Tuesday 28 February 2012

Picco's Kitchen, 6051

Picco's has had my patronage for breakfast, lunch and dinner, with each occurrence being warm, friendly and the food different - in a good way. The kitchen at Picco’s is constantly reinventing itself with varietal, seasonal food.  The Daily Menu really is a daily menu and the rotating cakes and bakes will entice you too. 

    
 
Its not your typical café location and the basic shop front will make you wonder; “is this really the café I’m looking for?”.  Once you step inside the charming space and experience the sophisticated food however, you can’t help but label it a 'diamond in the rough'.  At night, the secret location works wonders, framing the space as an intimate spot for a romantic dinner.

Baked Vegetable Fritata

The cooking is a comforting mix of classic Modern Australian with a delicious dose of European bistro.  There's an everyday menu for breakfast, mostly cabinet foods for lunch and a rotating Daily Menu for dinner. They even pump out wood fired pizzas 6 nights a week; dine in or take-away.
 



On my most recent visit we had the House Smoked Salmon and the Roast Tomato and avocado breakfast. My salmon dish was absolutely divine. The salmon was supple and fresh - none of the bright pink packaged stuff. The light hollandaise and topple of fresh greens matched the salmon and fritters 
perfectly


House Smoked Salmon, Zucchini Fritters, Roquette, Hollandaise

Onto the other dish, aside from the beetroot relish, we were a bit let down. The kitchen was a bit skimp on the goats cheese - it was more of a spread, and in contrast to this, overly generous with the tomatoes. I don’t know anyone who needs two giant whole tomatoes for breakfast. The coffee was excellent as per usual and the service extremely sweet and friendly though, so I'll let the tomato thing go ;). 


Roast tomatoes, Chevre, Avocado, Beetroot relish

Dessert, breakfast, lunch, dinner, pizza, AND great coffee; there’s not a lot Picco’s can’t do.



Food: 4/5
Coffee: 4.5/5
Ambience: 4/5
Service: 5/5


Picco's Kitchen
38 Peninsula Rd
Maylands

Breakfast, Lunch: Mon-Sun, Dinner: Thurs - Sat




Piccos Kitchen on Urbanspoon

Tuesday 14 February 2012

Meeka Restaurant, 6008


Meeka engage the heady flavours of the Middle East - the aromatic spices, the slow marinades, the exotic mix of meat with fruits - and enhance them with the wealth of contemporary cookery.

The décor is simple and subtly upmarket but relaxed at the same time. The only traces of Moroccan in the interior decoration are a few striking tajines dotted around the room.  

The menu is divided into enticing entrees, mains, tajines, sides and desserts each with influence from Morocco to Syria to Turkey.

Cheese Boreks $11

After much deliberation, three of us ordered the ‘Twice Cooked Duck Leg, Roasted Carrot and Almond Puree, Sautéed Silverbeet, Asparagus, Dukkah Crusted Gnocchi, Sour Cherry Glaze’ and our fourth diner had the Duck Shank, Baharat, Pumpkin, Orange, White Beans, Sugar Snaps ($33). For entrees we had Cheese Boreks with Saffron Eggplant dip ($11), Dates Stuffed with Goats Feta, Walnuts, Prosciutto, Lemon, Thyme, Wrapped in Kataifi ($15) and Dates Stuffed with Almonds, Preserved Lemon, Three Cheeses, Lightly Fried in Chickpea Batter ($15).            

Dates in chickpea batter $15

Dates in Kataifi $15

My Duck Leg main was sumptuous – so many different components; the succulent duck meat just melted away in your mouth and the pureed carrot was garlicly and smooth. I loved the added element of the crusted gnocchi pieces - soft inside with a mildly crunchy coating.  

Twice cooked duck leg $33
The Duck Tajine was a bang of flavours; very heavily scented with sweet cinnamon and nutmeg; marrying the tremendously tender duck meat and honeyed pumpkin. Divine. 


Duck Shank Tajine
Even more luscious were the desserts. Again having wars over what to order, we reasoned to share three between us. Wrap your mind around these sensations; Turkish Delight Stuffed Donut Balls, Rose Spiced Chocolate, Cardamon Yoghurt Parfait, Persian Fairy Floss; Fig Soft Cheese Cigar, Pistachio Dust, Salted Caramel Parfait, Turkish Coffee Syrup and; Meringue, Caramelised Wild Baby Figs, Almond White Chocolate Mousse, Orange Blossom Curd (All $14). Two between the four of us would have been plenty but they were just too good to stop eating.

Turkish delight filled donuts $14

Soft cheese cigar $14
The donuts seem to be somewhat of a signature dish and are definitely worth a try. The sweetened cheese filling in the cigar was deeee-licious too.  


I cannot stress enough how scrumptious all the desserts were. The exotic homemade ice creams and Persian Fairy floss served with each dessert were amazing enough on their own. You absolutely MUST save/make room for dessert. You wont regret it. Promise.


My only carp was the forgetful service. The waitress was a bit vague and didn’t really know the menu that well. The food went a long way in making up for it though.

The dessert was such a high note to end on and we all agreed that Meeka was the best meal we had had in some time. It really is a journey for all your senses. I’m only sad I didn’t try it earlier!

Food: 4.5/5
Ambience: 3.5/5
Service: 2/5

Meeka Restaurant
361 Rokeby Rd 
Subiaco, WA 6008
Dinner: Tues-Sat

08 9381 1800

Lunch: Friday

Meeka Restaurant on Urbanspoon


Friday 10 February 2012

Who's Your Mumma? 6160


When I heard there was a new bar in Freo called Who's Your Mumma? I had to check it out. When I read about these awesome pork buns they serve too, my itch to get there was even greater.





The name brings to mind some earthy, homey, hip associations, and they’re pretty spot on. The roughhewn surfaces, exposed electrical cord lighting, the drum of roots-rock music and the simple yet clever comfort eats on offer, equate to a down home, NY Bronx character. If I had to condense Who’s Your Mumma? in to a theme it would be 'Back to Basics'.


I was sold on the look of the place and how about service and food? Top marks can be awarded there too. My sister and I waltzed in late on a Tuesday night, minutes after the kitchen had closed, but the likeable bar staff kindly took our orders for food anyway.

Pork rilette $7 - a lot more appetising than my flash camera conveys

The menu is small but does the job. Who’s Your Mumma’s mainstay is boozing and the food is really a courtesy. We ordered a serve of the infamous pork buns ($12) as well as the pork rilette with pickles and a crusty, thin baguette ($7). Both dishes were a hit. I especially loved their inventive take on the conventional pork bun; a cut of crispy edged pork belly with hoi-sin sauce, cucumber and chives, and cradled in the softest folds of white dough. They are the cutest looking tapas food around. The freshness of the cucumber married perfectly with the salty pork and sweet sauce.

Pork buns $12


Who’s Your Mumma? was a total win on all fronts. Get amongst it.

Food: 4/5
Service: 4.5/5
Ambience: 4/5

Who's Your Mumma on Urbanspoon

Tuesday 7 February 2012

Blackbird, 6004


Most noteworthy is of course the setting; situated in what is in my opinion, the better end of the East Perth water inlet. There's more foliage, it’s quaint, it’s pretty and relatively out of sight.


My advice is to dine on a fair weekday for lunch – they offer a special menu ($37 for two courses and forty-something for three courses); it’s not busy, so you will be served quickly and well; and the nearby water feature and plain trees look that much more beautiful under the sunshine.


Service is on the ball and amicable - our waters were kept topped up, napkins rolled neatly and ordering was even interjected with some witty banter from our waist person. 

Chilled prawn, mango, wattle seed, apple, cucumber
The food is a contemporary mix of French, Italian and Modern Australian.  On our impromptu mid-week lunch this day we opted for the chilled prawn entree with mango salsa, the sweet potato gnocchi with candied hazelnut, a pulled pork sandwich with curried pickled cabbage and I chose the fish of the day which was a pie of three different fish in a creamy sauce, set into a ramekin and potted under herbed, crushed potato. You can probably tell by my detailed description that I was quite fond of the fish pie; it was delicious! I want to re-create my own version.  

Fish of the day - Trio of fish pie, potato

Mmmm so good!

The other dishes were all excellent too, particularly the pulled pork pieces in the sandwich and the lightly pan-fried pillows of gnocchi which were all slightly mis-shaped in rustic presentation. We were only let down by a half-mast representation of a vanilla panna cotta - the panna cotta itself was more like eating heavy cream and it was sealed under a too-thick paste-like jelly of some sort of berry flavour. 

Pulled pork sandwich,  homemade crisps

Sweet potato gnocchi, roquette, witlof, hazelnut

Dessert aside, Blackbird is a fantastic little fine-dining restaurant and the surrounds and service would make it a memorable setting for a starry-eyed date. I will definitely go back to try their al la Carte menu soon!

Vanilla bean panna cotta

Blackbird Restaurant
10 Eastbrook Ter Ste 4  
East Perth, WA 6004
(08) 9225 7880
Lunch: Tues-Fri
Dinner: Tues-Sat

Food: 4.5/
Service: 4.5/5
Ambience: 4/5

Blackbird Restaurant on Urbanspoon

Suisen, 6054

You wouldn’t know it existed unless you frequented the area, in fact maybe not even then – I asked the lady working at the Op Shop on the same street for directions and she hadn’t heard of any Japanese in Bassendean. Another lady browsing the shop overheard and excitedly told me where to go, calling after me; “they do the BEST sushi!”.


From the front, like most hidden Japanese take-aways, it’s pretty "meh", wedged between a butcher and a bakery. Inside it’s very basic but there’s still an inviting and serene air. Pale green walls, saxophone tunes and bamboo matting shielding the interior from the outside mundane and heat. I can't put my finger on it, but it's unexplainably and quietly ambient. 




The menu is pretty typical Japanese – sushi rolls ($6.50 - $6.80 for 5 pcs and $13.00 - $13.80 for 10 pcs), Nigiri, Sashimi, Bento sets, Japanese curry, Donburi, noodle soup and fried noodle dishes too.  Something I haven’t seen on many take-away menus is the grilled Snapper set  ($20) and “Shio Saba (salted Mackerel) Set” ($16.00).

I waited with a copy of Japanese Australian News...not that I could read any of it

  I ordered two pieces of Salmon Nigiri, a miso soup and a cooked tuna and cucumber hand roll which they made up for me on special request. I got a side of pickled ginger too for an extra $1 – a little steep, but the overall the price – about $14 wasn’t too bad I thought.

Tuna hand roll with cucumber, salmon nigiri


The Salmon Nigiri was especially fresh and fleshy and the cooked tuna was awesome too.



 The walls are dotted with pictures of custom-made sushi which you can have made up on pre-order and for parties – like heart shaped sushi rolls, interesting sashimi presentations and other random eats like batter fin? Still not quite sure what that is...

rolls and entrees ready to go

At the counter was a quirky collection of Japanese bits and bobs like hair accessories and character key rings.  They also had some copies of Japanese Australian News - a nice touch. 

Japanese knick-knacks for sale
Overall I enjoyed the hide-away setting, the sushi was tasty and service friendly. It's a sushi hit!


Suisen, 6054

Sushi: 4/5
Ambience: 4.5/5
Service: 4.5/5

Suisen Japanese Takeaway Restaurant on Urbanspoon