Sneak Peek

My life has been a whirlwind of chaos at the moment.

With family dropping by from overseas unexpectedly to grieve and sad news about one of my uncles to celebrations of birthdays, working weekends, not handing in assignment (it was due yesterday! I really need to get it done instead of being on here..) to landing a new job.

Having said all that, I still managed to fit in a visit to The Local Shack along with eating at a restaurant who shares a name with a famous muse; Beethoven and of course my second dining experience at Jamie's Italian, a homemade dinner party/engagement party for friends  and drinks at the Classroom and of course exercising like crazy to not gain wait from all the eating!

So here is a sneak peek into the up and coming exciting posts!

Stay tuned I promise once I finish this bitch (excuse my french) of a unit I will be back with a vengeance.

That is if anyone actually reads this..

smashed through the storm!

YAY! for my self will!

After all the over eating of last week -

1 dinner party with friends at Jamie's Italian (second visit.. and yes I realise I have yet to blog about it. It is currently in DRAFT mode)

2 birthday dinners

So 1 hour of pumping it out at the gym followed by body balance class to stretch everything out and gym time number 2 for this week!

It's so nice to be indoors making your fat cry while outside the clouds are little massive tears out!

ps. did I mention I love storms and rain?
autumn and winter is amazing in every aspect.

Gym in winter..

Finally winter is in Perth! I couldn't be happier!

The storm front is in making me re think driving to the gym this afternoon - major self debating happening.

But then Lorna Jane gave me a little Wednesday work out motivation.

Perhaps doing it at home may be ok for today.. Now to find the motivation to not procrastinate!

Seoul BBQ Cafe

In the last few months my dad discovered Groupon. Since then he has been buying these lunch deals from there and taking us along. He has been very fascinated with the deals and have been calculating and maximising the coupon to make it worth buying the deal in the first place.

One of the latest places that we went to was Seoul BBQ Cafe - it was once upon a time my quick yummy lunch fix when I used to be a student and working to get some experience in the health field at $8/hour (hard slave labour wages! Don't think health professionals earn a lot because it's all a myth! - you could have gotten more working at Myers, David Jones and Maccas!!).

Anyway, for those that don't know, Seoul BBQ cafe is located upstairs, from Woolworths, but at the other end of that concourse area. It's also not really a cafe, because it's more like a canteen opening where you place your order then there are seats in the arcade/veranda area, where pigeons love to hang out.

Anyway, without the coupon the place is dirt cheap as it is, between $7.50-$11.50 and you get decent sized portions of their mains that you order. With the coupon, it was for 4 mains + 2 entrees (entrees being gyoza and chilli chicken wings) + 4 drinks for $29.

So for our "entrees" we got a plate of gyoza and a plate of chilli chicken wings.

The gyoza were dry and seemed like they have been sitting around for a while. The stuffing wasn't great either.

Gyoza on the Right and a Bowl of Miso (that came with the mains) on the right

The chilli chicken wings/there was also a drumstick in there.. on the other hand were delicious! Nice and crunchy with the right amount of spice. I wish we got two serves of it instead.

Chilli Chicken Wings

Then the mains. Each main came with a bowl of rice, a bowl of miso soup, sides of bean sprout salad and a rather depressing looking salad (which really was lettuce and tomato drenched in salad dressing) and dipping sauces. Not bad for usual price of $7.50-$11.50.

So what did we get?

I love their Bibimbap. Apart from the bibimbap sauce (which I know you can get it yourself at the Korean Supermarkets..), the mix of slightly sticky, soft rice with vegetables and meat and topped with egg (runny egg might I add) is just so satisfying. In reality though, it's the sauce that makes it awesome. The sauce mixed with runny egg york - so good. It's like having a homemade meal - making you feel all warm and fuzzy, except not.

Pork Bibimbap - 

before the mix of the sauce and all the ingredients together

Mum got the Dak Gogi (Chicken bbq dish), which was rather very normal, but the flavours of their grill/bbq through the meat and the marinate was what makes a rather boring dish, not so.. well boring. It is healthier option for lunch than a lot of other places and you get a fair bit of diced chicken and paired with the rice, sides and miso soup it is a big enough serving for lunch.

Dak Gogi

Dad got the Daeji Gogi (pork grill/bbq dish), again a rather simple dish, but the marinate is the highlight of it all. I found the pork a little tougher than the chicken (but then that is generally the case). Again, more than adequate main for lunching. 

Daeji Gogi

Two meats BBQ

My brother on the other hand got his intake of protein and carbs by ordering the two meat bbq dish. You get a choice of chicken, beef  or pork and he chose the chicken (highest protein out of the three meats) and beef. Again, it is the marinated of the meats and the bbq taste that makes the dish. 

Overall, Seoul BBQ Cafe is your cheap (and possibly cheaper) alternative to your food court menu. The menu isn't exactly big but it has enough variety to keep things interesting. It's simple, but sometimes that is the best. The only down side to this place is the pigeons. And when people leave and plates don't get put away on time, they swoop to eat off the plate. Really unhygienic that way. But generally, the staff are good and the plates get put away fairly quickly. Also note, the place is only open for lunch hours 11am-3pm. They can get busy and seats are limited but they do serve fairly quickly (it took them only about 10 to 15 minutes after ordering for all of our food to come out - not bad at all!).

Ps. My dad told me off for taking photos of food.. but having said that mum was like "hmm.. she has a blog she has to do it.. " Mum so cool like that. ^_^

Wild Duck

Hampden road has numerous cafes, deli, boutiques and quick, yummy, Japanese and Chinese take-aways catering for the university students, office workers and of course the health professionals at the two nearby hospitals. Amongst all the quick food fixes, cafes, healthy options, deli and boutique stores sits a fine dining restaurant relocated all the way from Albany - Wild Duck.

The restaurant opened in south west Albany  and have won many awards including RCAA restaurant of the year, A Star in Gourmet Traveller and was part of the Good Food Guide 2011. The restaurant relocated to Perth, Nedlands in 2012 and was recommended warmly by fellow blogger Sandra of Perth Food Engineers, so I was very much wanting to try it.

I finally found a time early this month, and headed there with a few friends, who were very much foodies. We were given a seat by the window in the corner, which gave us the perfect view of the restaurant. The decor is rather somber  dark, traditional with wooden everywhere and everything. It was spacious and yet had warmth through it.

Interiors of Wild Duck - we were so early for dinner so there was no one else there except us, but not long after the place started to fill.

We were there on a Friday night, which allowed us a choice of A la carte or degustation. I was adamant before we got there that I would don't want the degustation menu, simply because I don't have the funds for it. However, upon seeing the degustation menu and the a la carte menu and the prices of both, I was swayed into having the degustation. Six course meal at $105 (and $155 with matching wines - which we didn't get because we were all driving/had work the next day) was comparable to other places in Perth and was more than reasonable, especially if I were to have a 3 course meal, it would be close to $105 anyway, so might as well go for the taste tester and see why this restaurant has won so many awards in the past.

We started off the evening with amuse bouche of chicken parfait with carmelised onion, came out in friendly bite sized form on Chinese spoon soup. The chicken parfait was silky, smooth and had that slight creamy texture, and for the first time ever, I felt as though it needed a sprinkle of salt for flavour. Although the carmelised onion that give it that sweet kick, there wasn't enough of it to off-set what was a slightly bland chicken parfait.

Amuse Bouche - Chicken Parfait 

The first real course of the evening, was a lovely flavoursome espresso cup full of smoked seafood chowder shot with scallop and king prawn. The scallop and king prawn was perfectly cooked and the flavours of the chowder was delicious, creamy, seafood goodness. I love how it came out in a glass bowl and when opened let out this wonderful smokey seafood smells. Pity I didn't manage the capture it on photo - I was too busy going Ooooo and aaahhh.. It leaves you wanting more.

Smoked seafood chowder shot with scallop and king prawn

The next dish was the beautiful mushroom ravioli - wild mushrooms, goats cheese, asparagus foam, truffled mushroom sauce and micro herbs. The ravioli was pasta perfection and the flavours of the goat cheese with the earthy flavours of mushroom works so well. The asparagus form was so light and delicious, I was attempting to scope every last bit off the plate. Lovely pasta dish.

Mushroom ravioli with goat cheese, truffled mushroom sauce, asparagus foam and micro herbs

The next dish of the evening was fish - I'm really not sure what fish - I can't remember (?trout or barrumandi - I don't believe we were told)  with fennel puree, caramalised leek, snow peas and seared scallop. The fennel puree and caramlised leek was delicious and the fish was cooked to perfection, moist and soft still, as was the scallop. However, I wasn't wowed by it.

Fish of the day*(I'm not sure if we were told because I can't remember and it was noted down on my inote!) with fennel puree, leek, snow peas and scallop

Then there was a bit of wait, in fact a long wait before the next course came out. It was some what nice because it gave us a chance to talk and catch up, however, the boys were a little hungry half way through it. We were all waiting for the 16 hour slow cooked pork belly, but I'm pretty sure what came out was the beef cheek. I queried the waitstaff to ask what I was eating and she wasn't sure and asked if I wanted to see the menu. Hmm.. wasn't impressed with that. 

Beef duo - braised cheek and sous vide fillet with persian feta mash, baby veg and red wine jus

The degustation menu we profuse over at the start of the evenings stated we were getting 16 hour slow cooked pork belly, but what came out was the beef duo. The fillet was lovely, the cheek could have been more tender, it just didn't melt in your mouth and there was  lack of red wine jus making the dish slightly flat.

After the beef dish was the palate cleanser - passionfruit sorbet. It was refreshing and tangy, readying us for the dessert. 

Passionfruit Sorbet palate cleanser

Orange and chocolate - the classic combination, so it should be great right? But the white chocolate ice cream came out melting all over my plate (clearly either been out too long or the freezer isn't working well or it just hasn't set properly at all), the chocolate delice was rich dark chocolate which was beautiful and decadent, it went perfectly with the orange jelly and the orange sherbet gave it that nice tangy kick to try to balance out the richness and sweetness. However, it was a little bit of a let down and nothing spectacular at all.

Chocolate and orange - chocolate delice, orange jelly, orange air, white chocolate ice cream and orange sherbet

Looking back at the photos, and reflecting on the restaurant I feel as though we were missing a course. I believe we are missing the duck course and to state on the menu that they were serving us pork belly and clearly we did not get that - with no explanation seems rather unacceptable. At any restaurant, we should be told, especially so at a fine dining one, when certain ingredients on the menu have not available and what is being substituted

What got me even more was that there was absolutely NO explanation of the menu, or of the dishes that were served to us. Nor was the degustation menu (a small version) left on our table - the menus were taken away - which was fair enough - but to have no explanation of what or reminder of what we were eating, and in fact there just a smart arse reply of "Do you want the menu for referral" - I really should have said yes, because then I would have realized that we were not given one of the courses. The service really wasn't warm or welcoming. 

It's such a pity because it has so much potential. Each dish was lovely, traditionally cooked, lots of foam and micro herbs used. As one of the boys said "we were eating air all night.." - so much foam, which I personally have no problems over, but I can see where they are coming from.  "nothing was wow.. it was a little boring" - it really was - nothing wow, nothing spectacular - except perhaps the seafood chowder and the rivaoli - after that it was all a bit of a blur and nothing too much to drool about. I'm sure in the past the food would have been amazing, but currently, with so many restaurant options in Perth and palates appreciating the finer things, Wild Duck needs to do something spectacularly with their traditional methods of cooking (don't get me wrong - traditional methods are sometimes the best!). 

Will I go back? Perhaps, if their service skills improve - they really need to make us feel like we are welcomed and to at least explain to us what we are served if we are to have the degustation. That is part of the whole degustation dining experience, it is in fact part of the fine dining experience.  

Wishlist

I have been waiting for the weather to cool down in Perth and although the temperature aren't in the 30s anymore it's been rather muggy during the day and cool in the early mornings and at night, still not enough to dig out my lovely jackets and knits.

Lucky for me I headed down south to celebrate my bf's mum's 50th birthday. Yay for a bit of chill so that I can at least have a blazer on.

Despite that my obsession with jackets and boots haven't weaned. I'm really wanting the following things but I just don't have the income to get them! (plus I'm trying ever so hard to save my money for my travels to NYC).. but anything remotely similar at a cheaper price (and GOOD quality) would be awesome. If anyone knows of alternatives please let me know!!

I really want the beautifully soft leopard print light trench coat from Witchery. It's such a classic cut and is the perfect statement piece over top and jeans, dress and tights and the material is lovely to have on. I want want want!

I'm also wanting this awesome Jeffrey Campbell Black Patent Cut-Out Trompe L'oeil Boots. It has a very cool geometric clear wedge heel and its a little ankle bootie with a pointed toe. Love love love! They are just so gorgeous!

Seriously, how can you say no to the boots?? In fact the shoes would go so nicely with the coat as well!

Then for more practical cold weather coat (and one not for Perth weather but for travelling to the Northern Hemisphere's winter).. Country Road Spliced Padded Parka - puffer jacket with faux shealing lined hood and utility pockets. Practical and not too bad in the style department either...

Then there are these futuristic, unbelievable cool Theyskens Theory Elerie Aova Black Bootie. Just look at them!

But seriously.. boots will not be complete without the wedge ankle booties by Acne - Acne Hybria Lea (or really any Acne boots - in leather of course - are my wish).. It will go with EVERYTHING in my wardrobe!

SIGH! I don't think I'll be getting any of these anytime soon.

pictures from: witchery, country road, ssense, 2threads and mywardrobe websites

Silkwood Winery

I had a lovely weekend spent with bf's family down at Manjimup, home of the truffles, the cold (it was by far 3-4 degrees cooler than Perth!) and of course tree farming and the likes. Last time I dined around there was winter last year and feasted myself on massive amounts of truffle goodness and half the price of that in Perth (and definitely 10x the amount of truffles!). This was of course at Wine and Truffle co.

This time around I wanted to grab some lunch and go on a date with the boy as we haven't had the chance to do so in a while (it has always been with other company and us time has been a little limited by our busy schedule and hanging out with friends and family). We decided to head to Silkwood Winery in Pemberton (half an hour away from Manjimup town) and where I know has some amazing red wines that I had to get and stock up in my pantry, considering the last lot I got didn't even last for one month! Dinner parties consumes a lot of wine!

The drive to Silkwood was lovely. The road was lined with the amazing Karri trees and although it rained ever so lightly it was just a wonderful, calming sight. Then occasionally there will be a break in the trees to make way for farmland and it would just be a sight of green meadows. Nothing beats that sometimes.

Then the entrance driveway to Silkwood winery. There was the beautiful colour of autumn. Red leaves amongst the green grass. I had to take a photo with the trees, although we couldn't be bothered to walk all the way back up the driveway after we have parked so the photo couldn't really highlight the beauty of it all. 

Lucky for me, although the skies were overcast and a little dull in colour, the scenery was alive and I made the most of the cooler weather in Manjimup and finally took out my Stylestalker light statement blazer to keep warm. Paired with a simple country road tee and dark (but classic blue) Levi jeans, Sandler boots, my gucci wallet as a clutch and of course a colour scarf to clash it all (present by JJ all the way from Africa!) it was comfortable, simple and casual.

We opted a seat in the patio area of the restaurant. It overlooked their lovely lake and garden. With a movable gas heater between us, it was just the right amount of  romantic lunch atmosphere that was needed. 

The options at Silkwood is plenty. You can have a light meal or a more substantial lunch. We both opted for a more substantial lunch as we didn't really have breakfast and this was to be the meal before the 50th dinner celebrations. 

I opted for the marron (after all the umm-ing and oo-ing.. and hmm-ing) with a mushroom and spinach risotto. The risotto had this beautiful warm mushroom flavour. The marron, on the other hand, I felt was slightly overcooked. It wasn't rubbery or anything, but it was just every so slightly tough and I think lacked the flavours of garlic that it was suppose to have (but the risotto flavour makes up for it). But if you dig out the marron and eat it with the risotto it is just what both components on the plate needed. 

Garlic butter marron with mushroom and spinach risotto

Bf, opted for the big man's dish of Black Angus scotch fillet with garlic prawns, salad and chips. The scotch fillet was beautifully cooked, although it definitely wasn't medium that he asked for (it was slightly over cooked), but it was a lovely char grilled piece of fillet. The prawns was also perfectly cooked and was flavoured with buttery garlic sauce. With a huge side of salad and chips, it was a hearty meal for the boy. 

Black Angus Scotch Fillet with Garlic Prawns, Mushroom sauce, salad and chips

Silkwood winery got busy very quickly, we were lucky we got there before the rush. The service isn't the best, there was only 3 people on the floor. The waitress that served us was very young and really didn't know the menu well (or didn't know what to do or how to serve at all!). But I guess we all have to start somewhere. 

The person at the wine cellar area, however was knowledgeable and friendly. Although, I miss the older lady that served us last year. She was so warm, friendly and knew so much about the wine and the origins of Silkwood. I'm not even sure if she still worked there. I like their wine so I signed up to be a member, which also means that I get 10% off every bottle of wine I buy from them. Encouraging my wine habits I think. 

Silkwood is lovely, it's not well known as the wineries around Margaret River, but I love it because it's not as crazy or touristy. The winery is just as beautiful, the service lacks a little professionalism (the service, the chef coming out onto the restaurant area because I think there was an issue with something and was talking to one of the ladies, whom I assume is one of the waitresses and was most likely to be the owner/manager), but it produces award wining reds and white wines (I'm not a big fan of white so I can't comment whether it's bad or good) with a nice restaurant menu that uses the local produce that is available in the area, so in the end that is all that matters.

Beauty in the simple things

I had a chance to get away from the city this weekend and I couldn't have asked for the worst weekend for it. I have an assignment due (lucky for me is extended), an application for a new direction to do, my finances to sort through, an endless pile of blog posts to write, work being work and just stress that I swear the weekend away was the worst timing possible. I guess because of all the things I needed to do and because I've been so tensed and grumpy that was the perfect time for it. It was the perfect medication and prescription.

I went down to Manjimup known for growing the biggest truffles in the Southern Hemisphere to celebrate bf's mum's 50th.

We went to one of my favourite wineries in nearby town Pemberton (no truffle farm visit just yet..), Silkwood and stocked up on half a case of their amazing Premium Red (mix of Shiraz, Merlot and Carbnet Sauvignon so damn good!) and Zinfandel. We also had a lovely lunch on their balcony with their gas heater poised perfectly in between us.

The drive to Silkwood was beautiful, lined with the tall majestic Karri trees. Then the driveway to the winery was between Autumn coloured trees, all perfect shade of red leaves. To top it of it started to sprinkle rain ever so softly. Simply beautiful. It almost made me forget that after lunch I have to get back and tackle my to do list. Yes, I brought work down with me.

Nevermind, it was still perfect and just seeing simple beautiful things was enough to allow me to keep calm and carry on for yet another week.

Lapa Brazilian Restaurant Subiaco

***THIS POST IS NOT SUITABLE FOR VEGANS/VEGETARIANS***

Our monthly (or at least tries to be monthly) high school friends catch up took place at Lapa in Subiaco. All you can eat meat feast at a ridiculous price of $49 (plus with the entertainment card x 3 it was further $11 off!) - how can you possibly say no?? (unfortunately some members of the group did - blah they don't know what they missed out on!)

I really should explain what type of restaurant Lapa is. Lapa, as the waitstaff explains, specialises in Brazilian Churrascaria - which literally means barbecue, although they do a la carte menu, salads, pasta and the likes. The interior of the place is simply decorated with a huge feature wall portraying the rooftops of Brazil. The have an open-ish kitchen and TV displaying the kitchen guys getting the BBQ on - which really was useful for us when we were waiting for more grilled cinnamon spiced pineapple. So juicy, so tangy and sweet all at the same time! A must have when you are having the feast (it's not available all the time though - seasonal dependent!).

We were told on booking that because it was a booking for 6 people we were expected to have the endless feast - which we were more than happy to. The endless feast works this way. You are given about 15 different cuts of meats (cuts and types of meat is variable and depends on what the chefs have bought that day)- beef, pork, chicken - along with never ending plates of salad, chips, rice, Brazillian salsa, black bean sauce, farofa, chimichurri sauce and banana fritters. The meats are freshly cooked literally out of the grill/oven/kitchen into the hands of the waiters in their big industrial cooking skewers and are served to you when told to do so by the indication of your drink coaster (red - not ready to start; green - give me all you can eat meat please!).

for better detail of the endless feast please check out Lapa restaurant webiste here.

They also serve you a small bowl of cheese bread - it was cold and wasn't fresh, which was a pity otherwise I think it would have been rather tasty. But then again, why fill up on the carbs when you are going to have a massive protein fix? You have got to leave room in your belly!

Cheese bread

There was large array of meats available on the night we went from pork belly, to rump, to chilli and garlic chicken, fillets and even chicken heart! It's so hard to have photos of the meat because they cut a portion of it for you at the table - a decent sized portion and the waiters come around so frequently it's just not one of those things where it is photo possible (or photogenic!)

Clean plate to start with all the equipment that I need to tackle this massive meal!

Here is what I mean...

Waiter serving up the sliced pork belly..

Bring on the fillet!

My plate.. getting messy and taking photos like this is just not well.. blog friendly isn't.

getting our rump on.. the first cut of the meat that just came fresh out of the kitchen! YUM!

Then one of the yummiest dessert-based thing ever - pineapple and cinnamon. It is so refreshing! especially after consuming so much bbq meat - we went a bit nuts and the waiters couldn't help themselves but laugh a little at our excitement (and amount we consumed!!).

I can safely tell you that I am not a huge fan of all you can eat restaurants - simply because the quality of the food is never as good as places where you can have a le carte. But Lapa proved me wrong. The quality of their produce, the cooking and bbq-ing of the meats, it's delicious. Every single cut of meat was perfectly cooked. Succulent, juicy, moist, flavoursome. Nothing was dry (unless you were lucky to be the last table being served the last bit of the skewer in which case it is possible the meat would have been overcooked). But overall it was meat perfection. Only downside is that for me it was salty. Everyone on the table thinks I'm crazy and they think it was fine. Again - I have major sensitive salt buds!! But I admit the salt is what gives it flavour. It was great flavour and every cut was great - I particularly like the chilli chicken and the rump, especially that first cut of rump - slightly crisped on the outside and juicy medium-rare rump meat.

Lapa is definitely one to try! I got my share of iron and protein to last me a while! and the price is just oh-so-right! $49 of endless plates of meat! SCORE! The atmosphere? it's very casual, relaxed and chilled. The waitstaffs are professional and friendly. The parking may be a problem, but then you are heading into Subiaco!

OH and on a Saturday - for lunch you can have the endless feast for $29!!

And why you are there.. why not get one of their cocktails? JUST DO NOT DRINK AND DRIVE (otherwise you are just an idiot) - there was a booze bus on the way home - I'm serious, there was. Lucky I only had one drink and consumed a huge massive meal.

Caipirinha

- like mojito but without the mint and nicer.