Fighting the Elements to get to La Cholita, Northbridge
Posted by | Categories: Bars, Featured, Mexican, Perth, Restaurants
There are two components that I need in order to happily publish a blog post about a restaurant; I need pretty photos and I need an interesting story. If either of those are lacking then it doesn’t matter how good the experience was I just cannot bring myself to publish it. Call it pride, vanity, perfectionism, whatever it is I cannot control it. My first visit to La Cholita, a Mexican bar in Northbridge presented me with this exact problem.
It was a great night out with fellow blogger Foodie Cravings which had originally started off with plans for us to attend an Eat Drink Perth movie event. However on arrival we found out there was no gluten free fare available so our evening evolved into an impromptu night of tacos, tostadas and wine at La Cholita. We laughed, shared stories and ate until we nearly popped; something that isn’t exactly unusual for the two of us. The next day I looked back on my photos and my heart sunk. They were all total crap!!!
Guacamole, crispy corn tortillas ($6.50, GF on request)
Determined not to be beaten by bad lighting, over the following weeks I tried to encourage the Boy to join me on a return visit to La Cholita to acquire the focused, colourful captures of this venue’s food that I needed. Our first two attempts were stalled due to illness and family obligations until finally on a weekend where we had no plans I locked in a lunch date days in advance. Unbeknownst to me, the lovely weather man also locked some plans, his were for a severe weather warning. Awesome. Refusing to be beaten again, we headed into Northbridge hitting William Street at exactly the same time as the downpour.
Selection of tacos. In front: Slow cooked pork, pineapple ($5, GF)
I reached across to the back seat of my car to grab my umbrella only to realise I had moved it into the car boot. I quickly jumped out of the car splashing through the riverine that was once the street gutter to peer into my empty boot. Argh! No umbrella in there either! By this point I was soaked through. Admitting defeat I ran to the parking meter grabbed a ticket and sprinted with the Boy down the street to arrive at La Cholita resembling a drowned rat.
I already knew what to order having had a feast there only weeks before. Most of their menu is gluten free excluding the quesadillas, the fish and jalapeño tacos and the flour tortillas. The guacamole can be served gluten free if you request the crispy corn tortillas instead.
A word of warning to the fructose malabsorbers out there, there was onion in many of the dishes on the menu. I decided to live with the consequences as my reaction to onion isn’t serious like that with gluten. I figure eating a little bit here and there on occasions is hardly going to kill me as I am so strict in avoiding it at home.
Wood grilled octopus, smoky potato ($12, GF)
Pumpkin, pickled cabbage, queso fresco taco ($5, Vego, GF)
I ordered a selection of four tacos which included vegetarian, prawn, beef cheek and slow cooked pork. The Boy’s vego option contained some spiced pumpkin, pickled cabbage and queso fresco. The tacos were soft and fresh making them easy to eat without falling apart.
Pumpkin, pickled cabbage, queso fresco taco ($5, Vego, GF)
Prawn, papaya salsa, cos lettuce, avocado ($6.50, GF)
The Boy will sometimes eat seafood so given there was only one vegetarian taco on offer, he ate the prawn taco for his second option. Two crunchy grilled prawns topped with some papaya salad, avocado and finely chopped cos lettuce made this a light option for those not wanting to eat the more heavy meatier choices.
Beef cheek, pico de gallo ($5, GF)
I ate the remaining two tacos; the beef cheek and the slow cooked pork. Surprisingly the pork was my favourite as I am not the hugest fan of eating pig. Soft shreds of pork filled the taco to the brim topped with a single grilled piece of pineapple which had been cooked just long enough for the sugars to caramelise on the surface.
Spiced duck, refried beans tostadas ($7, GF)
Crab meat, avocado tostadas ($10, GF)
We also ordered some tostadas which are basically crispy corn chips with toppings. The spiced duck with refried beans had a decent amount of heat in it which was just what I needed to defrost my soaked, cold bones however the Boy found it too spicy for his tastebuds. He preferred the creamy crab with avocado although he did comment that the crab did not have a lot of flavour.
There was a break in the rain so knowing La Cholita’s gluten free dessert options were limited we quickly paid and marched down to James Street where I knew there was a Taiwanese dessert place called Meet Fresh. This place is very popular over in Sydney and this was our first store that had opened in WA. It was the late afternoon and we were the only customers.
Supreme mango crushed ice
On my recommendation the Boy ordered the high tower of supreme mango crushed ice with vanilla ice cream. It contained a decent portion of fresh mango cascading over the syrupy sweet mountain of ice.
Herbal jelly with taro, tapioca pearls and red beans
Unlike the Boy, I am a big lover of Taiwanese style desserts however I am a little bit inexperienced in that I never really know what I can order. I always have to double check then triple check what is gluten free. I ended up choosing the herbal jelly with taro, red beans and tapioca pearls. The pearls were chewy and sweet but I found the herbal jelly a bit flavourless compared to that I had at Taro Taro.
Knowing the next downpour wasn’t far away the Boy put his spoon down defeated by his mango mountain and suggested we head back to the car before we get drenched through again. My dessert was significantly smaller than his and so I had pretty much finished it. I happily agreed and gathered my things. As soon as we piled into the car the heavens opened. It was our first bit of good timing that day and I can say it was greatly appreciated!
Chompchomp’s meal at La Cholita was a self funded taco feast paid for with soaking wet notes pulled from her drenched jeans pocket. La Cholita 279 William Street, Northbridge, WA 6003 | Facebook $$ (Small plates $5-15, Mains $26-28)
