Bites: Brunch by the Sea @ the Shorehouse, Cottesloe

Another weekend, another brunch.  Amongst the many things W.A has to offer, its pristine beaches easily comes close to topping the list.  So why not do brunch by the beach right?  That’s exactly what Shorehouse had in mind.  This popular restaurant takes in the sweeping views of the Scarborough coastline with both indoor and outdoor sitting benefitting from the million dollar view.  Its brunch menu was nice and tasteful with accents of seafood written between the lines.  After enjoying a hot Chocolate, I ordered an omelette to get my daily protein. This was not just any Omelette though! This was Shorehouse’s Crab Omelette.

But can they top the famous Chilli Crab Omelette by Frisch and Barc? For starters the omelette at Shorehouse sticks true to the creamy butter finish of a traditional Omelette. Silky smooth with a strong hit of butter, this was joy.  Topping the protein was some crab meat cooked in miso butter. Umami bomb at its finest with the nutty and slightly sweet Miso flavour serenading the dish.  Moving to the inside of the Shorehouse Omelette, there was a slow cooked leek.  Unfortunately, this was where the joys of the buttery egg and tender crab flesh ended.  The leek was still fibrous and undercooked.  To a certain extent it was hilarious seeing how everyone was busy picking the fibres from their mouth haha.  There was a mound of dental floss on some plates :P  Then again we only had two choices.  One was to take it out, or two we could have swallow it whole lol.

Shorehouse is a promising venue with my sister previously giving them credit for their amazing desserts.  An omelette for $23.50 is pretty pricey even when comparing it to Frisch and Barc who had more crab meat in its omelette.  But look beyond the food, factor in the sweeping shoreline and price soon becomes irrelevant.  The combination of food and views make for a winning meal.  Would I come back?  It will be a definite yes but I would not be in a hurry.

WenY

Bites: BlueWaters @ Cottesloe

Bluewaters hold a happy memory for me as I first came here with the little darling awhile ago.  Last week, I decided to pay a visit with my friends to see how the cook, a former Michelin starred restaurant chef has cope with time.  The food that night felt a little lackluster but where it was strong before, it still is now.

 

For starters, risotto dishes at Bluewaters are just simply delicious! They are light, buttery and pack the beautiful flavors of the season.  That night, I had the Nero Risotto which was squid ink risotto with scallops.  This for me was the highlight.  Superbly executed and easily comparable to the mint and sweet pea risotto I had 2 years ago.  Many kudos for the consistency!

The next appetizer was the Arancini which to me felt a little dense.  The creamy dressing if I recall correctly to be Aioli or a mayo concoction of some sort did not quite make the cut too.  The Arancini itself is a pretty dense ball filled with cheese and rice which to me is pretty bland.  Perhaps a chutney for some sweetness or tomato chili salsa for that extra freshness and acidity.  That would definitely prevent this dish from starting your meal too heavy especially if you had the whole thing yourself, it would be cloying!

 

For my main, I chose the Wagyu steak.I really felt that this was nowhere near the fillet steak I had before.  What to me was a turnoff was the fatty bits which were not tasty.  So, for me, I plucked out all the fatty bits to have the meat.  Nowadays, I find the name Wagyu overused.  There is no point using the Wagyu is it does not benefit the steak enough.  This clearly is one of those instances.  A cube of prime Angus fillet would have more than suffice like it did 2 years ago.

 

The other main we had was the Salmon which my friend said was pretty good! Kudos to the chef for that one.

 

Over all, I thought my dinner there was pretty enjoyable.  Food was still quality although the misses were pretty apparent this time!  Also, my friend found the waiter quite rude as she mumbles to herself when speaking.  As if mocking as times according to fishman.  Perhaps better luck next time? 

 

WenY

Bites: John Street Cafe @ Cottesloe

Happy mornings, lazy mornings, what other “mornings”do we have? A yummy morning maybe? Last Sunday, was Nee’s mom’s last day here. So we decided to start her last morning in Perth with a different type of meal :)! My cousin suggested to me, a few times before, that a certain cafe along John Street makes superb brekkies. The hash brown in particular really. Having problems waking up before, we slept early, determined to wake up to enjoy this morning with our new housemate’s mother. We were there around 8.30 in the morning and it was already packed to the brim. We booked a place for 6 and was 4th in the queue. Fortunately, it did not take long for their energetic crew to find us a seat. 15 minutes ;-)!

Morning people! Kids, moms, and dads!

Colourful table! Hehe!

When the menu came to us, I wasn’t exactly amused. Simple things that could be cooked for 20 bucks. While my mind wasn’t convinced to order the big breakfast, I actually ended up with one of the meals people would consider less value for money. But that didn’t matter, when I was done with the meal, it was a happy ending! Breakfast really feels better when it is all done up for you!!

My Vegetarian Big Breakfast @ $20. Homemade baked beans, mushrooms, poached eggs, hash browns, tomatoes and olive oil toast. The eggs were awesome possum no question. But I guess it is a norm that it comes out perfect as I have been to a few brekkie cafes in Melbourne before and it always comes out perfect. The mushrooms were really good, and oh the hash brown. It is was homemade. Felt like battered mash potatoes seasoned with herbs and mustard before being deep fried. The beans were also a house special. I recognised three beans in there. The baked beans, kidney beans and chick peas all cooked in a thick tomato sauce which felt rich enough to be tossed in pasta. Really delicious. I feel like I must have it once more. Maybe once I feel motivated to wake up early again? :D!

This was Xin Ling’s Egg Benedict @$15 which was err Egg Hollandaise on top of English brekkie muffins with ham? I think so ahah. Oh and she added the hash brown to her meal which was $4 bucks!

She liked it a lot and was super enthusiastic at first making a statement she didn’t know she would regret later on ahah. She insisted on having one breakfast meal by herself and by the time she knew it, she was filled to brim while the plate was only half finished! Ahhaha.

Xin Nee and My sister ordered pretty much the same thing. They had a Big Breakfast @$20. They were your typical ones with meat overload. The sausages, and the bacon with a massive serve of scrambled eggs on top of crisp olive toast. It’s my sister’s second time having it and I’d have to say, she looked like a merry pig by the time she was done with it.

Over all, I think this place makes the cut as a good eatery to have a relaxing breakfast on a Sunday morning. In fact, any mornings will do. A good change from the dim sum mornings we would normally have in Perth. No mistake on the things we ordered. Vegetarian or meat, you will not leave the John St. cafe hungry. In fact, you will be full till lunch time! On a down side, a juice here will set you back $7.20 and a coffee/tea something like $4 which is quite a norm in Perth. So, I would recommend that you seal the deal and get the John St. breakfast which allows you to have a choice of either vegetarian or meat with both a Coffee/Tea and an Orange juice! You don’t need to have both because you could easily share it!

WenY

Reservations for Two: Blue Waters @ Cottesloe

Little darling came back just in time for our little celebration, Valentines.  Yobi calls it the rip-off celebration of the century but hey?! Everybody wants a reason to celebrate do they not?  Hehe, what more when it is your first :)! After fetching her from the airport, we went home to grab some rest before going to my sister’s place for lunch with my parents.

At night, we dressed up and drove to the beach for our Valentines dinner!  Blue Waters is located along the Cottesloe beach with pretty good views of the ocean if you are seated along the front.  To catch the beautiful sunset , dinner was booked for two people at 6pm! Led by Chef Steven Black, former head chef of many Michelin Star-ed restaurants, his food was pretty damn good.  Saw a few rave reviews written about this place before deciding to come here.   I was pleasantly surprised by the end of the meal, not the cheapest but we were delighted by the quality and service. Other bloggers highlighted Blue Waters for its array of fresh seafood.  The food we ordered that night are shown below:

Sourdough with Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar dip was our first appetizer.  I like bread, but she did not haha.  I find this simple combination our bread and oil based dip to be amazingly tasty despite it very unappealing appearance.  Had many times before and I still enjoy it.  However, the skin of the bread was a bit charred so I only scrapped the soft part to eat X_X! Food wastage!!

 

Another appetizer for the night was the Seared Scallops with Mint and Sugar Peas Risotto.  This one was a stunner. We both enjoyed it thoroughly.  Surprising really, as I have never liked peas especially frozen ones as they give me indigestion.  Fortunately, my tummy felt superb after the meal!  Not to mention, the idea of having mint in something porridge-y would be disgusting but it actually turned out to have a very delicious and fresh fragrant.  This instantly takes away the sickening feeling after a few spoons of the dish.  The scallops were yummy-licious too! Fresh and not over cooked!

 

While we were having our appetizers, the very friendly waitress would occasionally come by to make sure we were having our meals comfortably and would offer any help if necessary.  She would also ask us whether we were finished if we stopped eating for a moment ahah.  Might be a tad too annoying for people who prefers to have more privacy with their partner or guests.  After slowly savouring the appetizers, the mains we ordered arrived :)!

I ordered the steak with mash potatoes, curried pumpkin puree, and asparagus served with a wine reduction sauce.

 

Darling ordered Pan Fried Atlantic Salmon with boiled potatoes, and vegetables in special house Tartar sauce!

 

Our mains very super duper yummy! My steak was cooked to the extent where it sort of melts in your mouth, oh my god, super goodness.  The mash and pumpkin puree was absolutely stunning too! Both the mash and the puree was deliciously smooth and brought a pleasant feel to my palette.  Definitely better than those overpriced pub-style Hog’s Breath steak meal.  Darling’s Atlantic Salmon was fresh from top to bottom, perfectly cooked with a slight hint of rawness at the very centre of the fish slice. She liked it but could not finish the whole slice because the serving was pretty big.  Must have been the large appetizers we had earlier.  To finish the night, the darling saw something which caught her eye.  We ordered the Raspberry Semi-Fredo. Can’t quite remember the name, and just asked darling, her reply was “some ice-cream'” =.=!

Delicious :)! The biscuit on top is yummy with the ice cream.  But not quite worth the 13 dollars. I would have picked up a small pint of Baskin Robins anytime over this one!

 

Little Darling with her dessert! Pretty!~

 

After dinner we walked around the beach,enjoying the sunset.  Many looks from beachgoers as we seemed overdressed for the pristine sand which are a familiar feature on Perth WA’s beach.  Nonetheless, it was an enjoyable night and we were back just before 8pm.  Just in time for a photo with the bouquet of flowers I gave her earlier at the airport in the morning :)!

This picture was funny because we tried to take it by ourselves but failed miserably.  Had to get fishman to help us do it!  A bit shy here!

 

That is all for my Valentines. We did have some lovey dovey gift exchange but we will keep that private for now hoho!  Till then. ;-)

 

WenY