Bites: Gordon St Garage @ Perth City

Back before hipsters were cool, a hipster once told me that hipster only have 3% body fat.  The story starts here for this new kid on the block.  Walking in, I was taken away by the retro fittings in this factory inspired diner.  It was very welcoming and felt like the place to be.  Sitting down, a cute chick takes our gave us our menu and we had water on standby.  Little darling, intrigued by the many cakes arrange near the door decided to order a slice of fruit cake.

It did not take long to arrive but we were put off by it.  BADLY.  It was crumbly, dry and sad.  But a strong point though is that there were heaps of sultanas but barely enough to justify what was served to us.   Perhaps a little short on rum and other fruits to constitute a proper fruit cake too.  For me, the only salvage here would be if it was gluten free.  Then I’d be pretty chuffed.

The comes my lunch called 2 Sliders for $18.00                                                                                                           It was a slider pair consisting of pulled pork and chutney with another one filled with pastrami.  How would I find these all?  Very very queer.  I found the flavors decent but to say it was a hit,  I would beg to differ.  Everything on this plate was very simple to put together and to have so little means to perfect every element.  The pastrami burger in all honesty felt out place in terms of flavor and to a certain extend, bland.  Not sure how pathetic bits of gherkins are supposed to salvage a poorly constructed pastrami.  Onion rings served on a stack of trio made a good visual but when bitten into, it was sad to find that the first ring was horrible.  No, it was not the batter, but rather the onion itself that was not up to mark.  Saying that is in fact a leniency considering the issue was that the chef him/herself decided to use the harder outer bit of the onion which is usually the part I would put in the bin.  But fortunately, the other two were just joy although it all ended too prematurely.

Next comes the little darling’s chicken salad @ $18.                                                                                          Just by looking at it, this salad is clearly inspired by Asian flavors.  But putting inspirations to realization requires more than just dreams, it is either a reinvention of a classic or a classic done well.  The whole thing as darling would put it, felt bland with no distinctive taste or flavors that drives a person to go mouthful after mouthful..  Only consolation was that the poached chicken was tender but unfortunately lacked even the slightest seasoning.  At that moment, I was already cursing our luck.  Who the heck set this horrible Friday for us.  Even the chilies that was meant to bring heat were not finely diced to reinvigorate the salad as a whole, but rather, it was disguised among the greens making some mouthfuls feel rather unpleasant.

 

Over all, yes we loved the venue.  Yes, the hipster looking chic and dudes were rather spot on.  But when it comes to substance on a plate, it seems like form has gotten the better of the restaurant.  It is rather unfortunate these days.  Sometimes it is even questionable to what hipsters really are.   So may the real hipster please stand up?  Some venues are fancily fitted with the right mix of service and feel but when it comes to serving food, it is where the momentum stops.  Seriously, that serve of sliders and salad are nothing more than misery.  It is pathetic, even more so considering the amount we paid.  Would I ever come back again?  Yeah maybe.  Probably with my lunch box and just for drinks.  Their pot of tea is flavorful and still has what it takes to be a good pot of tea.  It would surprise me if it turned out wrong.

WenY

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