Bites: Bistro Felix @ Subiaco

Dear parents were here last month so I thought of bringing them out and found Bistro Felix quite highly rated on Urbanspoon.  Came in at 6.30 and was promptly seated by the waitresses who were very friendly.  Menu’s were brought to us and bread laid on our plates.  It was a good start.   The restaurant looked like a proper bistro.  I cannot quite describe how a bistro is meant to look like but it is just a feeling you get.

 

For starters:                                                                                                                                                              Half dozen of freshly shucked oysters which my dad and sister say were absolutely delicious!

 

Chicken liver pate and crusty bread as dips!  Really delicious and flavorful but definitely does not have the beauty of the melt in your mouth foie gras!

 

Mom and I had some scallops which were OK but not the greatest.  While we wanted the one with butter and coriander, they only had the normal one.  Fortunately though, scallops are such beautiful seafood that does not need much to shine!

 

For mains:

We ordered one each but not all turned out well. Probably the steak which was mine and dad’s fish were the highlight although misses on the chicken and duck confit was disappointing.                                                              My steak was perfectly cooked in the middle and was tender all the way through.  Lone onion ring hardly made an impression while slightly charred outer bit of the steak carried a bitter crust.  Not exactly what I would called divine but was still a tangible steak.  Same thing happened with mom’s chicken!

 

Dad’s fish looked perfectly cooked.  Sister’s confit was so salty she decided to query the waitress but the chef insist that the duck was spot on.  Even for me it was too salty.  However, at the end of the night we were still charged for a meal we returned because it was inedible.  It was a big bummer and a big no-no in terms of customer service.  And believe it or not, they put two chocolate truffles on the table expecting they expect us to settle for. 

 

For dessert I ordered the lemon brulee tart with mandarin sorbet.                                                                                   

It was delicious and I wish I could have more.  The crust was really short, the curd with the right intensity and the sorbet provided a refreshing end.  It was very fragrant too!  Amazing how that thin tart had enough acidity to stir the taste buds!  Well recommended :)!

 

Vanilla Pannacotta with strawberries were OK but definitely not the best.  It could have been smother and the strawberries did not have much impact.  Fresh but not enough acidity to cut through the sweet Pannacotta.                                   Over all, the night at Bistro Felix was decent.  But was it superb? I think that I quite hard for my swallow that.  I really find that the service at the table was spot on but when it came to billing, it felt rather ruthless.  Would I recommend it?  Maybe for a try yes.  And for that discount from the buy 1-free-1.  But $40 for a rather normal meal?  Not really quite there.

I have always perceived the concept of bistros to be fairly casual, easy and affordable.  But when it comes to Perth, it translates to something most Perth people would regard as expensive, and opportunistic.

 

WenY

Bites: Gusto Foods @ South Perth

It is fresh, it is exciting and this is a breakfast place where the queue did not outlast my patience.  While I am not one to chase the café cultures of Perth, time and time over my blog stalks and other Instagramers  put up something that gets me excited.  This time around ChompChomp of Perth had me locked onto this little café just a short drive from my place.  Perth breakfast food is not the cheapest but the creativity on a plate makes it worth the money.  Coming in at 10.30am, the waiter politely served us and put our names down for the next table for 6.  After just 10 minutes, a table was cleared and we were invited in.

Isolation.  A place where the chef puts his thoughts on a plate.

Folks around the table called hot drinks but for me, a delicious orange juice was perfect!  
                                             
Sister’s cappuccino @ $4.50.  The gloss on the froth looked superb!

While we each had our own breakfast, we called a crumpets @ $13.50 to share.     
                                             
What was served to us really deviated from the classic butter and syrup. Instead these little beauties came with a berry and pear compote, yoghurt and  peanut crumbs which was a nice touch.  Crumpets were nice although I have to say they were rather thin to finish the accompanying condiments!  I enjoyed the various textures from all the sides and the flavors were good.  Special mention to the creamy yoghurt and sweet peanut crumb complemented by the slight tartness of the berry compote!

Darling had the smoked salmon with guacamole, potato cakes and hollandaise for $19.50.  It was super massive and darling enjoyed her breakfast!  I had a try and it was pretty damn nice.  Eggs were spot on, hollandaise perfect and most importantly, the smoked salmon had just the right amount of salt!  The little darling thought that the guacamole felt rather redundant but my sister and I happily had it :)!

Fishman decided to skip the cliché brunch meals of eggs and called the sirloin steak burger instead.  Inside he says was filled with thinly sliced beef which were really tender.  However, mid way though he felt that it started become a little too sickening for breakfast food.  The flavors though really good were still unable to beat the gigantic burger.  I guess the gherkins did not offer much consolation either.  Over all, I would still say it turned out pretty yums!  He reckons perhaps some grilled tomatoes to cut through the meat would work wonders!

For me, I was sold when I saw pulled pork on the menu. Who in the right mind does not love tender, moist and with some fatty parts in the meat, a melt in your mouth treat?

My pulled pork with poached eggs, hollandaise and onion relish cost me $19 I think +/- $0.50 haha.  It worked a treat and I really loved the pork.  In terms of flavor, I recently had another at Harvest Espresso @ Victoria Park which  I am really partial to, but in this instance, I’d have to say that Gusto came tops.  It was just flavored really nicely.  With runny yolk, some tangy relish with subtle tang from the hollandaise bringing everything together.  I enjoyed this :)!  Bread used was normal and I could not comment much.  Spinach on the other hand was nice + healthy haha.  How else do I describe them?  Sis on the other hand called something similar but came without eggs and hollandaise.  It had a side of chips!  It was nice and she enjoyed the crusty bread but for me haha, I really thought mine is better xD!

Last was a special dish which I recommended to my housemate Yv.  It was a serve of cinnamon toast and caramelized banana topped with bacon, honey comb and berry compote for $15.50.

Yv was shocked to see its towering appearance but braved her first bite.  She had a moment of silence which concerned me a little.  But fortunately she thought that it was OK.  Her only concern was the intense  sweetness from the compote.  She liked how the saltiness from the bacon gave it that extra edge but still, the sweetness from the compote was a little deafening.  In fact, I shared half of this with her and agreed that it was a little too sweet.  But I really liked the whole concept of mixing sweet and salty along with some spice.  Texture wise, this was really good too.  A burst of juiciness from the berries, mushy bananas, crunchy honeycomb!  It was great thinking IMHO.  Next time if I ordered this, the compote would come in a little jar like the crumpets.  That would be perfect.  I guess everyone has a difference tolerance so it would be great to let us decide although original amounts decided by the chef should be best.

It was a great start to the day which I finished with a run at South Perth.   Over all, Gusto Food is a great find.   The breakfast did not have to revolve about boring ham, eggs, hash browns and sausages.  There was a lot more on there which I would not make for myself! 

It was enjoyable although the inner pigs in us made us bite more than we can chew.  If the six of us goes there again, we agreed that we were better of sharing just 4 + a crumpet.  Brunch was a massive overkill.  I enjoyed all that they provided and definitely want to relive that experience.  My customary brunch haunts have slowly start to die as I have found waits and inconsistent performances plaguing favorites like John Street, Toast, and Sayers.  In fact a favourite called Crumpets in Victoria Park had switched owners :(!  Gusto Food till we meet again!

WenY

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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