Truly Scrumptious

Coffee shop review, Restaurant review

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Kitchen Inn Express, Karawara

23 05 20

Kitchen Inn Express is a favourite with the Asian community in Karawara. Situated in Waterford Forum, this cafe serves up the kind of Malaysian fare that you would find in Borneo. It’s one of the few places in Perth where you can find good Loh Bak, so obviously we started with a plate.

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Crispy, tasty, meaty and with a delicious chilli sauce this was a lovely starter.
I chose fried kway teow as my main, which was full of flavour, had three large juicy prawns and lots of sliced fish cake. It definitely satisfied my hunger.

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There was also a pot of rocket hot chilli oil to add some spice.

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My partner chose the chicken rendang rice which came with a fried egg – again very tasty with a nice rich sauce.

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We’ve been here several times and will definitely go back again when we’re south of the river. It’s casual, cheap and cheerful, and the seating is looking a little tired now, so the restaurant could do with a makeover, however the staff are lovely and it’s a real gem in Karawara.

Last Visit Date – April 2019

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Inglewood Hotel, Mount Lawley

23 05 20

The Inglewood Hotel is a fairly traditional pub and restaurant at the North end of Beaufort Street in Mount Lawley. We attended for a Christmas function and sampled the set menu. There were three choices of starter, three mains and two desserts.

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I chose the beef cheek croquettes with watermelon and feta salad for starter. They were a little under-seasoned on their own, but the addition of the sweet balsamic and salty feta made for a nice mouthful when sampled together. My colleague chose the vegetarian bruschetta which she said was also a little under-seasoned but the artichokes were a nice touch.

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For main course I selected the fish – grilled goldband snapper with edamame, pickled cucumber, chill, gem lettuce and red onion salad with lime dressing. The fish was a little on the dry side, but not overly so, and the pickled cucumber was lovely, I would have liked more of it. The salad had way too much lettuce and red onion and I think that a vietnamese style salad would have been a nicer accompaniment. The fish skin was nice and crispy and the fish had a lovely flavour.

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My colleague had the vegetarian cranberry and pistachio loaf with caramelised fig and mushroom parcels and salsa verde. The description sounded much nicer than the dish that was presented, however, my colleague enjoyed, she said that it was like a chunky risotto.

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Another colleague chose the quarter roast chicken with lemon thyme baby potatoes, honey roast carrots and leeks, with pan gravy and sage stuffing. He enjoyed it – it was a fairly standard roast lunch.

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Of the two desserts I chose the warm dark chocolate hot pot with raspberry ice cream and orange candy bits. It was lovely but quite rich and I couldn’t finish it all. I enjoyed the raspberry ice cream more than the chocolate – it was like a brownie mixture and quite runny underneath the crispy topping.

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The other dessert was house-made christmas pudding with vanilla brandy snaps. The texture was more of a cake than a pudding, but my colleague enjoyed it very much.

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Considering that this was a Christmas lunch and our tables totalled 23 diners, the staff did well to serve all of the meals in fairly good condition. There was a lengthy wait between courses though, and the meal wasn’t really a stand-out feast for me, it was fairly average, but also very good value at $48 for three courses.

Last Visit Date – December 2018

Restaurant review, Vegan/Vegetarian

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Hong Kong Cuisine, Myaree

23 05 20

I was really looking forward to this outing. Our friends Susie and Simon had been telling us for a while about this fabulous Chinese restaurant close to their home. It had been dubbed ‘Chinese in the Cave’ and I was curious to experience this food in an unusual setting. The first thing that you notice as you walk in is that the decor is indeed very cave-like, but also the clientele is almost exclusively Chinese, and there are various notes on the window (probably special set menus) that are not in English. This was a good sign because if Chinese people are happy to eat here, it points towards it being very authentic.

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The menu is quite extensive and contains photos for some of the dishes, so that you know what to expect. We were certainly spoiled for choice because many of the dishes had our tastebuds tingling in anticipation.
We chose prawn toasts to start, quite good, but also quite a thin layer of prawns, and I would have liked them a bit fatter. Served with a sweet dip and very good on the crunch factor.

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We also chose the fungus with chilli. This was a dish of cloud ear mushrooms served in chilli oil, and the waitress double checked with us because she knew that it would be spicy. It was spicy, but very very tasty, the only difficulty being that as you got nearer the bottom of the dish it was impossible to take a spoonful without scooping up a large amount of the super hot chilli oil. If you have ever tasted chilli oil, you will know that you only need a little !

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Next to arrive was the young chow fried rice, a very tasty and slightly smoky ‘special’ rice containing shrimps, pork, onions, egg and many other little flavour bursts.

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Next came the salt and spicy ribs. These were the star of the meal with an amazing depth of flavour and a definite umami kick. I could have eaten the whole plate of these and nothing else, and I would have been very happy (but we had to share).

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We also ordered beef with ginger, another fabulous dish, full of flavour, with really good ‘melt in the mouth’ tender beef.

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Next to arrive was the fish – a whole halibut with ginger and spring onion. I couldn’t fault this – very fresh and with delicate flavours that complemented the fish perfectly. Another star of the show.

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I chose a claypot chicken dish with soy and oyster sauce. This was a dish that was full of flavour but at the risk of sounding like a spoiled brat, I found it hard to eat. All of the chicken was on the bone and every mouthful was 50% bone and cartilage. Cooking meat on the bone definitely adds to the flavour, but there comes a point where the pleasure of eating it is slightly spoiled by the effort involved, so although I enjoyed the taste, I would probably not order this dish again.

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Rice can be ordered by the bowl, plate, or bucket. We ordered a bucket of boiled rice and found that the insulated bucket was very effective at keeping the rice warm.

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At the end of the meal, the waitress brought fresh melon (which we didn’t need to order), jasmine tea was also included.

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Well Hong Kong Cuisine was wonderful and I can’t wait to go back and have ‘Chinese in the Cave’ again ! I absolutely loved the fried rice, the ribs, the fish and the beef, and would probably order them again with a few different additional dishes. It was good value too, working out at less then $30 a head for such a huge amount of food. Yum.

Last Visit Date – December 2018

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Papparich, Joondalup

23 05 20

When Papparich arrived in Australia, I was quite pleased to see somewhere serving Malaysian delights, and a good place to get a Nasi Lemak fix.
In recent times I have also found some limited vegetarian options, and the vegetarian ‘mutton’ nasi lemak is definitely a good substitute. If you are vegan you have to ask them to omit the egg.

Papparich also serve noodles, kway teow, roti canai, laksa, the menu is quite extensive – complete with an array of authentic drinks. You complete your own order form, press the doorbell on the table, and a waitress arrives to process the order.

This is the chicken curry nasi lemak:
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This is the beef rendang nasi lemak:
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This is the satay:
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This is the vegetarian ‘mutton’ nasi lemak:
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This is the vegetarian laksa:

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Generally this is a good restaurant, but it can be quite variable depending on when you go. Portion sizes can vary considerably, and the quality of the beef rendang ranges from perfectly melting to a bit chewy.

Drinks include various fruity options plus teh tarik, kopi o, jelly drinks and soy options.

This is the lychee and grass jelly drink:

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Definitely worth a visit.

Last Visit Date – May 2020

Restaurant review, Vegan/Vegetarian

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La Patisserie, South Perth

22 05 20

This cafe seems to be another outlet of Nedlands favourite La Galette de France. This is one of the few cafes in Perth that consistently delivers good
coffee and good pastries. Known for their almond croissants, they produce simply the best almond croissants that you will find in Perth. I have tried to reproduce them at home, and although I have made a good attempt, I cannot make croissants with the same crispiness and flavour.

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When you ask for coffee in a mug, you get a decent sized mug, the iced coffee is amazing, and the hot chocolate is pretty awesome too. They managed to make me a lovely soy hot chocolate, and every hot drink comes with a little sweet palmier biscuit. The coffee is always good quality – not always the same brand though – I have known them to use blends from Antz inya Pantz as well as Five Senses among others. For the uninitiated, Antz inya Pantz is a coffee shop in Vic Park on the Albany Highway which was opened by a guy who just loves good coffee – he really goes the extra mile to source the best beans.

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As for pastries, it is so hard to decide because they all look delicious, danishes, macarons, tarts etc., and if that wasn’t enough they have a crepe menu too.
The staff are mainly young and French, their lovely accents adding an extra touch of delight to the whole experience. I can’t praise this cafe enough, I have been coming here for years, making the journey down to South Perth, and I truly believe that this is the best of the La Galette outlets. It is just a short stroll from the South Perth foreshore, and parking is relatively easy.
If you make the journey too, you won’t be disappointed.

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Last Visit Date – September 2019

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Coffee shop review, Restaurant review

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Long Chim, Perth CBD

22 05 20

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This is not a restaurant for the faint hearted. Owned by Aussie Thaiophile chef David Thompson, it is a fun place to go – loud, brash and unashamedly like a street style cafe. The food is authentic in looks, flavour and spice – it is HOT, you know, Silom Road hot, so if you can’t take spicy food, then maybe this is not the best choice for you.
On the Saturday night that we visited, the crowd of diners were mainly groups of young ladies, meeting up for dinner before a night out at the clubs. There is a lively bar area, and it’s okay to meet up just for drinks if you don’t want to eat here. The waitress was really friendly and explained the menu to us, starters at the top, noodles in the middle, and family style sharing dishes around the edges. There is no real uniform here, so it’s a bit difficult to tell the wait staff from everybody else, but all of the staff are lovely once you work out who’s who.
We chose to go for traditional dishes and selected fish cakes to share for a starter.

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They were plentiful, nice small-ish irregular shapes with a lovely dressing of chilli, onion, thai basil, lime and sweet fish sauce dressing. All the elements of sweet, sour, fragrant and hot that you expect from an authentic Thai dish. It did leave a tingle on my tongue though – I am used to hot food, but I couldn’t help thinking that there would be many of my friends who would find it challenging to finish the dish.

One of our mains was thai green curry. Again, very authentic, I remembered the same flavours from a cafe along the Chao Phraya river in Bangkok, very tasty, but also very hot again. Even without eating the whole chillies on top, there was a strong spicy warmth in every mouthful.

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Jasmine rice was plentiful and slightly sticky – just like you get in Thailand.

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We also chose crunchy pork – which was not hot at all. It came with a lovely sweet dipping sauce (no picture), and most pieces were delicious with the soft roast pork and the crunchy crackling. However, I did find some pieces overly fatty and I couldn’t eat the fatty part. It was nice to have this dish as a relief from the spiciness of the rest.

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We also chose a glass noodle salad. Lovely slippery thin glass noodles topped with ground pork, squid, prawns, dried shrimp, onions, coriander and herbs, and of course…. a plentiful supply of chilli.

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Everything that we ate at Long Chim was authentic, delicious, and fragrant – definitely the place to come if you are hankering after that real Bangkok flavour with the real Bangkok spice. I loved it, but some will find it challenging and may need to ask for the chillies to be toned down a bit. It wasn’t cheap at approx $130 with just two soft drinks, but it was delightful. I loved the atmosphere, and will be making a return visit.

Visit Date – June 2017

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Leapfrogs Sunday Roast, Wanneroo

22 05 20

Leapfrogs is a cafe at Wanneroo Botanic Golf which in the evening transforms to a twinkly fun venue with a wood fired pizza oven. They recently started to advertise roast dinners and we decided to try a Sunday roast there.

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At first we were not sure if the roast was on the menu. The menu that we were presented with did not mention it, but after asking the waitress she said yes, today’s roast was beef.
We ordered this and sipped on some drinks while we waited. Even though a winter’s evening, the heaters and blinds kept the venue toasty warm.
When the roast arrived, we had a little ramekin of horseradish sauce, two yorkshire puddings, roast potatoes, carrots, squash and three generous slices of beef.

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The beef was great quality, melt in the mouth and really tasty. All of the vegetables were well cooked and the yorkies were crispy on the outside with a little stodge in the middle, and well flavoured.
Minor criticisms – I would have liked some green vegetables in amongst the plate – beans, peas or brussels would have been nice, and I would have liked a little more gravy. All in all though, it was great value and we left with clean plates and full tummies.

Visit Date – July 2018

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Fee Fi Pho Fum, Subiaco

22 05 20

I found myself in Subiaco one lunchtime with an hour to kill and chanced upon Fee Fi Pho Fum, a Vietnamese cafe on the main Rokeby Road strip.

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The lady at the till greeted me warmly and gave me a menu which contained all of the vietnamese favourites – rice paper rolls, stuffed chicken wings, pho, bun, stir fries, fried rice, noodles and salads. There’s also jelly tea, coffee, and complimentary vietnamese highland tea at lunchtime.
I chose the vietnamese chicken salad, and I wasn’t disappointed. Lovely fresh tender chicken strips, coriander, mint, cabbage, carrot, and nuts along with a home made dressing. It was bright, zingy and thoroughly delicious.

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Shortly after I arrived, the cafe filled up with local workers and is obviously a popular spot. They also serve dinner.
I was quite impressed with the serve yourself counter where you can get beansprouts, mint, chilli, and all of the other accompaniments for the soups. It’s nice to be able to take just what you need.

I’d like to go back to Fee Fi Pho Fum and try some of the other dishes. It was authentic and yummy – definitely worth a try.

Visit Date – September 2018

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Galangal, Mount Hawthorn

22 05 20

I had heard nice things about Galangal, and after visiting some other establishments in Mount Hawthorn, decided to give it a try. Mount Hawthorn is a nice area with lots of good eateries, and some bars, but without the hustle and bustle of Leederville and Mount Lawley. There are plenty of side streets to park, and even some spaces right outside Galangal.

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It’s a big restaurant with a large bar area, and it was pleasing to see that it was at least 75% full on a Saturday evening.
We chose a semillon sauvignon blanc from the wine list which was nice and crisp without being too acidic. Many of the wines available were WA options.

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The menu has a great variety of Thai food but it does not try to be all things to all men. It has all of the regular options available in a menu that is not hugely extensive, but has enough variety to make for a well balanced meal.
We dithered over starters and considered having the fish cakes, spring rolls or the golden wraps (chicken and corn parcels), but after seeing the portion sizes of some main courses going past, we decided to skip starters and concentrate on a variety of mains. We chose classic green chicken curry. This was very authentic with holy basil and eggplant, and was enjoyable from the first mouthful to the last.

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We also chose the fried barramundi fillet with garlic, chilli and tamarind hot sauce. The amount of barramundi was outstanding, it was fresh and tasty, but the sauce was much sweeter than I expected and tasted more like sweet chilli sauce than tamarind. I didn’t really get the sour tamarind hit.

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We also had pad thai with prawns which was very good and fairly authentic. I would have liked more prawns though – 4 prawns seemed a bit mean for a $22 pad thai.

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All in all I enjoyed the meal and the dishes that we ordered left us very full – the amount could easily have fed three of us. I will return to Galangal – it is a nice glam atmosphere, the staff are lovely, and the food is very tasty and authentic. Besides, I need to try the pork belly dish !

There is also a good selection of vegetarian dishes.

Visit Date – January 2018

Restaurant review, Vegan/Vegetarian

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