Bites: A little Choux @ Chu Bakery, Highgate.

I love my desserts but the ones I like are usually balanced in sugar, not over the top in appearance but potent in flavours that could either be complex or simple. Chu Bakery is the new kid on the block.  Located opposite Hyde Park in Highgate a group of fresh faced entrepreneurs are bringing a new dimension of pastries to this side town.  

Whilst I packed a box of goodies for my friends, I only really tried the Choux Pastry and the Chocolate Eclair.

Needless to say, the presentation here was top notch.  But what tickled my fancy even more was how everything was produced with such refinement.  Just when you thought you have tasted it all, you get blown away by the silky smooth chocolate in the eclair.  The rich chocolate filling was spot on and everything was simply yums!

The Choux pastry itself tasted rather ordinary but in a way that was ordinary good.  Slightly crusty and chewy outer bit with a fluffy inside.  But the cream filling was all the rave for me. It was so rich, and creamy yet it felt very light all at the same time.  Then Chu Bakery's geniusly crafts little blocks of jelly which gave the Choux a different kind of consistency and an extra punch of flavour.

To Marco White’s pleasure Chu Bakery seemed more intent on refining the item and not reinventing the wheel.  I was fortunate to try some of their offerings in the short period of time I was at Chu Bakery.  With its promising offerings, it is only a matter of time before I return.  Next time, I will most definitely try their Choux Pastry with Matcha!

WenY

Bites: The Best Gelato ever @ Whisk Creamery, Subiaco

Before my meal at Subidoo in Subiaco, I stopped by one of the town latest dessert favourite, Whisk Creamery.  No IG feed is complete without a friend posting one of Whisk Creamery’s tantalising desserts in the last few weeks. so just before dinner I decided to stop by Whisk Creamery for a bite with a couple of friends.

Whisk Creamery pitches a philosophy of using nothing but the freshest ingredients and a traditional family recipe.  But those words to me are no different from the cliche of putting big words like “dynamic”, and “self-motivated” only to under deliver.  Did Whisk Creamery deliver?  

Rocky Road ($13) - Anglaise, flamed marshmallow, PEANUT BUTTER gelato topped with milk chocolate pieces and another flamed marshmallow.

I would describe the individual elements of this dessert a mixed batch.  I did not like the day old waffle and neither did I get the skimping of the creme Anglaise that barely made its presence.  Chocolate bits and flamed marshmallow was an essential part of a Rock Road and they were good. But then came the most important product of a Gelato Shop.  The Gelato itself.  The quality of the Gelato was absolutely top notch. Creamy, smooth, and that unmistakable taste of peanut butter was there. The sugar level was well-toned and the balance between the sweetness and saltiness was all just right.  The topic of balance is something subjective that defers from one individual to another.  But this for me was simply perfect.

Caramel Sandwich ($13) - Cronut, BLACK SESAME gelato, salted caramel sauce topped with whipped cream and more salted caramel sauce.

This was another flamboyant dessert that put together some of the biggest dessert craze in town which includes the Cronut,  an Asian Flavoured Ice Cream and Salted Caramel.  Of the main elements, they aced 2 out of 3.  Which failed me?  The Cronut.  Again, this felt day old and the consistency of the Cronut served to me was no Cronut.  It was no more than an ordinary doughnut!  Perhaps the waitress failed to inform me. But other than that I loved everything else on the plate.  The complex flavours of the black sesame was simply superb and it was very fragrant too. Pair it with the delicious salted caramel and this was something drool worthy!   I personally enjoyed this more than the Peanut Butter Gelato!

Whisk Creamery is the quintessential Gelato shop to me.  Out of the two flavours which I have tried which were the Black Sesame and Peanut Butter ones, I felt like the former came out best of the lot.  Yes they were both equally creamy and well-made but the flavours of the Black Sesame felt more apparent in each bite.  While their creations did not blow me of my sock, I would not mind visiting Whisk Creamery just for their Gelato again!  Two flavours does not constitute a population big enough to judge an entire shop yet I can still confidently claim Whisk Creamery's Gelato represented the perfect example of what a Gelato should be exactly.  It was simply superb.   Other Gelato attempts at Gusto Gelato or Il Gelato did not leave me as satisfied.  However, if there is one shop though could beat Whisk Creamery it would be Freddo’s in Melbourne.

WenY

Bites: South American Ribs @ Subidoo, Subiaco.

A week of sudden rib cravings led me to dine at two American diners last week.  First was a meal at Ribs & Burgers in Perth city and the other at Subidoo in Subiaco.  The latter was my pick to meet up with a few colleagues over dinner.

To start we ordered a main size buttermilk fried chicken with spicy mayonnaise.

These crispy boneless chicken came out promising.  It looked crispy on the outside but it was missing the outer crust with a deep crunch. What also felt lacking was the memorable buttermilk fragrance.  Subidoo’s buttermilk chicken had a thin layer of crust rather than a crunchy batter. In saying that it came out really tender and still yummy.  Apparently buttermilk works as a tenderiser too!

Fish Tacos; battered fish, slaw, and chilli aioli.

This unsuspecting taco is one of my surprise favourites at Subidoo.  Its flavours were spot on! You have the acidity of the slaw, the creamy mayonnaise and the crispy fish.  Sounds like a sure win does it not?  However, it could be super-sized though to make it real American if you get what I mean.  The tacos were a little small.

That night we had three serve of ribs which allowed us to sample all their specialties.  The first of the three was the beef back ribs.

The full rack for $30 was a steal.  Imagine thick and juicy fall of the bone meat that is tender, slightly fatty with its edges mildly caramelised. Basting was rich, and its flavours all worked so very well together.  Delicious.  

The other two rib dishes were based on pork.  The Five Spice Ribs and the Cuban Style BBQ Pork Ribs.

The Asian inspiration in the Five Spice Ribs were pretty obvious.  It had notes of tamarind and was topped with some chilli.  The Five Spice flavour was present and to bring all the flavours together you have that fruity sweetness from the palm sugar which carries a natural caramel flavour.  It was decent but I did not feel quite as impressed as I was with the beef ribs!

The Cuban style BBQ Spare Ribs was also something which I felt tasted OK but did not really live up to my expectations.  With all due respect, I did not get the smokey BBQ flavours one would normally expect.  Perhaps it has something to do with the Cuban style barbecue? Never had that before haha.  

As a side, we also had the chargrilled corn.  Boy, these were so good.  Sweet corn perfectly cooked and simply oozing with the chipotle sauce.  The added sprinkling of cheese made dreams come true and it was all a very common flavour that everyone on the table enjoyed.  Except AC of course as he does not like cheese at all!

Subidoo is a nice place to catch up with friends over a meal in Subiaco as its casual and airy diner means you have a lot more space without the feeling of suffocating.  But if you are here for the ribs which is the specialty of Subidoo, you will feel disappointed (with the exception of the beef ribs).  The plate of porky ribs did not feel as though there was enough love present in the process of preparing the dish. Clearly enough from the picture, it felt as though the sauce and the ribs were two separate components from start to end.  Sauce poured on top of dry ribs?  I wanted ribs tenderised by slow cooking.  Then set it on a grill and baste it with the sauce repeatedly to initiate the fusion between meat and sauce.   Subidoo’s execution of the pork ribs was mildly flawed but its lack of attention to detail made it deplorable.   In hind sight, I would return anytime for those gorgeous beef ribs!

WenY.