Red Cabbage

"All Hail the Quail!"

As a venue for a catch up with one of my girlfriends we went to Red Cabbage, a classy restaurant in South Perth which I have passed numerous times and have always wanted to try the place. From the outside it looks very inviting and I've also heard good reviews about it. So I decided to try this place out for myself and no longer be the girl who just drives past the restaurant wondering what it's like and actually put a positive or negative thought to it..in this case it's a POSITIVE experience ^^.

After having a look at the website I realise Red Cabbage has won many awards with many positive reviews from professional critiques and judging from the well presented website it really gave me high hopes to be WOWed by this restaurant.

It was a cold freeezzing night when my friend and I arrived to Red Cabbage. Arriving there was stress free as I was told by one of the friendly staff when I was making a reservation about the available underground parking and to ignore the reserved signs on the parking bays, there were MANY parking bays! So there you go~ first tip of the post ^^Y

It took awhile for us to have a waiter take our order but after the slow start we were served olives and a warm bun with olive oil and balsamic vinegar .I have to say the bun was one of the best breads I've had, it was so soft and warm. My friend and I are not big fans of olives, but these were good olives ahha...we also received a complimentary Amuse bouche of Lobster bisque soup. My friend could not take crustaceans but not to worry~~ they replaced it with a pea soup and BOTH soups were delicious. It reminded me of Silverspoon and the complimentary soup. I realise it's probably a classy restaurant thing to provide complimentary soups. I'm game for that :P

Lobster bisque soup

Pea soup for the crustacean intolerant friend XD

ENTREE:

We shared the Hickory smoked quail, thyme scented goats cheese, beetroot and watercress salad $19. There was an option to make this dish a main course and I really wished I did! This was SOOoo good!! The quail was well seasoned and tender combined with the creamy goats cheese it was absolutely mouth watering. Just writing about it is making me salivate. It just went perfectly with the watercress salad and beetroot. *le sigh* how I miss it so much.

Hickory smoked quail, thyme scented goats cheese, beetroot and watercress salad $19

Cute little Quail drumstick

To my surprise, we were served a complimentary Palate Cleanser after the entree and WOW this was one good palate cleanser I wish people could just cleanse the mouth with this every morning. I really do get why it's called a palate cleanser because well..my mouth did feel fresher and prepared for the main course. The fruit-like sorbet was so refreshing with the light mousse-like cream (not heavy at all).

Palate Cleanser

So far so good! I have to say the service was abit slow but that was ok as we were too busy catching up and staring at the couple beside us having the degustation course. Their first course was scallop and it came encased in a glass fishbowl-like lid and it was just like what you'd see in Masterchef, both the waiters lifted the lid up and the couples were greeted with a puff of steam before having a glimpse of their scrumptious scallops. You can just tell that every dish is professionally prepared with love.

MAIN COUSE:

Unfortunately I have to say, after the entree, the main just wasn't quite there. I always find that in many places that I've dined..the Entree always seems to be better than the main :S

My friend ordered the Margaret river venison, beetroot puree, chocolate soil, Persian fetta and beetroot ravioli. The beef was beautifully tender but the ravioli was abit tough..she definitely enjoyed the quail more haha.

Margaret river venison, beetroot puree, chocolate soil, Persian fetta and beetroot ravioli

I ordered the Crispy duckling breast, confit duck leg and quince pudding with pineapple and Rottness scallop. When my dish arrived the lady behind me said "the DUCK is to DIE for!" and I was like HEY! I ordered it ^^ honestly~ I thought the duck breast was abit too raw for my liking. I didn't even know duck could be cooked quite rare. The duck breast wasn't very crispy but was well seasoned. Despite the fall outs, all the components of the dish went well together but if only if the duck was well done :( I left a piece of duck breast in the end, my jaw was too sore from all the chewing. I did not want to send the dish back because I just felt bad for the chef who obviously put so much effort in each dish.

Crispy duckling breast, confit duck leg and quince pudding with pineapple and Rottness scallop

We also ordered Chips as our side dish =-= yeh i know, why would you order chips in a classy restaurant..but hey..it sounded really appetising on the menu. House cut chips, rosemary salt with Red cabbage's organic chilli ketchup! now how could you say no to that haha. In the end, we regretted ordering it. One, it was already alot to take in with the mains and two, it's just chips haha. But the rosemary salt went well with the crispy chips and the chilli ketchup was fresh..though not very spicy.

House cut chips, rosemary salt with Red cabbage's organic chilli ketchup

DESSERT:

O M G! Dessert was beautiful! think I took at least 10 shots of every angle for each dessert. I had the 3 English sweets consisting of Sticky date pudding, treacle tart, honey parfait, Jam roly poly, hazelnut custard. As for my friend..she ordered carrot cake...haha yeh I know..carrot cake...BUT on the menu it stated 'Signature dish' which we found it hard to believe, I mean anyone can make a carrot cake.

My 3 english sweets was a dessert adventure tasting a little bit of everything..the sticky date pudding was delicious~ the treacle tart, honey parfait was delicious and the jam roly poly, hazelnut custard was delicious. What more can I say. They may sound simple, but each dessert had a unique flare to them, both presentation and flavour wise.

English Sweets

The carrot cake definitely exceeded our expectations..it's the most classiest carrot cake and most orangest one I've seen haha.. This is perfect for those who don't really have a sweet tooth. It was fresh and delicious.

Carrot cake - signature dish

All in all..I'd come back to Red Cabbage to try all the other mains. We had trouble picking out what to get as everything sounded delicious and very unique. Im steering clear of duck for now on though. A friend agreed that Entrees seem to always be better than the main and suggested I order two entrees to make a main...Hmmm... I might actually do that one day. TWO QUAILS PLEASE! :P

Red Cabbage

(08) 9367 5744

15 Labouchere Rd

South Perth 6151
www.redcabbagefoodandwine.com.au