Sayers

A few friends of mine caught up for what was supposed to brunch turned to lunch as a few of us had prior appointments. I was told that seeing as I was a foodie I would enjoy Sayers' famous breakfasts, unfortunately I was unable to try that so instead I tried their other famous meal time - lunch. We decided that we will have tapas style lunch seeing as that would mean we get to taste a bit of everything.

Let me introduce Sayers, Sayers is one of local favourites, situated in Leederville just behind the main busy Oxford street. It uses quality local produce, makes their own blend of coffee (which by the way is absolutely AMAZING! I haven't had good coffee like that in a long while!) made by 5 senses (which should tell you that it will be amazing) and of course like all good things the place cannot be booked and is a rather small shop so make sure you get there early or you be waiting for your table (which will probably be a while seeing as it's such a cosy place to sit and talk for a few hours - like we managed to do!).

To start any old day, especially a Saturday there is coffee to be ordered. I had their honeycomb coffee affogato - it was just heavenly, exactly what I needed! The coffee was extracted to perfection, the honeycomb from a crunchie added in and the vanilla ice-cream at the bottom to boot. It was pure heaven!

From the coffee we couldn't wait to dug into our food choices.

There was the carbohydrate requirement which came in the form of the fresh ciabatta bread, 3 pillar olive oil & balsamic syrup - the olive oil and balsamic syrup was exqusite, so much so that one of the girls couldn't stop dipping it in almost everything.

A tapas menu is never complete without spicy cacciatore sausage with grilled lemon & balsamic aka chirozo!

The chirozo was fantastic but I wish they put the balsamic in a separate bowl to dip. I found that some of the pieces were soaked through and others had none.

There was the exquisite chickpea batter prawns, chicken sausage, avocado & chilli relish - the chickpea was amazing and the whole thing just melts in your mouth. Someone had nick one of the pieces before I even had the chance to take the photo.

Then there was the duck rillette, sour cherries, watercress & olive oil toasted ciabatta which was rather different from what we thought it was going to be. We all thought that the duck rillette was in texture too much like canned tuna.

We also had the black belly pig, parmesan & wilted spinach croquettes which were just delicious!

It was so good that I couldn't even focus my camera properly because I was salivating at the though of having the one that was on my plate!

Then there was the grilled octopus, pepperinata which unfortunately I couldn't try because I'm allergic to octopus/squid and the likes of those, which is a pity because I used to love squid as a child.

Apprantly though it was fantastic and not rubbery (which means it's cooked right!)

And of course to even out all the meaty dishes we had the herb & goats cheese crusted field mushrooms. You can't really go wrong with this plate. It was just delicious and they used good quality goats cheese and hey mushrooms are awesome.

In addition to their menu selection they have an extensive range of cakes and pasteries which looks absolutely yummy. Will have to come back for that and the breakfast!

And if not for the food definitely for the coffee and the nice ambience and cosiness of the place.

Banzai Sushi & Noodle Bar

When you feel like good, tummy-pleasing, reasonably priced sushi, ramen, udon, teppanyaki and nicely Japanese, then this is the right place to be. You can even surf the net as you enjoy your food! The staff are friendly, providing excellent service and the servings are pretty large (although, I still think it's not as big as Matsuri).

The restaurant is small, but it's decorated with astro and japanese anime. It's very cafe like - minus the coffee and I simple love staring at the anime photos. But truth be told, it's trying to resemble the noodle bars of Japan, except there is no "bar" in the middle, like they do back in the land of the rising sun!

I've been here twice, I think their ramen noodles, although the portion is big, the noodle itself felt like they were the two minute noodles, but then again I maybe comparing it to what I've had in Japan, and it's just not the same. Their Teppanyaki on the other hand is excellent - so definately have that!!

Chicken Ramen - it looks and faintly smells like laksa??!

Chicken Teppanyaki.. *yummies*!!

K's tempura and his side of salmon sushi

Their gyoza is quite a good start to the meal (unfortunately I have no photos!), or their tataki (also no photos!) seeing as it does take a while for the mains to arrive so if you are hungry, getting an entree is recommended. I'm not a fan of their japanese tea - only because it's not macha, instead it's rice tea - but if you like rice tea then that's fine, I'm just being fussy.

Having said all that, I do like Banzai (hence I've been there twice!), it's a good place for a casual catch up, as the food is nice, portion size a large, the atmosphere relaxed and the price is resonable. It's like better than your fast food japanese, like taka, but not as great as Matsuri. It's the perfect middle, for a quick (tasty) bite to eat.

Green and Co.

I realise the name sounds like some eco-friendly company - something for greenpeace or whatever - the whole save the planet thing.. but believe me, it isn't. Green and Co. is the name of this little (well I should really say BIG) cafe in Leederville. You can recognise it anywhere for it's deco, bright lights and lively chatter.

The place uses more electric lighting and power than the amount used to light up the city of Perth (and that's saying a lot of things!), so its' far from being "environmentally friendly". Although having said that I am NOT saying that they are not, I'm sure they are... OK lets move on.... this of course stems from the fact that they whole entire ceiling of Green and Co. has suspended lighting covered in big paper latern-like ball light dresses (commonly known as light covers), making it quite different and unique from the usual dark, mood-lighting commonly found in other cafes. To add to all that, they have LCD hang up on walls filled with concert posters dating back 10 years or more ago, lounge couches, pool table and old-style arcade games (x2) at the back and lots of card and board games to play with.

So in terms of the food and coffee?.. The few times I've been there they've burnt my coffee (the hot chocolate been good, the tea well.. average for me anyway.. I've been to better places).  They don't really have a menu but you know the drill - they have all the usuals; lattes, mocha, long shots, macchintos, chai etc. etc. and a good selection  of tea. But, the best part of the place is their LARGE selection of cakes - there are cakes for all types of tastes and preference. From the chocolate-est to the not so rich. There is one for you!

The service? There is no waiter/waitressing service so you order, you wait for your order then take a seat (i advise that someone saves a seat while you wait for your order), they are really quick at making the coffee/tea (despite burning it!).

The ambience? - LOUD, you be competing to hear! but like every good cafe it's relaxing and a good place to catch up and maybe discuss group study stuffs (as no one will tell you to shut it!)

I'll go there for the large selection of cakes, skip the coffee, perhaps have a hot chocolate and just soak up the ambience.

the burgers are the BEST at JUS BURGERS!

On some days and nights when you feel as though a pasta dish is too rich or a pizza just doesn't have the bite or a steak is a little too much, a homemade burger sounds just right! So on one of my randomly strange cravings and desire to explore the little ole' Perth, I dragged few friends after pilates and we headed to Jus Burgers (whom, may I add has earned the name of having the BEST BURGERS in town - so why wouldn't you want to visit?)

For all those unfortunate souls who do not know where it is, it is situated on Newcastle St. in Leederville in this tiny little shop with a "blink" or you'll miss it sign. The cafe is small, but extrememly busy - and like all good small eateries it has a no-booking - first come first served basis - thus if you come at rush hour or a large group be prepared to wait for at least 30 minutes and the waitressing staff are friendly and outright about this - giving you a number and telling you exactly how long it will be. The wait is worth it!

The deco of the place is very trendy, relaxed and chilled. It uses little stools and bar stools as chairs - which adds to the BBQ-like-cosy-atmostphere, the perfect place to catch up with friends on any night of the week (except Monday - when they are closed). The kitchen area is open - so those who like to know what's going on can see how the burger is made. In addition - they have a little kids corner where drawing accessories and other playthings are kept - however due to the size of the place - there is only so many kids you can fit!

They offer an varied and interesting list of burgers, ranging from all things beef, Pommy burger - with 100% beef, cheddar, back bacon and salad, Wagyu Beef - wagyu beef with wasabi mayo sauce, all things lamb and those that are willing to try something different, there is the Roo Burger - 100% West Australian Kangaroo meat & char grilled and the Guvnor - 100% Harvey beef (270g burger) with foie gras/duck liver. Jus Burgers also provide vegeo burgers too and are graunteed 100% vegetarian. ALL burgers can have extra Jus toppings too - with huge field mushrooms, bacon, avocado, balsamic onions - so why wouldn't you pay a few extra dollars?

Jus Burgers - photo curtosy of S. Please excuse the quality it's taken by a phone camera!

A burger of course will not be complete without the sides - they have the french fries, onion rings (made from real onion and not those funny fake stuff) and of course salads! all can be accompanied by a wide range of sauces - tomato, aioli, sweet chilli, horseradish.. i can go on!

What did I have? I settled for the Wagyu beef - very nice and juicy - not dry at all. The wasabi mayo sauce provided the perfect punch of wasabi goodness which is quickly relieved by the sweetness of the mayo. Definite buzz for your tastebuds! And of course the french fries and onion rings - fantastic - cripsy on the outside and oh-so-good on the inside.

The relaxed atomsphere, the cafe-style dining and the shear size and taste of the burgers makes up for the time it takes to wait! For those who doesn't want to wait - you can always get take-away - who would want maccas or hungry jacks when you can have jus burgers?

After you done chowing down the burger - if you have any room in your tummies - head over to Green and Co. and enjoy a coffee and a cake whilst playing connect four!