto. The pork rillettes held great shape and texture and were mildly flavoured.
Although the Boy and I love eating and discovering new foods, prior to my blogging days if we were out at one of our regular haunts, we would often both fall back on ordering our tried and tested favourites. These days I feel so guilty when doing this. I believe in order for me to accurately make an assessment for a review of a restaurant I need to sample as many of their dishes as possible. This gives me a much wider and more realistic perception of their food. This ideal has fallen out the window during our past three visits to The Precinct ever since I tried their roast chicken. It’s really really good!
1/2 free range chicken, lemon thyme jus
To be quite honest, I’m not even one to order chicken in the first place. I figure why order something I can cook just as easily (and as well) at home? Thank goodness I forgot about this theory and tried this dish. The chicken is slow cooked (sous-vide) and so be aware it is normal for such chicken to appear slightly pink on the inside. The consistency of this chicken is like no roast chicken you have had before. The breast nearly melts under my knife and is as juicy as you would expect a thigh to be. The leg meat slips of the bone effortlessly. You can taste lemon thyme though every mouthful. It is served simply with some seasonal vegetables on the side.
Lamb duo, walnut spaetzle
The boy ordered the lamb duo which consisted of some slow cooked pulled lamb topped with a lamb cutlet. The cutlet was very meaty and although quite chargrilled on the surface was cooked beautifully inside. Walnut spaetzle is a type of Northern European style noodle made with flour and eggs, and in this case also walnuts. They almost looked like little dumplings and tasted fairly bland on their own without any of the lamb or sauce (so the Boy informed me).
The Boy kept proclaiming (again) that he didn’t want dessert! I think this past month of incessant eating has dulled his sweet tooth somewhat. Refusing to be completely defeated I ordered us the citrus chocolate salad. I don’t recommend this dish if you genuinely want a dessert as it is very light and refreshing. However seeing as I had indulged all afternoon on all the cakes, it filled my last spot in my stomach perfectly. For something more substantial I recommend their banana pie. This gluten free decadence is nothing like you expect and is more like a mousse than any pie I’ve ever had.
Citrus chocolate salad
During the course of this evening, the Boy and I pondered over Chompchomp’s growth and development since I commenced blogging some 11 months ago. It has been such an exciting and rewarding journey so far as I continue to try and further improve both my writing style and my photography. Better still it is satisfying to watch my readership grow week by week knowing that others are (hopefully) enjoying reading it as much as I am writing it. The Boy started to consider whether he too may gain such rewards from writing his own blog and decided if he ever did, it would be about beer; a long standing passion of his.
Delirium Nocturnum
Thus after a number of drinks, together we created the game “Chompchomp roulette”. This is where the Boy hands the beer menu over to me and I choose a random beer for him to enjoy. Relinquishing this control over his beverage choice is huge…..he is a fussy connoisseur with his beers. To make matters more interesting my knowledge of beers is very poor due to my inability to drink it. For our first play on the “wheel” I chose Delirium Nocturnum; a triple fermented Belgian ale known for its high alcohol content.
Suffice to say after finishing our drinks, his attitude on dessert came around full circle and he insisted on stopping in at Baskin and Robbins for a tub of dairy deliciousness. He defaulted to his usual favourites of cookies and cream with peppermint choc chip.
Every night that we have visited The Precinct we have always found all the staff to be energetic, friendly and very well acquainted with both their wine list and their food. On earlier visits we did find the staff lacking a bit of team work with drinks being forgotten and multiple staff coming to us to asked the same questions however, like the number of gluten free options, this is definitely improving. I figure it is better to have overattentive wait staff than ones that ignore their customers. I am keen to return for breakfast as they have slow cooked eggs on the menu but it currently looks like I’ll need to BYO gluten free bread. That I do not mind! I am so happy this is my new local!
The Imp, Victoria Park
Posted by | Categories: Breakfast/Brunch, Coffee, Featured, Perth, Restaurants, Tapas Bar
I have been literally dying to take the Boy with me to The Imp in Victoria Park for so long but every time we plan to go there it is so packed full of customers that there is no free table available for us. Having been there several times myself I knew he would love it. It’s always buzzing and alive with atmosphere and the staff are all funky, vibrant and friendly. We had completed our usual Sunday walk around the river together accompanied by my new toy; my first DLSR camera which I have nicknamed “Gordon”. I had been busy happy snapping away at the gorgeous scenery and felt that all too familiar reminder what an awesome city we live in.
The Imp is not a place to go if your prone to claustrophobia, it is a tiny cosy little place and the tables are squeezed together closely meaning you have to shimmy in-between them to get to your seat. We sat next to an attractive looking African family who were enjoying their lunch. Sitting with them was their gorgeous little toddler with hair all up in little pony tails. She couldn’t drag her eyes away from staring at us, seemingly mesmerised by my Fendi handbag brimming with contents. As I pulled out my new camera her interest heightened and she watched with great amusement while I played around with the settings.
Upon ordering I enquired which dishes could be made gluten free. I was informed by the waitress that they no longer can guarantee any dishes gluten free. She explained to me that the previous chef made a big mistake in sourcing non-gluten free soba noodles and served them to a Coeliac who proceeded to become very unwell halfway through her meal. This chef was sacked as a consequence of her oversight and since then they don’t want to take any further risks in making people unwell. Fair enough. I appreciated her honesty. I am lucky enough to not be quite as sensitive as other gluten intolerants; provided gluten isn’t an actual ingredient in the dish any slight cross contamination in the kitchen very rarely poses me too much trouble.
I ordered the scrambled eggs, herb salad & truffle oil which normally also comes with toast. As they didn’t have any gluten free bread as a replacement the waitress kindly offered to serve some fresh avocado on the side instead at no extra cost. To my satisfaction the truffle oil tasted very strong and fresh. I get so disappointed when the oil is aged so much that the truffle flavour is nothing but a mere hint, that’s just teasing.
The Boy ordered the burger which came with pickled cucumber, hand cut potatoes and aioli with the added option of bacon. The beef burger was small but very juicy and seasoned well. The bun was soft and held its shape adequately without going too soggy or brittle. The bacon was grilled a touch short of crispy which was fortunate as the boy prefers his bacon meaty not crunchy. The fries needed a little extra salt but were otherwise quite tasty.
We had both worked up a reasonable sweat during our walk (despite my constant stopping to photograph things of interest) so we agreed to share a dessert. I ordered a flourless orange cake which came with some vanilla ice cream and was topped with the cutest little meringue. I was probably a bit too full to enjoy this thoroughly as I found the cake to be a little bland. The Boy enjoyed most of the ice cream which was creamy and sweet. Perhaps my taste buds were still too busy rocking out on all that amazing truffle oil!
Serving fabulous breakfast, lunch and dinner; The Imp is somewhat of a foodie’s icon here in Vic Park. They continue to be extremely popular due to consistently great food, quirky friendly service and an ever-changing seasonal menu. A definite local fav of ours.
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The Imp 863 Albany Highway, East Victoria Park 6101 | (08) 9361 2600 | www.theimp.com.au/ Price: $ (Breakfast $6-20, Lunch $13-16, Tapas $8-26) Food: 4.5/5 (who doesn’t love lashings of truffle oil for breakfast?) Service: 4/5 (no table service, but friendly and fast) Ambience: 4/5 (busy, loud and vibrant) Drinks: 4/5 (serves Fiori coffee, big selection of teas, BYO for dinner) Total: 16.5/20
Mundaring Truffle Festival 2012
Posted by | Categories: Degustation/Fine dining, Desserts, Events, Featured, Perth
Weekend work is part and parcel to many people’s careers including mine and unfortunately this sometimes does result in being unable to attend weekend festivals and other events. The Mundaring Truffle Festival has been one of those missed events for me for several years running so when I realised this time round I had the Sunday rostered off, I jumped at the opportunity to book us tickets. I also bought us entry into one of the ticketed events called “The Truffle and the Riesling”.
Unlike last year where I heard the weather was absolutely atrocious resulting in much of the Festival becoming flooded, this year we couldn’t have asked for anything better. With the sun shining gloriously in a clear blue sky the morning chill dissipated quickly under the warming rays of sunshine. It feels like we are nearly into Spring!
Rochelle Adonis Truffingtons
Our first stop was at Rochelle Adonis’s stall where Rochelle herself informed me that on the previous day they had completely run out of their “truffingtons”; a richly truffle flavoured lamington. She had rushed back to the studio that night to make more which of course also sold out very quickly. Unfortunately for me they were not gluten free so although I arrived early enough to buy some I did not get to try any for myself. For my review of Rochelle Adonis’s High tea click here. 
For our ticketed event Chef Dan Sharp from Greenpool Restaurant at Forest Hill Vineyard showed us how to cook up a couple of mouth-watering trufflicious dishes. The first dish was a macadamia, herb and truffle crusted Albany Dhu fish served with Endeavour prawn crushed potatoes. I had advised the event manager of my gluten free requirement in advance and was assured that the menu was fully gluten free. Unfortunately it turned out that I was misinformed and the dish that we were served had panko crumbs on the fish. One of my friends kindly alerted the presenters whereupon the chef offered to make me a gluten free piece of fish himself.
Macadamia, herb and truffle crusted Albany Dhu fish with Endeavour Prawns crushed potatoes
However in all the distraction of cooking to a crowd, my fish never came and I was served a double quantity of the side dish sans fish. The Boy informed me that the fish was flaky, soft and very enjoyable. The side dish of crushed prawns and potato was divine and we were lucky enough to receive a copy of the recipe. The second dish was dill and truffle buttered Denmark Marron served with a shaved fennel, mustard leaf, hazelnut and truffle salad. What a shame we didn’t get to taste this one, it smelt so good from the audience! 
Great Southern Truffles
Heading back into the Festival grounds with a strong appetite for more truffles, we were in for a feast of mammoth proportions! Starting at the Great Southern Truffles stall we started off with purchasing some pungent truffle oil, truffle salt and truffle mustard for those who couldn’t attend to enjoy at home. It was too hard to pick just one!
Oak Valley Truffles Braised Harvey Beef Rib with Horseradish cream
The Oak Valley Truffles stall was serving tender soft braised Harvey Beef ribs with horse radish cream and shaved truffle. These ribs were dripping juicy and richly flavoured. A definitely highlight of the day. We also bought some truffle butter which we had with our dinner later that night.
Loose Box: Duck pate with truffle
The Loose Box tent was a popular one, with most sample dishes priced at a reasonable $5. Between the four of us we shared one of each: the duck pate, some truffled brie and a truffled apple galette.
Loose Box: Truffled brie
Loose Box: Apple galette
The eating frenzy did not stop there. We moved onto the Linley Valley Pork stall where the boys from Mondo’s and In Contro were cooking up a storm. Aromas of their pork cassoulet wafted across the festival and made it impossible to not want to buy a few tasting plates.
Making the cassoulet @ The Linley Valley Pork tent
Pork cassoulet with polenta and shaved truffle (gluten free)
The servers were well informed on gluten free options and guided my choice to the cassoulet….which to be honest my sense of smell had already convinced me was the best option. I had to be a little careful negotiating the onion contained within it but regardless it was hearty and warming.
Linley Valley Pork cutlets
Linley Valley Pork sausage wrap with truffle and onions
The Boy and my other friends all tried the pork sausage wrap. The meat was very juicy yet not too fatty and the subtle flavour of truffle brought this simple street food to the next level!
Spanish donuts with Persian fairy floss (not gluten free)
With the taste of Oak Valley Truffle’s amazing beef ribs still hovering on my palate, I stopped to grab more ribs to share from El Asador. Unfortunately these ribs just didn’t compare and were very sinewy and chewy. We were actually unable to eat some at they were too tough and needed a good steak knife to be cut up with.
El Asador Beef ribs with BBQ herb and salt slow cooked served with a drizzle of chimichurri
Jean Pierre Sancho macarons
At this point, my taste buds were craving something a bit sweet and seeing Jean Pierre Sancho I dashed over to grab everyone a macaron. Now JPS doesn’t exactly do the BEST macarons, but they aren’t too bad either. They have all the right elements of flavour; they just never seem to get the textures right as I find the outside always lacks that crisp shell. Perhaps it is hard to get them fresh enough to events like this. 
Jean Pierre Sancho macarons
Turban Chopsticks – locally produced gluten free meals. I purchased a couple, stay tuned for more.
Pork Jumplings with truffle
We had nearly done our dash when I saw the Jumplings stall and after hearing such excellent feedback from all the Urban Lovacore customers on Twitter I convinced my friends to buy some. I enquired to the chef that was busy cooking and preparing the Jumplings if he had any desire to cater for the gluten free market. To my surprise this was already a work in progress for him and he was currently looking into trialling recipes to perfect a gluten free pastry! I wait with baited breath!
Filled to the brim with truffliciousness we escaped the crowds and headed to the Mundaring Weir Hotel. Gathered in the setting sun on the steps in front of their amphitheatre; it was so relaxing to relax back and digest all the gourmet delights over a bottle of wine with friends. We were joined by someone’s adorable Golden Retriever who was happy enough to stay with us provided he got a bit of a cuddle. After a couple of hours and several drinks later, hunger started to hit us once again and the Boy went into the cafe organise us some light nibbles. To my complete disappointment I was informed that there was nothing at all that they could serve me gluten free. After further questioning they reluctantly agreed to make me a garden salad without the dressing. I guess I will think twice before returning here as I do like to enjoy food with my wine just like anyone else! 
The Mundaring Truffle Festival is held every year in Mundaring in July. For more details join their mailing list at www.mundaringtrufflefestival.com
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Coffee Pecan Bundt cake, Gluten free
Posted by | Categories: Desserts, Perth, Recipes
Coffee Pecan Bundt cake, Gluten free
I made this cake for my first participation in Perth’s Clandestine Cake Club. Each monthly meet up has a theme and for July it was “gluten free”. Lucky me…this time I could eat all the cakes!
- 120 g butter
- ¾ cup (165g) sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla essence
- 3 eggs
- 2 tbsp. instant coffee, dissolved in 2 tbsp. hot water
- 1 cup (170g) rice flour
- ½ cup (80g) gluten free cornflour
- ½ cup (80g) potato flour
- 1 tsp bicarb soda
- 2 tsp. gluten free baking powder
- 1 tsp xanthan gum (optional)
- 1 cup (250g) sour cream
- Filling
- 40 g butter, cubed at room temperature
- ⅓ cup (90g) firmly packed brown sugar
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tsp instant coffee powder
- ½ cup (65g) pecans roughly chopped
- Cream cheese icing
- 250 g reduced fat cream cheese
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- ½ cup (85g) pure icing sugar
- ⅓ cup (40 g) pecans, chopped
- Pre-heat oven to 180°C. Grease a ring cake pan.
- Cream butter, sugar and vanilla together in a large bowl with electric beaters.
- Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Sift together flours, bicarb soda, baking powder and xanthan gum three times or whisk with an egg beater to thoroughly mix together.
- Add to egg mixture, alternating with sour cream.
- Spread half batter into greased pan.
- Spoon prepared filling on top of cake batter being careful not to touch the sides of the pan.
- Top with remaining cake batter.
- Bake in pre-heated oven for 30-35 minutes or when firm to touch.
- When cooled remove from pan and top with cream cheese icing.
- Filling:
- Cream butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and instant coffee.
- Add chopped pecans and mix well.
- Cream cheese icing:
- Combine cream cheese, juice and icing sugar in a bowl and mix well.
Adapted from Sue Shepherd’s “Irresistibles for the Irritable” cookbook available through her website
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Clandestine Cake Club Perth
Posted by | Categories: Desserts, Featured, Perth, Recipes
Via my fellow bloggers on Twitter I recently became aware of a brilliant phenomenon called the Clandestine Cake Club. The CCC was created two years ago by cake lover Lynn Hill in Leeds, UK with the aim to be able to get people together in a relaxed social environment so they could “Bake, Eat and Talk about Cake”.
The concept was to strictly only include cakes; no cupcakes, brownies, pies or tarts are allowed and since its inception it has grown to over 133 groups around the world including Switzerland, Spain, France and Finland.
There is currently only one group in Australia and luckily for us it’s here in Perth! The Perth branch is coordinated by Carolanne from Carolanne’s Kitchen and Jackie from Where the wind blows me. Recent awareness of this group has surged thanks to some awesome publicity in Scoop magazine, on Great about Perth and Agenda City.
I was so excited to hear that the theme for the July meet was to be gluten free and signed up to come along. As I am by no means a talented baker by anyones stretch of the imagination I began madly flipping through a number of my food stained cookbooks. I eventually decided to make a Coffee Bundt cake adapted from one of Sue Shepherd’s books.
For those who don’t know who Dr Sue Shepherd is; she is one of Australia’s leading clinical nutritionists specialising in patients with gluten intolerance and fructose malabsorption. Being a sufferer of both these conditions myself, I have all her cookbooks on my shelf every single one is worn and well used. (For the recipe for my Coffee cake please click here.)
Knowing what a sweet tooth my bestie is, I wasn’t surprised when she agreed to join me as my guest and off we headed to our first Cake Club meet! We were greeted with a warm welcome and were both blown away by the wonderful collection of cakes that had been made for the occasion. Everyone had experimented with a wide range different types of flours and ingredients to create a decadent selection that would make any gluten eater jealous.
Carolanne made a scrumptious coconut and berry cake using coconut flour. She taught me something new; apparently coconut flour has such a high fibre content that it expands dramatically once you add your wet ingredients meaning you only need to use a third of what you would use with normal flours. I have a bag of coconut flour sitting unused in my pantry, I am best to remember this expansion effect when I first use it!
My favourite cake of the day was Red Hot Spatula’s Kuihs – little Asian style cakes made from rice flour, green bean flour and tapioca flour. It was interesting to find out that traditionally in Asian cultures they do not usually bake large cakes like what we are accustomed in Western society. Instead they tend to make small single serve cute little cakes. These cakes were steamed not baked and I loved them so much that I ordered some more from her to be delivered to my work the following fortnight! She was kind enough to share the recipe with us all as a guest post on Where the Wind Blow Me.
My bestie’s favourite cake for the day was the white chocolate, macadamia nut and honeycomb cake. This cake was subtle flavoured with all three elements and had a very moist, almost syrupy texture without being too gooey.
As well as being the welcoming hostess, Liv from Col Panna baked the “Best Cake full stop”; which was a hazelnut cake with Frangelico ganache. This deliciousness was nothing sort of incredible and was made even more spectacular in that the outer layer of the cake was the best part, not the centre like many standard cakes. My bride diet went completely out the window with this one. She was also kind enough to share her recipe for us all to try for ourselves.
A final cake of note was the raw chocolate avocado cake made by Bri from East Meets West. Unfortunately I didn’t try this one as it contained dates which are chock full of fructose. I figured after the sugar and dairy overload, I didn’t need to add a fructose blow out to deal with as well. It looked almost succulent and I watched enviously as the rest of the group devoured it.
One of the great things about these cake meets is that once we are all finished at the end, we all get to fill our own plates with slices of everyone else cakes to take home to share and enjoy. As much as I dreamed of eating cake for breakfast, the Boy tucked into the container as soon as I got home and there were only slim pickings by the following morning! I guess this is a good sign on how good the cakes were as he isn’t really a sweet tooth.
The next meet’s theme is Scandinavian style cakes and is on the 4th of August from 3-5 pm. If you are interested in joining this brilliant phenomenon click the link for details how to register.
Perth Clandestine Cake Club: http://clandestinecakeclub.co.uk/groups/perth-australia/
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The Partisan, East Perth
Posted by | Categories: Breakfast/Brunch, Perth, Restaurants
We decided to break our usual Sunday tradition again and stop in at The Partisan as opposed to our regular favourite pit stop at Toast. We had plans later that afternoon to meet up with the in-laws so we had to trim our standard epic hike down to a more time manageable ten kilometre power walk. In order to burn more calories and save some time I tried to encourage the Boy to run with me. After several failed attempts at this I eventually resorted to jogging alongside him like a crazed loon. How else am I going to get a bride’s body while maintaining fulfilling my constant craving for delicious food?
Despite us seeing that Toast was packed full of customers and yet The Partisan only had a few, we resisted the strong urge to gravitate over to our favourite in order to try somewhere new. We were told by their waitress that the kitchen closes for a short time between breakfast and lunch and that we weren’t allowed to look at the menus while we waited. I asked could we at least order some drinks while we waited to which she agreed. I found this all to be a bit strange given that this place is the perfect venue to eat at this time of day. I ordered my usual short mac (they serve 5 Senses coffee) and the Boy ordered himself a fruit juice.
For those who do not know the Boy; he is a tall, broad-shouldered man and is by no means effeminate. However to fly in the face of this hunky masculinity that is soon to be my husband is his ongoing passion for ordering himself pink coloured drinks. It never fails to amuse me even after all these wonderful years together, and what I love him even more for is that he doesn’t care what anyone thinks!
Eventually we were allowed to order our meals. At this point we had finished our drinks and the Boy was keen to order another pink drink. Unfortunately there was a bit of a mix up and they initially brought out the wrong one. After alerting them of this error we were later brought out the correct drink. The service was a little on the slow side considering how quiet the restaurant was and it felt a bit disjointed and disorganised.
Croque Madame – fried egg, roma tomato, Swiss cheese, Karri Valley ham, basil pesto
During our journey on foot to East Perth, I had prepared myself for missing out on gluten free bread as I couldn’t remember seeing any on the menu when I checked online. As a result I was so happy to hear that they actually have some available. I decided to order something a bit different from my usual brunchy choices and got back to my French roots ordering the Croque Madame. Unfortunately the gluten free bread was way too crumbly and dry. It didn’t hold together very well for such a choice although the contents inside were so yummy that they nearly made up for having such average bread. The Swiss cheese was melted beautifully, the ham was sweet and soft and the egg was still just a little gooey in the centre.
Roast beef sandwich – scotch fillet, Swiss cheese, seeded mustard, tomato, mixed greens, horseradish aioli, hand cut chips
The Boy ordered the roast beef sandwich which he really enjoyed. It contained a generous serve of big juicy chunks of meat, Swiss cheese and greens and was served with cornichons and mustard, chunky chips and some horseradish aioli. The aioli could have had a bit more horseradish added – it didn’t have much kick in it. The chips looked amazing but didn’t follow through with flavour. They tasted a little bland and I ate one that had a slight mouldy aftertaste.
Market salad – candied walnuts, feta cheese, (minus croutons)
We also ordered a side salad which had so much potential but didn’t quite hit the spot. The candied walnuts were very moreish but the salad itself wasn’t dressed meaning there was a lot of bland lettuce and radish left in the bowl that neither of us could be bothered eating.
Overall I cannot deny that it is unlikely that we will return to The Partisan for brunch when I know I can get quicker, friendlier service next door with fresher, tastier food. Perhaps their dinner service is better? I may considering returning to try this theory.
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The Partisan Shop 22, 60 Royal St East Perth 6004 | (08) 9221 7404 | thepartisan.com.au Price: $$ ($11-25 breakfast/lunch meals, $26-39 dinner meals) Food: 2.5/5 (has potential, needs better GF bread) Service: 2/5 (slow, inattentive and makes mistakes Ambience: 3.5/5 (lovely setting along the inlet) Drinks: 2.5/5 (fruit juices & smoothies were flavourless) Total: 10.5/20
Mushroom Mania: Divido, Mount Hawthorn
Posted by | Categories: Featured, Italian, Perth, Restaurants
This blog post is the second in my series for this year’s Mushroom Mania. The month kicked off in full force commencing with my visit to the picturesque Millbrook Winery where we wined and dined until we nearly exploded. We even managed to successfully forage some wild field mushrooms from their stunning property. From there my madness for mushrooms continued and I posted my first recipe detailing how I cooked up these freshly picked delights. Don’t forget you can also go a little mushroom mad as there are over 2000 participating restaurants all over Australia serving up a variety of mushroom themed recipes. You can even win a $150 dinner voucher; see the end of this post for more.
I cannot deny that for once in a blue moon neither one of us were up for a night out. The Boy had been struggling to shake off a flu that had lingered all week. He had resultantly dosed himself up on cold and flu which only served to give him a few hours of relief each time. I had managed to only catch a very mild bout of his illness presumably because I had already been sick several times this year. However I had inadvertently poisoned myself with some gluten the night prior at the Good Food and Wine Show. One hour before we were to leave the house my whole face randomly broke out in large welts and my eyes puffed up like those of a gold fish. Not the makings for an attractive couple really, were we?
Refusing to be beaten, I prayed for dim lighting as the Boy chowed down on more cold and flu and out we headed to Divido in Mount Hawthorn. The restaurant glowed with subdued soft lighting and although I knew the quality of my photos were going to suffer a little, I was much relieved to be able to hide under its cloak of poor visibility.
Handmade sourdough, olive oil and balsamic
On the weekend Divido offer an option of either degustation for $95 or a three course meal for $80. Neither of us felt like we had the room for a full dego so we opted to extend the three courses to four as an in-between compromise. Better still, this enabled me to select three wonderful mushroom dishes to enjoy! While we waited our waiter brought some handmade sourdough with olive oil and balsamic to our table. It smelt absolutely amazing! Being unable to eat normal bread for many years now, I’m not ashamed to at least enjoy its smell. The Boy gave me funny looks as I picked up a soft piece of bread and deeply inhaled its glorious aroma. Surely he must be used to my antics by now?
Beef carpaccio, porcini, shaved parmesan, rocket
My first entrée was the beef carpaccio. I was crossing my fingers I wouldn’t get the same overly lemony acidic version I received at Villa D’Este recently. Thankfully I wasn’t disappointed; soft elegantly thin slices of dark red beef were complimented with richly flavoured porcini mushrooms and topped with the freshest greenest rocket I have seen for a while. Shavings of parmesan polished this dish off to perfection.
Baked Cloudy Bay Clams, Tomato, fennel seed, okra, garlic, bread crumbs
The Boy ordered the baked Cloudy Bay clams. This was served in its clay pot and contained some interesting combinations of flavours with tomato, okra and fennel seeds. It had a garlic breadcrumb crust adding in a crunchier texture to the softer elements underneath.
Mushroom risotto with parmesan and shaved truffle
I realise I have already made most of you drool over my fabulous mushroom risotto at Millbrook Winery last week, however I couldn’t go past ordering it again this time round after our waiter informed me it contained some Manjimup black truffle. The inside of a truffle always amuses me as recall our pathology wet lab classes back in Vet School. The intricate patterning of the black truffle reminds me somewhat of the cross-section of a brain.
Mushroom risotto with parmesan and shaved truffle
Luckily for me these thoughts have absolutely no effect on my appetite, it takes a lot more than that to put me off my food as many of my work companions can tell you! The rice wasn’t gluggy whatsoever and maintained its “al dente” texture while still having that creaminess of a good risotto. I was delighted at the generosity of shavings of truffle despite this only being an entrée serve. The earthy flavours of the truffles lingered long on my palate and I was so pleased there would be more to come in my choice of main.
Skordalia Pansotti, Prawns, local blue swimmer crab, mussels, saffron sauce
The Boy was obviously in the mood for some seafood and ordered the pansotti with prawns, local blue swimmer crab and mussels for his next dish. Pansotti are a type of triangular-shaped ravioli and these were filled with the Greek purée skordalia. The poor guy had such a blocked nose he was unable to tell me what sort of skordalia was inside the soft folds of fresh pasta, but traditionally it is usually made from garlic, potatoes and some vinegar.
Cartoccio of WA Pink Snapper, Potato, Radicchio, Tomato, Mushroom Varieties (close up)
My main meal was the fish of the day, and gazing across the room I could see I wasn’t the only one who thought it sounded good. A fresh flaky fillet of locally caught Pink Snapper was baked inside baking paper, a style the Italians like to call “al Cartoccio”. Cooking al Cartoccio helps to maintain the dish’s moisture and preserves the intensity of its natural flavours. Inside my paper package was a multitude of mushrooms including porcini, field, shitake, enoki and button mushrooms. They each had their own degree of potency in taste and texture. Of course the highlight was more (yes more) shaving of black truffle.
Cartoccio of WA Pink Snapper, Potato, Radicchio, Tomato, Mushroom Varieties (close up)
The Boys’ main dish of wood roasted duck was served with buckwheat polenta and a porcini sauce with mustard fruits and spring onions. The duck was moist and tender, falling off the bone easily and I had to beg him for a small mouthful to taste. I’m not sure if his taste buds were a little dulled by his flu because he wasn’t as wowed by this dish as I would have expected given its mouth-watering appearance. My single taste of it was divine so I going to consider that he just may not have been able to sense all the flavours properly through his snuffles and sickness. Poor love.
Wood roasted half duck, organic buckwheat polenta, mustard fruits, spring onion, porcini sauce
For sides we ordered the spiced pumpkin with chick peas, mint and almonds. This dish was surprisingly moreish and despite our bursting waistlines we managed to finish it all off. The chickpeas tasted really fresh not quite like any I have tasted before, and the Moroccan style spices coated each piece of pumpkin perfectly.
Spiced pumpkin, chick peas, mint, almonds
At this point, we really didn’t have much room left for more food. To be honest, in hindsight we really should have stuck to one entrée each not two! Why do we always order too much food? After a brief gaze over the dessert menu, I couldn’t really see anything that was obviously gluten free so I asked our waitress for some advice. She went off to have a chat to the chef and soon returned to let me know that although nothing on their menu was gluten free, the chef was happy to make a gluten free alternative called zabaione especially for me. I was told that the chef has done this many times before for gluten free customers. I really love chefs with this can-do attitude!
Zabaione with strawberry compote, sorbet and pistachios
After a short wait, out comes the most gorgeous looking dessert for me to enjoy. For once my dessert was the envy of all instead of the other way round! Zabaione is a dairy free, gluten free Italian egg custard made from egg yolks, sugar and Moscato. It was accompanied by strawberry compote, scoops of soft icy sorbet and topped with some pistachios. Heaven! Give me zabaione any day!
Walnut Torta Date & Muscat Compote, Cardamom Ice Cream
Although the Boy’s walnut torta looked pretty good, but I can’t deny I felt it appeared a little lacklustre in comparison to my deliciousness! It came with a scoop of cardamom ice cream and was drizzled in sticky Muscat compote. He was way too full to finish it off but made a pretty good effort considering how unwell he was. He had barely eaten anything the past few days so I was happy to see him eat a good hearty meal. Fingers crossed this is the last of the winter ailments and we can both get back on track for some healthiness again.
This restaurant was reviewed as part of Mushroom Mania month which is happening all across Australia during July 2012. There are over 2000 participating restaurants including many all over Western Australia. The website also has some delicious mushroom recipes so make sure you check it out.
You don’t have to be a blogger to win either! Just write a short review on a mushroom dish you enjoyed during the Mushroom Mania Month of July and you could win a $150 Best Restaurants of Australia Gift Card.
Click here for details.
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Chompchomp dined at Divido with compliments of the Australian Mushroom Growers Association.
Divido 170 Scarborough Beach Rd, Mount Hawthorn 6016 | (08) 9443 7373 | www.divido.com.au Price: $$$ (Three courses $85, Degustation $95 or $140 with matched wines) Food: 4.5/5 (flexible chef, hearty Italian dishes with a modern flair) Service: 4/5 (occasionally a bit disjointed but very knowledgeable and friendly) Ambience: 4/5 (cosy, inviting and relaxing) Drinks: 4.5/5 (lots of champagne to choose from. Very happy with this!) Total: 17/20 
Roasted Field mushrooms with Porcini Polenta
Posted by | Categories: Recipes, Vegetarian
After picking our own fabulous Field mushrooms on our visit to Millbrook Winery I decided to cook them up with a few extras in the fridge for our Meatless Monday meal. I had a packet of polenta with dried porcini that I purchased from Providore during our recent trip down to Margaret River and thought this traditional Italian dish would make a perfect and filling accompaniment to our roasted mushrooms. Better still I enjoyed it with one of the lovely wines I purchased from Millbrook! (You can read my review on our gorgeous lunch here.)
- 4-6 large field mushrooms
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Soft goats cheese
- Truffle oil to serve
- Preheat oven to 180°C.
- Place mushrooms in a heavy-based, non-stick roasting pan. Sprinkle thyme and crushed garlic over mushrooms and then drizzle with olive oil and vinegar. Season with salt and pepper and toss to combine.
- Cover the mushrooms with foil and cook in oven for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes remove the foil and bake for another 10-15 minutes until mushrooms are tender.
- Remove from oven and top with crumbled goats cheese and truffle oil.
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 1 cup rice milk (can use normal milk if not lactose intolerant)
- 2.5 cups gluten free chicken stock (I use Massels 7’s as they are also fructose friendly)
- 1 cup Providore Polenta with Porcini mushrooms (or use instant polenta and add your own dried porcini)
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Freshly grated parmesan
- Bring the water and wine to the boil in a large heavy-based saucepan over high heat. Use a wire balloon whisk to stir the water. Gradually add the polenta in a thin steady stream, whisking constantly until all the polenta is incorporated into the water (whisking ensures the polenta is dispersed through the liquid as quickly as possible). Don’t add the polenta too quickly or it will turn lumpy.
- Reduce heat to low (cook the polenta over low heat otherwise it will cook too quickly and you will need to add extra water). Gradually add in the rice milk while simmering, while ensuring to stir constantly with a wooden spoon for 10 minutes or until the mixture thickens and the polenta is soft.
- Remove from heat. Add the parmesan and stir until well combined. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.
The recipe was inspired by Mushroom Mania which is happening all across Australia for the month of July 2012. There are over 2000 participating restaurants including many all over Western Australia who will be serving up delicious mushroomy dishes for us all to enjoy. The website also contains some delicious mushroom recipes so make sure you check it out.
You don’t have to be a blogger to win either! Just write a short review on a mushroom dish you enjoyed during the Mushroom Mania Month of July and you could win a $150 Best Restaurants of Australia Gift Card.
Click here for details.
Keep up with the latest and Like Me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter!
Mushroom Mania: Millbrook Winery, Jarrahdale
Posted by | Categories: Featured, Modern Australian, Perth, Restaurants, Winery
Many of you may recall my ongoing obsession with mushrooms. I eat them nearly every day and they are definitely up there as one of my most favourite foods. Even better still they are so good for you! So logically I was so excited to be selected as one of eleven bloggers from around Australia to take part in Mushroom Mania! For the whole month of July, over 2000 restaurants, cafes, bistros and clubs around the country will be involved in serving up wonderful mushroom dishes for us all to enjoy. You can download the App on your iPhone for a locality guide of participating businesses.
Millbrook Winery has been one of those stunning locations that I have longed to visit for quite some time. It is located on Chestnut Farm in the picturesque Jarrahdale area about fifty minutes south of Perth. The property spans over 300 acres and is nestled in amongst gently sloping valleys bordering along the National Park whilst boasting breathtaking views across the countryside. The Winery is owned the Fogarty Wine Group who also own Deep Woods Estate in Margaret River, Smithbrook in Pemberton and Lake’s Folly in the Hunter Valley. Millbrook utilise grapes from their own small vineyards in addition to grapes from their vineyards in the cooler climates south of the State.
The winery has a tasting room and cellar door where you can sample their wines at no cost. The Boy and I ensured to arrive a little early so we could squeeze in some tasting. Their range included some interesting wines and while I won’t confess to being an expert in describing them I did walk away with a few purchases! Better still they offer a membership discount of 20% if you join up before you buy.
The restaurant is located upstairs giving nearly 180 degrees views across the brilliant landscape and I can only imagine how much more gorgeous it would be sitting out on their decking area in the warmer summer months. Being a crisp winter’s day we didn’t get to experience this and stayed inside where it was cosy and warm.
Complementary sourdough, with house made marmalade
Head chef Guy Jeffreys focuses his menu on using all the freshly grown produce from the large property which includes 150 year old orchards growing citrus, stone fruit, figs, quince and apples, and an acre sized garden filled with over 100 varieties of heirloom vegetables. Herbs, free-range eggs, wild mushrooms, olives and honey are also sourced from the estate. While waiting for our meals we were brought out some complementary house made sour dough with marmalade. Although the menu has a wide range of gluten free dishes available, the bread wasn’t so I dipped my fingers in the marmalade a couple of times to taste its home-grown deliciousness straight up while the Boy devoured the soft bread.
Salad of braised lamb tongue, quail eggs, wild samphire & fermented cucumber
We ordered a selection of entrées to share and couldn’t fault any one of them. The braised lamb’s tongue with quail eggs was richly flavoured and contained curious little stems of salty plant called wild samphire. We were told the chef foraged for this unusual but powerfully flavoured plant along the banks of the Swan in Bassendean. It is also termed “sea asparagus”.
Fremantle octopus, Rosa’s chorizo, pickled potato, smoked paprika
Not that I’m a chef by any stretch of the imagination, but I do appreciate that octopus can be one of those things that without appropriate care in the kitchen can turn into a rubbery chewy disaster. Not this time round; our octopus was so juicy and soft that even the thin tentacles were tender. It was served with some of Rosa’s popular chorizo from Spanish Flavours in Wembley. We fell in love with this well-known locally made delight when at Amphoras Bar recently and you can be sure to see it feature on menus of a variety of restaurants all over Perth including Cantina 663. The octopus was also served with some pickled potato and smoked paprika.
Roasted & raw heirloom carrot, radish, goats cheese, pomegranate dressing
I order the salad as our third entrée because we didn’t really need a third dish so I justified ordering it by choosing something light. Freshly picked vegetables from the farm’s garden included roasted and raw heirloom carrot and radish. Some tangy goat’s cheese was slivered on top and the salad was dressed with a light, sweet pomegranate dressing and some fresh mint leaves.
Foraged & farmed mushroom risotto, white truffle oil, parmesan
For my main I could not go past the mushroom risotto. It contained a wonderful combination of both farmed and foraged mushrooms including porcini and button mushrooms, Slippery Jacks from the neighbouring forest and meaty Field mushrooms from the adjacent orchard. To add to the amazing mushroom intensity, the Arborio rice was pre-soaked in a stock containing some Manjimup truffles and the risotto was served with generous drizzles of white truffle oil. Very decadent and definitely not low in calories but packed full of mushroom goodness! I kept convincing myself of all the wondrous health properties of mushrooms I was gaining and chose to overlook the addition of less nutrient rich oils and cheese!
Baldivis rabbit, Acciari Butchers cotechino, tomato sauce, hand cut pasta
I have recently eaten rabbit a few times both at the epic Largesse dinner and at Villa D’Este and each time the Boy has eyed off my dishes while suffering from a bit of dish envy. He decided to take things in his own hands and order himself the Baldivis rabbit pasta. Soft folds of hand cut pasta were perfectly coated with a thick tomato sauce and scattered with a generous serving of cotechino (a type of Italian sausage) and flavourful pieces of soft rabbit. To accompany we also order the mashed potato with truffle oil and a garden salad. Yes, more truffle oil…..well it IS truffle season after all!
Our mushroom foraging!
The Boy and I were both so fascinated that nearly all the produce use in the kitchen was foraged or farmed on the property. The Boy prompted me to ask our attentive waitress if there would be any chance we could have a wander around the property to find our own wild mushrooms. I could barely contain my excitement when this was met with a “yes” and we were taken to a part of the property where a number of fist sized meaty field mushroom were popping up out of the lush grass. We were permitted to harvest ourselves a few which they packaged up for us to take home and eat. I began imagining how delicious they would be roasted in the oven with balsamic……see my recipe here.
Vanilla bean panna cotta, orange cake, peel, segments & campari sorbet
After our successful mushroom hunt, we returned to the warmth of the restaurant to squeeze in a final dessert course. I was thankful that I had run to the gym for a workout that morning otherwise all my bride dieting would have gone completely out the window! The pannacotta was perfectly formed and served with little cubes of flourless orange cake, Campari sorbet and some surprisingly sweet almost caramelised orange peel.
House churned ice cream (Cajeta, raspberry and vanilla bean)
The Boy’s ice cream was house churned with three flavours; vanilla bean, raspberry and Cajeta. The Cajeta flavour was his favourite and is traditionally made from simmering goat’s milk and sugar until it thickens like condensed milk. It tastes a bit like caramel but isn’t too overpoweringly sweet.
Fennel and radishes
We were lucky enough to kindly get a tour of the property after our meal by the manager Jeremy. He was a wealth of knowledge and proudly showed us through their enormous garden filled with radishes, fennel, broccoli and other winter vegetables. He informed us that they try to be as environmentally sustainable as possible including practices such as recycling water from a natural spring that runs through the property.
Such picturesque orchards
We even got to duck into the chicken coop for a little pat, they were so tame and friendly and didn’t seem to mind my incessant photo taking. In fact one of them looked like she enjoyed her fifteen minutes of fame!
Little Miss Henny Penny and friends
After all the recent stress we have both had over the past few weeks, our beautiful little outing together proved to be just what we needed. We drove back to the city in comfortable silence content with full bellies and lungs full of fresh country air.
This restaurant was reviewed as part of Mushroom Mania month which is happening all across Australia during July 2012. There are over 2000 participating restaurants including many all over Western Australia. The website also contains some delicious mushroom recipes so make sure you check it out.
You don’t have to be a blogger to win either! Just write a short review on a mushroom dish you enjoyed during the Mushroom Mania Month of July and you could win a $150 Best Restaurants of Australia Gift Card.
Click here for details.
Chompchomp dined at Millbrook Winery with compliments of the Australian Mushroom Growers Association.
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Millbrook Winery Old Chestnut Lane, Jarrahdale 6124 | (08) 9525 5796 | www.millbrookwinery.com.au Bookings recommended especially on weekends. Price: $$$$ (Entrees $19-22, Mains $36-45) Food: 4.5/5 (nothing beats fresh produce, excellent range GF options) Service: 5/5 (faultless, friendly, knowledgeable) Ambience: 4/5 (restaurant overlooks, lake, forest and vine yards) Drinks: 4/5 (wine license only) Total: 17.5/20
Largesse Dinner #6 Petite Mort, Shenton Park
Posted by | Categories: Degustation/Fine dining, European, Featured, Perth, Restaurants
I was lucky enough to secure three tickets to the last of the series of the Largesse dinners. These fabulous degustation evenings have formed a near cult following in Perth and are known to sell out within minutes of going on sale. So what on Earth is Largesse you ask?
Imagine the Head Chefs from six award-winning restaurants from around Perth donating their talents and time to each create one dish to contribute toward a six course extravaganza. Better still each course is then matched with exquisite wines and most importantly all of the proceeds from the evening go toward a charity of the host chef’s choosing. This year the charity of choice was The Royal Flying Doctors Service.
The six chefs are Scott O’Sullivan from Red Cabbage Food and Wine, Kiren Mainwaring from Dear Friends, Jason Jujnovich from Divido, Stephen Clarke of Clarkes of North Beach, Todd Stuart from Petite Mort and last but most definitely not least Hadleigh Troy from Restaurant Amusé.
This year the night was hosted at Petit Mort which is located in Shenton Park where the popular Star Anise resided for many years. The evening had such a buzz of excitement about it and as I gazed around the room I wondered which faces belonged to other fellow Perth bloggers I knew were attending. I have only been a blogger for about nine months now and have been blown away by the sense of camaraderie and open friendship that exists in this small little community of foodies. My eyes have only really been opened to this supportive side of blogging since joining Twitter last month. Weirdly despite this short space of time, I feel like I already know these people without even having met them.
Air dried ham, Swan Valley Yolk, ajo blancho, foraged herbs (Kiren Mainwaring, Dear Friends Restaurant) matched with Simonnet Febvre, Cremant Brut, Bourgogne NV
We were informed that the first two courses were to be swapped in order because Chef Scott needed some extra time to prepare his dish. We were told he apparently lost track of time due to watching a UFC final! This got a round of chuckles from the guests.
Our first dish was air dried ham with Swan Valley Yolk, ajo blancho and foraged herbs. This dish had a number of textural elements which all tied in magically with the fresh gooey yolk. Ajo blanco is a Spanish soup made with crushed almonds and garlic; it was delicately dolloped around the plate and added in a creamy nutty texture to the crunchy herbs and chewy ham.
Smoked trout, Chilli squid, saffron (Scott O’Sullivan from Red Cabbage Food and Wine) matched with Singlefile SBS, Denmark 2009
Our next dish was house-smoked trout, chilli squid and saffron. I was dismayed to see my gluten free version had the squid completely omitted. This meant I only really got half the dish which was quite disappointing considering that with small degustation courses each component is an important element for the overall experience of the dish. I would have preferred if the chef could have perhaps prepared my version gluten free rather than just leaving the squid off completely. Nevertheless the smoked trout was exquisitely soft and buttery leaving no oily aftertaste on the palate. My dining companions who received the full version of the dish commented that the chilli was not a strong enough feature and was barely noticeable.
Braised Rabbit, Lentils (Jason Jujnovich from Divido)
The next dish was a pasta dish which is obviously not gluten free so Chef Jason from Divido kindly went to the effort of creating a completely different alternate option for me. I received braised rabbit with lentils. The rabbit had obviously been nurtured and cared for in the cooking process because I have never had such tender rabbit before; it had the soft texture of high quality smoked ham. So simple yet so well executed.
Radicchio Tortellini, Fontina Fonduta (Jason Jujnovich from Divido) matched with Carpe Diem, Nebbilio, Margaret River 2011
The boys had Radicchio Tortellini served with melted Fontina drizzled over it. I was informed that although you could clearly taste that the tortellini was freshly made, it was slightly undercooked and too firm; there was no slippery oyster textures between the teeth here!
Braised Venison shin, Foie Gras Espuma (Clarkes of North Beach, Kitchen Team) matched with Batistide du Claux Cotes du Luberon “L’Orietale” 2008
The braised venison shin was my second favourite dish of the evening. I simply could not fault it whatsoever. It was accompanied by “Foie gras espuma” where we were told that the chef combined the decadent foie gras with Anglais sauce and piped it out of a canister like whipped cream. The richly flavoured shin meat simply melted in my mouth and if I wasn’t seated at a communal table I might have been tempted to lick this plate clean.
There was a little interlude in the evening at this point allowing a few fellow foodies Perth Munchkin and Gastromony to pop over to our table to introduce themselves. It was awesome to finally put some faces to the blogs that I have been following and I look forward to reading their posts on this fabulous night.
The palate cleanser consisted of ginger and beetroot water. Although this could have been improved by serving at a colder temperature it was definitely uplifting and refreshing.
Pressed Duck thigh, Chanterelle, Cepe (Todd Stuart from Petite Mort) matched with Singlefile Syrah, Denmark 2009
Pressed duck is a very traditional French dish where the whole entire duck organs and all is partially roasted then put through a special “duck press” to squeeze out the juices which are then used for the sauce. This duck was richly flavoured but in the aftermath of the delicate venison shin its texture felt a little chewy and dry by comparison. It was accompanied by two types of wild mushrooms: the funnel shaped chanterelle and the strong tasting cepe. These were the perfect accompaniment and gave more depth to the dish with their earthy tones.
Chocolate, Caramel, Sorrell (Hadleigh Troy from Restaurant Amusé) matched with Barbadillo Pedro Ximenez, Spain
The dessert was by far and by large the highlight of the evening for me. It reaffirmed to me why Restaurant Amusé remains my most revered dining establishment in Perth. Chef Hadleigh always manages to create food art that is not only visually stunning, but does incredible things to your palate. His dish “chocolate, caramel and sorrel” spanned across a wide range of exquisite textures, temperatures and flavours. The dish started with crunchy, crisp sorrel meringue that completely dissolved on contact with your tongue, onto cool firm chocolate ice-cream that nearly had the chewy texture of a chocolate truffle, and finally ending of a bed of warmed gooey caramel. To finish off the decadence there were fine shavings of white chocolate crumbs over the top to introduce another layer of alternate texture and flavour.
Petit fours
The last of the Largesse evenings was an experience I’m glad I didn’t miss; a night of talented chefs showcasing their abilities in the name of a worthy charitable cause. Although I know the Chefs all said this is their last, surely they can start up something new and similar in concept? The evening has inspired me to visit those restaurants out of the six that I haven’t been to yet and more importantly I want to get back to Amusé for what will be the fourth time! Last time we were we spent nearly six glorious hours overindulging ourselves in a night I will never forget.
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Red Cabbage Food + Wine 49/15 Labouchere Rd, South Perth 6151 | (08) 9367 5744 | redcabbagefoodandwine.com.au
Dear Friends
100 Benara Rd, Caversham 6055 | (08) 9279 2815 | www.dearfriends.com.au
Divido
170 Scarborough Beach Rd, Mount Hawthorn 6016 | (08) 9443 7373 | www.divido.com.au
Clarkes of North Beach
97 Flora Terrace, North Beach 6020 | (08) 9246 7621 | www.clarkesofnorthbeach.com.au
Petite Mort
225 Onslow Rd, Shenton Park 6008 | (08) 9388 0331 | www.petitemort.com.au
Restaurant Amusé
64 Bronte St, East Perth 6004 | (08) 9325 4900 | www.restaurantamuse.com.au
