Archive for the 'Australian' Category

22
Jan
12

The Iron Pot, South Fremantle

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Categories: Australian and Pubs/Grills
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Website: http://www.edz.com.au/Edz_Sportz_Bar

Probably unknown to non-residents of South Fremantle, The Iron Pot was something that I came across on the kind souls of Urbanspoon, and after seeing such rave reviews on the food there, told SK about it, and decided we should pay them a visit on Friday evening.

We made our way there, and at one stage thought we might have missed the place because we found ourselves venturing into unknown territories. But being the trusty navigator SK is, she directed us to our spot accurately. Yay!

We did not expect that it would be an extension of an already existing bar, but the moment we walked in, we were transported to another place. It felt somewhat casual, cosy, but not too pub-like. Very interesting.

We deliberated on their menu, and it wasn’t too long before we decided on the following:

  • Iron Pot Wings (“Col” hot hot hot style!)
  • Crispy Pork Belly – with Rocket Walnut Salad, Apple puree and Maple glaze
  • “Tender Ridge” Beef Eye Fillet – Served with French Fries, salad and topped with Café de Paris butter and jus
  • Jude’s Hot Hazelnut & Chocolate Pudding – Served with Vanilla Ice Cream (allow 15 minutes for preparation)

 

The Iron Pot Wings is a definitely MUST TRY at the iron pot! I actually think they named the place after these wings because we thoroughly enjoyed the savoury, yet spicy, yet tangy taste as we bit through the succulent chicken wings. Absolutely delightful. The spice was just enough for me to resist scratching my head (a little quirk of mine whenever I eat food that might be too spicy! I call it my spice-o-meter). Mmmm. Would love some now!

 

The crispy pork belly being devoured by none other than the queen of pork bellies SK was served elegantly, and looked absolutely appetising to the eye. True to its description in the menu (don’t you just hate it when the food that are served are sometimes nothing like what they are described to be in the menu!), I asked SK how it was, and actually had a taste. I must say this is one dish that actually looked better than it tasted, unfortunately. The crispy skin wasn’t too crispy, the taste alright. One of those decent dishes, but nothing “wow”.

 

I enjoyed my cow that evening. Generous serving of butter and jus, and with a nice little bowl French Fries to end the main, why not? I ordered the usual medium rare and it came out quite nicely medium rare, though almost arriving to a state of medium. Nevertheless, a lovely dish and for a price of $32, totally worthwhile! Yum. I would order that again.

 

We ended the evening with the in-house specialty (or so I assume) hot hazelnut and chocolate pudding. Came out smelling absolutely wonderful, but it wasn’t too much to our palate’s awesomeness rating. It was nice to end off the evening with that dish, but I have tasted better puddings.

Service here was friendly and casual – just the way I like it on a Friday evening out to chillax. I was impressed with how the wait staff were so close-knitted – the makings of a great team to my mind!

This was a great experience, and I definitely see myself coming back here again. Already told Momsey that I would bring her here for their awesome wings. So watch out Iron Pot, Miss Egg will be back for more of those wings!

Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars

Rating by: S.T. a.k.a. Miss Egg

The Iron Pot on Urbanspoon

31
Jul
11

Leeuwin Estate, Margaret River

By S.M. 1 Comment
Categories: Australian
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Website: http://www.leeuwinestate.com.au/

So the girls and I decided to take a drive down south for a good lunch and some wine tasting in Margaret River. It was a beautiful, but cold and rather windy day. But hey, company is what’s important isn’t it?

We tried booking plenty of places before this trip but we underestimated the power of the Margaret River region! Most of the places were packed. But we always have a back up plan – Mc Donald’s! *wink*

And so as we drove down, our decision was to just walk into places and ask if there was a table for us at that time, and try our luck. Worst case scenario, we’d take away some Macca’s, and hope that we can try the lovely food down south another time.

As luck would have it, it was lunchtime, and we were heading into Leeuwin as our next winery. We weren’t hopeful of a place in the restaurant since it was already a task and a half trying to find a parking spot (which did come with its not-so-pleasant story). We decided to try anyway.

The answer was a YES, and we were more than grateful. We were told to be out of there within 2 hours, and to us, that was heaps of time, so we said, “no problem!”. Before we knew it. We found ourselves seated out in the outdoor area, with a lovely view of the gardens.

We were presented with the wine list, and the seasonal menu.

As hungry as we were, we decided we’d order two entree’s to share, our own mains, and then found ourselves ordering two desserts towards the end of the meal.

We ordered a bottle of wine too, but I cannot really remember what it was exactly. Hmm. I only know it was white. =)

Anyway, back to the orders:

  • Crab Pasta (Entree)
  • Fresh figs with seared scallops and asparagus (Entree)
  • Marron cooked three ways
  • Pork Belly
  • Steak
  • Bombe Alaska (unfortunately no photos because they were all blur!)
  • Creme Brulee

This would hopefully feed us hungry souls.

 

The figs and scallop with asparagus was absolutely divine, and it was the dish that converted me from a not-so-much-fig to a super fig person! And make that fresh fig. The scallop and fig were such a magnificent combination and because it was a light dish, you didn’t feel as tho’ you were taking up any of the space that required for your mains. =)

The crab pasta was by far one of the best crab pasta I have tried in WA. I was blown away by how generous they were with the butter because it was what made the dish what it was. Brilliant. It took me back to the moments in Las Vegas when I was indulging in Alaskan crab legs, with pure melted butter (and lemon juice squeezed into it). This was definitely my love for the meal.

 

The pork belly was described to be good, and why not, look at that glossy sauce on it calling out to you. The greens made it nicely attractive since it gave it more colour. Our in-house pork belly specialist has classified this as the second best she has tried next to the Monk, below the one she’s had at Subi Hotel.

The marron was the most beautifully presented, with the marron cooked three ways. A bisque, which looked so induced with marron goodness, a marron salad with avocado slices beautifully laid around, and a little baked marron item with cheese (cannot remember what it was called for the life of me)… It was described as a nice dish, and I couldn’t see why not – look at how beautiful it is! Tasty it was, according to D.P.

The cow I had was ordered medium rare, and it was one of the few steaks that I have come across with an order that matched the actual food that came out of the kitchen.

There was a nice generous (enough) serving of the sauce, and there was a nice rocket and walnut salad that paired so well with the cow, and together with that lemon – wow. One of the better cows I have tasted in WA for sure.

The desserts were a little notch below the entrees, and the mains, with the bombe alaska stealing last position on my list of rankings for the meal’s choices. The creme brulee was much better than the bombe alaska, and we had to savour the little bowl bit by bit by bit….. till it was all gone!

The service at Leeuwin Estate was excellent, and we were so happy that we ended up dining at this establishment. From the not-so-pleasant experience at the car park, to the excitement we felt when we were told that there was a table available… and the rest… as they say… is beautiful and wonderful history.

If I had a week in Margaret River, chilling out in that beautiful wine region… I will definitely be heading back there for another meal. Or maybe two!

Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars

Rating by: S.T. a.k.a Miss Egg

30
Jul
11

The Monk Brewery, Fremantle

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Categories: Australian
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Website: http://www.themonk.com.au

This has always been a place that would grab my attention and make me want to try the items there, etc.

And so, despite the awful cold that I was having, I decided that I really did need to try this place before it was too late!

S.K. and I drove there, and it was packed up in Fremantle as we drove in from the city… people carrying portable chairs, etc. And so, in the car, whilst waiting for traffic to move along the road, S.K. found herself googling on her mobile as to what event there might be – as luck would have it – it was the blues and roots event!!

So we parked in the multi storey colourful carpark near the market, and walked our way into the Monk. We were excited.

With the weather cooling down at that point in time, we decided to find a place inside the establishment.

We were pleasantly surprised at how lovely the interior design was. On the outside, it looked rugged, and a tad rustic, but on the inside, there was this amazingly classy but rustic feel – absolutely brilliant! Plus 1.

 

It was the American Beer week at Monk that week, but we weren’t really told that the beer menu also had some Amercian food up for grabs, so we missed out on that! How did we find out? By poking our noses into other tables who were having those hamburgers, ribs, etc. Boo. Never mind. We looked at the menu and found ourselves ordering:

  • Sticky Pork Belly and Seared Scallops
  • Chilli Margherita Pizza
  • Kolsh and Wheat Beer (yes, separate!)
  • Tasting Plate (beer)

 

The pork belly was the star of the day. S.K. wasn’t feeling all too hungry and because there were two options with the pork belly (you could choose 4 pieces or 6 pieces), she chose four… And by far, besides the Andaluz pork cheeks with scallops… this is her pick of the next best pork belly you can find in WA! At the rate she is eating those pork bellies, she might soon become PFE’s consultant for pork bellies in WA! I had a taste of the pork myself and I have to say it was absolutely divine. That lovely sticky sauce had a beautiful sweetness to it, and with the sea saltiness of the scallop punching through, what a lovely combination!

The pizza probably paled in comparison in terms of enjoyment factor, but it was quite a nice difference to the usual margherita you’d get from the various restaurants. The chilli they added had a really nice kick to the pizza. I quite enjoyed it, despite my cold.

The beers were quite average and personally, I would probably head to Little Creatures for my dosage of beer.

They had a nice variety and the Kolsch that I had was really quite refreshing and light. The wheat beer was alright, but did not really live up to our expectations of a good wheat beer.

It was a lovely experience at this place, but towards the end, we did feel a bit of a push to leave the place with the waiter showing significant anxiety for us to order dessert, and thereafter for us to have the bill. Strange, but the food made up for this weird service we received.

Don’t get me wrong – the service was generally good, but we found it strange that we were given the bill without even asking, and quite frankly, there were still tables available around from what I remember.

Oh wells. Since then I have been back there and will do so in the future without a doubt.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars (Food was great, service leaves a little to be improved on)

Rating by: S.T. a.k.a Miss Egg

The Monk Brewery & Kitchen on Urbanspoon

20
May
11

Chianti on Colins, West Perth

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Categories: Australian, Mediterranean and Use your Entertainment Book!
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Website: http://www.chiantioncolins.com.au

Entertainment Book 10/11: 25% of total bill (up to $35)

Chianti on Collins is a little less known establishment in the heart of West Perth along Colins Street. Miss Anise, R.R and myself were due for a little catchup, and so we thought we’d grab something from the entertainment book to use those discounts up!

We decided on Chianti because it was one of the only few restaurants that had a table available for us, and that was open. So, we booked ourselves a table for three, and were honestly quite excited to have a look at what there was to offer!

When we arrived, I was quite impressed with the internal decor (and why I did not bother taking photos of, I know not, please do not shoot me!). In any case, we were reserved a table on the outside of the restaurant.

As we sat, we were offered their Menu, and we pondered:

  • Beef Cheeks (in red wine sauce, mash potatoes and a selection of mushrooms)
  • Veal (Grass Fed) Short Loin (grilled, light cream and Vermouth sauce)
  • Custom made vegetarian pasta
  • Some cocktails (can’t remember what we ordered now! Influence of alcohol?)
  • Orange & Grand Manier Crepe

The cocktails were… interesting. I don’t think I will order them again because quite honestly there was quite an insignificant amount of alcohol. And what are cocktails supposed to be without that little oomph factor? I have to give kudos for the quantity tho’! But then again. Quality vs Quantity. Which would you choose?

The veal short loin was not too bad, and was tasty, but towards the end, it got boring. It was one of those dishes where you eat the first few mouthfuls and you go, “mmm. pretty good stuff”, and towards the end, you’re wondering why you still haven’t finished your meal.

There was a lack of colour enticement in this dish (and actually the rest of the dishes for that matter).

One other thing I quite appreciated about the dish, was the generous serving of gravy/sauce with the meat. Love my gravy/sauce. :)

Let’s move on!

In a surprise move, Miss Anise ordered the beef cheeks! I know my dear friend. She’s usually a seafood person, and when she does order the red meat, you know she’s feeling pretty awesome! :)

Anyway, I got the chance to have a taste of the cheeks, and I definitely have had better cheeks in this lifetime, unfortunately. And they used the same type of mushrooms for garnishing as the veal, which really wasn’t impressive for the prices that we were about to pay.

Like the veal, there was plenty of gravy, but the colour got to me after a while, just like the veal.

One thing’s for sure – I now understand why colour is so important in a dish!

And speaking of colour…

The final dish of the evening (for mains, that is)… the pasta. Penne with a vegetarian twist as RR is vegetarian (for that evening). It was a nice change of colour from our meat, but strangely enough, the pasta did not appeal to me either. The taste from what I understood was quite average. And fair enough because it did look pretty average.

So far, we haven’t been too impressed, as you can tell. So we were hoping some good dessert may just lift our dinner up a little! Especially with Miss Anise’s favourite Grand Manier over crepe.

The crepe came out looking absolutely delightful, especially with a better assortment of colours (Okay, I think that will hopefully be the last time I actually mention the word “colours”… I already hear the omg’s in my head)… Miss Anise and myself were really looking forward to trying this dish…

Being the expert on Grand Manier, I asked Miss Anise to give it a try first to let me know what she thought, and whilst it was nice, she said that she’s had better ones.

I had a little taste myself, and honestly, it did look better than it tasted unfortunately.

Overall, this meal was on the disappointing side. The waitress who served us was a little green and for some reason could not really understand us. I wondered if it is because she’s just arrived in Australia and is still learning English. It was pretty difficult getting across to her. The wife of the chef whom I believe ran the restaurant, was nice, but a little overwhelming at times.

I don’t think I would go back to CoC. A tad overpriced for the food, despite the beautiful ambiance and pretty decent service.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Rating by: S.T. a.k.a Miss Egg

Chianti on Colins on Urbanspoon

05
May
11

Subiaco Hotel, Subiaco

By S.M. 3 Comments
Categories: Australian
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Website: http://www.subiacohotel.com.au

Having always driven past this forever-packed-and-full-of-good-vibe place, I have always wanted to try this place… and it was certainly meant to be!! SK and DP and myself headed there for dinner one fabulous evening.

Because it was too dark, I did not manage to take some photographs of the actual place, but it really didn’t take long before we decided on our meals for the night… so let’s zoom straight into our orders! 

  • Fish of the Day (with a scallop to top it off!)
  • Pan fried crumbed veal with lemon and sage, creamed pumpkin, broccolini
  • Crispy skin pork belly with scallop and mash
  • Sticky date pudding
  • Chocolate Tart
  • Doughnuts
  • Bottle of Pizzini Pinot Grigio

Drooling yet? =) Let’s head straight to the mains!

 

Starting with the meats, SK had the pork belly, and I had a little taste of it… it was divine! This is different from the pork belly mentioned in the menu provided on their website, so please do take note of it. This pork belly was shown in their specials (if I remember correctly), and this turned out to be fantastic!

The crumbed veal came out looking less than I thought it’d be, but after having the first bite, it was quite possibly one of the best crumbed veal I have ever tasted! It was tender, and the veal was actually tasty. The creamed pumpkin was also a great accompaniment to the meat, in fact, I don’t think I have cleaned a plate so well with my fork and knife. Loved my dish!

The fish of the day was presented rather nicely, and was cookde rather nicely too. As with all my meals with the sisters, I get a chance to taste each of their orders as well.

The fish was nice and soft, and it went well with the sauce (bearnaise from memory).

Oh, I forgot to mention that the bottle of wine we ordered was absolutely divine!! We loved it, and if only we did not need to drive… and did not have to head somewhere after the meal!

Time for desserts!

The sticky date pudding was immersed with butterscotch sauce, and as nice as it was, it was not the best we have tasted, and we would know when DP is actually on a quest to find WA’s best sticky date pudding! There was a tad too much butterscotch sauce for comfort.

The chocolate tart was lovely, but I would not have been able to finish the whole thing myself because it was too rich for my liking. It had a good overall texture though.

The doughnuts were the let down of the desserts. It felt as tho’ the doughnuts were not cooked long enough because it was… well, dough-y. Overall, the desserts were a bit less in comparison to their mains counterparts.

The service was not too bad given how packed the place was, and the overall ambience of the place was beautiful – all that I would have imagined it to be after all those years (yes, I mean years!) of driving past that place.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Rating by: S.T. a.k.a. Miss Egg 

Subiaco Hotel on Urbanspoon

26
Sep
10

The Brisbane Hotel, Highgate

By S.M. 4 Comments
Categories: Australian and Pubs/Grills
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Website: http://www.brisbanehotel.com.au

So I hadn’t caught up with my dearest S.K. for the longest of time, and thought a nice catch up session with some of our beloved beer would be nice. We knew how packed it would be in the arvo, so we decided to meet at about 11.30am (from memory!).

Arriving there, it was as though the place was closed because of the unusual silence around the establishment. We got worried. Until we walked in and saw some people already starting their Sunday sessions with a glass of wine or a nice cold beer (for a cold winter’s day).

We were seated outside due to the lack of space inside (so if you do want a space inside, remember to make a reservation people!). Other than the presence of rather dark clouds, we were quite happy with our table.

Looking over the menu, I was pleasantly surprised at the variety of items offered in it. It wasn’t so much typical pub food (although the usual suspects were still there!)… so… we ended up ordering:

  • Braised Lamb Shank, Roast Winter Vegetables, Mash ($28.50)
  • Scotch Fillet Steak Sandwich, Onion, Aioli, Tomato Kasundi, Fries ($22.50)
  • 2 pints of Beer

What I love about this place, before I go on any further, is the size of the pints! I don’t know the actual amount, but they certainly seem bigger than the usual amount we’d get in a pint. And I love their stylish pint glasses. :)

I had wanted to try their crispy whiting fillets on the menu that day, but alas, they couldn’t change the potato salad to chips. Boo!! But oh wells. I was happy enough with trying their steak sandwich anyway.

So onwards with our food!

The lamb shank came out looking very impressive. I loved the presentation of the dish, and there seemed to be a nice amount of gravy that accompanied the meat. I am not the biggest fan of lamb, but according to S.K., it wasn’t too bad at all :) The mash looked luscious and the winter vegetables were definitely inviting me in for a taste!

The steak sandwich came out looking just as impressive, and with a nice little dish of tomato sauce, I was a happy camper (very much influenced by my dearest “work husband” DAW). I took a bite into the sandwich, and was grinning from ear to ear. :) It was absolutely beautiful! I loved the tomato kasundi, which gave a nice twang to the sandwich, and there was rocket amidst the salad that was being squished in between those turkish breads! Pure delight. The downer for me was the chips. Was expecting a nice beer-battered bunch of chips, but it was just the normal fat chips with some salt sprinkled over. Thank goodness for the tomato sauce *wink*.

After finishing our mains, it was clear that we were about to explode from the sheer generosity of the serving. BUT! As what many would say, “there’s always room for dessert!”. The waiter who had already been serving us with much enthusiasm and patience then came along and asked us if we’d like some. We asked for a recommendation in which he suggested the spanish donuts. Having been to San Churros far too many times, we had second thoughts, but decided to go with his recommendation anyway.

It came out looking a tad different to what we’d expected (okay, so we were just stereotyping the spanish donut!)…. but the chocolate and vanilla bean dipping was just too attractive! We started breaking the donuts bit by bit, and with every bit we had with the chocolate and the vanilla bean, we just went, “wow”…. “mmm”… “omg”. There was this amazing smooth texture to the chocolate, and the vanilla bean anglaise (as it was called) was brilliant! It tasted just like vanilla bean ice cream melted in the right way, to the right temperature. What a delight! Definitely the highlight of our meal.

The service was good with friendly wait staff. Perhaps because there wasn’t very many people at the time. The funny thing was as the crowd started coming in, and the time started to approach about 4pm, we were asked numerous times if we had wanted anymore to drink/eat. Before long, we were just given the bill. Hmm. Not that it’s wrong, but it had been quite a while since I have experienced the polite “we need the table, guys”.

Nevertheless, Brisbane is definitely somewhere I’d go again for a meal, and to have that spanish donuts again! I hope the quality of those donuts (nor the sauces) will not drop.

And bring on the beer!!!

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Rating by: S.T. a.k.a Miss Egg

The Brisbane Hotel
Telephone: (08) 9227 2300
Address: 292 Beaufort Street, Highgate, Western Australia

Brisbane Hotel on Urbanspoon

11
Aug
10

The View, Fremantle

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Categories: Australian and Use your Entertainment Book!
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Website: http://www.theviewfremantle.com.au/

Entertainment Book 10/11: 25% off total bill (up to $40)

So my cousin who is a flight attendant with Singapore Airlines arrived this evening, and we decided to go somewhere a tad different, and one where we could use the entertainment book (for once!).

We searched a few venues, and because of Momma’s fussy tastes, we ended up at The View because it seemed to have some thing she would probably order.

Upon arriving that evening, the cold chills of late autumn caught us by surprise, and we were all freezing by the time we climbed up the stairs to the restaurant (and hungry for that matter!)

When we got in, there was a wave of wowness floating through the air because of how beautifully decorated the place was. Absolutely stunning interior design – something a little bit different from our usual restaurants on that side of town.

We were seated by the window, which was lovely. first to arrive (what’s new from Miss Egg and her family), so I was definitely able to snap some pictures of the empty restaurant without getting glares from strangers sitting close by *grin*.

Quite quickly, we deliberated on our choices, and finally ended up with the following:

  • Chorizo (Danish feta, olives, grilled Chorizo) – $16.50
  • Seafood Chowder (with a crusty bread) – $17.50
  • The Angus + Prawns (300g roasted potato galette, fresh greens, mushroom rich jus) – $42
  • Oven Roasted Pork Belly (mash, greens, fresh apple & pear chutney jus) – $32
  • Special pasta of the day (marinara) – price forgotten -.-
  • Glass of white wine (ordered by yours truly of course!)

The glass of wine was a perfect match for the Chorizo platter, which came out well presented with greens and a variety of small-olives, and my favourite feta cheese.

There was an arousing, “ooooooh, this is nice!” when each of us poked into a different item (momma headed straight for the olives, Dad took the meat as expected, cousin had a bit of the chorizo too, whilst I dove straight for the feta).

This was a brilliant mixture of little things that come together so well, and with the turkish bread on the side, we really couldn’t ask for more.

The cheese was lovely, and probably one of the better feta cheeses I have tasted around.

The chorizo themselves were a tad hard to the bite, but overall acceptable.

The olives won momma and myself. We’re always in search of good olives, and this is definitely on the top of the list!

I ordered the pork belly, and all I can is WOWZA! :) I was probably the most satisfied consumer of the table that night, and everyone seemed to want a piece of my pork. :( Dad was sure eyeing it with glee, and when he took that bit into that crispy skin, there was a nice grin of satisfaction. My cousin wasn’t spared from this beautiful piece of work. The thing that I was really happy with, other than the well roasted pork belly, is the brilliant apple & pear chutney. If anything, they could have given more, but the quality of that chutney was just “oooh yeahhhh”.

The steak was a bit of a letdown. I tried a bit, and it was a bit too tough, and the prawns on the skewers were quite pathetic :( A bit of a boo-boo. The rich mushroom jus was also a bit of a mess.

The seafood chowder came in such a huge bowl, we did not know how mom was going to finish that bowl all by herself. What really astounded me was how it could be on the entree list too! That said, good on them for such a generous serve of seafood, and the like. It looked creamy, buttery, and absolutely delicious. Mom was happy with it, but found it to be a tad too heavy on the tummy (because of the richness) towards the end of the meal.

The special pasta of the day came out with lotsa seafood, just the way Dad would like it. Having that wedge of lemon definitely helped ease things with the heaviness of the dish, and Dad was just so impressed with the generosity of the seafood given, so kudos to the chefs!! :)

Overall this place is a lovely joint to come for a quiet  birthday, or perhaps an evening night out with a loved one. Would definitely be going back there, and this time, I may just attempt that massive bowl of seafood chowder!!

Service was absolutely brilliant, and I would like to shout-out to the waitress (if only I took her name down) who served us that evening because not only was she patient with our fickle minds, she gave excellent recommendations, and was honest in answering our questions of the menu. Well done!!

Rating: 3.65 out of 5 stars

Rating by: S.T. a.k.a Miss Egg

The View Restaurant

Telephone: (08) 9430 5050

Address: 47 Mews Road, Fremantle 6160

The View Restaurant on Urbanspoon

17
Jul
10

Hydrant on Hay, Perth

By S.M. 1 Comment
Categories: Australian and Cafe
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***City of Perth EAT DRINK PERTH March 2011 Special Offer!***

For $20, choose a dish from the all-day-menu plus enjoy a middy of beer or a glass of wine.  Available Mon – Fri, 1130am - 2pm only.

 *********************************************************************************

Hydrant on Hay sits directly opposite what was the old Perth Fire Station… and no prizes for guessing why it’s called Hydrant.

It’s always been one of those places we’d walk by from our office into the city without really catching a second glance, but having dined there on two separate occasions, we realised that this place has a bit more to offer than what one would think!

So the PFE’s actually came here twice… the first time, it was just Miss Egg and Miss Anise, and the second time, the whole PFE gang was around!!

One thing that Miss Egg really love is the wide wide bar area. She loves. :)

The other thing… strange but somehow attractive to her, is the flavoured water! The management was smart enough to use various fruits to flavour the water. So think lemon. Think apple. Think herbs. yes. Herbs. I cannot remember what it was exactly, but it was a nice change!

As with other casual dining cafe’s in Perth, you have a look at the menu and order at the counter. Funny thing is that the menu is at the counter, so that doesn’t give you much time at all to deliberate on what you want.

So over the two occasions, we had:

  • Smoked Salmon Caesar’s Salad
  • Chicken Caesar’s Salad (so we do like the man’s salad – is that a crime?)
  • Steak Sandwich
  • Lasagna
  • Special of the Day

The Caesar’s Salad at Hydrant aren’t too bad, except for the fact that the Smoked Salmon version was at least 2 times better than the chicken, and it’s not just because of the smoked salmon. It’s the fact that it was well tossed, and the chicken caesar that I got the second time came without the croutons! What a big disappointment. The oddest thing is how I never noticed it till someone pointed it out later. HMM. Maybe I was just too hungry.

The steak sandwich was definitely well received by my very own personal steak sandwich connoisseur (whom at one stage did mention that he wanted to be a guest blogger!)… and the looks did give it away to a certain extent. I have definitely tasted better chips, but hey, the main star attraction is that cow within the bread, so if that’s a go, I think it’s worth a try!

Miss Anise had tried the Lasagna the second time we went there, and whilst the plate does appear to be rather empty with the salad in the bowl (hello feta!!!)… it did fill Miss Anise up, and I believe the salad was of good greens (it had the not-so-usual olives and feta, both of which I’m quite a fan of!).

The taste of the Lasagna was apparently okay – definitely not the best around, but it wasn’t that shabby either.

I think given a choice, we wouldn’t really order this dish again. ;)

I find it difficult to explain the Special of the day, but it was such a heavy meal that I felt quite sick at the end of it. That said, if it was served at half the portion - why not?! :) It was tasty and the combination, although a tad weird, had all the things I so love. From unhealthy bacon, to wonderful rocket. Yummmm. The hollandaise sauce that accompanied the dish wasn’t the best choice, but the rest of the ingredients made up for it.

Being on the other side of the city (what I’d really like to call the boring side…)… Hydrant on Hay is definitely something I’d class as underrated, especially when it serves decently good food, and rather reasonable prices.

I wouldn’t mind going back for a meal, and with a nice bar, why not?? :)

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Rating by: S.T. a.k.a Miss Egg

Hydrant on Hay

Telephone: (08) 9326 7000
Address: 10 Irwin Street, Perth 6000, Western Australia

Hydrant on Hay on Urbanspoon

09
May
10

Beaufort Street Steakhouse, Highgate

By S.M. 2 Comments
Categories: Australian and Steak House
Tags:

Website: http://www.bssh.com.au

Ah. Finally a steakhouse in good ol’ WA! When I first heard about it, my heart threw a few leaps of great excitement because of my love for the cow. It was then made certain that I had to try this place soon!

This place sits just next to Source Foods along Beaufort Street, with ample parking along the street should you arrive early. Even if you don’t, there’s always the carpark at Brisbane where you can just walk a short distance from.

The interior of this place resembles the steakhouse that I went to Melbourne, introduced by a great friend of mine.

As you enter, you’ll be greeted at the podium by a waitress/waiter, in which they will bring you to your table (this is the time where I say you should make a booking should you want to dine in this establishment on a Friday/Saturday).

The lovely thing about this place, as with another place I have dined rather recently (post to come soon!)… is the complimentary starter they give. Okay, I sound like a cheap-a55 here, but really, there are not many places offering such a lovely start to the dining experience.

So we started off this meal with a nice curry-puff looking pastry filled with I-cannot-remember-for-the-life-of-me-ingredients. It was a lovely start because it was served warm, with a really memorable finish to the tastebuds. MmmM!

Don’t be fooled by the appearance of the photo by the way. It’s actually really small and can be eaten in one mouthful. I just though a close-up of the little thing does it more justice. :)

So we went on to read the menu (I was late!)… while the sisters waited because they had already decided what they want for the evening.

But we cannot start off such a great ladies’ night without some form of alcohol, can we?

So we ordered a bottle of red wine to start the night off, and then went on to debate within ourselves as what we should order for mains.

We ended up with:

  • 750g Rib Eye Steak (Sisters shared this) with sides of mashed potato, and pepper jus for one, mushroom sauce for the other
  • Scotch Fillet for the other two girls, one with baked potato, the other with mashed potato… and mushroom sauce
  • Sirloin with Chips and Mushroom sauce for me
  • Bowl of long beans
  • Bowl of mixed greens with pistachios and a nice dressing

Didn’t take too long for the food to arrive in great fashion!

I left the pictures to tell the story, but for the details that the photos couldn’t show, it was absolutely brilliant! :)

I loved the fact that the sauces were not starchy (making them different/unique from the other places serving steaks)… and they were as tasty as they could get (BUT! I have been back there another time for an early Mother’s Day celebratory dinner and the tastiness was a tad lacking).

Ordering medium-rare can sometimes get you in trouble, but not in this steakhouse because the cow is cooked to the perfect tenderness, and the meat was real tasty (even without the presence of the sauces!). And with such a massive knife to cut through the meat, you don’t have to worry about having to give off too much energy during the meal!

The mash was tasty too. Baked potato – nothing to brag about, but well cut!

The chips were awesome, fat, and with a dabble of salt, or a dip into the sauces, created a lovely twang in the mouth, leaving you grinning.

The vegetables were lovely too, with my favourite of the two being the mixed greens. The salad dressing was just sublime, and with a generous serving of pistachios (very rare!)… it was my highlight!

And we weren’t done. We needed (and yes, I mean needed) to try the desserts!

  • Berry Creme Brulee (now no longer available)
  • Semi Freddo (Choc and Espresso if memory serves right) (now no longer available)
  • Hand Rolled Choc Truffle

The desserts were all good, not exceptional, but good, and with two out of the three we tried this occasion not available anymore, I really don’t know how to rate this!

I had the semi-freddo and thoroughly enjoyed it, other than the fact that it made me feel a bit sick after because of how much I had eaten.

The berry creme brulee was lovely, and definitely better than the one I had tried before at Blue Waters.

The choc truffle was soooo small I felt afraid to actually take the photo (kidding). :) But it was a lovely little truffle with a rich chocolato taste!

So we figured that if we were going to end the night with something good, we needed more booze. Well, at least D.P and myself did. So we ordered a nice muscato to finish the night off which was quite lovely. ;)

One thing I’d like to highlight for BSSH is the service.

Despite our crazy fickle minds, the waitresses who served us that evening were absolutely brilliant! Kudos to them for being so patient with us, and actually blending in with us as we made our orders, and sat through the night, talking rubbish!

They were truly one of the better crew I have personally experienced in a restaurant, and so they deserve the mention!! Well done ladies! :)

The overall ambience of this place is lovely. We truly enjoyed ourselves, and although the set up of the place is really quite formal, we felt comfortable enough in our own skin, and for me the casual-fool, I felt extremely comfortable.

It’s a bit sad that the sauces have taken a step back in quality, but I will definitely be back for more cow because, really, this is one of the best I have tried!

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Rating by: S.T. a.k.a Miss Egg

Beaufort Street Steakhouse

Telephone: (08) 9228 2008
Address: 283 Beaufort Street, Highgate

Beaufort Street Steakhouse on Urbanspoon

07
Jan
10

Barre Lounge Cafe, Perth

By S.M. 2 Comments
Categories: Australian
Tags:

Website: http://www.hismajestystheatre.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=49

So I met the lovelies for lunch one day, and we already made plans to go to the Somerset, but alas!! It wasn’t open!! :( Boo.

Then we walked around, trying to search for a place to just casually pop in and eat. But we couldn’t! Not on St George’s Terrace. We didn’t know what it was. Finally figured it was probably the Xmas cheer going on, and everyone just heading out for some good Friday pub or cafe lunch to catch up before the break.

Alright, so we walked and walked. Ended up along Hay Street, and walked past His Majesty’s Theatre, and noticed that the Barre Lounge Cafe wasn’t as packed as the others, but looked like a nice cosy little place for a meal.

As we entered, we were a tad confused as to what we should be doing, but was soon directed by a waiter to our table. This was followed by an instruction for us to order at the counter once we have decided.

Walking towards the counter, we noticed this nice sign. We should have known. :)

By the time we went to order, there was a decent queue awaiting at the counter. So I looked around and found this lovely stack of cutlery so very neatly arranged for us to take back to our tables.

After a short wait, we ordered the following:

  • Baked Pasta of the Day
  • Chicken Schnitzel
  • Steak Sandwich
  • Coke

We didn’t have to wait too long before the food came, and that was exactly what the waiter said as he sat us down and we were concerned about our waiting time (seeing how we’ve already wasted about half of our lunch time searching for a proper place to dine!). So excellent information from the waiter! And probably excellent knowledge of the kitchen at that. Otherwise he wouldn’t have been able to tell us anyway. :)

The baked pasta of the day was devoured by Miss Anise, and she was really pleased with it… I had a taste of it, and tasty it was and extremely reasonably priced for what it was too!! The chicken schnitzel was my order this afternoon, and when it came out, the golden brown colour of the schnitzel was so entising that I couldn’t wait to just get right into the meal. As it turns out, the chicken schnitzel was lovely… not too dry, and the golden brown were an indication of the frying time – perfecto. :) I think it would have been lovely with some sauce (I’m a saucy person!)… but eating by itself can be quite delightful too.

The steak sandwich (more like steak burger) came out, served very beautifully, with the burger/sandwich on one side, and a bucket of shoestring fries on the other. Brilliant idea!  It was one of those things you’d see at Macca’s where they would use it to fry the fries, lift it, and wait for it to dry before placing the fries into the ‘holding area’. Interesting concept! It just gives you the feel as tho the fries have just been extracted from the oil, and onto the plate. Of course we all know it isn’t true, but I commend the chef’s idea of playing with our heads in this aspect. :)

According to D.A.W, the burger/sandwich was lovely and probably one of the better steak sandwiches/burgers he’s tasted around Perth. (: (: so thumbs up for this! I would probably be having this the next time I visit this cafe.

The shoestring fries were a nice change from our usual Aussie chunky chips, and because it was sprinkled with a good amount of salt, it tasted beautiful. If we were to really pick on this place on one thing, it was finding about 2-3 shoestrings of burnt french fries. Not too burnt – but burnt enough not to want to eat.

Overall, this place was a lovely surprise to the really hot day we spent walking around in search for lunch. If I weren’t working on the eastern side of Perth, I would be making this one of my usual hangout places! :) really affordable for somewhere in Perth and good serving sizes!

The service was impeccable and the wait staff were friendly and accommodating. Definitely no form of complaints whatsoever.

The ambience – lovely. We found ourselves looking at the various theatre advertisements that was used back in the old days, and they were beautiful! It was as tho’ you were transported back in time. I loved it. So did D.A.W. :)

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Rating by: S.T. a.k.a Miss Egg

Barre Lounge Cafe
Telephone: (08) 9226 1006
Address: 825 Hay Street, Perth 6000, Western Australia

Barre Lounge Cafe on Urbanspoon

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