Japanese x Italian = Yum!

Posted December 4th, 2016 in Eat out in Perth | No Comments »

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Whisk Creamery opened its second shop in Northbridge, and it has been a most-talked-about place by Japanese foodies here in Perth.  It’s not just because this Italian-owned gelato & sweet shop serves freshly made yummy gelato, but also this Northbridge store has unique menu that catches Japanese people’s eyes.

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TAIYAKI soft serve corn….!!!

Who can resist this?  I chose matcha green tea (comes with cooked red beans inside) + fruits/marshmallow topping, but you can customize the flavour of gelato and topping.

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The good size Taiyaki dessert amazed me – the Taiyaki pancake is cooked in store (they may cook the taiyaki in batches in the morning), and it was soft and tasty, especially around the tail part.  I loved the taste of gelato – good strong Matcha flavour & taste!

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The inside of the shop is not huge, but it has friendly atmosphere.  They, of course, do takeout too, and other sweet & drink menu is amazing…  On my second visit I tried Gelato Fritto (A deep fried banana gelato ball, with crunchy batter and hot caramel fudge syringe.).  NICE. (though it was smaller than I was imagining)

gelato-fritto

I haven’t tried but I must try Black Sesame (kuro-goma) gelato which is only available at Northbridge store.  They have a trendy sense in creating menu!

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Whisk Creamery Northbridge
246 William Street
website
PH: 08 9227 7041
EMAIL: GELATO@WHISKCREAMERY:COM:AU

OPEN
Sun – Thu: 11AM – 10:30PM
Fri – Sat: 11AM – 11PM

Manise Indonesian Restaurant

Posted June 30th, 2016 in Eat out in Perth | No Comments »

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If you keep walking William street in Northbridge towards Hyde Park, you will find this small Indonesian restaurant on your left side.  This restaurant has been here since I came to Perth (2003) and has been one of Indonesian people’s favourite eating place in Perth.

They renovated the interior couple of months ago, and now it looks more tidy and clean compared to what I remember.

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We ordered Tahu goreng kecap (deep-fried tofu with special sweet soy sauce) to share for entree 😉

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Crispy!

 

I’d been longing for their chicken dish called “ayam goreng rica”.  It’s basically a fried-chicken dish with spicy tomato sauce. Chicken is crispy and the spicy tomato sauce (homemade, of course) really goes with steamed rice!!

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My partner was thinking between his usual dish or Chef’s Special dishes which had many choices such as deep-fried beef ribs, tempeh goring & mie bakso.  He went with the usual – Kondro Bakar (grilled beef ribs topped with homemade peanut sauce).

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Food is so nice here.  I’m drooling again as I write…  Their hearty food is perfect in this season (or in hot summer too with spicy kick!)  I’m planning to go back there again soon. 🙂

Manise Cafe Indonesian
Shop 2, 449 William Street,Northbridge, Perth, WA
(08) 9228 2432

Mon
11:30 AM to 9 PM
Tue
Closed
Wed
11:30 AM to 9 PM
Thu
11:30 AM to 9 PM
Fri
11:30 AM to 9:30 PM
Sat
11 AM to 9:30 PM
Sun
12 Noon to 9:30 PM

Meet at Our Table

Posted January 19th, 2015 in Eat out in Perth | No Comments »

Our Table

I had a playdate with my girl friend and her baby last weekend.  It had been awhile to be alone with my baby since my eldest son stopped going to daycare, so it was a nice day out to be with and focus my attention to a 7 months old.  My friend picked this place “Our Table” in Bedford to be our lunch place.  I had never been to nor heard this place before, but googling gave me some positive impressions.

When I arrived to the address, all I could see was big road and just a few shops on the side.  I checked the address couple of times to make sure I was in the right place.  Am I going to have lunch here??  I wondered as I headed to the shop with a sign board “Our Table”.

Our-Table

As soon as I stepped inside the place, I was blown away.  …. I LOVE the decor!  Beautiful floor, chairs & tables, lightings, wall clock, display shelves….  everything is to my taste.   I did not expect this from outside the building!!

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Beautiful.

There was a playpen next to our table, so I put my son inside there after he woke up.

pasta

 

The owner chef is Italian, and the menu had a good variety of food.  I ordered Prawn & Calamari Linguini and latte, and my friend ordered Chicken & Mushroom Penne and iced coffee.  The food was nice, and the staff were really friendly.

 

creme brulee

After meal, we had creme brûlée to share.  Oh boy, it was great.  I thought the sugar coating was little bit too much caramelized (tasted bit bitter itself) but it actually matched with the sweetness of the pudding.

With their atmosphere, interior decor and friendliness of the staff, I will definitely come back here again!

Our Table
180a Grand Promenade Bedford, WA 6052
08 6162 6620
Open 7 days, 8:00am-9:30pm
menu
website  (still under construction)

 


Happy Union Chinese Restaurant

Posted November 28th, 2014 in Eat out in Perth | No Comments »

At my son’s Japanese kindy, mums have been talking about how good Fish Head Noodle Soup is at Happy Union restaurant. I don’t know who started this “boom” in Japanese mums’ community, but now even some mums at my son’s Japanese playgroup talk about the noodle there.  The Japanese kindy is located just behind the restaurant and around lunch time very nice smell wonders around the kindy backyard where mums chat with cups of coffee while kids are inside the classroom (It’s not a proper kindergarten – we call it “Japanese kindy” but parent or guardian have to stay at the premise while kids lean and play inside the classroom), so I think someone went there for lunch one day and discovered Fish Head Noodle Soup… – maybe that’s how all started. 😀

I like Fish Head Noodle Soup and I normally get it from Bateman Chinese Restaurant in Bateman. I like having a choice between Mi Hoon (clear soup noodle) and laksa.  Today I had a chance going to Happy Union Restaurant for lunch (with mums at Japanese playgroup) so I tried the noodle.

Fish Head Noodle

I had Fish Head Mi Hoon (clear soup) as I wanted to share with my son.  It was $10.80 for lunch, and came with 3 pieces of deep-fried fish pieces.

The soup tasted different to the one at Bateman Chinese Restaurant.  Clear soup with preserved vegetables and tomatoes – it’s same, but this one had a taste of ginger (which I liked!).  The fish was very crispy, fresh, and I actually preferred them to the ones at Bateman.  My son loved the fish too.  Another thing I liked about is that this place is much bigger than Bateman Chinese so it was easy going inside with a baby pram.

It was nice discovering another nice food 🙂  I will definitely come back here again for Fish Head and other dishes.

Happy Union Restaurant
Shop 1, Somerville Shopping Centre
Cnr Le Souef & McMahon Way
Kardinya WA 6163
(08) 9337 8332
Open for lunch & dinner (closed on Mondays)

They also have Chinese Roast Meat (combination) but you’ll need to pre-book it 1 day before.


Monggo Indonesian Restaurant

Posted March 6th, 2014 in Eat out in Perth, Perth WA | No Comments »

Monggo

My sister-in-law visited us from Jakarta over the last weekend and we took her to Indonesian restaurant Monggo on Beaufort St, Mt Lawley for dinner.

In Perth I’ve only been to Sparrow in Northbridge (more than 8 years ago!) and Bintang Cafe in Victoria Park for Indonesian food.  On Monggo’s website the menu looked pretty good and more “formal” type compared to other two. Their menu had almost all the basic Indonesian food I could think of (and something more), and the naming “Jimbaran Fish” and “Serabi Bandung” recalled the memory of my trips to Indonesia over the last decade.

Inside the restaurants I could tell all the staff are Indonesian.  They were very friendly.  The table setting and decor looked pretty.
We ordered Kepiting Soka (crisoy soft shell crab),  Tumis Sayur (stir-fried vegetables), Ayam Rica-rica (slow-cooked chicken dish), Jimbaran Fish (grilled Barramundi fillet), and Beef Randang Kapao (beef curry).

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I thought the pricing was bit expensive considering the size of the dish.  My husband and I are big eaters so we were little disappointed when the dishes came to our table.

All the food were very delicious though.  Because we had 2 kids we ordered Chicken Rica-rica MILD (instead of HOT) but it tasted still great.  I loved Tumis Sayur – the texture of the vegetables were just right!  My husband wanted to order Bebek Betutu (Ubud’s famous duck dish) but sisters didn’t want duck 🙁  I miss Ubud!!  Thinking to going to Bali again this year.

 

Serabi Bandung

Coconut Ice Putar

 

For dessert, we ordered Coconut Ice Putar (homemade coconut ice cream in a young coconut shell) and Serabi Bandung (Pandan-coconut fluffy pancake served with syrup).

I just noticed, the Serabi Bandung was supposed to be 3 pieces of pancakes, but we got 4.  Maybe it was because all our party (except 2 including me) were Indonesian?  We also got this caramel popcorn for free as well. ↓

 

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The Pandan-coconut pancakes were good, but I loved Coconut Ice Puter!  I was imagining it’d taste something like the coconut ice cream you get from any  shops here but it didn’t.  Rosy colour (aroma of rose … Pandan?) with the texture of half ice cream half shaved ice.  Open the lid of young coconut, and scoop the ice cream with fresh coconut meat…  Yum!!

 

Coconut Ice Putar

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My husband has a sweet tooth and he loved it.

Monggo website

You can browse their menu here. (download the PDF)

 

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HIRO

By the way my son turned 3 this week.  I put his photo with a message from us on the newspaper in japan. 🙂  I love you so much and hope you stay like this (a round boy with big smile) forever!!!  xxx

 


Lok’s Kitchen in Thornlie

Posted May 5th, 2012 in Eat out in Perth | No Comments »

My in-law had been saying that shaumai at Lok’s Kitchen is nice, and I finally had a chance of going there for dim sum lunch.

Lok’s Kichen is located in the complex of Thornlie Square Shopping Centre in Thornlie.  It was Sunday and the place was pretty full when we got there.

We got quite lots of food on our table – shaumai, steamed prawn dumplings,  chicken feet, pork ribs, steamed tofu & prawn, fried squid tanticles, chili tofu, char siew pork buns, kailan with oyster sauce, and egg tartlets.

The shaumai was really nice. It was tasty and juicy.  I also loved fried squid tanticles. It was nicer than the one at Northbridge Chinese restaurant on Roe street. Chicks. Feet and steamed prawn dumplings are nicer in Northbridge restaurants though, I thought.

Chili tofu was nice too. I lives the crunchy skin. There was tofu and prawn inside. Although the name is chili tofu (I believe waitress said so) it wasn’t spicy at all.

Char siew pork bun was another my favorite. I’m sure they handmade them. They are smaller than usuall size, but the bun was chewy and fresh.  Custard tartlet was crispy outside and soft & fluffy inside.  Yum!

The staff was very friendly and I liked the place. Only one thing that I hesitate to go back there was that I saw a huge cockroach in the toilet….  It was a big turn-off 🙁  It was shame because the food was really good!

Lok’s Kitchen
Shop30, Thornlie Square Shopping Centre
Thornlie Ave, Thornlie WA 6108
(08) 9452 8488
Lunch:
Mon – Thu & Sun 10:30am – 2:30pm
Fri – Sat 10:00am – 3:00pm
Dinner:
Mon -Thu & Sun 5:00pm – 9:30pm
Fri – Sat 5:00 – 10:00pm


HangOut Bar N Cafe

Posted April 6th, 2012 in Eat out in Perth | 2 Comments »

HangOut Bar N Cafe opened its door with a new owner just 1 week ago, and they seem to be doing pretty good.  My first opportunity to walk through their door was to drop off sample of bagels, and now they added Bagelier bagels to their menu and serving to their customers along with other fabulous foods.

The owner has a passion for great foods and only uses the finest ingredients.  When I was there this morning he was cooking vegetable omelet with just egg white –  you can ask such a favour too.  All staff are very friendly and I felt at home despite being there on business.

The owner asked said their coffee is the best, and asked one of the barista to make a cup of short macchiato for me.  The macchiato was served in a cute, cool glass, and it looked / tasted great.  Nice shot of coffee and the creme was just right!   Mmmmm I love coffee!

He had purchased a big clear showcase to display my bagels, and it’s on the counter at the front.  It’s so nice….  With the foods and the service, it makes me want to visit there with friends sometime!

20 Preston Street
Como, WA 6152
(08) 9474 1914

Open
Monday – Sunday
7:00AM – late

Oh, and Lincolns 102 in Highgate is also serving Bagelier bagels now.  This cosy cafe is just off the busy Beaufort street, and serves lovely foods and drinks.  Takeaway is also available!

LINCOLNS 102

Open
Tuesday – Sunday
7:30AM – 4:00PM

102 Lincoln St
Highgate, WA 6003
(08) 9228 1759


Chinese, Indonesian, and Japanese

Posted March 24th, 2012 in Eat out in Perth | No Comments »

I’ve been eating Chinese food again. While my in-laws are here in Perth my stomach gets filled with lots of Chinese food and Indonesian food…
These cuisine use lots of oil in cooking, so I really miss Japanese food.  Not those Japanese food that you find in Japanese restaurants here like karaage and tempura, but the real homy food like nimono and nitsuke.

Anyway, my stomach was filled with Chinese/Singapore food tonight at Bamboo in Willetton.  I wasn’t too hungry thanks to 1.5 hotdogs I had at IKEA afternoon, but my in-laws ordered 4 dishes for just 4 of us.  Pan-fried tooth fish, sambal spinach, Thai-style chicken in lemongrass sauce, and 1/2 roasted duck. It was quite a lot of food as in-laws don’t usually eat much.

I went outside to have a short stroll around Hi-Mart (Korean grocery shop) next door, and when I got back to the table two dishes had already been served.
The tooth-fish was great. Crispy fish in buttery sauce did match with plain steamed rice. I found sambal spinach was bit oily, but I guess that’s what it’s supposed to be.

Thai-style chicken was the one they ignite flame underneath the aluminum foil.  Roast duck had the beautiful colored crispy skin.  It’s just what people expect roast duck to be.

We couldn’t finish the food as I expected and ended up taking the roast duck home.  Eating this type of food once in awhile is fine, but now I’m longing for a bowl of simple ochazuke for tomorrow breakfast.


Cafe for Tea Lovers

Posted March 14th, 2012 in Eat out in Perth | No Comments »

Since I wrote about this place Chapels on Whatley, they have transformed their tea shop into a nice, attractive tea-featured cafe .

This shops is located right in front of Maylands train station.  They were originally selling just ornaments, tea leaves, and tea-related products, but now they added cafe corner with great drinks and foods.

When I arrived there I could see from outside that many customers enjoying their food and drinks. Outside tables were all taken. When entered inside I was surprised to see how crowded the cafe is with customers and cafe staff moving around busily. They made the cafe counter in the centre of the shop, and there’re tables inside, outside, and at the back yard.

The shop still sells houseware, kitchenware and tea items inside and also at the detached room. We bought 3 teacups made of bamboo. It was $2.80 each.

I wanted to try the food and drinks as they were beautifully dished and looked so yummy, but I couldn’t find any seat available so I left the shop with just three bamboo cups. I definitely want to come back there for food and drinks near future – probably with my girlfriends 🙂


That’s Steak!

Posted March 13th, 2012 in Eat out in Perth | No Comments »

It was the first steak I had since I came back from snowy Japan, and it tasted GOOD!  As people may know, Japanese beef is purposely oily – fat is marbled in red meat (called “shimofuri”) and more it’s evenly marbled more it gets expensive.

Although it’s nice to have shabu-shabu and sukiyaki with thinly sliced shimofuri beef, I prefer red meat when grilling.  I love Australian beef because it’s healthy and fresh.  In Japan amount of fat makes the meat soft and juicy, but here they control the tenderness by how long you cook the meat. More you cook the red meat tougher it goes, so if you like it tender then you ask for medium or medium rare.

While I was in Japan I didn’t eat much beef because the price is quite expensive compared to chicken and pork. And I prefer chicken anyway. Here in Perth chicken is more expensive to some parts of beef.  I feel that quality of beef is better in Australia – Aussie Beef is popular in Japan too, bit pricy though.

D had burger, and our friend had banana milkshake.  He said they didn’t use ice-cream for the milkshake – just cream?  Really?  Or his taste is bit weird…?

I receive a free voucher for steak from Hog’s Breath every year for my birthday month, and I love it. Although you can only chose from selected menu, it’s free! We went there for lunch and I thought I couldn’t eat that big steak in a midday, but I did, hehe.


Theobroma Chocolate Lounge

Posted November 15th, 2011 in Eat out in Perth | No Comments »

As I wrote about it here, I went to Theobroma Chocolate Lounge in Waterford on the weekend to try out their sweets. 🙂

The place is well-decorated and I love the colour tone of chairs, walls, and lights.  Yap, all chocolate-like colours.  It was Saturday afternoon but there wasn’t too many people inside.

I actually had a cup of hot chocolate before going there (I didn’t know we’re going to a chocolate cafe!), so I didn’t feel like chocolate drink at the cafe (which was a shame).  I ordered a mug of latte, and D ordered white chocolate milk shake.

I must admit –  I didn’t expect them to serve such perfect coffee!  White chocolate milk shake was also delicious – I could taste real white chocolate, but not too heavy.

We shared a piece of cookie’ n cream cheese cake as well, and it was another hit.  Quite sweet, and creamy.  The cookies are soft and rather chewy.

As well as other sweet drinks and cakes, they also serve savory foods such as Turkish roll, bacon and egg roll, and quiche.

The staff was friendly too.  I will definitely come back there again 🙂


Waterford Plaza

Posted November 10th, 2011 in Eat out in Perth, Perth WA | No Comments »

If you haven’t been to Waterford Plaza for quite some time, you will be surprised to see the change of this small shopping mall in Karawara.  I used to go there when I was a student at TAFE in Bentley few years ago, and now it doesn’t look the same.

They’ve got more cafes and restaurants at the site, and the area looks more modern.  I find that the parking area is still the same though – bit small –  and the drive way is bit narrow, and it causes jam around the exit to Kent street.  Once you enter from Kent street you can find Pasta Cups, Burger Edge, and Theobroma Chocolate Lounge etc along the drive way.

There are Chinese-Malaysian food (Chilliz & O’Mama Kopitiam), Thai food (Sara Thai), Japanese food (Mikasa Café) and more available in this place, and many students from Curtin and TAFE go there to grab lunch and dinner, just like old time.  And there will be a new tavern featuring the popular ‘Hippo Creek’ restaurant chain, and Singaporean food chain ‘Old Chang Kee’ in early 2012.

WaterPlaza had been under construction for few months and aimed to complete the transformation before the Queen arrived last month, as the Manning Road was the way she would go pass to visit Aboriginal College.  The construction operated 24 hours just before the Queen’s arrival, my friend told me.

I wanted to go to the chocolate cafe Theobroma Chocolate Lounge when I passed this shopping mall last time, but didn’t have time for it.  Apparently there is another shop in Fremantle (http://www.theobromachocolatelounge.com.au/) so maybe I go there instead.  I am so addicted to chocolate now.  I know I shouldn’t be eating chocolate too much because it contains caffein and too much sugar, but I can’t help it.  Hmmm, I guess little amount wouldn’t harm… :p


Canning Vale Indian Grocery Shop

Posted October 28th, 2011 in Eat out in Perth | 1 Comment »

There is an Indian grocery shop at Market City in Canning Vale, just at the corner of Ranford road and Bannister road.  This shop opens 7 days a week, along with other retail shops in Market City.

The price of items in this shop is competitive, and people travel there to buy some Indian and Asian groceries, but there is one more reason why this place is filled with people ; especially on weekends.

They sell some ready-made foods, including some Indian sweets and meals such as Nasi Lemak.  I often see people there in early morning wearing pajamas who look for take-away breakfast!

There is an Indian restaurant (it’s more like small take-away type shop) next door.  It’s also popular and I see many Indian people eating breakfast and lunch there.

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McDONALDS PLAY I SPY

Posted September 26th, 2011 in Eat out in Perth | No Comments »

My quick lunch at McDonald’s last week.

McDonald’s is doing this Play I Spy campaign, which could win you some prizes.  When you buy selected items from McDonald’s, the items come with Play I Spy stickers and 1 in 5 wins instantly!

I got McNuggets value meal and D got BigMac value meal, so we had 4 stickers in total to peel off….

Did I win something??   YES!!!!!!!  …. just a cup of coffee 😀  But it’s better than nothing!  D didn’t win anything..

There’s also 2nd chance where you can enter to win unclaimed prizes.

Hmmmm, anyway, I did enjoy McNuggets. 🙂  I used to eat McNugget a lot back in Japan, and this is one of the foods I craved for while I was pregnant!  I normally get mustard and ketchup to accompany, but this time I only got mustard.  Yummm…

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Taka’s Kitchen and San Churro

Posted September 5th, 2011 in Eat out in Perth, Perth WA | No Comments »

Sigh… I regret that we went to crowded Fremantle market area on busy Sunday. We didn’t do much – just had quick snack at Taka’s Kitchen then had churro and iced chocolate at San Churro. We walked around the busy cappuccino street and it just tired us out. We really shouldn’t go out to a busy place on weekend. We should go to a quiet park or beach instead and relax. It was Father’s Day but I don’t think D enjoyed the day. We were both tired from pushing a big stroller around and watching for cars, people, and trying not to get blight sun light on Hiro’s face. It’s not like we really wanted to eat Taka’s food and churro and chocolate. We simply just wanted to do something together. No more going out to busy places on weekends!

Miso-katsu-don and kaki-age-don.

I don’t know why D chose to go to Taka’s kitchen… It’s the worst place to go with a big stroller and a grizzly baby.

San Churro was also crowded as usual. It was much nicer when I came here with friends in early morning the other day. It was quiet, much less people, food and drink were perfect (because they weren’t busy and had time to prepare with care), and we could totally enjoy the moment. Yesterday was opposite. …Well, at least D enjoyed the churro and white chocolate..


Library Cafe in Cottesloe WA

Posted August 31st, 2011 in Eat out in Perth | No Comments »

The other day Hiro and I drove to Cottelsoe to meet my friend.  Gosh, I hadn’t seen her for such a long time…  We used to work at a cafe in Applecross 3 years ago.  She is a barista and makes great coffee.

The place she chose for a meet-up was a newly opened cafe inside Cottesloe library, just off Stirling Hwy. There is a underground parking underneath the library, and I went up with a lift.  The door between the carpark and lift/stairs area is automatic and it was very easy access with a big stroller.

The library looked so beautiful and stylish – Apple Mac desktops are available for use, free wifi, furnished with unique chairs and desks… even beanbag covers are made of denim.

I loved the cafe too.  Lovely flooring, modern and contemporary tables and chairs/sofas, and, of course, great coffee.

I ordered decaf latte.  Beautiful crema.

I couldn’t take photos, but they also had range of home-made cakes at the counter.  They all looked so fresh and delicious.  I will definitely try them out on next visit.

My friend is so good at kids/babies.  Hiro was smiling and enjoying her cuddle for 1 hour.  We talked about many things – about families, other friends, etc.  The weather was beautiful, the area is quiet and peaceful, and it was a lovely morning 🙂

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Snow Ice, Crepe…. and Oden

Posted August 30th, 2011 in Eat out in Perth | 2 Comments »

I remembered I had a $10.00 worth voucher for use at Icey Ice Perth City that I bought from Scoopon long time ago, and it was nearly expired, so I took D and Hiro to the shop to get some sweets.

I’d never been to the city one (I’ve been to Northbridge shop before), and I found that it’s a pretty small shop.  There’re only 3 tables inside, and all of them were full.  We had a big stroller, so thought we’d better get take-away instead of eating there…. then, one group of customer left the table, so we decided to sit down.

I didn’t really feel like snow ice and was browsing the menu board…. then, noticed that they sell oden in the shop.  Not “oden-snow ice” or “oden crepe”, just oden.  … Oden?

I found it’s very funny as I’d never thought a shop selling snow ice and crepe would have oden on the menu.  It says “Japanese Hot Pot ~ Kansai-style Oden”, and the oden was being cooked next to the snow-ice machine.

I was very curious, but didn’t want to buy it.  Then, one lady started ordering oden next to me…  So, someone does buy oden at a sweet shop! :p

She asked for chilli sauce over oden…  Obviously she is not Japanese.  And I’m surprised that the shop had chilli sauce.

We ordered normall items – crepe and drink.  He ordered crispy crepe with condensed milk and oreo (sweet tooth…), and I ordered green tea chiller with sago.  Sago was extra charge, but I believe there was no sago in the drink – they forgot!  I realized it after we left the shop :p

I thought Icey Ice in Northbridge is much better… bigger space, many tables to sit down, and more variety of products.  I liked crepe in Northbridge shop better because they put more fillings (well, at least the last one we ate had lots of fillings).  At city shop, D had to eat almost half the crepe to reach condensed milk and oreo.

Hmmm anyway, I like this shop as being a snow ice/crepe shop selling oden. hehe 🙂

a


A Short Trip to Mandurah Cicerello’s

Posted July 27th, 2011 in Eat out in Perth | No Comments »

It wasn’t a perfect day to go sightseeing on Monday as it was raining, but we did.  We took D’s parents to Mandurah just to have lunch and walk around.  …Well, we couldn’t really walk around much because it started to rain pretty hard while we arrived.

We went to Cicerello’s to have Fish n Chips.  The interior of this restaurant is cute –  like a log house.  There is a fish tank just like the one in Fremantle, but smaller.

We ordered 2 senior deals – which comes with seafood chowder soup, 1 fish and chips, coffee (black or flat white), and a slice of black forrest cake -, and 2 seafood baskets to share.

The presentation of the dishes was much better than Fremantle restaurant.  The tartar sauce came in a oyster shell.  The coleslaw salad tasted better and fresher too.

The hot soup was served straight away 🙂  It was creamy, tasty, and a great body-warmer!

I was quite hungry when we arrived there, but these fried stuff made me full quickly and D had to finish most of the food.  Well, he was happy to do so anyway.

The coffee was nice too.  While eating I had to warm up milk for Hiro, and asked a mug of hot water from the coffee counter.  The staffs were all friendly.

Hiro seemed to enjoy watching the fishes.

Afterwards we headed to Mandurah Centro shopping centre to walk around.  It’s shame that it was raining.  Walking on Mandurah Terrace would be much better!

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Food Photos at Atrium in Burswood Complex

Posted July 16th, 2011 in Eat out in Perth | No Comments »

The other day we went down to Atrium in Burswood Complex for breakfast buffet.  We chose to go on weekday so there won’t be many people in the restaurant.

The food was what we expect from normal breakfast buffet.  The menu changed a lot (there used to be sushi before etc) over the years, I guess it all depends on the chefs.

Here are some photos.

I had tomato and cheese omelet which was made by chef in front of me.  Overall the foods there are bit boring…  Very basic, and I guess it’s fine as a hotel guest, but the price for outsider is very expensive.  You can get much better one with cheaper price in Japan.

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Lunch at Sizzler

Posted June 23rd, 2011 in Eat out in Perth | No Comments »

It was a beautiful day yesterday – blue sky and gentle wind. After doing laundry and going walking to the park with Hiro, I took D’s parents for lunch at Sizzler.

As I only had one Rotiboy (a sweet bun from Indonesia) at 5am, I was super hungry.  I could eat a horse… I ordered a Sizzler complete lunch which came with salad bar, drink bar, and today’s grill (Wednesday was small rump steak and chips). D had the same, and parents had basa grill and standard rump steak.

D’s dad always bring his own sambal (Indonesian chili sauce : the red bottle next to cheesy toast)) to any restaurant :p

My appetite is really huge… My bro used to say my stomach is a black hole. I had several trips to the salad bar with plateful of salads, plus 2 cups of pumpkin soup and some drinks.

And I finished my small rump steak too.

I concluded my lunch with a cup of hot camomile tea, and we all headed home with full stomach.

Hiro was sleeping through the day out. He always keep sleeping when we take him out on the travel capsule and stroller. ::)

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The Miami Bakehouse Cafe

Posted March 28th, 2011 in Eat out in Perth | No Comments »

D has been having such a big craving for a sweet bun with icing…  He loves sweets, especially sugary ones and buttery ones.  I really think he should cut down his sugar intake!  I can’t believe his favourite flavour of ice cream is cotton candy.  The vivid colour (blue? pink? purple??) really turns me off…

Anyway, the other day he wanted to grab some icing buns from somewhere.  It was mid afternoon and Hiro was awake but quiet, so we decided to go out to get some fresh air and buy some buns.  Somehow, we headed to Miami Bakery in Melville. (I wrote about this place before here)

To be honest, I don’t really like their pastries… they look great, but  are not to my taste.  Pies are nice though, they have a variety of flavours.  The pie of this month “chicken green curry” was tempting.

…..  I did it again.  I thought “hey this apple turnover looks nice” and ordered one.  The pastry was too dry and hard (I think it was more than 2 days old…), and the cream was tasteless.  I think I had this experience here before, and I totally forgot about it.  I should not order anything with cream here…

I thought D was going to have something with icing, but he ordered chocolate croissant instead.

They do hight tea now. (only at Mandurah and Melville shop)  It’s $27 per head, and includes warm savoury pastries, finger sandwiches, scone with jam & cream, and a selection of desserts and cakes.  Ummm, if you chose a right dessert/cake, I think it’s a good deal.

* Miami Hight Tea $27.00 per person

* Sparkling High Tea (with a glass of sparkling wine) $33.00 per person (only at Mandurah)

Mandurah Foreshore: Saturdays & Sundays from 2PM (08 9581 3000)

Melville: Sundays from 2 PM  (08 9319 3555)


Breakfast Buffet at Atrium in Burswood

Posted February 18th, 2011 in Eat out in Perth | No Comments »

Atrium is one of the places where my in-laws often have breakfast at.  Since I’m not working anymore, they took me to have breakfast buffet there during the weekday.

It was such a hot day – the sunbeam was quite strong even at 7 AM.  There’s a construction going on at Burswood complex when we went.

At Atrium.  Compared to weekends, there’re less people (of course) and the place was quiet.  We sat down, and waited for the coffee and tea to come around.  We arrived there around 9am, and I was starving…  ready to devour!

etc etc.

It just so confuses me what to eat when there’re many kinds of food around.  I felt like eating bread, egg and mushroom (normal breakfast items) and coffee (decaffeinated), so I did.  I wanted to have one more bun, but I thought I should eat something else, so I tried bit of everything…

There was a showcase of desserts at the bread counter, and I asked the chef if I could have one of the cake.  He said those cakes are actually for display only.  I guess they don’t serve cakes in the morning.

I could ask for fresh-made juice at the counter, and also fresh-made eggs and French toast.  I’m not as fussy as before (around the first trimester), but I still don’t want to have freshly-squeezed juice (as they might be bacteria on the fruits/vegetables) in the public.  I also didn’t ask for well-done scrambled eggs and well-done poached eggs, as I know the soft-cooked eggs are the best.  Probably next time.


Han’s Cafe in Carousel

Posted February 10th, 2011 in Eat out in Perth | No Comments »

Han’s Cafe is a casual dining restaurant chain that you can find across Perth WA.  They serve Asian cuisine – mostly Malaysian, Singapore, and Vietnamese.

Actually, Han’s Cafe was the place where I had my first date with D!  It was Han’s Cafe Northbridge, and it was my first time to eat something Malay/Singapore/Vietnamese in Perth.  I remember we both ordered broken rice with pork chop. (I just ordered what he ordered as I had no idea what the food were like on the menu)  I could barely speak English at that time.

Despite the sweet memory, I have to say that not all the Han’s Cafe restaurants serve the same level of food…  I really don’t like the one in Willetton – every single visit I made in the past, I regret that I spent money on the food there.

Although Han’s Cafe is not really in my favorite restaurant list, I do go there sometimes when I feel like something Asian (non Japanese/Korean/Chinese).  Among over 20 locations across Perth, my favorite one is the one in Carousel shopping centre.

It’s just because of the atmosphere.  The place has many tables inside, and there are sofa seats with screen where you can place and check your order without leaving the seat.

On my last visit, I had pad thai and D had char kway teow.  The place wasn’t busy at that time, so the food came out really quickly.

The foods there are not really special, but it fills me up when I want an easy, quick, reasonably-priced food.


Pregnancy Photo Shoot and San Churro

Posted February 8th, 2011 in Eat out in Perth, Perth WA | 8 Comments »

Yey, week 35! ♪  It’s finally the last month of my pregnancy…

I’ve wanted to take some photos of myself with this biggest-ever belly.  At first I was thinking to take a pregnancy photo shoot at a studio, but I rather have it for my baby after he is born, so I asked D to take me to Kings Park and shoot some photos of me and belly.  Kings Park is the place where we had our wedding photo shoots too.

It was a shiny day with cool breeze – actually it was rather windy.  The sunshine was strong though – so we had to walk in the shade.  My pelvic bone hurts when I walk too much, so we sat down several times to rest during the 1 hour walk, and took around 50 photos.  I’m quite happy with the result. 🙂

We needed something cold to chill our body down afterwards. First I was thinking about Gloria Jeans, but we headed to San Churro in Subiaco instead.

We had an iced chocolate and a kid’s churros.  The smell from Jus Burger next door was really tempting, but we were after some sweets only – probably we eat burger then enjoy the sweet chocolate next time!


Out to Lunch, Massage and Cafe

Posted January 24th, 2011 in Eat out in Perth | No Comments »

The weather was cloudy with light drizzling rain on Sunday.  I had a 1 hour massage appointment at Mayumi’s at 1:30pm, but my in-laws wanted to have lunch together at Bintang Cafe as one of the sister was going back to Jakarta on Monday afternoon.

The sister and D went to church in the morning.  While waiting I was getting myself ready for the lunch, massage and meeting friends at C15 in Applecross.  Around 10:30 the sister and D came back… with Mcdonald’s bacon egg muffins and pancakes!  “I thought we’re going to have lunch soon” then she said “Yeah, this is just breakfast.”

After eating the muffin I was pretty full, but still joined the lunch anyway.  I ordered bihun goreng (stir-fried rice noodle) and D ordered a rice dish (Nashi something Champur).  Very full… but I’d gotta go to get 1 hour massage!

This time Mayumi had prepared a big donut-shaped cushion for me so I could get massage while lying face down.  Starting from my back to neck & shoulders, then my legs…   It was again, a 1 hour of heavenly massage.  As I told her that my legs kept getting cramped, she concentrated on my calves. I was almost asleep half-way through the massage because it was so great and relaxing.

After the massage I headed to C15 in Applecross.  My friend just came back from Hong Kong and Japan trip, and she is returning to work soon after 1 year + 3 months maternity leave.  As both of us will be busy in the next few weeks we decided to catch up while we still have our time.

Friend and I wanted to order pancake (we love pancake at C15!) but it was impossible for my stomach to take another solid food.  My friend also decided not to eat pancake this time, so we just had drinks and stayed there for 2 hours non-stop talking.  As she gave birth at St John of God in Murdoch (where I’m giving birth to my baby) I had lots of questions to ask!

I love this cafe – not only the food, drinks and services, but also even customers are friendly.  Great place to pass the time.  I’m not surprised this place is always full of people.


Bagel from Fremantle Bakehouse

Posted January 20th, 2011 in Bagelier Bagel, Eat out in Perth | No Comments »

When I was wondering around Cappuccino strip in Fremantle, I saw two huge bagels in a basket through the window at Fremantle Bakehouse.  They were really big, and I just had to try it out and see if they bake a good bagel.

Fremantle Bakehouse is a pretty popular bakery with dine-in section where you can enjoy the baked goods with freshly brewed coffees and teas.  I also like their bread – especially the ones with hard crust.  My husband liked ciabatta bread with olives the other day.

It was a plain bagel with poppy seeds on top.  When a staff passed me the bagel in a paper bag I realised the bagel was actually very light.  I squeezed it with my fingers, and the soft crust just broke and became flaky without any resistance, just like other normal white bread.  I was little disappointed, but took it home and toasted it to see if the texture was chewy.  It wasn’t!  It was just normal white bread in the shape of a bagel.

The bagel was just about the size of my hand, and weighed about 100g.  My bagels at Bagelier are around 10cm in diametre and weigh about 100g.  I know my bagels are quite heavy and dense, but I wondered if this bagel from Fremantle Bakehouse is what people in Perth think of a bagel.  I also tried a blueberry bagel from Lawleys Bakery before, and it wasn’t heavy and chewy either.  Maybe the bagels I make are too heavy and dense – should I rename it from “bagel” to something else?

In Japan, some bagels weigh around 100g ~ 160g!!  Some of them are very heavy and chewy, and some are soft and fluffy.  Which texture is good depends on people’s liking, really.  BAGEL&BAGEL is very popular in Japan, but some people say their bagels are too soft.  I personally like the one with tough crust and chewy interior.  Bagelier bagels are best to be eaten toasted.  I normally slice bagels in half before freezing, and toast them in a small oven toaster before eating.  When I’m making a sandwich, I toast it using a panini press.  Toasting it well-done and eating it while hot is my way of eating a bagel.  Some people like heating up my bagel in microwave.  The bagel becomes soft, but after awhile it tastes little dry, I think.


Icey Ice Snow Ice

Posted November 12th, 2010 in Eat out in Perth | No Comments »

After a little shopping and printing a photo of father-in-low with the Indonesian Comedy Singer at OfficeWorks, we took a dessert break at Icey Ice in Northbridge.  It was a slightly hot day and I was little thirsty, and I was craving for the cold snow ice to chill my throat.

When D and I arrived the shop, the sweet delicious smell hit my nose and I wasn’t sure if I wanted snow ice or sweet crape anymore.  In the end, we ordered 2 crapes and 1 bubble tea (there was a deal of “buy 1 Icey Ice crape and get 1 bubble tea with one filling for $2.00”)  

Their crispy crape is pretty huge, and I realized that ordering bubble tea was a mistake!!  Super sweet….  Besides, I was eating Icey Ice green tea crape, and D was eating condensed milk and white choco bits!  The sweetest crape ever…

Their crape is different from normal soft crape and is certainly different from those you get in the crape shops or summer festival stalls in Japan.  I’m not talking about only the crape skin, but also the contents.  Banana & Peanut Butter, Nutella & Rainbow Sprinkle,  Condensed Milk & Crushed Oreo…  They might be a good snack for a sweet fix though.  

I’m also curious about the eel crape, by the way.  Has anyone tried the grilled eel crape?   

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Lunch at Bintang Cafe and Indonesian Comedy Singers

Posted November 7th, 2010 in Eat out in Perth | No Comments »

On the weekend I had lunch with my in-lows at Bintang Cafe in Victoria Park. (my previous post about Bintang Cafe is here)  As we’re a group of 7 people, I didn’t think we could get a table easily (this place is pretty small) especially during lunch time on Saturday.  As I thought there’re packed with people (mostly Asians) and we waited outside for few minutes.

I know their popular dish is Me Ayam Jamur (egg noodle with chicken and mushroom, soup served separately), but I didn’t fell like eating wet stuff.  I ordered Kway Teow Goreng (fried kway teow noodle).  Other people ordered Gado-Gado (Indonesian salad: blanched vegetables with peanut sauce), Me Ayam Jamur with extra wontons, Bihun Goren (fried bihun noodle), Ayam Kway Teow (kway teow noodle with chicken), and omelet-looking tofu dish (my husband doesn’t remember the name of the dish).

I actually wanted to order some Ais Kacang (Malaysian/Singapore/Indonesian dessert with shaved ice with syrup, beans, etc) but I didn’t.  I didn’t really look through the menu, but I don’t think they have it on the menu.  Sister-in-low ordered Soda Gembira – a drink with special syrup, condensed milk and soda water- and it looked nice (and very sweet).  Brother-in-low ordered milk bubble tea with sago.

We ordered Tempe too.  This is a deep-fried soy bean dish and is very good for pregnant women.

Pempek.  Deep-fried fish cake with egg inside, covered with tamarind sauce.  The sauce tastes spicy, sour and sweet.  All these food remind me of Indonesia!

When we were about to finish our food, the outside started to be little noisy.  I had no idea what people were talking about, as they were speaking Indonesian.  Then my husband told me “hey! he is a famous comedian!!”

“Project Pop” is an Indonesian comedy singer group (apparently), and the gathering outside Bintang Cafe there’re one or two of Project Pop members.  I didn’t know which one was which (as I’ve never watched Indonesian tv) but father-in-low took a photo with one of the member, Udjo.

Afterwards we found out that they came to Perth to join an event held at UWA.  Hmm… I hope some Japanese comedians or celebrity come to Perth too…

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Food I Eat and Don’t Eat in Perth

Posted October 31st, 2010 in Eat out in Perth | 4 Comments »

It seems that I keep going to the same restaurants over and over here.  When I go to a Japanese restaurant to eat out in Perth, deciding “where to go” is based on the price – not the food itself anymore.  The reasons are because the food (Japanese food) is very pricy here, I’m not a fussy eater, and I know I can get better food at cheaper price in Japan.

Some Japanese restaurants serve food at the price which I don’t think it matches with its food.  For example, I wouldn’t pay $9.00 or $10.00 (around ¥700~¥800) in Japan on a donburi with just a few meat and no garnish etc.  To me, the food looks like the one you can just get from a chilled section in a convenience store at ¥298 (around AUD$3.80)

So, if my friends or in-laws wants to eat Japanese food in Perth, we end up going to the Japanese restaurants at the reasonable pricing – so that we can still have fun without spending hundreds.

The food I like eating in Perth is Asian food (except Japanese and Korean).  Malaysian, Singapore, Thai, Vietnamese etc… those are the food I can’t eat when I’m in Japan.  There are many Asian restaurants in Japan, but most of them converted the menu to suit Japanese people’s tongues.  As there are many Asian people living in Perth, the foods are similar to the ones in their country.  (I’m sure the food in the country of origin tastes much much better and cheaper though)

Shiki Group (Zushi Bento and Edo Shiki), Matsu Sushi, O’Ba-san, Taka’s Kitchen, etc.  They are all low-priced Japanese restaurants, and they have at least 3 shops across Perth.  The business seem to be going well, so it means that many people actually prefer going to have a casual dining experience at inexpensive restaurants more often.  Of course people may like going to an expensive restaurant to enjoy the atmosphere and the food occasionally, but we can’t do that all the time (unless you have lots of money to spare).

I’m the type of person who can survive with cheap foods (of course there is a limit!).  Oh, but the Japanese people who live here temporary (business people) tends to like Ha-Lu, Satsuki and Restaurant Jun.  I do like the food there too, the chefs are Japanese and the foods are much similar to our normal Japanese food.

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(laksa photo from Google)


Birthday Dinner at Zushi Bento Ascot

Posted September 8th, 2010 in Eat out in Perth | No Comments »

Yesterday was my sister-in-law’s birthday!  We had a birthday cake on last Saturday night at her house, and went to Zushi Bento in Ascot for dinner last night.

I must say, I like the atmosphere of this place.  It’s an individual building, and it reminds me of family restaurants in Japan.  At the door several Japan-like stone statues welcomed us, and the interior of the restaurant was very tidy.  I loved the furniture and the water glass.  The space was wide, they’ve got around 13 tables, counters, and also ozashiki : tatami-matted room with horigotatsu (low, covered table placed over a hole in the floor of a Japanese-style room).  The toilets looked good too.

The food: we ordered Maki Delight (assorted rolled sushi), niku soba, and niku donburi.  Maki Delight contains 3 kinds of sushi rolls: robster, tuna and softshell crab.  They are all uramaki (nori sheet rolled inside)  

Robter roll was with avocado and little pieces of row robster meat mixed in mayonnaise, and the roll was covered with furikake (Japanese seasoning powder).  Tuna roll was tinned tuna mixed with mayonnaise.  This roll was topped with tenkasu (crunchy bits of deep fried flour-dough).  Softshell crab roll was deep-fried sofsshell crab, covered with tobiko (frying fish roe).

The beef on the niku soba and niku don was really tough.  And, the egg sauce on donburi was not enough: the dish was dry.  The soup of soba were little oily.  

Well, if I come here next time I will probably order just sushi.  I heard the dim sum is not nice too.  From the whole experience, the food was not great, but it was ok it’s average. The price was ok too.  The atmosphere of the place was great.