The Silver LiningMelbourne Travel Diary
Posted on January 10, 2014
We had less than two tiny days to squeeze in as much Melbourne as possible before my friend’s wedding, and by golly I think we did it! Arriving in the wee hours of Friday, we nabbed some shut eye before heading out into the CBD and chowing down a hearty breakfast at Cumulus Inc, an uber trendy coffee spot which felt very Gordon St Garage-esque. A visit to Melbourne is incomplete without wandering through Hosier Lane to ogle at the psychedelic street art.
A spot of shopping (50% off at Gorman – uh, yeah!?) was followed by a completely unnecessary but completely delicious lunch at noodle and dumpling house, Hutong. This gave us enough energy to power walk into Fitzroy where many unique and carefully curated shops awaited. Highlights were Little Salon and Third Drawer Down. For dinner, we waited in the fortunately very rapidly moving queue at Mamasita, wolfed down some delectable street style corn and pulled pork tostaditas, then tumbled on back to the hotel, falling deep asleep as soon as our heads hit our pillows.
Thanks for the good times, Melbs!
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Ootong and Lincoln
Posted on November 12, 2013
Having a friend visiting from overseas forces you to pull out all the stops and show them the really best places in Perth. Ootong and Lincoln fits the bill in my opinion. Quite simply, my favourite cafe in Fremantle. Located slightly off the main cafe strip, it is nonetheless always bustling at any time of day, serving amazing food, great drinks, and even carbonated tap water (if you know which button to press!). Absolutely everything is made on site from the freshest of local organic ingredients with the yummiest of results.
Ootong and Lincoln / 258 South Tce, South Fremantle / 7 days a week, 6:30am to 5pm
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The Kinfolk Table
Posted on October 29, 2013
After much anticipation and many a bated breath The Kinfolk Table finally landed on our doorstep the other day. Most of you will know that Jinn and I are both massive Kinfolk fans and have been eagerly buying their magazine since they first started up (aside from the elusive first issue – argh!). The Kinfolk Table is a beautiful combination of gorgeous photography, inspiring recipes from all around the world and the stories behind them. As always, the emphasis is on small gatherings and genuine relationships. Their very words sum up an attitude to life that I aspire to – to “show up at life’s feast with an open heart and a genuine spirit”. This is a book crammed full of an abundance of simple, home cooked food that is real, tasty and unpretentious.
All images courtesy of Kinfolk
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Twilight Hawkers Market
Posted on October 25, 2013
The Twilight Hawkers Markets are back, heralding the start of warm-weather good times in Perth. Every Friday night, a multitude of different food stalls harking from many international cuisines descends on Forrest Place in the city ready to feed the masses.
It’s a great option if you’re looking for something different to eat before a night out in Northbridge, or even whilst you browse shops in Perth city. We sampled the South American pupusas, corn tortillas with a light fluffy texture, stuffed with cheese, refried beans and pork (yummo!) and I could not walk past the Vietnamese stall without ordering a banh mi, a crusty bread roll filled with pork belly, fresh coriander, slices of cucumber and carrot, and some crazy magic sauce that makes you feel like you could eat a hundred more banh mis! A lime coconut icy pole from La Paleta ended the night’s grazing most perfectly!
I’m making a beeline for that bratwurst next time! (Hmm, that came out sounding weird…) But, for serious, I’m definitely going to be back! If you go, will you save a spot in that eternally long Argentinian Barbecue line for me?
Twilight Hawkers Markets / Forrest Place, Perth City / Every Friday from 5pm to 9pm until end of April 2014
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Piccolo’s Corner
Posted on October 4, 2013
The other day, I finished my morning shift at work a little bit early and decided to meet Jinn at our new favourite local cafe, Piccolo’s Corner. This cosy little gem is located in the leafy suburb of West Leederville, just a stone throw’s away from our place.
Enjoy a cooked brekky with a beverage of your choice (so far I’ve had their coffee and chai latte – both are ace) inside their quirky interior or sunny garden, both characterised by a mixture of vintage bric-a-brac and cutting edge street art. Get there early on the weekend or be prepared to wait in line!
Piccolo’s Corner / 58 St Leonards St, West Leederville / Tuesday – Friday 7:00am to 4:00pm, Saturday & Sunday 8:00am to 2:00pm
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Rustic Palak Paneer
Posted on September 27, 2013
I’ve always had a thing for this delicious Indian dish – the greenness of the spinach, the texture of that paneer (it’s something like a firm Indian cottage cheese), the slightly mysterious nature of the spices used. I adapted a recipe from one of my favourite sources (SBS Food) and I was pretty pleased with the result! Instead of pureeing the blanched spinach I coarsely chopped it (because I’m lazy and couldn’t be bothered washing the blender), and I must say I quite liked the texture.
Here’s my adapted recipe! It tastes amazing with some brown rice that’s been fragrantly cooked with cinnamon, cardamom and cloves…
Rustic Palak Paneer (serves 4)
Ingredients:
- 2 bunches of spinach, leaves picked
- 2 tbs vegetable oil
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 2 cm piece of ginger, crushed
- 6 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 200g chopped tomatoes
- salt to taste
- 200g paneer, cubed
- 1 tsp powdered fenugreek
- pinch of garam masala
Method:
- Pick the leaves of the spinach and discard the stalks. Make extra sure that you wash out all the sand, grittiness in this dish is not generally desired! It may take a fair few washes.
- Blanch the spinach in boiling water for 2-3 minutes and dunk them in cold water to stop the cooking process.
- Coarsely chop. (Or finely, if that’s the way you roll)
- Heat the oil in a saucepan. Add cumin seeds, ginger, garlic and onion and fry until fragrant and slightly golden brown.
- Add your chopped tomatoes and cook until very soft.
- Stir in the spinach and season fairly generously with salt.
- Add the paneer and stir for long enough for the cheese to heat through.
- Add the fenugreek and garam masala at the end.
- Serve with basmati rice and your favourite curry! Personally I think this dish goes amazingly with butter chicken…
Recipe adapted from SBS Food.
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Toastface Grillah {Oh Hai Perth!}
Posted on August 12, 2013
Wearing – Sessun jumper (different colourway here), Gorman jeans (on sale here!), Donelli shoes, vintage tooled leather handbag from Bluebird Vintage
For my return back to mothership Perth, Jinn had planned an elaborate morning that was to include eating at some of the latest cool-kid hangouts, the kind that serve up dishes featuring super trendy ingredients like quinoa, kale and chia seeds. It wasn’t to be, as all I’d been craving during my six months in Broome was a huge whopping big bowl of steaming beef and beef ball pho from our regular Vietnamese joint! Craving satisfied, we wandered through our beloved city, looking at the things that had changed (oh hai new Pigeonhole store!) and the things that hadn’t, simply happy being home…
Not to be completely thwarted, Jinn managed to drag me to his next favourite hipster haunt, the awesomely named Toastface Grillah, after famed Wu-Tang Clan rapper Ghostface Killah. Not only were we treated to a scrummy Apple & Gouda toastie and a pretty decent flat white, but we had also accidentally stumbled upon a live poetry and music open mic afternoon hosted in the tiny courtyard. It was a completely new experience for me! We enjoyed the mostly contemporary poetry recital (I don’t remember T. S. Eliot or Blake ever using so many expletives!) whilst I gnawed away at my sweet and crispy package of ham, apple and grilled onions, relishing the gooey stretchiness of the toasted cheese that held it all together.
It made a perfect Perth arvo that bit more interesting – I even had a small heart attack when the MC of the recital turned to the two of us and asked if we had anything contribute! Thankfully we weren’t pressed any further after politely declining, but I was so intrigued by the little gathering that I think I may return another time, perhaps with something in my repertoire to add to this interesting bunch of folk.
Come take a wander down Grand Lane and find this hole-in-the-wall eatery that does “simple” food amazingly well. If you’re up for something a little different, go on a Saturday afternoon to listen in on or even take part in this very welcoming group of poetry lovers.
P.S. What’s your Wu-Tang name? Mine’s Mad Dreamer, not bad ‘ey? Find out your alter ego here.
Toastface Grillah / Grand Lane, Perth / Monday to Friday 7am – 4pm / Saturday 9am – 4pm
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Ivanhoe Cafe
Posted on July 15, 2013
Ivanhoe Cafe is one of those places that you stumble across and are like, “Why have I never been here before?!?!” My Kimberley job involves me flying to Kununurra every six weeks to do paediatric clinics over there, but most days we finish late when most things are closed and we’re thoroughly exhausted. After my final week in Kununurra (I feel quite sad saying that), Jinn flew up from Perth to join me so we could explore the East Kimberley a bit more. On our last day together, after frolicking in springs and climbing through gorges for the past few days we just felt like having an easy morning and stumbled upon this little place for breakfast.
The cafe has a thoroughly organic, almost lived in feel. It’s nestled amongst these giant mango trees that provide you with ample shade to enjoy your meal. We both ordered the breakfast muffin which came filled with yummy bacon slices, fresh salad greens, and an egg fried to runny-yolk perfection. It also came with a little dipping bowl of pretty mind-blowingly good housemade tomato chutney! The finishing touch was that golden yolk flowing out and coating the contents of the muffin with sunny, creamy goodness. Totally satisfying.
It was just perfect to relax under those great trees, enjoying good company (and pretty good coffee too!). And if you’re still hungry for more, the place sells housemade jams, chutneys, ice cream and local honey too. We left the place with contented stomachs, a shopping bag full of mango jam and that irresistible tomato chutney, sipping on our mango smoothies to go.
Bliss.
Ivanhoe Cafe / Ivanhoe Rd, Kununurra / +61 8 9168 1774 / Open 7 days a week 8:00am – 4:00pm (April to September)
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Welcome Jamie!
Posted on June 7, 2013
Back to Planet Perth! (Haw haw so not funny…) After the crazy amazing time we had overseas, it was also great to get back home to see my beloved folks before I headed back up to Broome for another three months. And what better way to spend that time but over a relaxed and scrumptious meal at the newly opened Jamie’s Italian at 140william in the CBD.
I love the vibe of the place, I badly want those pendant lights in my own kitchen, and it has a nice cheery hustle and bustle to the place, not pretentious at all. The place was packed (people line up for hours just to have dinner here) so I expected our food to take a while – but it didn’t! We started off with a few share platters, each overflowing with bundles of goodness. Yummy crisply fried morsels of fish, tasty cockles, aubergine caponata, layers of prosciutto and bresaola…Mmmm…Yeah, there are no pictures of them because we kind of ate them all before anyone had the chance to get their cameras out!
The pastas were just as tasty. I may have sabotaged myself by ordering the wild rabbit tagliolini. I always order rabbit thinking, “Ooh! That sounds rather exotic” and only remember that I don’t really like it when I take a bite. That said, the pasta itself was perfectly cooked and delicious. I’d have to say the winning pasta dish was Ericius’ prawn linguine. Al dente pasta coated with an incredible tomatoey-garlicky sauce. Tasty to the max!
Thanks Jamie for bringing your signature honest but O-M-G-so-delicious food to Perth! Oh, and the icing on the cake? The awesome Kyle Hughes-Odgers mural on the wall as you enter the restaurant. Read more about this guy and his art, he is on the up-up-up!
Jamie’s Italian Perth / 140 William Street, Perth CBD / 9363 8600 / Monday – Sunday 11:00am to 10:30pm
Photos by Jinn
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Heston revisited
Posted on May 23, 2013
We went back for the full experience at Dinner by Heston Blumenthal (click here for our first encounter) and we once again left in a very satisfied, almost hallucinogenic food dream. The menu at this fine restaurant is filled with dishes inspired by British history and feature interesting ingredients such as frogs’ legs (Jinn had these!) veal sweetbreads (hmm…), and who can resist lardo? Sounds so healthy…
Highlights of the night? My roast marrowbone (above) with snails and the nitro ice cream, where your waitperson adds liquid nitrogen to a delicious concoction of custard and vanilla bean to create your dessert right in front of you! I chose the apple pop rocks and dehydrated strawberry as my toppings. The crackle-in-your-mouth sensation of the pop rocks brought back some fond childhood memories!
For a meal that isn’t quite as crazily priced as The Fat Duck but still brings you the dishes that foodmeister Blumenthal is so renowned for, this is the place to go! Friendly and attentive waitstaff, and an atmosphere that remains upmarket yet refreshingly relaxed (not like those places where you daren’t laugh too loud and you can practically hear yourself chew!) add to the overall marvellous experience(s) we had here at Dinner.
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal / Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, 66 Knightsbridge, London / Open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner
The Silver Lining 