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.