John Street Cafe

"Hashbrowns!"

John st cafe is the perfect pit stop for breakfast after walking the dog along the beach OR for brunch and getting updates of all the shameful things you did last night then burying your head in the sands of Cottesloe beach. But yes..you get my point, this place is a great place for breakfast/brunch and to just embrace the Australian way of life.

This little cafe is nestled between homes on John st in Cottesloe, it is too far into John st to see any beach but location wise it has probably added value to the homes nearby. This popular blue building has the theme of the beach on the walls and tables and everyone seems to know about it. I guess this could bring the property value down due to the constant people traffic. Anyways.. enough of the real estate nonsense lets talk food!

The girlfriends and I went on a busy Sunday morning, we all woke up early to beat the crowd, well only one of us did and the rest eventually got there. The menu consists of the standard breakfast items, nothing unique, prices are the usual price you'd find in Perth brunches ie. not very cheap. We all knew about the home made hashbrowns so we had to have one. I ordered the big breakfast which included the hash brown and a chai latte, the others had eggs benedict with an added hashbrown, scrambled eggs on toast and mushroom with an added hashbrown and finally a smoked salmon benedict with..and I will say it one more time....an added hashbrown XD.

My big breakfast was BIG! Everything on the plate was perfectly done, it's hard to go wrong with the big breakfast, scrambled eggs well scrambled, sausages well sausaged, tomatoes well toasted, but the winner would be the hash browns crunchy on the outside and soft mustard and herb seasoned potato in the centre. Anything homemade is win for me!

Big Breakfast

If there's Chai latte on the menu, I always get it and this case was no different. My chai latte was perfectly made, I just kept raving about, it just had so much body to it with the thick creamy milk even after thoroughly mixing it.

Chai latte

V had the eggs benedict and she loved the hollandaise sauce, this is coming from someone who has tasted alot of hollandaise sauces in her lifetime. E had the mushrooms and scrambled eggs on toast she loved the mushrooms, she also ordered a fruit smoothie which was packed full of fruit.

Smoked salmon eggs benedict + hashbrown

Eggs benedict + hashbrown

Scrambled eggs on toast and mushroom + hashbrown

Overall, I enjoyed my breakfast, best hashbrowns so far. Each component of our dishes were cooked well, it's a good place for the standard breakfast menu and will keep the bellies full till well over lunch time therefore, more time to work on that tan.

Little Caesers

"Best pizzas"

http://www.littlecaesarspizzeria.com.au/

I remember back in the good ol days when people would organise mini road trips to Mundaring just to try out the award winning pizzas in Little Caesars. I was one of them, gathering a large group of friends and just ordering everything off the menu to make the most of our journey. Till this day Little Caesars have saved everyone the road trip and expanded to Perth city, it has now opened a couple of branches one in Leederville and the other in Hillarys boat harbour.

In addition to the Mundaring branch, I've also dined in both Leederville and Hillarys and still have never gotten sick of their pizzas. What makes their pizzas different from the usual Eagle boys, Pizza hut and Dominos is the gourmet pizzas they offer and simply the unique and creative pizzas on the menu such as pisagne (a lasagne on a pizza). They also have delicious dessert pizzas which isn't limited to just pizza with chocolate and ice cream, it consists of pizzas like baked upside lemon cheese cake, pecan pie, green tea pizza and french cinnamon tea cake.

Little Caesars is generous with their toppings on their pizzas and are baked on thin bases allowing our stomachs to sample more pizzas from their extensive menu. Don't hold back on the ordering as pizzas are presented in tiers so table space for pizzas won't be a problem, otherwise just sacrifice a guest ^^.

My favourite savoury pizzas would be:

Greek Lamb:  Corrigin Free Range lamb, mozzarella, semi-caramelized onion, fetta, Kalamata olives, rosemary, tzatziki $16.50

 Pork Star: Free Range Linley \/alley pork mince, caramelized onions sweet potato, crushed fennel seeds $22

Smashing Pumpkins roasted pumpkin, cashews, mozzarella, parmesan, cream sauce  $21

Pisagne in the middle tier

Bottom tier: Greek Lamb

As for desserts, it would be the award winning pecan pie and upside down cheese cake:

Baked Upside Down Lemon Cheese Cake:  creamy cheesecake mix, crushed biscuits, icing sugar, strawberry sauce $16.50

NewYork Pecan Pie: butterscotch pudding, pecans, icing sugar, golden syrup, pecan to ee  $16.50

I've tried the green tea pizza but wasn't really a big fan of it. it was rather dry and pretty much a green tea cake. Ironically it is the best dessert pizza photo I have.

Green tea dessert - Hillarys

Top tier: Mudhoney pizza, second tier: Apple strudel, bottom tier: upside down lemon cheesecake - Mundaring 2008

If I'm craving gourmet pizzas, little Caesars will be the first place on my mind. Get there early as they don't make reservations and due to it's popularity it's usually packed and there are limited seating. The newest branch in Hillarys can accomodate more than the one in Leederville and has beautiful views of the boat harbour, it is also the only one out of the three branches that opens for lunch service, unfortunately it is quite a drive for those that don't live up north, but surely having pizza for lunch would be enough of an incentive to drive up.

Ciao Italia

"Creamy creamy fettuccine!"

I cannot remember how many times I've dined here and how many times I've waited outside for a table amongst the large crowd and just salivating from the thought of my favourite fettuccine dish. Ciao Italia is my favourite Italian place in Perth and is well known for its delicious authentic Italian cuisine. The dining experience may not be the most comfortable setting on a busy night, but despite being cramped together in a small table and eating in such a loud atmosphere, people still flock in because their food is worth it and hey..coming together is very Italian if I'm not wrong.

Ciao Italia seems to be a favourite to many and its success is evident from the expansion of the restaurant to double its size in order to accommodate the numerous hungry diners, despite their efforts, there seems to be a correlation between square metres and number of customers, as the number of customers also increased with size, they just can't win in this situation and many customers are still left waiting for quite some time. This is the down side of dining here, they don't do reservations so it is a gamble to get a seating but it ain't a gamble for the food.

To maximise business, the restaurant is crammed with small tables covered with red and white checkered table cloths screaming ITALY. The staff are also Italian and seem to thrive in such atmosphere, they always have a prompt and upbeat attitude and are also happy to take photos for you sometimes even offering, I guess they know the Asian ritual of taking photos of food and each other with food. Not only that, if they know it's your birthday, there will be a moment when the music changes from Italian music to a birthday song and the staff will sing in a cheerful manner. Birthday celebrations seem to be popular here as I've always seen at least one in the times I've dined here.

I have tasted many dishes from their extensive menu and have enjoyed all their dishes but there is always a favourite and that would be the FAMOUS CIAO ITALIA FETTUCCINE. You can't come here and not order the fettuccine. It is what makes this place my favourite. The fettuccine is unbelievably creamy and it's just SO TASTY, I reckon the preparation for this dish involves slathering cream sauce over the fettuccine followed by a cream reduction, more sauce, then cream reduction and repeat, you get my point, it is deliciously CREAMY. Other usual dishes include the wood fired pizzas and spaghetti Marinara which has a generous serving of seafood and is also a popular dish amongst my friends and I. I'd definitely recommend sharing everything, save yourself the creamy overload from the fettuccine and sharing is caring after all. I heard the desserts are also a hit especially the tirumisu, unfortunately I've always been too full to fit in dessert :O my second stomach has always failed me in Ciao Italia.

Cramming everything in our small table

Ciao Italia fettucine..MY FAVOURITE!

If anyone asks for a good Italian place, it will definitely be Ciao Italia. I'd recommend coming early to beat the crowd. They also don't open for lunch, another delay for all the Italian cravings and hence the accumulation of customers suffering from Ciao Italia fettuccine withdrawal symptoms.

 

Ellie's Tent

"Shake those full bellies"

http://www.eliestent.com.au/

Looking for somewhere different to dine? A different experience? Cuisine? Ellie's tent is fun interactive dining, Lebanese style.

Ellie's tent is perfect for large group bookings and seatings are unique, you can choose to have table and chairs OR sit in harem squares! in this case pfft..who needs chairs :P I booked the harem square for 16 people and we were given a whole section just for us. 

First impressions coming in, it didn't look as extravagant as the photo on the website, I just saw wooden tables and chairs and fabrics draped across the ceiling, but after walking further towards the end, voila! there were the harem squares.

Ellie's tent interior

The harem square comes as a floor seating or high floor seating (basically like a square booth). I would've preferred the high floor seating but it wasn't able to fit 16 people. Having said that I still enjoyed sitting on the floor. Our seating was elevated by a step and covered with carpet, the area was decorated with middle eastern decor such as instruments, candle stands and rugs displayed on the wall it really added to the experience.

Dining lebanese style in harem squares

Bf and I shared the Lebanese banquet $35pp, it was definitely more than enough and I wouldn't have chosen anything else. I wanted the ultimate Lebanese experience. The banquet consists of Hoummos, Moutabbal, Tabbouleh, Falafel, Sambousik, Fetta Cheese, Shish Tawook, Shish Kebab, Seasoned Rice, Shawarma Lamb, Shawarma Chicken. 

First of all the falafel arrived and the lovely waitress told us about how her mum's (chef) falafels are slightly different to the ordinary hence it was a little more greener (don't quite remember why, parsley?), her marketing skills for the falafel worked and my other friends ended up ordering a couple for themselves, I think they gave it to them for free too :) I liked the falafel, crunchy on the outside and soft in the centre, it was like a potato ball but with chickpeas..obviously healthier haha. The sambousik was like a full on meat curry puff minus the curry, I enjoyed it but honestly I still prefered the usual curry puffs.

Falafel

Sambousik

The hoummos and moutabbal looked delicious with the paprika and olive oil drizzled on top, both dips went well with the pita bread, I particularly liked the sweet smoky egg plant flavour of the moutabbal. The Shish kebab was tender, I probably would've liked it more marinated but that's just me..always wanting everything marinated haha..The taboulleh and feta cheese was fresh and complimented well with all the deep fried and grilled dishes, it was fun eating the banquet, you could put all the meat and dips into the pita and have it like a kebab or just have a little bit of everything.

Hoummus, Moutabbal, feta cheese and falafel

How good does this hoummos look

Shish Tawook, Shish Kebab and tabbouleh

The bf and I was very full at this point, BUT THERE WAS MORE :O the seasoned rice dish with shawarma chicken and lamb and in the end we couldn't finish it. I didn't quite enjoy this, it was probably because I was too full and was forcing it in, but I think it needed more flavour. Overall I enjoyed the banquet but I found most dishes had the same level of subtle flavour, I think maybe having a stronger flavour with the meat and rice would allow the refreshing nature of the tabbouleh, feta cheese and dips to shine and compliment the main dishes.

Seasoned rice and shawarma chicken and lamb

Most of my friends ordered from the ala carte menu which majority is basically one of the items from the banquet and a side. Here are some snaps.

Soon after finishing our meals, the music suddenly became louder, that was when I knew my long awaited moment has arrived. BELLY DANCER! They didn't call her a belly dancer for nothing, she really knew how to shake it. A couple of us were good sports and joined the dancer when she 'lured' them in, do not assume that just because you're sitting in the back corner, you won't be targeted by the dancer, even if it's inconvenient for you to get out of your table she can still pick you regardless. There were actually two sessions of belly dancing so don't be quick to leave after the first dance.

Belly dancer!

No one  is safe haha!

Ellie's tent is a great addition to Perth's multicultural scene and I enjoyed experiencing the Lebanese cuisine and customs. Definitely dine in the weekends for the belly dancing.

The Roastery

"Taking coffee to a new level"

http://essenceofcoffee.com.au/pages/the-roastery

Like your coffee? Live down south? I know the perfect place. The Roastery. This cafe located in Southern river is well known for their coffee and though I am not much of a coffee drinker myself, I have friends who know their coffee well and are regulars here. 

I have been here twice, both times for lunch and true to its name The roastery has huge coffee roasters which I believe they actually use and bags of different coffee blends on display for customers to buy or taste. You just know you're in good hands in the coffee department here.

During my first visit, I had the signature steak sandwich which was HUGE! it was pretty standard steak sandwich and I struggled to finish it due to it's size..I am a sucker for the word "Signature". I did not order a coffee this first time, but after having a look around and reading the variety of coffee blends they offer with a description of its taste, I was intrigued and knew this isn't going to be another ordinary coffee. What intrigued me was the taste descriptions of each coffee blend from sweet chocolate flavours, blueberry jam, citrus, pine, spices, oat, honey..it's never ending. It's like wine tasting but with coffee, I knew I probably wouldn't be able to taste any of them wih my unsophisticated palate, but I had a chat with my friends who claim that those flavours are evident. The different coffee blends are displayed on the wall and I believe everyday they would change the coffee blend they're using and display it on the blackboard and with that selected blend customers can have it as a latte, long black, cappuccino, mocha..anything their heart desires.

The second time I came I ordered a spicy tomato soup with basil oil  and parmesan toast and I made sure I tried their coffee blend, at that time, they had the "Ethiopia Harrar" on the board with the following description:

Ethiopia HARRAR

Process Method: Dry Processed

Heavy bodied, spicy and fragrant, the Harrar region coffees of Ethiopia are known for their bold aromas and flavours exhibiting wild berries, dark chocolate and jam-like notes in the cup.

This particular Harrar coffee displays blueberry with a jammy sensation and a hint of cinnamon fragrance. It is bold in colour, mouthfeel and aroma. Something of the exciting exists in each cup.

NOW HOW COULD YOU NOT WANT TO TRY THIS RIGHT? [order locked in]

The tomato soup was delicious with a hint of spiciness and a generous drizzle of delicious basil oil, all these components of the dish separates it from all the ordinary tomato soups out there. It was very thick and hearty and the parmesan toast was divine! crispy yet soggy from the parmesan overload and buttery goodness, I wish I had more.

Spicy tomato soup with a drizzle of basil oil and parmesan toast

Now for the long awaited moment, My mocha arrived and it looked GORGEOUS! coffee in a cute looking mug. I took my first sip, placed the cup down, froth moustache and all, everyone waited for the verdict.....and....I THINK I can taste the blueberry =-=''...I don't know if it's just in my head and that I really wanted to taste it but it was definitely different from all the other coffees I've had, it had a slight fruity flavour to it. So yes, I guess I did taste the blueberry?? failed palate aside, I still enjoyed it.

Mocha Ethiopia Harrar blend

I would recommend this place for coffee lovers out there. If you're not much of a coffee drinker like myself just try it out and test your palate, you will be wowed by the coffee art anyways. The menu is rather standard but they usually have different dishes each day, I was lucky to have gone when the tomato soup was up. I also heard the breakfast is pretty good too, I will try to wake up for it next time as I will definitely be coming back.

Tuck Shop

"Stop reading and just GO!"

I was going to write a post about Tuck Shop but realised the numerous blogs that have flooded in on Urbanspoon ><" I've decided to save you the same read over and over again and keep it short and simple. THIS IS THE PLACE TO BE, delicious dishes, lovely atmosphere, excellent customer service and very reasonable prices.

I had the roast pork belly on a bed of potatoes and apple sauce at $21. The people around me started raving about how good the dish is. I believe when strangers start talking to you about the food, you know you've come to the right place to dine. The verdict..Delicious! and it's the type of dish you'd pay $30 for in an upper class restaurant. 

Yummy pork belly!

My tip would be..come here early because this place is always packed therefore I wasn't able to come back the second, third, fourth time, but yes..you get my point I will say no more. Now off you go..go everyday, because the menu is ever changing in your favour XD.

MillPoint Caffé Bookshop

"I'm BOOKed for life"

millpointbookcaffe.com.au

Never would I see myself stepping into a bookshop in this very technologically orientated society, but it all changed when C and I met up for a catch up at Millpoint Cafe bookshop. It was a rainy, cold afternoon and like them movies I was running in the rain with my umbrella hoping it wouldn't flip on me and opening the door to a warm bookshop, stepping into creaky wooden floor boards, the smell of books and coffee just instantly warmed my heart, it was the perfect place to catch up on a rainy day.

Millpoint bookshop cafe is literally a bookshop and a cafe in one, located opposite my favourite Italian place Ciao Italia. There were books displayed on shelves and tables scattered in between, it sets up the perfect environment to read a book and sip on coffee. There's only 3 large tables in the bookshop area but have no fear, there's more at the back of the store with the option to sit outside under the sun. In this case everyone sat under the shelter.

Warm bookshop interior

Best spot at the back..otherwise it's metal tables and metal chairs

C and I sat at the back, it was packed and we were lucky to have gotten a table, I believe you can call up to make reservations as there was a table reserved, if you can't get the tables in the bookshop definitely request for the couch outside.

I ordered the scrambled eggs with goat's cheese and chives served on toasted ciabatta bread. C had the vegie deluxe sandwich consisting of eggplant, sweet potato, tomato, roasted peppers, greens and fruit chutney. For drinks I had the tropical dream - orange, pineapple, lychee and lemon.

My scrambled eggs was cooked perfectly, not too runny and not too dry, there was white pockets of goats cheese which I loved! not being ripped off in the goats cheese department here. My juice was refreshing, I loved the lychee addition.

Gourmet chevre scrambled eggs

Tropical dream

I tasted abit of C's sandwich I liked it..very healthy and the combination of sweet potato, eggplant and roasted capsicum was a perfect combination, the chutney was slightly salty which went well with what was a naturally sweet sandwich.

Vegie deluxe sandwich

Overall, I enjoyed the atmosphere to this cafe and the simple brunch it serves, I am definitely BOOKing another catch up here either for brunch, lunch or just desserts as they have plenty of cakes displayed at the counter.