Playing building

I don't know how many of you try building sandcastles in the sand... But I'm pretty sure architecturally it's not as amazing as this...

Now this is a sandcastle..

King and I - Thai Cuisine

On Sunday night I had a lovely, but quick catch up with the boys at one of JC's favourite Thai restaurants - King and I Thai Cuisine. I've eaten here on a previous occasion, and its won several gold plates, 2007, 2010, 2011 and 2012 (although only up to 2011 is printed on their napkins!) so I know it'd be pretty awesome.

The King and I is located in Guildford, opposite the Guildford train station, near Alfred's Kitchen. The restaurant can be recognised by it's massive, yellow, billboard-like sign on it's roof and because it's on a main road, parking is mainly street parking. Although, I'm glad the place has parking places at the back of the restaurant, even if it only fits about 10 cars or so. At least it tries.

The King and I, was most likely to have been a house of some sort in its previous life because there are several different rooms, all of which have been turned into dining rooms. The decor is rather subdued, which I think is fine. Although the colour scheme of pale green, maroon with touches of metallic browns and golds may be slightly outdated. Nonetheless, it provides a cosy, homely vibe.

The waitstaff wear traditional Thai costume, and I really love that (and I love the costume!.. Wouldn't mind having the pants - it looks so comfortable - almost harem pants, but in a slight metallic colour). They were all very polite, quick to provide us with water and gave us ample time to look through the menu to decide. I must admit, however, that because we were in the back end of the restaurant, the amount of times the waitstaff visited is probably not as frequent as at the front of house. Granted, the back of the restaurant, wasn't particularly busy. Having said that, they did bring out our dishes very quickly after we ordered, and gave us fresh bottles of water when it ran out without having to be asked. They also checked up on us to make sure everything was ok and cleared our plates so quickly when we were done. Rather efficient.

As for the food? Well, there was only 3 of us for dinner, and one of us was on a massive health kick (safe to say it wasn't me!), so unfortunately I can't show you the full range of their menu. Nonetheless, we got an entree to share, one main for CR and two mains to share between me and JC.

We started the night with a serving of vegetarian spring roll (4 pieces). They also have satays and other delectable things (mainly coming in 4 pieces).

The spring rolls were packed with vegetable goodness and was crispy and crunchy on the outside without under cooking the stuffing. It's also good to know that the oil they used was not old oil (didn't have that old oil smell). Paired with the sweet chilli with a slight hint of lemon for the sour kick, it was a rather pleasant start to our meal.

CR had the vegetarian Pad Thai, which looked came out with a swirl of steam on top and looked rather appetizing. I saw lots of tofu, shallots, carrots, cabbage and beansprouts, along with the noodles, the crushed peanuts and slice of lime to balance out the sweetness of the Pad Thai sauce. CR thoroughly enjoyed the dish and loved the sauce that coated the noodles.

 

 

JR and I, had the prawn Pad Thai, with a decent amount of prawns, and large one at that, along with slices of tofu, beansprouts and shallots. Mixed well with the peanuts and a squeeze of the lime juices the dish was fantastically satisfying. Although, I have to admit, having the last bites of the dish, it was a tad sickly sweet (too much sugar added to the dish), thanks to the sauce. The lime is really needed to cut through that sweet flavour (unless of course you like that). OH I must add, the Pad Thai didn't taste too oily either, unlike some places where too much oil gets involved.

 

No visit to a Thai restaurant is complete without a Thai curry (whether it's red, green or penang curry). I felt like something with a decent dose of chilli kick and after CR helping me to decipher which one of the curry dishes is less likely to have an adverse effect on my hips and thighs, we decided green curry reign supreme (partly because coconut milk is likely to be less fattening than coconut cream.. although we did not any evidence on that matter). We settled to have it with chicken. The chicken green curry was absolutely delicious. The chicken was succulent and moist. It was not over cooked and it was not dry (trust me chicken can dry out even in a curry!). The sauce of the curry was creamy (without it been too much), it had a bit of kick from the chilli (without the chilli overpowering it too much) and it has the right dose of coconutty-ness through it. We ate the curry with the rice and the girl gave me a bit too much - more than what I have at home.. but I'm glad she did because the curry sauce was so good I wanted to just devour every last drop of it.

Although, having really tried only 2 of their mains this time around, I can safely say (combined with my previous experience) that King and I Thai Cuisine is one of the better Thai restaurants in Perth. You can understand why it won so many Gold Plate awards. It's worth the track to Guildford to check it out.

Food inspired catwalks.. or Catwalk inspired foods?

I love pretty clothes, accessories, shoes, bags etc. like any other girl. In fact, too much love for them. I spend way too much. Most of my pay packet goes towards good food (eating out).. and shopping. My love for shopping is rather outrageous. I didn't realise it has gotten so bad until I tried cleaning out my wardrobe. I found several new outfits to wear and luckily my pleather skirt I bought 3-4 years back and have only ever worn it twice is now highly fashionable (back when I bought it, it was NOT fashionable, I bought it because it was different). Now I found that it just gives it that rock edge to my outfits. I've worn it out so many times over the last 2 weeks of catching up with friends (over food of course!).

Anyway, what I really want to get to is... apart from dressing up to go out for breakfast, lunch (or hell brunch), dinner, dessert, bar, shopping etc. and making sure the outfit fits each occasion, location and of course room for food. My choice of fashionable wears really depends on where I'm going and how much I'll be eating (you need to really wear your fat fashionable clothing if you are going for degustation for example).

Strangely enough, recently I found some fashion that oddly resembles food. It either looks like food, or reminds me of food, or hey, maybe, the designers were inspired by the delicious, gorgeously presented lunch/dinner that they had while they chatted about beautiful things.

Just look at the photos and you will see what I mean...

Or...

I could just be crazy... and possibly hungry..

What do you think?

Please note photos are collected by tasteofrunway.com

City of Perth Twilight Hawkers Market

The City of Perth Twilight Hawkers Market started back in January 2011 and it went on for a week. It was so popular that in November of that year (see post here) the council decided to bring it back to life. In fact, they expanded it to last the whole of the summer season. Since then it has grown, both in length that the market is on for, the size of the market, the number of stalls, and of course the number of crowds.

It's on once week, on Friday night starting at 5pm in Forrest Chase. There are foods from every nation possible. Mexican, Malaysian, Korean, Japanese, hot dogs - bratwurst or if you like Snags and Sons, satays, South American cuisines, cajuns, ribs etc. They even have dessert stands ranging from macaroons, ice creams, donuts, frozen yogurt etc. In fact you can even get fresh coconut and fruits!

 

 

  

 

 

 

The atmosphere is electric, filled with life, laughter, buskers, music and of course the smell of delicious food. Be prepared to bring ample cash as eftpos is not available. The price of dishes can range from $5 to $10.

 

 

All I can say is, I'm glad City of Perth arranges something like this. It brings people outside, it brings people together and it's just nice to enjoy the balmy summer evenings that Perth is so famously known for.

The markets are located at Forrest Place, Perth city every Friday from November right through until start of April. There are still a few Fridays left so check it out. Get in early and bet the crowds, with the markets opening at 5pm.

Impromtu trip to Margaret River - Augusta - Part 2

It's taken a while but I have finally recovered from my cold/flu. It really took a toil on me. Although the cough is still there, it's not as bad as the coughing fits I was having before (it was coughing fits to the point that I was getting woken up at night from it!). Alas, post viral coughs always linger longer than one thinks.

Anyway, I managed to dig up some funny photos from my trip down to Margaret River- Augusta back in November. These real cheesey photos/poses were taken in the beautiful surroundings of Leeuwin Estate, Voyager Estate, Cheeky Monkey, Canal Rocks and Busselton Jetty.

The wooden pillars from old trees at the bottom of Leeuwin winery restaurant and cellar

At the entrance of the Rose garden at Voyager Estate

Overlooking the rose garden and the rest of the estate at Voyager Estate

The rose arch in full bloom at Voyager Estate

 In the vineyards of Voyager

Stocking up the wine pantry at Voyager Estate

 Muscle Muscle Man! I wanna be a muscle man... hahah 

@ the carpark at Canal Rocks

Soaking the rays and watching the views at Canal Rocks

Best range of ice cream ever in Margaret River - Miller's Ice Cream!

 Taste testing everything at Margaret River Olive Factory (Natural Olive Oil Soap Factory).

Has the best olives and dukkah and dips ever. Along with amazing smelling homemade soaps, lotions, creams, candles. Worth checking out.

 

Beer tasting at Cheeky Monkey - very huge brewery, with an interesting looking menu, which I was unfortunately unable to try as my tummy was way to full. As for the beer? Well, I am never a fan of beer so to ask me would be very bias. All I can say is the ale is rather bitter for my liking. They also have a good kids area.

Coffee break on the way back home

  Walking the Busselton Jetty - which stretches almost 2km out to sea!

The tiny house at the end of the jetty houses a restaurant and a mini aquarium. If you are feeling a little lazy, you can always opt to talk the little rail that runs along it for a small fee.

Next post I promise will be about food. I have a long list to write about, but I seem to be missing my photos. It's what happens when you use 2-3 different types of cameras to capture my outings.

Sick as a puppy...

I've been sick since Tuesday and I thought I was getting better but I've been coughing up my lungs and I'm all congested.

So not only have I missed work but missed an all important date with the girls - a triple date and it was to see Danny Bhoy with epic close seats. Sigh.

But my god vicks vaporub is my friend! That and paracetamol.

Current Elliott Jeans FOR SALE

I bought these Current Elliott Jeans online and it didn't fit! MASSIVE FAIL.

So alas I'm selling them BRAND NEW on eBay at a bargain bid price of $50.. original retail price is USD 198...

SIGH..

so sad..

but check it out here and bid if you like them and are a size 26 in jeans!

Blackbird

Blackbird is one of my local restaurants whom I have sworn I will visit. It has been how many years and how many times I've said I'll try it, and finally this weekend that just went by I went with bf before going to La Marea (an outdoor play that is part of the Perth Art Festival - I'll save that for another post).

We didn't have a booking but we were there just before 6pm, they were just getting ready to open and although fully booked were able to fit us a seat outside in their alfesco area.

To start the night, I got myself a white (because it was such a hot day!), a mascato. Lovely, sweet and refreshingly cool. I also loved the vase and the little salt pot that was on the table so took a photo of it. It was just too cute!

So many people walked past, families, couples, runners, and of course those that were coming to the restaurant. I've forgotten how beautiful this part of East Perth was. It helps when the duck pond is filled with water and there are ducks. Most of the time, in summer at least, the pond dries up. But obviously the council is looking after the area.

Blackbird's alfesco area is lovely, with little pot plants of succulents and flowers lining the windows of the restaurant. They also have a basket with Aerogard! (Mossie repellent!) - SCORE. All restaurants with an outdoor area should have one! We didn't use it, but I probably should have because I was starting eaten alive. Anyway, the restaurant is so cute, all painted black inside, cosy little thing. Very Mediterranean style on the outside. Reminds me of the many Paris and Nice restaurants.

We were served by a very friendly, funny waiter, who was very helpful in terms of choosing our dishes to eat for the evening. We were rather indecisive. Even though the menu was small, everything on it sounded pretty yummy. We ended up sharing an entree, a main each and having two small desserts to share.

For the entree we opted for the Blackbird plat du jour - which consisted of skewered prawns and squid, brie with toasted bread and blackberry jam and chirozo on fried polenta. The skewered prawns and squid was delicious. Lightly grilled and had that smokey taste to it. It was on top of a bed of salsa/tomato sauce. Perfect for summer. The brie and the jam was delicious, the jam was sweet and lovely, I wish there the slice of brie was thicker or more brie in general (they kind of skimped out on it) because the jam seemed to have overpowered the taste of cheese. The chirozo were a little tough but are of good quality. I would have preferred it without the polenta and perhaps a few more pieces of chirozo. I suppose we did only order for one plate, but it left us wanting more. Overall it was a good start to our dinner.

Blackbird's Plat Du Jour

For the mains bf had his favourite meat - beef.. This time in the form of beef stracci, sweet potato, mushroom. The beef was delicious. It was char-grilled. It had this lovely smokey taste and the beef was tender, although it was on a bit of well-done side (he preferred medium) and it was odd that he wasn't asked how he wanted his beef done. Nonetheless, the flavours in the dish worked well and that smokey taste and smell was just fantastic. Was glad he gave me a decent portion to taste.

Beef stracci, sweet potato, mushroom

Unlike the boy, I had huge troubles making up my mind about what I wanted. Torn between the pasta, the fish and the lamb oh and I also wanted the beef. In the end I decided I will get the healthier option and opted for the fish of the day. The fish of the day was grilled snapper in a wonderful seafood broth, with a "nest" and salad. The snapper was perfectly cooked and again had that smokey flavours through it. The seafood reduction was so well seasoned and you can really taste the seafood, in particular prawns. Which, I wasn't sure if it was coming from the fish at first, but it was from the broth. The seafood broth was definitely flavourful and lovely, and slightly salty. Surprisingly it came out looking like nothing I imagined, but a pleasant and delicious dish that I enjoyed.

Fish of the day - grilled snapper with seafood broth and nest

Then to throw our diets right out of the window we opted for dessert. We ended up getting their homemade ice cream, which really should be three different ice cream but because one of them was macadamia nuts (the curse of that nut for poor bf) we ended up getting two scoops of the honey and fig and one scoop of orange mint chocolate. The flavours of the ice cream were rather intense and they also had pieces of fig on the plate which was a nice touch. However, the texture of the ice cream was all wrong. It wasn't smooth and creamy enough and was a little icey and it definitely didn't look like it was frozen long enough. Perhaps it was a fresh batch? It melted way too fast much to our disappointment.

Trio of in-house Ice Cream - Honey and Fig and Orange Mint Chocolate

We also had the chocolate truffles to go with our ice cream. 5 little chocolate truffle balls coated in coconut. It was lovely, but it felt like it was frozen for a while, because you really couldn't get that texture of silkiness in the centre that you usually get with truffles.

Chocolate truffles

Bf and I ended up having a lovely dinner at Blackbird and I wouldn't hesitate to refer the place to you. It's a cosy restaurant, rather romantic and relaxing. The waitstaff are friendly and the service is always present. The menu is small, but they do the dishes very well and from the looks of the different plates coming out for other people it all looked beautiful. To top it off, the price is so decent for Perth. Worth checking out at least once.