Bites: Kitchen Inn @ Kardinya

Another budget bite to tick off my list this week is Kitchen Inn.  A successful business that first started in Thornlie, this little eatery has since expanded  down to Kardinya and even as far as Melbourne.  How is it possible that something that started little more than 4 years ago  manage to expand so rapidly you might be thinking?  I have not spoken to the charismatic family who owns this eatery, but I have some answers of my own from a foodie’s point of view.  For starters, stick with the basics and keep it that way.  Its cuisine style is from East Malaysia and here it is done the same way it would have been done back home.  80% carbs and 20% meat.  To justify, keep the price low.  The traditional favorite, the Kampua Noodle starts at $6.90 and that has not changed since it first opened.  To be honest, I love it.

 

The noodles are cooked perfectly, the Asian Al Dente before being tossed in a lardy and salty sauce.  To finish, slices of barbecued pork followed by a sprinkling of shallots and crisp scallions.  Its taste reminds one so much of home and for me who just loves everything Malaysia has to offer in terms of food, this Sibu (East Malaysia) delicacy just helps to keep those cravings at bay.

 

If you are from the Peninsular like I am, we tend to add a little black sauce to our food and at Kitchen Inn, Kardinya those requests can be accommodated with no extra cost.  Least to say, I was chuffed. While there is hardly any flavor in the black sauce or dark soy sauce, the beautiful caramelized color it gives the noodles is enough to make me drool.  Kampua with Dark Soy Sauce for that added kick.

 

Put a few more dollars and you meat lovers can get your needs sorted too.  So why not finish the Kampua Noodles with some delicious mince and crispy Roasted Pork?Even if you are not a noodle fan, Kitchen Inn offers a host of other traditional favorites such as Nasi Lemak, Chicken Rice and even the famous Bak Kut Teh.  For me, having the added homemade love in the preparation of such classic Malaysian dishes never grow old.  In fact, I do not think anyone ever gets sick of such food.   If you every come, do try their Crispy Chicken Wings which they tend to have every now and then.  It is superbly moreish and I have never failed to get excited every time I order it.  Delicious.

 

Never once have I finished a meal at Kitchen Inn feeling hungry.  The serves here are simply gargantuan and with the help of a little chili oil, I always leave the bowl empty.  That tends to get me a little bloated at times, but I still love this place to bits especially for their noodles which are prepared the traditional way.  While I would not rank their other offerings like the Nasi Lemak, Chicken Rice or Bak Kut Teh among the best, the convenience of knowing it is there when you want it is just pleasing.  So if you are looking to eat like a king, and make the crowd happy for little money, do come and try Kitchen Inn.

 

See my first visit here to the original place here.  WenY Bites: Kitchen Inn @ Thornlie

 

WenY

Bites: Rice Noodle House @ Shelly

Earlier this week in my review of Big El, I promised a mix of half price discount eateries as well as hidden gems.  Here is the first.  This is the Rice Noodle House in Shelly.  It seems to have garnered many “likes” on Urbanspoon and through word of mouth, it is simply a suburban favourite.    Hidden amongst a small complex of shops, I would not blame you for not stopping for a bite as even I felt like my life was at stake coming in on a gloomy Friday afternoon.  I had absolutely no expectations of the interior looking posh and true enough, it was bare as hell.  But through my eating experience in Asian countries like Bali, Hong Kong, and Malaysia, it is these places that packs a punch.  The Rice Noodle House in Shelly is famous for a few things including its super smooth Hainan Chicken or its Ipoh Hor Fun (rice noodle).  In fact, some people claimed that the Chicken Rice here rivals the famous one from Boon Tong Kee in Singapore.  True or not, only a Singaporean can decide.  Fortunately we had one with us that day.His comments were little and murmured along the lines of “Boon Tong Kee in Singapore is overrated” as well as “It’s just chicken rice”.  But it ended with an agreement that the chicken here is indeed very smooth.  But so smooth that it stole our money for so little on the plate.  For $10 $9 bucks, one would expect a lot more chicken.  This has got to be one of the smallest serves of Chicken Rice that I have seen in a long time. In fact, it was as flat as the plate.  But fortunately where taste was concerned, the chicken rice was spot on.

Next up was a serve of the Rice Noodle House’s famous Dry Ipoh Hor Fun.Least to say, Fishman and Nee founded it appealing to their tastes buds. Fishman liked the flavor and when I tried it, I found that it easily rivals the one made by Ipoh Garden although its sauce felt not as thick.  In fact it felt less sweet and more salty typical for an Asian palate.

For me who has been craving for some wanton noodles since a week ago, I ordered the Rice Noodle House’s Dry Wanton Noodles.  Not one of their specialty, but this is what a taste test is all about.  Experimenting.The noodles for starters were cooked spot on.  Not too soft or hard whilst still being springy.  Easy to understand why this place is famous for their noodles.  As for the wantons, they were pretty decent although nowhere near the standard of the ones I have had in Hong Kong.  I like the seasoning of the noodles which had enough flavor from the concoction of essential Chinese sauces with a good hint of pepper.  This one though felt a little sweet, possibly from the use of sugar/kicap manis.

At the end of the meal, we were all satisfied with the taste and quality in the food.  But where size was concerned, it was pretty obvious that this was not your typical  Australian serve where there was always going to be an abundance of meat and carbs.  Really quite surprising considering I have seen photos of the Nasi Lemak served here that looks absolutely huge.  Nonetheless, the Rice Noodle House in Shelly is definitely worth coming for the Malaysian classics it makes.  But if you are hungry, definitely ask for extra noodles.  In the end, putting its price (<$10), the quality and it’s location, this is definitely a hidden gem ;)!

WenY

Bites: Big El's Latin American @ Northbridge

Obscure little gems and half price discount restaurants have been my foodie’s go-to this week.  But rather than jumble all of them into a one-liner post, I have decided to do it one by one like I always do.  With the much lamented Sake Bar done and dusted from Francis Street in Northbridge, Big El has volunteered itself to be the new kid on the block.  It promises Mexican tapas and I will be honest.; I love Mexican.  The spices and its almost South-East-Asian approach in taste combination (the sweet, salty, sour and spicy) has never failed to tingle my appetite.  So did Big El manage to get me all excited for me to return with my friends next week?

First of all, it pays to know your chili at Big ElsBut bugger that! With me finishing a fair bit of Novembars Chili burger or drinking the blisteringly spicy Tom Yams in Bangkok, I have little fears for chili. Although you-know-where is going to hurt the next day :P!

Non-alcoholic drinks were priced decently in Big Els.  Most drinks were $4 max.  But if you want to go Mexicana, there were a few Mexican beers to get you started before getting into hardcore stuff.  The drawings on the wall were definitely not the most juvenile at Big Els.  But with so much liquor on offer, I least expected the pictures of Sesame Street in Sombreros to grace the wall .

The dining style in Big Els is a tapas inspired diner.   For that we called a few things to share among the table, but we ended up with way too many.  But lets be merry shall we?  To get the appetite rolling, we called a few starters like Piquin chips(fries), stuffed jalapenos and tortillas with dips.Of the lot, I have to say that my favourite was the deep fried stuffed Jalapenos. Be warned.  As keen as you may be, your weak tongue might suggest otherwise.    Deep fried Jalapeno popper has always been a crowd pleaser.  Store bought or homemade.  The version at Big El did not fail to deliver. I loved it. But I question the stuffing which consist of “various Mexican cheese”.  That bit failed to take off in my mouth.    I would recommend you to have these little beauties whole.  Dipped in its accompanying sauce, it was heaven.  Spicy as it may be, it was a kickass bite.

Then came the tortilla chips.  Its colors were nice and reminded me of a type of corn which had two colors but definitely not tri-color as the menus suggested.  But what I felt was not so impressive was that the chips felt less crisp than the ones I’d get from a packet of Dorito.

There were two sauces that night. A creamy Chili con Queso which was yummy and tasted very buttery.  No idea what this was but it was unique and pretty good.  Never have I tasted this in Perth before.  Then comes the Mexican staple, the Guacamole.  Here, you can pound it yourself or let Big El’s wait staff do it the Big El way.  Needless to say, I wanted to taste what the restaurant thinks is an ideal Guacamole should be.  My first bite in and I was filled with dissatisfaction.  It needed more seasoning and acidity for sure.  If it had enough seasoning, it lacked resting time.  I like to let me sauces like Guacamole, Salsas, Pickles, and Raita sit for awhile before serving.  Ideally two hours.  That brings out the best flavors which appears true for most parts.

After having a few starters to share around the table, our shared dishes started arriving at the table.  But none looked more gimmicky than the Mexican Hot Dog.  A simple hot dog bun, toast before being having a hot dogs stuffed in the middle topped with spicy chipotle and Jalapeno slices.  Served on the side was a large serve of Chili con Carne.  But was it gimmicky good?… or bad?In all honesty, there is little rave about a little $1 hot dog you could get from Ikea.  Plus, I remember looking forward to lunchtime in school when these were packed in my lunch boxes.  Sincerely, there was very little to hate about such simplified pleasures.  It was minimalistic and all the condiments were in its rightful place.  Too add on, it came with a large bowl of chili con carne.  The chili con carne was nice and definitely something I would have over and over again.

To share amongst the table, we also ordered the soft shell tacos that arrived with an army of sauces and salsa.  I got pretty damn confused to be honest.Fortunately, there were some standouts which would really suit the chili wusses.  My friends around the table found the roasted tomato and garlic salsa along with the mango jalapeno salsa one to be the most palatable.

But when it comes to the meat, I found the pulled beef to the best.  It had flavor and the spices were spot on.  If only I had one complain, I think it was a little over-salted/spiced.  When something tastes so strong, my tongue almost instinctively expects it to be a little gritty.  But it was not.Definitely try the pulled beef.  I found the ginger torched salmon to be a little dry to my liking and with the chicken, it was far from its description of crispy.  It was just grilled chicken!

Also on the table was the Cascabel Chicken Wings.  Tasty little things there were, but they did not quite blow me off my socks. It was OK.  Deep fried chicken wings seasoned with rattle chilies and served with a side of chipotle mayonnaise.

Last but not least for the night were the Elotes Callejeros or Mexican street corn dusted with Big El’s special spice mix.On each plate stood 3 beautiful corns and needless to say, I loved it.  Its flavors were just right and there was so many things happening at the same time.  The sweet and juicy corn, the yummy cheese and the spices.  Looking around the table, most seemed to enjoy it especially the cheesy bits.  But my sister whose eating experience was broader than mine, her experience at Melbourne’s MamaSita produced a more significant corn compared to the one here.  Nevertheless, if you are in Perth this would suffice :)!

Over all, I had a pretty decent meal at Big Els.  Taking into account that I only paid half price, it was probably a bargain.  We had a feast for the price of a Mexican takeaway.  But I somehow feel let down by the fact that the restaurant does not bring anything exciting to the existing Mexican market.  It is already in a prime location to start something new.  Perhaps throw some meat on the grill you know, some Mexican spit roast to fend off the Greek/Spanish/Brazillian ones?  While this was in no way a bad start, it left me longing for more of something.  Good potential to be part of something bigger although as is, it is probably just going to live on as an ok eatery.

WenY

Follow me :)!