Bites: American Barbecue @ Old Faithful Bar, Perth

Another RNR and a great meet up with some good old friends at the Old Faithful.  Here, one experiences American community dining where barbecue and alcohol becomes best friends. The bar and food area are separated so do not try getting your food from the bar.

The selection for drinks include a strong selection of whiskey. But a noob like me goes no further than the bourbon chocolate milkshake without the bourbon Need less to say, the bartender surprised that I am having no alcohol whilst most was always trying to get more.  In terms of flavour it was so chocolate-ty with a rich malt taste that reminded me of an old childhood drink called Horlicks. The only thing a little surprising was that with or without the bourbon, the shake still costs $14 which was on the pricey side. 

Food come straight from the counter, so do not expect table service.  The first attempt at ordering my food did not go to well because it seemed like a lot of the things we wanted was not available. No chicken wings, and no hot links. A problem that requires better management attention prior to service for sure. In saying that we managed to get our food sorted eventually. 

A shared platter of Big Sur came looking absolutely delicious.  Needless to say I was drooling!

One element aced without question by Old Faithful was the smokiness in each meat that was executed to a perfect intensity of the.  Brisket was juicy and the belly was exactly as you expect it to be, a little bit fatty, intertwined with the meat and at the same time it was all very juicy. No meat to my surprise was overcooked and dry. Everything here was superbly tender.  But other than that, the food did not go past the first base. Different textures were present as I went from the pork to the beef but I did not quite find them tasting substantially different enough (besides the smokiness) to make a big impact with the exception of the pulled pork which tasted sublime with the shaved onions and bread. Very happy with that! More importantly, among all the meat on the platter I enjoyed the bbq chicken the best. Tender, and superbly flavoured. Niceeeee!!!

On the other tray we ordered some sides to share. Blood sausages, corn bread topped with maple butter, deviled eggs and some pork chunks.  Most of my friends felt faint at the thought of the blood sausages but I am a big fan of this meaty coagulation.  More importantly, where it counts most Old Faithful had aced.  It was very well-seasoned and I enjoyed it. The serve of pork chunks were essentially deep fried breaded pork tossed in what felt like a mild hot sauce. Not bad but beware of chunks that contains nothing but fat. I love some juicy bits but a whole chunk of fat was a bit of a put off. 

Next were the devilled eggs which were a bit of an odd ball requested by Bel. I have to say though, it was a surprise win because the yolks were mixed together really well resulting in a fluffy filling for the egg white. Yummy :)!

Corn bread was, presumably meant to be a carb to go with the meat but it was not well received at the table. It tasted like day old muffin without sugar. I really could not make out what it was meant to be.  Eventually between wasting food and shoving it into our mouths, we went with the latter haha. 

At the end of the meal we received two cookies in place of two serves of pork crackle which had ran out.  The cookies were a nice gesture to compensate us for the lack of organization but it was not anything special or worth shouting about. 

Thinking back, I'm not sure how the math worked out and most of the table was confused too because a serve of pork crackle was around $9 while a cookie was $3.80. Presumably this was just a consolation prize and they had given us extra pieces of meat to make up for the difference paid for the crackling. Or at least I am hoping so because getting ripped of is not my idea of a good evening out!

Old Faithful is a nice addition to town especially in the bar scene where the staples are usually a boring chicken parmigiana, burger, steak or fish & chips. The venue was noisy as hell so be prepared for a battle of speaking on top of one another. Hey its a bar no? There was no dampener or opened windows to reduce the noise. Instead, the walls are graced by polished concrete and random art.  Saying all this it was a nice visit but it felt more of an afternoon venue after work rather than a late night one. Also, be prepared to smell like smoke when you are done. The venue was really smoky! Good thing though, the guy in the kicthen which I shall name 'butcher' looked super badass.

WenY

Bites: A Meal at the Vineyard @ Lamont's , Swan Valley

After a hectic week involving a car service, catching up with the ex-colleagues, my mentor and just getting through the chores around the house, I was in Swan Valley for a day trip.  More importantly, I discovered a whole new place of happiness in the Valley.  It is the famous Lamont’s Vineyard.  While the whole menu looked all very decadent, I was a little cautious after my last attempt to fine dine at Lamont’s Bishop went pear-shaped leaving a huge hole in my pocket.  Needless to say, a few queries at the counter to ask about the waiter's favourite dishes as well as her other recommendations soon had me decide on the dishes I was going to order.

The first to arrive was the crispy pork belly, cauliflower puree, and caramelised onions.

The puree was silky smooth and the pork was the crispiest.  Salad at the top was refreshing, and the onions were caramelised till sticky-sweet.  While most techniques were aced without question, it was the simplest detail that was left out.  Salt.  Spices.  I felt that the pork could do with more salt-marinade as it was a little bit bland and did not standout from the lot.  Still, it was a decent eat.

Deep fried prawns, grated coconut, and avocado soba was the next dish.  Splendid.  This was my dish of the day without question.  Prawn so amazing you thought you were at the seaside and soba so well modernised it felt just right.  Drizzling the lemon over the soba, you are left with a silky smooth soba with a creamy avocado coating.  This normally gets a little cloying but when you have the diced bits of onions and coriander playing with your senses where it was a little bit pungent, a little bit herbed and it all felt very interesting especially towards the end with a citrusy note from the lime juice.  I truly enjoyed it.  Despite being deep fried and having bits of creamy avocado, I did not feel overwhelmed at any one point!

Steak, croquette, caramelised root vegetables and salad, with a side of chips with truffle oil.  While it was hard to fault with the steak dish, it more -standard than special.  Still, there was nothing wrong.  The steak was well-cooked, croquettes crisp with a fluffy inside and over all just very nice.  But when you have a side of chips cooked so bloody amazing, you soon disregard everything else.  The chips at Lamont’s Vineyard soon became a highlight.  Yobi who was with me commented that why do most places do chips so bad.  This is amazing he says!  True enough, I was thoroughly impressed by the humble potato.  If you ever come to Lamont’s Vineyard, this is definitely worth ordering.  Even if you are here just for the drinks!

To end was a caramel tart that came highly recommended by the waitress. On the first bite, you might feel like you have had enough because it was so very rich but there always seemed to be a taste that had me come back.  The gooey texture topped with some crunchy nuts with its crumbly base made the tart a very yummy.  In the end, it was never quite enough to share for three. 

But having called too many dishes to share earlier means I was left to bring the macaron’s back home.  These were made by the famous Jean Pierre Sancho Patisserie.  Crunchy top with a chewy centre, there was nothing much too praise for a person who is not a fan of sugar.  Admittedly though, the macarons were very visually impressive.

Comparing the Vineyard to the fine dining establishment at Lamont’s Bishop, I really adored the former more.  Lamont’s Vineyard on a Saturday afternoon is a lovely place.  It was just so relaxed.   Food is simple, honest and not overly complicated.  The environment was relaxed and it all felt very comfortable.  Being with my old buddy and his girlfriend also meant that it was time spent well.  A lovely end to a long week I have to say :)!

WenY

Bites: Plain Bread @ Bread In Common, Fremantle

Bread In Common on Pakenham Street is a name I often hear where iconic dining is concerned in Fremantle along with the likes of Cicerello’s and Little Creatures bar.  It actually surprises me to hear that this fairly new eatery had already achieved a reputable status in Fremantle over a short period. Just before Yobi and his girlfriend headed to Cicerello’s I decided that we should all have some light brunch here to understand what the hype was.  

Walking in, I liked the interior which was quite simple but carried a lot of substance.  I noticed how well the wood on wood combination and the light bulbs presented in a minimalistic cable X bulb combination worked nicely together!

To start, we could go no further than the homemade bread with two dips.  One was a sausage dip while the other was a zucchini sesame one.   I had also asked the other bread staples which was butter and olive oil.  It was an all out affair on this one.

The bread here have all the perks of a homemade bread but unfortunately that was where it all ended.  It was simply nothing outstanding and felt all too plain.  The centre of the bread was not as expected.  But more disappointingly were the dips which were really quite mediocre.  Between the two, the zucchini one was more outstanding than the other sausage one.  Taste wise, I would not be such a hard critique but considering the price we paid for what I perceive as “1 large table spoon” of each, it was really quite disappointing.  I think Brika does a better deal with their dip when you have size X price X taste considered in the equation.

Our shared meal was a poached salmon with cauliflower, goji berries and some herbs scattered around the top.  While the salmon was poached to perfection, everything else in this dish could not be anymore boring than white paper.  The salmon carried little seasoning which was good to enjoy the delicate protein, but when it came to remainder of the plate, that cauliflower finely diced to act as a staple carbohydrate was absolutely terrible.  In fact, a little too raw for my liking.  I preference would be to have it blanched longer to make it soft and fluffy.  Basic seasoning of salt and pepper would have been much appreciated.

But hey, it was not the end of the world.  The duck fat roasted potatoes was probably the second best dish I have had this weekend.  It was bloody good.  Loved the bits of caramelised garlic that came with the potato.  Bloody sweet.  Homemade ketchup was a nice touch that did not carry the same artificial sweetness the bottled ones do.  Over all, this had to be my biggest like walking away from this place ;0!

The service here was OK but hardly commendable.  On that not so busy Saturday, we asked two different waiters thrice for a refill of bread to come with our non-existent butter and olive oil with a constant reminder that an order had already been placed before.  It took them a long time only to appear with two orders of bread which we could not finish.  With more than 80% approval and 800 odd likes, I was expecting a whole lot more from Bread In Common.  I do not believe that I am asking for  a lot.  Simple plating  with a balance between substance and value would definitely have sufficed.  Yay or Nay?  Definitely nay for me.

WenY