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Bestie Time at Tuck Shop Café, Pie-House and Delicatessen, Northbridge

Posted by  | Categories: Breakfast/Brunch, Featured, Modern Australian, Perth, Restaurants, Vegetarian

There are some people who genuinely have the talent of listening and empathising to others.  Whilst this may be a skill one can try and develop; to truly master it you actually need to be a certain type of soft and caring personality type. My Bestie is one of those people and she has always been able to centre her attention on whoever she is speaking to with incredibly genuine sincerity. Recently she has taken on a job as a carer’s consultant where she provides both individual and group support to the carers in the Esperance area. Being somewhat of a free spirit in the past, this direction and responsibility has brought out a great sense of worth and pride within her. I cannot describe how happy it makes me to know she has finally landed on her feet and found her calling.

The only down side of this success is that Esperance is a long way away from Perth! Selfish I know but gee I miss her! Recently she came back up to Perth for a few weeks of intensive training and we managed to squeeze in a few random catch ups. The Tuck Shop Café has been on my hit list for ages. Kindly remembering this fact, my Bestie suggested we meet there early on a weekday before we started work.

"gluten free toast" "roast tomato" "ricotta" "Black pudding” "mushrooms" "Vegetarian breakfast" "eggs" "fetta" "corn" "avocado" "tomato" "basil" "potato" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Perth bars" "Perth restaurants" "Perth food reviews" "breakfast" "casual dining" "Northbridge" "Tuck Shop Cafe" "the tuck shop cafe" "tuck shop cafe pie house" "pie house" "delicatessen" "vegetarian" "brunch" "Newcastle street"

“Black pudding” without the pudding replaced with mushrooms

On perusing their menu I really wanted to try the black pudding which came with herbed ricotta and roasted tomatoes. I was dismayed to hear that it wasn’t gluten free so I order the same dish but with mushrooms to replace the black pudding instead. The grilled mushrooms were plump and fleshy with a rich earthy flavour. The ricotta was foamy light with just a slight hint of sweetness which combined well with the caramelised tomatoes. A single poached egg completed this dish.

"Poached eggs" "roasted tomato" "spinach" "Vegetarian breakfast" "eggs" "fetta" "corn" "avocado" "tomato" "basil" "potato" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Perth bars" "Perth restaurants" "Perth food reviews" "breakfast" "casual dining" "Northbridge" "Tuck Shop Cafe" "the tuck shop cafe" "tuck shop cafe pie house" "pie house" "delicatessen" "vegetarian" "brunch" "Newcastle street"

Poached eggs roasted tomato and spinach

The Bestie has recently changed to eating a vegetarian and gluten free diet and found there weren’t a lot of options for her on the menu. She chose to keep it simple and ordered poached eggs, roasted tomato and spinach.

"mushrooms" "mushy peas" "gluten free toast" "roast tomato" "ricotta" "Black pudding” "mushrooms" "Vegetarian breakfast" "eggs" "fetta" "corn" "avocado" "tomato" "basil" "potato" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Perth bars" "Perth restaurants" "Perth food reviews" "breakfast" "casual dining" "Northbridge" "Tuck Shop Cafe" "the tuck shop cafe" "tuck shop cafe pie house" "pie house" "delicatessen" "vegetarian" "brunch" "Newcastle street"

Mushy peas and ‘shrooms on the side

We couldn’t help but order some sides of mushrooms and mushy peas too. It has become somewhat of a tradition for us to order mushrooms on the side for breakfast. The mushy peas were a bit bland in flavour and needed more seasoning.

"dessert" "desserts" "cupcake" "gluten free cupcakes" "berry cupcake" "Vegetarian breakfast" "eggs" "fetta" "corn" "avocado" "tomato" "basil" "potato" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Perth bars" "Perth restaurants" "Perth food reviews" "breakfast" "casual dining" "Northbridge" "Tuck Shop Cafe" "the tuck shop cafe" "tuck shop cafe pie house" "pie house" "delicatessen" "vegetarian" "brunch" "Newcastle street"

Gluten free cupcakes

Two rounds of coffee and some tea later I glanced at the clock and realised our impromptu outing was nearly over as we both needed to head to our respective places of work feeling overly full and content. But wait; there is always room for dessert isn’t there? There were a couple of home-made gluten free cupcakes in the counter cabinet; a chocolate freckle and a berry cream cheese cupcake. Unable to decide which one the waitress convinced us to order both and cut each in half.

"dessert" "desserts" "cupcake" "gluten free cupcakes" "chocolate freckle" "Vegetarian breakfast" "eggs" "fetta" "corn" "avocado" "tomato" "basil" "potato" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Perth bars" "Perth restaurants" "Perth food reviews" "breakfast" "casual dining" "Northbridge" "Tuck Shop Cafe" "the tuck shop cafe" "tuck shop cafe pie house" "pie house" "delicatessen" "vegetarian" "brunch" "Newcastle street"

Halvesies

Each cupcake tasted neither heavy nor sickly sweet so despite already discussing how full we both felt before we knew it we had each eaten our respective halves. History repeats itself once more. I love that the two of us always manage to equally make pigs of ourselves; we are peas in a pod for sure. It serves to remind me that although physical distance separates us once again, we are always so close in spirit.

Tuck Shop Café, Pie-House and Delicatessen 
178 Newcastle Street, Northbridge WA 6000 | Facebook
 
Price:                     $$
Food:                    4/5 (need more GF and vegetarian options)
Service:                3.5/5 (friendly, know their menu well)
Ambience:          3.5/5 (great busy morning buzz)
Drinks:                  3.5/5 (They serve Toby Estate coffee)
Total:                     14.5/20

The Tuck Shop Cafe on Urbanspoon

Dear Friends Restaurant, Caversham

Posted by  | Categories: Degustation/Fine dining, Featured, Perth, Restaurants, Swan Valley, Vegetarian

One of our best wedding presents that we received was a gift voucher for a degustation at Dear Friends Restaurant in Caversham. Dear Friends is owned and run by Welshman Kiren Mainwaring and his Canadian wife Kelli.  My first introduction to this team’s talent was at the final Largesse dinner held at Petit Mort last year. For this charity event he created a spectacular and beautiful dish of air dried ham, Swan Valley yolk, ajo blanch and foraged herbs. Since this evening I have longed to make the trip to their restaurant in the Swan Valley to be wowed by his creations once again.

"Air dried ham" "Swan Valley Yolk" "ajo blanch" "foraged herbs" "Largesse" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Perth restaurants" "Perth food reviews" "swan valley" "Middle swan" "Swan Valley food reviews" "swan valley reviews" "swan valley gluten free" "Dear Friends Restaurant" "Dear Friends caversham" "Dear Friends" "Kiren Mainwaring" "Fine dining" "degustation" "local produce" "foraging" "Caversham" "vegetarian degustation" "vegetarian fine dining" "vegetarian" "vegetarian restaurant"

Air dried ham, Swan Valley Yolk, ajo blanch and foraged herbs (From Largesse ’12)

Dear Friends is located on the rural flat lands of the Swan Valley and has featured in the Gourmet Traveller’s Restaurant Guide and the Good Food Guide year after year. Chef Kiren focuses on utilising the variety of local and seasonal produce from the region sourcing directly from local farmers or foraged from the wild surrounds. The entrance to the restaurant is quaint and understated, bordering on old fashioned. For our seven course degustation I chose to have the matched wines and for each course sommelier Kelli took time to explain to me the origin of each wine and why she chose it.

"Gluten Free Garlic Bread" "House Churned" "Guernsey butter" "mushroom powder" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Perth restaurants" "Perth food reviews" "swan valley" "Middle swan" "Swan Valley food reviews" "swan valley reviews" "swan valley gluten free" "Dear Friends Restaurant" "Dear Friends caversham" "Dear Friends" "Kiren Mainwaring" "Fine dining" "degustation" "local produce" "foraging" "Caversham" "vegetarian degustation" "vegetarian fine dining" "vegetarian" "vegetarian restaurant"

Gluten Free Garlic Bread with House Churned Guernsey butter and mushroom powder

The Boy and I now each have our own individual dietary requirements; obviously I’m still gluten free and fructose friendly but more recently the Boy is a vegetarian. I can see how some kitchens would baulk at having the two of us as their customers. Upon arrival we were immediately made to feel relaxed and at ease as our dietary requirements presented the Dear Friends team with no problems. More importantly each of our dishes were not just ones with alterations and deletions but were carefully planned; plated with elegance and originality.

"manchego" "Manchego tacos" "fresh cheese" "lupin chips" "eggplant" "Saratoga chips" "balsamic vinegar" "amuse bouche" "tasters" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Perth restaurants" "Perth food reviews" "swan valley" "Middle swan" "Swan Valley food reviews" "swan valley reviews" "swan valley gluten free" "Dear Friends Restaurant" "Dear Friends caversham" "Dear Friends" "Kiren Mainwaring" "Fine dining" "degustation" "local produce" "foraging" "Caversham" "vegetarian degustation" "vegetarian fine dining" "vegetarian" "vegetarian restaurant"

Tasters (Matched with 2010 Mann Methode Champenoise, Swan Valley, WA)

Our first course consisted of some “tasters”; call them modern day amuse bouche if you like. There were super cheesy Manchego tacos containing some house made fresh cheese, crispy lupin chips topped with eggplant and Saratoga chips with balsamic vinegar. Despite being proud of both my father’s French heritage and all the cheeses that come from this fabulous country I have to confess Spanish Manchego is by far one of my favourite cheeses. It has such a distinctive flavour and the tacos made me reminiscent of my recent over indulgence in Barcelona.

"Blue Swimmer crab" "Welsh soup" "Welsh watercress soup" "Watercress soup" "Shark Bay Crab" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Perth restaurants" "Perth food reviews" "swan valley" "Middle swan" "Swan Valley food reviews" "swan valley reviews" "swan valley gluten free" "Dear Friends Restaurant" "Dear Friends caversham" "Dear Friends" "Kiren Mainwaring" "Fine dining" "degustation" "local produce" "foraging" "Caversham" "vegetarian degustation" "vegetarian fine dining" "vegetarian" "vegetarian restaurant"

Watercress soup, Shark Bay Crab (Matched with 2011 Molly Dooker “The Violinist” Verdelho, McLaren Vale, SA)

My next course was a Welsh styled watercress soup. Watercress is supposed to aid with the digestion and this soup certainly did sit wonderfully warm in my stomach. The soft flaky blue swimmer crab contrasted with the strong pepperiness from the watercress leaving a fresh crisp taste on the palate.

"smoked tomato puree" "field mushroom" "oyster mushroom" "Soy Tofu" "Swan Valley Mushroom" "Smoked Tomato" "Parsnip chips" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Perth restaurants" "Perth food reviews" "swan valley" "Middle swan" "Swan Valley food reviews" "swan valley reviews" "swan valley gluten free" "Dear Friends Restaurant" "Dear Friends caversham" "Dear Friends" "Kiren Mainwaring" "Fine dining" "degustation" "local produce" "foraging" "Caversham" "vegetarian degustation" "vegetarian fine dining" "vegetarian" "vegetarian restaurant"

Soy Tofu, Swan Valley Mushroom, Smoked Tomato, Parsnip (Matched with 2007 John Kosovich Bottle Aged Chenin, Swan Valley, WA)

My third course was the same as the Boy’s as it was a vegetarian dish. Who on Earth said vegetarian food was boring? Silky cubes of home-made soy tofu and locally grown Swan Valley field and oyster mushrooms sat upon a richly flavoured bed of smoky tomato puree. Some crunchy parsnip chips provided an interesting change in texture. This dish threatened to turn any meat eater into a vegetarian!

"fennel" "seafood" "ink puree" "cuttlefish Ink" "cuttlefish" "Asparagus Shoots" "Japanese turnip" "Turnip" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Perth restaurants" "Perth food reviews" "swan valley" "Middle swan" "Swan Valley food reviews" "swan valley reviews" "swan valley gluten free" "Dear Friends Restaurant" "Dear Friends caversham" "Dear Friends" "Kiren Mainwaring" "Fine dining" "degustation" "local produce" "foraging" "Caversham" "vegetarian degustation" "vegetarian fine dining" "vegetarian" "vegetarian restaurant"

WA cuttlefish Ink, Asparagus Shoots, Turnip (Matched with 2010 Moric Blaufrankisch, Burgenland, Austria)

My next course of West Australian cuttlefish was served with tender tips of new season asparagus, Muchea grown Japanese turnips and shavings of fennel. I was intrigued by these turnips having never eaten them before as they were nearly as sweet as the fennel and as soft like potato. As I made my way through each of the generous wine matches I was glad this dish featured early in the meal. I tend to be a bit of a messy eater; which can worsen the more wine I drink. I could see the potential for me making a complete spectacle of myself and ending up with black ink purée everywhere.

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Kassler Cured Pork, Pea, Yellow Squash (Matched with 2012 Myattsfield Shiraz, Mouvedre, Viognier, Bickley Valley, WA)

As much as I am very respectful and proud of the Boy in his strong decision to become a vegetarian, I am yet to join him 100% and for my next course I could sense his disapproval at me eating animal flesh. I can console myself that Dear Friends source their organic free range pork from Margaret River Big Red Pork. Big Red’s pigs are kept in small family groups and run free range in the creek lines, grass lands and woodlands of their farm. They are fed on a natural diet of grasses, legumes, grains and grubs which gives the meat a characteristic dark colour. The Kassler pork loin was cured using a German technique which involves smoking and ripening the meat in brine for about 7-10 days. It was served with yellow squash and pickled cucumber. The cucumber gave some lovely sweetened acidity to the saltiness of the meat.

"farm" "slow cooked egg" "freshly foraged vegetables" "herbs" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Perth restaurants" "Perth food reviews" "swan valley" "Middle swan" "Swan Valley food reviews" "swan valley reviews" "swan valley gluten free" "Dear Friends Restaurant" "Dear Friends caversham" "Dear Friends" "Kiren Mainwaring" "Fine dining" "degustation" "local produce" "foraging" "Caversham" "vegetarian degustation" "vegetarian fine dining" "vegetarian" "vegetarian restaurant"

From the Farm

There was no missing out for the Boy as his next vegetarian course looked just as mouth-watering as mine. A near-translucent slow cooked egg sat nestled in amongst a variety of freshly foraged vegetables and herbs. As he cut into the egg, the yolk burst into life engulfing everything on his plate. Regrettably I missed the opportunity to take a picture of this egg porn moment as I was far too engrossed enjoying my cured pork.

"horseradish" "slow cooked lamb" "lamb cutlet" "Dorper Lamb" "Celeriac" "Brussel Sprouts" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Perth restaurants" "Perth food reviews" "swan valley" "Middle swan" "Swan Valley food reviews" "swan valley reviews" "swan valley gluten free" "Dear Friends Restaurant" "Dear Friends caversham" "Dear Friends" "Kiren Mainwaring" "Fine dining" "degustation" "local produce" "foraging" "Caversham" "vegetarian degustation" "vegetarian fine dining" "vegetarian" "vegetarian restaurant"

Dorper Lamb, Celeriac, Brussel Sprouts (Matched with 2011 Cherubino Laissez Faire Syrah, Porongurup, WA)

My final main course was undoubtedly one of the highlights. Over the years I have worked my way through eating a variety of slow cooked meats but this was my first opportunity to enjoy a lamb cutlet prepared in this way. It was just as delicately soft as you could ever imagine. To complete the decadence it was finished with a bone marrow jus. Oh heaven! I was grateful for the lack of pretension and stuffiness as I just couldn’t help myself picking up the chop with my fingers and nibbling every last tasty morsel off the bone, not something I could get away with at every fine dining establishment. My Mum would shudder at the thought!

"Brussel sprouts" "celeriac" "fermented chenin hollandaise" "Welsh sausage" "Welsh vegetarian sausage" "cheese sausage" "Glamorgan Sausage" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Perth restaurants" "Perth food reviews" "swan valley" "Middle swan" "Swan Valley food reviews" "swan valley reviews" "swan valley gluten free" "Dear Friends Restaurant" "Dear Friends caversham" "Dear Friends" "Kiren Mainwaring" "Fine dining" "degustation" "local produce" "foraging" "Caversham" "vegetarian degustation" "vegetarian fine dining" "vegetarian" "vegetarian restaurant"

Glamorgan Sausage

The Boy’s final main dish was a thick Glamorgan sausage served with Brussel sprouts, celeriac and broccoli. Glamorgan sausage is a traditional Welsh vegetarian sausage made with cheese, leek, potato, cabbage, herbs and breadcrumbs. A fermented Chenin hollandaise sauce was drizzled luxuriously over everything on his plate.

"Macadamia" "glazed cumquat" "curd" "Tulle" "white chocolate " "dessert" "desserts" "Pre dessert" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Perth restaurants" "Perth food reviews" "swan valley" "Middle swan" "Swan Valley food reviews" "swan valley reviews" "swan valley gluten free" "Dear Friends Restaurant" "Dear Friends caversham" "Dear Friends" "Kiren Mainwaring" "Fine dining" "degustation" "local produce" "foraging" "Caversham" "vegetarian degustation" "vegetarian fine dining" "vegetarian" "vegetarian restaurant"

Pre dessert

It was now time to veer away from all these amazing savoury courses and enjoy some sweets. Our pre-dessert teaser consisted of two medallions of macadamia and white chocolate chiboust which is basically pastry cream lightened with egg white meringue. Light and airy, each portion of chiboust dissolved with a “poof” on the tongue. Dollops of kumquat curd and glazed kumquats gave a tart element to the dish along with the nutty sweetness of shavings of locally grown macadamias. The Boy also received a paper thin peppercorn tuille.

"carrot ice-cream" "honey comb" "marshmallows" "blueberries" "sour grass flower" "carrot "dessert" "desserts" "cake" "gluten free cake" "purple carrot cake" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Perth restaurants" "Perth food reviews" "swan valley" "Middle swan" "Swan Valley food reviews" "swan valley reviews" "swan valley gluten free" "Dear Friends Restaurant" "Dear Friends caversham" "Dear Friends" "Kiren Mainwaring" "Fine dining" "degustation" "local produce" "foraging" "Caversham" "vegetarian degustation" "vegetarian fine dining" "vegetarian" "vegetarian restaurant"

Carrot cake (Matched with 2008 Carmes De Rieussec Sauternes AC, Sauternes, France)

Our dessert was quite possibly one of the most stunning carrot cakes I have ever seen.  Made with purple carrots it was scattered in soft crumbles around a scoop of carrot ice-cream and decorated with honey comb, marshmallows, fresh blueberries and cute little sour grass flowers. As my belly expanded over the top of my pants it was hard to believe our magical afternoon was nearly over.

"Ubriaco al Vino Rosso" "Italian hard cheese" "Northern Italy" "West Australian brie" "Dellendale" "brie" "Denmark" "Colsten Bassett Shropshire Blue" "blue cheese" "cheese course" "cheese" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Perth restaurants" "Perth food reviews" "swan valley" "Middle swan" "Swan Valley food reviews" "swan valley reviews" "swan valley gluten free" "Dear Friends Restaurant" "Dear Friends caversham" "Dear Friends" "Kiren Mainwaring" "Fine dining" "degustation" "local produce" "foraging" "Caversham" "vegetarian degustation" "vegetarian fine dining" "vegetarian" "vegetarian restaurant"

Cheese course (Matched with Mc Williams Amontillado Oak Aged Sherry, Hanwood, NSW & A R Valdespino El Candado Pedro Ximenez, Jerez, Spain)

However as many of you will know, it doesn’t matter how full I am I can always fit in cheese. The cheese course at Dear Friends is an optional extra but if you have the gumption to squeeze it in I can highly recommend it. Our three cheeses were Ubriaco al Vino Rosso, an Italian hard cheese from Northern Italy, a West Australian brie from Dellendale in Denmark and Colsten Bassett Shropshire Blue, a lesser known blue from the same cheese makers as the famous English Blue Stilton. Kelli continued to be far too generous and offered me not one but two different wine matches to go with our cheese; thank goodness I wasn’t driving!

"coffee" "short machiatto" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Perth restaurants" "Perth food reviews" "swan valley" "Middle swan" "Swan Valley food reviews" "swan valley reviews" "swan valley gluten free" "Dear Friends Restaurant" "Dear Friends caversham" "Dear Friends" "Kiren Mainwaring" "Fine dining" "degustation" "local produce" "foraging" "Caversham" "vegetarian degustation" "vegetarian fine dining" "vegetarian" "vegetarian restaurant"

At last! A dego with coffee!

The concept of enjoying a coffee after a degustation is always so appealing. However most of our dego experiences are in the evening so unless I want to lay wide awake in bed all night I tend to end up drinking tea instead. I look on in envy at those that can drink coffee after dinner and then fall blissfully asleep. Being a lunch time meal I was in luck this time round as the time to sleep was still a long way off. Knowing this was a rare opportunity I made sure I savoured every last drop.

"petit fours" "Coffee nougat" "aerated dark chocolate" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Perth restaurants" "Perth food reviews" "swan valley" "Middle swan" "Swan Valley food reviews" "swan valley reviews" "swan valley gluten free" "Dear Friends Restaurant" "Dear Friends caversham" "Dear Friends" "Kiren Mainwaring" "Fine dining" "degustation" "local produce" "foraging" "Caversham" "vegetarian degustation" "vegetarian fine dining" "vegetarian" "vegetarian restaurant"

Petit fours: Coffee nougat and aerated dark chocolate (both gluten free)

It is easy to see why Dear Friends has maintained their position as one of Perth’s top restaurants for a number of years. Sommelier Kelli provides charming and faultless service whilst each dish clearly shows Kiren’s passion and love for his craft. A definite thumbs up from both of us; and as we walked away we were already planning our visit to their East Perth digs Co-Op Dining.

Dear Friends Restaurant
100 Benara Road, Caversham WA 6055 | (08) 9279 2815 | www.dearfriends.com.au
 
Price:                     $$$$ ($115 for a 7 course degustation, $70 for matched wine)    
Food:                    5/5 (each dish was filled with wonderment despite our different dietary requirements)
Service:                5/5 (charming, knowledgeable and with a humble sense of well-deserved pride)
Ambience:          4/5 (you do feel like you are in the country)
Drinks:                  4.5/5 (seamless matching of wines)
Total:                     18.5/20

 Dear Friends on Urbanspoon

Our Phuket Wedding Preparation & Accommodation at Andara Residences, Kamala, Phuket

Posted by  | Categories: Accommodation, Featured, Hotels, Restaurants, Thai, Thailand, Travel, Wedding

Part One: Finalising our Phuket Wedding Preparations!

Prior to getting engaged I often toyed around in my head with the idea of eloping off to somewhere exotic.  Like many people I have a divided family with my real parents and my respective step parents not exactly being the best of friends.  Having to brave getting all these loved ones in the same room sounded like a daunting feat and one that could prove best to avoid. Our engagement party at The George provided me with a safe way to test the waters and despite all the anxiety and tension in the build-up to the evening along with very disappointing customer service from the George’s staff;  everyone managed to get along wonderfully. In fact we all had an absolute ball. It dawned upon me that I should give my family much more credit.

As with all brides, the last few months before our big day flew past at the speed of light. No day seemed long enough and I forgot what it was like to relax. Some may say I got a bit pedantic about details however I prefer to see it as purely just ensuring everything was done properly and thoroughly. Consequently, despite previously being so paranoid that I wouldn’t be elegantly slim enough, in the last few weeks before the big day I could barely keep weight on for all the running around I did.

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Photo by Julian Wainwright Photography

Our wedding invitations were designed by Jessica, one of the lovely designers at Annie P Paperie.  My theme if you can call it that was “simple elegance”.  I didn’t want any froo-froo, lace, feathers or glitter and opted for letter pressed stationary instead.  Following with the Thai theme they designed me a simple “logo” of orchids intertwining gracefully around the edge of the page.  I used this design throughout our wedding; on our invites, personalised canvas tote bags used for the welcome gifts, small gift note pads, menus and name place cards. The orchid design was sent to the Bella Figura in New York where they used antique cast iron presses to make the invitations the old-fashioned way.

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Our beautiful Bella Figura invites

After visiting many different resorts in Phuket during our previous trip in November 2011, we both agreed unanimously that Andara was the place of our dreams. Andara has two accommodation options in its expansive resort; they have massive privately owned villas perched up high on the mountains and then they also offer smaller, apartment style residences lower down the scarp by the beach.

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The master bedroom

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We never got to try out the spa :(

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There were his and hers bathroom areas

Both are managed by the hotel and ooze luxury and attention to detail. We arrived about five days prior to all our wedding guests and initially stayed in one of their residences for a few days before moving into the opulent villa with our bridal party. Although the residences do not quite have the wow factor of the villa, each is still appointed with great care and attention. We were lucky enough to get upgraded to a pool residence for these few days and on arrival received a bottle of champagne on ice.

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The perfect place to unwind before our guest arrived

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The view from the residences is still pretty good!

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Some decent coffee to fuel our late night dancing

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The full sized (and stocked) fridge

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The spacious living area

Each residence has its own fully equipped kitchen, full sized fridge and all the utensils you would ever need while on holiday.  Not that we did any cooking. For four days we busied ourselves organising welcome packs, choosing wedding music, practising our dance and finishing off all the important little wedding details whilst the hotel’s room service kept us well fed. The kitchen went above and beyond to diligently ensure all my allergies were strictly catered for without sacrificing on taste.

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Smoked eggplant (room service)

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Ginger fish (room service)

Breakfast for the residence guests is served at the hotel’s only restaurant Silk.  They provide a combination of a continental style buffet coupled with a freshly cooked hot meal off their al la carte menu.  Every morning the food and beverage manager would come over to our table and reassure me that my gluten free bread and muffins along with my hot meal was on its way.  The gluten free muffins were sweet, coconutty and fluffy light and I had to stop myself from eating them all each morning. They were served warm and spread generously with Lescure butter they were close to heaven.

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Eggs benedict

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The gluten free muffins served hot

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The Main Pool

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Three egg omelette

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The Boy’s protein packed breakfast

If I hadn’t already had my socks knocked off by the impressiveness of our wedding villa then the Andara residences would have had the same effect. However I knew we were soon to move into even bigger and better lodgings and the beauty of our suite was somewhat lost on me. Looking back now on our stay there I can appreciate what stunning accommodation it was and for a couple travelling on their own the suites are a more affordable way to stay at Andara.

In my next Wedding blog post I will take you through our breath taking Villa where overlooking the Andaman Sea the Boy and I declared our vows to the world and became husband and wife!

For all my Phuket Wedding related posts click here

Andara Resort and Villas 
15 Moo 6, Kamala Beach, Kathu, Phuket 83150, Thailand

Food Styling and Photography Workshops with Billy Law @ The Terrace Hotel

Posted by  | Categories: Accommodation, Events, Featured, Modern Australian, Perth, Restaurants

As I approach my blog’s second birthday in September this year, I have been reflecting back on what I have achieved in these past two years. Starting from humble and amateurish beginnings I have strived to improve both my writing and photography style and understand this will forever be a learning curve for me. This constant growth and development gives a great sense of achievement and satisfaction. Blogging is and always will be my hobby and finding enough time alongside my day job as a small animal vet can sometimes be a bit of a challenge!

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The “rule of thirds”

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Turkish Bread & Hummus

One of the aspects of my blog that I want to improve is my food photography skills. I look at my hideously boring food styling and poor quality restaurant photos and dream wistfully that I had natural talent. Billy Law from A Table For Two is one of those people blessed with such a gift. His photos are always clean and crisp, enticing you to dive deeper and deeper into his blog. He was a finalist on Master Chef and has scored that all elusive book deal that so many bloggers dream of.

"Gourmet Tastes Platter" "Duck wontons" "San Daniele prosciutto" "chicken liver parfait" "pork rillettes" "squids cones" " "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Perth bars" "Perth restaurants" "Perth food reviews" "Perth Luxury Accommodation" "The Terrace Hotel" "Terrace Hotel" "billy Law" "Billy Law photography workshops" "Billy law food photography workshops" "A Table for two" "Master chef" "Perth City" "food photography"

Gourmet Tastes Platter: Duck wontons, San Daniele prosciutto, chicken liver parfait, pork rillettes, squids cones

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Ugh – square plates are so hard to shoot!

His food photography workshops are well known by foodies over east and generally sell out well in advance. So when he announced that he was planning to bring the workshop over West I took no hesitation in signing up. Held at The Terrace Hotel we were treated to a two day insight into his trade secrets paired with good food, wine and lots of laughter.

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Pan fried salmon, Asian greens, cucumber & coriander salad (GF)

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Slow cooked crispy Linley Valley pork belly, chorizo & broccoli salad, Spanish black pudding & Butternut pumpkin

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Amelia Park Lamb rack, sweet potato fondant, spinach puree, confit shoulder, white wine & rosemary jus (GF)

The first day was aimed at a beginner’s level teaching us how to get the most of our cameras regardless of whether it was a point-and-shoot compact or a niftier DSLR. We went through the basics of composition, white balance and he provided some helpful post processing tips. Billy went around the table and individually looked at each of our cameras to help us familiar ourselves with the manual settings. I was able to put his suggestions straight to work as food was continuously being brought to us. We certainly didn’t go home hungry!

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Creme caramel with mango sorbet (GF)

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Bitter chocolate & orange tart, creme fraiche & honeycomb

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Sticky date pudding, toffee ice cream, vanilla ice cream, toffee sauce

The second day was aimed at a more intermediate level and Billy showed us how to utilise props and lighting to get the best out of our shots at home. The attendees at this day included a wide range of people from passionate foodies and bloggers to professional photographers. The atmosphere was very informal and friendly and many of us exchanged business cards and twitter handles at the end of each day.

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The Terrace Hotel staff knew they were serving a roomful of bloggers so I have refrained from reviewing these meals as it would be impossible for me to give an accurate unbiased review. Throughout the day we were treated to very personalised and friendly service and I walked away impressed with the level of attention. I am keen to return for a meal incognito to discover whether this is true for all patrons.

A big thank you to Billy for making the trip over to Perth!

The Terrace Hotel
237 St Georges Terrace Perth WA 6000 | (08) 9214 4444 | http://www.terracehotelperth.com.au/

The Terrace Hotel on Urbanspoon

Mushroom Mania 2013: Red Cabbage Food & Wine Mushroom Degustation

Posted by  | Categories: Degustation/Fine dining, Desserts, Featured, Perth, Restaurants

Some of you may think I’m a bit insane throwing myself head first into the Mushroom Mania celebrations every year but I can assure you I am not the only one. In addition to a number of bloggers from around the country, there are many local chefs and food producers that join in the mushroomy celebrations. Last week I introduced you to Cris from Perth City Farm who is totally mad for his mushrooms, nurturing them carefully from spores to fruit with tenderness and loving care. And it shows; his mushrooms are packed full of flavour and were so meaty I swear they nearly tasted like chicken. For the second post in my Mushroom Mania series this year, I wanted to take it beyond just eating one or two mushrooms dishes. I wanted to find a talented chef who was willing to make me a whole mushroom themed degustation.  I approached Chef Scott O’Sullivan from the award-winning Red Cabbage Food and Wine in South Perth to see if he was keen. It turns out that he and his wife are big mushroom fans and he jumped at the opportunity to join in the fun!

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Our mushroom journey!

On arrival we were greeted warmly by Hazel O’Sullivan and shown to our table where our own personal mushroom menus were laid out ready for us. As my eyes gazed over each delicious looking course I knew we were in for a special treat. To start us off for the night, thickly sliced and toasted gluten free sour dough with olives and truffled honey were brought to the table. There was also some fresh brioche for the boy to eat that wasn’t gluten free.  The sour dough was soft with a lovely slightly sour after taste and it soaked up the truffled honey thirstily.

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Truffled honey, GF sour dough, brioche, olives

The truffle honey was, as I’m sure any of you who have tried it before, totally exquisite and was further enhanced by the addition of some fragrant fresh thyme. I was glad I brought my glucose tablets to counter act the fructose content in the honey so I could enjoy it liberally with minimal consequences. To be honest…even if I had forgotten those glucose tablets, I would have happily endured the suffering anyway. The honey was THAT good.

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Secret surprise!

Our second course arrived under a large glass dome filled with smoke. I love theatrics when I’m out dining; it makes the whole experience so much more of a show and brings some of the magic that happens in the kitchen out to us at the table.

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Mushrooms, toast, egg

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Mushrooms, toast, egg

The richly earthy flavours of fresh smoked shiitake and chanterelle mushrooms were the ideal amuse bouche for the commencement of this mushroom journey. The gluten free croutons were crunchy without being overly hard and left a sumptuous lingering buttery flavour in my mouth.

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Two of my favourite mushies: shiitake and chanterelle. Such strong flavours!

Pig's ear mushrooms (photo courtesy of thebaldgourmet.com)

Pig’s ear mushrooms (photo courtesy of thebaldgourmet.com)

Our next course of duck lasagne and seared scallops were a creative play on textures. Pig’s ear mushrooms were dehydrated to dry them out and then deep fried so that they had the consistency of potato crisps.  Combined with the velvety soft scallops and duck this was truly a wondrous dish. Being truffle season here in Western Australia, I was so pleased to see these fabulous fungi made a recurrent feature across our evening meal with some truffle jus drizzled romantically over this dish. Sorry you don’t get a visual on this one folks!

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Marron, sunchoke, salmon pastrami, shiitake, shimeji, soy

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Marron, sunchoke, salmon pastrami, shiitake, shimeji, soy

I love it when food is synonymous with art and as our evening progressed I began to understand that Chef Scott shares a similar passion. Each dish was presented in a precise and methodical manner with every component so carefully planned and prepared. The marron and salmon pastrami matched well with the stronger flavours of the shimeji and shiitake mushrooms. There were crisp fried nuggets of sunchoke, dollops of carrot purée and mushroom ketchup along with lashings of sticky sweet soy caramel.

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Most excitingly, my truffle obsession was fuelled furthermore with generous shavings of fresh Manjimup truffle falling across my plate like millionaire’s snowflakes.

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Cep macaron, olive parsnip

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Cep macaron, olive parsnip

Like many, I am a macaron addict. These little morsels are as good a pick-me-up for me as a block of chocolate and the very thought of eating them always makes me all girlie and excitable. Over the years I have tried all sorts of macaron flavours as they are such a versatile little treat with the incredible capacity to contain a wide variety of flavours. However I have never eaten a MUSHROOM macaron before so I was so impressed with this course. A gorgeous little cep mushroom macaron sat perched on a parsnip stalk laying on bed of olive and white chocolate snow with a scoop of parsnip ice cream. Too cute!

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Venison, chanterelle, foie gras, cherry & pistachio

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The cherry “bomb” discretely hiding in there

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Close of of those flavourful chanterelles

For our final main course those distinctly flavoured little chanterelle mushrooms featured alongside succulent venison and creamy cubes of foie gras.  On a bed of celeriac puree and scattered with pistachios and fresh cherries, the sweet and sour aspects of this dish complemented the venison magically. Buried in amongst all the treasure was a cherry “bomb”. Cherry puree and cherry vinegar encased in a thin film made from a seaweed gelling agent exploded with a POW in my mouth releasing so much flavour my eyes nearly watered. Incredible!

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Pumpkin, pear, blue & cheddar

Our next course is one of my favourite parts of a degustation; the cheese course. This cheese course was like no other I have tried before.  Expecting some slivers of cheese, crackers and slices of fruit I fascinated to see that Chef Scott put just as much creative thought into this course as he had the rest of the meal. A smear of subtly sweet pumpkin puree was sprinkled with crumbled Irish Cashel Blue cheese and Lancashire cheddar. Instead of some comparatively boring slices of pear there was a scoop of soft pear sorbet.

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Apple, quince & rhubarb

As our degustation started to draw to a close I reflected back on what we had eaten so far and was surprised with the modest size of dishes. This is a degustation for the hungry; they are quite generous with portion sizes considering we had nine courses to get through yet I wasn’t feeling excessively overindulged. I was chuffed to see that two of the nine courses were desserts and I recall the desserts at Red Cabbage being very memorable. Our first dessert course was called apple, quince and rhubarb.  This relatively messy looking dish interestingly gave a different sensation with each mouthful by alternating with textures, temperatures, sweetness, creaminess and tarty sourness.

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Chocolate coffee and wattle

You cannot go wrong serving me a dessert that is based on chocolate. It is (one) of my true Achilles heels and I struggle to avoid binging on it if it is in the cupboard at home. For our final course in this evening of excellence we were served a soft cube of chocolate mousse surrounded by chocolate and coffee “rocks” and accompanied a velvety scoop of brown butter ice cream. This was such a wonderful way to end our evening.

The service to our table for the whole night was absolutely seamless with Hazel providing me with some excellent wine matching recommendations. Having visited Red Cabbage a number of times some year ago, I was impressed to see how this restaurant has grown and matured to have their own signature style of artistic food that I expect from other top venues in Perth such as Restaurant Amuse. Their passion for quality and service shines through and we both look forward to returning again in the near future.

This restaurant was reviewed as part of Mushroom Mania month which is happening all across Australia during July 2013. Head to the Power of Mushrooms website for loads of mouth-watering mushroom recipes plus if you write your own review on a mushroom dish you could win one of 40 $100 restaurant vouchers!
 
Disclosure: Chompchomp dined at Perth City Farm with compliments of the Australian Mushroom Growers Association.
 
Red Cabbage Food + Wine
49/15 Labouchere Road, South Perth WA 6151 | (08) 9367 5744 | http://redcabbagefoodandwine.com.au/

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La Boqueria Market - Mercat de la Boqueria; Barcelona

Posted by  | Categories: Attractions, Barcelona, Featured, Markets, Spain

The Boqueria Markets in Barcelona date all the way back to the 1400s when a pig market existed on the same site where the markets exist today. It wasn’t until hundreds of years later in 1826 that these markets were legally recognised and shortly later an official undercover structure was built. Unlikely most things in Spain, the Boqueria markets get well under way by mid-morning and so I advise you to get there well before 12 pm. I made the mistake of fueling up at my hotel’s breakfast buffet and arrived at the markets with a full belly.  Definite fail.  Next time I am in Barcelona, I will be sure to arrive at Boqueria Markets hungry. Very hungry.

These markets are filled will all sorts of fresh local produce and if your accommodation has kitchen facilities I suggest you do your food shopping here! Or better still grab yourself some provisions and head to Park Guell for a picnic in the Spanish sunshine.

I spent several hours wandering the market aisles taking it all in; sights, smells and bustling atmosphere. Here’s a taste of the excitement.

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La Boqueria is located just off La Ramblas and is open from 8am until 8.30 pm Monday to Saturday.

http://www.boqueria.info/index.php

Mushroom Mania 2013: Perth City Farm and the GRO Project

Posted by  | Categories: Breakfast/Brunch, Featured, Modern Australian, Perth, Restaurants, Vegetarian

This year is my second year that I have been selected as one of fourteen bloggers from around Australia to participate in Mushroom Mania.  This is a campaign run by the Australian Mushroom Growers Association in the month of July every year where they join thousands of restaurants, cafes, bistros, pubs and clubs to celebrate the wondrous mushroom.  They spread their message through both traditional and online media and run competitions where you can win $100 restaurant vouchers. For the past few years they have embraced food blogs as a way to communicate with foodies and recruit a handful of us to do what we do best, go out to restaurants, eat and shoot food then go home and write about it.  The only catch is that we have to eat dishes containing mushrooms!

Now this is an easy task for me. Mushrooms have got to be one of my favourite ingredients and I am not lying when I say I eat them daily. Last year my Mushroom Mania posts were two very different experiences. Firstly we visited the stunning Millbrook Winery in Jarrahdale where after our meal the manager took us mushroom foraging and we then dined at Divido, Mouth Hawthorn where three out of four courses contained mushrooms including some black truffles!

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This year I was keen to learn more about these highly nutritious fungi so I met up with Cris Douwes from Perth City Farm where their recently funded GRO project has commenced growing their own organic mushrooms. Perth City Farm is a not-for-profit organisation funded by government grants and is helped out by many volunteer workers. The mushrooms that they grow are served in local cafés and restaurants including their own café, and they also sell them in both fresh and dry forms at their weekend organic farmer’s market. The plan is eventually to expand this business commercially once they are happy they have their formula perfected.

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I love seeing someone who is passionate about their job, we spend so much of our lives working it seems negligent to your own happiness to not follow in pursuit of something you love.  Within minutes of meeting Cris I could tell that mushrooms really rocked his world. He was a wealth of knowledge and proudly showed us around the farm detailing how his mushrooms are grown.

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Fungi are known to be the biggest organism on the planet with the  fungi mycelia being able to spread over large distances over thousands of years. Mushrooms are the “fruit bodies” of fungi and are part of their reproductive state. In nature fungi have to compete with many other organisms.  In order to maximise growth of mushrooms in a commercial situation, they must be grown on pasteurised substrate in a very controlled environment giving them exclusive access to all nutrients.

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At Perth City Farm they lessen the impact coffee production businesses have on the environment by utilising coffee by-products to grow their gourmet mushrooms on. Left over coffee husks and grounds that would normally be discarded as rubbish are turned into nutritious soil compost. As the fungi grow on this substrate they recycle the by-products into what can then be sold as garden compost. To make the substrate for mushrooms to grow on, they have to pasteurise it to remove all other organisms. In summer this is achieved by use of their solar-powered “oven” which can reach temperatures of over 85 degrees Celsius in summer. In winter they are unable to achieve adequate temperatures with this oven and instead use a 44-gallon drum which they heat using steam that is powered by natural gas burners.

The sterile coffee by-product substrate is then inoculated with the mushroom’s spores (mycelium) in front of a laminar flow hood that was kindly donated by King Park. The laminar flow hood provides a sterile air environment to prevent any contamination.  They currently have fungal cultures that are able to grow a variety of edible mushrooms including Pearl Oysters, Gold Oysters, Shiitake, King Oysters, Grey Oysters, Pink Oysters, Blue Oysters, Ulmarius and Phoenix. The inoculated bags of mycelium mixed with substrate are then kept in a climate controlled dark room and allowed to grow into a solid white brick called a “cake”. This is the fungi in its vegetative state and it will continue to grow until it runs out of nutrients.

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In order to turn this hardened bag of fungi into the delicious fruits we call mushrooms it needs to be triggered into its reproductive state. There are four triggers needed for fruiting: fresh air exchange, light, temperature change (shock) and humidity. Cris informed us it is an art form to get the balance of these trigger factors in the “fruiting room” just right. As we cast our eyes around his fruiting room it looked like he was pretty close to cracking the code.

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Oyster mushrooms with City Farm herbs, goats cheese & gluten free toast.

Just as we finished our tour the chef came over to us with a plate piled high with what looked at first glance to be pieces of chicken.  My eyes widened as I learnt that the delightfully fleshy dish was actually made purely of oyster mushrooms that had been freshly harvested.  The mushrooms were lightly sautéed using fresh organic herbs from their garden and topped with some goat cheese and crisp rocket. Even a seasoned mushroom lover like myself was left surprised how meaty this dish seemed and I can understand why some people call it the meat for vegetarians!

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Chickpea and roasted vegetable salad

"Oyster mushrooms" "herbs" "goats cheese" "gluten free toast" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Perth bars" "Perth restaurants" "Perth food reviews" "Perth City Farm" "sustainable restaurant" "Perth City Farm cafe" "Mushrooms" "mushroom growers" "mushroom mania" "australian mushroom growers" "perth cafe" "organic cafe"

Oyster mushrooms with City Farm herbs, goats cheese & gluten free toast.

The Boy is an avid gardener and had dashed out in his lunch break to join us on the farm tour so he ordered a salad for something quick before returning to work.  Richly coloured roast vegetables, more flavoursome herbs and chickpeas turned his vegetarian salad into a satisfyingly filling express lunch that he wolfed down before departing quickly.

"Soft boiled eggs" "dukkah" "buttered soldiers" "grilled mushrooms" "gluten free bread" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Perth bars" "Perth restaurants" "Perth food reviews" "Perth City Farm" "sustainable restaurant" "Perth City Farm cafe" "Mushrooms" "mushroom growers" "mushroom mania" "australian mushroom growers" "perth cafe" "organic cafe"

Soft boiled eggs, dukkah, buttered soldiers with grilled mushrooms

"Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Perth bars" "Perth restaurants" "Perth food reviews" "Perth City Farm" "sustainable restaurant" "Perth City Farm cafe" "Mushrooms" "mushroom growers" "mushroom mania" "australian mushroom growers" "perth cafe" "organic cafe"

Grilled mushrooms from the farm

"Soft boiled eggs" "egg porn" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Perth bars" "Perth restaurants" "Perth food reviews" "Perth City Farm" "sustainable restaurant" "Perth City Farm cafe" "Mushrooms" "mushroom growers" "mushroom mania" "australian mushroom growers" "perth cafe" "organic cafe"

Well its not like I was going to miss out was I?

The café staff were much too kind to us and refused to let us pay for our lunch despite our retorts so we decided to sneakily return the next day as a fee paying customer. I ordered some soft-boiled eggs with dukkah and gluten free buttered soldiers accompanied by some more grilled mushrooms.  My eggs were perfectly dippable coating each strip of toast in yellow happiness. The dukkah was a flavoursome addition to this simple favourite. The farm’s fresh herbs featured again in the grilled field mushrooms dish although these were nearly as meaty as the oyster mushrooms the previous day.

"Eggs Benedict" "soft poached eggs" "free range ham" "baby spinach" "house made hollandaise" "organic ciabatta" "Egg porn" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Perth bars" "Perth restaurants" "Perth food reviews" "Perth City Farm" "sustainable restaurant" "Perth City Farm cafe" "Mushrooms" "mushroom growers" "mushroom mania" "australian mushroom growers" "perth cafe" "organic cafe"

Eggs Benedict

"Eggs Benedict" "soft poached eggs" "free range ham" "baby spinach" "house made hollandaise" "organic ciabatta" "Egg porn" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Perth bars" "Perth restaurants" "Perth food reviews" "Perth City Farm" "sustainable restaurant" "Perth City Farm cafe" "Mushrooms" "mushroom growers" "mushroom mania" "australian mushroom growers" "perth cafe" "organic cafe"

Eggalicious

Neither of us had woken up very well that morning and in my sleepiness I think I accidentally ordered the Boy Eggs Benedict instead of the requested vegetarian version; the Eggs Florentine. He wasn’t very impressed with the sight of meat on his plate and I felt a bit bad for my careless error.  Aside for the unwanted addition of ham, the rest of the dish was very much to his liking most notably the house made hollandaise, which he found rich and buttery with a slight tang.

Perth City Farm Café is a must visit breakfasty-brunch spot in Perth. For those who have grown their own produce at home you will appreciate the freshness of their home-grown ingredients. Your body will love you for eating organic and most importantly you will be minimising the impact your meal has on the environment.

This restaurant was reviewed as part of Mushroom Mania month which is happening all across Australia during July 2013. Head to the Power of Mushrooms website for loads of mouthwatering mushroom recipes plus if you write your own review on a mushroom dish you could win one of 40 $100 restaurant vouchers!
 
Disclosure: Chompchomp dined at Perth City Farm with compliments of the Australian Mushroom Growers Association.
Perth City Farm Café
1 City Farm Road, East Perth WA 6004 | 0418 594 408 | perthcityfarm.org.au
 
Price:                     $
Food:                    4/5 (home grown, seasonal fresh produce and gooey eggs)
Service:                4/5 (everyone obviously loves working here)
Ambience:          4/5 (feels like a country garden in the city)
Drinks:                  4/5 (Rubra coffee is a winner)
Total:                     16/20 

 City Farm Cafe on Urbanspoon

Food For Me, Victoria Park

Posted by  | Categories: Breakfast/Brunch, Burgers & Snags, Coffee, Featured, Perth, Restaurants

We rocked up obliviously late for lunch just as Food For Me was near their closing time hoping to grab a bite to eat.  I still hadn’t twigged that they were about to shut and began to peruse the menu at which point the waiter politely informed me the kitchen was closed.  Not perturbed in any way he kindly smiled and offered to reheat some of the food from the cabinet for us. After apologising profusely for our ignorance we accepted his offer.

"Spinach frittata" "bacon" "feta" "pinenuts" "frittata" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "travel blog" "Breakfast" "brunch" "coffee" "Food For Me, Victoria Park" "Food For Me" "Victoria Park" "Vic Park" "Vic Park Cafe" "Albany Highway" "organic"

Spinach, bacon, feta and pinenut frittata

I selected the spinach frittata with bacon, pine nuts and feta plus a beetroot and spinach salad.  The frittata was light and set firmly without being chewy or unpleasant.  The salad was obviously reaching the end of its life span but seeing as we had rudely barged our way in at the thirteenth hour I figured this to be expected at this time of day.

"Spinach beetroot and feta salad" "beetroot" "salad" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "travel blog" "Breakfast" "brunch" "coffee" "Food For Me, Victoria Park" "Food For Me" "Victoria Park" "Vic Park" "Vic Park Cafe" "Albany Highway" "organic" "vegetarian"

Spinach, beetroot and feta salad

The Boy ordered one of his time old favourites; the beef lasagna. Thick with meaty sauce and gooey cheese the lasagna connoisseur gave it the big thumbs up.  We both vowed to return when both the kitchen and the coffee machine were switched on and see what these guys could do.

"Beef lasagne" "pasta" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "travel blog" "Breakfast" "brunch" "coffee" "Food For Me, Victoria Park" "Food For Me" "Victoria Park" "Vic Park" "Vic Park Cafe" "Albany Highway" "organic"

Beef lasagne

A few weeks later I attended Rob Broadfield‘s sold out seminar on food writing at the Hyatt with Foodie Cravings and Perth Munchkin. Rob gave us some useful tips on how to write captivating restaurant reviews worthy enough to publish in the well-known West Australian Good Food Guide. The day also served to give him an opportunity to scope for new reviewers as each delegate had to submit an 80 word café or bar review. I found it amusing that basically we were all paying for the chance to have an interview!

It started off a stunning morning with clear blue skies and a crisp breeze so I chose to walk into the city.  Halfway through the four-hour seminar I began to regret this decision as my stomach let out some clearly audible grumblings and my head started to spin.  Talking about food wasn’t helping my situation much either. As soon as the seminar was over I met up with the Boy and headed straight to Food For Me, Victoria Park for lunch.

"coffee" "essenza" "short macchiato" "espresso" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "travel blog" "Breakfast" "brunch" "coffee" "Food For Me, Victoria Park" "Food For Me" "Victoria Park" "Vic Park" "Vic Park Cafe" "Albany Highway" "organic" "vegetarian"

A bit more milk than I usually prefer but still delightful

Serving locally roasted Essenza coffee, the beans are ground on demand and you can smell the aroma as soon as you walk into the café. The coffee is quite sweet and creamy without any strong bitterness or bite.

"Zucchini and corn fritters" "corn fritters" "zucchini fritters" "avocado" "mixed greens" "poached free range egg" "egg" "preserved lemon" "dill and chilli dressing" "egg porn" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "travel blog" "Breakfast" "brunch" "coffee" "Food For Me, Victoria Park" "Food For Me" "Victoria Park" "Vic Park" "Vic Park Cafe" "Albany Highway" "organic" "vegetarian"

Zucchini and corn fritters

Although they do serve gluten free toast I wasn’t in the mood for bread and chose the zucchini and corn fritters.  I didn’t expect such a huge meal and with half a brilliant green avocado, tossed salad and two poached eggs I was thankful I did walk earlier in the morning.  All that bridal weight loss was returning back to my hips in a very fast fashion. The fritters were filled brim full of corn, each ear popping with freshness in my mouth.

"Zucchini and corn fritters" "corn fritters" "zucchini fritters" "avocado" "mixed greens" "poached free range egg" "egg" "preserved lemon" "dill and chilli dressing" "egg porn" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "travel blog" "Breakfast" "brunch" "coffee" "Food For Me, Victoria Park" "Food For Me" "Victoria Park" "Vic Park" "Vic Park Cafe" "Albany Highway" "organic" "vegetarian"

The proof is in the heart of the egg

My poached eggs were satisfyingly gloopy and I couldn’t stop myself from grabbing a quick yolk-porn shot.  Heavenly. The preserved lemon, chilli and dill dressing had a sweet almost maple syrupy flavour to it and I had to resist licking the last of it off my empty plate before they were taken away.

"Chicken burger" "chicken tenderloin" "mayonnaise" "relish" "bacon" "cheese" "burger" "dude food" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "travel blog" "Breakfast" "brunch" "coffee" "Food For Me, Victoria Park" "Food For Me" "Victoria Park" "Vic Park" "Vic Park Cafe" "Albany Highway" "organic"

Chicken burger

The Boy nearly ordered himself a steak sandwich before he stopped himself and changed to a chicken burger instead. Juicy tenderloins were buried in the burger among some bacon, cheese and lettuce. Their breads are sourced from Barrett’s Bakery in Nedlands where they hand make all their bread without adding any additives. The burger bun was soft but resilient and despite the constant drip of mayonnaise and relish it retained its shape and body until the very end.

"Chocolate brownie" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "travel blog" "Breakfast" "brunch" "coffee" "Food For Me, Victoria Park" "Food For Me" "Victoria Park" "Vic Park" "Vic Park Cafe" "Albany Highway" "organic" "vegetarian"

Chocolate brownie (gluten free)

When we were up at the counter ordering our meals, our waiter talked up their gluten free brownies claiming them to be outrageously good.  After finishing off the last of my fritters my curiosity got the better of me and I sidled back up to the counter to order one to share.  Rich and moist, the brownie lived up to his hype and was laced with some tart raspberries to balance out the sweetness. There was no crumbliness common to gluten free slices and our spoons fought over the last mouthful.

Breakfast in Vic Park can often be a bit of hit and miss.  Having visited Food For Me on a number of occasions now I can safely say they are on my list of hits. Loads of gluten free options, fresh mostly organic produce and friendly staff they really have got their recipe right.  We will be returning for sure.

Food For Me
877 Albany Highway, East Victoria Park, 6101 | (08) 9472 0333 | http://www.foodforme.com.au/
 
Price:                     $$
Food:                    4/5 (loads of GF options, make sure you try their brownie!)
Service:                4/5 (super positive friendly vibe)
Ambience:          3/5 (try and nail a table outside in the sun) 
Drinks:                  3.5/5 (creamy luscious coffee) 
Total:                     15.5/20
 Food For Me on Urbanspoon

Breakfast at No 4 Blake Street, North Perth

Posted by  | Categories: Bistro, Breakfast/Brunch, Coffee, Featured, French, Perth, Restaurants

The downside of having a destination wedding is that you have to prepare yourself that there will be some of your friends and family that you really want to be there but for whatever reason they will be unable to attend.  The Boy and I understood this fact from the outset and were so incredibly grateful for all that were able to join us whilst remaining totally sympathetic to those who could not.  One of my dearest friends Fran whom I have known since my early University days was one of those guests who unfortunately were unable to come.  She only recently bought her own business and as a result of her dedication, hard work, blood, sweat and tears it was growing steadily at a rewarding rate.  Upon our return to Perth, we were both keen to tally up a lunch date to share our stories and fill her in on my wedding details.

"Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "North Perth" "Breakfast" "brunch" "coffee" "No 4 Blake Street" "No 4 Blake Street, North Perth" "Degustation" "tom's kitchen" "modern Australian" "french"

A delicious display but alas not for me.

I recently read a mouth-watering review on Foodie Cravings on a new restaurant opened up in North Perth called No 4 Blake Street. As Fran lived north of the River and was pushed for time; I thought it was the perfect half way point to meet up.  Located on a quiet road off Fitzgerald Street this recently opened venue is open for breakfast and lunch all week and dinner from Tuesday through to Saturday. They have a decent range of gluten free options including gluten free bread and are happy to alter dishes to suit food allergies. They have even recently started offering evening degustation.

"Croque Madame" "ham and cheese" "Emmental cheese" "bechamel" "sandwich" "toastie" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "North Perth" "Breakfast" "brunch" "coffee" "No 4 Blake Street" "No 4 Blake Street, North Perth" "Degustation" "tom's kitchen" "modern Australian" "french"

Croque Madame

Fran ordered the Croque-Madame; a classic French snack of a toasted ham and cheese sandwich with a fried egg on top.  Using Emmental Cheese and their house ham with a little béchamel sauce smeared in there these simple but delicious ingredients were made for each other.

"gluten free bread" "gluten free toast" "sautéed mushrooms" "mushrooms" "baby spinach" "feta" "Pedro vinegar" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "North Perth" "Breakfast" "brunch" "coffee" "No 4 Blake Street" "No 4 Blake Street, North Perth" "Degustation" "tom's kitchen" "modern Australian" "french"

Mushrooms on GF toast

I realise that I tend to be a bit of a mushroom addict and do have a bad habit of over ordering them for my breakfast but this time I simply couldn’t resist. Medallions of juicy sautéed mushrooms were piled generously high with baby spinach, feta and Pedro vinegar on no less than three slices of fresh toasted grainy gluten free bread. Now that I’m off the bridal diet I found it so liberating to eat every last morsel on my enormous plate without any guilt that my dress wouldn’t fit me! The mushrooms oozed with flavour and the spinach salad was carefully dressed to maximise taste without being overbearing.

"Chocolate" "Cointreau" "Elderberry" "pear" "truffle" "earl grey" "high tea" "tea" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "North Perth" "Breakfast" "brunch" "coffee" "No 4 Blake Street" "No 4 Blake Street, North Perth" "Degustation" "tom's kitchen" "modern Australian" "french"

Three little dickey birds all in a row…

Despite being quite full, I really wanted to check out more of their food and enquired which of the desserts were gluten free.  Unfortunately I was informed there were none suitable! What a shame, I was so impressed with their ability to cater for me up until this point. Us gluten free peeps love sweet too.  The waiter did feel bad for me and said he would head to the kitchen as see what they could find.  He returned fairly promptly with a selection of three chocolates: Cointreau, Elderberry and Pear.  If this didn’t happen to be my second breakfast for the day I would feel left a little sad on missing out but thankfully these luxurious bites were about all my stomach had room for.

No 4 Blake Street is definitely a place I have to come back and check out again, hopefully next time round there will even be some desserts so we can do their dego!

No 4 Blake Street
4 Blake St North Perth, 6006 WA | (08) 9444 6678 | http://www.no4blakestreet.com.au/
 
Price:                     $$ (Breakfast/Lunch $7-26, Dinner $70: 3 courses, $90: 5 courses, High Tea $42-62)
Food:                    3.5/5 (only had one dish so hard to assess plus there were no GF desserts)
Service:                4.5/5 (friendly, warm and welcoming)
Ambience:          4/5 (surprisingly funky and suave for a suburban joint)
Drinks:                  3.5/5 (I didn’t end up ordering a coffee as I had already had three that morning; another excuse to return)
Total:                     15.5/20
 
 No 4 Blake Street on Urbanspoon

Four Brunch Hot Spots in Melbourne

Posted by  | Categories: Breakfast/Brunch, Coffee, Desserts, Featured, Melbourne, Restaurants

I am always a little torn having my homes in a number of places around our vast country. Having lived in Perth for most of my adult life it is obvious that this is the main place I love to call my home. However to add to this, my Mum lives in Adelaide and returning back there to the house I grew up in I get that familiar sensation like I am returning home.  To complicate things further, my Dad has lived in Melbourne with my Step mum for nearly twenty years and in many ways staying with them also feels very homely! I often wonder when we eventually return back to London where the Boy and I lived for several years, would this feel like another home to me? How many places can one call home before it starts to get a bit over the top?

Over the past six months, I have been fortunate enough to have the need to return my “home” in Melbourne several times for my wedding dress fittings at Luci Di Bella. A bride needs sustenance for such endeavours and here are my recent top four Brunch Hot Spots in Melbourne.

Cooper & Milla’s

"Raspberry meringue" "dessert" "desserts" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "travel blog" "Melbourne food blog" "melbourne restaurant reviews" "Melbourne brunch" "Melbourne breakfast" "Melbourne gluten free" "breakfast" "brunch" "cake" "Brunch Hot Spots in Melbourne" "Armadale" "High Street" "Cooper and Milla's" "Cooper & Milla's" "alfresco dining"

Raspberry meringue

After a bit of an emotional experience at the first wedding dress fitting, Mum and I wandered down High Street in Armadale in search of some gluten free friendly fare.  We stumbled upon Cooper and Milla’s and were drawn in by their spectacular window display of treats and salads.

 "Passionfruit creme brulee" "desserts" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "travel blog" "Melbourne food blog" "melbourne restaurant reviews" "Melbourne brunch" "Melbourne breakfast" "Melbourne gluten free" "breakfast" "brunch" "cake" "Armadale" "High Street" "Cooper and Milla's" "Cooper & Milla's" "alfresco dining"

Shop counter deliciousnesses

Like children in a candy store we wandered in all wide-eyed and totally distracted by all the adorable cakes and tarts on the counter. I had to consciously remind myself that I had a wedding waistline to watch and physically forced my eyes away from the many delicious desserts. I shall make sure to return here again to sample some of their dulcet delights.

"Blueberry & lemon cake" "desserts" "carrot cake" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "travel blog" "Melbourne food blog" "melbourne restaurant reviews" "Melbourne brunch" "Melbourne breakfast" "Melbourne gluten free" "breakfast" "brunch" "cake" "Brunch Hot Spots in Melbourne" "Armadale" "High Street" "Cooper and Milla's" "Cooper & Milla's" "alfresco dining"

Blueberry & lemon cakes and more

Thankfully not all their fare is sugar laden and piled high in the window was a stunning looking seared tuna Nicoise salad and once noticing it my attention was easily dragged away from the cakes and onto this seemingly healthy yet vibrantly coloured snack.

"Brunch Hot Spots in Melbourne" "Tuna Nicoise" "salad" "healthy" "seafood" "tuna" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "travel blog" "Melbourne food blog" "melbourne restaurant reviews" "Melbourne brunch" "Melbourne breakfast" "Melbourne gluten free" "breakfast" "brunch" "cake" "Armadale" "High Street" "Cooper and Milla's" "Cooper & Milla's" "alfresco dining"

Tuna Nicoise

My Mum didn’t take much convincing and before long we were both enjoying the sunshine sitting outside at their alfresco dining area feeling proud of ourselves for our dietary choices.

Riverland

The following day on Christmas Eve there was a lot of market shopping to do in preparation for our big day of feasting. Getting up bright and early the Boy and I walked down to the river with my Dad & Stepmum for some hearty breakfast.  Right on the banks of the Yarra River near Federation Square is a gorgeous little spot Riverland.

"Brunch Hot Spots in Melbourne" "dogs" "pooches" "Cocker Spaniel" "American Cocker Spaniel" "cute dogs" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "travel blog" "Melbourne food blog" "melbourne restaurant reviews" "Melbourne brunch" "Melbourne breakfast" "Melbourne gluten free" "breakfast" "brunch" "cake" "Riverland Bar" "Riverland" "federation Wharf" "Federation square" "Melbourne CBD"

The Pooches

My parents are regular locals there and the staff all know their three Cocker Spaniels by name.  As we arrive one of the waitresses brings over a bowl of water for the pooches as Dad places our order to include toast for the dogs.  (I might add that this is not something his diligent veterinarian daughter advocates as good nutrition for his dogs!)

"Brunch Hot Spots in Melbourne" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "travel blog" "Melbourne food blog" "melbourne restaurant reviews" "Melbourne brunch" "Melbourne breakfast" "Melbourne gluten free" "breakfast" "brunch" "cake" "gluten free bread" "poached eggs" "roasted mushrooms" "feta""Riverland Bar" "Riverland" "federation Wharf" "Federation square" "Melbourne CBD"

BYO gluten free bread with poached eggs, roasted mushrooms, feta

Unfortunately they do not stock any gluten free bread so I always come prepared and bring a couple of slices of my own. They have always been happy to toast this for me.  I love their poached eggs with roasted mushrooms topped with a big glob of feta. The mushrooms can be a little oily sometimes however and I occasionally need to blot the oil off with a serviette!

Lindt Chocolate Café

After a full day of last-minute Christmas shopping the Boy and I headed back home which took us up Collins Street and past the Lindt Café.  Now before any of you say anything,  I understand that this café cannot really be classified as a brunch spot but being a ridiculously obsessed Lindt chocolate addict I felt it would be negligent for me to pass this café by.  The interior of the café is initially quite impressive with high ceilings and everything seemingly glittering in gold.  We made our way through to the back of the store into the café and were shown to our seats.  After this we appeared to become invisible for quite some time despite the appearance of adequate staff and minimal customers. I hate that feeling when you try to catch a waiter’s eye and they look right through you like you are not even there.

"Brunch Hot Spots in Melbourne" "Christmas Delice" "macaron" "macarons" "chocolate" "Lindt chocolate cafe" "hot chocolate" "dessert" "Almond cake" "mousse cake" "St Moritz" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "travel blog" "Melbourne food blog" "melbourne restaurant reviews" "Melbourne brunch" "Melbourne breakfast" "Melbourne gluten free" "breakfast" "brunch" "cake" "Lindt chocolate" "melbourne cafes" "melbourne chocolate" "Collins Street" "Melbourne CBD"

THE hot chocolate

As this place is well known for its hot chocolate the Boy simply couldn’t resist.  Piping hot milk served with molten Lindt chocolate on the side; this decadent treat filled the hungry hole in his belly satisfactorily.  Not wanting to eat too much dairy as I tend to get eczema outbreaks, I avoided the milk and satisfied myself by licking the remaining chocolate from his little jug with my finger! Such bad manners!

"Brunch Hot Spots in Melbourne" "Christmas Delice" "macaron" "macarons" "chocolate" "Lindt chocolate cafe" "hot chocolate" "dessert" "Almond cake" "mousse cake" "St Moritz" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "travel blog" "Melbourne food blog" "melbourne restaurant reviews" "Melbourne brunch" "Melbourne breakfast" "Melbourne gluten free" "breakfast" "brunch" "cake" "Lindt chocolate" "melbourne cafes" "melbourne chocolate" "Collins Street" "Melbourne CBD"

St Moritz

After the hot chocolate the Boy protested that he really did not need the St Moritz cake I had strongly encouraged him to order.  Hey, if I can’t enjoy any of the cakes (as they are not gluten free) at least I can live vicariously through his gastronomic experiences! Despite his complaints he still managed to eat his way through the silky layers of alternate dark, milk and white chocolate mousse each separated by a thin layer of almond cake. The cake was topped with ultra-thin squares of Lindt dark chocolate with a generous dusting with cocoa powder.

"Brunch Hot Spots in Melbourne" "Christmas Delice" "macaron" "macarons" "chocolate" "Lindt chocolate cafe" "hot chocolate" "dessert" "Almond cake" "mousse cake" "St Moritz" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "travel blog" "Melbourne food blog" "melbourne restaurant reviews" "Melbourne brunch" "Melbourne breakfast" "Melbourne gluten free" "breakfast" "brunch" "cake" "Lindt chocolate" "melbourne cafes" "melbourne chocolate" "Collins Street" "Melbourne CBD"

Christmas Delice

Now don’t be fooled into thinking I sat there empty handed watching the Boy indulge.  Other than buying some chocolate for the road, my main reason for entering the café was to stop for a “Mac attack”.  The Christmas Delice macaron is seasonally exclusive and is filled with Christmas spices and a white chocolate filling. Although it had a good layering of flavours it was a little lost on texture and lacked the thin outer crisp sensation. It also was an unusually shaped with one side half the size of the other!

"Brunch Hot Spots in Melbourne" "Christmas Delice" "macaron" "macarons" "chocolate" "Lindt chocolate cafe" "hot chocolate" "dessert" "Almond cake" "mousse cake" "St Moritz" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "travel blog" "Melbourne food blog" "melbourne restaurant reviews" "Melbourne brunch" "Melbourne breakfast" "Melbourne gluten free" "breakfast" "brunch" "cake" "Lindt chocolate" "melbourne cafes" "melbourne chocolate" "Collins Street" "Melbourne CBD"

Christmas Delice

The European

After a memorable time on Christmas Day with my family eating and drinking all the excesses imaginable, Boxing Day quickly followed and I realised it was soon time for the Boy and I to jump on a jet plane and head home.  I was torn between the emotions of being sad it was all over whilst excited that the next family celebration would be our wedding day! Despite feeling very hung over and sluggish, we managed to squeeze in a last minute brunch catch up with Mum at The European on Spring Street.

"Brunch Hot Spots in Melbourne" "spanish eggs" "Madrid eggs" "Huevos madrileños" "baked eggs" "black pudding" "chorizo" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "travel blog" "Melbourne food blog" "melbourne restaurant reviews" "Melbourne brunch" "Melbourne breakfast" "Melbourne gluten free" "breakfast" "brunch" "cake" "The European" "Short Macchiato" "coffee" "short macchiato" "Melbourne CBD" "Spring Street" "The European Restaurant"

Short Macchiato

The European is one of my favourite regulars in the Melbourne CBD and this French-Spanish-Italian hybrid is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week making it easy to slip in a visit each Melbourne trip. Although they do not have gluten free bread, there are a number of gluten free breakfast options and their menu goes well beyond the standard choices. Their coffee is particularly moreish and after drinking the A to Z of booze the day before I quickly ordered a second macchiato while we waited for our meals.

   "Brunch Hot Spots in Melbourne" "Goat’s cheese omelette" "cheese" "goat cheese" "eggs" "vegetarian" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "travel blog" "Melbourne food blog" "melbourne restaurant reviews" "Melbourne brunch" "Melbourne breakfast" "Melbourne gluten free" "breakfast" "brunch" "cake" "The European" "Short Macchiato" "coffee" "short macchiato" "Melbourne CBD" "Spring Street" "The European Restaurant"

Goat’s cheese omelette

As the three of us sat in the sun in silence I started to the caffeine course through my veins and push my sleepy brain kick into gear and wake up. We hadn’t seen Mum on Christmas Day as she had spent the day with my sister so we had much to catch up on; what we ate, what presents did we received and what memorable good times we all had. I was feeling a little on the queasy side so I ordered the goat’s cheese omelette which had all the light fluffiness my delicate stomach lining needed and helped make me feel human again.

"Brunch Hot Spots in Melbourne" "spanish eggs" "Madrid eggs" "Huevos madrileños" "baked eggs" "black pudding" "chorizo" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "travel blog" "Melbourne food blog" "melbourne restaurant reviews" "Melbourne brunch" "Melbourne breakfast" "Melbourne gluten free" "breakfast" "brunch" "cake" "The European" "Short Macchiato" "coffee" "short macchiato" "Melbourne CBD" "Spring Street" "The European Restaurant"

Huevos madrileños: baked eggs, black pudding, chorizo

The Boy wanted something a little more substantial and enjoyed his “Huevos madrileños”; baked eggs with black pudding and chorizo served with toasted ciabatta. I wish I had room for his choice as it looked amazing. I am in love with Spanish style baked eggs and his oozy gooey eggs didn’t disappoint. True food envy plagued me for most of the day and my only consolation was thanks to my gorging efforts the day before, I doubt I had any room in my tummy for them anyway!

Cooper & Milla’s
1094 High Street, Armadale VIC 3143 | (03) 9500 8127
 
Price:                     $$ ($10-16.50 breakfast)
Food:                    4/5 (I need to get back and try some sweets!)
Service:                3.5/5 (casual, no table service)
Ambience:          3/5 (hive of activity, funky)
Drinks:                  3/5
Total:                     14/20
Cooper & Milla's on Urbanspoon
 
Riverland
Vaults 1-9, Federation Wharf, Melbourne VIC 3000 | (03) 9662 1771 | www.riverlandbar.com
 
Price:                     $$ ($7-20 breakfast)
Food:                    3/5 (not bad, a little heavy on the grease, BYO gluten free bread)
Service:                3.5/5 (relaxed and friendly)
Ambience:          4/5 (sitting by the river watching boats go by…)
Drinks:                  3.5/5
Total:                     14/20
Riverland on Urbanspoon
 
Lindt Chocolat Café
271 Collins Street, Melbourne CBD VIC 3000 | (03) 9667 0900 | www.lindt.com.au
 
Price:                     $$
Food:                    3/5 (it’s Lindt chocolate, it was always going to be amazing, pity about the macaron)
Service:                2/5 (get better service at McDonald’s)
Ambience:          2/5 (surprisingly poor)
Drinks:                  4/5 (get the hot chocolate)
Total:                     11/20
Lindt Chocolat Café on Urbanspoon
 
The European
161 Spring Street, Melbourne CBD VIC 3000 | (03) 9654 0811| www.theeuropean.com.au
 
Price:                     $$ ($8-19 breakfast)
Food:                    4/5 (interesting breakfast options, no gluten free bread)
Service:                4/5 (quick and efficient)
Ambience:          3.5/5 (sit outside for breaky, a bit too dark inside)
Drinks:                  4.5/5 (coffee is the bomb!)
Total:                     15.5/20
The European on Urbanspoon

Gusto Food, South Perth

Posted by  | Categories: Breakfast/Brunch, Coffee, Featured, Perth, Restaurants

With only a few days to go before we fly out for our wedding in Thailand, I was feeling stressed and under the pump.  I had taken the last week off work to finish of all the last-minute things however the more I got done the more I found I still had to do.  Despite being so time-poor I needed some time out and openly welcomed a proposal for a quick catch up over breakfast from a close friend Tracy.  She was soon to be joining us in Thailand and wanted to meet up before we left.

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Our usual coffee order!

Last time we saw each other was during another breakfast date at Sayers Sister. Hustling for a car park in Northbridge was such a pain but our meals we enjoyed there were worth it.  This time round to save time I chose somewhere more local that I had heard good things about on Foodie Craving’s blog; Gusto Food, South Perth.

"Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "South Perth" "Gusto Food, South Perth" "Gusto Food" "angelo Street" "Breakfast" "brunch" "coffee" "caffe Saccaria"

Just the way I like it!

Our coffees were literally being prepared as we were ordering our food and so no sooner had we sat down than they were brought over to our table.  My macchiato was made just how I like it, with just a dash of milk and no more. Gusto uses an imported brand of premium Italian coffee Caffé Saccaria.

Our first ten minutes of conversation centred on my recent wedding planning endeavours and all the enjoyment and stress that come with it. Tracy and I don’t get to catch up very often so it was great fun to share what details I could without spoiling anything for her.

"Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "South Perth" "Gusto Food, South Perth" "Gusto Food" "angelo Street" "Breakfast" "brunch" "coffee" "caffe Saccaria" "French toast" "bacon" "caramelised bananas" "honeycomb" "dessert" "sweet"

French toast with bacon and caramelised bananas

Being so short of time I was thankful our meals arrived quickly.  I ordered some poached eggs on gluten free toast and Tracy ordered the French toast. To our surprise out came the most massive serve of thick cut French toast piled high with bacon, berries and caramelised bananas.  There were even chunks of honeycomb perched on top.  What incredible value. There was no way I could see Trace getting through it all. She informed me the only complaint she had with her dish was the bacon was too fatty, but otherwise worth the indulgence!

"Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "South Perth" "Gusto Food, South Perth" "Gusto Food" "angelo Street" "Breakfast" "brunch" "coffee" "caffe Saccaria" "Poached eggs" "gluten free toast" "spinach" "roasted tomato"

Poached eggs on gluten free toast with spinach and roasted tomato

I had already been up for a several hours and had my first breakfast, so I figured being a bride I had best limit the size of my second breakfast of the day! In my hurry and fluster I forgot to get the all-important egg goo shot for those fans out there but suffice to say one of my eggs got the tick of approval, my other egg was soft but goo-less.

"Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "South Perth" "Gusto Food, South Perth" "Gusto Food" "angelo Street" "Breakfast" "brunch" "coffee" "caffe Saccaria" "Poached eggs" "gluten free toast" "spinach" "roasted tomato"

The juiciest tomato

My side serve of roasted tomato and spinach really stole the show with this meal.  The spinach was slippery soft and immersed in very naughty amounts of melted butter. The tomato had been roasted with balsamic sweetness and served with the cutest little skewer.  If both my eggs were poached to heavenly I would be tempted to say this was one of the better breakfasts I have had in a long time. I will have to return again before making my final judgement.

Gusto Food
86 Angelo Street, South Perth WA 6151 | (08) 9367 3512 | Facebook
 
Price:                     $$ ($15-20 per meal)
Food:                    3.5/5 (lost marks for the fatty bacon and firm egg)
Service:                4.5/5 (so quick and attentive despite being reasonably busy)
Ambience:          3.5/5 (cute café vibe)
Drinks:                  4/5 (creamy, not too bitter and just the right temperature)
Total:                     15.5/20

 Gusto Food on Urbanspoon

Brunch with Ma at The Store, North Adelaide

Posted by  | Categories: Adelaide, Breakfast/Brunch, Coffee, Featured, Restaurants, Travel

Adelaide holds a close place to my heart.  I spent much of my impressionable teenage years there and much of that helped to culture the type of person I am today.  The real joy of returning to Adelaide however is largely because it is the home town of my dearest Mother.  I am a fiercely independent person much to the annoyance of those close to me; but I cannot deny that it would make my life so much better if I was able to spend more time with my Ma.  She is my best friend, my confidant, my comforter and my inspiration.  She is one of the best cooks, has a gifted touch in the garden and can always make me laugh until I cry.  I love her so much!

"kitchen" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "breakfast" "brunch" "adelaide restaurant reviews" "brunch adelaide" "breakfast adelaide" "gluten free adelaide" "melbourne street" "North Adelaide" "Adeladie food blog"

Kitchen side at The Store

During my whirlwind trip over to Adelaide in November for Eat Drink Blog 3 Mum and I managed to squeeze in a quick catch up for breakfast at The Store on Melbourne Street, North Adelaide. She already checked that this place had a number of gluten free options available and was keen to revel in some wedding chit-chat.  She was still on the hunt for her outfit for the big day and wanted to check out a cute boutique a few doors down from The Store meaning we could kill two birds with one stone.

"Poached free range eggs" "eggs" "gluten free toast" "mushrooms" "roasted tomato" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "breakfast" "brunch" "adelaide restaurant reviews" "brunch adelaide" "breakfast adelaide" "gluten free adelaide" "melbourne street" "North Adelaide" "Adelaide food blog"

Poached free range eggs on gluten free toast

Theoretically with the grotesque amount of food I had eaten at the Eat Drink Blog, one would think I would no longer be hungry.  But I always find overindulgence has a way of stretching my stomach capacity thus allowing me to continue spiralling into the depths of excess. I was craving some poached egg action and ordered myself some along with their gluten free toast, roasted tomato and mushrooms.

"Poached free range eggs" "eggs" "gluten free toast" "mushrooms" "roasted tomato" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "breakfast" "brunch" "adelaide restaurant reviews" "brunch adelaide" "breakfast adelaide" "gluten free adelaide" "melbourne street" "North Adelaide" "Adelaide food blog"

Poached free range eggs on gluten free toast

A big pile of rich earthy mushrooms tumbled across my plate next to some herbed roasted tomatoes and two softly poached eggs.  A quick pierce with a knife into my egg’s internals confirmed success as their yellow innards billowed out onto my gluten free toast.

Having also eaten a big meal the night before Mum opted for something very light ordering the fruit salad with the vanilla yoghurt on the side. Being used to the small serves and high prices of Perth I thought this was good value but having not eaten out much in Adelaide recently I have nothing but my hometown to compare with.  The fruit was as fresh as summer leaving Mum with a small amount of room to fit in some sweets to share!

"fruit salad" "salad" "vegetarian" "raw" "grapes" "watermelon" "rockmelon" "strawberry" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "breakfast" "brunch" "adelaide restaurant reviews" "brunch adelaide" "breakfast adelaide" "gluten free adelaide" "melbourne street" "North Adelaide" "Adelaide food blog"

Fruit salad

I skipped over to the counter to find out what gluten free cakes were available.  My choices included an orange almond cake (the bog standard) and a heavy-looking chocolate mud cake.  I am growing quite weary of the orange almond option and knew my Mum would never turn down chocolate.  I definitely inherited my chocolate addiction gene from her.

"Flourless chocolate mud cake" "chocolate cake" "gluten free cake" "mud cake" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "breakfast" "brunch" "adelaide restaurant reviews" "brunch adelaide" "breakfast adelaide" "gluten free adelaide" "melbourne street" "North Adelaide" "Adelaide food blog"

Flourless chocolate mud cake

Within minutes the two of us devoured our succulent treat and hand in hand headed off down Melbourne Street in search of an outfit worthy of the mother-of-the-bride. Alas we were in no luck this time but at least I got to share one of those precious moments with my Mum that many take for granted.

The Store
157 Melbourne Street, North Adelaide SA 5006 | (08) 8361 6999 | www.thestore.com.au
 
Price:                     $$ ($7-18 Breakfast, $7-18 Entrée, $19-29 Mains)
Food:                    3/5 (simple, fresh food using local ingredients sourced from Adelaide Central markets)
Service:                4/5 (unable to not notice beaming smiles and happy vibe amongst staff)
Ambience:          3/5 (reminds me of the décor in Dome cafes in Perth)
Drinks:                  3/5 (their own blend of coffee from a local South Australian company called Coffee World, it was creamy and light in flavour)
Total:                     13/20
 

The Store on Urbanspoon

The Beaufort Street Merchant, Highgate

Posted by  | Categories: Breakfast/Brunch, Coffee, European, Featured, Perth, Restaurants

A wonderful part of being a food blogger is discovering and connecting with other food blogs.  The downside of this is that it is a time consuming business and on top of running a business, working full-time and maintaining my own blog; it is sometimes an uphill battle finding the time to read all posts from those I have grown to love and enjoy. Consequently I find myself grouping favourite blogs into the “must reads”, “read when you have time” and “visit occasionally” categories.

"Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Brunch" "breakfast" "beaufort street" "highgate" "Beaufort Street Merchant, Highgate" "Beaufort Street Merchant" "mt Lawley" "mount lawley" "Chew town" "eggs"

Persian Delight Jelly by Chew Town (photo courtesy of Chew Town)

Chew Town is definitely in the first category for me.  Not being excessively prolific in her posts, she posts often enough to support my interest without making it impossible for me to stay up to date. Her photography is breathtaking and she deservedly won 2nd prize for the photography awards at the Eat Drink Blog conference last year. But it’s not just her blog that is awesome.  In sharing a number of common interests we created a foundation for the pen-pal styled friendship common to the blogging community which was finally made a reality thanks to the magic that was Eat Drink Blog 2012.

"Chorizo" "spanish omelette" "cheese" "onion" "gluten free toast" "eggs" "rocket" "Manchego" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Brunch" "breakfast" "beaufort street" "highgate" "Beaufort Street Merchant, Highgate" "Beaufort Street Merchant" "mt Lawley" "mount lawley" "Chew town" "eggs"

Chorizo & Manchego

Originally from Perth, Amanda returned to the West for the silly season and thus we were determined to catch up despite my insane roster placing me on a run of 11 out of 12 days straight.  The only time we could tally up was the morning of New Year’s Eve and we met at The Beaufort Street Merchant for some brunch. The Boy was sweet enough to drop me off and so bidding him farewell I said I’d meet him back at the same spot in an hour and a half.

"Chorizo" "spanish omelette" "cheese" "onion" "gluten free toast" "eggs" "rocket" "Manchego" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Brunch" "breakfast" "beaufort street" "highgate" "Beaufort Street Merchant, Highgate" "Beaufort Street Merchant" "mt Lawley" "mount lawley" "Chew town" "eggs"

Chorizo & Manchego

I ordered the Chorizo and Manchego Spanish omelette. Foolish me, in my excitement and chatter I forgot to request no onion and it was a predominate ingredient. I still managed to successful pick the onion out and enjoy my meal. My serving size was absolutely enormous and would have easily fed two people even without the onions! Topped with a fresh crisp rocket salad and thick syrupy balsamic dressing this dish was quite an impressive sight. The toasted gluten free bread was spongy and light, with that springy resilience normal toast eaters take for granted.

"bagel" "scrambled eggs" "smoked trout" "seafood" "fish" buttered leeks" "leeks" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Brunch" "breakfast" "beaufort street" "highgate" "Beaufort Street Merchant, Highgate" "Beaufort Street Merchant" "mt Lawley" "mount lawley" "Chew town" "eggs"

Toasted bagel

Amanda ordered the toasted bagel which was served with hot smoked trout, slippery scrambled eggs and buttered leeks. Again the serving size was huge and all my hopes for getting her to help finish my own giant sized meal were squashed as she had trouble finishing her own.

Now those that know me well can appreciate that I can talk. Well, suffice to say Amanda gives me a run for my money. In what felt like half an hour, no less than two and half hours passed us by during which I had failed to observe 5 missed calls from the Boy who meanwhile was waiting in the heat out in the car for me. Eeeek. Am I the worst fiancé ever? After a number of failed attempts at contacting me, he decided to abandon ship and strolled up to the Queens where I found him enjoying a pint of beer under the water misters. Sheepishly guilty I hurried off to the bar to order the poor hungry man some food and more beer. I didn’t get a chance to stroll through the store at the back of The Beaufort Street Merchant and will be sure to return with an empty stomach and more time in the near future.

The Beaufort Street Merchant
 
488 Beaufort Street, Highgate WA 6003 | (08) 9328 6299 | http://www.beaufortmerchant.com/
 
Price:                     $$                           (Breakfast $15-22)
Food:                    4/5 (interesting options for breaky, large serves, fresh produce)
Service:                2.5/5 (slow with taking drinks orders and with delivery of food)
Ambience:          3.5/5 (great vibe, noisy)
Drinks:                  4/5 (coffee strong and not too bitter)
Total:                     14/20

 The Beaufort Street Merchant on Urbanspoon

Wasabi Devilled Eggs

Posted by  | Categories: Breakfast/Brunch, Recipes
Wasabi Devilled Eggs
Author: 
Recipe type: Finger Food
Prep time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 6-8
 
Ingredients
  • 8 large eggs
  • ⅓ cup mayonnaise
  • 1½ teaspoons gluten free wasabi paste
  • 2 teaspoons unseasoned rice-wine vinegar
  • 2 large scallions (3 tablespoons), minced (I OMITTED THIS INGREDIENT TO MAKE IT FRUCTOSE FRIENDLY)
  • Coarse salt
  • Pea shoots or sprouts, for garnish
Instructions
  1. Prepare an ice-water bath. Place eggs in a medium saucepan. Add enough cold water to cover eggs by about 1 inch. Bring to a boil. Cover, and remove from heat. Let stand 13 minutes.
  2. Drain, and transfer eggs to ice-water bath until cold. Peel eggs, and halve lengthwise.
  3. Transfer yolks to a medium bowl, and mash with a fork until smooth. Stir in mayonnaise, wasabi, vinegar, and scallions. Season with salt. Pipe or spoon filling into whites.
  4. Garnish with pea shoots or sprouts.

Recipe with much thanks from www.marthastewart.com/food

 

 

Some Snippets from my Gluten Free Christmas Indulgences!

Posted by  | Categories: Degustation/Fine dining, Desserts, Featured, Melbourne, Recipes

Christmas is the time of year when the distance that separates me from my family feels the longest. December is our busiest month at work so I can only return back home for the silly season once every few years. This year I had booked our flights well in advance to avoid the last-minute price blow outs; flights across the continent triple in price around this time of year as people arrange to visit their family and friends.

Because we would not be in Perth to join the Boy’s family for Christmas Day, we agreed to celebrate our family lunch the weekend before our departure in a casual pool party affair at our house. However, in the lead up to flying out my work pressures were at boiling point so in order to avoid having a mental breakdown I opted for simple fresh dishes that were bound to please the Boy’s very hungry family!

"Prawns" "Kailis Bros Fish Market" "shrimp" "Leederville" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "recipe blog" "gluten free recipe" "Christmas gluten free" "Christmas" "lunch" "seafood" "entertaining"

Fresh North-west Prawns from Kailis Bros Fish Market, Leederville

"Wasabi devilled eggs" "appetisers" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "recipe blog" "gluten free recipe" "Christmas gluten free" "Christmas" "lunch" "seafood" "entertaining"

Wasabi devilled eggs

These wasabi devilled eggs were so quick to prepare and were snuffled up in minutes. Even by those who don’t really like wasabi!

"Christmas crackers" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "recipe blog" "gluten free recipe" "Christmas gluten free" "Christmas" "lunch" "seafood" "entertaining"

There was no room on the table for Christmas crackers!

"Smoked salmon" "potato blinis" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "recipe blog" "gluten free recipe" "Christmas gluten free" "Christmas" "lunch" "seafood" "entertaining"

Smoked salmon on potato “blinis”

To replace the classic blinis that smoked salmon is traditionally served on, I baked these little potato “blinis”. They turned out a bit more like a rosti but still managed to complement the flavour of the fish without overpowering it. Being baked and not fried they were light and not oily at all.

"Mixed tomato salad" "basil" "balsamic vinagrette" "vegetarian" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "recipe blog" "gluten free recipe" "Christmas gluten free" "Christmas" "lunch" "seafood" "entertaining"

Mixed tomato salad with fresh basil and balsamic vinaigrette

"Roasted beetroot" "roast pumpkin salad" "rocket" "hazelnuts" "feta" "vegetarian" "salad" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "recipe blog" "gluten free recipe" "Christmas gluten free" "Christmas" "lunch" "seafood" "entertaining"

Roasted beetroot and pumpkin salad with hazelnuts and feta

"beef eye fillet" "pesto" "Rosas gourmet sauces" "proscuitto""Proscuitto wrapped pesto beef fillet" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "recipe blog" "gluten free recipe" "Christmas gluten free" "Christmas" "lunch" "seafood" "entertaining"

Prosciutto wrapped pesto beef fillet

For mains I cooked a prosciutto wrapped beef eye fillet using some of my Dairy Free Pesto Sauce sent to me complementary to try by Roza’s Gourmet Sauces.  The original recipe used a Wattle Valley Chunky dip so I adapted and added chopped cashews. I was secretly hoping that after all our starters the Boy and I would end up with a fridge full of left overs but everything obviously tasted too good because alas there was slim pickings in the fridge the next day.

"Christmas tree" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "recipe blog" "gluten free recipe" "Christmas gluten free" "Christmas" "lunch" "seafood" "entertaining"

Nothing beats a real live Christmas tree. The wonderful smell filled the loft apartment.

"Christmas Day" "fruit mince pies" "Pannetone" "cherries" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "recipe blog" "gluten free recipe" "Christmas gluten free" "Christmas" "lunch" "seafood" "entertaining"

The essential Christmas Day nibbles: succulent cherries, fruit mince pies, pannetone

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The adorable Lily. She has stolen my father’s heart…he is besotted with her.

The following weekend we jetsetted over to Melbourne where we were to celebrate with my family. My Mum had also flown in from Adelaide so we could all be together. The schedule was a busy one: wedding dress fitting on day one, followed by some last-minute Christmas shopping, an indulgent night out on Christmas Eve at Rockpool with my Mum and then a day of festivities with eleven people and seven dogs at my Dad and step mum’s house on Christmas Day.  Here are some more snap shots of our memorable day!

"Flowers" "table setting" "christmas decorations" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "recipe blog" "gluten free recipe" "Christmas gluten free" "Christmas" "lunch" "seafood" "entertaining"

The most exquisite fresh flower Christmas table setting

"Ropiteau" "Nuits Sainte george" "Bordeaux wine" "red wine" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "recipe blog" "gluten free recipe" "Christmas gluten free" "Christmas" "lunch" "seafood" "entertaining"

Cracking out the favourites for family!

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Puts my salmon to shame! Beetroot marinated salmon gravlax.

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Christmas Nativity

I apologise for the lack of photos of our mains; but for those interested we feasted on honey roasted ham, cranberry and macadamia stuffed turkey and roast pork with crackling. In my eagerness to get stuck in and eat I totally forgot to take photos! The best I can offer you is a shot of the duck fat potatoes.

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Duck fat potatoes…oh yeah!

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Christmas pudding goodness. Just not for me. Not to worry! I have my own!

My Step mum’s sister owns a cake shop and so it was logical that she was delegated to make the Christmas pudding for everyone. I have grown accustomed to missing out on this fabulous end to a traditional Christmas feast but this year I was so lucky  as the lovely folks from Just In Time Gourmet had kindly delivered to my front door a sample of Newcastle’s Pudding Lady gluten free pudding for me to taste test.

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My gluten free Christmas pudding

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No crumbling or stodginess. A gluten free success.

Moist, rich and overtly fruity I accepted that while a fructose overdose was inevitable (and tolerable) I was to relish in the knowledge that no serious gluten aftermath would follow. With freshly made brandy cream drizzled on top this was a delightfully decadent way to end a feast. For those gluten intolerants out there…grab one while you still have the chance or risk having to wait another whole year!

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Topped with home made brandy cream. In heaven.

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Chocolate nut Christmas tree

Hoping all my lovely readers had a very Merry Christmas and best wishes for a fabulous New Year!

 

 

A last minute bestie binge at Harvest Espresso Victoria Park

Posted by  | Categories: Breakfast/Brunch, Coffee, Featured, Perth, Restaurants

I am quite an unconventional bride.  At the time we got engaged; the Boy and I had already been together for over ten years and bought both a house and a business. It’s not that either of us is against marriage, it just wasn’t a priority for us at the time.  After getting engaged I have found the whole process of planning for a wedding very gradual as I am not one of those girls that have all the details of their big day planned out in their heads before their respective other has even popped the question.

It was the day my Bestie was to fly out to Vietnam for three weeks to finish her yoga teacher training course and we were both feeling the guilt of neglecting our friendship.  Not because either of us meant to avoid each other by any means, we just had so much going on individually in our own lives that time got the better of us and before we knew it; her departure day had arrived.

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Creamy deliciousness. I didn’t like the wooden spoons though.

Luck was on our side as I had the morning off work and she didn’t fly out until the afternoon. I arrived at her house bright and early with the aim to take her out for breakfast as a farewell present, a Christmas present and a belated birthday present all rolled into one.  To minimize our travel time and thus maximize our time together I headed to the new café Harvest Espresso opened up on Albany Highway only a short walk from our house.

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The morning’s freshly baked treats

The small café has a very welcoming feel to it and you almost feel like you are entering someone’s rustic country kitchen with lots of natural light flooding in.  We could feel the energy and excitement from the staff that often accompanies a new business venture.

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My mac was gone a in few seconds flat!

The coffee served is Five Senses and the barista knows how to brew.  Both our short macchiato and soy latte were served at the perfect temperature and if I hadn’t already had a double shot of my Nespresso at home I could have easily had another.  My Bestie on the other hand didn’t hold back on seconds.

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Poached eggs, mushrooms and wilted spinach

I ordered the poached eggs on gluten free toast paired with some wilted spinach and mushrooms.  A little unimaginative I guess but I was really in the mood for some poached egg molten goo action. I truly tend to find myself defining a good breakfast by the chef’s ability to poach an egg having failed at this miserably a number of times at home myself.

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The proof is in the goo. Tell me when you get sick of these shots!

My eggs did not disappoint.  As I gently sliced into the soft egg white, out ruptured the yolk like a burst of golden sunshine. In a flurry I grabbed for Gordon, my SLR camera to capture that lovely moment that never fails to excite me.   I cannot help but fall in love with the obligatory goo shot (sorry for those that tire of my poached egg obsession).

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Harvest Spanish Baked egg

After seeing some mouth-watering photos of the Harvest Spanish baked egg on their Facebook page; I persuaded the Bestie to give them a try. Served in a ceramic baking dish with chorizo, cabbage, tomatoes, cannellini beans and a sprinkling of paprika we were told this was their most popular dish.  We order an extra egg to be cracked in there for good measure.  After initially casting envious eye on the state of my eggs to her delight she was met with a similar experience of her own.  She happily mopped up all the flavoursome sauce mixed with runny egg with a big grin of satisfaction on her face.

We were determined to “push the boat out” and make this breakfast last for a long as we possibly could so ordering a second course was a must.  Although we have spent months apart before, the idea of spending three weeks separated from each other this close to my wedding wasn’t exactly best case scenario but unfortunately unavoidable.

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Pistachio friand

There was a lovely collection of home baked single serve tarts and muffins beautifully displayed near the counter.  My only option for a gluten free choice was the cutest and nearly pointlessly small sized pistachio friand.  If I wasn’t so stuffed with everything I had eaten so far I may have been a little disappointed. Or maybe I would have just had two.  But for this occasion the single mouthful was just right. Perhaps in the future they plan to have some more adult sized gluten free desserts?

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Lemon curd tart

Not entirely bound by the restrictions of gluten free diet the Bestie was easily coerced into ordering a lemon curd tart. She initially planned on just scooping out the curd and leaving the pastry base but after a couple of zesty mouthfuls she realised that the pasty was an essential part.  She agonised over the right words to describe her dish and ended on the conclusion that it was a hit regardless of how you described it.

Adequately fuelled for her long trip, we drove to the International Airport singing and laughing the whole way.  She has some exciting times ahead and I am so happy for her.

A bientôt ma chérie! Good luck! xxxxx

Harvest Espresso
629 Albany Highway, Victoria Park 6100 | 0416 397 088 | Facebook
 
Price:                     $$ ($9-20/meal, Cash only)
Food:                    4.5/5 (eggs are amazing, need more GF sweet treats!)
Service:                4.5/5 (super friendly positive vibe, proud of their café and the food)
Ambience:           4/5 (light, airy and homely)
Drinks:                  5/5 (5 Senses coffee. What can I say!?)
Total:                     18/20
 

Harvest Espresso on Urbanspoon

Fairmont Hotel, Singapore

Posted by  | Categories: Accommodation, Breakfast/Brunch, Hotels, Singapore, Travel

Our last visit to Singapore was during a stopover ten years ago en route to London where we lived for a number of years.  We had spent our last few weeks in Perth burning all the candles at every end bidding our friends farewell and by the time we arrived in Singapore we were left feeling like a clump of melted wax.  We were young and comparatively naïve and got easily caught up in the flurry of hotel booked tours and commercialised tourist traps.

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The view from our room

Fast forward to the present and we are now both savvy travellers; we know what we enjoy and more importantly how to find it.  Consequently I was super excited to be returning to Singapore to attend a close friend’s wedding armed with a multitude of eating recommendations from all my fellow blogging friends.

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The view from our room

The wedding banquet was to be held at Fairmont Hotel so to simplify things we took opportunity of the discounted group rates and stayed there. The location is very central being walking distance to the harbour, CBD and Marina Bay Sands; and has a subway train station in the shopping complex attached to the hotel.  Public transport in Singapore is quick, efficient and easy to use.  We actually discovered it to be a quicker way to get around the central city than a taxi. 

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Fairmont Room

We stayed in the Fairmont Room which is their most basic room; however it was relatively spacious with a lounge chair, extremely comfortable king sized bed, fully equipped working desk and a private balcony overlooking the city. 

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Lovely Le Labo products

There was a selection of bathroom amenities using Le Labo products scented with their signature Rose 31 fragrance. The thought of rose fragrance conjures up in my mind subtle, underwhelming, floral scents so when I took a waft of the luscious hand cream I wasn’t expecting the complexity of spice and woodiness.  Other components of this fragrance include cedar wood, cumin and olbanum giving a sexy, nearly masculine scent.  We only stayed for two nights but I ensured to clear away the products each service to ensure getting refreshed with another batch!

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The mini-bar was small but had the essential ;)

Another highlight of our room was the addition of a Nespresso machine.  Since my Mum gifted to us a Nespresso machine for our engagement last year, I have realised my coffee addiction has been lifted to new heights and I cannot start my day without a decent coffee.

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Oh no!

My initial excitement at seeing a Nespresso machine was short-lived when I realised the only pods on offer were in fact the only pods I didn’t like! Thankfully a Nespresso Boutique was not far from our hotel and before long I was back in 7th coffee heaven.

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Breakfast buffet

Breakfast is served buffet style downstairs at their Italian restaurant Prego.  I always find Asian hotels offer a much great variety of foods for breakfast buffet than our Australian counterparts and this buffet was no exception. Gluten free bread was available on request however unfortunately none of the buffet food was sign posted whether it was gluten free so I was a little nervous in knowing in what I could and couldn’t eat.  The non-allergic Boy on the other hand went nuts and piled his plate high of an assortment of curries, pastries and meats topped with a pile of crispy bacon.

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Breakfast buffet – the bacon was so crispy

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The donut tower

On our second day in Singapore we returned fairly late back to our room after a full day walking around the city. The wedding banquet was to be held that evening so we planned to quickly beautify ourselves ready for a few pre-dinner drinks to set the mood for the occasion.  To our dismay, on entering our room we were confronted by the same mess we had left hours earlier that morning. Housekeeping had forgotten to clean our room! I cannot deny this is a major oversight for a premium hotel establishment and I couldn’t help but be annoyed that I had to wait for fresh towels before I could start getting ready for the evening celebrations.  Consequently we missed out on the pre-drinks and had to rush straight to the wedding reception.

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Despite this frustrating hiccup the Fairmont Hotel in Singapore proved to be a great accommodation option for us during our recent stay.  The central location, reasonable room rates and well-appointed room made our whirlwind 2 day stay an enjoyable and comfortable one.  Our only complaint (other than our un-made room) was we didn’t have enough time! As a result we have decided to stop over again on our way home from our wedding to finish off our hit list of must-eats!

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Fairmont Singapore

80 Bras Basah Road, Marina Bay, 189560 Singapore | www.fairmont.com/singapore

Tripadvisor reviews 
 
Food:                                    3.5/5 (based on buffet breakfast at Prego only)
Service:                                2.5/5 (check out process was slow, housekeeping forgot our room)
Rooms:                                 4/5 (clean, well-appointed and spacious, BTW the bed is the BOMB)
Location:                              4.5/5
 
Total:                                     14.5/20
 

 

Sayers Sister, Northbridge

Posted by  | Categories: Breakfast/Brunch, Coffee, Featured, Modern Australian, Perth, Restaurants

I have worked at the same practice for nearly ten years. It has been both an unavoidable yet enjoyable experience to form strong bonds with some of my team members over this period of time. Despite wishing that all my good staff would stay with me forever, I respect that people’s lives change and they move on.  When a true friendship is formed in addition to a professional relationship it actually ceases to become that important that you remain working together as you will always stay in touch with each other.

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Bright, airy with communal tables

It was sad to lose Tracy from our highly talented team of vet nurses, but dealing with other people’s naughty animals can be emotionally trying work and like many others she eventually got fed up with her career choice. Tracy and I share a lot in common: we love our food and wine, have similar alternative music tastes and appreciate the finer things in life. After a few months of settling into her new job we realised we must make more effort to catch up socially and organised a brunch outing sans children and men.

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Frittata freshly made

Sayers Sister is the new venture by Mark and Steph Sayers in the leafy suburban part of Northbridge.  The original café Sayers Food in Leederville has been open since 2006 and continues to fill up with hordes of hungry people every morning.  It appears that Sayers Sister is following in her footsteps and similarly shares in such popularity. To my relief Tracy managed to score us table only minutes before the morning rush began.  As we sat and sipped our coffees, we watched people eagerly queuing out the door and down the street desperate for a table.

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Scrambled eggs, citrus salmon gravlax, Persian feta & gluten free toast

As many of my dear readers may know, I have an infatuation with poached eggs. I truly believe one of the simplest and most satisfying things in life is that burst of molten sunshine when you gently cut into them.  So to prove to myself I’m not entirely predictable, I decided to order the scrambled eggs.  Folds of foamy eggs flopped over the plump gluten free toast and were draped generously with citrus salmon gravlax.  I gasped at the size of my dish; this was one serious looking breakfast! The eggs literally dissolved in my mouth however I didn’t enjoy my gluten free toast as much as last time.  It was slightly under-toasted leaving a slight doughy aftertaste.

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Buttermilk pancakes, blueberry compote & lemon posset

Tracy chose the buttermilk pancakes with blueberry compote and lemon posset.  Her serving size was not for the light hearted either and you can be rest assured that the men in your life will not walk away from this place hungry.  The lemon posset was set like custard and so delicately fragrant.  With Tracy’s encouragement, I couldn’t resist a little taste.  Imagine creamy lemon butter crossed with a soft gooey pudding. It was totally divine.

Sayers Sister sure does give her sibling a run for her money.  The ambiance is much brighter, lighter and has more energy and as seen by the lengthening queue as we left it is hitting the spot for many punters.  I thought the execution of the food could have been slightly improved; toast is not a hard thing to make however this was made up for by the use of extremely fresh ingredients, an interesting menu and very good coffee.

Sayers Sister
236 Lake St, Northbridge WA 6000 | (08) 9227 7506 | Facebook
 
Price:                     $ ($11-22 for breakfast meals)   
Food:                    4/5 (great menu choices, huge meals)
Service:                4/5 (similar vibrancy and warmth as at Sayers)
Ambience:           4/5 (fresh flowers, communal tables, bright, clean open kitchen)
Drinks:                  4.5/5 (5 senses coffee…winning)
Total:                     16.5/20

Sayers Sister  on Urbanspoon

Sayers Food, Leederville

Posted by  | Categories: Breakfast/Brunch, Coffee, Perth, Restaurants

Dispersed throughout my eleven year friendship with my Bestie there has been prolonged times of separation where we have lived in different cities, states and even on different continents.  In true testament to our strong connection to each other, distance has only ever served to make the heart grow fonder.  In the past when our times together were limited, our catch ups would often tend toward the excesses and we both have a number of scars and hilarious but foggy memories to remind us.

In more recent times, we are lucky enough to finally both be settled down in the same city.  No longer do we have to schedule our fun times to those infrequent occasions when our paths cross as we only live a short drive away from each other. Impromptu brunches and sleep overs can now be a regular occurrence. After an exciting morning a few weeks ago at Elixir Coffee, we made last minute plans to meet up for brunch before work.

I have had a bit of an emotional week where I have had to make some firm decisions on where I am going to draw my line in the sand with recent family issues.  These things always seem to raise their head at weddings. What they say is right: weddings really do bring out the best AND worst in people! My thoughts progressed to a little nostalgia for my Mum’s last visit to Perth where we ate and drank our way around this wonderful city.  One of our many eating stops was Sayers in Leederville, so I figured returning there may help re-live some of those happier times. Better still I would be accompanied by the one person in my life that is always guaranteed to make me laugh.

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Five Senses special Sayers brew

I arrived about ten minutes prior to my Bestie so I ordered a short macchiato and sat back to soak in the atmosphere.  I became increasingly overwhelmed with indecision on the menu because everything sounded so delicious! Sayers serve their own special blend of Five Senses coffee.  It contains a mix of Brazilian and Balinese beans both sourced from fair trade plantations.  The coffee has a very smooth and creamy flavour yet still retained enough kick to wake me up out of my hazy thoughts just in time for the Bestie’s arrival.

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Slow roasted mushrooms, crumbled feta, poached egg, truffle rocket, toasted GF bread

I ended up deciding on the slow roasted mushrooms with crumbled feta, truffled rocket and a poached egg on gluten free toast. For those who must endure the rollercoaster ride of hits and misses with gluten free bread, you will understand how exciting it is to firstly discover a venue actually has gluten free bread, but then even better still that it is good!

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The essential goo shot!

This bread had texture resembling a freshly baked crumpet and was fluffy, light and slightly sweet.  Confronted with a mound of food, I initially decided it wise not to eat it all, especially not all the bread. However once again my stomach won the battle; good gluten free bread doesn’t come around often and I have to make the most of such moments!

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Porridge with poached pear and blackberry compote

The Bestie has been a long-time fan of her oats so it was certainly no surprise as she ordered the porridge with poached pear and blackberry compote.  It was served with a dainty little pint size milk bottle filled with fresh locally sourced milk. The small little spoon of honey gave her meal just the right level of sweetness she wanted.  She commented that the pear was poached just to the point of melting in the mouth and not a moment prior.

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Flourless chocolate cake

We honestly had no room for sweets but we both just wanted to remain in our blissful states for a little longer so we ordered a piece of flourless chocolate cake to share.  We certainly were not prepared for the enormous wedge of nutty rich goodness that appeared in front of us only moments later.  It had been warmed allowing the decadent ganache to drizzle randomly down the sides onto the plate.  It was absolute heaven.  Exploding at the seams this was a day that our eyes really were bigger than our stomachs. We were unable to finish it not because it wasn’t good, but because we were too insanely full.  Better luck next time I say!

Sayers
224 Carr Place, Leederville 6007 | (08) 9227 0429 | www.sayersfood.com.au
 
Price:                     $$ (Breakfast $13-22, Lunch $17-27)
Food:                    4.5/5 (excellent gluten free bread, more than the usual breakfast items on offer)
Service:                4/5 (funky, friendly and fast)
Ambience:            3.5/5 (buzzing and busy, would have been cosier with a table inside)
Drinks:                  4.5/5 (Five Senses sure to please coffee connoisseurs)
Total:                     16.5/20

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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?

"Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Mrs S Cafe, Maylands" "Maylands" "Whatley Crescent" "Mrs S Cafe" "Mrs S" "breakfast" "Brunch" "Coffee" "crema coffee" "blackboard" "menu"

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!

"Golden books" "menu" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Mrs S Cafe, Maylands" "Maylands" "Whatley Crescent" "Mrs S Cafe" "Mrs S" "breakfast" "Brunch" "Coffee" "crema coffee"

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.

"short macchiato" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Mrs S Cafe, Maylands" "Maylands" "Whatley Crescent" "Mrs S Cafe" "Mrs S" "breakfast" "Brunch" "Coffee" "crema coffee"

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" "white anchovy salad" "buffalo mozzarella" "blood orange" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Mrs S Cafe, Maylands" "Maylands" "Whatley Crescent" "Mrs S Cafe" "Mrs S" "breakfast" "Brunch" "Coffee" "crema coffee"

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" "green mayo" "aioli" "roasted capsicum" "gruyere" "onion jam" "beef" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Mrs S Cafe, Maylands" "Maylands" "Whatley Crescent" "Mrs S Cafe" "Mrs S" "breakfast" "Brunch" "Coffee" "crema coffee"

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" "macarons" "Alexandre's macarons" "desserts" "salted caramel" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Mrs S Cafe, Maylands" "Maylands" "Whatley Crescent" "Mrs S Cafe" "Mrs S" "breakfast" "Brunch" "Coffee" "crema coffee"

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" "desserts" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Mrs S Cafe, Maylands" "Maylands" "Whatley Crescent" "Mrs S Cafe" "Mrs S" "breakfast" "Brunch" "Coffee" "crema coffee"

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" "gluten free toast" "herby mushrooms" "roasted tomatoes" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Mrs S Cafe, Maylands" "Maylands" "Whatley Crescent" "Mrs S Cafe" "Mrs S" "breakfast" "Brunch" "Coffee" "crema coffee"

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.

"Poached eggs" "gluten free toast" "herby mushrooms" "roasted tomatoes" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Mrs S Cafe, Maylands" "Maylands" "Whatley Crescent" "Mrs S Cafe" "Mrs S" "breakfast" "Brunch" "Coffee" "crema coffee"

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" "spicy beans" "ciabatta" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Mrs S Cafe, Maylands" "Maylands" "Whatley Crescent" "Mrs S Cafe" "Mrs S" "breakfast" "Brunch" "Coffee" "crema coffee"

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!

"Salted caramel macaron" "macarons" "Alexandre's macarons" "desserts" "violet macaron" "pistacio macaron" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Mrs S Cafe, Maylands" "Maylands" "Whatley Crescent" "Mrs S Cafe" "Mrs S" "breakfast" "Brunch" "Coffee" "crema coffee"

Macarons: Lower left pistachio, upper right violet, remaining are two salted caramel of course!

Mrs S
178 Whatley Crescent, Maylands | (08) 9271 6690 | Follow on Twitter @mrsscafe
 
Price:                     $$ ($15-25 per meal)
Food:                    4/5 (a number of interesting options beyond your eggs on toast)
Service:                5/5 (vibrant, friendly and uber cool)
Ambience:           4/5 (think country kitchen meets Fremantle)
Drinks:                  4/5 (good coffee, great barista)
Total:                     17/20

 Mrs. S on Urbanspoon