Freo Market

It’s been a while since I visited Fremantle Market last time.  I don’t usually go out on weekends now…  even though Fremantle is so close to my house.  It’s not that I don’t like going out, I’m originally outside-person. :p

There’re some new shops I found in the Fremantle market.  Those shops may have been there for quite a while and I just didn’t know, maybe.  Here are some food stalls I found near the fruits and veggies corner.

<Tornado Potato>

The deep-fried potato snack is cooked right in front of you.  The golden color shows its crispy texture.  They cut potatoes curly and stick on a skewer, so it looks like “tornado” shape.  It looks yummy!  

It must get very hot in summer.. they have to deep-fry food using hot oil, and it’s in the centre of market with lots of people crowded.

<Organic Doughnuts>

Those donuts are pretty huge!  It’s almost same size as a kid’s face.  They also deep-fry those donuts inside.  Very fresh, and looks sweets. 

<Thai Coconut Balls>

What captured my eyes was the grill they are using!  It’s Takoyaki machine :p 

The signboard says “traditional Thai sweets”.  They’ looked like round white dumplings.  I didn’t eat them, but I’m curious how they taste…  It seemed bit difficult to make them at once though, this lady was turning around the each coconut ball carefully…  

By the way real takoyaki shop in Japan don’t use these takoyaki machine.  They use a big grill table with takoyaki holes.

And, there are some savory snack stalls as well.  I love this type of food ↓↓↓

Crispy flat tortilla type of thing.  

Pancakes and Grill

The other day I went to Pancakes & Grill in Northbridge.  I noticed that this place isn’t getting enough customers as they hope … but I personally like this place.  The atmosphere is like a family restaurant in Japan.  The only difference is, their high pricing.  I guess these prices are normal in Perth.  Everything here is over-priced to me :p

My friend and I shared Raspberry+Cheese+Cream Crape.  The crape was chewy and I liked it.  The raspberry coulis and cheese cream tasted good too.

I believe lots of Japanese people would like this type of place.  In Japan there are lots of cafes specializing on only sweets, like “parfait cafe”, “crape house” “dango (skewered, round sticky cakes) cafes” etc, and these places are filled with girls and couples.  (apparently this type of sweet places are not for guys :p)

I don’t wonder why this Pancakes & Grill has savory menus (like steaks) along with sweets, even though their main items are sweet pancakes and crapes.  Australian people loves meat, so I think they can’t attract many customers with just sweet items…

If their prices were little more reasonable, I would go there very often!

One of Ume’s day

Time passed really quick today!  This morning I went to a church to meet this lady who does flower arrangement.  I’m still looking for someone who can prepare my bouquet and flowers for my wedding :p

I want to cut down the cost on the wedding as much as I can, and I actually don’t really care about flower… any flower will do, I just don’t wanna spend big money on it.

Anyway, I had a chat with the lady, and then went home to pick up my partner for his hair cut.  I always wondered how come his face is covered with lots of tiny hairs after hair cut…  don’t they wash hair and wipe off his face?  In barbers all the customers have to go home and take shower afterwards, or is it only him? :p

So, we went home first so that he could take shower.  Then we headed to Northbridge to have lunch at Big Bowl. I had seafood ho fun and he had beef brisket noodle soup.

You can choose what type of noodle you want, and they cook right after you order.  Of course they make noodle by themselves.  Despite that, food came out pretty quick.

The taste was ok, I think I should try their “cheese noodle” next time.  Gratinated cheese on soup noodle… I’m curious to know how it tastes.  And, pork trotter noodle sounded tempting to me too!

Ummm…  Autumn.

We headed to IKEA for shopping after lunch.  I need to buy some storage unit for my clothes etc…

Tea time.

By the time we left IKEA it was already getting dark outside.

Now I’m just sitting down in the living room to set up the storage unit I bought.  Ummm is there any nice movie on tv tonight?

Bamboo

Although I said that dinner wan’t so nice at Banboo restaurant in Willetton, I still liked their salt & chili pepper squid.  It was nicely crispy, and I enjoyed it with pickled chili and vegetables.  In some restaurants (not only Chinese restaurants) texture of squid is like rubber.  I really hate when someone serve such dish at restaurants.  I think they are using frozen cheap squid, and they don’t cook properly.  I know one Chinese restaurant on South Street that sells rubbery seafood clay-pot dish.  I don’t only hate the fact that seafood is like rubber, but also the taste!  I can tell they use MSG…  I really didn’t wanna pay for the dish 🙁

Talking about seafood, I really loved Honey Prawn at Yu (Burswood Entertainment complex).  The prawn was reasonably big, and juicy.

Tony Roma’s

This American franchise restaurant – Tony Roma\’s was first started in North Miami in 1972.  It now has more than 200 restaurants in 27 countries, and there are 2 Tony Roma’s in Australia; one in Sydney and one in Perth.

I like the atmosphere of this restaurant.  This restaurant is famous for its Ribs, Seafood and Steaks, and I had a family dinner there tonight.

I ordered Rib Combo – BBQ chicken and half slab of pork ribs with a choice of two side dishes.  The meat was so tender that I didn’t even need to use my knife.

Aunt had Bayou Chicken Salad – spicy red hot BBQ chicken breast on greens, tomatoes, cheese and bacon.  It looked really yummy!  I will try this on my next visit… 🙂

This rib dish is St. Louis Sampler; which comes in 4 sauces – Original, Carolina Honey, Red Hats and Blue Ridge Smokies.  Yes you can enjoy four different flavors in one dish.

We didn’t have any entree this time, but Onion Loaf and Potato Skins are really nice.

They also do take-away!

Saigon

Located at the centre of Northbridge, I’m sure that lots of people know this restaurant.  Saigon is a city in Vietnam, and as this name indicates this restaurant serves Vietnamese/Chinese food.

I was still learning English at TAFE (Technical and Further Education institute) when I first tried this place. (6 years ago!)  My classmate (who had been in Perth for few years) recommended a dish called “Saigon chicken rice” to me, and since then I order this dish every time I go to this restaurant, even now.

Besides the taste, the price was also another big factor why I kept eating this dish.  Back then it was just $4.50!  Now, however, it’s about $7? $8?  I’m not sure…  Price’s been gone up.

I usually order fresh spring rolls as entree.  I love the sauce!  shredded carrot and crushed peanuts…

Then, Saigon Chicken Rice…

The sauce is kind of sweet, and you can eat lots and lots of rice with just this sauce.  (which is not a good thing if considering the calorie, actually :p)  The chicken is roasted or fried first, so it’s crispy outside.   This one dish really fill me up, I think men will like this dish.

Singapore Hawker Chinese Food

Collins Plaza is a place where few restaurants are gathered and I sometimes go there for lunch and dinner.  There is one Japanese restaurant “Yuki Japanese”, and few Chinese restaurants.  Korean grocery shop “Hi Mart” is there too.  I see Korean people hanging around this area often.

I’ve went to Yuki few times and their food is nice.  The owner is not a Japanese but the interior is well presented and staff are friendly.  One of the Chinese place at this Collins Plaza is Bamboo (I think there is Bamboo restaurant in Northbridge or somewhere too), and their lunch menu was delicious!  I had curry laksa and other dishes looked very nice too. I was little disappointed when I went to this place for dinner though.  The dishes were not as nice as lunch menu 🙁  I don’t know why: different chefs, maybe.  Especially, crispy chicken.  The sauce was too buttery and it was not to my taste :p

The another Chinese place I’ve been to is Singapore Hawkers Chinese food.  Even though this place is small as compared with Bamboo, their food was very nice.  For lunch I had Nasi Lemak, and the price was cheap too.

The other day I tried this place for dinner.  We ordered stir-fried Kan Kun (Chinese vegetable) with sambal, fried duck with plam sauce, sizzling seafood combination plate, and sambal squid.

Personally, I thought they put  little too much vegetables on each plate; for example, Sambal Squid dish got tomato, carrot, onion, and okura.  I think they don’t need to put any veggies as this dish is called “Sambal Squid”, but you know how much I love vegetables.  I really enjoyed it.

Sizzling seafood plate (with cauliflower, capsicum and onion) was little different from what I expected, but my family was enjoying it very much.

Four dishes and steamed rice, it was less than 60 dollars!  Really cheap.  No wonder they’re very busy and many people kept coming for take away.

Chin’s Noodle House

This Chinese restaurant in Leeming is one of the places I often go to for dinner.  They are usually fully booked on weekends so we have to make booking few days in advance.  

Despite the busyness their service is good.  Food is served quickly and wait staff often come to table to check if everything is ok.

We usually get san choi bao or Peking duck for entree, and few mains.  Some of their dish is great, and some are ok.  This time we ordered roast meat combination (large size – choice of three meat/octopus), crispy beef and seafood claypot with beancurd.  

Again, the photo is not nice… 🙁

I love seafood claypot dish.  I personally prefer it with Japanese tofu, but this dish was also delicious.  This crispy beef, the meat is deep-fried and tossed through a sweet sauce – you can eat rice with just the sauce!

We got roasted duck, bbq pork and octopus for roast combination.  They’re delicious.

If you like seafood I recommend crab cooked with chili sauce Singapore style.  You’ll need to wash you hands after eating this dish…  but very nice!  Or, why not try Lobster sashimi??  I haven’t tried this dish yet, but I’m curious how Chinese sashimi would look like.

The Miami Bakehouse

It’s been a while since Miami Bakehouse opened its second shop in Melville.  They represent themselves as a winner of more than 300 awards, and their range of pies is amazing: more than 30 pie varieties.  Crab & Feta, Big Breakfast, Chili Beef and Stockmans (combination of kangaroo, camel and emu!!) are just examples…

All the bread are baked fresh every day, and they have a huge range of cakes / sweet items at the counter as well.  You can either take them away, or eat in.  They serve nice coffees and other beverages to accompany those baked food.  You also can choose to get gourmet rolls if desired.

Last week I went to Melville shop with my friend, and had a wonderful time there.  

My friend had decaf soy latte with coffee eclair, and I had skinny long mac with danish.  

There’re about 8 tables inside, and 5 tables outside.  

I definitely would love to try one of their famous pies – probably Seafood Medley!  combination of prawns, fish and scallops served in a lemon pepper sauce… sounds yum!

Ciao Italia

If you feel like Italian food tonight, why no try this place??  This Italian restaurant in South Perth is owned by Italian family, and always filled up with customers.  They only open at night, and right after the door is opened people start queuing up for their great food.

The atmosphere is cozy and welcoming, the staff are very friendly too.  I love this place, it’s a great place to meet up with friends or have a date at.  I wish they accept booking…

Their menu is typical Italian food, and popular wood fired pizzas are available for takeaway too.  It’s been a while since my last visit, but I remember I had a seafood pasta and some kind of pizza.  Tiramisu I had for dessert was delicious too.  Everything is made by chefs in the restaurant.  All the staff and chefs are proud of their food and service, and I believe this place is worth to wait at the door for a table.

273 Mill Point Rd
South Perth, WA 6151
(08) 9368 5500

Bintang Cafe

Other day sister_in_law picked us up for quick lunch.  She likes eating out and knows lots of nice places.  This time she took us to this Bintang Cafe in Victoria Park. 

This cafe serves Indonesian food.  I think their menu is real Indonesian food and comparable to ones you get in Indonesia as I ate similar food when I was in Jakarta.  

“Try our best home made egg noodles”  According to their menu, it seems that egg noodle is their speciality!  I normally prefer rice noodles, so I ordered kway teow noodle but I tried little bit of egg noodles from partner’s bowl.  He ordered Mie Ayam Jamur & Bakso = egg noodle soup with chicken pieces and beef meat balls.  I knew Bakso means “beef meat balls” and I ate this type of noodle back in Jakarta.  It was nice.

At first I thought the portion was quite small, but I was pretty full after emptying the bowl.  The soup was tasty 🙂  I heard that some Indonesian places in Perth use MSG though…  do they??

We also ordered chicken satay.  It was really nice.  I like the frame-grilled flavor… and the peanut sauce!  Yum.

I saw people eating some fish and chicken dish with rice.  They looked really nice.  The fish was grilled (or fried) and served with some sambal?  I don’t know, I should try it next time.

By the way this eating place is quite small, and the atmosphere reminds me of Indonesia.  If you want to try typical Indonesian food (noodle, rice dish and some side dish) I recommend this place.  This place is always full with Indonesian / Malaysian customers.

Tra Vinh Vietnamese

I love Vietnamese food.  Well, I love any cuisine, but the Vietnamese food uses lots of herbs and vegetables, and they are not as oily as Chinese food.  I don’t get to eat Vietnamese food often in Japan, so I go out for Vietnamese quite often here in Perth.

There are few Vietnamese restaurants around Perth.  Viet Hoa is on the main street in Northbridge so many people should know this place.  (Even Japanese holiday makers know this restaurant)  But I haven’t been there for a while, actually.  I usually go to Tra Vinh (or Vinh Hong).

At Tra Vinh, the food is nice and the price is reasonable.  I, however, don’t really like the atmosphere of the place.  It’s just like a space with few tables and chairs.  I guess this style is normal in other Asian countries?  People just go there and eat, and leave…  I don’t think this place is suitable for a date, but I still come here with my fiance to enjoy the food 🙂        

The dish I always order is fresh spring rolls.  I love their sauce.  Yum!

Pork chop rice is my favorite too, but I ordered combination rice noodle soup.  I actually prefer hofan noodle (white, flat rice noodle), but this dish came with transparent rice noodle.  There seems to be many kinds of rice noodle in Asia, and I love them. 

Some Vietnamese noodle come with fresh bean shoots, coriander, cut chili and lemon wedges.  I just love eating the bean shoots with chili sauce!  The chili sauce is on each table in the restaurant, and it taste so good.  It kinda taste like miso paste, little sweet.  I keep dipping fresh bean shoots into the chili sauce and munch it :p  Can’t stop…

Wondering around East Perth

This is one of my favorite walking spots in Perth 🙂  Peaceful environment, beautiful waterfront houses and cafes, the view of Perth city… it was a perfect day to walk around this area.  Watching people in the cafes drinking wines/coffees made me relaxed even more.  Lovely Sunday afternoon…

After a while of walking my fiance and I took a break at Antico Caffe.  Friendly wait staff served us just perfect coffees.  We had such a relaxing time there.  

And a slice of strawberry cheese cake.

Chinese Food in Perth

I get to go to Chinese restaurants quite often while my future-in-laws are in Perth.  Although I like Chinese, I prefer not going there more than 3 times a week…  It’s just bause I know Chinese food are high in calories.

Chinese restaurants , which I often go to, include Chinese, Chinese Malaysian and Chinese Vietnamese.  Here are some of my favorite dish at some Chinese restaurants in Perth….

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Fish Head Noodle Soup

There were some food in Perth that I’d never seen in Japan.  This Fish Head Noodle Soup was one of them.

When my friend asked me ” hey, do you wanna grab Fish Head Noodle for lunch?” I didn’t know what to say :p  Fish head!?  ….

But actually this food is very delicious and now it’s one of my favorite Malay-Chinese food 🙂

This chicken-based soup is very clear and not oily at all.  The soup tastes sour because of the pickled veges and tomatoes.  One serve of noodle comes with couple pieces of deep-fried fish (not only the head, but also tail parts) so it’s pretty filling.

There are also laksa version of this noodle too.  Very nice 🙂

Unfortunately not all the Chinese restaurant has this dish on their menu.  The famous place for this Fish Head is Bateman Chinese Malaysian Cuisine (Bateman, WA), I think.  This restaurant is quite small, but has been featured in a food magazin.  Always full, this shows how nice their food is 🙂

Other restaurant I know which has Fish Head in the menu is Somerville Palace (Mellvile WA).

Dim Sam Lunch

In Perth Dim Sam (Yam Cha) is quite cheap if you compared with Japan.  You can get full with just $10.00 ~ $15.00 (when you share with friends)!  And the varieties are great.  (maybe not so much if you compare with Hong Kong or China, of course):p

This Fried Squid is the item I ALWAYS eat at Dim Sam.  I think this is everybody’s favorite:)

From top right to clockwise:  Steamed Prawn Dumpling, Fried Squid, Ginger tripes (I love them too!), Steamed Sweet Corn and Prawn Dumpling.

I love steamed prawn dumplings:)  So juicy … ☆☆☆

Ginger Tripes.  As I wrote on my earlier post I love weird parts of meat and this is my favorite Dim Sum food along with Spear Ribs and Chcken Feet.

Finish the meal with Sesame Ball:)

Hey there is Japanese word “おいしい” (=delicious) on the plate 🙂

Oliver’s on James Street

Last night I had a superb night!  Dinner with my best friend in Perth at Oliver’s on James Street:)

We had garlic prawn as an entree to share.

In some restaurant garlic prawn is served in creamy sauce, but I prefer this simple grilled prawn with herb vinaigrette with drizzle of balsamic vinegar.

For main, I had Today’s special Snapper.  It came with creamy mash and mango salsa.  My friend had Today’s special Steak, with sweet potato mash and stuffed mushroom.

The volume was big, but we ate up all!  Fine food, fresh ingredients and all delish:)  We arrived this restaurant at 5:50pm, and left at 8:20pm.  Stayed for more than 2hours!  So nice, comfortable and relaxing atmosphere:)  I will definitely come back.

Chicken Rice

When I first heard this dish Chicken Rice (Hainanese Chicken Rice) in Perth I thought it was something like  Japanese chicken rice.  In Japan, chicken rice refers stir-fried (or sometimes cooked in rice cooker) rice seasoned with tomato sauce (tomato ketchup).  We normally add pieces of chicken and veges, but could be chopped ham or sausages.  We still call them Chicken Rice:p

Actually, in Perth (and maybe other countries too) Chicken Rice is a dish with steamed chicken and rice.  Rice is normally cooked in chicken stock so the rice itself has chicken flavor.  Usually the dish comes with special chili sauce and simple chicken soup.

In Perth, Tak chee restaurant is pretty famous for their chicken rice.  I think many people have experiences eating chicken rice there.  I, on the other hand, usually go to Myaree Luncheon Forum in Myaree.  This place is nothing like a restaurant, looks like just a luncheon, but their chicken rice (Hainanese=steamed and Roasted) is quite popular to Malaysian, Chinese and Indonesian people here.  Every time I go to this place I encounter with people I know (friends, owner of other Chinese restaurants etc)

The chicken meat is very soft and tasty:)  You have to be a garlic lover to eat it as their chili sauce and rice are bit garlicy.

I also loves their Roasted Chicken Rice and Crispy Noodle too:)  In Japan we have crispy noodle as well (called kata yakisoba) and you can even order it in family restaurants and izakaya.  One of my favorite:)

Roasted Chicken Rice

Charcoal Chicken

There are numbers of take away chicken shops in Perth.  This shop Charcoal Chicken is not as famous as others, but it’s one of my favorite fast food shop.  I love their menu!  Their main is chicken, of course, and you can choose 2 flavours: Charcoal or Portuguese style.  I always get Portuguese style as I love spicy food:)  They also have Lamb Ribs, Souvlaki, Salad Bar and some desert.

I love the variety of salad!  I guess there are about 10 kinds of salad, and some food like Cream Chicken Pasta and Biriyani Rice are on the display case as well so you can just order and grab them straight away.

And another reason why I love this shop is their chips!!  They always deep fry chips on order, so it’s very fresh, tasty and crispy!!(>v<)  Maybe the biggest reason for me coming to this shop is their chips.  I hate soggy cold chips like you sometimes get from elsewhere.  I’ve never got such bad chips from this shop!

If you like spicy food and bored with Chicken Treat or Red Rooster, why not try this tonight??

Chinese Restaurant in Kardinya

This Chinese restaurant “South Ocean” is one of my favorite Chinese restaurant in Perth.

The place is not so big, but the food is really nice!  I have been there only for dinner but every time I have to make a reservation.  This place is always full, even on weekdays!

There is a waiter who I always talk to; he seems like a floor manager.  At first, to tell the truth, I didn’t like him at all:p  I thought he was rude and bossy because he always tried to decide the menu for us.  But then, it turned out that the food he choose is always delicious and just what we wanted.  His choice is always our favorite.  He is really nice, I like him:)

Tonight, I had Sang Choy Bow, Fillet Steak Peking Style (which is my favorite), Chicken with Snow Peas and Japanese Tofu with Seafood and Broccol.  These are really really delicious and we ate them all!

Front:Fillet Steak Peking Style, Back:Chicken with Snow Peas

Seafood with Japanese Tofu

I can recommend this place to anybody!

One Long Lovely Day

On Saturday morning I went to Atrium Restaurant in Burswood Hotel to have breakfast.  It was my first time to go there, and I was excited by a variety of food:)  Besides the basic food such as bacon, sausages, eggs, hash browns etc, they also have porridge with condiments, dumplings (shyumai), sushi rolls and pickles (tsukemono), stir-fried noodle and rice, few kinds of toast, muffins, pancakes, danishes, muesli…  A chef was cooking eggs in front of us and asked me “would you like some fried eggs?” but I went for scrambled eggs because they looked just perfect:)  

Once we sat down at the table a waiter came to us with two pots; one is filled with coffee and another is with tea.  He was walking around other tables and refilling their cups as well.  I love drinking black coffee in the morning, so every time he came to our table I asked for my cup to be filled with coffee.  In the end I had 5 cups of coffee total :p

Oh my gosh, I ate toooo much:={  One full plate of food (like sausages, eggs, mushroom, tomatoes, ham, a slice of rye bread and dumpling) followed by sushi rolls, a glass of apple juice, muffin and some danishes, muesli, fresh fruit, more scrambled egg….  

To digest the food, I did little bit of gardening at home.  I am growing sunflower and buds are getting bigger:)  

Then, I went out to buy nice salad bowls for coming BBQ party.  (I am planning BBQ lunch at home)  I looked into many stores, but I couldn’t find any!(><)  Well, they had few but I didn’t like them:={  Sometimes it is really difficult to shop in Perth… I miss Japan (><) …. That’s ok, I will search it online.  

Once I came home, I made cookies for my friends:)  Sometimes I don’t care the recipe and measure the ingredients by my eyes.  Apparently it does not look good, but tastes good :p  I wrote a note on the cookies.  

At night, I went to my friend’s house for Gyoza party!(>v<)  We ate many kinds of Gyoza (Japanese dumpling)  with lots of beer!

Eat Fish & Watch Fish

People should already know that Fremantle is a famous place for fish&chips, but there is a place where you can enjoy the fish$chips where live fishes surround you:)

In Cicerellos there were aquariums near the entrance since long time ago, but I was surprised when I visited this restaurant recently.  Their toilet has a totally new look!  There are few more beautiful aquariums around the toilet :p  If you want to go to toilet in Cicerellos you have to pass these aquariums.  They are so beautiful.

In Japan we think this way: if the restaurant doesn’t have a clean toilet the business won’t go well.  Would you like to use a dirty toilet when you go to a nice restaurant??  I bet it turns you off.  If the toilet is clean and well-maintained, your whole experience in the restaurant will change, I believe:) (in better way)

I see very dirty toilets everywhere in Perth, but I like the toilet in Cicerellos.  I hope they keep this up:)

My favorite bakery in Perth

I tried bread from many shops here, but Bayview bakery is still the best 🙂 Bayview bakery is located in Claremont, and they actually supply their bread to many famous restaurants / hotels / cafes as well.  (e.g. Duxton Hotel, With’s Cauldron,  Prontos, Tradewinds Hotel etc…)  You can imagine how good their bread is!

As soon as the door opens in the morning, customers keep coming and build a big queue around the lunch time everyday.  Because there are offices and shops around, those office people come to this shop looking for a fast and delish meal 🙂

I LOVE their Focaccia and Panini!  They make up rolls/sandwiches on order, so you can always get fresh one.  Toasted Focaccia with chicken, avocado, sun-dried tomatoes, sweet chili sauce and Jarlsberg cheese are recommended!!!  Oh my gosh you gotta try this. (><)  Freshly baked Focaccia, toasted…  yum.

They use real cheese (they slice cheese and meat in the shop themselves), not plastic one!  My favorite is: lots of salad, avocado and Jarlsberg cheese on rye bread, and toasted Panini with vegemite and cheese!  yum.

Their FRUIT BREAD is also popular as we as other sweet pastries like jam doughnut, custard tart, caramel slices.  You can also order special birthday cakes too.  He is an artist 🙂

Utopia Bakery

This bakery sells Chinese style bread, both sweet and savory, and also few kinds of great cakes 🙂

The interesting thing about this bakery is that they actually use no animal meat on their products.  Yes, these are vegetalian bread.

Half of their bread is savory, and there are tuna buns, chicken buns, sausage buns etc… but none of them uses real tuna or chicken.  I think they use legume instead.  They tastes like real meat though 🙂

I think Asian people like these soft type bread.