iku sushi

"Coz that's how they roll"

I've walked past Iku sushi everyday on the way to work but have never tried it as it just looked like an average Japanese sushi joint....UNTIL my workmate brought in a piece of their famous CHEESE BURGER SUSHI she bought the day before for me to try..it was delicious! despite being almost a day old and with the cheese dip!! that just made it so much more special.

I went to Iku sushi eager to try the Cheese burger sushi at its best...freshly prepared! I like the little creative touches to the place. They have such cute mottos like "that's how we roll" and "get ready to be NINJA'd" and the joint has cute tables settings and a little ramen corner.

Cute table decors

How cute is this! should've tucked it in my shirt to look like a tie

I ordered the 4 pack chicken cheese burger sushi $5.50 to share with my friends. The sushi came out in a cute little box with much to say. The warm cheese burger sushi was lightly battered on the outside with a cube of molten cheese surrounding by chicken meat. First bite was a CRUnch followed by a long string of cheeeseey goodness...it was delicious! and it went perfectly with the spicy mayonnaise.

Chicken cheese burger sushi with spicy mayonnaise

The box with much to say

Yep~ you heard the box..tidy up after yourself

I think everyone should try this specialty...but iku sushi isn't just all about the cheese burger sushi..they also allow you to make your own sushi which makes it unique out of all the other Japanese joints.

Tip 1: There is 30% off the refrigerated merchandise during iku's hungry hour ^^

Weekday: After 5:30pm

Weekend: After 4:00pm

Tip 2: 4 cheese burger sushis is probably enough for one person. It can get abit too oily.

Tip 3: Best way to get to iku sushi from train station...exit city train station to wellington street up the escalator turn left and iku sushi is at the corner next to nando's.

Opening hours:

MON - THURS: 7:30am to 7pm

FRI: 7:30am to 9pm

SAT: 11am to 5:30pm

SUN: 11am to 5:30pm

Koko Black

"Small doses...small doses"

I'm sure everyone has pretty much heard about the newly opened Koko black in Claremont Quarter. I love chocolate so after hearing about it, I did not waste time.

I've been to Koko black twice trying the chocolate platters and the high tea. My first time was late Friday night after dinner out with my friends..I was surprised it was open till 11pm and realise it's the perfect choice for those moments where you've had dinner with your friends and decide to have dessert elsewhere but end up clueless and loitering outside..sound familiar?

Lovely interiors

Arriving at Koko black it was obvious that word has already gone out as it was PACKED! The place has a lovely European feel to it. We were unable to get a seat inside so settled with the numerous table seatings scattered outside. The waitresses served us a cup of water *which was totally necessary*, serviettes and cutlery. I was surprised as to how classy the place is and the service. I thought it would just be another San churros.

We all ordered the Belgian hot chocolate each and shared an autumn spoil platter. The hot chocolate was perfect...deliciously creamy with warm good quality chocolate no powder chocolate nonsense and to top it off lovely chocolate art on our cups.

Belgian hot chocolate

The Autumn spoil consisted of a variety of goodies presented on a wooden block. From the left is a cinnamon cake, ginger bread cookie, chocolate treats, Belgian mousse (so smooth and rich) and the delicious fresh pear sorbet that was much needed to cut through all the chocolate richness. This shared between the four of us was actually enough.

Autumn spoil

After our chocolate indulgence..we were SOOOO full and chocolate out. I should've learnt from this experience...but nope...

.......

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...

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I was back in Koko black a few weeks later trying the queen of hearts high tea. The high tea is part of the menu so no reservations required and high tea is on everyday at all hours. I tried the high tea with 4 of my girlfriends and we came early to get a seating inside XD.

Empty Koko black haha

Love the lights

Each high tea tier caters for two people which includes a beverage of your choice. As we had 5 people we asked the lady if we could have a tier to cater the 5 of us. We were all charged 18.50pp and were only given two tiers with what doesn't look adjusted to cater for 5. That was a disappointing start as there was mostly one of each pastry so we had to share it between the 5 of us.

Luckily the high tea includes a choice of beverage so it did relieve us from the feeling of being ripped off. This time I had the Hazelnut Belgian hot chocolate. I never get sick of the lovely art on each cup and the Hazelnut had a very distinct nutty flavour which I enjoyed. A good change from the standard hot chocolate.

My other friends had the Belgian hot chocolate, chai tea and ice chocolate. The chai tea was a surprise..my friend had to pour it through a sieve..basically DIY hahaa...but each component looked perfectly brewed. My friend thought it tasted more of hot chocolate rather than chai tea though..but she didn't have a hot chocolate to compare it with.

Chai flavour hot chocolate

Ice chocolate

I thought the high tea was rather average..yes the pastries were housemade as my friend saw them making them but it wasn't anything unique..I guess you pay for what you get..$18.50pp is quite cheap for high tea though I was expecting abit more. The savoury toasted sandwiches were of two kinds, vegetarian sandwich with roasted capsicums and a non vegetarian one which I didn't get to try. The outside of the sandwiches were buttery crispy warm paired with the fillings were delicious..we all wanted more, the quiches were simple and delicious how can you go wrong with quiche right? though retailing at $3.50 per mini quiche was rather expensive.

Queen of hearts high tea

The chocolate pastries were silky smooth as expected from a place that specialises in chocolates, there was a creme brulee which was the favourite amongst us all..my friend could taste a little bit of liqueur and with the perfectly flambe top it was yum, I thought the lemon tart was abit too sour for my liking but that's just my opinion and the chocolate cake wasn't anything special, it was the chocolate ganache on top that shined, just melted in our mouths.

More Koko black goodness

...and more

After all so S-L-O-W-L-Y devouring our tiers we were soooo full and wondered why were we complaining about not having enough haha. It was surprisingly filling I guess the beverages did the trick and once again I was chocolate out. I don't want to discourage readers to order the high tea, in our case it wasn't worth sharing with the 5 of us, definitely better for two. Though I don't think I will be coming back for awhile...I guess Koko black lived up to its name providing rich, smooth, good quality chocolate...so good that I need time to recover from its awesomeness.

Tip 1: When high tea says for TWO...then...it is for TWO :P

Tip 2: Share share share...don't think about having a platter to yourself

Tip 3: Parking can be abit difficult especially if you're not sure where Koko black is situated..my tip is turn right into a small road beside (just after) hungry jacks when coming from Stirling hwy UWA and parking in the 2h parking lot at the left..walk straight down the road into Claremont Quarter entrance and you will be staring at koko black directly straight ahead. There is also underground parking.

Koko Black – Claremont Salon
The Lane, Claremont Quarter
Corner St Quentin Avenue and Bayview Terrace
Tel: +61 8 9284 2049
www.kokoblack.com

Opening Hours:
Monday – Thursday (8:00am – 10:00pm)
Friday (8:00am – 11:00pm)
Saturday (9:00am – 11:00pm)
Sunday (10:30am – 10:00pm)

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

Seoul BBQ Cafe

"Tasty, cheap, fast korean food"

I've eaten in Seoul BBQ cafe numerous times from back in the days when I was a poor student and STILL dining here today..when I'm..well...still poor but not AS poor haha! Not only is it wallet friendly but it's also delicious and quick which is why I keep coming back. Perfect pit stop when doing a massive shopping spree in the city and when that extra cash on food could go to another nice top XD

Seoul BBQ Cafe is located on top of forrest chase next to Crazy Clarks and the Australian Immigration centre. It's not fancy..more like a take away chain with seatings spread all around the little store. Prices of meals avg $9.50 and with each meal includes the standard side dishes of beansprouts, salad and miso soup.

I always order the Crispy Chicken..it's like korean KFC! sooo good! and generous serving of chicken with a dipping sauce which I love! makes the biggest difference. I've also tasted the marinated beef which is also good stuff!

The last time I visited Seoul BBQ cafe, I ordered..*surprise surprise* Crispy chicken hahah! but this time sharing two dishes with another friend for variation. We ordered spicy squid and that was delicious! tenderly cooked squids with a nice dollop of fresh chilli..It was soo tasty..BUT sooo hot!! we were eating the dish with red faces and sweats running down our faces hahah.ok maybe exaggerating abit there but it was HOT STUFF! good enough that all that pain is worth it.

Sharing dishes with me buddy

Crispy Chicken

Chilli Squid

The bf ordered the Bimbimbap which I have tasted the last times I've visited. Tasty marinated meat of your choice with rice, egg, kimchi, beansprouts and bimbimbap sauce. To eat it..you mix it all up like crazy THEN...you eat it like a pig ^^ Very filling and taste like the bimbimbap you'd get from higher ended korean restaurants.. I mean you can't really stuff up a bimbimbap...I guess it all comes down to the marination of the meat and this place has good marination.

Bimbimbap

I would recommend this place to those who are looking for a very casual quick tasty korean meal and I'd suggest sharing meals with friends as it can be quite repetitive eating the same dish with rice over and over again. It can get very busy and there's only limited seatings so you'd be lucky to get a seat on the weekends. The burgers seem rather appetising..I might try that one day...or...just order the CRISPY CHICKEN again haha.

Seoul BBQ Cafe

(08) 9221 1862

Shop 2/166 Murray Street

Perth

Pink Zulu [CLOSED]

"Africa with Style"

I love trying different cuisines and African cuisine came to mind..I consulted my food bible that is Urbanspoon and found Pink Zulu..

I dined in Pink Zulu with my friends Feb 2011 and my first impression of the place was the same impression I had with the website..WOW! beautiful classy interiors of pink and black it just looked like the perfect place to chill with a nice cocktail. We were greeted by a friendly waitress and was very eager to be seated she took  us further into the restaurant which was actually quite long..next minute she led us outside to a patio which i have to admit..I was abit disappointed that we didn't get to sit inside as they were all reserved..I guess first tip for this place is..make EARLY reservations so you can get the seatings inside. Anyways..it was not all a lost...the outside was decorated with African masks on the wall and other assorted African decors which gave guests a feeling of Africa..just not as classy compared to the inside.

The menu had an introduction to Pink Zulu which just sent chills of excitement down my spine..I could just break into an African hakuna matata dance!

Now let me guide you through my African experience ^^

ENTREE:

We ordered three entrees to share amongst us

1. Zambezi - Crispy prawn and crocodile croquettes pink prickly ash and caper dressing $22

2.Twice cooked Pork Belly baby beetroot and citrus segments $22

3. Squid (sorry don't quite remember the name)

Left: Zambezi, Right: Pork belly

Both the Zambezi and Pork belly was DELICIOUS! I've never tasted crocodile before and I'm not very daring with my food so I was abit reluctant to try crocodile but after seeing the dish it looks very appetising. Nothing to be afraid of..tender and tastes like prawn, though the fact that it had prawns might have played a major role in that.

The pork belly was the favourite amongst my friends..it was very juicy and tender and melted in our mouths..perfectly cooked, lovely presentation and full of flavour. The citrus segments really gave it a fresh kick to it.

Salt pepper squid with deep fried baby fish *please excuse my amatuer captioning*

As for the squid, you can never go wrong with salt and pepper squid..I guess that was why we ordered this dish..though I do regret it as I wished we chose a more "African-like" dish. I guess the African twist to this dish was having hummus at the side which did go well with the squid.

MAIN COURSE:

Grilled Boerewors Sausage mash potatoe, roasted plantain banana, red cabbage and monkey gland sauce $28

The Grilled Boerewors Sausage and mash potato was my order and my friend kept telling me that I've basically ordered bangers and mash =-= when i think about it..yes i did ordered bangers and mash..BUT with an african twist haha. I thought the presentation was very interesting and the sausage had spices that did give it a twist. Monkey gland sauce *wierd name* was sweet, overall I quite liked this dish.

My friends ordered the following dishes which i did try abit of but don't quite recall the flavours. I think out of the three I fancied the Beef Potjie *what a cute name POTJIE!* meaning POT ^^ It was very filling and my friend struggled to finish it. I can safely say everyone was content with their delcious mains.

Beef Bobotie Potjie, with apple, apricot & delicate egg topping, with buttery cous cous 31

Mauritian seafood curry, medley of seafood baked in a lightly spiced coconut and tomato ragu, chutney pomme damour (fresh tomato salsa), yellow rice pilaf with toasted pine nuts & currants 33

Don't quite remember the name of this dish SORRY >_<

TAPIRA (SWEETS):

I loveeee desserts! EVEN more when there's a twist of flavours..I ordered the Pink surprise and boy was it a surprise..it was delicious! I especially loved the African spiced ice cream. The fondant itself was abit dry and there was nothing oozing out of it like a fondant should do..i'm not sure if it was meant to be like that but the white chocolate poured over the fondant did make up for it.  Though it would have been better if it was oozing.

 

Pink Surprise
Rich chocolate fondant infused with molten raspberry white chocolate served with African sweet spice ice-cream 16

Drunken Elephant
Amarula fruit liqueur crème brulee, pink cigar & crystallized orange 16

My friend had the creme bruelee and said it was one of the best creme brulees he has eaten and that coming from my friend who is very familiar with his creme brulees is a BIG compliment. I tried it and I too thought it was delicious..not eggy at all and had a smooth texture to it just what a perfect creme brulee should be. The crystallize orange was the cherry on the top..it was crispy and sweet! It is the crystallize orange that really made this creme brulee stand out from the rest.

Zulu Rose
Almond & date filo coil, rose water syrup, toasted almond & vanilla bean ice cream 16

When the Zulu Rose came out..we were all WOWed by its presentation and I must say it really put a smile on my friend's face *big deal*..he was like a kid loving every moment of it and didn't want to share! >_<! he finished it all so I guess it was good stuff.

I had a wonderful experience dining in Pink Zulu and I would definetly come back but this time sitting in the inside and perhaps trying the cocktails/mocktails which I've read good reviews on. Definetly check out the website to see the lovely interiors and I'm sure you'll see yourself sitting in those comfy pink, black striped seats.

Pink Zulu

(08) 9384 7688

Cottesloe

6 Napoleon Street
Cottesloe, 6011
www.pinkzulu.com.au

Opening hours

Tuesday to Thursday - Dinner till late

Friday to Sunday - Lunch and Dinner till late

Closed: Monday