Bites: Midori Japanese @ Northbridge

The first time I used the reservation website Dimmi, I ended up at Blackbird, East Perth.  My experience there was OK but far from great.  My second reservation using the website quickly happened, and that developed to an amazing third round at Shiro.  Now, I am at my fourth booking.  This time, at Shiro’s sister restaurant, Midori.  It did not take long for me to feel as if I am now a fully fledged bargain hunter.  Quite far from my typical fine dining routine, but definitely suited to the economy.

 

Midori’s service was good.  Lunch time crowd was quiet and hence, the service was absolutely attentive.  A Korean waitperson got us off to a flying start and we quickly grew acquainted with the menu.  This resulted in 4 appetizers, 5 mains, rice and drinks.  Our first appetizer to hit the table was Popcorn Shrimps.

The starter we ordered was already a cliché in most modern Japanese places but still, crunchy prawns bursting in flavors topped with Chili Mayonnaise swirls made this dish every bit palatable.  Still a big favourite among my friends and I.   $16 bucks for 18 shrimps! Definitely beats the 5 for $15 which I had at Aisuru Sushi.  Still crunchy, the Chili Mayonnaise here had that extra kick in flavor, presumably due to an extra dose of Siracha chili sauce.

 

The chick ‘n’ chips was a playful rendition of the classic Karaage.Boasting 3 types of dips including aioli, chili mayo and ketchup, this was a kid’s wonderland.  The chips despite looking weird, felt right at home.  My big Q here though, is that despite being new and kickass, the flavors of the a classic Kaarage should still be present.  I wanted a juicy inside, crunchy outside Kaarage with the generous flavors coming from the garlic, ginger and sometimes, a little Mirin.  The chicken bits here were crunchy but felt a little dry because they were rather small.  Definitely something that should be improved.

 

Salmon Aburi.  I am a sucker for the blowtorch.  Be it desserts of appetizer or mains, blow torch magic works.  Unless it becomes burnt.The salmon here was faultless and this remind me of the old Shiro.  The caviar here were “El Buli” inspired as the waiter immediately got the hint when I mentioned that restaurant in Spain first wow-ed the world with the apple caviar.  Here it was done three ways with yuzu, balsamic and beetroot.  Some rather unconventional flavors that were nice but with a generous amount of sauce at the bottom, I could not feel the lovely torched flavor of the Aburi. Looking back, it was delicious but I wanted something more.

 

Our next dish on the table was again, something different and quite special.Our twice cooked pork belly came with a good melt on the top paired with a slight crisp.  Its meat though, was not of a similar consistency like my favourite Buta no Kakuni.  This was a little more dense.  Not bad at all.  But definitely not what I expected it to be.  It was served on caramel miso, topped with pickled carrot and radish, micro herbs, ginger salsa as well as spicy mayo.

 

Our next dish was the prime beef tenderloin.High quality beef with an assortment of mustard felt very English. I love mustard with my red meat along with some harissa at some established places like Rockpool.  Not to mention some lovely béarnaise too. OMG, I am a sucker for good sauces @@! But still, the beef itself should always be the here.  IN Midori, it was.  Even by itself, it tasted amazing with good flavor and a decent melt in your mouth feel.  My favourite of the lot was the hot mustard but found that green tea mustard was rather unique too!

 

Below are a few other things which we ordered too.  For most parts it was superbly composed.  I loved the miso tooth fish a lot more than the one I had at Ha-Lu as the one here was flavored well and was very flakey.  Shame that the meat was not as buttery as a black cod. 

 

The hero of them all though was the duck.  Small cut of the breast that more was robust in flavor and went perfectly well with the orange miso.  Very very good. 

 

The treasure island which was a chicken roulade with pistachio was not bad but it somehow felt more modern Australian than Japanese.

Over all the meal at Midori was very enjoyable and it clearly shows that Midori is not all about teppanyaki.  Just as we were about to eat, the waiter introduced to us to their head chef, Chef Luke Lee.  He was very friendly and speaking to him, he was very experienced.  He had been to Dubai, New York, Seoul and now, Perth.  Looking at the food, it was clear that his inspiration was not just classical Japanese, but rather Japanese with modern touch.  With the Dimmi discount the bill came to $150 including drinks.  Definitely a worthy bite. In fact even at full price, having all these to share amongst the 6 of us felt substantial and something worth revisiting. 

 

WenY

South Korea: Pierre Gagnaire @ Seoul

Coming back from our North Korea DMZ trip, we were weary of sad tales and war stories.  Our return point at Lotte Hotel, this means we had a chance to treat ourselves to something lovely.  Here, XL and I avoided the biting frost to enjoy some hot drinks at the Lotte Lounge.  Lucky for us who were rather broke from our Michelin experiences in Hong Kong, we still managed to get some lovely treatment from another Michelin establishment, Pierre Gagnaire Patisserie.  In fact, Pierre is the only Michelin chef restaurant in South Korea.  But we did not know he had a Patisserie too. Needless to say, the pastries here were well thought of with every bit executed to perfection. 

The sesame éclair for example was a fine pastry.  While I have eaten éclairs of many variations, it was hard to tell what a real one should be.  Eating the one at Pierre though, was orgasmic.  The sesame flavored ganache complemented the sweetness of the chocolate.  All on top of a lovely choux pastry.  Airy, with a slight crunchy.  Smashing.

 

Our strawberry tart was nothing less than spectacular.  How do you beat the conventional?  Well, attention to detail helps. The strawberries were arranged beautifully, and the condiments arranged neatly.   The crust was short and the custard was silky smooth.  Michelin certified for sure. After all, a Michelin chef does not put his name on just ANY tart.

 

I cannot quite remember the last one but I think it was an Orange Friand.  Or at least here it looks like one!As this was hers, I cannot even remember how it tasted.  But knowing what Friands are made of, I can quickly judge that this went well with our hot drinks.  Probably nicer with coffee though I have not drank that bitter beverage even once before!

 

Michelin starred experience in Seoul? Checked!

 

WenY

Bites: Typika Artisan Roasters @ Claremont

Typika Artisan Roasters have been around for awhile now.  Being the talk of the town, I was keener than ever to give this newcomer a go. Coming in, the crowd was decent but the dining area was just simply superb.  Right from the door step, it was airy with heaps of seat making finding one a bliss.  Comparatively other smaller venues like Tuckshop and Harvest Espresso still pack heaps of quality and in some ways still give a nice indie feel.

Small vertical garden by the dining area

 

The food that we had this morning was pretty good.  For myself, I called the spiced beef benedict @ $18.50.The poached eggs were perfect.  As for the harissa hollandaise, absolutely sensational.  Its flavors hit all the right notes.  It was salty, sour and sweet all with a hint of spice.  For most parts I loved this dish that Typika served me.   However though, I found that the amount of pulled beef were rather miniscule.  It was spread so thin, it felt as if there was something they wanted to hide.  But in actuality the beef was moist and tender.  This for me was a bummer.  A big one too.

 

The Huevos Rancheros @ $16 was my sister’s pick.  It look gorgeous the moment it hit the table.  Micro herbs on the perfectly runny 62 degree egg looked absolutely stunning.  I was sold.  But does it deliver?  In terms of flavor, the spiced tomato mix had the ripeness and at the same time, the acidity to give my palate a kick .  Mixing the egg in, my sis and I found that it did not really turn out the way its description suggests it should.  The egg in no way thickened the dish.  Instead, it became runnier.  Not bad nevertheless.  But if you come in hungry, I think you might go out hungry too.  For my sis whom is a small eater, she found the dish to be lacking in bulk.  Perhaps some beans or another egg should be present.  As is, it just was not enough.

 

 

If you had something light before your meal and needed to meet someone for  a meal, Typika Artisan Roasters top my list of places to continue brunch.  A list I have just made up.  In fact, I was once told by a girl that she felt hungry after having lunch too.  In the end, the food on the plate just did not feel quite substantial.  The taste though, was far from disastrous.  It was beautiful and in terms of flavors, it delivered.  More important than not, the food here was not typical at all.  It was pretty good.  Perhaps a heap more pulled beef?  Or perhaps some beans would have made our meal complete.  Ok, I have probably ranted enough.  But am I right?  You go there and tell me :)!

 

WenY

Follow me :)!