Monday 24 September 2012

Bollywood Spices Indian Cuisine, 6006

A humble little Indian eatery where whats going on in the dining room is trumped by whats happening in the kitchen. Bollywood Spices are not in business for a fun-time atmosphere or an impress-the-pants-off-your-date dining experience, no. Bollywood Spices stand for honest Indian food prepared with loads of flavour, a tonne of love and very little grease.



 The sizeable menu was hard to narrow down so we asked for a recommendation or two and ended up with Tandoori Paneer Tikka - squares of ricotta cheese nestled under shells of soft onion and green capsicum. Yummy. 

Tandoori Panner Tikka $8.50
Of the curries we went for Aloo goobi, $12.50 which is a potato and cauliflower curry and the Goan fish. Each were complex and delicious to the taste, without being oily - added points!

Fish Goan Curry $15.90
Aloo Gobi $12.50
A side of kachumber salad to lighten the load. The salad was pretty standard, but very reasonably priced.

Kachumber salad $3.00

I believe you can just about always judge the talent of an Indian chef by the quality of the breads and rices. Complemetary papadums were airy and dissolved on the tongue. The plain prata was deliately baked and so obviously fresh. The fluffly scented rice was puffed to a T. Bollywood Spices proved my theory once more.

Plain Naan $2.50
Zeera Pluao $3.50

Bollywood Spices is subsequent visit worthy for Indian take-away when the curry pangs pounce, or a no efforts dine in dinner. Bollywood Spices is not a joint for group dates, although the full house on a rainy Tuesday night suggests otherwise. I'll put it down to a reputation among North Perthites for the most honest Indian food around.

Food: 4/5 - good choice of non-greasy, wholesome Indian cooked by a pro!
Ambience: 3/5 - not winning any awards here but its clean and sweet
Value: 5/5
Service: 4/5 -  food arrived in good time, no complaints otherwise.

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Saturday 15 September 2012

Nobu, 6100

Three words: Black Cod Miso. Whatever you do, make sure you recite these words to your waiter. A Nobu dining experience is not absolute without this unimaginably perfect piece of fish. At $46 a pop, the signature cod is marinated for three days and the result is delicate, fall-apart, buttery, honeyed, ambrosial....so....friggen...good. 

The signature Black Cod Miso
The rest of the dishes were beautiful but not outstanding. I wasn't ooh-ing or ahh-ing after every dish like I was here. For fine fining establishments in Perth, there are a few others that I would sooner choose for a special occasion. 

Baby Artichoke Salad
Before the holy Black Cod Miso, we also tried the shaved Baby Artichoke Salad- made interesting with truffle ($25); and the Ocean Trout Sashimi with Jalapenos ($26). I loved the Latin American twist. 

Yellowtail Sashimi with Jalapeno
For our 'hot' plates we opted for the special - Watermelon Soft Shell Crab – a wicked blend of flavours and textures and a spectacle for the eyes! Who would have thought of serving watermelon warm? Nobu, apparently! 

Watermelon Soft Shell Crab
After reading about the wonders of the Tuna Sashimi, I had to try one piece. The tuna was succulent, but $7 is a bit over the top for a raw piece of fish. 

Tuna Sashimi x 1

Our cocktails - Mia Margarita (Tequila Reposada, Honey, Passionfruit Purée, Lemon Juice & Shichimi) and Champagne cocktail (Grand Marnier, Peach Liqueur, Pineapple Purée & a Champagne Float); both $18 and both absolutely delicious! The champagne kind was especially unique. Definitely go for one of the Summery cocktails over other libations on offer.

As every special occasion dinner should end, we finalized our meal with dessert. I had the Bento Box - chocolate fondant cake with green tea ice cream and my compardre had the Ichigo
 -Strawberry Pannacotta, Yuzu Granita & Lychee – both $15. The zest, fruity, yet creamy pannacotta martini was a win. My fondant was seamlessly fondant-y but the chocoholic in me wanted more richness. 

Ichigo
Bento Box

Nobu was a pleasant experience but I expected more “Wow” for my buck. If I find myself in short radius of Nobu again, Ill sit at the bar, sip one of their Caribbean cocktails, order a couple of sashimi tacos and indulge in the luxe surrounds. 

Food: 4/5
Ambience; 4/5
Service: 4/5
Value: 3/5

Nobu Perth on Urbanspoon