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Petite Mort

Petite Mort Restaurant – http://www.petitemort.com.au/
Cusine: Modern French
Address: A 225 Onslow Road Shenton Park Perth 6008

My girl friends and I were really looking forward to the 9 course degustation menu at Petit Mort. We had looked at the menu on their website and decided it was worth pay a little extra from the set menu to the degustation menu (blue). What we ended up enjoying that night:

Brioche
Amuse Bouche
Celeriac Soup, Leek & Langoustine Cannelloni, Roe
Cured Salmon, Pickled Vegetable, Soy, Cashew
Pork Belly, Sauerkraut, Crackling
Confit Duck Thigh, Chantelle & Cepe Mushrooms
Herb Crusted Barramundi, Spring Vegetables, Mussels Broth
OR
Lamb Rump & Breast, Pig’s Ear, Mushrooms
Pre Dessert
Death By Chocolate
Petit Fours

The food was generally well presented (except when a waitress messed it up) and suited our palates well. The confit duck thigh was disappointingly dry for me… not even fluffy-dry like pork floss but like beef jerky-dry.

The outstanding dishes would be the cured salmon and death by chocolate. The cured salmon was so good it gave me visions of Tetsuya’s confit of ocean trout, of course the cured salmon paled in comparison but it was definitely worthy to have brought back a snippet of memory. Some found the death by chocolate a bit overwhelming, but I just fell in love with their Areo chocolate.

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I would have left a satisfied customer and happy to become regulars had the service been up to scratch. Minor things like the confusion over where we are seated despite having booked, and requesting the wine list but was offered the Sommelier who then had to fetch the wine list anyway made it seemed like that staff were new.

One particular wait staff with bad manner and tongue piercing was so bad that she knocked over my perfect pork belly dish when reaching across the table to place my friends’ plate. The fact that she was reaching over was in itself bad, but to mess up my meal and not acknowledge the mistake when she’s using my plate to explain the components was just poor manners. Thankfully other staff members served some of the other dishes with not too many issues.

At the end of the night we were surprised to be given another plate of sweets during tea/coffee but suspected that the management acknowledged some errors made. Unfortunately by that time we were too full to consume any more sugar. I believe that a bit of training for staff would prevent other patrons from having a potentially bad experience. Otherwise Petite Mort is definitely some place I will return to.

Petite Mort on Urbanspoon

Tokyo Ramen

Apologies for my lack of posts, I do feel a bit guilty for not posting anything these past few months. The lack of posts reflect on the business not the laziness this time! I’ve actually typed up rough drafts which just never see completion 

Christmas and New Year 2012-2013 found us eating our way through the land of shinobi  Tokyo, Japan! It is definitely the place to go if you enjoy good quality food and service! I really enjoyed myself in Tokyo and look forward to visiting Japan in the future not only for the food, but also for the welcoming and polite locals.

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The aim of this trip was to eat ramen everyday, and I think we did quite well! We even became ‘regulars’ to a couple of ramen restaurants near our hotel. Our very first experience with a vending machine ramen order was quite interesting. After a few gestures and pointing, we were seated at the counter and served up a steaming hot bowl of yummy ramen!

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The dipping ramen seemed to be quite popular with the locals, but being winter at the time, I stuck with the ramen soup.

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It was interesting to see that we didn’t spot any obese locals despite different sized meals costing the same. Double or triple portions for the original price!

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Of all the broths that we had with our ramen, I enjoyed the traditional tonkotsu, miso and shoyu the best. There was a bowl of fish base ramen stock we had in Harujuku which was a bit of a challenge to my palette.

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Some pork soup base can be extremely fatty, but during such a cold period in time I wasn’t as concerned. Just closed my eyes and drank in the fatty goodness…

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The pork was a good mix of fat, the soup was flavoursome and the ramen was perfect! I like that it’s a bit thicker than ramen in Perth, gives it a better bite.

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We even queued up outside for an hour in the freezing cold to get a taste of a popular local ramen shop in Ikebukuro!

I definitely recommend going to these ramen stores if you’re in Japan in winter. There’s just something about cold weather that make you appreciate a steaming bowl of ramen or udon ^_^

Hippo Creek

Hippo Creek Subiaco – http://subiaco.hippocreek.com.au/
Cuisine: African
Address: 14/375 Hay Street, Subiaco Western Australia 6008

It was a dark and stormy night…
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My first time having a medium rare steak was at Hippo Creek in Subiaco. Considering I’m not much of a meat eater, it probably wasn’t a good idea. But the great thing was that despite the suspiciously uneven red and raw looking center, the meat was still easy to eat.

We ordered a side of onion rings and Caesar salad, and found it was abit too much to consume. The Caesar salad was quite the let down, but it could possibly be due to the anchovy that was thrown in (NOT a fan). The onion rings however were just delicious! I believe it was even better than the ones at Tony Romas. Overall the service was fairly good, the meal was average and the price super cheap as we used the Entertainment Card.

Hippo Creek Meat and Wine on Urbanspoon

Chat Thai

Chat Tai (Haymarket) – http://www.chatthai.com.au/
Cuisine: Thai
Address: 20 Campbell Street, Haymarket Sydney

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We stayed in Thai-town on one of our trips to Sydney and literally walked into Chat Thai in Haymarket one morning. I had the name in my mind since my cousin raved about it on a previous trip, so thought it definitely worth a taste.

My high expectations were not disappointed! The food came out tasting even better than it looked… and it looked delicious! I couldn’t even compare it with Dusit Thai, our favorite Thai restaurant in Perth. It’s such a fresh and clean version of Thai cuisine that I really wish someone would open a chain in Perth!

The service is as you would expect in a fast paced and busy restaurant. The tables and seating was a little cramped (not surprisingly) but the decor was still very nice. The only fault was that the recommended Thai milk tea was overly sweet for our taste. Regardless I would definitely go back when I am in Sydney next time!

Chat Thai Haymarket on Urbanspoon

The Heritage

The Heritage – http://www.theheritageperth.com.au
Cuisine: European
Address:131 St Georges Terrace Perth, WA 6000

We went to The Heritage for Father’s Day and one word can describe the experience: disappointing. I guess it was our fault for going to the Trustee a few nights prior and having a taste of their bar selection. Delicious considering it was only “bar food”. I digress… The Heritage has the potential to be a great restaurant. The service itself was decent… if only the waitress didn’t give me wrong information about the menu items, and if we weren’t hidden in a little alcove where we couldn’t get service, and if it didn’t take forever for the bill to be processed…

Duck Liver Parfait 18
Griddled Prawns 28
Oysters 6 24
Beef Carpaccio 19
Gruyere Souffle 21

Barramundi & Vegetables 39
Poached Salmon 41
Wiener Schnitzel 33
Cape Grim Fillet 44
2x Sirloin 47 ea
2x Hot Chips 9 ea
Roasted Spuds 9

I ordered the Beef Carpaccio expecting something like the one at Modo Mio or Gala. Unfortunately it was literally thin slices of raw beef, very dry and beefy. Disappointing. The steak wasn’t quite cooked right (a bit more on the medium rather than the rare), but was still quite nice to eat. The salmon… I strongly recommend you do NOT order the poached salmon! I had a craving for crispy skin salmon so I thought the poached one would be nice. Disappointed!

I think I enjoyed the roasted spuds and hot chips the most.

The Heritage Brasserie, Bar & Boardroom on Urbanspoon

ASOS

Shopping just isn’t the same as it used to be…

I don’t know if it’s because of the dreaded GFC (Global Financial Crisis), the fact that I have more responsibilities, or even that I’m pickier with the things I buy. One thing I do know is that shopping in Perth sucks! Despite the stock-take sales happening, and my actively going to all these shops looking for something to buy, I only bought 4 items! And I didn’t have to fight for it!!

Even shopping in Melbourne and Sydney aren’t much better as the shops available are almost identical, the same styles and trends happening. Every item I buy in Australia is bought with difficulty because I know there is always a risk that someone else I know will wear it. I clearly remember a patient of mine coming in wearing the very SAME DRESS I bought from Melbourne! All that effort to buy something different from another state wasted due to the fact that Perthians love to travel 

As mentioned in my previous post YesStyle, I had my very first online shopping experience of buying clothes!

It was a dress I found from ASOS and their free shipping Australia wide regardless of $ spurred me to make take the plunge. The delivery was supposed to be about 7 days but somehow was delayed for another week (during that time I had purchased, received and worn my items from YesStyle!).

The dress itself was pretty good although the colour on the website was duller than the actual piece – luckily it’s still something I can wear. Generally I’m not overly excited by the items on ASOS because it’s similar (if not exactly the same) to what I can get in the shops, but I’ve been eyeing a pair of jeans and a piece of jewelry on the site ever since they notified me of a further 10% off  

The only thing holding me back at the moment is the fact that I have reached my credit limit and have bills to pay  Alternatively I could find jeans at YesStyle for a lower price, but the jewelry I’ll have to distract myself and hope the urge will pass…. wish me luck….

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