Bites: Red Opium @ Perth CBD

With catchy names like F-duck, Kiss of Death, and Crying Wagyu populating its menu, Red Opium is without a doubt one of the most interesting entries in Perth this year.  While the menu screams Thai, do not be fooled as Red Opium prefers to be called “Thai inspired”.  So if owner Penny drops by your table, authentic is not a word that will score you points.   This new eatery distinguishes itself from the conventional by offering unique Thai-styled tapas.   Funny thing though is that they do not serve alcohol.  Perhaps it is something they might soon obtain as I know how good Thai cocktails can be with fruits, vodka and a hint or basil/mint.  For me, its even better than a Mexican Sangria.

For Mei and Ness’s birthday dinner tonight, we had the banquet @ $50 per person.

The first appetizer was the yin and yang dip.  Presumably the light creamy dip was the yang.  It was finely diced prawns in a delicious coconut broth.  The crunch from the Papadam was perfect to accompaniment for the yummy prawn dip which benefit from the sweetness of the coconut milk.  The next one was minced meat with pork crackling.  At this point I feel compelled to praise the chef behind this appetizer because it was super simple but it worked.   Just basic crunchy goodness!  With the Indian influence in the papadam and Western influence from the crackling, it was clear that the direction of Red Opium was more Thai-inspired than Thai-authentic. 

 

The next dish was the Petite satay.

While it was decent, it was far from mind blowing.  The chicken bites were tender and the peanut sauce was OK, but in terms of flavors it felt lacking.  Coming from Malaysia I expected the satay to have more flavor.  Something like ginger, turmeric and more spices. 

 

Next came the tom yam soup.

Eating this dish, it was a shame that Red Opium insists that their food is Thai-inspired and not Thai-authentic because it was one heck of a Tom Yam.  The flavors were all spot on.  It had spicy, sour, salty and spicy all in one magic concoction.  Also, it has been awhile since I had prawns which I can really say hit that spot of freshness with a mild sea flavor to it still present.  All seafood here are sourced from Kailis when I spoke to the owner!  To top it off, this for me was definitely a great dish that could have been Thai-authentic. Oh, and if you ask for hot, do prepare to taste some heat.  I bit into a chili and did not feel so manly after.

 

After the three appetizers, we had a great time catching up with Mei on her time onsite and joked about the typical lame rubbish we always do.  Felt good as we do not meet up quite as often as we would like to!  It took nearly 45 minutes for our mains to be served.  But this came with a good explanation as the kitchen was short of 1 chef as he had fallen ill.  In fact, the owner kindly offered us drinks which we all declined to have (except Ness) as we are responsible drivers :P! 

 

First main was the F-duck; Roast duck, red curry, veggies, lychees.

The picture IMHO is a give away.  This was Red Opium’s reinterpretation of the classic Roast Duck red curry.  What flavors does one expect?  Definitely a rich curry with great flavors coming from the fruit, duck and vegetables.  The curry sauce felt nice but in our opinion was way too little to enjoy with the rice.  Then again, it was intentional as the dish wanted to promote the other elements like cherry tomatoes, brussel sprouts and such.  I found that reasoning to be poor in justification as a diner but this is a clear case of design vs practicality.  Like a classic case of engineer vs architects, there is almost no right or wrong but a matter of preference.  Last highlight of this dish was the fact that the roast duck sat nicely there allowing its skin to still be mildly crisp which was quite a treat!

 

Next dish was the Masaman Beef; Slow-cooked beef cheeks, potatoes, masaman curry, peanuts

This for me was a true curry dish.  I have had many variations of the Masaman  as well as the Panang curry and would decline to comment on the flavor as every goddamn version seem to taste different.  But hey, this was tasty and it was everything a curry should be.  For me, the Masaman curry was the highlight with the tender beef and potatoes cooked perfectly.  It was not lacking in sauce or spices and because of this, I had heaps of rice.  A good curry and a generous serve of rice; god this was a meal on its own.  Delicious.

 

As Red Opium revolves about Thai-inspired cuisine, its decoration is not cluttered but felt rather stylish which made its food good to look at and at the same time tasty.  Sure its no dehydrated apple with a golden string through it like Robuchon and neither does it use foam or smoke like Amuse but hey! This was pretty decent!  Taste wise, I did not really put much effort in deciphering the elements but the use of garlic was quite obvious here.

The Kiss of Death; king prawns, garlic, caramelized sauce.

 

The next dish we ordered was the Fisherman’s Catch; deep fried snapper fillets, soya bean oil, peanuts

One the outside, these snapper fillets look exactly like the perfect beer battered fish n’ chips that Heston does.  It was crunchy, crispy and just so beautifully fried.  While not everyone likes batter and some might liken it to the rip-off Chinese sweet and sour pork , I really enjoyed the batter.  The downfall though was the flesh of the fish which was  a little tough a.k.a rubbery with a slight stench too.  My friends and I also found the sweet savory sauce to be insufficient for those generous slices of fish.

 

A dish which came last in the banquet was the Som Tum; paw paw, green beans, dried shrimps, peanuts, soft shell crab.

This again felt good.  It was IMHO Thai-authentic.  Very hard to fault with a minimalistic dish but then again, it is something the chef is expected to do right, and in this instance it was.  My question here really, is it the correct course to arrive before the dessert?  Was this a palate cleanser? It was refreshing but the acidity mixed with the slight sweetness and saltiness make a person feel like eating more.  For me, this should have been served as the first main or even along with the other appetizers.

The dessert that night was ice cream with a choice of jackfruit or mangosteen.

Both came out in little glasses and it was great to see such rare flavors reaching the table despite its out of this world price.  I really liked the flavor and the small bite size mangosteen in the ice cream.  I would question the floss but if it does no harm then I will just let it be.  Around the table most people would have enjoyed the ice cream as no one shows signs of displeasure.

 

Red Opium really felt like a great place for tapas dining. In fact, if an alcohol license is soon obtained,  Red Opium might need a bigger floor space.  However, it play its game risky by calling itself Thai-inspired and not Thai-authentic.  This always brings in the question of whether enough has been done or has it achieved enough to succeed an authentic culture.  Surely Red Opium is no old hag or a lazy slob playing safe as I tasted and saw from my dinner.  Execution was great but to me, it still lacked that final bit of finesse like the lack of sauce, and the freshness of the produce as seen in the case of the fish. However, if one were to find out the background of the owners which hails from the engineering industry, I am pretty chuffed to see how far they have came with their culinary skills.  I work in an engineering firm and I see what people eat everyday….. @@.. I shall cease to comment as it may result in insult.  Anyways, for $50 a head, I would definitely come back!

 

WenY

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Bites: Blackbird @ East Perth

I recently visited Blackbird in East Perth after scoring a half price booking through Dimmi which advertised via Urbanspoon Promos.  It was pretty sweet to be honest.  Not very often do you get such value especially with  European restaurants which are usually pricey in Perth.  At Blackbird, the ambience felt romantic with its cozy environment enhanced by the dimly lit dining area. 

To fill the growling tummies, we ordered Mini baguette and beurre de paris @  $2 each.  Crusty warm baguette is always desirable especially on night when you go in really hungry and slightly cold.  This was on such occasion with the butter melting on  the warm bread :)!

Not the best serve of bread and butter but a delicious one ;)!

We called a few starters which included the Pan fried squid, chorizo, black olives, aubergine caviar.While Jimmy boy could not recognize all the elements in there, the slippery aubergine caviar was a give away along with the chorizo which has that slight chewiness but at the same time, an unmistakable aroma.  Squid were just little bits which were cook spot on.  It was a nice little starter IMHO.

Little darling ordered something a little more healthy.  She had the roasted nectarine, bocconcini and rocket salad. Perfectly caramelized nectarines with fresh chewy bocconcini and a simple balsamic dressing.  Tempted by its rustic appearance the little darling enjoyed it.  It was something she would order again.  I found this dish quite appealing to me too.  The key here was its simplicity and the good pairing of flavors!

For mains, my sis and Jimmy boy ordered the pappardelle with a cured meat cream sauce (might be pancetta).

Again, the key approach taken by Blackbird is simplicity.  There was little distracting dish.  It was a simple pappardelle dish with the cured meats very finely chopped. This infused the beautiful smoky aroma into a rich creamy sauce.  Combined together with the silky pappardelle and it was a hearty dish all by itself.  What buggered us a bit was the duration the pasta was cooked for.  It felt a little overdone.  A friend J who came here last year felt the same thing too.  Perhaps this is Blackbirds preferred pasta consistency.

Around the table, we also had a few people order the beef risotto.

At this point it was very clear what Blackbird tries to do.  Their cooking retains all the flavors of the key ingredients.  Hence, their products were more subtle in seasoning but relied heavily on the aroma of the ingredients along with its natural sweetness.  I found the risotto to be well-cooked with the flavors of the beef, red wine and parmesan present.  Salt though, felt lacking.  I would definitely have more salt on there.

My main was the seafood chowder.

With a decent serve of fish, mussels, and prawns, it was every seafood lovers joy.  First point for the rustic presentation, and the second for the ability of the chef to cook all the seafood perfectly.  Dislikes though were the lack of salt once more.  But no worries, I could easily shake some onto my dish.

By the time we finished our mains, we were all filled!  Blackbird for half price is a great it.  But things like the seafood chowder costs $38 without discount, hence it might be a little too expensive as that would not fill anyone up just by itself.  I think the risotto was $36 and the pappardelle was around $29.  All of which is typical in Perth.  I would definitely consider a return but with so many around, Blackbird might find itself in steep competition against other places.

WenY

Bites: The Trustee Bar & Bistro @ Perth CBD

Having heard rave reviews about this place in town since its opening last year made this place the perfect dinner venue for us hungry people.  Some things said by my accomplices include good value, lovely venue and the perfect steak.  Coming in at 7.30pm, the Trustee is an extremely busy place but hidden behind a curtain is a dimly lit section for dinners.  However, other venues are available too within the Trustee such as the bistro and the garden bar.   My pick would be the garden as it is airy, green and very nice to relax with great food on a Friday night.

Service was impeccable and our section waiter greeted us with a smile.  He was cheerful and sociable in way where he puts effort into building warmth unlike the inconsistent service faced at some restaurants. These for me are little things which make night outs great!

The starters for the night include the little darling’s French Onion soup served with a crisp toast and a roasted marrow @ $14.50.

With the onion caramelized perfectly, its natural sweetness is what makes a delicious soup.  Bone marrow was a bonus and the dipping bread was the perfect accompaniment for her soup.  I am not exactly sure what a real onion soup should taste like because everyone creates a different kind of soup, but the one at Trustee was warm, hearty and for a wet Friday night, absolutely yum!  The one at Guillaume was definitely too overpowering for her taste buds!

For me, I chose the twice baked gruyere soufflé @ $24.50.

I have had heaps of chocolate soufflé before but never once a cheese soufflé.  But my expectation would not differ.  This was light in flavor but a bit dense on the inside.  The fragrant of the gruyere was mildly floating in the air but its taste did not lack intensity.  More importantly, this delicious hot pot of melted cheese did not make me feel sick when I reached the bottom!

Fishman ordered the roasted bone marrow @ $22.00

His dish too was nice with roasted mushroom and gremolata topping his roasted bone marrow.  It was another fine tasting dish although he would have wanted more marrow on the bone.  It was a little miniscule to enjoy!  I do not blame him especially when the entire marrow would have been no more than a tablespoon full! As for Yvonne, she ordered the  pork belly parcels, apple salad and fried shallots @ $19.  This for us was only an OK dish.  Its flavors were good but fell short of next level awesomeness.  Its flavors were not special enough and maybe was because its Asian influence did not bowl us over as we have had better before.

As we finished our entrees, we enjoyed being in the quaint dining area which is quite well insulated from the hustle and bustle of the trustee bars.  One the walls were stained mirrors and some really old school light decorations which had an Oriental touch hung off the high ceilings. Felt like a dining a derelict home @@!

After a 20 minute wait, our mains were out.  We had a whole lot of food to share tonight.  The Chateaubriand for $95 gets you 700grams of thick cut beef fillet, thick cut chips, bourguignon mushrooms, béarnaise sauce, a salad and some other carbohydrates which I suspect were potato cakes!  As recommended by the waiter, the meat should be cooked medium-rare.  Maybe I can take back my word about steaks falling in the medium price range because this perfectly cooked chateaubriand was so tender it melted in our mouths! Close enough :P! Yet it was such a lean cut with very little or no sinewy bits at all!  No wonder it is said that in the right hands, the Chateaubriand is a delicious cut of steak .  If I had no main except this to share, I would still walk away full as it was a very generous serve of meat.

This was the braised organic beef shin gnocchi @ $36.50.  Definitely one of the most expensive gnocchi in town.  Is this worth the money?  I reckon every single bit.  The gnocchi while not of the fluffy or light consistency, it was still delicious without being too doughy.  It also had beautiful charred outer bits with a very nice smell from the oil it was cooked in!  What was not so much of a hype was the beef shin.  It had great flavors but in terms of texture, it was just rough and not something I would like.  This gnocchi to me was good enough to be a dish even without the beef shin!

The next main we ordered to share was the pressed confit lamb, split pea and cauliflower purée.  Sitting on the plate, I cannot help but feel how this dish looked rustic in presentation but at the same time implemented a modern technique like the mint jelly.  While this all looked very nice, I found myself not too impressed with the lamb.  Confit in my term is strong flavor as it is cooked in it own fat but somehow, I would have very much preferred something more like a rack of lamb.  While this dish might have been executed well, it was just not my thing!  So next time, definitely no more confit.   Overall it was ok, but did not wow-ed anyone around the table.   

The Trustee tonight gave us a very good meal.  With hit and misses apparent in a few dishes, we were very satisfied with 4 out of the 7 dishes we called.  While that barely makes it a passable score, it was the addition of the great service that captured our fondness for the place.  Pair it with interiors of various feeling from a derelict house to an airy garden or a modern bistro, one cannot help but feel impressed.   But one thing was for sure tonight.  The lack of appreciation for some of the main would have came from our tummies which were already so full from the entrée that we wasted the confit lamb and the gnocchi. It was a terrible waste and something we all felt sorry for.  Perhaps next time just 4 appetizers and a Chateaubriand so that the four of us can share desserts?  I have seen reviews and really, the ice cream pops look so tempting!  Asking the homies whether they were keen for a re-visit, I noted their nods of approval!  Definitely coming back ;)! 

WenY