It Just Has To Be Delicious

Posts tagged ‘Hillarys’

Dusit Dheva by the Sea, Hillarys

I used to go to Dusit Dheva in James Street fairly regularly and was interested to visit the new kid in town at Hillarys to see if the quality and authenticity was the same. The restaurant is near the Breakwater Tavern on Sorrento Quays boardwalk, there is plenty of parking around.

We have now been back a second time and found the quality of ingredients, choice and service to be excellent. We found plenty on the menu to suit our pescatarian/vegetarian diets, and the flavours are so good, it’s hard not to be delighted.

The first time we visited we tried one of the signature dishes of soft shell crab and watermelon. What an absolute star of a dish, crunchy crab, refreshing watermelon and a lovely umami background flavour.

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We followed this with a vegetable green curry, which had a great depth of flavour and a really authentic flavour enhanced by thai basil.

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The third plate was prawn pad thai – again authentic, tasty, plump and plentiful prawns – we loved it.

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Here are some similar but different pictures from our second visit:

Prawn and pineapple curry – amazingly good – this inspired me to make my own at home:

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Vegetable pad thai:

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We really love this place for Thai food – it is in a great location, the guys serving are friendly and helpful, and you will leave here very satisfied. Premises are licensed, however you can BYO wine for a corkage fee.

Last Visit Date – May 2020

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Restaurant review, Vegan/Vegetarian

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Lot One, Hillarys

Away from the main resort area of Hillarys, along Whitfords Avenue at the corner of Angove Drive, sits Lot One Kitchen, a busy cafe with seating inside and out. We arrived on a blustery Sunday morning and it was full. We were glad that we had booked and secured a table inside.
The menu had the usual favourites – eggs benny, full brekkie, pancakes, french toast etc. and some brunch options too. There were also specials on the board, and some breakfast cocktails (it’s a licensed cafe). We ordered coffee, which unusually arrived after the food. The coffee was okay, but a little bitter (or maybe burnt) for my liking. I don’t usually add sugar to coffee, but I did sweeten this cup.

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I chose the brisket hash with zucchini, capsicum, fried egg and chimichurri. It was nice, the brisket was fall-apart tender, and the egg nicely runny. It sat atop a hash brown which was soft mash potato with a crispy edge, which also had a hint of cheese about it.

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My partner chose ‘The Lot’ breakfast with tasty sausage, maple bacon, poached eggs, tomatoes, mushrooms, house made beans, hash brown and ciabatta. He really enjoyed it – a lovely breakfast. The beans really stood out, and could have formed a dish on their own with some chorizo and eggs.

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The cafe is very noisy and we were seated quite close to the counter, so we had a constant flow of people and wait staff pushing past which did detract from our enjoyment quite a bit. We also felt a bit rushed – our dishes and cups were whisked away as soon as they were empty and the staff kept asking if we wanted anything else. As soon as we stood up, another couple were seated before we’d even paid our bill.
The array of savouries, cakes and muffins looked good.

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This cafe is a good option if you want something away from the main Hillarys area, and the food was nice quality, but it’s not the best place for conversation due to the noise. I wonder if with a bit of thought the tables could be arranged in a better format to avoid that awkward claustrophobic feeling when people are standing too close. They serve dinner too – maybe we’ll try dinner one evening.

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We paid another visit to Lot One for coffee and cake. This was a bit better than our previous visit, but there were a few things that I didn’t like.
My partner ordered a cup of tea which came up in a mug with a lid and a tea strainer inside, and the waitress had to explain how to use the cup. A regular pot and/or tea strainer would have been fine, or even a teabag and a pot of hot water because it was stewed to death and didn’t taste too great. The tea also dribbled everywhere out of the strainer and left a puddle on the table.

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We both had the peanut butter and chocolate brownie which was very nice – quite a dense brownie rather than a gooey one, but nice flavours.

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My main gripe was that the food sat on the counter for quite a while before it came to our table. There were flies and bugs around, and I think the delay is what caused the tea to be over-brewed. I think I might give Lot One a miss in the future – there are better cafes.

Last Visit Date – January 2020

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Restaurant review

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Mia Cucina, Hillarys

We stopped by Mia Cucina for a Sunday brunch with family. It’s an Italian restaurant on the North side of Hillarys marina with great window views across the boat harbour.
The waitress was friendly and provided table water promptly. The brunch menu is not huge, and includes favourites like eggs benny, breakfast croissant, pancakes, as well as a full brekkie (Eggs with benefits) where you get given eggs (your choice of style) on toast and then you choose your other items from a table of sides e.g. bacon, sausage, mushrooms, hash browns, beans.
The coffee was very good, I had a soy cappuccino. The beans are prepared by local Perth roasters Karvan, and I was quite impressed with the house blend.

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I chose Eggs Benny with ham which came with spinach, cress and hollandaise. The portions were quite variable – mine had a few slices of ham whereas others in the group had much more ham than me. The eggs were cooked well, nice and gooey in the middle and the ham was okay but not particularly tasty. It was shaved ham, and I think that a nice slice of thick premium leg ham (as stated in the menu!) would have added more to the dish.
The bread was disappointing – everybody on the table found it hard to get through the sourdough bread, and most of us ended up leaving a considerable amount of it. I would have preferred a good old English muffin.

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One companion chose the Eggs with benefits, and enjoyed the meal but was disappointed to note that there were no beans on the buffet table. Hmm Mia Cucina should really provide the items as stated in the menu ! My companion had to ask for another portion of butter, as the amount provided was not sufficient for the large slices of bread. The items on the plate were good and tasty and the eggs cooked well.

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Another member of our party ordered the ‘breakfast schetta’, a bruschetta with tomatoes, onion, basil, bacon and poached egg. It was nice, but again the bread proved to be a problem, hard to carve through, and difficult to get to the soft middle part.

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All in all, we enjoyed the meal, but I think that Mia Cucina should reconsider their bread choices. It seems that sourdough was the only option and it would be nice to have a choice. The menu clearly states that items on the breakfast dishes cannot be changed, so it seems that they organise breakfast to be easier for the kitchen rather than suited to the diner. It is definitely one of the better eateries at Hillarys, but I also feel that with a bit more care they could do so much better.

Visit Date – January 2018

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Restaurant review

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The Milk Barrel, Hillarys

There’s nothing like a great ice cream, and with so many parlours to choose from, it can be difficult to find a parlour that provides the right balance.
Many establishments are geared up towards children offering an array of sauces, sprinkles and chocolate bar additions, and although nice occasionally, I generally find them quite sickly.
Gusto in Leederville is a great parlour – the guy who owns it took the trouble to go to Italy and learn the true artisan craft of gelato making. Thus far it has been my favourite. When I saw that Milk Barrel had won numerous awards at the Perth Royal Show, I thought it was worth a try and was very pleasantly surprised – the gelato is certainly as good a standard as Gusto, although the Milk Barrel tend to have fewer vegan options as standard.

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I chose the Tiramisu gelato, which was beautiful. With sponge pieces, gooey chocolate and a not too sweet creamy coffee gelato backdrop, it was really well constructed and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
One of our group chose the pavlova special, which tasted just like a pavlova with raspberry, passionfruit and chunks of meringue. The lemon and lime bitters sorbet tasted exactly like lemon and lime bitters, wonderful and refreshing.
The cookies and cream was again not too sweet, but tasty and creamily delicious.

It’s great to see a good quality gelato bar in the northern suburbs, I look forward to going back to try the other flavours.

Last Visit Date – February 2020

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Fun thing to do

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