Weekend of love...

So I haven't written a review for a lonnng time but was inspired this weekend when I got absolutely spoilt rotten by Dan who obviously knows that the way to my heart is through my tum tum.

Saturday morning after a leisurely sleep in I was treated to breakfast at the Urban Bean.  I have always had my reservations about this place...I thought of it as too "Perth" to be in Margaret River (silly how we make these judgments).  Well I am truly a convert.  The coffee was so delicious - strong, but with a sweet caramel crema.  Yum! And perfect drinking temperature straight up.  I love that!

Breakfast was the usual - soft poached eggs with bacon.  Cooked to perfection and served with sourdough and lots of butter.  Sensational.  No need for tomato sauce (I can feel you cringe but I like it ok?)  

So that was a real pleasure, and we did it all again Sunday morning.  

Dinner for valentines day was a real treat.  Went to my very very favourite restaurant, Winos.  I love starting the evening at Winos having a chat with the wine guy, and then enjoying the lovely red he recommends in the bar.  Unfortunately this time it was cut short by a really rude waitress who said to us "Would you like to come to your table" and I said "No we would like to finish our drink" and then she made us go anyway! hahahah I felt so bullied.  But it didn't matter.  We ordered some bread and anchovy oil to start, and some arancini yum!  They had a curry spice I can't put my finger on.  

Dinner we both had the scotch fillet (hoping for the trusty waygu but the fillet did not in any way disappoint).  The fillet was just as good as the waygu, cooked to perfection, drizzled with a garlic "foam", interesting twist, and served with mash and mushies.  Yum!!!

Finished with a glass of red on the lounge, Dan and I chatted and relaxed, mirrored with our hands behind our heads like a head rest, way too full.  Next time we are going to try really hard to just order mains, otherwise it is way way too much (but we can never resist the entree!)

Lamont’s Wine Store Cottesloe

Monday to Saturday 11am to midnight and Sunday 11am till 10pm

12 Station Street, Cottesloe

Telephone 08 9385 0666

My love affair with Amano cooking school, run by the delightful Bev Sprague, was ended about six months ago when it was announced that Bev was shutting up shop, and Kate Lamont would be opening a new wine store, taking advantage of the small liquor licenses so furiously fought for in Perth.

The concept is really clever - you can use Lamont’s Cottesloe as a wine store -simply to pick up a bottle and enjoy at home - or as a bar to enjoy a quiet drink, or as a restaurant to sample some of the delights from their tapas menu.

Last night we visited to dine and had a great experience. The space itself is quite small, and you sit pretty close to your fellow diners, however they have done a great job with the fit out so the acoustics are really good and there is no issue with noise.

Mum started with a sherry, and the rest of us a bottle of Pinot Noir from Pemberton, the Picardy 2006. I really enjoyed the pinot. Uniquely, as it is a wine store you are not limited to the wine list, but can choose any wine in the store. My only criticism was that the waitress didn’t know much about the wines (and at this sort of place that should be the first thing they learn). One of the other waitresses also commented that she “does not eat that stuff” when I asked her about the tuna cerviche…

We noticed some crystals in the glass on pouring the pinot, and the owner sat with us and explained how the crystals are formed, and often if you shine a torch into a barrel it will be like a jewelled cave.

We ordered a variety of tapas:

french onion soup with gruyere toasts (8.50)
wagyu beef and mushroom pie (14.50)
fried marron, pepper and garlic dust (15.50)
tuna cerviche with creme fraiche (14.50)
confit duck salad, mandarin oil (11.50)
The food was fresh, simple and absolutely delicious. The open kitchen set up is great because it is really nice to watch the chef prepare the dishes (most of which are pre-cooked, and simply plated and dressed at the counter). Dad of course complained that they are charging main course prices for entree sized food but that is the nature of tapas.

Dessert was macaroons, pan forte and cappucinos.

A great experience. Well worth trying.

Balthazar…review by Matt Milner

6 The Esplanade
Perth 6000 WA
Phone: (08) 9421 1206
European and Modern Australian
Signature dish: Aged beef fillet


A favourite with the corporate-set and undoubtedly one of the most talked about fine-dining spots in Perth, I ventured to Balthazar with lofty expectations. I was not disappointed! It turned out to be one of the most memorable dining experiences I have had in a long time.

The restaurant is located at the bottom floor of the Lawson Apartments in the heart of the city. The building is a lovely example of art-deco, and this theme is continued inside the restaurant. Upon entering, you can decide to have a pre-dinner drink at the wine bar, however we skipped this and went straight to our table (very comfortable seating)

The menu is well-rounded and follows a distinctively European/Modern Australian theme.

For entrees, the 5 of us shared a tasting plate, which was memorable. It included prawns, pork sausage, and a tomato and eggplant tart -all of which were immaculately presented and tasted phenomenal.
Then came the biggest challenge of the evening: what wine to select. Balthazar has forged its reputation on it’s incredible wine list. It is extensive to say the least - and is regarded as one of the finest in Perth. After flicking through the list (it is about 50 pages long), we settled on a Sem Sav Blanc from WA, and a Pinot Noir from SA. (A word of warning: whilst the wine list is amazing, so are the prices. The cheapest bottles start at about $50 and go up to the $1000’s).

Choosing a main course was almost as challenging as the wine selection, however I settled on a simple grilled fillet of Barramundi with a balsamic sauce infused with tomato and bacon, and creamy mashed-potato. It was extremely tasty and satisfying. The fish was fresh, delicate, perfectly cooked, and flavoursome, and the sauce was perfectly balanced. The mash was delicious, had a great texture, and wasn’t too stodgy.

After a few more more glasses of wine and numerous gin&tonics, everyone felt dessert was an essential way to end the meal. I ordered the chocolate pudding infused with cherries - it was a good choice. It was rich, warm, and decadent. I almost ordered seconds, but thought about the dire consequences it would have for my already expanding waist-line (and my ever-shrinking wallet).

My dinner buddies shared my opinion on the standard of the food. A couple of them had the pork-belly, which they told me was flavoursome, generous, and overall an excellent dish.

The service is also of a high-standard. The staff are attentive and keen to share their extensive knowledge of the menu and wine-list, yet they are still unobtrusive and discrete.

After a few more (quite a few more) gin&tonics, we got the bill, which was not as scary as I had envisaged. If you take away the exorbitant cost of the wine, the food is very reasonably priced for a restaurant of this quality and calibre.

It felt strange leaving a restaurant without being able to criticise it in some way, shape, or form. But we all left feeling very satisfied and reveled in the fact that we had found a restaurant that had all the ingredients: atmosphere, location, great service, great wine, and outstanding food.

Entree: $15-$27
Mains: $23-$36
Dessert: $14

Aubergine Gourmet Foods on South Terrace…review by Jessica Anderson

231 South Tce
South Fremantle 6162 WA
Phone: (08) 9335 2115
Chef: Paul Watters

I awoke nice and early on sunday (after a massive night out) to head out for breakfast and found myself in Fremantle at 12pm. I was starving and looking to assuage my hangover. I’m not 100% sure if it was the fact that I was willing to eat anything or that the food was fabulous but Aubergine’s in South Tce hit the spot for me that morning (ah, midday). I was lucky to jag an outdoor table and placed an order for their breakfast sandwich while my boyfriend had the eggs florentine. I love a place that does all day breakfast and despise those that stop the morning ritual at 11am.

The breakfast sandwich was huge and gave me the option to eat with my hands “sandwich style” or with a knife and fork. I chose to eat with my hands and went for it. A large square of turkish bread that was not too doughy (and therefore the perfect vessel) carried bacon, egg, spinach, cheese, roasted tomatoes and some delightfully tasty relish with onions. I think I ate the whole thing in under 10 minutes, maybe less. My boyfriend’s eggs florentine looked good but unfortunately he wasn’t willing to share that morning, even though I gave him some of my bacon. I can however tell you, that his physical improvement between arriving and leaving was such that the food must have been the perfect hangover cure as well as a damn fine meal.

I was really impressed with the coffee and the service. The two waitresses that served me were both genuinely pleasing and warm. The one with the short hair really went out of her way to make sure some other customers could fit their party on an outside table. The coffee came out quickly, hot and was not bitter to taste. My boyfriend’s flat white was not too frothy either, which is how a FLAT white should be. We also got a juice, and out of the array of ingredients to choose from, the combo of apple, pineapple, orange and ginger really hit the spot. The juice was cool and not overly packed with ice.

I really enjoyed the experience at Aubergines, however I do recommend sitting outside as it can get very noisy inside and has terrible acoustics. I did have an average meal there when I ordered fruit toast about a month ago but this new experience has put it back in my good books. It also has the great Freo vibe without the hoons driving their cars past you and it is free and easier to find a parking spot. I am really looking forward to seeing this part of Fremantle grow as the Seaview Pub and other little cafes start to open up and improve.
I give it a 7 out of 10!!

Mon-Fri 7am-4pm; Sat-Sun 7am-5pm
Mains: $3.50-$16.50
Dessert: $3.50-$4.50
Payment accepted: Cash Only

Sea Garden, Prevelly...review by Jessica Anderson

103 Mitchell Dr
Prevelly 6285 WA
Phone: (08) 9757 3074





It was with a mild sense of delight when I discovered that the surf was crap and the sea was windy as I therefore knew I could indulge in my boyfriend’s company all morning. We headed to Sea Garden in Prevelly for some late coffees and were so seduced by the menu that we decided to place a bigger order.

We decided to share the poached eggs with spinach and feta to accompany our flat whites and cappucinos. I am a serious lover of eating breakfast at cafes, I love the newspaper getting in the way and the fact that I don’t have to do small talk. The Sea Garden has the perfect ambiance for my favourite indulgence. We sat outside, under the peppermint trees with the sun on our backs and a view to the roaring ocean. The food came out in 10 minutes after we ordered.

Firstly, the coffee was strong and smooth. I am regarded as a coffee snob amongst most of my friends and this cafe did not disappoint me.

But to the food …. it was the most delicious breakfast i have eaten in a long time. the eggs were poached perfectly with the whites firm and the orange middle (I kid you not, the centres were bright orange) a perfect runny mess. the feta was a great salty substitute for the usual bacon, and the small amount of grated fresh beetroot took the texture of the meal to a new dimension. the chef had also roasted a small half tomato, wilted the spinach under the warm eggs, lightly buttered the ciabatta toast and wasn’t overly generous on the hollandaise, so the meal was balanced perfectly. The only criticism is that the hollandaise sauce didn’t appear to be “real”, possibly out of a jar.

My boyfriend, who frequents most of Margaret River’s eateries, regards this cafe as a bit “hit and miss” but this Saturday morning it hit it and it hit it hard! I was so impressed that I am excited about my next meal there and cant wait to try something else on the menu. I’d easily give the whole experience a 7 out of 10! (the waitress was pretty cute too).

Open daily 8am - 9pm
Entree: $7-$19
Mains: $18.50-$29
Dessert: $8.50-$14
Licensed. Wine is not available by the glass. BYO (wine only) $5 corkage per person.

Osteria dei Sapori

151 Broadway
Nedlands 6009 WA
Phone: (08) 9386 4243
Open: Lunch Monday - Friday; Dinner Monday - Saturday



Do yourself a favour and visit Osteria dei Sapori.

It boasts delicious, generous serves of traditional Italian food.

Excellent service - italian waiters full of life, paying attention to every last detail. They will even clap and sing to you if it is your birthday!!

Very reasonable prices.

Last time I had:
- Antipasto plate - Osteria is famous for this
- the pasta dei giorno - Ox Tail Ragu with tagliatelle - absolutely delicious homemade pasta with the best meaty ragu
- Profiteroles
- Panna cotta with strawberry sauce

There was not a snip of food left on any plate.

Entree: $15-$19
Mains: $16-$35
Dessert: $7.50
Payment accepted: MasterCard, Visa and American Express

Licensed. Wine is available by the glass.

The Berry Farm…review by Winsome Stavrianou

We spent two weeks in the Margaret River region of WA in November. The scenery was breathtaking, all the vines were covered with green leaves, the grass was green and the rivers were full. Pleasantly the weather was warming up. We were on the mission for a perfect lunch. We tried quite a few of the wineries and similar throughout the two weeks. The standout lunch was at the Berry Farm.

The Berry Farm is located about half an hour away from Margaret River Township. The drive takes you through lovely rural country, littered with animals and vineyards. My first impression of the Berry Farm was not fantastic. It was not well signposted, and there was construction work happening near the car park. However, as we approached the little cottage that is now the restaurant we forgot all about these little glitches. We chose to sit outside, with the cute little blue wrens and other birds.
We ordered the two pies, one each, as recommended by the owner/chef. He couldn’t chose a favourite, and between us neither could we. We ordered a beef pie with red wine sauce and a venison pie with port sauce. The pies were delicious, golden flaky pastry encrusting beautifully tender meat and sauce. The meat was real, and great big chunks of it. The pies also came with a simple salad, which was refreshing and all that was necessary. Having said that, the garlic bread we ordered complimented the pies perfectly. We could have done without the garlic bread, as we actually struggled to finish the pies after eating so much delicious garlicky bread. However our puppy, Honey, managed to help us out with that one.

Also on the menu were delicious looking scones served with jam and cream, and other lighter lunches.

Another pro of this restaurant is the friendly staff. We had puppy in tow for the duration of our trip down south. We found it difficult in some places to take us with her. Despite finding outside tables, many restaurants didn’t like her being there. In contrast the people at the Berry Farm welcomed her, and even asked where they could get one like her.

I would recommend the Berry Farm to anyone travelling to the Margaret River region as we thoroughly enjoyed it. We can’t wait to try the jams and sauces next time we get there, as after eating such a fantastic lunch we were too full to try anything more.

Winsome Stavrianou

Tigerlils II

Stupidly I returned to Tigerlils, being sucked in by a free lunch.

Again I was extremely disappointed.

No need to even comment on the food because I feel sick to the stomach thinking about it but it looked and tasted like it had been sitting around with flies laying eggs on it for hours.

I vomited straight after.

Don’t go here if you value your health at all.

Flower Drum…review by Jessica Anderson

Flower Drum Restaurant
Melbourne 17 Market Lane 3000
(03) 9662 3655




It was a rather interesting weekend when my friend decided we needed to eat somewhere fantastic. Too long had we savoured the kebab and cheap pizza, we needed something special. Flowerdrum has a reputation that all restaurants would envy and so we went to find out if it was true.

On entry we were greeted by a lovely door man who escorted us to the lift and took us to the restaurant. I must admit, the decor disappointed me and the repeated “do you have a booking?” was also frustrating, especially because the restaurant was no where near full! We did however have a booking and were taken to our table.

Any reservations I may have had after the first impressions was whisked away as our lovely waiter Barney came to look after us. We ordered the set menu, which was a modestly priced $55 for lunch (it is $150 at dinner). From that moment on, Flowerdrum became everything we hoped.

We ordered cocktails (Planter’s punch and Pimm’s punch) which were a fresh and cool alternative to wine. They also complimented the Chinese food perfectly.

Our first course was three dumplings. One was filled with a smooth crab filling, another with a bitey pork and the last, was seafood which was dipped into a soy and ginger sauce. All were sublime and had us hankering for more. The texture was perfect, the dumplings held their shape and didn’t fall apart in your chopsticks and the sizes were large, but not too big for your mouth.

The next course was a deep fried garfish. Firstly let me say ..there was not one bone. The fillets were long and perfectly fried for the crunch on the outside and the soft/flaky in the middle. This was lovely, however was the least favourite of all the courses

The third course was peking duck. The trolley was wheeled out to the table, and I almost squealed in delight. The pancakes were rolled in front of us, a large cheek of crispy skinned duck was placed with the hoi sin sauce, cucumber and spring onion. It was sublime. I savoured my first and last bite and was so relieved when the waiter asked if we were ready for our 2nd one. Same again, beautiful duck, chewy and soft texture of the pancake, all perfect.

The last course was breathtaking. Grain fed rib eye cooked medium rare in a black pepper sauce. I have never in my life had meat melt in my mouth the way this cut did. It was by far our favourite. The rib eye was cooked perfectly and the broccolini that accompanied it was firm and delicious. The cut was very generous and still rare in the middle; the restaurant could have served only this dish and would still be regarded as one of Australia’s best.

Our other waiters; Jeff, Tommy and Trainee were all as fantastic as Barney. They had pleasing, genuine smiles and they made sure out glasses of water were constantly filled (it seems like a simple gesture but was much appreciated). The timing of the meals between each course was also down to a fine art. I never felt starved, but always ready for my next meal and the waiters never made us wait too long.

We were brought coffee and some almond biscuits to finish our meal and were suitably stuffed by the end, but did not feel gluttonly full. The meal really was a great experience. I recommend it to all who are in Melbourne to try this institution on the restaurant scene.

Jessica Anderson

The Pony Club…review by Lisa Tibbits

Mt Lawley 620 Beaufort St 6050
(08) 9228 8801
www.theponyclub.com.au

I had the great pleasure of dining at The Pony Club in Mount Lawley on Saturday night. I must admit that after reading both rave and scathing reviews of the restaurant, did not have very high expectations of the place and knew that it was going to be an expensive evening. Whilst the evening definitely hurt the hip pocket, I had a great time and was definitely impressed with the food, the wine and, of course, the company!

After trying for weeks to organise a girly catch-up between 5 very busy ladies, we finally managed to lock in a 7pm start on a busy Saturday night. We arrived a little late which didn’t turn out to be a problem as there was only a hand full of diners in the candlelit room. We were seated in a corner of the restaurant near the entrance. I thought this was going to annoy me as we would have people walking past us all evening, but to be honest I didn’t even thing about it again after 5 minutes of being there. If anything, the staff would maybe have regretted seating us there as we definitely got quite loud and silly towards the end of the evening

After taking a few happy snaps and settling in, we decided to order some drinks. It took quite some time to attract the waiters attention, but eventually a bottle of the Brokenwood Semillon ‘06 (Hunter Valley) ($37) was delivered to our table. One of us decided to get into the cocktails early and ordered an ‘Emma Dilemma’ (vodka, muddled pineapple, lychee and basil) ($14.50). Both were sensational, although we were disappointed to discover that we had actually ordered the last bottle of the Brokenwood as we would have loved another bottle.

With lots of girl talk and gossip to catch up on, a glance at the extensive tapas menu revealed that we were going to have to really think about what to order and how many dishes to get between us. Thankfully we turned the menu over and discovered that we could choose from 2 ‘banquettes’ - $50 or $60 per person which showcased the best dishes on the menu. We decided to go all out and order the $60 banquet. Sorted. (I’ll quote the individual prices next the to food which we actually ate to give you an idea of prices).

While we finished off the bottle of Brokenwood, some olives with chilli garlic and lemon fennel ($6) arrived at our table, along with some salted almonds ($6). As we got stuck into the appetisers, we noticed out glasses were empty and decided to order more wine. Again, it took ages for us to attract the attention of the waiter. When we finally managed to call someone over, we ordered a round of ‘Peachy Keens’ (pompero rum, peach liqueur, muddled peach and lime) ($14.50), a few ‘How’da Like Them Apples?!’ (apple vodka and liqueur, muddled apple and cardamon pods) ($14.50), as well as a bottle of the Lenton Brae late Harvest Semillon ‘04 ($27) and ‘The Yard’ Shiraz (Frankland River) ($38.00). The Shiraz was sensational.

Our next round of food arrived and consisted of:

Haloumi, pan seared with a chilli lime pesto ($9.80)
Char Grilled asparagus spears with goats curd and porcini oil ($11.30)
Truffled honey Persian feta crostini with walnuts and torn basil ($11.20)
House cured juniper salmon served with a beetroot and orange blossom salad ($14.80) and
Char grilled king [prawn with cucumber, paw paw and pomegranate molasses ($16.20).
My favourite dish was the Persian feta, which just melted in your mouth and was absolutely divine. Each serve also catered for 5 people, so we all got an equal share of everything with none to spare.

There was probably a half hour or 40 minute wait between this course and the next round of food, but that didn’t bother us as we kept drinking and talking and thoroughly enjoying the darkened atmosphere in the restaurant. By this time the restaurant was full and all the diners around us seemed to be having as good a time as us too. When our main courses arrived there was plenty of food to go around. Unfortunately, the menu on the restaurant’s website is obviously not the current menu as I cant remember some of the dishes that we were served. However, we were served with a curry-type dish with chick peas and tomato, a beautiful lamb dish with eggplant and lentils (my favourite dish of the evening, the lamb just crumbled when transferring it from the serving bowl to your plate), a fish dish and also another dish. Every dish was amazing! Most of the main dishes are around $30 per dish if bought individually.

After that we continued drinking (I am pretty sure another few rounds of cocktails were ordered), taking photos, ducking outside occasionally to the comfortable smoking area, generally laughing and having a fun time. We never felt like we had to leave now that we had finished and we spent at least another hour at the table after the main course had been cleared. During this time we also had Churros with chocolate ganach (think doughnuts to dip in chocolate sauce) ($10.50).

At the end of the evening we split the bill evenly. At $120 each (I actually though it was going to be more to be honest!) it was an expensive, but awesome evening. It was definitely a special “once off” night… I dont think I could justify spending $60 on just food for myself again anytime soon, but we all had a brilliant time and I would definitely recommend it for a group of people looking to try something different!

Food: 7.5/10
Drinks: 8/10
Service: 6.5/10
Overall: 7.5/10

Lisa Tibbits aka Mono Lisa

Maya Masala Indian Brasserie

49 Lake St Northbridge 6003 (08) 9328 5655
Maya Masala 2: 171 James St, Northbridge Tue-Sun 5.30pm-12am
Maya Masala coming soon to QV1 building, Hay Street
BYO

Not the best service, and not the best indian restaurant in perth but good food for a good price.

Just go there and try the lamb saagwalla (14.90). A beautiful spicy dish - lamb cooked with spinach, butter, ginger and garlic, very rich. Absolutely delicious with some naan.

We also had butter chicken (14.90).

Dosa are huge and tasty.

Great thali platters for people who just can’t decide and want to try everything.

Anghiti Indian Restaurant

Shop 1/379 Scarborough Beach Rd, Innaloo; 9446 6222
340 Walcott St, Mt Lawley; 9443 8888

Open Tuesday - Sunday
11.30am - 2pm; 5.30pm - 10pm



Entree: $9-$24
Mains: $15-$35
Dessert: $6
Licensed. BYO (wine only) $5 corkage per bottle.

Went to Anghiti tonight after a movie at Greater Union.
The service was excellent, food fantastic, and very reasonable.
The rice was delicious - flavoured with cumin seeds.
We had:
- Butter Chicken Jalandhri ($15.40) which was maybe the best butter chicken I have had
- Goan Prawn Curry ($16.30) a great curry, nice heat to it
- nan and rice

Will definitely be back.

Joy Kitchen

Open 11-2.30pm Monday to Friday; 5.30-9.30pm Monday - Saturday
17 Point Street, Fremantle
9336 6868
http://www.joykitchen.com.au/



Danny and I went to Joy Kitchen last week, and again last night and had fantastic food both times.
Joy Kitchen is a little Chinese restaurant which has been dishing up the most delicious, authentic Chinese cuisine for over ten years. It is located in a funny spot near Target in Fremantle. The menu is extensive and diverse, with a range of Chinese dishes including soups, chicken, beef, vegetarian, seafood, lamb, duck, pork, complemented with a selection of entree’s, rice and noodles.
Last night we had:
- Sizzling Black pepper garlic lamb ($15.50) - absolutely delicious, tender, will get it again
- Satay chicken ($14.50) - best I have ever had, a real peanuty satay sauce
- Black pepper fried rice ($10.50) - fried rice with black pepper and lettuce leaves in it

Last time we visited we tried:
- Shanghai chicken - half a chicken with crispy skin and a light sauce
- Japanese bean curd with chicken - this was my favourite absolute must try
- Sizzling Mongolian Beef

The food is quick, service is great, BYO, cheap.
$42.50 for the two of us - you can’t go wrong.
A must do. This grublover will be back.

Bar One

QV1 Retail Plaza
250 St Georges Terrace
Perth, Western Australia 6000
T: 08 9481 8400 F: 08 9481 8422
contact@bar1.com.au
Open 7am ’til late, Monday to Friday

Bar One is a funky little bar/restaurant at the base of the qv1 building. It is packed on a Friday night for after work drinks, but generally quite quiet in the day, and relaxing with its low lighting and wood facades.

I have been here for 100s of coffees and drinks (seeing it is just under my work), but never for a meal.

Today I had lunch and was very impressed.

The wine list is extensive, and features some great Aussie wines. I love the Torbreck Woodcutters Shiraz (8.50 glass), but there is plenty more to choose from.

Today we had for entree:
- Oysters: (12/18/24): Freshly shucked, cucumber & chardonnay dressing
- Carpaccio (16.50) Seared thinly sliced beef fillet, truffle oil, capers & parmesan. Absolutely to die for dish, so salty and tasty I would love to try this again.

For mains:
Pappardelle (24.50) with duck, mushroom, vermouth, porcini ragout. Absolutley rich, delicious, decadent.

Love to try:
Capellini Angel hair pasta, blue manna crab, tomato sugo and XV olive oil

Winos

June 25th, 2007
11 Rendall Close
Margaret River 6285
(08) 97 58 7155

Wino’s is a funky bar/restaurant on the main drag in Margaret River. The food is absolutely amazing - you can never order a dud; the service is attentive and relaxed; and the wine and drinks list is extensive.

I always love going to wino’s because it’s usually the first thing I do when I get down south and it marks the beginning of a great time down there.
On this occasion we jumped straight off the freeway after work, made it to gracetown at about 8pm and got to Wino’s by 830.

It’s good fun on a Friday night - a mix of about 50/50 locals and metros, many just catching up with friends in the bar.

The restaurant is a great big open space with the bar first thing as you walk in and the restaurant area raised a step. The bar faces out onto the street so you can see people coming and going.

We sat in the lounges between the restaurant and bar for a drink before our meal.
I had the Benaves shiraz from Coonawarra ($10) which was delicious. Dan had a crazy German beer. Mum had a Chandon, and then a Riesling from Ferngrove which was very nice.

After our drinks we sat and ordered our meals. The menu is a big blackboard at the back of the restaurant with all the dishes scribbled on it.
We ordered a pumpkin and chili dip to start. It was served with dry crostini dippers, and had a lovely nutmeg, cinnamon flavour.
We also had a dish of 4 scallops ($12), each done in a different style:
- bacon
- mango
- garlicy lemon creamy sauce
- thai with chilli, peanut, coriander, lime
They were delicious, but we all fought over the thai flavoured one.
There was a bit of a wait for our mains, so the waiter brought us some freshly baked bread with an anchovy oil - it was olive oil with anchovies at the bottom - absolutely delicious.

For mains we had:
- lamb rack with almond couscous, pumpkin, beans, mint and coriander dressing ($34.50). This dish had a beetrooty taste in dressing. The lamb was served as two large racks each about 120g (quite generous), and was cooked medium rare, perfect.
- scotch fillet with cream sauce
- duck confit with wild boar sausage served with (herb flavours – rosemary, oregano), white bean and parsnip puree, roasted beetroot and carrot. The sausage was flavoured with rosemary and oregano. The roasted beetroot leaked and flavoured the puree. The duck was perfectly cooked – crunchy skin, tender meat falling off the leg.

The service was incredible: our waiter was attentive, went over the meals with us, brought us food when the meals took to long…Things I would have liked to try, and will be back for:
o frangelico affrogato $9
o braised pork rib with fennel, red cabbage
o waygu beef with parmesan truffle oil mash $49.50

Wino’s is always a great experience, amazing food, this grublover will be back for sure.
8.5 out of 10

Maya Indian Restaurant…by Eve Clarkson

I have enjoyed many meals at the Maya restaurant over a number of years.
However tonight I was somewhat disappointed.

We arrived at the restaurant and were warmly greeted and well looked after.
I ordered a Spy Valley Pino Gris from the Marlborough region of New Zealand and was delighted with this wine. A friend brought along an Alexander Bridge Cab Merlot (2003) which was enjoyed by the red drinkers in the party.
Genny particularly liked the metal drinking vessels used for the water.

We were a party of 6 and 2 members were late. As we waited we ordered an entrée of Eggplant Pakoras - marinated eggplant fried in flour with a sweet and sour fennel and tamarind sauce, along with Chicken Tikka. This was the most delicious dish of the night. Chicken fillets marinated in paprika, garam masala and yoghurt, grilled in a tandoor oven. The yoghurt sauce was not needed as the meat stood alone.

Just as the entrée were served, our friends arrived. The staff were most accommodating. One of the party took it upon himself to order the rest of the meal:

Butter chicken
Lamb Rogan Josh
Palak Paneer
Plain Pulao (Basmati rice)
Plain Naan ad Garlic Naan

Andy who ordered the food, said that it was ‘well ordered’
Trevor said that the meal was nice
Anne had no comment
Lesley stated that it was exceptional with beautiful flavours
Genny said that it was delicious but lacked ‘punch

I think that the most important comments were the comments not made…

The price for 6 people (including 2 bottles of wine and corkage on 1 bottle) was $271. This calculates out at $45 per head.

In summary - disappointing in food terms with a lack of aromatic diversity I would like to have savoured, and as well it was expensive…has there been some changes sine I was there last??

Good points - great staff and excellent service, but let down by the chef.

Out of 10, I am sorry to say that I would only rate it tonight as a 6, but as this is one of my old favourites I will be back to try again.

Eve Clarkson

Chutney Mary’s Indian Restaurant…reviewed by Eve Clarkson

67 Rokeby Rd Subiaco 6008
(08) 9381 2099






We were looking for a good meal to share as we bade farewell to a fellow worker. Chutney Marys had it all.

The ambience is set as you approach the front door, with a carpet laid in the entrance. The atmosphere is vibrant, with large picture of India on the walls, painted in the intense warm colours of spices from the region. The staff quickly greeted us and showed us to our table. I started off with a delightful crisp Saint Clair 2006 Sauvignon Blanc a very good representative of this variety, a benchmark wine of the Marlborough region, New Zealand.

The forward planners of the group had studied the menu, available on the restaurants website. For the nine of us we selected 2 chicken dishes, 1 lamb, goat and prawn/scallop mains, as well as Saag Paneer (Indian cheese and spinac) and cuccmber raita. To accompany these we ardered some Saffron Basmati Puloo (yellow rice) and a selection
of 5 breads. The restaurant was busy, but the meals arrived in a timely manner.

Butter chicken, an old favourite did not let us down with its aromatic rich smokey flavoured sauce. Chicken Palak was again aromatic, with a bit of a bite to it. The Goat Curry, a house speciality was tender, still relatively mild, but with a more gamey flavour. The Gosht Saagwalla again had its own individual combination of spices, with the tenderest of meats. The Prawn and Scallop Molee Curry, from Kerala in the South of India would not have been a dish that I would have selected, but was surprisingly delicious. I look forward to experiencing more of these types of dishes when I visit the region this December. The Saag Paneer, Raita, rice and breads balanced the meal perfectly.

Comments from the crew :
MArgaret oh,oh,oh….she was speechless
Melissa fully..
Hils aromatic tasty food, with piquancy - thotoughly enjoyable
Vicky each dish had ist individual aroma and flavour
Viv bloody best Indian nosh

The cost - which included a great bottle of white, and some other wines by the glass - $22 per head.

Any complaints - we were sitting near the window, and the airconditioner blew directly onto the people sitting nearest to the corner, making them uncomfortably cold.

In summary - great night, superb food, attentive competent staff, good surroundings.
Will I go again? you bet.

Out of 10 I would rate it an 8

Eve Clarkson

the twisted fork

3 Glyde St Mosman Park 6012
(08) 9385 3854
Danny and I finally visited the Twisted Fork last night. It is a beautiful venue – small, intimate, low lighting; set in the quiet, almost spooky Glyde Street in Mosman Park. The specials were written in black pen on an old ornate mirror with a gold frame.

The food was fantastic – unfortunately we both ordered the lamb ($37) and so didn’t get to try much. The lamb was served as French cutlets stuffed with onions and herbs – it had a German flavour to it – that strong, almost mincey taste. It was tender, falling away from the bone as we devoured it. It was served with mushrooms, ‘poor mans’ potatoes, roasted capsicum, and a red wine jus. They had some very interesting things on the menu – pork trotter, steak tartare, violet crumble ice-cream, coffee panna cotta. I can imagine they would all be equally delicious and if I wasn’t so full I would have definitely hit the panna cotta.

Unfortunately the service was a bit average – there was only one man serving, and he just seemed too busy to give us any time.

$12 corkage for wine and quite pricey meals (around $30-35 for a main).
Not going to be this grublovers favourite restaurant, but it’s definitely worth a try. Although it is a bit on the pricey side, they were very generous serves, and it’s worth paying if it’s good. Check out Mosman Park video while you’re there if you’re into art-house or quirky films..

Funtastico

12 Rokeby Rd Subiaco 6008
(08) 9381 2688


We visited Funtastico last week on our lunch break after a grueling PLT exam.
I have always had a love/hate relationship with this restaurant. Hate the service, hate the characters, hate the acoustics…but love love love the food.

Funtastico is full of the sleaze of Subiaco and the attitudes in the staff reflect this. But I will continue to return as the food is just so good. Beautiful, traditional italian food, generous servings, nice wines. Leave with a full belly, one button less, and a big smile on your face.

One of my favourite dishes at Funtastico is the spaghetti alla marinara – it is baked in a cartouche (a bag made out of baking paper) which they bring to your table and slide the pasta out. This makes it really yum – the flavours all get richened and exaggerated.

This time I had the Spaghetti alla arrabiatta ($19) – it was cooked with pancetta and chili and was delicious. The pancetta had a richy, smokey flavour that penetrated the spaghetti. We also shared a pizza covered in hot sausage, mozzarella, olives and artichoke which was hot and crunchy and delicious (although I prefer a more modest pizza with only a couple of flavours where you can enjoy the dough).
My friends ordered the Risotto del Giorno (risotto of the day) which was a delicious, creamy risotto with a generous amount of prawns and mussels, finished with fresh spinach.

You won’t be disappointed with the food at Funtastico, but you may not be a fan of the service.

Chez Jean-Claude Patisserie

333 Rokeby Rd Subiaco 6008 (08) 9381 7968
26 Oxford Cl West Leederville 6007 (08) 9381 1235 http://www.chezjeanclaudepatisserie.com.au/


If you have not yet been to Jean Claude’s, do yourself a favour and go today. There is a line out the door all day long of people dying to get their hands on one of his sweet flakey pastrys, or mouth-watering baguettes. I had a chicken baguette for lunch the other day, took one bite, and had to sit down it was so good (not kidding!). Jean Claude’s cakes are also fantastic and great for a birthday or celebration.