Truly Scrumptious

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Union Kitchen, Mindarie

Union Kitchen is located at Mindarie Marina next to the Boat pub, and is on the site of the old Waterfront cafe.
We visited on Christmas Eve for tea and cake and loved the muffins, so we decided to return for breakfast.
I chose the vanilla coconut chia trifle which was a very pleasant surprise. Each spoonful revealed more yumminess from the top layer of granola and yoghurt, through the berry compote and down to the depths of the soft chia. It was accompanied with a fresh fruit salad and ticked all of the healthy boxes for me.

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I also ordered a detox green juice with apple, cucumber, lemon and kiwi. It was very refreshing and tasty.

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One companion ordered the poached eggs on granary with a side of bacon. Simple but delicious and prepared with care.

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My other companions ordered the blueberry buttermilk pancakes which arrived with lots of squirty cream and a blueberry and banana compote. The pancakes also had blueberries in the batter, and started off quite promising, but as each mouthful was consumed they became a little sickly and we ended up with two unfinished plates. It would have been better to contrast the pancakes with something less sweet, or to just reduce the overall amount of sugar. Maybe a lemon yoghurt instead of cream would have helped.

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Tea was well presented with nice pots and all of the usual paraphernalia, and a little complimentary biscuit:

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So what was the verdict on Union Kitchen ? It’s a great cafe in a wonderful location, the pancakes were good, but too sweet, and everything else was satisfactory. Definitely worth a visit.

Visit Date – January 2018

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Fibber McGee’s, Leederville

As an ex UK resident, English born, I sometimes pine for a wonderful Sunday roast. I can cook lovely roasts at home, but sometimes I want to be the guest and have it cooked for me. We tried our local pub last year, but the carvery was dire, pre-cooked, pre-carved meats in metal containers – everything was overcooked and tasteless.

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I had seen Fibber McGee’s on several occasions, being a Leederville regular, but I didn’t realise that it was much more than a quaint Irish pub. Fibbers have their own organic farm, and they provide their own dry aged beef and organic produce for the restaurant.
The restaurant is an old fashioned room with leather seats with the homely feel of somebody’s lounge, but also very typical of an Irish pub that you would find in any town in Eire. The friendly staff are all Irish, and extremely helpful.

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For the Sunday roast we had the choice of beef (medium rare), lamb, or pork, and we chose the classic roast beef. Other options on the menu included chicken and leek pie, Irish breakfast and fish and chips. Fibbers also provide a range of veggie options on a separate menu.

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The beef was beautiful, sitting on top of a heap of stuffing, with a delightfully crispy but slightly stodgy Yorkshire pudding, perfectly cooked veggies and crispy tasty roast potatoes.
The vegetables were firm enough to hold together but soft enough to slice easily with a knife, and the cauliflower was perfectly cooked with a lovely coating of cheese sauce. Our only disappointment was that they had run out of horseradish sauce.
We were offered the dessert menu, but refused on the basis that we were about to collapse into a food coma. The four dessert options were ice cream, sticky date pudding, banoffee pie, and chocolate brownie. I may have been tempted if there was a crumble option. We also had a very generous Entertainment book voucher, so got one of the main courses free.

Fibbers have an impressive wine list too – it’s not extensive but every choice is a good one, and when I return I will have a hard time choosing a wine to accompany the meal. I will return, because that was a great Sunday lunch and I can’t wait to try some of the other menu options.

Visit Date – May 2018

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John Street Cafe, Cottesloe

I have been making the trek to John Street for brekkie/brunch for quite a few years now, and although it seems to have changed hands in recent years, the quality is still the same.
Using wonderful quality ingredients, there is a selection of food for breakfast and lunch, to eat in or takeaway. Breakfast is served all day and lunch starts at 11:30am. There are also tables on the pavement which makes for a dog friendly cafe. Staff are friendly and welcoming, and even when the cafe is packed to the rafters, you can often get a table with less than a 20 minute wait.
The fresh orange juice never disappoints – delicious, freshly squeezed and sweet:

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On this visit, the coffee was not particularly good, quite strong and bitter:

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I usually like the John Street ‘Lot’ for brekkie, but on this occasion chose the Hash n Smash. Very nicely constructed veggie hashcakes with two poached eggs, spinach, chunky tomato relish and a heap of bacon. Also available with smoked salmon:

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My companions chose the eggs benny with ham. Nice soft muffin with fresh thick hollandaise and perfectly poached eggs:

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By the end of the meal, the plates were clean. Another triumph for John Street. The only minus points were for the lacklustre coffee. A great way to start the day followed by a walk along Cottesloe beachfront.

Last Visit Date – December 2017

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Grill’d, Joondalup

Of all the burger joints in Perth, Alfred’s Kitchen is my favourite, but when I don’t want to make the trek to Guildford, Grill’d is probably the best chain around. I like that they offer a low carb superbun, and the patties are always fresh, lean and tasty.
My go to option tends to be mustard and pickled, but I spotted a wagyu version on the menu and decided to try the Bonfire BBQ (minus the cheese) – the menu description is:
Premium wagyu pattie with native Davidson plum barbeque sauce, crispy bacon, Dijon mustard, pickle, aged cheddar, Spanish onion & egg mayo.
It was very good, the dijon and plum sauce add a nice piquant but sweet twist.

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My partner chose the Moroccan lamb – Grass fed lean lamb, roasted peppers, tzatziki, salad & relish. This was nicely spicy, very tasty and a great combination with the smooth contrast of the tzatziki.

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We also chose the herby chips and a chilli mayo dip. Grill’d always delivers on flavour choice and great service.

Grill’d also have several vegan and vegetarian options with veggie patties, pea protein patties and Beyond meat patties.

Last Visit Date – January 2020

Restaurant review, Vegan/Vegetarian

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Gordon Street Garage, West Perth

We paid Gordon Street Garage a revisit and were blown away by the quality of the food that we received. The coffees were great from Mano a Mano coffee roasters – a lovely Brazilian blend.
For our brunch we chose a blue swimmer crab omelette which was delicious and packed with crab meat filling from end to end. The salad accompaniment was also lovely – a great minty chilli leafy heap and the sriracha sauce was a winning touch. If nothing else, come here for the crab omelette.

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Last Visit Date – December 2018

Click here to find out more.

Previous review from November 2013:
In need of some brekkie/brunch on a Saturday morning, I decided to go to Gordon St Garage, having heard a lot of comments about this place. It is almost opposite Watertown, so if there’s no parking nearby, there’s always the Watertown car park.
It is a large place, quite quirky, with an emphasis on coffee and all the different ways that you can make it, and there is lots of coffee paraphernalia for sale. We had to wait about 15 minutes for a table.

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The menu contained a lot of vegetarian options, and looking around it looked like the most popular items were the baked beans with poached eggs and the scrambled eggs with herbs and sourdough.
If you are looking for a traditional fry up, this is not the place for you, no sausages or bacon on the menu.

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We went with the majority and ordered the beans and the scrambled eggs, accompanied by a coffee and a fresh orange juice.

Fresh baked beans, pimento, pancetta, poached eggs:
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Scrambled eggs, rocket, soft herbs, sourdough:
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So what was the verdict ? Both dishes were very nice, but could have done with some extra seasoning. There was no salt or pepper on the tables. The coffee was nice, but only came with one size option – a ‘large’ option would be good.
The beans were a nice mixture of haricot and kidney, with plenty of bread to mop up the sauce and egg. The scrambled eggs were tasty, the herbs and rocket added a nice dimension to it and it looked like a 4-egg portion, so quite substantial.

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Good Things Cafe, Mosman Park

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Good Things is a cafe set in a parade of shops on leafy Wellington Street in Mosman Park. We arrived for breakfast on a Sunday morning and felt that the cafe had a really good vibe with seating inside and out. It’s big, clean and airy, and pet friendly – they happily provide a bowl of water for dogs.
We started with a coffee while perusing the menu. Wow the coffee is really good, with beans from Micrology coffee roasters. I chose an iced soy coffee and my partner had a soy flat white – both delicious.

The menu has a slight Korean influence with items like Kimchi and sweet potato fritters, as well as some breakfast favourites such as muesli, hotcakes, eggs and some really healthy looking bowls – The Hulk contains avocado, peas, mint, pickles red onion, whipped feta, seeds and sourdough.
Eventually I plumped for the Chilli scrambled eggs with Korean sambal, soy caramel bacon, crispy shallots and roti. This was a very tasty plate of food. On it’s own the bacon was a bit sweet for my tastes, but combined with the eggs and roti, it was really good. I also had a side of kale.

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My partner chose the Weekend Waffles with southern fried chicken, bacon, chilli,
butterscotch and waffle. Again, he felt that the butterscotch was sweet, but including all of the elements in each mouthful tasted really nice and it was a dish that got better and better as he ate it.

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There was a board of lunch specials which looked really tempting:

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We really liked Good Things. The staff are lovely, the coffee amazing, the food quirky and tasty, and the environment clean and bright. They play some pretty good chilled music too. I loved everything about this cafe.

Visit Date – October 2018

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Ha-Lu, Mount Hawthorn

Everybody who knows me knows how much I love Ha-Lu. It is one of my top Perth restaurants. The menu changes from time to time and the new dishes are always exciting. Here is a photo diary of one of our visits.

This is a drink called a chu-high which contains some Shochu. They also do ume plum and yuzu flavours which contain tiny jelly pieces. All three are lovely:
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The sashimi is always really high quality – this is scallops, salmon and kingfish. The wasabi provided is nice and hot – as it should be.
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Tuna and watermelon is a new dish on the menu – lovely fresh raw tuna on slices of succulent watermelon. With different toppings, mustard mayo, spring onion, radish and wasabi.
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This is a dish which I always order at Ha-Lu. A salad with root vegetables such as potato, sweet potato, carrot, lotus root, with soy mustard dressing and a perfectly poached Onsen style egg in a crispy wanton basket. The whole dish is a delight.
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This is another new dish – soft succulent chicken tempura served with ponzu dipping sauce, plum mayo, and hiding underneath the pile of chicken is some pickled turnip. Very very good quality dish:
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I don’t know the secret ingredient, but Ha-Lu miso soup always tastes particularly delicious:
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Another favourite – lovely plump scallops on a crispy lotus root with radish, chilli flakes and black caviar.
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This is a signature dish of Ha-Lu. Tender duck breast with slices of perfectly cooked aubergine and different dipping sauces – madeira, mustard, wholegrain – always a favourite.

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No room for dessert. If you haven’t tried Ha-Lu yet, please do, it is a tapas style approach to Japanese food – if you think Japanese food is all about raw fish and sushi, think again.

Last Visit Date – March 2019

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Blueberry and Lemon Scones

I made these scones this morning when my friend Sarah came to visit. They taste incredibly good. If you treat the dough really gently, the blueberries keep their shape and they burst in your mouth as you eat the scone. you can also make them with raspberries and strawberries and you can add chunks of white chocolate if you want to be a bit decadent, but I found them sweet enough with just the lemon glaze.

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Ingredients:
2 cups (approx 250g) self raising flour – (if you only have plain flour, you can use plain and add 2 teaspoons baking powder)
half a teaspoon of salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder (even though it is self raising flour, I added a little extra boost)
5 tablespoons (70g) butter or non-dairy spread
1 cup of blueberries (this is approx one small 150g punnet) washed and patted dry with kitchen roll
1 cup (250ml) of double cream (or approx 100ml of premium coconut cream if you are dairy free/vegan, this also works with coconut yoghurt)
For the glaze – approx 1 cup (140g) of icing sugar and half a fresh lemon

Method:
1. Heat the oven to 200 deg C and line a baking tray with some baking parchment.
2. Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl or food processor i.e. the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar.
3. Either rub in the butter/dairy free spread, or use the food processor to blend it in until it is like fine breadcrumbs.
4. Stir in the blueberries.
5. Add the cream and very gently fold it in without crushing the blueberries, then pat the mixture together to form a soft dough. Treat it very gently, it does not have to be perfectly smooth. (If using coconut cream, just add 50ml to start and then add more as you need it – you shouldn’t need more than 150ml in total but it depends on the consistency of the coconut cream. I also added a teaspoon of lemon juice when I used coconut cream, because regular milk has an acid in it and I think you need a little acid to help with rising. A little
cream of tartar would also work)
6. Roll the dough out into a long rectangle approx 12 inches by 3 inches. It will be quite a thick layer of dough (1-2 inches thick) Cut this in half, then cut each piece in half again so that you have four pieces approx 3 inches square. Cut each piece diagonally so that you have 8 scones.
7. Brush each scone with some cream (or milk) and place on baking tray. Bake for approx 25 minutes. If brushing with coconut cream, bear in mind that they will not brown like milk basted scones, so touch them gently to test if they are done. If they are a little blonde, it doesn’t matter, because the top will have icing on it.
8. To make the glaze, sift the icing sugar into a bowl. Wash the lemon, then grate the zest from the lemon – add this to the icing sugar. Halve the lemon and squeeze the juice. Add the juice to the icing mixture a little at a time until you get a soft glaze which isn’t too runny. You want it to flow, but not run off the scones.
9. Spread the glaze over the top of each scone. You can use a piping bag if you like, or just use the back of a spoon like I did.
10. Enjoy with tea, coffee and friends.

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Recipe, Vegan/Vegetarian

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Viet Hoa, Northbridge

Viet Hoa is a bit of a Perth institution and we have visited several times. It does Vietnamese food, cafe style, and it does this very well.
The menu is enormous, really enormous, and you will dither over the array of goodies. They also have specials which are on the board above the kitchen hatch.
Some of my favourite entrees are the rice paper rolls, and the vietnamese grilled beef skewers with wine. The omelettes are also pretty good. The choice of soups is amazing, pho and bun, rice noodles, vermicelli noodles, then there’s chow mein, duck and rice, chicken curry, laksa, sweet and sour, satays, stir fries. There really is something for everybody.
Today we were there for lunch and fancied a traditional soup. I had the Hu tieu tom thit – pork meat and prawn hofan soup. This comes with a beautiful crispy prawn wanton, and a plentiful supply of pork, prawn and veggies. I added shredded mint and beansprouts and some chilli. The soup broth was really flavoursome and I enjoyed it right up until the last spoonful.

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My partner chose the mi bo kho – stewed beef and egg noodle soup. This was thick and luscious with a warm spicy rich broth (with a star anise background flavour), carrot, and tender well cooked meat. He really loved it.

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Viet Hoa is definitely a favourite Northbridge cafe – it always delivers.

Last Visit Date – September 2017

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