BYO

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Old Kingdom – Fitzroy – Tuesday 6 December 2016 – Dinner

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It looks the same. The atmosphere is the same. The food might actually be better in some areas. And that is the way institutions are supposed to be. To be exactly as they have lived in our memories for years and years.

Luckily, the stories I have are from years ago. When, on those particular nights, the waitperson was charming and funny. The only lacking element tonight is the ability of the waitstaff to interact and add that X factor to the meal.

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Ten years ago (give or take), I was told about the “duck hangover” in detail and still relive that story to this day. Another time I was told to pull up the table cloth all the way up to the neck to protect from duck fat shooting everywhere. If you were at a Heston restaurant you would call it “theatre”. It is almost as if back then Heston named his restaurant accordingly after experiences at Old Kingdom.

Tonight the duck is non-chalantly presented; politely enough, but without energy and enthusiasm. After grabbing a quick photo, our waitperson proceeds to begin cutting without any warning of duck fat splashing, and in close proximity to a vacant chair with one of our guests jacket hanging behind it. It seems there were no accidents, but the risks taken were exceptional!

The duck itself is prepared expertly as you would hope for at a restaurant that specialises in Peking Duck. It is delicious, with a thin pancake, some spring onion, cucumber and hoisin sauce only adding to the experience. Addictive is probably the best description I can think of.

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The duck stirfry (mainly bean shoots though) contains the leftover duck not chopped for the first course, but has some rich juicy pieces of duck meat. The last course, the duck soup, is deep in flavour, far better than my memory of this particular course. It is the first time I can think of trying seconds for this final edition of duck gluttony.

As it stands, we had three ducks for five adults, which is probably over-indulgent. In fact, unlike other reviews, I decided to write this immediately following dinner given the forthcoming duck hangover, and serious duck regret I will probably feel tomorrow. Nothing exceptionally over-indulgent is without some form of come-down.

There are many special things about restaurants that stand the test of time. Think about the changes on Smith Street just in the past ten years. Old Kingdom has been watching all of the great improvements on this eclectic street while keeping its appeal.

Old Kingdom Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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Pho Hung Vuong 2 – Richmond – Friday 13 November 2015 – Dinner

Shredded beef and brisket pho

Shredded beef and brisket pho

There is a lot to love, and a lot to put up with, when dining on Victoria Street. At times the less appealing aspects (to put it lightly) ruin the whole experience.

Tonight we had walked for around 30 minutes to get here so it was only hunger, and the promise of some good pho, that meant we didn’t turn around and head back to safety. All I can say is that Victoria Street needs a dramatic clean-up, which I’m sure all the good businesses on the street have been asking for (for a long time). Luckily the unsavoury characters outside are not interested in soup, and the door of Pho Hung Vuong 2 provides a degree of separation.

Prawn spring rolls

Prawn spring rolls

While we are here for a soup, we begin with the prawn spring rolls. Wrapping in the lettuce as tradition dictates, and dipping in the sauce, there is nothing quite like a very good quality spring roll to get proceedings underway. These are thin and crisp, but the room inside is filled with delicious juicy prawn meat and nothing else.

Chicken pho

Chicken pho

I go with the beef and brisket pho and Catherine with the chicken pho. Both have slightly different broths and we both add a good covering of bean shoots and Thai basil; in addition I add a decent splatter of chilli which packs a good punch. There is comfort in soup, but I find good pho has that bit more complexity; a taste I’m used to but still find as interesting as a new experience. Freshness from the additions, and filling satisfaction from the noodles and added meat.

Pho Hung Vuong 2 has a sister restaurant in Springvale too, which I’m told is just as good. There is nothing to note about the service or décor, except the fact that the restaurant is full and the reason is the soup. We will be back but one day I hope a lot of the unsavoury aspects outside are gone.

Pho Hung Vuong 2 Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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Threecoins Italian Trattoria – Mt Lawley – Tuesday 3 February 2015 – Dinner

Mille fogile

Mille fogile

With Da Vinci’s unfortunately closed, Mum and I had no choice as we sat in the carpark on a Tuesday evening. We had to find good Italian that is reasonably priced fast. Urbanspoon to the rescue.

Not far away in the Avenues of Mt Lawley, Threecoins Italian Trattoria seemed a good option and what’s more they had a spare table for two. My figurative take away tonight was, if you hesitate, like I do, at eating in a small shopping complex, you may miss something special every now and again.

It was busy! A slightly illegal park, a friendly greeting, and in no time we were seated just outside in the undercover but alfresco front area. The restaurant is styled in minimalistic Italian trattoria fashion. Given it is located on a main street in a small shopping complex, it is surprisingly ambient. On top of that it is nice and warm; a comfortable night to be eating outside.

The menu is your usual informal Italian with an asterix being the completely homemade pasta options on offer. The growth in homemade pasta being offered across Perth is fantastic. Here they are served in clay bowls that add some interest, and keep the dish warm. At first the serving looks on the small side, but given the dishes are rich and good quality, not to mention reasonably priced, we are happy.

Pasta

Fettuccine with lamb ragu

My pasta is a fettuccine with a lamb ragu. The pasta is nice and firm and holds together. I’m curious on the lamb ragu at first because there are quite a few defined chunks rather than being almost dissolved through the sauce. Luckily, it is very tender and has good depth of flavour making for a nice dish.

Mum’s ravioli of pumpkin and taleggio is even richer, with a white truffle oil, and a burnt butter, sage and parmesan sauce. Again it comes in a clay bowl, and there is a good serving given the richness. Out of the two dishes, the ravioli is the star. Both dishes were mopped up with bread from the selection, which includes grissini and flatbread amongst others.

For dessert we share the mille fogile of strawberry and Chantilly cream with other berries scattered through and white chocolate too. For a simple dish it is well executed and the puff pastry is nicely cooked. The slightly sweet cream and strawberries are a classic combination, providing a light end to the meal.

One plus for Threecoins is the ability to bring wine to the restaurant for only a small corkage per head. The service at times seemed a little inexperienced, but this was made up by the politeness and friendliness of the couple of waitpersons who served us, and some nice touches like holding dessert until we were ready. The restaurant is popular and should look at better stemware, but other than that our craving for good and reasonably priced Italian was well and truly catered for.
Threecoins Italian Trattoria on Urbanspoon

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Billy Lee’s – Northbridge – Thursday 2 October 2014 – Dinner

Prawns and Vegetable

Prawns and Vegetable

Tradition is often as important as finding the next big thing. There is a lot more to Billy Lee’s than merely tradition, but it is the kind of restaurant that you cannot help get caught up in the past when you sit down and start flicking through the menu.

I know why I love Billy Lee’s. It is because I have been with large groups, small groups, with family, with friends, and every time it has been in equal parts about catching up to enjoy each other’s company, and the sizzling beef. Yes, the sizzling beef.

There is nothing cliqued about a boiling hot plate topped with onions, and then throwing three quarter cooked thin slices of beef and sauce over the plate. It is probably frowned upon but I like to push the beef to the edges of the hot plate to get even sizzling. The taste is good but this is the highlight!

The incredibly long menu can be difficult. I often look at it and wonder how I ever worked out how to order a dish or two when choosing from literally a couple hundred. It is like an Italian pasta place that has ten types of pasta and ten types of sauce – that is one hundred dishes just there! Though if you don’t know what you are doing, it can be very difficult.

Mum said she felt like prawns so I rattled off the options (just on the specials there were nine prawn dishes!) We settled on prawns with vegetable. At first I thought it was a typo, but it was actually correct as it was just prawns with chopped Chinese leaf (I think it was choi sum). The prawns themselves are excellent quality. Large, cooked properly, deveined and fresh. The sauce has heavy hits of ginger and is quite glutinous. It is an excellent dish and I personally cannot fault it.

Sizzling Beef

Sizzling Beef

The sizzling beef is, as always, superb. The beef is always tender with minimal (or no) chewy bits and the onion needs no further cooking having been subjected to the outrageously hot plate. The sauce is indulgent and rich. We also have the special fried rice which is filled with prawns (not quite as amazing as the actual prawn dish), chicken and squid. The rice is the hero here, though the addition of some vegetables would ease some of the guilt about such a large amount of food.

While the Chinese tea is great, Mum and I were dying for a wine so we left promptly without enjoying the watermelon (or other seasonal fruit) that traditionally comes out once you have sat with your leftovers for 30-45 minutes. Sure, the service norms can be interesting at Chinese restaurants, but that seems to be the culture. In the USA you often get the bill before you ask, and perhaps in China you get to reflect on the food you can’t fit in while it sits in front of you.

With that we were gone. Around the corner, Pleased To Meet You, a new Northbridge restaurant that is well and truly on the trend of Southern American cuisine, rum and share food. The “Head Nouveau” TMG wine is great and not taking advantage of Billy Lee’s BYO policy makes sense now.

Back to Billy Lee’s. I can only say start the tradition as soon as possible because it is a fantastic place to share food with family and friends. No fuss whatsoever.

Billy Lees Chinese Restaurant on Urbanspoon