DO | NIGHT NOODLE MARKETS

let's call it bao town

The Perth Cultural Centre was again brought to life with music, chatter and the aroma of smoky bbq goodness.  The Night Noodle Markets kicked off on Wednesday luring crowds of hawker food seekers.  If noodles were the holy grail, the wonderful offering of soft, fluffy steamed bao  certainly led me astray. There is something special about the humble bao, those steamed mantou buns lovingly stuffed with magical combinations. 

Who: Lucky Chan's Noodle & Laundry (almost open in Northbridge)
Where: Urban Orchard
What: Bao Chicka Wow Wow -  Panko crumbed chicken, sesame mayo and kimchi and Red braised pulled pork, pickled cucumber and charsui. 
Tip: Definitely order both and devour them yourself!  I'll be going back to try the ramen 

Who: Let's Do Yum Cha
Where: Central Square
What:  Steamed BBQ pork bao, Prawn and chive dumplings 
Tip: The signs are a little deceiving as they say 6 for $15.  You can make up a plate of 6 different yum cha morsels for $15.    

Who: Let's Do Yum Cha
Where: Central Square
What:  Steamed BBQ pork bao 

Who: Low Key Chow House (Leederville)
Where: Central Square
What: Mantou buns with pork two ways, crispy and slow 

Who: Low Key Chow House (Leederville)
Where: Central Square
What: Kari Ayam Chicken Curry served Nonya style
Tip: This would make the perfect main course after devouring a few small plates.  So flavoursome!

Who: Banana Leaf
Where: Urban Orchard
What: BBQ pork skewers cooking
 

Who: Banana Leaf
Where: Urban Orchard
What: Lechón Kawali (Deep Fried Pork Belly) 
Tip: Give the pork a good drizzle with vinegar and make sure you sauce up your rice.  This could have been heaps tastier with a thick oozy sauce.

Who: Banana Leaf
Where: Urban Orchard
What: BBQ pork skewers 
Tip: Make sure you douse the rice in plenty of sauce

There are also plenty of bar offerings including Yalumba's pop-up sea container where you can sit overlooking the bustle, Thatchers Cider and Coopers.  Sit down and wash down your Asian delights to the sound of great tunes.    

The Night Noodle Markets will be running 18-29 March 2015 
Mon Tues 5-9pm 
Wed 5-10pm 
Thur Fri 5-11pm
Sat Sun 4-9pm

Here is a peek at the menu:

POP UP | KUNG FOOD (Perth, WA)

 A pop up at Noodle Palace during Fringe World Festival

There is only one week left to revel in fried rice so dirty its almost sexual, completed by a wonderous river of the gooey-est egg porn you've ever dreamed. 

The maestros behind El Publico and Mary Street Bakery have popped up KUNG FOOD at Noodle Palace, a Fringe venue curated by the awesome team at Jump Climb.  Drink at the bar, enjoy a show and tuck into dirty rice and lamb ribs.  

Menu - photo from Noodle Palace FB page

Digging in.  Yeah we ordered EVERYTHING on the menu.

Dirty rice, corned beef, kimchi and egg

An onslaught of awesome

#69 special curry and rice

Egg porn right there (Dirty rice, corned beef, kimchi and egg)

Asian chiko roll

Juicy juicy hot and sour lamb ribs.  Make sure you have a wad of serviettes handy for those sticky fingers!

EAT | SINGAPORE CHICKEN RICE (Morley, WA)

noodles, noodles, chicken rice

There was a time when the Galleria in Morley was ma 'hood.   We hung there every Thursday night throwing our pocket money at clothes from Hounddog and Live. I don't head to Morley much these days but every now and then a trip to Coventry Markets calls.  Its great to stock up on sriracha and kim chee at the Asian supermarkets or spices and chillis at The Spice Wagon and end with a trip to Singapore Chicken Rice.

Curry chicken noodle - $10.80

Fried keow tow - $10.80

Singapore chicken rice - $10.80

POP UP | THE SARAPAN (Victoria Park, WA)

The pop up - 1 Leonard Street, Victoria Park

Transporting you to the streets of Malaysia. The Sarapan means breakfast in Malay and pops up every weekend at the restaurant incubator on Leonard Street in Victoria Park.  

Roti Canai - freshly made flatbread with dahl and sambal and chicken curry $5  

Nasi Lemak - A Malaysian breakfast staple of fried spiced chicken, sambal, crispy anchovies. peanuts, slices of cucumber and boiled egg served with fragrant coconut rice $11.50

Roti bom - flatbread with condensed milk

A peek into the kitchen at The Saparan 

Kaya Toast - thick white bread with homemade kaya $4

EAT | VIET HOA (Northbridge, WA)

You're starting on Monday, so order all the things

I'm a firm believer in starting on a Monday.  Monday not only marks the mourning of the weekend, but it brings that pretty sparkle of hope to start anew with a whoooooole juicy week do things right. I have uttered those words … I'll start [enter new obsession] on Monday … so many times even I roll my eyes.

The latest obsession is to tighten up on dining out.  Work gets cray, the social calendar plumps up and the fridge grows bare, evenings at bikram turn into nights at Brika, Monday comes round and we've been out every night.  It gets exhausting and there is only so much kombucha a girl can drink before she needs to slow down a little on the degustations.  I'm not saying there will be a gastronomic drought or that you won't find new blog posts each week, just going to spend a little more time in.  My aim for the new year to get back into the kitchen, find my inner yogi and spend more time enjoying the sunshine (and not in a beer garden somewhere enjoying pizza, okay well that's a lie).

So with this on my conscience, as anyone in my position would do, I crammed in as many eating adventures as my digestive system could handle before Monday rolled in.  It had been a long time between stuffed chicken wings so we thought Viet Hoa in Northbridge would be perfect for lunch.  We ordered all the things (well except the stuff chicken wings) cos I'm starting on Monday.

Sang chow bow chicken - I love adding mountains of chilli and then eating half the chicken before wrapping it up it like a little lettuce sandwich. 

Bun bo xao - braised beef with lemon grass and rice vermicelli.  I found the rice noodles a little too thick for my liking. The crispy roast duck with peking sauce ain't got nothing on Good Fortune Duck House across the road.  Considering we paid only $53 for the whole meal, you can't really complain.  I love this about Viet Hoa - if you want cheap and cheerful it always delivers.  

Com ga hai nam - Hai Nam chicken rice is a pretty healthy dish if you want something simple and light. The best chicken rice I have ever eaten aside from my Nanna's cooking is Tian Tian Chicken Rice in Singapore.  If you are looking for chicken rice in Perth, then Tak Chee on William Street is the answer, followed far behind by Singapore Chicken Rice at the Coventry Markets. 

EAT | CRYSTAL JADE PALACE (Singapore)

Exquisite Chinese fine dining with reasonably priced dim yum.

Crystal Jade Palace Restaurant
91 Orchard Road #04-19
gee Ann City, Singapore

el: +65 6735 2388

Noodles

After 8 exhausting days at ThermoFest, the novelty of ordering food within the hotel certainly wears off.  We just wanted something simple, tasty with some kick as our last lunch in the ops rooms.  Hot and spicy noodle soup at the InterContinental Hong Kong did the trick.​

EAT | FATTY CHEONG (Singapore)

A line of people waiting patiently is a pretty good indication that there is something worth waiting for.  Fatty Cheong touted as the best char siew in Singapore is one of these places.  After stalking ieatishootipost walking around like a hawker nerd with Dr Leslie Tay's book under my arm, I literally scrambled into line.

​Fatty Cheong has been around for 15 years with all blogs pointing towards it.   The rich marinade of soya sauce, sugar, oyster sauce and salted bean paste lovingly caramelizes the meat.  A charcoal oven lends a smoky flavour with the pork available in either a lean or marbled version.  I don’t know if it was the charred bits of fat that  melted with every bite or the fact that it was only $4.  Either way, I would definitely line up again.

Fatty Cheong
​ABC Brickworks Food Centre
​​​6 Jalan Bukit Merah
​​​#01-120 S150006

EAT | GUANG JI BAO ZAP (Singapore)

You can find bao on every corner in Singapore, in cafes, street stalls, in restaurants and even at the 7/11.  They are so hit and miss so it is refreshing to discover a stallwith homemade boa.  For 70c a pop Uncle serves up a selection of bao including lotus paste and red bean.  We had our hearts on the char siew bao .  The buns were perfectly soft and fluffy, the char siew juicy making it the perfect marriage.  So good we went back for seconds.  The best bit was watching their nimble hands lovingly shape the boa and steaming it fresh.  There is nothing like homemade boa so if you can find a stall making their own … eat there!  

Guang Ji Bao Zai
BC Brickworks Food Centre
Jalan Bukit Merah
#01-135 S150006 

MOMOFUKU SEIOBO lucky peaches

Momofuku sounds like a naughty play on words but in Japanese it means "lucky peach".  It also happens to be the first name of the gent who invented instant ramen.  If you have ever been able to secure a booking at Momofuku then well aren't you a lucky peach.  Their "I don't care who you are" philosophy means that they only take bookings ten days in advance.   We snagged a booking for four for lunch on 9 November 2012.  

Oh sweet sweet memories ...

​snacks 
​nori, blood, chicharone

​steamed buns
​​pork, cucumber, hoisin

​pink snapper
​celery, mustard

​potato 
​watercress, bottarga

​quail
​cucumber, lemon aspen 

​zucchini
​konbu, yolk

​hapuka
​white asparagus, black garlic

pork neck 

 cabbagem oyster

​curd 
​blackcurrant, thyme

pear
​honey cream, muntries​

donut
​caramel, pig's fat​

Little Lamb

​What a curious little place!  Rotating skewers, an endless buffet of familiar and foreign food to add to your hot pot and cheap cheap beer.  I think a Halloween party would go down a treat with this selection, adding all that is weird and wonderful into your bubbling cauldron.  

LIttle Lamb
​91 James Street, Northbridge

Viet Hoa

Sometimes you just don't want to do dishes. So you just go for chicken rice.

Golden King BBQ Express

I have not visited this little place since I worked at the Tanning Salon in Morley many moon's ago.  Our friend Feisty's little boy dubbed it the "Chop Chop Man" way back when referring to the chopping of duck and pork.  Selection of meats is pretty decent and there is something magical about their ginger dipping sauce.

Shanghai Tea Garden

The food here was tasty.  A little TOO tasty.  I hate msg hangovers.

Ria

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

Phong Vinh

I am terribly slack with trying new places. I love Lido but sometimes it's a little expensive for a midweek too lazy to cook trek. We walked past Viet Hoa which was packed so ventured on to Phong Vinh. So cheap! So tasty! We ordered chicken pad thai, rice rolls served with spicy dipping sauce and crispy chicken.  Will definitely go back.

Viet Hoa

chicken + rice BOOM