Monday 28 November 2011

Fortysevenkirwanstreet, 6014

Existing quietly among the leafy homes of Floreat is Fortysevenkirwanstreet. Here you will find a cafe that treats brunch with far more finesse than poached eggs on toast.  Peaceful ambiance, creamy coffee and a dish for every mood.


My favourite menu item would be the Mushrooms and Asparagus breakfast.  Comprising a small mountain of three of my favourite yummy things, it is a dish of plenty.  Button mushies, perfectly seared asparagus and a generous glob of soft, salty goats cheese.

Mushrooms, asparagus, rocket, spinach, goats cheese on multi-grain toast

On the mornings when you're craving that savoury saltiness, I recommend the Potato and Leek Bake. An oven made hash brown making nice with smoked salmon, runny egg and crowd pleasing Hollandaise.

Potato & Leek bake, smoked salmon, poached egg, rocket, hollandaise

These days every second cafe seems to have a Middle Eastern style egg dish.  Served in some sort of claypot/basket/rammekin, its offered as a alternative breakfast item...now not so alternative. Fortysevenkirwanstreet is no different, creating their own (delicious, still) version of a Shakshuka.  The sauce is thick and rich, teeming with tomatoes, peppers and fetta cheese. Eggs are cooked just right with a lovely inclusion of fresh herbs.                         

Shakshuka

The Bircher muesli is one of the most attractive birchers i've seen.  A mound of shredded apple, sultanas, cherries and toasted macadamias, it is very fruit-rich. This ones a bit light on the oats-factor for my liking and I couldn't taste a hint of cinnamon but its an enjoyable, wholesome breakfast all the same.

Bircher muesli, cinnamon apple

Shakshuka sticks around for lunch and joining it are  dishes involving (from memory) Pork Belly, Slow cooked meat and parpadelle, a salad of smoked trout, egg, potato and my choice that day; salad of beetroot, baby zucchini, green beans, mixed leaf and fetta tzaztiki. Fresh, summery, scrumptious!

Beetroot, herbs, beans, zucchini, roasted onion, tzaztiki

Tempting you at the counter bench are a small selection of ready to enjoy goodies like paninis, mini brioche, custard tarts, chocolate-postachio brownies and sweet and savoury muffins. We couldn't help but grab ourselves a treat for the road.

Blueberry -coconut slice.

Custard tarts

If you like a brunch menu with interest and enjoy being tucked away from hustle and bustle, Fortysevenkirwanstreet is for you.

Food: 4/5
Coffee: 3.5/5
Ambience: 4/5
Space: 3/5

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Sunday 20 November 2011

Collodel Ice Creams & Sorbets, 6076

Don't be fooled by the generic blue and white cups because what's inside is far from ordinary. Collodel is a family-run Ice cream parlor located on Haynes Street in Kalumunda. This place sells the real deal, and often misleads new customers with it's ho-hum exterior, making that first lick of Collodel gelato, even more memorable.


The dreamy gelato is made using traditional techniques that come from the Dolomite region in Northern Italy, and they make it every day, right there on the premises. How it should be.


Soft, rich, voluptuous gelato, the stuff here is on par with that I’ve tried in Italy and Spain. With flavours like Coconut, Crème Caramel, Coffee Cream, Vanilla Bean, Yoghurt & Berries, Cookies & Cream, it’s very hard to settle on a single serve. Faced with this difficulty, I ended up choosing three scoops; Cookies and Cream, Chocolate Rocher and the stand out flavour - Mascapone with Cointreau and Lemon Curd.


My goodness they were delicious! The Chocolate Rocher tasted like Nutella and is honestly the best chocolate/hazelnut version I've ever tasted. Eye-popping good. The Mascapone with Cointreau and lemon curd was exquisite; a perfect balance of tartness, sour and sweet. It tasted like a richly creamy cheesecake, stained with citrus. The Cookies & Cream was a treat too; a real vanilla bean base with crumbled bits of what tasted like half-baked tiny teddies.


At $4.50 for three scoops and $3.50 for two, I think this is pretty decent value. For amazing quality gelato, this is definitely worth the drive (and the calories). I'm calling it. Collodel Ice Cream & Sorbet; best gelato in Perth!

Food: 5/5
Service: 3/5
Ambience: 3/5

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Wednesday 16 November 2011

Spice Shack, 6053

Its slim pickings out in Bayswater and Spice Shack is a welcome relief from the monotony of grotty lunch bars around this industrial area. I discovered this little oasis driving on my way to work one day and have been back a few times since trying their delicious Sri Lankan home cooking.


The curries are SO tasty and not to mention great value. 1 Meat + any mix of vegetable curry is $10.50 and 2 Meat + Veg combo is only $12.50. They also have a "Pick Me Up" pack, which they describe as a "quick, fresh and tightly packed box of takeaway goodies".
Its also nice to try some spicy food that's a little different from the plethora of Indian and Thai curry options around Perth. So today I got the special which was some sort of hot pot of Roast Pepper Chicken along with a Dahl, a Pumpkin curry and rice ($8.50). The rice was fragrant, light and not starchy. The chicken had a tasty smack of pepper and chilli and the pumpkin was mushy and mildly honeyed. I generally find Dahl to be a runny, bland excuse for a vegetarian curry but the Dahl I had today was a lovely lumpy texture and full of flavour.


Great taste and rotating daily specials have made spice Shack a lunch time favorite. They also sell a selection of refrigerated meals and Ceylonese snacks like Roti breads, cutlets ($1.50), fish cakes, curry puffs ($2.50) and a sweet home-recipe iced coffee. An assortment of curry pastes, chutneys and spice mixes are also available, making it possible for customers to make their own spicy creations at home.

Food: 4/5
Service: 4/5
Decor: 2/5
Value!: 5/5

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Friday 11 November 2011

P'tite Ardoise Bistro, 6003

I had been eager to try P’tite Ardoise ever since I saw the cute chalkboard sign had been raised outside its doors on Beaufort St in July. The name transaltes to "Little Blackboard” which nakes for a recurring motif around the restaurant. I found myself playing a game of spot the baby blackboards, picking them out on the menu, the napkins, on the waitstaff as well as bearing the tasty bonne bouche!


After being warmly greetd by the staff and seated at our table for 8, we all took a very lengthy look at the menu. It was so hard to choose! After changing my mind about 4 times, I settled on sharing ‘Snails My Way’ for entrée and the casserole of the day, which was seafood, for main.


Orders in, the doting waitstaff moved around our table with baskets of freshly baked assorted breads. I love that we got to choose what bread took our fancy (seeded? Herbed? Baguette?) and whether we even wanted bread to begin with. I usually shun carbs before my meal so I can squeeze in dessert, but the bread (along with trio of butter, e.v.o. and olive tepenade) looked to good to pass up.


The snails arrived; three ramekins lined up on a rectangular slate. I was a snails virgin before this night and I definitely chose the right time and place to try, because these were delicious. Sealed under a toasted circle of buttery bread, in a luscious sauce of cream, herbs and tomato – simply yummy!


The mains were excellent too. Each of the Pork, Beef and Salmon were paired with the sweetnees of apple or pear and sealed with a lusty wine reduction. Each element of my casserole; the catfish, the prawns, the clams, the potato; cooking was timed perfectly. The accomapnying sauce was really delicious too. Despite a reluctance towards parsley, I ended up spooning it up like it was soup.




The vegetarian main was "superbly tasty” according to my company. The French aren’t famous for their ‘tolerance' for vegetarians, so this was another gold star to P’tite Ardoise’ name. The last authentic French meal I had in Perth was at La Caascade and whislt delicious I ended up leaving the restaurant feeling like I’d ingested the furniture too. P’tite Ardoise remains true to its Noman roots in flavour, but not in terms of heaviness.



Extra- mile service is where P’tite Ardoise truly distinguish themselves. I really respect their attention to detail. The owner, who I must mention was humbly dressed it the same uniform of black slacks and yellow waistcoat as her waitstaff, asked me discrettly between courses if were celebrating a Birthday and should she bring a candle with dessert. Well she didn’t just add a candle to birthday boys dessert but presented us with an additional little cake on a plate decorated with ‘HAPPY BRITHDAY’ in chocolate.


Other details I was impressed by were the vegetables that came as a side with every main - they were cooked just right and complemented the dishes perfectly. The sweet-tooth in me also adored the wooden box they brought around at the end of the meal. It was brimming with strawberry clouds and Carambars - a quintessentially French confection, ensuring your night ended on one final (sugar) high.



Whilst the standard of food and service is 5 star, there is no ego at P'tite Ardoise. Seen in the modest surroundings of pale yellow and burgundy (very Old-France), to the friendly service, the demeanour here is warm and unpretentious. From the first encounters when you walk in the bistro's narrow wooden door, to the personal meet and greet from the Head Chef at the end of your meal; its clear this is a restaurant that really understands the concept of dining experience. The owners are clearly very passionate about what they do and want to share what they know about good food with you.



I'm giving P'tite Ardoise Bistro top marks. Me and my fellow diners are already talking about going back. Can't wait.

Food: 4.5/5
Service: 5/5
Mood: 4/5

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