They sure know how to put on a party! My life would not be the same without all those special meals and moments at Bivouac. Happy birthday guys, here's to another amazing year ahead! x
Viet Hoa
Sometimes you just don't want to do dishes. So you just go for chicken rice.
Rochelle Adonis
Mothers and Daughters high tea. Rochelle Adonis was the only option. Laughter, smiles, picture perfect high tea morsels amongst friends and the women who are your blood, soul and heart. Nothing short of sublime.
Savoury Roast red pepper soup, basil espuma Dolmades with saffron izabnch micro parsley Confit pork belly, pink lady gell, cerlapple* Bamboo charcoal ravioli, salmon mousse, beetroot salad hollandaise Classic cucumber sandwich
Palate Cleanser Raspberry and rhubarb paddle pop
Sweet Persimmon gallette with burnt honey and ginger cream Chocolate chestnut geniose Mint mousse, tangerine m-sponge, pomegranate and pistachio Liquorice "Meteorite" Italian meringue
20120710-055456.jpg
DIM SIM CAFE
This was my first visit to Dim Sim Cafe on William Street. Clean, fresh and perfectly cooked squid tentacles. It is always nice to yum cha with someone who knows exactly what to order and can pronounce it correctly. Except for the fact that Abstract Gourmet is a hell of a lot whiter and well ... not even Asian.
Bivouac
Sometimes I think ... where did I eat before Bivouac opened? We find ourselves returning time and time again.
We kickstarted dinner with a serve of porcini mushroom and gruyere croquettes jalapeno aioli with a bottle Inedit. Inedit carries the meaning 'never been done before'. A beer skillfully crafted by the brewmasters of Estrella Damm in collaboration with Ferran Adria, Juli Soler and Sommelier Ferran Centelles and David Seijas from ElBulli Restaurant. Created solely for the purpose of being enjoyed with food. Upon first sip, Inedit is quite subtle and light on the palate but paired with food it is pure bliss. It cut through the oily crunch of the croquettes and each sip magnified with each bite.
Gnocchi would have to be my favourite vice. There are only a handful of restaurants in Perth where I only have eyes for these little pillows of potato. Bivouac is currently leading the pack. There is some pretty fking amazing gnocchi coming out of the kitchen at the Biv. Pan-fried pillows of perfection served with blue cheese, kale and walnuts, the richness and depth offset with the sweetness of caramelised pears. Heaven is a perfect bite of all these flavours.
We also shared another favourite "la tagliata', a whopping 300g aged sirloin perched atop smashed potatoes and kohlrabi puree and then drenched with a pedro ximenez reduction. The meat cooked just right and the flavours almost overwhelming.
We then followed up this feast with a decadent serve of creme catalan and rolled back home.
Shanghai Tea Garden
The food here was tasty. A little TOO tasty. I hate msg hangovers.
Sake Bar
Jiro Dreams of Sushi is the story of 85 year old Jiro Ono, the world's greatest sushi chef. It was a remarkable and mouthwatering little gem. We followed it up with a tasty little trip to Sake Bar.
Bivouac
Bouzy breakfast at Bivouac is fast becoming tradition. Best porridge of my life greatly enhanced by wonderful company. Yes Aaron Rutter YOU! I am just over the moon (and then some) to be working with team at Jump Climb a whole lot more. I just know they will be radcakes in their new role as Directors of the Beaufort Street Festival. I am pretty sure all our meetings will be over food. Bliss. Aaron's "local yolkal" menu choice prompted many eggcellent jokes. What a crack up ..
Local Yolkal ~ linley valley organic free range bacon and eggs cooked to your liking, toasted turkish bread + bloody mary
Porridge courage ~ date and pistachio porridge, toasted coconut, poached rhubarb and organic vanilla yoghurt
Bonsai
Oh Bonsai. I just love you. I can never get enough of your sashimi bites.
Salmon sashimi bites ~ sashimi-grade salmon tartare, mixed with grated ginger and dengaku miso, placed on witlof leaves, dressed with aioli and chives Wagyu beef tataki ~ seared premium wagyu beef rump cut into thin slices and dressed with garlic soy caramel sauce and mustard vinaigrette. Witlof and leek julienne with a sprinkle of parmesan Crab claw balls Fried chicken bites Chicken teriyaki
Viet Hoa
cheap and cheerful
Tak Chee
When you ask chicken rice? and two of your favourite foodie friends say TAK CHEE. It wasn't really a suggestion ... more like an order! We ordered Hainanese Chicken Rice and Penang Kway Teow. The chicken was oh so tender and derrishhh. I did wake up a little thirsty. Damn you Asian flavour enhancers!
Phong Vinh
Phong Vinh's hot noodle soup for a sad and snotty nose.
Mi Ga Chien Don (Kho) - Egg Noodle Soup with Crispy Chicken (dry) Bun Bo Hue - Pork & Beef Rice Vermicelli in Spicy Soup
Jus Burgers
I swear I always end up wearing my food. Our friends Chris and Tay showed us the double stick method. Use two skewers to keep burger fillings in order and then cut. Keep the sticks in place whilst you elegantly eat your burger. I only remembered them saying "watch the pointy ends" when I had already punctured my gums.
Onion rings with aioli. Original beef ~ Amelia Park beef, MSA approved, hormone-free - chargrilled with creamed horseradish and balsamic onions Mullet ~ Amelia Park beef, MSA approved, hormone-free - chargrilled with bacon, beetroot, cheddar cheese and free-range egg.
La Cholita
I am quite happy to ride the mexican wave that is crashing down on Perth at the moment. I have been to La Cholita a few times now and I think the trick is ... embark on this adventure with friends who want to order for Africa. This is always the best case scenario. Damn you two people date night ... you just cannot sample enough in my opinion. Maybe that is why I try and turn every catch up into a social fiasco. Was perfect to drown my sorrows with my Moogni (collective term for the three of us ... don't ever ask ... it's totally gay) over Tamarind Jarrito as they are both leaving me for fun times abroad.
Entradas: Guacamole, crispy flour tortilla, Market ceviche, Mexican street corn,Taco ~ beef cheek, pico de gallo, Quesadillas ~ chorizo, queso corelo
Fuertes: Wood roasted pork hock, recado rojo with Mexican rice - HOLY SHIT I will now order this every time. You simply have to poke it with your fork and all that ham hock goodness just falls off the bone. (Homer Simpson drool ... urghhhhhh).
Dulce de leche chimichanga - a devillish good dessert (an icrecream burrito deep fried and served with a condensed milk like sticky sugary caramel-y sauce. YUM.
Bivouac
Pardon my deplorable camera skills. I am definitely a better eater than an artist! We opted for eats at Bivouac before Pedro's Rooftop Party. Post giggling ensued watching Napoleon Dynamite at Rooftop Movies followed by a dj set by Pedro himself. HILARE. I keep on going back to Bivouac and I would definitely say it is my favourite go to restaurant at the moment. Honest produce driven food, vibrant staff and a well equipped bar. They always use organic, free range and local produce wherever possible and it really shines through their tasty offerings.
Thom Yums to start ... whisky sour with a chilli kick.
The latest exhibition on the canteen walls is Milk by Mow Skowz. It reminded me of having a nightmare about teletubbies.
"They're pretty good, except for one little problem. That little guy right there. He is nipple number five. A good dairy cow should have, like, four." Pedro
I LOVE the staff at Bivouac ... so much so I could/should/do call them my friends. I always let them take over and do the ordering. I never let anyone do the ordering ... so that says something.
Orange & rosemary sicilian green olives ... UM succulent! Patatas bravas are a new addition and oh so salty and flavoursome like the gems at bottom of a chip bag.
Cider braised mussels, chorizo and fennel. Oh so tasty and we ordered another round of turkish bread to mop up all the liquid goodness. I did think about just gulping down the rest of the sauce ... I totally would have done that at home or if no one was watching.
Greek lamp backstrap, zucchini, kalamata olives, tzatziki and mint pizza. Pan-friend gnocchi, cauliflower, purple basil, stracchino and toasted almonds. Crispy Linley Valley pork belly, broccolini and horseradish cream. Secret Menu Steak ... this was all kinds of awesome! A hunk of beef marinated for 12 hours in home made red wine with smashed potatoes and white bean puree. We did consider ordering one more god damn I could eat it now. We left full and happy and I still found it in me to eat popcorn.
A bivouac is designed for rest and recuperation and that's what we're all about.
Tako Balls
Tako yaki are Japanese ball shaped dumplings. Almost like a little pancake ball full of yummy chopped up eight legged sea creatures, pickled ginger, green onion and tempura scraps. I loved the gorgeous sign and almost militant approach to feeding the masses at the William Street Festival. The takoyaki pan sure got a work out.
Bivouac
After waiting for a table at Toast and then at the Sentinel and then being told it would be 30 minutes to actually receive a caffeine injection ... it occurred to me ... BIVOUAC! Saturday morning around 10.30 and were sitting out the front sipping lattes on William Street by 10.35 ahhhhh. Perfect! There is nothing worse than someone eyeing off your table as you get your breakfast willing you to scoff and run .. actually there is something worse ... being the eyeballing asshole.
I am possibly Bivouac's biggest fan of late. A mixture of staff whom I just LOVE, food that never fails and good honestly priced booze. I love that the menu changes often enough to keep things interesting but I can say "omg you have to try this" and not frown. We opted for the eggs and bouzy combos.
The Bloody Marys were so pretty with a punchy kick of horseradish. I ordered a Salute the Sun with a poached egg and Baron Gutter had the Gypsy Baked Eggs which were perfectly cooked with googy egg.
Please visit Bivouac for a tasty, no fuss, NO FKING LINE, kinda breakfast. The best kind.
Viet Hoa
chicken + rice BOOM
La Cholita
Making the most of the hustle of Fringe World we ducked into La Cholita for a liquid refreshment (hello tequila heaven) and some mexican fare before tackling the Twilight Laneway Markets (which were gorgeous). It was nice to go before the evening rush were battling for a table is like waiting for the changeroom at a Sass and Bide sale. You ca'nt exactly say fk it I will sit and eat on the floor thanks. But thats the beauty of somewhere fresh and new Perth ... if it's a winner, it's obvious.
guacamole ~ chorizo queso corelo quesadilla ~ chicken corn salsa tostadas ~ slow cooked pork pineapple onion ~ beef tartare tostadas
Dough Pizza
William Street is a breeding ground of new eateries and bars. Whilst I truly miss Sparrow and my smiling asian friend being astounded at how much my sisters and I can eat ... I really loved Dough. Whilst a little on the expeno side, its a cheery place to grab an easy lunch or dinner with friends and byo is always a thumbs up.
tappjno aperitivo analcolico ... yep I took the bottles homes (don't judge) The Farmer ~ bianca potato crumbed italian sausage spanish onions n rosemary Diavola ~ margherita ventricina kalamatta olives roasted capsicum n chilli