December 30, 2018 by bleekong

Shadow Wine Bar – Northbridge – Tuesday 23 October 2018 – Dinner

Yes! We have found a restaurant with waitstaff that can keep up with the humour and wit of my Mum! The restaurant manager mentions “Jesse will be with you shortly” and the first thing Jesse hears is something to do with the song “Jesse’s girl” care of Mum, followed up with my lack of singing ability when trying to explain what she is talking about. In the first few moments we know we have the right place.

Mum is in her element when we add terrific guidance on the geographical and varietal diversity of the wine list, some natural oysters from Smoky Bay in South Australia (that are perfect), and a fun family catch up along with Catherine and my Aunty Sher. As usual we are deep in conversation for the entire meal, but occasionally that conversation is broken by a comprehensive enjoyment of the food and wine.

Roasted beetroot

Shadow Wine Bar has now “been around”, especially for a restaurant and bar in the Perth market that can be as trendy, as it is fickle, and often unapologetically challenging to remain relevant. I had been here for a drink, but never for dinner, but it did remain on my list. Maybe such a delay in dining here meant I had lesser expectations? Those expectations don’t matter, because even if they were loftier, they would have been exceeded tonight.

Meatball

On top of those perfect oysters, across the table we tried the cheese puff, and the meatball, plus the roasted beetroot with barley. They were all good to great. The beetroot was soft and sweet from the roasting, but the barley added strong texture, and the yoghurt was just right to add some creaminess.

Spaghettini with crab

For mains, Sher and I both chose the spaghettini with crab, capers, lemon, and a light dose of chilli. The surprise was homemade spaghettini which is difficult to achieve with the right firmness, but this pasta was excellent without being absolutely perfect. The sauce made good use of all the ingredients in balanced proportions, though you can never have too much crab.

Gnocchi with tomato and eggplant

Catherine loved her gnocchi with a tomato and eggplant sauce. I tried it and thought it to be the equal of my pasta. Mum’s agnolotti lived up to her expectations too.

For dessert we shared the tiramisu and the pear tarte tatin. The latter was the better dessert by far. While the tiramisu was nice enough, it was more cake-y than usual, and missed the high notes. The pear tarte tatin was strongly executed, with crisp pastry.

Pear tarte tatin

Shadow Wine Bar impressed on all levels. While it is equally adept for a casual wine catch up, the dining version is now my favoured scenario. And Mum will definitely be back for some more oysters!

June 3, 2016 by bleekong

No Mafia – Northbridge – Thursday 19 May 2016 – Dinner

People eat early in Perth. This means that if you are able to defy the norm, you can easily get into popular restaurants simply by arriving after 8.30pm.

Earlier tonight a couple of mates and I had a few beers and wines at Shadow Wine Bar. The Austrian Veltliner I tried was impeccable, but the initial greeting left much to be desired. That alone left me very open to moving to another venue for dinner, though I must say for the rest of the evening the staff were actually quite good.

No Mafia is only a short walk further down William Street towards the Perth CBD. Having heard great reports about this place I had no hesitation in being guided by Haaron’s suggestion. When we got there it dawned on me that a lot of tables must have finished a good time before we had ordered our last drinks at Shadow.

Continuing on a wine sandwiched with beer theme we began with a terrific bottle of Montepulciano (which incidentally ruined the poor waitperson’s corkscrew), before finishing with a delicious cleansing Bassendean Stout by Nail Brewery. We needed a wine with some versatility and this worked well with a number of the chef’s selected dishes.

The service here is certainly suited to informal dining. We had a waitperson with the right amount of attentiveness and humour, without going too far. She even allowed us to have the $35 chef’s selection even though it is supposed to be for four or more.

We started with some fried baccalau that was excellent and some zucchini fritters that were passable, but I wouldn’t order them again. Then things started to get serious with some Napoli squid, capers, fried leeks, and lemon, which for the most part stayed tender, and had a good flavour profile.

The heavy hitters were my favourite dishes though with the comforting triple cooked potatoes bathed in garlic, chilli & aioli, something to go back for, and the Black-pig prosciutto, red-wine poached pear, ricotta, and almonds, being a dish that was delicate and glorious, even if styled on some classic combinations.

In between the pan-fried gnocchi was well executed with the semi-dried tomato pesto and rocket an aside on how good the gnocchi really was. Finally, the braised lamb leg with baked ricotta, peperonata, and green olives worked classic ingredients in another dish that is spot on.

I know my review sounds like everything was good to very good, but I will say I wasn’t sure about the ordering of the dishes, and also the overall decision on the menu. It felt a little disjointed put together and next time I would order a la carte. In isolation however, almost everything worked, and the menu is more than reasonable being this close to the city. No Mafia provides an interesting modern take on Italian near the arts precinct of Northbridge that is getting better and better.

October 13, 2015 by bleekong

Hong Kong BBQ House – Northbridge – Thursday 8 October 2015 – Dinner

Roast Duck

While I had been to Hong Kong a couple of times as a pre-teen, the time I travelled there as an adult was informed, food wise, mainly by visits to Northbridge dim sum joints, and the great Hong Kong BBQ. This temple of roast duck and pork has been around for over twenty years and I have been eating here almost as long.

These days it has been tastefully renovated and is a slick version of what it once was décor wise. Luckily there is no difference in the friendliness of the service, or indeed the quality of the food, at incredibly reasonable prices.

Tonight we are out for my Brother’s birthday and while there are a few pre-requisites, the main requirement is to order more than just duck and pork, and to order liberally! It is a must to do at least one roast meat and we opt for the roast duck. As you must expect, the duck meat is succulent, while the skin is crisp and flavoursome. Vying for the breast pieces in the middle initially then turned into scrapping for any remainders, such is the deliciousness of this skillfully prepared roast bird.

Satay beef

We have several other mains including the satay beef. It is simply presented on a large iceberg lettuce leaf, oozing in delicious satay sauce and nicely cooked to stay tender. There is not a drop of the sauce by the end as it is used to mop up the remaining steamed rice.

The seafood fried rice is superb, with large chunks of calamari, prawns, and even scallops. The rice is not overly oily, but has enough soy for that addictive salty taste. We also have the honey king prawn, which features huge fresh prawns. However, it is probably my least favourite dish, mainly because the others are great rather than this being average.

Honey King Prawn

To freshen things up we also had a dish of Gai Lan with oyster sauce which is excellent. Nice and simple without glutinous texture making it more refreshing than many other versions.

Here the service is brisk, but friendly, and the BYO policy for wine adds to the value. Even the glassware is above average for a restaurant that allows BYO. There is plenty of beer like Tsing-Tao to go around and the final bill is a pleasant reminder that you actually can eat great food cheaply in Perth.

Gai Lan in Oyster Sauce

Hong Kong BBQ is one of those established places that I feel very comfortable. I’ve eaten here in large groups of family and friends, but also come alone to enjoy simply cooked roast meat, some vegetables and a beer. It will hopefully be around for many decades to come, and I’ll continue to visit.

July 26, 2015 by bleekong

The Standard – Northbridge – Monday 13 July 2015 – Dinner

Beef carpaccio, harissa, pedro ximenez

Every business trip to Perth is exciting for several reasons. Having lived in Perth most of my life there are opportunities to catch up with family and friends. It might be Monday tonight, but some of my closest friends have made the effort to get into Northbridge after work for a quick feed and a couple of beers.

The number of new restaurants and bars popping up in Perth is incredible. I like to walk for many reasons whether at home or away, and one of those reasons is you can come across great places to eat or drink that you may have not noticed driving by. Our visit to The Standard has resulted from previous walks down Roe Street which has changed remarkably since I first started going to Northbridge.

The guys are already in the restaurant when I arrive and embarrassingly, they have asked our waitperson to hold off doing the spiel until their blogging friend arrives. If nothing else, my embarrassment has led to a good rapport, which continues for the night and translates to good service.

The spiel is the usual for these types of modern sharing restaurants. There are tiny plates, small plates, and large plates, that are all designed to share. With five blokes the all important guide is how much to order. We follow the suggestion to order four of the small dishes and three of the large.

First comes the “beef carpaccio, harissa, pedro ximenez” which is pretty. Presented differently to the tradition, the beef is tender and subtle, combining well with the other ingredients and providing a promising start. Next comes the “broccolini, hazelnut, shallot, cranberry” which is a good fresh dish, but we probably should have asked for it to come towards the end with the larger dishes.

Glazed pork cheek, crisp jowl, broad bean, brussel sprout

The mushroom doughnuts provide the most conjecture for the night. Some are a bit turned off by the sweetness, and inconsistency in the amount of mushrooms offered. Personally, I think it is an interesting take, the doughnuts well constructed with the mushroom filling, the paprika sugar sweet, but not overly sweet, and the lemon and chive curd enhancing the taste and texture. However, while I enjoyed one try, I wouldn’t order the dish again. I think on this one experience it was three for, two against.

Our last small dish, the free range BBQ chicken wings, again have sweetness from the marinade. They are nice, but nothing special, and I find the Granny Smith apple component is a bit lost. After a short break we are on to our three larger dishes. To begin, the chicken grill with rice noodle, peanuts, herbs, and nuoc cham, is an excellent combination. Jason particularly liked the Vietnamese flavours and for most it was one of the better dishes. I thought the rice noodle was expertly prepared for a restaurant that doesn’t specialise in any one type of cuisine.

Beef brisket, brioche, pickle, russian dressing, buttered cabbage

The two meatier dishes were hit and miss. The beef brisket was tender and had a good amount of meaty richness. The toasted brioche was a bit hard and plain, but the other accompaniments such as the buttered cabbage, were perfect to break through some of the richness. On the other hand, the glazed pork cheek and crisp jowl with a salad of broad beans and brussel sprouts, could be improved. A few more brussel sprouts (whole as the leaves provided little) would be good, and the pork cheek probably needed the injection of more flavour and cooking.

The amount of food was generous and most of us didn’t even think twice about dessert. With a good beer selection there was a better alternative to finish with. Around the table most of the group would definitely come back, and the personable service helped on that score.

While it is important to carefully order at The Standard, it is a comfortable place to eat. I can imagine the outdoor area in the back is pumping in summer, and the option to have a nibble while drinking, or enjoy a more substantial meal, seems to be equally attractive.

February 9, 2015 by bleekong

Pleased To Meet You – Northbridge – Sunday 1 February 2015 – Dinner

Peach salad

As I approach my first anniversary on this blog there is no doubt that American barbeque is the hottest trend in the past year. It is not simple cuisine, but certainly isn’t the most difficult to execute, and has the favourable aspects of being easy to share, and completely delicious in both a high flavour and high guilt fashion.

Having been past for a drink a few months ago, I have had Pleased To Meet You on the short list for Perth ever since. Tonight is the night Catherine and I get to try some of the offerings of the chefs here.

Luckily we are here relatively early and get a seat at the bar. Unusually you order your food at the counter, so the bar is actually the only place you get service without going up. I say unusually because it gives the instant impression at busy times that this is akin to a take away or dine in style restaurant. To me, that impression is not commensurate with reasonably expensive food.

Pork slider

Looking down the menu I am expecting high quality and great execution given the price for one slider is $9. To my pleasure, I can say that my expectation was generally met. Interestingly my first impression that this is American barbeque is tempered by some of the dishes on offer that have their origin in Vietnam, China and other Asian countries. American fusion perhaps?

Besides a slider each, we order the squid bahn mi, beef tongue ruben bao, chicken taco, and peach salad. The first dish we received was the peach, fennel and palm heart salad. Peaches are amazing at the moment, and they are amazing in this salad which is inspired. The combination is beautiful, and the dressing only adds to the flavour with dill, almonds and rocket thrown in too. It was initially questionable that the salad came first given the rich food we were going to be eating, but we kept half of it to refresh ourselves through the meal.

Squid bahn mi

Next came the chicken taco which is tiny. It packs a good punch of flavour from the chicken which has been on the rotisserie (you can have a plate of the chicken if hungry or in a bigger group for only $30) along with a gorgeous sweet corn salsa. It’s a nice dish but hardly there and the pickled cabbage addition (a theme in a few dishes) is not needed. The bahn mi on the other hand is more substantial. The make or break in this roll is the squid, which is beautifully cooked with a smoky grill flavour. The roll is fresh and after one bite I couldn’t stop until it was gone!

Chicken taco, corn salsa

Next came the pulled pork sliders which are a better size. The pulled pork is tasty, but no more or less than most good cafes, but the brioche bun stars along with a good helping of chipotle tasting sauce. Last I tried the beef tongue ruben bao. The execution here of the bao makes it easy to tell that steamed buns are not the focus of the chefs. The beef tongue is excellent, but the bao needs improvement.

Beef tongue ruben bao

We had enjoyed our meal, getting to try some terrific snacks and an amazing salad. Instead of trying one or two more dishes we decided to share the chic sundae. There is gimmick in the presentation, but the whole dessert does not work. It is one of the most disappointing desserts we’ve eaten in some time. Soft serve lacking in flavour, a few peanuts and some chocolate sauce that is plain. I completely understand it is only $6, but my suggestion would be do it properly or take it off the menu.

Choc sundae

With a nice selection of beer and wine, the bar is a worthy place to just have a drink. While it is counter service, the staff on the bar were good at answering questions and offering suggestions, and the food came out in good time. The space works with several communal tables, some more intimate spots towards the front, and plenty of bar space. It is refined, playful, and attractive.

Pleased To Meet You provided a different experience and one we enjoyed. Next time we’ll come with a few others and try some of the heavier meat dishes that look fantastic.

October 6, 2014 by bleekong

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

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

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.

April 21, 2014 by bleekong

Viet Hoa – Northbridge – Friday 28 March 2014 – Dinner

I live minutes from Victoria Street in Melbourne. My taste for Vietnamese developed from several visits to Viet Hoa in the inner north of Perth. It has had crowds for years and the recipe for its success has thankfully never changed, even though the number of similar restaurants in the area has multiplied several times in line with the growing food and eating out culture of a booming city.

There is nothing exceptional about the broth of each pho, just a solid straightforward mildly salty and flavoursome backbone for your choice of raw beef, tripe, prawn, pork, chicken, dumplings, wantons, or a combination thereof. The ingredients used are again solid. Freshness is guaranteed by the crowds that even on a Monday night can be lining up for short periods.

This is classic get-in-get-out dining, with the opportunity to bring-your-own a favourable addition. Don’t rely on a local bottle shop though. I had to run three blocks to the closest one in Northbridge! The various phos are the go-to dish with the many, many other dishes to pad the menu for those more into “Australian” Chinese rather than more classical Vietnamese. The starters are okay but not necessary given the speed you are served your main.

Sincere thanks for a restaurant that is a friendly introduction to the great food that goes hand in hand with Vietnamese culture. I’m sure it will still be the same in a decade.

BLK's Food Blog

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Northbridge

Shadow Wine Bar – Northbridge – Tuesday 23 October 2018 – Dinner

No Mafia – Northbridge – Thursday 19 May 2016 – Dinner

Hong Kong BBQ House – Northbridge – Thursday 8 October 2015 – Dinner

Pleased To Meet You – Northbridge – Sunday 1 February 2015 – Dinner

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

Viet Hoa – Northbridge – Friday 28 March 2014 – Dinner

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