Felix & Co. Speciality Coffee

"THAT RELISH?"

Whilst everyone is enjoying their christmas shut down periods, I am still slaving away at work :( Since most restaurants are closed for the year it makes it difficult for us to find food on Hampton road, the main street with numerous eateries we rely on to feed us. One day my workmate was in need of a coffee fix so we decided to suss out what's open. Most of our usual eats were closed except for Felix & Co. S wasn't a big fan of their coffee blend but decided to give them another go, she is now a convert and loved the blend she chose. Whilst we were chilling away in the little cosy cafe (probably could comfortably seat 15 ppl), we saw a couple having a toastie, it wasn't just a toastie, there was some kind of relish? that came with it and we were intrigued, funny how a relish? could just change the overall appeal of a toastie. We wanted to try it after our discovery.

The next time we visited, we both ordered a toastie. Toasties seem to be the main hot food they serve, they offer different kinds of toasties, toastie with ham and cheese, toastie with three cheese, toastie with mushrooms and cheese and toastie with the LOT! aka the godfather. To me if everything seems appealing, choose the one thats got more value for money. S and I chose THE GODFATHER.

Our toasties looked delicious and we couldn't wait to try the relish? I don't even know what to call it, it tasted like a mixture of tomato, chilli tuna and a capsicum, pecorino, cashew and basil red rock deli dip. Whatever it is, it's yum and it goes so well with the toastie. This has changed how I would eat my toasties now :) I also ordered a Chai latte *of course* to wash down my toastie, I've had better, it wasn't as creamy as I'd like it to be. I'll just stick to my toasties :)

Hours

Monday - Friday 6:30am-4:00pm
Saturday 7:00am-3:00pm
Sunday CLOSED

Gusto Cafe

"Gusto Go"

M and I haven't seen each other in YONKS! She recently broke her foot from jumping?? O_o and moved to South Perth to be a full time princess at her big sisters home. We decided to finally catch up and what better place but in South Perth. South Perth is somewhere that I should dine in more often, there are many cafes with good ratings on Urbanspoon but I usually end up at the foreshore, why waste a beautiful view and the opportunity to have a picnic/BBQ by being cramped in a cafe, UNLESS you have a cripple with you haha..*Sorry M* We decided to try out Gusto Cafe.

After parking the car as close to the cafe as possible for M and totally babying her, we eventually settled on a table, the only table available *lucky* and pondered on the menu. I was told to try the french cinnamon toast with bacon, maple berry compote, banana and handmade honeycomb. It was a difficult move since I like my savoury but I decided to take the plunge. I also ordered a chai latte *of course* M ordered the potato hot cakes consisting of two poached eggs, avocado smashed, smoked salmon and hollandaise sauce.

As we were finalising our orders, we were interupted by the table beside us, they needed to get through and our table was basically blocking their path out. It was a terrible seating plan and poor M had to slowly get out of her chair, we decided to swap sides and I was left getting in and out of my chair, it's no wonder our table was the only available one, nobody wants it *not so lucky after all*. As soon as the table beside us was free we quickly shuffled over.

French cinnamon toast

My dish arrived and OMG it was so BIG!! I knew I won't be able to finish it. The honey comb was home made and I loved it, berries were a little sour, but the sweetness of the honeycomb made up for it and that pile of bread! OMG just thinking about it makes me full. I think they can afford to down size it, but in saying that, two old ladies sat beside us in the shitty table and both ordered the same dish as me and I watched them FINISH it all EASILY. they saved the honeycomb to last to eat with their coffee. Yes I was eaves dropping and my jaw was dropping too :O

Potato hot cakes

M on the other hand had a more decent sized meal , it looked good, I gusto order that next time. She polished her plate with ease.

Overall, I'd still recommend Gusto cafe, it looks like a favourite amongst the locals, I wouldn't discourage those from ordering the cinamon bread coz well, grannies can finish it off, there must be something wrong with me, in my defense, we went at 8:30am and I'm not used to eating that much for breakfast. There are very limited and cramp seating, probably explains that shitty table and I guess people would rather have that slight inconvenience than to wait for a table. Anyways, if the cafe so happen to be empty you Gusto avoid that table *excuse the puns*.

Typika Artisan Roasters

"A Typika love story"

I have brunched in Typika 3 times and in those three times I've been satisfied *ok that sounded wrong* But like relationships, connections can slowly fade, things can get boring or you're left unsatisfied in the end. This is somewhat similar to my expereince. The first time I went to Typika, it was like a first date, excited but also not sure what to expect. I've heard people say they're really good with their coffees owning a $80 000 coffee roaster *cha ching gold digger alert* I was impressed, although I'm not a coffee drinker, I decided I must try the coffee. I ordered the smoked cod and leek baked eggs and just when I was about to say "I'll have a Chai latte to go with that", the roaster came to mind and I said "Mocha please". *pats back*

Smoked cod and leek baked eggs

I really liked the baked eggs, enjoyed every bit of it, the sweetness of the leek with the salty cheddar cheese and creamy smoked cod was a great combination. The mocha was the best I've had, I actually drank it without putting any sugar in it and apparently to truely appreciate coffee, one should not add sugar. H had the beef benedict, a very popular item on the menu, he absolutely loved it. I plan to order that the next time I go. 

That next time came and I ended up ordering the mushroom crepe with feta since alot of my friends in the table ordered the beef benedict and I didn't want to be a sheep. I wasn't too impressed with my dish, there was alot of enoki mushrooms which were rather chewy and not my favouritist mushrooms, I had to eat them with caution just incase I choke. I think mushroom lovers, especially enoki mushrooms would like this dish. The crepe also sat on a big bed of rocket leaves, I think it was abit too much since rocket leaves have a bitter taste to them and it somewhat overpowered the dish. I also ordered the latte, which again I didn't put any sugar *fist pumps* Honestly I prefered the mocha. My friend had the deconstructed hot chocolate which was more the novelty than anything, in the end of the day, you're just making your own drink on the table. C knows her coffee and she ordered the flat white and loved it! from this day on, she is still reminiscing haha.

Flat white and mushroom crepe

The third time I went, I noticed the menu had changed abit, I ordered the Typika breakfast stack consisting of shredded potato crisp, wilted spinach, avocado and house smoked ocean trout, topped with a fried egg, sunny side up. Again decided to save the beef benedict till later since I already knew it was good, its like the saying, "good guys always finish last". In the end, I wasn't too impressed with my meal, there wasn't much to rave about but I also wouldn't say it was bad, the flavours were not exciting and was rather monotonous.

Breakfast stack and beef benedict

Overall Typika has become a MEH cafe, I'm not feeling that bliss that I had the very first time. But I do believe the fire can be rekindled when I go back to try the beef benedict, Typika will always have that special place in my heart, I learnt to appreciate coffee and I will be back. That is my Typika love story.

Momento caffe (Next cafe)

" New Coffee Experience"

So I'm always on the look out for cafes serving unique food and beverages. I stumbled upon Next cafe which has formerly changed their name to MOMENTO CAFFE. I found out they serve unique coffee flavours and have pretty coffee art and it's down south, a suburban cafe not too far from me. That just ticks all the boxes. S and I organised a spotlight and coffee date on a sunday arvo, it took us a while to find the cafe since we didn't know they've changed their name. Urbanspoon was not updated. We kept walking past Momento caffe just looking at google maps all puzzled it's like looking for treasure and being on X without the treasure. We decided to give up and just try Momento caffe, dragged ourselves in with a long face like a kid having to do chores, until we saw a little notice on the door stating that they use to be Next cafe :O HALLELUJAH!

We decided to sit outside to take in the fresh breeze and was given the drinks menu. I ordered the orange mocha and S had the coconut capuccino, there wasn't a food menu as they only offer what is in the glass display, nothing really appealed to me so I just stuck to my drink. 

Our drinks looked so beautiful, prettiest I've seen in Perth so far and I'm forever in search for more coffee art. First sip and I could taste the orange flavour, I loved how it's different and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I could see the orange flavour essence? at the bottom of the cup so definetly give it a good stir, in my case, I didn't want to ruin the art. S also liked her drink, in fact she has been reminiscing about it for awhile. I think super serious coffee lovers may think the flavour essence ruins the coffee, but for those who like a twist or something different should definetly try this place out.

P.S The entertainment book offers a complimentary coffee when another is purchased deal under Next Cafe

P.S.S If you know of any cafes that does coffee art give me a shout out. I'll forever be grateful :)

G' fun Nedlands

"Famous Chicken Rice!"

G'fun cafe has been around for ages, it took over Chilliz on Hampton road offering similar cheap meals. I use to go to these kinds of cafes when I was a poor uni student, meals were cheap like $4 cheap and unhealthy, I remember the Chilliz fried rice with honey chicken was so oily but so good.

Now that I'm a working citizen, I have this snobbish attitude towards these kinds of cafes, like I'm better than that *what a bitch right*. That changed when I just came back from a holiday in Singapore and was rather depressed, I missed the super cheap meals, I was in the process of  transitioning back to my Perth lifestyle, everything being expensive. One day I didn't bring lunch and refused to pay anything more than $5, I decided to try G'fun cafe. Ate my pride and did the long walk all the way to the other side of Hampton Rd from my workplace. Displayed on the window was a sign "Famous chicken rice is back" and I was intrigued, since I just returned from Singapore this is perfect. Went inside and it was rather quiet, I looked in the glass cabinet displaying all the hot meals all being $4.50 consisting of chicken rice, deep fried finger food, japanese bentos and fried rice. I ordered the roast chicken rice. There are also condiments on a table beside the counter where you scoop your own chilli or add soya sauce, I ladelled some chilli in my chicken rice and took a seat.

Looks wise, colour was perfect, chicken looks juicy. Took my first bite and WOW, I have to say it is damn good chicken rice! The roasted chicken was tender and the skin was full of flavour, rice had a good amount of chicken stock maybe a little on the oily side. The chilli sauce is a mixture of sweet and spicy and compliments well with the chicken rice, it is a definite MUST to add to the chicken rice, and it isn't really spicy, I mean if I can take it, I'm sure majority of people can handle the spiciness too.

I did alot of people watching and the business is doing very well, there are alot of regulars who order bulk and is very popular with the labourers, they come in big groups, not to mention students too. 

The only negative I'd say is that the dish needs something green, like slices of cucumber, it just makes the dish much more appealing. The photos outside the cafe are pictures of all the meals they offer and it's just all BROWN, I was quite turned off and was one of the reasons why I never went in, I only gave them a chance coz I had the holiday blues and was having a stingy day. In saying that, business is doing well, but I can't help but think they may have lost alot of potential customers, especially in this day and age where everyone is becoming more health conscious. 

Anyways back to the chicken rice, I've had this 4 times and I'm beginning to notice a pattern. The two times I went early in the morning, actually waiting for doors to open *shame*. In those times, my chicken rice wasn't as tender and was mostly bones. The other two times I went in the afternoon and the chicken was fresh and tender and more meaty. I think the morning batches are just left overs from the day before.

Wow just realised I've written alot, never had that much to say bout chicken rice, though it may not meet the authentic criteria, I will still name it best roast chicken rice! One day I'll buy a few as a take away for dinner and add my own steamed vegies :)

Pastacup

"fatto a mano"

If you’ve read my Ciao Italia post, I was raving about the creamy ciao italia fettucine. I have recently tried Pasta cup and I reckon their pasta is just as good. I fell in love with the place and found myself coming back 3 weekends in a row to the Karawara branch. The staff even said “see you later” :O what is she talking about, how does she know I’m coming back? How does she know I like the pasta? Okaaay..she probably remembered me =-= . 

Pasta cup is a MAKE YOUR OWN PASTA dish concept, you pick your pasta which is fatto a mano ie. MADE BY HAND and then you pick your sauce which is also fatto a mano. If you’ve heard their advertisement it is the motto of their campaign PASTA..IN A CUP..MADE BY HAND.

Spinach fettucine with creamy sauce

I love their creamy based sauces, I’ve probably tried almost all of them, my favourite would be the creamy pumpkin and the bonnie sauce which is tomato and cream. Pasta wise, I like my spinach fettucine. The bf loves the Chilli fusili which is a great twist to a pasta dish. All this packaged in a cute cup with a bread compartment on the top. Love it! My advice, come in between 11am – 3pm you’ll get the lunch special which is $7.95. 

 

Miss Kitty's Saloon

The new talk of the town is Miss kitty's saloon, an American themed restaurant. After hearing about this saloon-like venue, I had to try it out. F and I went in on a Saturday morning for brunch before heading off to a cupcake decorating class.

First impressions was wow! Definitely saloon looking with a rustic look accentuated through the wooden decor, cute booth seatings and outdated quirky items. 

We pondered over the menu for awhile, there wasn’t exactly alot of exciting choices but also confusing at the same time as there wasn’t much description into each item, does the name of the item really say it all? I usually encounter menu items with a description stating its accompaniments and basically marketing the item. I was juggling between the buffalo wings or the chicken and waffles $19. In the end I went for the waffles for something different. F had the chorizo and eggs $16.

Chicken and Waffles

Verdict, I didn’t find my chicken and waffles amazing. It was basically crispy deep fried crumbed chicken on top of waffles. Put two things people like together and you can’t go wrong.  Salad on top was refreshing with pieces of orange slices? sauce was just sweet chilli. Nothing special. Overall I enjoyed it as a dish, but I do think $19 is pricey for what it is.

Chorizo and eggs

F was rather disappointed with her dish, but then again it’s Chorizo and eggs with a green sauce and hash browns. Not sure if she was expecting more, but she scoffed it down easily but wasn’t exactly ranting about it.

Living room area

Overall I enjoyed the environment more than the dishes. It is such a happy venue and so much to look at, even the toilets are cute. They have large tables to cater for big group bookings and even a living room themed area for little catch ups. I looked into the dinner menu and it actually looked more exciting and appealing than our choices for the brunch menu. I would definitely go back to try their other menu.

Pacific Rim Mix Plate

"Ono" 

I felt like trying something new and as I was browsing through urbanspoon in the cuisine category, I came across Hawaiian. Next day the bf and I went to try the place out. After reading reviews I knew we were to expect a fish and chips looking joint and basically a fast food kind of vibe.

We went on a Saturday at 1:30pm and it was packed with customers. We pondered over the menu and wanted to try the very popular Huli Huli chicken, but when it came to ordering, we were informed by the owners who looked hawaiian-japanese that they were out of sauces for the chicken :O we were lucky to be the last to order with what they had left. We ordered the Maui chicken bites and Tarragon fish to share.

Maui chicken bites

Tarragon fish

Dishes were like Japanese food with a Hawaiian name and Hawaiian inspired sauce. Maui chicken bites was basically deep fried chicken but the sauce was something different and unique, I enjoyed it but thought it needed a side salad. As for the tarragon fish, battered fish soaked in sauce was also ONO! *delicious in hawaiian*, again needed more accompaniments. I realised that if I wanted accompaniments, I should've opted for the plate rather than the bowl which the lady asked when I was ordering. I actually did not know there was such a difference and I believe it would only be $1 more *damn*.

Overall we enjoyed our meal and this joint is definitely buzzing, one day I will come back to try this Huli Huli chicken and opt for the plate.

Echye's restaurant

Authentic Ethiopian

J and I decided to be culinary adventurous and tried a newly opened Ethiopian/Eritrean restaurant in Victoria Park. This was probably one of the most exciting dining experience I've had as I've never tried Eritrean food before.

Echye's is a family owned restaurant with a lovely African feel depicted through their furnitures. The menu is based on a wide selection of curries all accompanided with Enjera (yeast risen flatbread). J and I had our pick of different curries, we chose Zhigni and Goredgored curries. We also ordered the Habesha coffee just to experience it. Menu can be found on their website.

When the Enjera came out, we were so shocked with it's appearance, it literally looks like a sponge, I studied the texture and it accurately resembles one. The colour was also odd. Taste wise, it had a fermented sour taste to it just like DOSAI. Unfortunatly I'm not the biggest fan of dosai.

Our curries arrived in cute African stew pots and we were told to put the curry on the bread and tear it with our hands, the waitress gave us cutlery just incase but we decided to do it the African way.

Zhigni - Most popular meat dish - tender lamb with berbere (mixture of spices with red chilli), onion, garlic and tesmi (purified butter with spices).

Like many curries full of spices, it tasted like an indian curry but probably more intense with the spices. Meat was deliciously tender accompanied with lovely sauce. 

Goredgored - tender beef pieces, pan fried served with awaze (chilli paste)

The Goredgored wasn't as saucy as the Zhigni but still delicious.

Since the bread was huge! We struggled to finish our dishes and I wasn't too keen on the bread, the waitress gave us a different kind of bread as she understood Enjera may not be for everyone. We actually prefered the new bread. She also brought us a paste which I wasn't sure what it was called but J loved it! he started putting it on everything. I on the other hand found it abit too strong for my liking. 

We started wondering when our coffee was going to arrive, the waitress then came out with a smoking pot with coffee beans and wanted to show us the roasting process. She said in Africa the aroma from roasted coffee is an invitation to come over and have coffee. I thought that was cute and nice of her to show us abit of their culture.

Few minutes later she brought out our coffee in a funky teapot with a wired ball in the spout which much resembled a hair ball, this served as a filter. Teapot was quite heavy than the norm and there was a technique in pouring the coffee. Coffee-wise, we both thought it was very strong, I would have liked some milk and I overloaded my little asian looking cup with sugar. J on the other hand took it in pretty well.

Overall, we enjoyed our Eritrean experience and would definetly recommend it to everyone who has never tried it out, food is authentic and I believe it's as close as you can get.

Foo Wah Seafood Chinese Restaurant

"Wah..Food so good ah" 

Whenever dad comes to Perth, we always go to dinner as a family to  Foo wah chinese restaurant. Dad seems to only like good chinese cuisine and Foo Wah ticks all the boxes on the lists, it's chinese, it's delicious and it's nearby to where we live.

Foo Wah is part of the asian hub of restaurants off collins road, I come to this area to fix any asian cuisine cravings. It is always busy during the weekends so definetly make reservations. The first time we came here, we asked the owner what she'd recommend, she told us the vinegar chicken is good, we order, tasted and ever since then have always ordered it. These are our usual orders:

Vinegar chicken

Salt and pepper squid/fish

Sizzling japanese tofu

Beef pepper beef

White rice

At first I thought the vinegar chicken would be bitter and not pleasant but I was wrong, it was so tender with a layer of crispy chicken skin swimming in a pool of sweet vinegar sauce, the sauce was a combination of vinegar, sugar, garlic and chilli, a marriage made in heaven. As we've ordered this dish many times, there have been occasions where the chicken is abit dry and other times when the meat is juicy and tender, it's a cross your finger and hope kind of dish.

Vinegar chicken

I always order salt and pepper squid in every chinese restaurant I go to, you can never go wrong with this dish, super crispy batter around very tender squid.

Salt and pepper squid

Love my sizzling japanese tofu and again can't go wrong with this dish. It goes well with the other dishes that have very strong flavours.

Pepper beef  was a big hit with my cousins from malaysia so something must be right with the dish. Beef is super tender and packed full of peppery saucy goodness.

Black pepper beef

Our other dishes also include yam duck and peking style pork ribs. I think the yam duck has too much yam and not enough duck underneath, it's not my favourite dish but my other family members like it, I also think the sauce is rather tasteless. Pork ribs on the other hand can never go wrong.

Yam duck

Peking style pork ribs

Not only is the food delicious, the tea is so fragrant, presented in napkins folded into a lotus flower. Usually I think all chinese tea taste the same but I actually notice the tea here, I guess they're not stingy with the tea leaves.

Overall this would be my favourite chinese restaurant so far, fast customer service, delicious high quality dishes and I'm always amazed with their speed in bringing out the dishes. Chefs must be ninjas.

Food For Me

"FOOD FOR ME AND EVERYONE"

Cafes are popping up everywhere in Perth and I'm always on the look out for new ones. FOOD FOR ME is currently one of my favourite spots atm. For one, I LOVE THE NAME it's so obvious that you'll be fed here; secondly, I love how you can make reservations, the older I get, I realise life's too short to be waiting in line to be fed; thirdly, Food is delicious! good quality and they have an extensive menu from sweet to savoury, deliciously unhealthy or refreshingly healthy; Four, lovely atmosphere and plenty of seating and booths; fifth, friendly service; sixth, nice toilets :)

C, M and I went for brunch at FOOD FOR ME on a beautiful saturday morning for which C had kindly made a reservation. Nestled in the heart of Victoria Park, this corner cafe isn't hard to find, but I surprisingly have never noticed the cafe until I started hearing about it. After pondering over the menu making that all time hard decision in choosing between savoury or sweet for brunch, I had settled to go for Sweet and Savoury. The French toast with berries and bacon with maple syrup, but the zuchinni corn fritter also sounded delicious! I lined up to order and when I reached the counter I've chosen the Zuchinni and corn fritter *sigh* forever a savoury girl. I also ordered a chai latte for the gazillionth time *I swear I live my life like a broken record player* C opted for a zuchinni tart displayed in the glass cabinets and M had the usual big breakfast which she is yet to finish one.

Chai Latte

I loved my Chai Latte, they were spot on with it, so creamy and frothy. I have concluded that many cafes can do a good chai latte. My work is done *not that I played any influence in this revolution whatsoever*

Zucchini and Corn Fritters with avocado, mixed greens and a poached free-range egg. Served with a preserved lemon, dill and chilli dressing (GF) 15.0

I loved my dish! the fritters had a generous dose of corn kernels with a hint of middle eastern spices, there was a generous serving of half an avocado, yay! I love avocado and considering how much avocados cost these days I think I'm getting a discount with my dish. The poached eggs was perfectly poached, silky egg white resembling cute boccocini looking balls with perfect wet yolk when cut, all this was rounded off with a slightly tangy, sweet sauce that went perfectly with everything. It was a well thought out dish.

Full belly breakfast - 19.0

M enjoyed her breaky and did pretty well with it, the only thing she would fault was there wasn't enough butter to slather on the GIGANTIC toasts, apparently the bread is sourced from Barrett's bakery in Nedlands. Nedlands do have some good bakeries and yay for local.

Frittata and salad

C's meal looked all so healthy and very appetising, the frittata looked beautiful with the stripey effects from the zuchinnis.

Overall, a jolly good catch up and I will definetly come back to try the other items on the menu. At last Perthians can round up a big group of friends and dine in a popular brunch cafe without the long wait.