MARY STREET BAKERY

It's true, Mary Street Bakery is my favourite place for breakfast.  Maybe its my soft spot for Beaufort Street, or perhaps its because you can order gnocchi and icy pops before noon. I always find myself torn between two dishes, so I do what any sensible person would do in my position … I order both and the waitstaff pretty much give me a 'hell yeah' high five.  Maybe its this total acceptance and applauding of overordering that keeps me going back.

Pork snitzel creamed corn kimchi egg 

Pork snitzel creamed corn kimchi egg 

Mescal cured salmon slow egg avocado jalapeño lime toast, Cold drip coffee, Fried chicken buttermilk pancake peanuts maple butter fried egg, Pork snitzel creamed corn kimchi egg 

Mescal cured salmon slow egg avocado jalapeño lime toast, Cold drip coffee, Fried chicken buttermilk pancake peanuts maple butter fried egg, Pork snitzel creamed corn kimchi egg 

Mescal cured salmon slow egg avocado jalapeño lime toast 

Mescal cured salmon slow egg avocado jalapeño lime toast 

Mary Street Bakery on Urbanspoon

ROTANA - Maylands welcomes Lebanese mezze

There is something about finding little gems in the 'burbs. Recently over dinner we were talking about those places you almost want to keep a secret for fear of the masses taking away the ease to grab a table at your favourite haunt. Rotana on Eighth Avenue in Maylands is going to be one of those places.  

A mismatch of Western eats amongst deliciously authentic Middle Eastern plates, forget bacon, eggs and the tomato sauce and go straight for the mezze. 

Rotana lebanese lunch kebbi samobousik shanglish
Shanglish 

Shanglish 

Samobousik 

Samobousik 

Fried kebbi 

Fried kebbi 

I thought the Grilled mixed plate was awesome value considering what you usually get for $24 at the pub.  A mix of beef, chicken and lamb skewers served with rice, fattoush, pita, hommous, garlic dip and baba ghanouj.

I thought the Grilled mixed plate was awesome value considering what you usually get for $24 at the pub.  A mix of beef, chicken and lamb skewers served with rice, fattoush, pita, hommous, garlic dip and baba ghanouj.

Rotana Samobousik Lebanese Grilled Mixed Plate
Rotana Restaurant & Cafe on Urbanspoon

COLLAB | CHICHO GELATO X BARE BAKER

Meet the Chicho Panino

Chicho Gelato thrives on creative collaborations with local artisans and their latest mashup is the ‘Chicho Panino’. This time round Chicho has partnered up with Bare Baker aka Charlotte Haygarth, the baking minx behind the rockin’ treats at Uncle Joe’s. This marriage made in sweet heaven will be available tonight at Perth's Twilight Hawkers Market Dessert Garden. 

So what is a Panino? Well, panino means sandwich in Italian and you’ll discover Chicho’s delicious gelato jammed between two of the Bare Baker’s joyous cookies. Chicho have been playing around with flavour concoctions that will sing and breakdance on your palate. Think a giant sandwich meets whoopie pie! 

ChiCho Gelato Twilight Hawkers Markets Dessert Garden

Definitely hurry down as there is only a limited supply.  And if you miss on out these little sandwiches of goodness, you will find Chicho peddling their paninos every Friday during Eat Drink Perth.

              Mango + Pawpaw sorbet with Coconut cookie 

              Mango + Pawpaw sorbet with Coconut cookie 

             Salted Caramel gelato with Chocolate Oreo cookie

             Salted Caramel gelato with Chocolate Oreo cookie

                  Match (green tea) gelato with black sesame cookie

                  Match (green tea) gelato with black sesame cookie

EAT | SIXTEEN OUNCES (Victoria Park, WA)

sauerkraut and a lonely pickle

There has been a bit of a fermenting frenzy circling our office.  Kombucha bubbles at our desks and words such as scoby and kefir often fill the air. Fermentation is an ancient 8000-year-old practice, responsible for delights like kimchi, sauerkraut, yoghurt, wine and cheese and stinky stuff like nato (eewww).  

Since local fermentation goddess Lisa Thornton of Get Cultured pickled it up on air for our RTRfm 92.1 show The Food Alternative, my interest in pickling, fermenting and basically cramming anything into a jar quickly escalated into an obsession. So when I found both sauerkraut and a lonely pickle on my plate at Sixteen Ounces, I instantly called it love.

Bratwurst hollandaise is a pretty plate of streaky bacon, sauerkraut, shaved parmesan, gherkin, poached egg and greens for $16.80.  I ordered mine sans toast which is my idea of starting to watch what I eat in the new year (note I still ha…

Bratwurst hollandaise is a pretty plate of streaky bacon, sauerkraut, shaved parmesan, gherkin, poached egg and greens for $16.80.  I ordered mine sans toast which is my idea of starting to watch what I eat in the new year (note I still had the hollandaise!)

The crew here use Five Senses Coffee and always put on a good brew.  We had a long mac (topped up) and flat white.

The crew here use Five Senses Coffee and always put on a good brew.  We had a long mac (topped up) and flat white.

Sixteen Ounces' Farmhouse Brekky is everything you (okay .. or your ravenous boy who isn't bent up on the pickling phenomenom and who can happily eat bread three times day) have ever wanted in a big breakast.  Complete with double meat streaky …

Sixteen Ounces' Farmhouse Brekky is everything you (okay .. or your ravenous boy who isn't bent up on the pickling phenomenom and who can happily eat bread three times day) have ever wanted in a big breakast.  Complete with double meat streaky bacon and bratwurst plus poached eggs, mushroom, baked tomato, greens and toast all for $21.50 which is pretty reasonable when it comes to morning delights in Perth.

Sixteen Ounces on Urbanspoon

BSF | CRAFT BEER CHEFS' TABLE

 

For the past five years Beaufort Street has been my spiritual home.  My role as Food Director of the Beaufort Street Festival is a labour of love and allows me to collaborate with inspiring local businesses, creatives, foodies, chefs and likeminded souls. 

In the lead up to the festival, our little food commitee curates events to showcase all the wonder that Beaufort Street has to offer.  We celebrate good food and drinks amongst amazing company whilst raising funds for the Beaufort Street Network, the not-for-profit driving force behind the festival.

Last year we focused on hosting our food events in unused spaces.  This vision aligned with the Beaufort Street Network’s efforts to create a public space on Mary Street.  For two weeks, Mary Street was transformed into a pop up piazza which was just lapped up by locals.  For years the local community has been yearning for a free, comfortable public space on the strip and now these dreams are being realised.  We are chuffed that the City of Vincent is now working to develop a permanent public piazza. 

With our vision in mind the team at Five Bar jumped at converting their garage for our Craft Beer Crafts’ Table event.   The garage was transformed thanks to styling by Stacey Clark Stylist and we reveled in six courses of goodness by the talented chefs from Five Bar and Lot Twenty.  The spotlight shone on local breweries, with the gang from Eagle Bay Brewing Company and Homestead Brewery both attending to share their story.  A special shout out is definitely owed to Feral Brewing for a crazy end to the night with their lip puckering Watermelon Warhead sour. 

Photography by Danica Zuks.

Five Bar on Urbanspoon
Homestead Brewery on Urbanspoon
Feral Brewing Company on Urbanspoon

DO | HIGH TEA WITH ROCHELLE ADONIS

Rochelle Adonis Cakes + Confections has carved a reputation as Perth's go to for High Tea. The perfect spot to celebration with gal pals or host a hen's party. 

Savoury plate - potato rosti with lamb, gazpacho, quinoa, savoury bite

Savoury plate - potato rosti with lamb, gazpacho, quinoa, savoury bite

Raspberry pop to cleanse the palate whilst we doodle. 

Raspberry pop to cleanse the palate whilst we doodle. 

Dessert plate - a stunning assortment of sweet treats, the perfect way to end a hen's day

Dessert plate - a stunning assortment of sweet treats, the perfect way to end a hen's day

Rochelle Adonis Cakes + Confections Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

TOP 10 | EAT DRINK PERTH

Eat Drink Perth is a celebration of Perth's evolving culinary scene running from 18 March to 25 April.  The  program well underway it’s time to get out your planner and enrich both your stomach and your soul.  Put on your buffet pants Perth! 

Image by Jasmine Dowling

Image by Jasmine Dowling

Here are some events that I will be clearing my calendar for:

  1. Later this month, the Cultural Centre will transform into Perth’s first Asian hawker hotspot, Night Noodle Market.  Delve into exotic flavours whilst uncovering a melting pot of Eastern cultures including Filipino, Korean, Thai and Vietnamese.
  2. South African cuisine was a little hard to find until William Street’s Baby Mammoth swung open its doors.  I thought a recent work trip to South Africa would satiate my street food yearnings with a swagger of traditional dishes.  But in true work trip form, I was a slave to the hotel buffet and only dabbled in a few signature South African dishes, including a quirky bread loaf chicken curry strangely named ‘bunny chow’. I’m pretty excited to experience The Spice Route wine degustation at Baby Mammoth.
  3. The gents at Whipper Snapper Distillery are putting on Small Batched, a collaborative event with some of WA’s finest purveyors. How on earth will they pair chocolate with Whipper Snapper’s signature moonshine, Crazy Uncle? Curious whiskey matches will be on offer by local Artisan Chocolatier Sue Lewis, plus 5 Senses Coffee, The Little Cheese Shop and the foraging team at Fervor.  
  4. An evening with Fervor is one to behold. With a focus on native Australian ingredients, Head Chef Paul Iskov, curates a stunning menu using foraged wonders such as salt bush, quandong and paper bark. Often travelling to the regional corners of Australia, Fervor will leave behind a cloud of red dirt as they trek to the big smoke to create a unique dining experience in a secret location.
  5. Take a nostalgic trip down memory lane at the Northbridge Piazza.  Northbridge Food and Wine – Then and Now will celebrate the rich history of Northbridge showing how the precinct has evolved over the years.
  6. Since launching with a lights-off event in Sydney in 2007, the not-for-profit organisation Earth Hour has been on a mission to protect the planet.  As a prelude to the annual Earth Hour event, the Northbridge Piazza will play host to Earth Hour Healthy Food Theatre.  Hear stories from local farmers and the effects of global warming/. It’s the perfect evening for environmentally conscious foodies.
  7. Growing up in the Swan Valley developed my soft spot for farmer’s markets from an early age.  There is nothing like buying your vegetables and produce from the family that grew them.  You will have that chance when the Perth Home Grown returns to Forrest Chase each Sunday.
  8.  You need to add an evening with the enigmatic force behind OzHarvest to your bucket list.  After hearing Ronni Kahn speak at the launch of OzHarvest, I’ve been hanging to hear her once again. Ronni will join forces with local celebrity chef Ian Parmenter to talk sustainability at the Food for Thought Cooking Class.
  9. Who else finds a trip to the butcher just a little daunting?  If you are keen to know your grain fed from your grass fed and how to cook the perfect steak, The Secrets of Beef Masterclass at Meat Me In the City is the event for you.
  10. Chef Joel Valvasori’s family recipe for meatballs is the talk of the town.  For something a little daring and fun join fellow meatball madmen at Lalla Rookh for a crazy culinary challenge, Man v Meatball.  It’s an eating competition not to be missed.  You’ll find me cheering on the sidelines tucking into my own serve of meatball goodness.

POP UP | KUNG FOOD (Perth, WA)

 A pop up at Noodle Palace during Fringe World Festival

Kung Food Noodle Palace Fringe

There is only one week left to revel in fried rice so dirty its almost sexual, completed by a wonderous river of the gooey-est egg porn you've ever dreamed. 

The maestros behind El Publico and Mary Street Bakery have popped up KUNG FOOD at Noodle Palace, a Fringe venue curated by the awesome team at Jump Climb.  Drink at the bar, enjoy a show and tuck into dirty rice and lamb ribs.  

Menu - photo from Noodle Palace FB page

Menu - photo from Noodle Palace FB page

Digging in.  Yeah we ordered EVERYTHING on the menu.

Digging in.  Yeah we ordered EVERYTHING on the menu.

Dirty rice, corned beef, kimchi and egg

Dirty rice, corned beef, kimchi and egg

An onslaught of awesome

An onslaught of awesome

#69 special curry and rice

#69 special curry and rice

Egg porn right there (Dirty rice, corned beef, kimchi and egg)

Egg porn right there (Dirty rice, corned beef, kimchi and egg)

Asian chiko roll

Asian chiko roll

Juicy juicy hot and sour lamb ribs.  Make sure you have a wad of serviettes handy for those sticky fingers!

Juicy juicy hot and sour lamb ribs.  Make sure you have a wad of serviettes handy for those sticky fingers!

DO | MAYLANDS HAWKERS MARKETS

Right in the heart of Maylands you will find the Hawkers Markets popped up on Saturdays during our sunny months. With plenty of green grass for little ones to run around, the markets are popular with local families looking for a bite to eat. 

Our last adventure had me swooning over this little feast:
Bangkok Jump Street - Pork satay skewers
Amaizing - Captain Hairy arepa (grilled corn flatbread stuffed with shredded beef and mozzarella) 
The Hummus Club - Mezze of pita bread, fatuous, felafel and hummus
Balk to Balkan - Zucchini fritters
 

image.jpg

EAT | SINGAPORE CHICKEN RICE (Morley, WA)

noodles, noodles, chicken rice

There was a time when the Galleria in Morley was ma 'hood.   We hung there every Thursday night throwing our pocket money at clothes from Hounddog and Live. I don't head to Morley much these days but every now and then a trip to Coventry Markets calls.  Its great to stock up on sriracha and kim chee at the Asian supermarkets or spices and chillis at The Spice Wagon and end with a trip to Singapore Chicken Rice.

Curry chicken noodle - $10.80

Curry chicken noodle - $10.80

Fried keow tow - $10.80

Fried keow tow - $10.80

Singapore chicken rice - $10.80

Singapore chicken rice - $10.80

Singapore Chicken Rice on Urbanspoon

SEE | YALLINGUP GUGELHUPF (Yallingup, Western Australia)

The shape of the Gugelhupf Cake comes from  special mould to give the 'King of Cake' its crown shape.  Yallingup Gugelhupf sources the best ingredients and bakes in genuine ceramic moulds. You'll find gugelhupf loaves in a range of savoury and sweet flavours. One for the roadtrip list.

image.jpg
image.jpg
image.jpg
image.jpg
image.jpg

EAT | VIET HOA (Northbridge, WA)

You're starting on Monday, so order all the things

I'm a firm believer in starting on a Monday.  Monday not only marks the mourning of the weekend, but it brings that pretty sparkle of hope to start anew with a whoooooole juicy week do things right. I have uttered those words … I'll start [enter new obsession] on Monday … so many times even I roll my eyes.

The latest obsession is to tighten up on dining out.  Work gets cray, the social calendar plumps up and the fridge grows bare, evenings at bikram turn into nights at Brika, Monday comes round and we've been out every night.  It gets exhausting and there is only so much kombucha a girl can drink before she needs to slow down a little on the degustations.  I'm not saying there will be a gastronomic drought or that you won't find new blog posts each week, just going to spend a little more time in.  My aim for the new year to get back into the kitchen, find my inner yogi and spend more time enjoying the sunshine (and not in a beer garden somewhere enjoying pizza, okay well that's a lie).

So with this on my conscience, as anyone in my position would do, I crammed in as many eating adventures as my digestive system could handle before Monday rolled in.  It had been a long time between stuffed chicken wings so we thought Viet Hoa in Northbridge would be perfect for lunch.  We ordered all the things (well except the stuff chicken wings) cos I'm starting on Monday.

Sang chow bow chicken - I love adding mountains of chilli and then eating half the chicken before wrapping it up it like a little lettuce sandwich. 

Sang chow bow chicken - I love adding mountains of chilli and then eating half the chicken before wrapping it up it like a little lettuce sandwich. 

Bun bo xao - braised beef with lemon grass and rice vermicelli.  I found the rice noodles a little too thick for my liking. The crispy roast duck with peking sauce ain't got nothing on Good Fortune Duck House across the road.  Conside…

Bun bo xao - braised beef with lemon grass and rice vermicelli.  I found the rice noodles a little too thick for my liking. The crispy roast duck with peking sauce ain't got nothing on Good Fortune Duck House across the road.  Considering we paid only $53 for the whole meal, you can't really complain.  I love this about Viet Hoa - if you want cheap and cheerful it always delivers.  

Com ga hai nam - Hai Nam chicken rice is a pretty healthy dish if you want something simple and light. The best chicken rice I have ever eaten aside from my Nanna's cooking is Tian Tian Chicken Rice in Singapore.  If you are looking for chicken…

Com ga hai nam - Hai Nam chicken rice is a pretty healthy dish if you want something simple and light. The best chicken rice I have ever eaten aside from my Nanna's cooking is Tian Tian Chicken Rice in Singapore.  If you are looking for chicken rice in Perth, then Tak Chee on William Street is the answer, followed far behind by Singapore Chicken Rice at the Coventry Markets. 

Viet Hoa Northbridge on Urbanspoon

EAT | BREAD IN COMMON (Fremantle, WA)

I am quietly in love with the idea of ordering plates to share for breakfast.  Bread in Common with its breezy, communal feel is just perfect for conversations, sharing and breaking bread.   

house made ricotta, nectarine, witlof, pinenuts

house made ricotta, nectarine, witlof, pinenuts

scrambled organic eggs and toast, hazelnut duke, rocket

scrambled organic eggs and toast, hazelnut duke, rocket

asparagus, green olive, red onion, spinach, tarragon

asparagus, green olive, red onion, spinach, tarragon

tomato, avocado, seeds, sprouts, basil

tomato, avocado, seeds, sprouts, basil

polish sausage, corn relish, pickled chilli

polish sausage, corn relish, pickled chilli

Bread In Common on Urbanspoon