Gopi Curry Leaf

Being a Malaysian living in Australia, I am constantly craving roti canai, roti prata, roti tissue, roti bomb, roti boy! anything ROTI! my constant cravings fuel my urge to find the perfect place that makes a good roti prata that is up to our standards..So far I have not come across any until I started  hearing about Gopi curry leaf. After reading blogs and hearing comments from my friends...I felt like there was a glimmer of hope..a potentially life changing restaurant which just so happen to be 5min away from my house! aaahhh....I guess the saying says it all "sometimes the solution is just right under your nose".

So my girlfriends and I went on a saturday morning with high hopes. We managed to get a table in the very small joint and we started snapping away ready to reveal this secret to all malaysians out there. I was filled with excitement when I saw the Indian man making the roti! memories of malaysia just flooded back in.

We all ordered a roti prata and a drink (teh tarik and milo ice). There were choices of fillings for the roti. We mainly ordered the roti with onion and plain roti. There was quite a mix up with our orders, my friend who ordered the milo ice was given warm milo TWICE! and there were alot of confusion with what dish was what. Service aside..we didn't really mind..we just wanted our roti...once our orders finally arrived...we all dug in! pulling apart the roti and slathering it into the curry....we tasted and....

We were WRONG =-=

All our roti with difficulty distinguishing which was which

Puny piece of lamb

Teh tarik and milo ice

So what went wrong? firstly...the curry was terrible! It was watered down, and only had a little puny chunk of meat (lamb). I don't really like lamb and I realise I was not given a choice of what curry I wanted in the first place. We were all given it as default..Lamb curry...with almost no lamb..so basically curry water. My friend was lucky and she chose the chicken curry...BUT that was no different from the lamb curry...only a tiny piece of chicken and again very watered down..it didn't give our roti much flavour. As for the roti...the roti prata with onions was overly packed with onions, my friend was practically digging them out...we all agreed that the roti wasn't like the one you can get from malaysia for 1 ringgit! (~30c) actually 1 ringgit is a rip off..cheaper! something was missing, I just can't quite pin point it...maybe it just lacked the buttery taste, but It wasn't a total miss either. Our drinks was also a disappointed..in terms of meeting our standards..but it was good enough for me to drink without comparison...my friend was not very happy with her milo ice..it looked like something I can make at home.

I think my review could have been alot better if the curry was up to standards and I would go back regularly regardless. We all left disappointed and voted that makan makan was probably better. I wouldn't discourage anyone from trying this place out..I think malaysians should at least try it and judge it for themselves, the place is no doubt popular and judging from ppls faces...they didn't seem to be as disappointed as us...perhaps our expectations were just too high...OR...they've decided to settle for anything thats close enough to Malaysian roti =-=....OR we just went on a bad day.

One things for sure...I'm back to square one for now.

The Bonsai Restaurant & Cafe Lounge

I've always been eager to try The Bonsai Restaurant which offers a contemporary style of japanese fusion.

This has not been my first time at bonsai, I've tried the desserts on 3 occasions with mixed reviews. The first time I came was when it was newly opened and took a bite off my friend's strawberry cake..it was DELICIOUS! so I came again for a dessert catch up with my friend and again I enjoyed my dessert...not so much the hot chocolate though that's for Koko black and Epic cafe to sort out. The THIRD time I came back for a friend's reunion, all our desserts were disappointing...cake tasted stale and dry...and so from that experience I didn't want to try the desserts this time round.

It was the three of us dining and we were just looking for a light dinner so decided on 3 sharing platters and 1 main to try out.

First came the Smoked salmon wrapped sushi with cream cheese and bean dressed with aioli.. I enjoyed this dish..simple, fresh and lovely textures of the creamy cheese and fresh salmon.

Smoked salmon wrapped sushi

Then came the waygu beef sharing platter. Perfectly sliced thinly, full of flavour and still refreshing on the palate. I also enjoyed this dish.

Waygu beef

We also ordered the braised pork belly. The pork belly was tenderly braised and melted in our mouths. To me this tasted rather home made and for a japanese fusion restaurant...home made wasn't really what I'm looking for. In saying that, it wasn't one of my favourites.

Braised pork belly

Our final dish was a main. Tsukune Chicken Steak, a specialty Japanese chicken-mince steak in teriyaki sauce, served with a side of homemade guacamole and cherry tomatoes. I think when people read chicken mince steak..they are instantly turned off as it is basically a meat patty, but I enjoyed this dish, it's very simple, nothing fancy..anyways I guess you can't really go wrong with teriyaki sauce and mince meat. The down side is that our rice was rather hard so it ruined the experience of this dish.

Tsukune chicken steak and rice

Our bill came to be $21 each, which was a little bit on the pricey side for 2 little sushis, two slices of beef, one pork and 1/3 of chicken mince. It is after all japanese contemporary so I wasn't surprised, Overall, I enjoyed my meal and I wouldn't mind coming back. Maybe I will give the desserts another chance, but from my past experiences, looks was decieving as the desserts were presented so beautifully at the counter, but in reality, the taste was rather average.

Nine Fine Food

"Fine food, Fine atmosphere, Fine prices = FINE dining"

I have so many places queued up to be blogged but NINE FINE FOOD just skipped the queue, I just couldn't hold it in, I had to tell all of Perth NOW!

Nine fine food is a hidden dime tucked away in the outskirts of northbridge. It was brought to my attention through my friends raving about it on their facebook statuses and albums and also by asking around, I realise the word has gone out and everyone I've asked absolutely LOVES IT! I've never really been a big fan of Japanese cuisine but I do love my japanese fusion and since my bf's birthday was around the corner I took it as a perfect opportunity to take him out to Nine fine food so I can finally try this place out...I mean...to pamper him for his birthday of course *hert hert*.

Being the awesome gf that I am, I decided to surprise him by inviting all his close friends, I made a reservation for 10 people and was told numbers more than 8 can only choose from the set menu. That was fine as I heard the set menu is a good deal.

THE DAY finally arrived, I was so excited to try the place out...oh..and to surprise my bf *hert hert* anyways, yes he was very surprised, birthday aside. FOOD was O M GOdelicious!! not to mention the prices too! The set menu is a choice of the 3 course TOKUTOKU  ($52) or a 4 course OSUSUME ($62), which was exactly what I wanted. Pretty much half of us chose the 4 course and half chose 3 course, me being one of them. With each course they offered a couple of choices, different dishes to cater for everyone with different tastes.

Warm feeling ambiance..perfect for dates

Cute little lamps

Touch of japan

The lovely waiter asked if we wanted the second course served at the same time as the first for those who chose the 4 course meal in order to keep both courses in sync and we agreed to do so. My choice for the first course was the lamb and scallop and I have to say this is one of the best lamb I've tasted. It was so tender and it didn't have that wierd smell I find with lamb. It was so mouthwatering tender and had a sweet savoury taste to it. The only thing I'd change for this dish is for it to be BIGGER, ALOT BIGGER, like..never ending supply big...okok getting carried away here haha..

Lamb and Scallop

My bf had the sashimi and beef tataki for his first and second course and it was all good reviews from there, it was fresh and beautifully presented. I tried the beef tataki and it was surprisingly tender and had a refreshing taste to it, the beef just melted in my mouth despite it being rather raw and so I was expecting a chewy kind of texture. My other friends had the goose mousse and the crispy spicy seafood and they too really enjoyed their meals.

Sashimi

Beef Tataki

Goose Mousse

Crispy Spicy Seafood

My second course was the duck violet. I know after blogging about Red cabbage I swore to never order duck again as I've always been disappointed expecting a peking duck or something, but nope..I broke that promise and I ordered DUCK again. This time I really enjoyed it! the combination of sweet sauce and savoury flavours worked together and I'm such a fan of those kind of dishes. The duck meat just fell off the bone and it was a joy to eat. The only thing I would change for the dish is maybe a more crispier skin to the duck, but then again it's probably just me unconsciously wanting it to taste like peking duck or roast duck =-=.

Duck Violet

My eel loving friend had the Unagi eel which I disliked! I just don't like the fishy taste that comes with eel but my eel loving friend really loved it! she claimed it was a waste to give me a little piece as I didn't appreciate eel like she did haha. So to all those eel loving peeps, I'd say order this. The bf had the tenderloin steak and I tried abit of it, it was good steak, not chewy and very tender, lots of flavour though I'm not a fan of shitake mushrooms hence I didn't order it.

Unagi Eel

Tenderloin Steak

Finally for dessert majority chose the the green tea creme brulee (mattcha brulee) and tiramisu. I had the creme brulee and thought it was very simple and delicious, it had a very subtle creamy green tea flavour. I really liked the tiramisu though, one of the classiest looking tiramisu I've seen. One of my friends decided to deviate from everyone and chose the black sesame gelato (kuro goma gelato). Everyone took a spoon out of it and they enjoyed it, to me the name says it all, tasted like black sesame ice cream.

Mattcha Brulee

Tira Misu

Kuro Goma Gelato

Overall, I absolutely loved this place! I'm definetly coming back and perhaps trying the degustation out ($99) I heard it is very different from the set menu which is good, I'd like to see what other talents the chefs have up their sleeves. I would rate nine fine food to be one of the best finds this year, I highly recommend.

Tip 1: There is discounts if you have the entertainment card

Tip 2: It is definetly more worth having the set course rather than ordering from the A la carte menu. (see menu below)

MENU

 

Alpine Restaurant [CLOSED]

I can finally cross off trying German cuisine on my list after visiting ALPINE in Carlisle with my two buddies! I walked out the restaurant with a fat belly and a lasting impression that Germans like to eat & drink BIG"!.

On arrival we were greeted by a friendly lady, I believe she was the wife of the owner (chef). My first thought of the interiors was wow..cluttered there was so many decors and so may excellence awards displayed on the walls as well as a picture of the lady herself posing with John Howard. There was german music playing in the background and we happen to be seated right under a Cuckoo clock which sounded every hour..*I think* I have to admit it gave me a fright the first time.

Not long after being seated I realise she was the only waitress serving..I knew it was going to be a long night as I've read reviews about the slow service, but that was forgiven as she was such a sweet lady and my outing was to catch up with my two buddies I haven't seen for awhile.

My two friends started off with good ol german beer, I LOVED the BIG mugs that came with the beer which was BIGger than the average size too.

The menu was filled with a huge selection of meals...all sounding so good! but after reading reviews of the big portions served, we decided to share one entree. We ordered the "Frikadelen" Pork veal and beef rissole served on toast with iceburg lettuce and fried onions $15.50. Presentation wise..it wasn't very good looking but it tasted delicious..reminded us of an open burger. The patty was flavoursome, well seasoned and the roasted capsicums were really good! they were perfectly roasted and soft. The dish was rather oily though, but it was GOOD oily, the kind of oily that made it taste good, not to the sickening point. I have to say, good thing we shared our entree coz this entree size was like a main.

Frikadelen

My friend also ordered a soup "Goulash" which he quite enjoyed, it looked rather thick though but very hardy.

Goulash

For mains, I ordered the "Schweinebraten", rolled roast pork belly in malt beer sauce $19.50. My first impression of it was WOW this is big followed by..where is my PORK? as it was drowned with the malt beer gravy, I did not get a hint of beer taste in my gravy, but apparently you're not meant to taste beer? so it just tasted like ordinary gravy, abit gluggy for my liking though. The pork on the other hand was very tender, perfectly cooked, though it seemed like it was more braised than grilled which I was expecting. The dish came with sauerkraut and roasted potatoes which just looked so golden and YUM! there was ALOT of potato though, I didn't manage to finish all of them.

Schweinebraten

My friend had the "Kassler" $19.50 a smoked loin of pork grilled served with sauerkraut and potatoes. This dish seem to be popular as I saw a newspaper article about it displayed on the walls. The dish looked just like mines..minus the gravy.  It looked delicious! and he enjoyed it, though after trying the pork it seemed abit dry but my friend thought it was fine.

Kassler

My other friend had the cheese schnitzel $35 and boy was it HUGE! chicken covered with cheese accompanied with skewers of tomato and more CHEESE. He managed to finish it all though he did repeatedly comment on how much cheese was on his dish...numerous times.

Cheese Schnitzel

Both my friends had no space for dessert BUT I DID!! So we shared two desserts. "Appelstrudel" $9.50 and "Rote Grutze" $9.50, a light dessert made from fresh raspberries and red currant served with cream or ice cream. One of the few Schleswig – Holstein Specialties.

Rote Grutze

Appelstrudel

The Rote Grutze was rather rich, despite it being described as "light" In simple words, it basically tasted like jam with ice cream. Abit too sour to finish the whole thing. We didn't finish it in the end even by sharing amongst the three of us.

The appelstrudel was delicious, it was warm and crispy on the outside. A perfect warm dessert to end the night. It wasn't like the famous Corica apple strudel but I reckon the fact that it was warm, made it alot better.

Overall, my dining experience lasted 2 hours! due to the slow service and well..we had alot to say to each other, price tag was $31 and I was very full and satisfied. I can now happily tick of "German" food off my list of cuisines to try ^^. I wouldn't mind coming back to try out the other specialties they offer.

Toast

"a toast to TOAST"

Toast was the destination for a girls day out brunch to celebrate my dear friend's birthday...conclusion...I love this place!

Toast is situated in East Perth Claisebrook, a perfect setting for a relaxing day out with a sense of classiness. Though it is situated in the upper class East perth, it certainly does not look the part, just an ordinary cafe with wonderful views and friendly service. If you want a more classy environment, go next door to the royal pub, it makes Toast look like the student cafe.

Lovely view from the inside

Interesting table settings

To start off my brunch from the very extensive menu, I ordered the Sweet Pea drink consisting of water melon, orange and basil. I LOVED IT! I knew I couldn't go wrong with water melon and orange but the hint of basil really made it unique. It was very refreshing.

Sweat Pea

My friend had the banana smoothie and that too was delicious, rich banana taste that was "genuine" haha...not those artificial banana flavours.

Natural banana smoothie

I shared two dishes with my friend. The first dish was the potato, mint and feta pancakes with poached eggs and smoked salmon, sour cream and chives. I think it worked by eating the dish with all the components. The smoked salmon was rather strong in flavour but this was balanced with the perfectly poached eggs and fresh avocado with the different textures of the shredded potato which was still quite firm, wasn't mushy as I expected.

Potato, mint and feta pancake

The second dish we ordered was the corn fritters with avocado, poached eggs and hollandaise sauce. I think I enjoyed this dish more, it was more simple in terms of flavours. My friend who is on a quest to find the best hollandaise sauce in perth thought it tasted abit sour, but just very faintly.  To me, hollandaise sauce is just creamy yolky sauce that just makes everything looks delicious ahha.. I had no problem with it. The corn fritter wasn't everyone's thing and I've heard mixed reviews from my friends..it really comes down to personal preference, but I did enjoy it.

Corn fritters

The birthday girl ordered the open rye sandwich with smoked salmon, tomato salsa, avocado, capers and a poached egg. Her dish was huge and had a very refreshing taste with the mint and tomatoes. I would enjoy this dish, but as it was rather large, I'd probably get sick of it half way..I'm glad I shared two dishes with my friend.

Open rye sandwich

My other friend had the big breakfast and she said it was standard, nothing special about it. Though it was overall better than the secret garden big breakfast. The eggs was actually cooked properly. She couldn't finish it.

Big Breakfast

Last but not least my other friend had the eggs benedict. She too enjoyed her meal. She had "Beach Bear" as her drink which I thought tasted really good! So refreshing! It was probably better than mine.

Eggs Benedict

Beach Bear (Highly recommended)

Overall, I enjoyed my brunch in Toast, meals were prepared with fresh produce accompanied with excellent service. I'd definetly recommend this place...DO NOT go without ordering a drink from the fresh juice combos.