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 | THE STANDARD (Northbridge, WA)

Oh Northbridge, I love this change in you.   

Marinated olives 

Chicken parfait, hibiscus, parsley, shallot

Free range bbq (deboned) chicken wings, granny smith apple  Hallelujah .. wave goodbye to sticky fingers!

Beef carpaccio, wasabi, soy

36 hour pork, witlof, onion, puffed grains

Lamb belly, sweet and sour eggplant, grapefruit

Spanner crab salad, orange, buttermilk, herbs

EAT | TONG 86 (Northbridge, WA)

man my clothes stink

It's kinda hard not to have a love hate relationship with Korean bbq.  I am down with pickles and spice, the frozen pieces of meat don't phase me and I am quite happy to cook my own meat and chop it up with communal scissors. It's just the aroma of smokey cooked meat that clings to your clothes, following you home like an awkward first date. 

Bbq cologne aside, Tong 86 with its gritty warehouse interior is perfect for a group catch up. Sinking  Korean beers, we ordered an assortment of meat and fired up the cooker. All eyes were on the pancake and pork belly, as we drowned each mouthful in kimchee. 

A cheap and tasty farewell dinner for our fab friend Hannah. Complete with a fragrant little bonus.

When in Rome … 

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Why yes ... I am pleased to eat you

I love the fit out with its punches of cool blue, exposed brick, low hanging warehouse lights and pretty tiles. 

Hi, I am Laura and I am an addict.    Since the glass door swung open, I have easily ventured into Pleased to Meet You every other week to get my fix.  

Maybe it's my love for street food and food trucks, or the staff who are as laid back as the hip hop tunes they play.  Hidden amongst the asian haunts of Northbridge, the stripped back warehouse style feel welcomes you with small bar ambience.  It is just all kinds of right making you go back for another hit of beef tongue reuben euphoria. 

A sneaky little tip is to head in early on a Sunday.  Whilst all the breky joints are heaving with 40 minute table waits, Pleased to Meet You is only gearing up.  Who wouldn't want a wagyu burger and a cocktail for breakfast?

Beef tongue rueben sandwiches in steamed mantou … this is my kinda heaven!

Oh duck tacos  … you make me so happy!

The Argentinian pork sandwich (hello crispy crackling) and a delicious plate of oysters

Burger time!

EAT | TAK CHEE HOUSE (Northbridge, WA)

The only place for authentic Hainanese chicken rice is Tak Chee House.   

EAT | BIVOUAC (Northbridge, WA)

Whether its a quick meal before a show or a long lazy dinner with friends, Bivs is always 10/10. 

Giving Up the Ghosts

A lone tree looms in the background, its bare limbs sorrowfully mirroring the sad girl on stage. She paces back and forth frustrated, back and forth past the worn car seats that litter the stage. Circling the car, she looks into the distance with wild, manic eyes. The girl checks her watch and shakes her head. The mood of the theatre grows uneasy with her consuming panic as she paces and circles some more.

‘Giving Up the Ghosts’ follows the story of an unlikely pair. After connecting on an internet forum, Ruth and Steve plan to meet a week later, both with their hearts set on the same ill fate. A secluded beaten track, off a quiet country road, is the perfect place to be forgotten.

Ruth, neurotic and still living at home, has never really known happiness, whilst Steve an affable truckie feels lost and hopeless. Based on a real event in the UK where two strangers meet online to commit suicide, this compelling production explores the story of two souls rather than the act itself. What unfolds is a tender and honest depiction of the human heart and how easy it is to break.

Georgia King and Paul Grabovac deliver stand out performances in this dark and brooding new works by emerging talent, Sarah Young. The dialogue is thoughtful yet wry, the intimacy of the Blue Room providing the perfect setting for this provocative piece to unfold.

‘Giving Up the Ghosts’ is showing at the Blue Room until 12 July and is part of the Winter Arts Season. For more info visit the Blue Room Theatre.

A warm hug

The secret to this big bowl of love, also known as Pho, is the quality of the stock.  Lately we have been getting our weekly dose of warm hugs from Lido in Northbridge.  
 
Where do you love to tuck into Pho?     

Casa Mexicana - El Compa

Dining at this little cantina is like being welcomed into the home of your Mexican friend.    It's that house you visit and think gosh I wish I lived here. After all El Compa’s name translates to ‘Mexican house-best mate’. 

Warm and inviting with cheery plastic tables swathed with brown paper and crayons to scribble.  Not too trendy with not a sniff of tex-mex, El Compa is somewhere in the middle and it has found it's sweet spot.

Generous servings of guacamole and corn, soft tacos filled with carnita and cactus and sticky de luce drizzled over crepes.  A perfect little haunt for a cheap night out.   

The Bivs

'A bivouac is designed for rest and recuperation and that’s what we’re all about.'

Many a night have seen us take shelter at Bivouac, hiding from the merciless amount of dishes I create whilst cooking and the food shop that I should have done yesterday.  

The menu boasts Middle Eastern flavours, with delicious little pomegranate gems finding their way through many dishes.  The Bivs, as we affectionately call it, is the perfect place to retreat with friends.

Last time we tucked into:  

porcini & goat cheese croquettes, truffle mayo
pizza ~ sucuk turkish sausage, red pepper, wild iranian fig, ricotta, dukkah
spiced cauliflower, goat curd, currants
 slow cooked beef cheeks, jester potato, brussel sprouts, braising liquor, carrot jam & harissa
 egyptian spiced panna cotta, dried persian fruit compote, candied popcorn

Fin

When it comes to suspenseful films, I will find any excuse to leave the room.  I will iron your tea towels, darn your socks or polish every single piece of cutlery, one by one.  As soon as I draw in that short breath, pulse quickening, I will do any level of the mundane to take me away from that screen.  I would prefer to half watch, my mind wandering to a safer place. 

When the Spanish Film Festival season was released I excitedly selected a few films at random.  The End or 'Fin' to our Spanish speaking amigos, was at the top of that hastily chosen list.  I prefer to think of myself as a happy endings kind of girl.  I am particularly pathetic during thrillers, forever squirming at the unknown.  I simply hate being in suspense.

When the film synopsis reads that you will be 'glued to your seat right up until its last haunting moments' you know you are going to love it or hate it.  So I enlisted my friend Shanon; the suspense junkie.  I knew she would be keen to get her fix and wouldn't mind holding my hand.

The End tells the story of a group of old friends celebrating a 20 year reunion in a secluded mountain cabin.  It is a time to reminisce, drinking and telling stories around the bonfire.  They group catch up on lost moments and some they would rather forget.   A series of unexplained events occur, and it all gets a little eerie.  I won't give too much away!

The End is a movie that will keep you glued to the screen whether petrified or enthralled.  Definitely a film to watch this season so head down to Cinema Paradiso on Saturday, 22 June for it's final viewing. 

Great White

Da dummm. Imagine you are a young man frolicking with your girlfriend in the ocean one afternoon. You fight, she bites you and in a huff  swims to shore, retreating to the safety of the sand. It is cold, its bleak, some would even call it shark weather.  A drop of blood hits the water and a young girl appears from the darkness below.  She rises and says with a predatory glare ‘I am going to eat you’.  

Great White is a terrifying new play directed by Will O'Mahony bearing the tag line ‘ocean stillness dinner’.  A lot less Jaws, and a lot more thought provoking than its title may suggest.  Great White invites you into the Blue Room Theatre where the stage is a sea of balloons and blow-ups. 

A journey into an ocean of love, fear and life grasping with remorse and lost opportunities.  We follow Ben and not one but two Laurens as they struggle with the tick of time, themselves and each other.  What does it mean to be great?  And what is greatness after all.  Great White makes us stop and think, are you great or are you just dinner?  

The local cast of Adriane Daff, Mikala Westall and Will O’Mahony all gave an outstanding performance taking you from laughter to despair.   Definitely not the kind of carnage you expected.  

Great White will be the show this season that you will wish you had seen. This superb production is showing in the intimate surrounds of The Blue Room Theatre until29 June. This work was made pozible by a wonderful bunch of people who pledged their support.  Pozible is an awesome platform for crowdfunding creative projects such as this.   

‘GREAT WHITE started with a scribble and has grown into something with teeth’ Will O’Mahony.

Sayers Sister

"Oh my god you are engaged!" were the words heard by patrons enjoying their breakfast late Sunday morning.  They peered over coffee cups, watching me shake my friend Rhian whilst grinning like the Chesire Cat.  Catching up with an old friend is always lovely but catching up during life's most momentous occasions is just amazing.  Breakfast at Sayers Sister was the perfect place to celebrate.   

Mark & Stef Sayers brought breakfast to life in 2006.  Sayers Food opened its doors in Leederville, offering a relaxed, cheerful vibe and an evolving seasonal menu that people line up for time and time again.  This little cafe, so long ago, opened up my eyes as to how fabulous breakfast should be.  Sayers were among the very few who set the standard; bespoke coffee, perfect eggs and a produce driven breakfast menu.  Oh and some of the best banana bread I have ever enjoyed.  It was no surprise when I heard that another Sayers was brewing.       

Sayers Sister opened in the later half of 2012 and has been enjoying the same attention as its older brother.  I love the fresh flowers against the vintage decor, the long polished concrete table constantly full of cakes and chattering people, and the Mad Hatter's high backed chairs.  It is like being at Alice's tea party with all the pretty crockery.  The only madness is lining up for a table!

Photo credit: This stunning image is by Jason Thomas. 

We lined up, happily waiting, discussing sparkling diamond rings and weddings. Sayers Sisters has one of those menus with almost too much to contemplate.  I am always battling over a selection of savoury or sweet.  So I took the easy road, ordering something sweet to share.  

We sipped on our coffees, oohing over our comforting plate of pumpkin bread, cutting off little slices and slathering them in maple butter. And then it was time for our mains ….oh my.  I ordered the potato rosti with bramley apple and thyme chutney served with two poached eggs, bacon and rocket.  Rhi enjoyed the corned beef hash cake with fried eggs, toasted ciabatta and relish.  A gorgeous breakfast to complete a blissful weekend of celebrations.

The little tough girl

I am pretty sure this little tough girl is featured on the back of La Cholita's business cards.  I do love the atmosphere of La Cholita; loud, always busy with its endless shelves heaving with tequilas and mezcals. 

​We started the party with the usual offerings of tacos and tostadas.  Washing down the always satisfying queso and chorizo quesadillas with a tamarind soda.  The food here is always tasty and pushing the right buttons however, I was a little sad that our pork hock was allowed to leave so early!  The naughty piggy you should have stayed cooking for another two hours. You would (should) have been oh so tender! 

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

Tra Vinh

This little gem is off the beaten track of William Street, hidden down Brisbane Street.  I have often walked passed Tra Vinh and gazed inside at the busy tables and happy faces.  I am so glad we finally stopped in for dinner.  Fresh and authentic Vietnamese eats with fast and friendly service and you can walk away with less than $15 per head.    Dinner with my old housemates, Laura and Laura (yes this is not a typo!) is always a dream.  Perfect way to spend a low key Saturday night tucking into vermicelli salads and crispy chicken.  

Bivouac

Pizza time!

Sayers Sister

Sayers baby sister is opening this Thursday, 2 August.  How very exciting!  I just know this little place will be a buzz much like it's big bro. Sayers in Leederville really set the benchmark for breakfast in Perth. Which for so long has been the beating heart of Leederville.  Locally sourced seasonal produce with a commitment to quality, their passion and love of good food truly shows.

As a huge fan and loyal patron I am so excited to watch their new venture bloom and prosper.  Congratulations to you both Mark & Steph! I cannot wait to tuck in! xo

Sayers Sister ~ 236 Lake Street, Northbridge.

duck me

Best peking duck pancakes in town. Do you agree?