Breizh Original Crêperie Pop Up Event, Victoria Park
Posted by | Categories: Desserts, Featured, French, Perth, Restaurants
Like many Australians, I have a mixed racial background. My father was born in France and is proudly patriotic, consequently I grew up listening to endless stories about the food, culture and history of my ancestors. One thing he taught me from an early age was that each region of France has their own signature dishes or types of cuisine that they proclaim to be famous for.
Brittany, or Bretagne is a historic province in the north-west of France that is rich in culture. In contrast to a lot of France where the locals will drink wine daily, the traditional drink of Bretons is cider with Brittany being the second largest cider producing region in France. They are also recognised for their crêpes and galettes which traditionally replaced bread as basic food. These are made with buckwheat flour and thus are gluten free.
Breizh Original Crêperie is a new pop up restaurant located on Leonard Street in Victoria Park. The building is used for a number of different pop up events over the course of the week with Breizh securing the venue for Saturday and Sunday nights.
Image courtesy of Breizh Original Creperie
Run by two French brothers this dynamic team aims to provide traditional French Bretagne food with a bit of a modern twist. They utilise simple, locally sourced ingredients and make everything in house themselves.
Although their savoury crepes are made with gluten free buckwheat flour, they do prefer that any severely intolerant or coeliac customers notify them 48 hours in advance so they can ensure to take extra precautions with the kitchen environment to avoid any cross contamination.
Breizh is BYO
For our invited feast to follow with the tradition of Bretagne, the Boy organised some ciders for us to bring along and enjoy with our meals. Not exactly the most fructose friendly beverage but they do say when in Rome…
Apero ($8, GF)
We started our meal with a serve of the apero; an appetiser galette to share with parsley, roasted garlic and olive oil with gooey melted Emmental cheese.
Apero ($8, GF)
The buckwheat added a subtle nutty flavour and the crepes had a surprisingly crisp texture.
Weekly Special Galette: ($20, GF)
For our main we opted for the weekly special galette. Breizh post their changing weekly specials up on their website every week and include a new galette and crepe to keep the menu dynamic and interesting.
Our savoury galette was made with dried wild morel mushrooms, chestnut mushrooms, fresh tarragon and parsley with a luxurious white wine cream sauce. Added to this was some melted Swiss cheese and sprinkles of toasted pine nuts. Again the outer most edge of my galette had a paper thin crispiness to it yet the centre was soft, gooey and rich in flavour. A taste sensation for sure.
Crepe with original homemade salted caramel sauce ($9 + $2 per scoop of ice cream, GFO)
For dessert we both chose a different type of crepe. These crepes can be made with either normal flour or buckwheat flour. For those wanting gluten free, ensure to inform your waiter on ordering that you want the buckwheat option.
One of the permanent items on the crepe menu is the salted caramel crepe. This was our favourite, despite its simplicity. It is made with homemade salted caramel sauce, and I recommend to go for the option of an added ice-cream scoop.
The weekly crepe special was also a winner and was topped with a cube of velvety strawberry parfait, drizzles of strawberry coulis and fresh whipped cream. This was a crepe for those with a strong sweet tooth. It was a warm night and we had to devour this treat quickly before the parfait turned into a puddle of pink syrup.
Weekly special crepe: ($16, GFO)
I have been informed that Briezh Original Crêperie are attempting to secure a more permanent location in Vic Park but at this stage it is not set in stone. In the meantime they are happy to be working out of Leonard Street and are spending their time focusing on producing quality crepes and galletes.
The little pop-up restaurant fills up quickly each week and I highly recommend heading to their website and pre-booking a table. Don’t forget to advise them in advance if you are gluten free too.
Disclaimer: Chompchomp was an invited guest of Breizh. Given the fact that this restaurant is within five minutes’ walk from her front door, she will be sure to happily return as a full paying customer. Always happy to eat a piece of my heritage 😉 Breizh Original Crêperie Pop Up Event Every Saturday and Sunday night from 6pm to 9pm | 1 Leonard Street Victoria Park WA 6100 | breizhoriginal.com.au
Market & Co and more Nobu desserts at Crown Perth
Posted by | Categories: Desserts, Featured, Modern Australian, Perth, Restaurants
Being a veterinarian makes me the only scientist in my direct family; my mother is a retired Jazz singer, my father is a fashion designer and even my sister will oil paint in her spare time. Whilst I do enjoy the freedom and creativity of the arts, my strongest loyalties will always lie with my furry patients and their owners.
This isn’t to say I don’t love and cherish my blog too and with Chompchomp turning three this month it has been so exciting to watch my readership steadily grow each year. I find it so touching to know that through my writing I can help others with food intolerances find the courage to dine out while still providing some entertainment to those who are not restricted in their diet. These days I find my inbox filling up with invitations and product trials at an alarmingly fast rate. Because of my long shifts and late hours, there are many events that I have to knock back and I need to ensure to only choose the ones that I think are relevant to me and my readers.
I recently attended the South Africa Roadshow held at the Burswood Convention Centre. South Africa has always been on my bucket list and I imagined this would be an event aimed at people in the travel media including journalists and bloggers. I soon found out that it was actually a night for travel agents to help them learn to pitch and sell different tours and resorts to their customers. Not really applicable to my blog at all.
While the Boy was keen to stay and enjoy all the free South African wine, I had come off the back of a long day with not much to eat and was hungry enough to eat my own arm. After asking the waitress three times if there was anything gluten free I quickly grew tired of waiting around for a reply and decided to leave. I had given the event organisers advance notice of my gluten free requirement but obviously this was to no avail.
Salt and pepper cuttlefish with Asian coleslaw ($17, GF)
Instead of returning home, the Boy agreed to stay for dinner but requested we go somewhere cheap. I have a history of blowing the budget at the Crown and with their flagship restaurants including Rockpool, Nobu and Bistro Guillaume it is an easy thing to do. I knew that their cheaper option Market & Co was in the Entertainment Book which would mean we would get a discount of up for $45 off our meal. I found a bunch of gluten free options on the menu with a few more dishes able to be adapted. We started with the salt and pepper cuttlefish with Asian coleslaw. It was fairly decent serve for the price, freshly fried and coated in thin gluten free batter. The coleslaw had seen better days and was not much more than a pile of tired looking cabbage.
Lobster risotto, truffled corn puree, caramelised leek, salsa verde ($30, GF)
The Boy ordered the lobster risotto. It was served on a bed of truffled corn purée and garnished with random blobs of salsa verde splashed across the plate like an accident. The risotto was laced with a generous amount of “lobster” meat which was really crayfish however this dish was somewhat ruined by the faint dishwater after-taste as if the rice had been cooked in a dirty pan.
Grilled salmon, shiitake mushroom risotto, saffron lime beurre blanc ($36, GF adapted)
I chose the grilled salmon which the chef adapted to be gluten free. It came with a shiitake mushroom risotto and an oddly placed squiggle of saffron beurre blanc on the side of the plate. Presentation was seemingly not the chef’s strong point for the evening but despite my dish’s appearance the mushroom risotto was creamy and tasted freshly made.
The only gluten free dessert option at Market & Co was a fruit salad which didn’t inspire me at all. Instead I managed to twist the Boy’s arm and convince him to head next door to Nobu for a night cap. On the walk over I reminded him of Nobu’s drop dead gorgeous gluten free chocolate fondant with its luscious eruption of gooey chocolate centre. I even dug up a photo on my phone to remind him.
From the Chompchomp Archives…. Nobu’s Chocolate fondant with green tea ice cream
I am pretty sure he wasn’t even listening to me, he just heard “green tea ice cream” and it was a done deal for him.
However after taking our seats at the bar in a brief moment of spontaneity, I ended up ordering us the other gluten free option on the menu; the salted caramel miso parfait. Topped with Tonka foam and white chocolate and garnished with caramelised popcorn, it appeared to me that my highly esteemed fondant had met its match.
Salted caramel miso parfait, caramelised popcorn, white chocolate and Tonka foam ($18, GF)
The obvious solution to this conundrum is that now I am going to have to go back to Nobu again, order both the fondant AND the parfait and then compare them both to find out the real winner! 😉 I mean, chocolate fondant + salted caramel parfait + popcorn + champagne….does it actually get any better than that?
Salted caramel miso parfait, caramelised popcorn, white chocolate and Tonka foam ($18, GF)
Winter Menu Preview at Chocolateria San Churro
Posted by | Categories: Chocolate, Desserts, Events, Featured, Perth, Restaurants
I need to give you a word of warning before you commence reading this post. If you are even just half the chocoholic that I am, some of the following images may cause a rapid heart rate, salivation and excitement. Across Australia tomorrow Chocolateria San Churro officially launch their new winter menu and last week I kindly agreed to take a hit for the team and attend their preview evening.
Chocolate tapas (adapted GF)
San Churro is an Australian business first created in Melbourne in 2004 by founders Kelly Smith and Giro Maurici who were inspired whilst travelling by the traditional breakfast in Spain of thick hot chocolate and churros. The company has since grown to 37 stores across five states including eight cafes here in Perth; Northbridge, Vic Park, Subiaco, Fremantle, Mandurah, Hillarys, Rockingham and Leederville. Whilst churros are unfortunately not gluten free, I was enlightened to find there are still a number of chocolaty treats I can enjoy.
Salted caramel and choc-cross bun truffles with a salted caramel macaron
My new word: Drippalicious
Of course this concept had to be applied to macarons. ($2.70 each)
While we waited for the remaining guests to arrive we were given a “tapas” plate to share. I discovered a new taste sensation that I cannot WAIT to return to San Churros for. Dunk a macaron in drippalicious molten chocolate; it is all the colours of sickly sweet wrong yet it left me feeling like I could conquer the world. The Boy looked on in bemusement while I dripped chocolate everywhere. And I mean everywhere. It was on my elbows, my forehead and even my camera.
Cinnamon breakfast churros ($4.95, sadly not GF)
Our first course was the new cinnamon breakfast churros which are made fresh daily in the morning and fried to order. Whilst I obviously didn’t get to taste any of them, the Boy quite enjoyed his although he did say that it wouldn’t really be something he would eat for breakfast. He usually eats healthy salads and fruit.
Raspberry macaron ($2.70, GF)
My replacement for the churros was another macaron which was served very apologetically. I laughed. As if I would ever be disappointed with being given more macarons.
Iced Salted Caramel shake (this was a tester; full size $6.50, GF)
Our second course included smaller sample tastings of their two new milkshakes. I was glad that we didn’t get the full-sized serves as there was no way we could have got through it all. Our first milkshake was the iced salted caramel. Fresh milk and vanilla ice cream were mixed together with swirls of dulce de leche and topped with whipped cream and chocolate. These babies were gulped down in seconds.
Salted Choc Coconut shake (this was a tester; full size $8.50, GF)
The popularity of salted caramel means it is a flavour that has been done to death by many kitchens but the next milkshake flavour was something a bit more interesting; salted chocolate coconut. Made with milk chocolate, shredded salted coconut, coconut syrup and dark choc chips this taste sensation put any salted caramel to bed. Let’s hope this is the new trend for 2014 because it is a whole new level of addictive sweet saltiness.
Salted Carmel Sundae (adapted to be GF by addition of macaron, non-GF version $11.95)
Our third course was the new sundaes however neither of them were gluten free. Consequently they kindly made me an adapted version of the new salted caramel ice cream sundae. The normal version contains white chocolate ice cream with warm salted caramel fudge, melted milk chocolate and crusted chocolate malt balls. My sundae was adapted to be gluten free by changing the ice cream flavour to vanilla and replacing the malt balls with smashed chunks of salted caramel macarons. The warmed salted caramel and melted milk chocolate were still layered in there as they were gluten free. The alternate textures of smooth ice cream, macarons, gooey caramel and crunchy chocolate was out of this world. I was informed that this adaptation would cost extra due to the addition of the macarons.
Chocolate Volcano ($11.95, not GF)
Moving onto the fourth course we were introduced to the new addition to their cake cabinet; the “Chocolate Volcano”. This dessert was not gluten free meaning the Boy got a whole Volcano to himself however after being generously filled with San Churro’s churros, macarons, chocolate, sundaes and milk shakes he was getting close to being absolutely stuffed.
I cut into the centre of the pudding for him and our eyes widened as luscious chocolate lava erupted out of the centre and dribbled out onto his plate. The pudding was served warm and despite our fullness the Boy managed to get through at least half of it before lowering his fork and admitting defeat.
Flourless Chocolate cake ($8.95, GF)
My gluten free cake was one that is already on their menu however I was told it is very popular and not just those who eat gluten free. Rich and decadent, even I couldn’t get through one solo as the serving size is quite large. The centre of the cake was very moist with a subtle almond flavour.
El Grande Crushed Malt ($6.95, not GF)
We were onto the final stretch at the fifth course and by this point I could hear a few groans coming from the other side of the table. We had well and truly out-chocolated ourselves leaving no room for our final course.
The Boy was served a mug of San Churro’s traditional Spanish hot chocolate. They import this drink from Spain were it is made to an authentic Spanish recipe. This is not a hot drink for the light hearted as it is basically a mug of thick, molten chocolate. It is also not gluten free so I left the Boy to attempt to devour it on his own. The new versions of this drink take it to an even higher level of indulgence than before using a choice of three toppings; marshmallows and chocolate syrup, crusted malt balls or choc biscuit crumble. The Boy ate a few spoonfuls meekly before giving up for good.
I received a milk coverture hot chocolate instead which was light and foamy along similar lines to the standard hot chocolate many of you know well. I managed a few more mouthfuls than the Boy did with his drink before also putting my cup down with a sigh. I had been beaten by chocolate. And it was good.
Chocolateria’s new Winter Menu launches on Monday 31st March, 2014 across all stores. Chompchomp attended San Churro’s Winter Menu preview night as a guest. However having been to San Churro as a customer several times already, I can guarantee I will continue to love their chocolate just as much when I return and have to pay for it. Chocolateria San Churro Northbridge 132 James Street, Northbridge WA 6003 | (08) 9328 3363 | http://www.sanchurro.com/
Mrs S Cafe, Maylands
Posted by | Categories: Breakfast/Brunch, Coffee, Featured, Perth, Restaurants
The first of September marked the last six months leading up to our wedding. Although I realise I am not fat by any stretch of the imagination, just like most women I want to maximise my slim sexy hotness for my wedding day! My problem is that one of my biggest weaknesses is gluttony. As a consequence I have made a promise to myself that once I hit this six month marker, I am genuinely going to try to be more contained in my eating habits. Well … at least save the binges for days that I have managed to pelt out significant amounts of sweaty exercise. After all, isn’t weight loss just a mathematic equation of calories?
So cute
So after running five kilometres to get to the gym followed by a workout, I felt like I had earned the right to go out for breakfast. After previously missing out on my Mrs S fix due to their temporary closure last month, it was logical they would be our choice. I can’t complain about them taking a little break because if they hadn’t we would have never stumbled upon Sherbet Bake Shop which has now been added to my favourite breakfast stops!
Remember Little Golden Books? The menus are inside original copies!
Mrs S’s eclectic décor is almost a bit Freo-esque in nature. With a big communal table running down the centre of the dining room, it feels more like someone’s homely kitchen than a cafe. There is even some oven mitts and other kitchen essentials hanging off the walls.
Love in a cup
Although I was really in the mood for some eggs, we had arrived just a touch too late and they have moved onto serving their lunch menu. I didn’t waste any time and ordered my short mac; Mrs S serve Crema coffee. It is very smooth with a satiny sweet taste. I love the adorable little heart signature the barista makes flawlessly each time we visit.
Charred fennel and white anchovy salad
Their menu changes regularly and always includes a few gluten free options. I chose the charred fennel and white anchovy salad with buffalo mozzarella and blood orange. This was such an interesting salad with unusual but very well matched combinations of flavours and textures. The acidity of the sweet blood orange, the subtlety of the buffalo mozzarella and the salty anchovies alone were an absolute taste sensation. Add to this some crunchy fennel and a real wow factor remained. I would love to replicate this dish at home.
Open steak sandwich with green mayo, aioli, roasted capsicum, gruyere + onion jam
The Boy chose to have a break from our vegetarian stint and treat himself to some juicy beef. Although the open steak sandwich was a little difficult to eat he also thought his choice was out of this world. The meat was tender and had a lovely dark pink colour in the centre.
Salted caramel macaron – so lonely!
Mrs S sells fresh macarons purchased from Chef Alexandre Lui-Van Sheng. After initial humble beginnings selling his delightful macarons at local markets around Perth including the Stirling, Claremont and Manning markets, Alexandre has taken his macarons to the next level and in February this year opened his store Maison Saint-Honoré in Fremantle with fellow chef Jacque Saint-Alme. They now have a second store in Whitfords. I have yet to get myself to one of these stores so in the meantime I can still enjoy his perfectly textured mouthfuls when we visit Mrs S. The salted caramel is my favourite!
Flourless Orange and passionfruit cake
For dessert, I had every intention of just getting us some macarons, but the piglet inside me briefly reared her snout and “accidently” also ordered a slice of the gluten free orange and passionfruit cake. What a wonderful surprise this was! It was so moist and the added passionfruit gave it a tang to set it apart from your usual flourless orange cake suspects.
Poached eggs on gluten free with herby mushrooms and roasted tomatoes
On our subsequent visit to Mrs S a few weeks later we were both much more organised and arrived early enough to catch the breakfast menu. After missing out on eggs last time I was champing at the bit for a decent gooey poached egg. I was not to be disappointed, thank you Mrs S! The gluten free toast was thickly sliced, springy and held it’s shape despite all the egg yolk goo soaking into it.
Oooh yeah…gimme that shiz!
It had been a long while since the Boy had ordered his old time favourite of the big breakfast. It used to be his staple in pre-Chompchomp days, but since then he has been keen to order more interesting dishes that can help showcase a restaurant better. Such a thoughtful lad. He loved all of his meal except for the beans which were a tad cold and lacked flavour.
Big breakfast: eggs, bacon, herby mushrooms, chipolatas and spicy beans on ciabatta
Of course no visit to Mrs S is complete without any macarons; this time we took a few extra to go. The bestie was popping in for an afternoon visit later that day and I didn’t want her to miss out!
Macarons: Lower left pistachio, upper right violet, remaining are two salted caramel of course!
