It Just Has To Be Delicious

Apple cake

09 06 24

What could be more delicious with a cup of tea than a freshly baked apple cake. This one is easy once you have everything ready to put in the bowl.

The size of the tin doesn’t matter too much, give or take a few centimetres, but I used a 20cm springform tin and lined it with baking parchment. I have a fan oven so I cooked this at 160 degrees C for 38 minutes, but if you don’t have a fan oven try 175 degrees C for 40 minutes. I always check my baking around 5 to 10 minutes before the cooking time is up and I listen to hear if the mixture is still bubbling. This is quite a gooey cake, so don’t worry that it’s not cooked if it seems a bit soft.

Recipe:

120g Plain flour
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
A quarter of a teaspoon of Salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
The zest of an orange or mandarin (optional)
110g Butter or dairy free spread
120g sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon Vanilla
3 tablespoons Dark Rum (if like me you are not drinking alcohol, add a tablespoon of honey instead)
Approx 3 and half cups of chopped apple (peeled, cored, I sliced them and halved the slices)

  1. Line/grease your baking tin of choice (I used a 20cm springform tin).
  2. Switch the oven on 160 deg C fan or 175 deg C non fan
  3. Mix together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and zest.
  4. In another bowl (or in a food mixer) place the sugar and butter.
  5. Prepare the apples.
  6. Cream together the sugar and butter (I use a hand held whisk but you can use a food processor). Do this for about 3 minutes.
  7. Add the eggs one at a time and whisk.
  8. Add the vanilla and rum or honey and whisk again, it should look light and fluffy.
  9. Stir in the dry ingredients from the other bowl.
  10. Fold in the apple pieces. All the flour and apples should be incorporated into the mixture.
  11. Carefully transfer to the prepared tin and smooth over the top with a spatula.
  12. Bake for 30 minutes then check. If it’s still a bit wobbly or still sounds like the mixture is bubbling, add another 5 minutes and check again.
  13. When it’s ready it should be golden on top.
  14. Cool, run a knife around the inside of the tin before releasing.
  15. Phone your friends to invite them round for tea. Tell them to hurry as the cake is still warm.
  16. Serve on it’s own or with custard or cream.

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Allegria, Ocean Reef

25 09 23

Allegria is a family run cafe, in the Ocean Reef shopping centre on Constellation Drive. As part of my quest to find Perth’s best Sunday roast, we decided to give Allegria a try. The roast is available from 4pm on Sundays, and there’s a Happy Hour between 5pm and 6pm.

Allegria is about much more than Sunday roasts, it’s a cafe, open from breakfast through to dinner, and has a wood fired pizza oven. They host theme nights (a recent one was a mexican night), and Paul the owner boasts that they make amazing coffee along with the tastiest pizzas around.

We dined for the roast beef and it was nice to see that the menu included other options – we could have also had chicken, pork, snapper or a beef rendang. There seems to be something for everybody. The wine list as also good, and I started with a prosecco, my partner choosing a lemon lime bitters.

When the lady took our order the overriding feeling was that this is a restaurant that cares about its customers. She explained everything really well, and we anticipated our roast beef with excitement. The ambience was really chilled and the young girls next to us were tucking into a delicious looking pizza, while the couple the other side were enjoying some very generous and yummy looking desserts.

When the plate arrived it didn’t disappoint. The beef was incredibly good quality, really tender and perfectly cooked. Accompanied by carrot, greens, broccolini, roasties and a superbly mutant yorkie it was delicious from the first mouthful to the last. We didn’t have to ask for sauces, we were given horseradish and hot mustard. One very minor criticism – I prefer to pour my own gravy, but luckily this was nicely distributed just as I like it.

Sadly we didn’t have room for dessert, but we will be back to try their other offerings and for several more Sunday dinners. This is the winner – Perth’s best Sunday roast!

Last visit – we’ll be back but this visit was September 2023

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The Galway Hooker, Scarborough

10 09 23

Continuing with the quest to find the best Sunday roast in Perth, we decided to give the Galway Hooker a try. It’s a traditional Irish pub in Scarborough – a mecca for backpackers who want to enjoy the bustle of the bars and cafes, and sunbathe and surf.

As soon as we arrived I was struck by how noisy it was. The pub was absolutely packed, and the waitress directed me to my reserved table which was in the middle of all the clamour. She explained that there was UFC being televised throughout the pub, and it would be noisy for the next hour or so, and she suggested that we come back later. As we had come a fair way (40 minute drive) we decided to stay, but it was impossibly noisy and hard to have a conversation.

I went to the bar and ordered two $28 roast beef dinners (the other choice was roast chicken).

It was certainly plentiful with several slices of beef, a Yorkshire pudding, some greens, squash, carrot, roasted potatoes and mash, with a nice amount of gravy. We also asked for horseradish, which was of good quality. The beef was a little variable, some slices were really tender where others were a little fatty or slightly tough. I would have liked a few extra roasties and no mash, and would have preferred to pour my own gravy, but it was still a nice plate of food, and I suppose they are catering to a lot of people and providing hearty Irish portions with something for everybody.

In terms of the noise, I really wish that they had a) informed me of the situation when I booked and b) seated us in a corner or booth rather than in the centre of the pub. I think on a different day, we may have enjoyed it more, but the noise, the table location, and the fact that it was ‘okay’ food rather than amazing means that we probably won’t return.

Last Visit – September 2023

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Canton Roe, Northbridge

07 09 23

Our favourite local yum cha joint has closed down, so we had to find a new one. There are really not many places in the Northern suburbs, so we decided to look at Northbridge again and settled for Canton Roe on Roe Street.

There’s 3 hours free parking at the Cultural Centre car park, which is always a bonus in central Perth. Canton Roe is busy and sometimes appears chaotic, but is incredibly well organised. We didn’t have to wait long before being seated.

When you order tea, you get a bowl of chilli sauce too, always good for dipping dumplings.

They have all the favourites on the menu, and the quality of the food is very good.

We chose:

Xiao long bao
Seafood sui mai
Seaweed prawn rolls
“Footballs” minced pork dumplings
Har Gow prawn dumplings
Stir Fried radish cake in XO sauce

All of the dishes were really good, and excellent quality. The prawn in the seaweed rolls was plentiful, the football dumplings were crispy on the outside with a very tasty mince filling, sui mai were wonderfully delicious with a nice amount of roe on top. I think we’ve found our new favourite, Canton Roe is the real deal.

Last Visit – we’ll be coming here a lot so likely in the last few weeks!

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Woodvale Tavern

20 08 23

The Woodvale Tavern seems to be based on an old English Pub, it has quite a large interior and stained glass windows. I’m not sure the atmosphere really feels as cosy as an old English Pub, but it’s friendly and welcoming. The visit was another stop on my mission to find the best Sunday Roast in Perth.

First of all I was glad to see that they had regular chairs and tables, none of the high tables with stools or backless chairs. I knew it was going to be a comfortable affair. The waitress showed us to our table – a nice booth and gave us the menus to peruse. I had already decided on the Sunday roast (carvery style), but I could see that other tables were choosing a la carte pub favourites.

When we went up to pay (that’s the deal, you pay first), we were given soup bowls, dinner plates and dessert bowls, and two rolls. The price includes a soup, carvery roast with all the trimmings, and a choice of desserts, and you can keep going up as many times as you like, you just have to keep your plates and cutlery.

The soup was pumpkin, quite nice, you go and serve yourself from a heated tureen, so can control your own portion size.

For the carvery, you queue up and are served a choice of turkey, beef or pork (or a mixture of the meats), and yorkshire pudding, then you help yourself to veggies. Veggies were plentiful with a choice of roast potatoes, peas, carrots, corn, squash, beans, and cauliflower cheese.

There is a table with all the usual sauces, and a tureen of gravy (which seemed quite Bisto-like).

The main course was very good. Not as posh as others we have tried recently, but good nonetheless, and a plateful was definitely enough for me I didn’t need to go up again.

Although quite full, we tried the desserts – again a serve-yourself option with heated trays of apple crumble and nutella chocolate sponge, with a tureen of custard. The desserts were lovely – the apple crumble quite sweet. My favourite was the nutella chocolate sponge – a wonderfully soft sponge with just enough nutella choc sauce.

It’s definitely good value at $34 for three unlimited courses ($15 for children) and I would go back. The service is friendly and the dining area is off to one side, so it’s a bit quieter and away from the clamour of the main pub area. Top marks for value, average quality, but all in all very tasty, and family friendly. If you have this lunch it will pretty much fill you up for the day.

Last Visit – August 2023

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Ramen Keisuke Tonkotsu King, Perth CBD

20 08 23

Do you ever get a craving for a ramen, and wonder where to go to get a quality bowl? Well look no further than Ramen Keisuke Tonkotsu King, nestled at the bottom of the Melbourne Hotel in Perth CBD. There is an art to a good ramen, and it’s all about the stock. If you can find a ramen outlet that take care over the stock then you are on to a winner.

RKTK is a small restaurant, and we were ushered to a table for two. You are given a supply of hard boiled eggs to snack on, and a small pestle and mortar with black and white sesame seeds. We worked out that you grind the sesame seeds and then dip your eggs into the powder, which adds a superb flavour to the eggs. The eggs seem to be unlimited – if you finish your basket of eggs, the waitress brings more.

For drinks we chose a fabulous large mug of oolong tea and a quirky Japanese soda (where opening the bottle is part of the fun).

The menu gives you a choice of ramen with different toppings. I recommend going for the ‘special’ with all of the toppings, then all you have to choose is whether you want the spicy red chilli sauce or the peppery spicy black sauce. I chose the red chilli on this occasion and wasn’t disappointed.

The ramen comes with lovely noodles, a huge piece of seaweed, cloud ear mushrooms, pork chasyu, spring onions, and flavoured egg. You can order extra of your favourite items or extra noodles if you wish. There is also a tub of pickled beansprouts on the table, which adds another level of flavour if that’s your thing.

The broth is thick and delicious, and the whole bowl creates mouthful after mouthful of umami, as well as a warming nourishing meal that will keep you going for most of the day. It’s a popular place and there seems to be a constant queue of hungry customers outside. I know why – they serve amazing ramen, which is possibly the best in Perth.

Last Visit – August 2023

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Vung Tau, Girrawheen

06 08 23

This is just a short post to tell you about the best bahn mi. In my opinion Bahn Mi is the perfect Vietnamese/French fusion food, and an ideal amount for lunch. It’s a french baguette, with pate, and then meats which are sometimes marinated, some sauces – generally hoisin and nuoc mam based, and cucumber, chilli, pickled carrots and coriander.

I’ve tried a lot of bahn mi, but my favourite go-to is Vung Tau in Girrawheen. They only do a pork bahn mi – in two styles, either traditional or roast pork. The roast pork version has lovely chunks of crackling and melting roast pork, while the traditional roll is an assortment of sliced pork meats, all very tasty and slightly different. They just call it ‘Pork roll’, because that’s what they do, and they do it extremely well.

There are also choices of vietnamese drinks and desserts (there tends to be more at the weekend), but the pork roll is the star, and I am happy to drive to Newpark Shopping Centre every time I get a craving (which is pretty often).

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Taylors in the Valley

06 08 23

Taylors is a favourite of ours in the Swan Valley. Not only is it right next door to the tempting treats of Whistler’s chocolate factory, but it’s a quirky art cafe with sculptures and paintings and tables nestled in amongst the creativity.

The menu is equally creative, with delicious sounding hotcakes, pulled pork benny, chicken and waffles, okonomiyaki (Japanese pancake), marinated mushrooms, sago pudding and many more carefully crafted options.

I chose the ricotta hotcakes with banana, lemon marscapone and biscuit crumb. Not only did it look amazing, but tasted very moreish all the way through.

One companion chose the chilli scramble, a lovely spicy plate of smooth scrambled egg on a roti bread.

My other companions chose the chicken waffle with poached eggs, chilli maple and smoky hollandaise.

Every dish was superb, and we all left the cafe with a very satisfied feeling. Taylors always delivers, come rain or shine, it’s one of Swan Valley’s finest.

Last visit – August 2023

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NextDoor, Como

06 08 23

NextDoor is a trendy restaurant and bar in the Angelo Street Market area of Como. It’s right next door to Olsen’s butchers, so they have a good supply of quality meats, and this shows by the superb wagyus, ribeyes, and scotch fillets available on the special meat menu.

As soon as you walk in it is oozing with sophistication, and we were seated around the grill bar so that we could watch the chefs preparing the meat and fish dishes.

The menu is based on share plates – snacks, small plates, larger plates and vegetables. I started proceedings with a Vignarosa prosecco while we perused the options.

Our first choice was a small selection of coldcuts with marinated olives and guindilla (chillies), along with some focaccia. This was a good choice – the coldcuts were such good quality and so incredibly tasty – salami, mortadella, parma ham with succulent olives. It was all quite filling.

Next came our small plates – first hashbrown with cod roe whip, pickle powder, chives and smoked trout roe, then chicken wings stuffed with prawns, topped with pickles and a honey/chilli coating. Both were very satisfying. The soft hashbrown with the smoky rish roe flavours took us to umami central, and the contrast of the chilli and sweetness of the chicken wings was sublime.

The main dish was market fish – crimson snapper, served with the heirloom carrots and kipfler and sweet potatoes. The snapper was served in a tomato butter with roast cherry tomatoes. The carrots on a bed of labne with candied hazelnuts and honeycomb, the potatoes flavoured with garlic and rosemary.

Nextdoor is definitely a quality venue with dishes lovingly prepared by talented chefs. It’s a little expensive, so more of a special occasion restaurant, but an absolute neighbourhood gem in South Perth.

Last visit – August 2023

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The Iluka, Iluka

30 07 23

The second instalment in the quest to find the roast in Perth took us to The Iluka, a pub in the beachside suburb of Iluka.

There’s no separate dining area, all of the tables are within the pub, so dining here comes with all the noise and clamour of a pub atmosphere. To be honest I think the Iluka are missing a trick here, and there is definitely space to have a separate quieter bistro area.

Initially we were taken to a table that was incredibly uncomfortable. Even though I had booked several weeks ago, there didn’t seem to be a reservation sign on the table (unlike others), and it was a very cramped table with a huge barrel base and high seats. There was no way to sit comfortably, you either knocked your knees on the barrel or had to sit with your legs open to get close enough to reach adequately. I asked the waitress for another table and she said that they were fully booked so it was unlikely. Eventually she came back and offered us a much better table, but with the proviso that we only had 90 minutes to order and eat. I thanked her for organising this and we happily moved.

That’s pretty much where the waitress service ended. We had the choice of ordering online via a QR code or going up to the bar. The choices for Sunday lunch are roast beef, a chicken maryland, or a nut roast. I went up and ordered drinks and two portions of roast beef with trimmings ($38 for each roast). It was a bit confusing because the tables have a number, but you also get given a separate number to put on top of the table,

I had a rather nice glass of Tai Tira Marlborough sauvignon blanc while we waited.

The meal was served by a waitress, but without cutlery and sauces, so I had to go and hunt them down. I couldn’t find any horseradish and when I asked, the waitresses said that they would bring it to me, but that didn’t happen. A few minutes later I saw a staff member putting jars of horseradish on the sauce table, so I got up to get some, but it was annoying that I had to keep getting up to get things.

The meal was great, and nicely seasoned. The beef was very good quality (although another slice wouldn’t have gone amiss), veggies (broccolini, anise red cabbage, mixed carrot and swede) were perfectly cooked and the potatoes were excellent. I liked that the gravy came in a separate pot and it was a nice amount. The yorkie was good, but not huge.

I’d like to say that I would go back for a meal of such good quality, but I am a bit in the balance. If booking again I would specify a comfy table – too many people were awkwardly eating food while perched on the high tables. Obviously I’d be aware of the mainly self-service approach in future and know what to expect. The quality was great, but a little extra thought to the environment and the service could have made the whole experience fantastic.

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