Bites: A Chinese Banquet @ Northbridge Chinese Restaurant, Roe St.

Northbridge Chinese Restaurant also known as Lok Fook by the Chinese population in Perth is a popular Chinese restaurant on Roe St.  While it is popular, this place draws a host of criticisms from me in the past for its arrogant lady boss, incompetent service and inconsistent food quality.  Earlier this year, it became known to me that the chefs took ownership of the restaurants and so my family decided to have a family dinner here after a long time of being away.  Under the new management, Northbridge Chinese Restaurant is a fair bit different now that is has a level of service which is more acceptable.

That night we had two tables of 8, one for the youngsters and the other for the oldies :P!  Since it was a special treat for my parents as well as my two aunties who traveled from Singapore and Sydney, it was an all out banquet for the family.

The first dish to reach was an “egg drop" Chinese mushroom soup  The thick gelatinous soup did not quite tickle my fancy but was a decent start to the meal.  It is probably just me, but I have a preference that other than the good old Shark’s Fin soup with crab meat, I prefer Cantonese style soups which are thinner in consistency yet potent in the sweetness of its ingredients like pork ribs, lotus root, peanuts, dates and a host of other herbs.

Scallops on shell steamed with emperor soy, glass noodles, topped with crispy garlic oil and finely chopped scallions.  Scallops are always a treat when served not the table. This was no different.  The sweet protein of the sea when cooked to perfection is a no brainer.  Here it was  prepared simple, yet delicious but a tad overcooked.  Thinking of the perfect scallops, I feel the need to revisit Marea in NYC.  The scallops at Marea had to be the best I have ever had.  See this post here to get what I mean :P!

Next up was another dish that involved some intense finger action.  Snow crabs tossed in a salted egg sauce.  It is not hard understand why people go crazy over snow crabs.  Its large chunk of flesh from the claw easily overwhelms that of any other shellfish on earth.  Add a fragrant garlicky salted egg sauce to the equation and boy it was good.

At this point of the dinner, the chef probably thought that it was a good time to give our palates a rest and cooked up a piping hot serve of garlic Kailan.  A basic dish that never fails to satisfy. Easily cooked at home, but never the same, restaurants tend to use a bigger “burner”  resulting in a drier vegetable dish.  At home, most garlic kailan usually comes out watery!

Next was up was the boys favourite, the Pai Kuat Wong or the Emperor Ribs.  Crispy deep fried meaty ribs coat in a sticky sweet fruity sauce is a dish that tastes very similar to the Peking Ribs with the exception of the mayonnaise.  

Next was another deep fried dish @@!  It was a very unhealthy night but hey, once in a blue moon right? haha.  The last one was a fusion between an aubergine and a prawn/chicken paste of some sort.  I have to say, I was not the biggest fan of the dish for the sole reason of it being way too oily.  Aubergine is quite a spongy vegetable.  It absorbs things well.  Oil in particular. So deep fry something like that and oh that oil! Just a couple of days back we had another Chinese meal two doors down and they served their specialty chicken skin and prawn paste dish which was absolutely moreish when compared to this.

To end were the complementary fruits and sago in coconut milk.  Neither were particularly impressive but who am I to complain when the word complimentary is involved :P!

The meal at the Northbridge Chinese Restaurant was a very good one.  It is actually the second time I am visiting the place in the last 2 months as I had another big family dinner here when my relatives were here from Canada.  Altogether as a family, we were worried initially when we made the booking due to the poor the place rating it had on Urbanspoon.   Nonetheless, two successful dinners has shown that the new management is not short of skills when it comes to preparing quality Chinese.  This in itself is a good reason to come back.  But for everything else Chinese especially Chinese Roast, I would stray no further than my favourite HK Barbecue or Good Fortune :)!

WenY

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