Bites:Taro Taro @ Victoria Park.

The Asian food scene in Perth has never been boring.  Whether it is Thai, Malaysian, Japanese, Korean or Vietnamese, there was always something to cater for everyone.  With the addition of a Taiwanese cafe in Vic Park, my argument has a solid backing.  Promoting itself through Facebook, Taro Taro gained for itself great momentum which saw its first three days of soft opening flooding with keen taste buds.. and I was one of them.

For dinner last Friday we ordered heaps of braised pork rice and a oyster noodles to share.

Dinner!

Oyster noodles!

For me, I have never liked this sort of noodles even in Malaysia.  In Taiwan itself, I could not appreciate the fondness of the locals towards a popular franchise called the Ah Chung Mien Sin which specialises in such noodles. Not sure if the spelling is correct lols but nonetheless, Yvonne who ordered this thought it was ok with the exception of the oysters which seemed to be covered in flour. She was also hoping to get some of the chilli to go with this but it was not available during their trial runs.  Overall, an OK eat!

 

My pick for the night was the braised pork rice

When I collected the rice from the counter, I was really pleased with what I saw.  There was a whole lot more of mince which one would not get in Taiwan.  First impressions were great with me.  The addition of Coriander was smart, the egg was well done, and the pork was lean.  However, after a few spoon full, I stopped getting the sensation which I had before back in Taiwan.  I think we needed a little more kick in the sauce.  Perhaps make the sauce thicker and a little more of that preserved vegetable which I think is Mui Choy or pickled mustard which would have been great.  Another thing which I missed was the slightly greasy feel of a typical braised pork rice bowl back in Taiwan.  Having lean meat is a luxury and at the same time really healthy, but at the expense of taste hmmm.  I would prefer unhealthy.

Edit: Had it again today! Tasted better with the preserved vege provided on the side :)!

 

For dessert we had the bean curd dessert with sago, yam and sweet potato balls as well as Ai Yu Jelly with White Pearls and lemon tea.

While I enjoyed the Ai Yu jelly and found the addition of the white pearls really nice, I could not help but feel that the entire drink which is a modern reinterpretation of the classic one in Taiwan has not succeeded.  A few sips had me not wanting the drink anymore as it was unbearable.  Don’t get me wrong, it did not suck all that bad but I believe that the lime essence has been squeezed or obtained inappropriately making it really bitter.  Felt as if someone actually just boiled down the whole lime just to get the lime flavour.  With a cup that big, it was really difficult to finish considering how bitter it was.

 

As for the special bean curd dessert, it was pretty decent.  If I had any complains it would be that the yam and sweet potato balls were a little hard to bite through.  It would have been a lot better if it was slightly softer yet it pack the chewy consistency that I’m used to!

Bean curd Dessert!

Earlier this year, my trip to Taiwan was packed with great scenery, polite locals and fun peeps. What felt lacking was the food. Nonetheless, I still brought fond memories of delicious beef noodles, crunchy XXL Chicken Chop, braised pork rice and the refreshing Ai Yu jelly drink home with me. So with Taro Taro, I had high expectations.  Over all, I felt that it was average but could be improved. The braised pork rice was OK but could definitely be improved in terms of meat and sauce. I heard the XXL Chicken Chop was pretty good according the both the little darling, my sis as well as from fishman and Yvonne who had dined there twice on Friday.  I look forward to the grand opening where I hope the Ai Yu jelly drink and the yam/sweet potato ball would have been improved!  At the same time though, I cannot help but feel grateful for an additional variety in Perth!

Edit: Also had the fried chicken today! Smashing!!

 

WenY

Product Talk:Squeeze & Stir Heinz Soup

I recently volunteered to help Nuffnang do a review  for Heinz who has just launched a line of handy squeeze soup packs.  In return for this product talk by Nuffnang, I have received free soup and such.  Anyone keen can be part of this too.  Just visit this link here.  While there was not requirement to post this, I decided to do this because the product was actually pretty decent.  The product I received this time was Heinz’s Squeeze and Stir instant soup.  It actually just reached me last Friday and in the box, I had 2 sachets and a mug with a soup spoon! All that you would need to make it work, really.

 

Sunday saw a massive storm tormenting the state and this could not have come in any more handy.  With trees falling, going out for lunch during the storm is definitely not a choice.  So for my morning lunch, I had the soup.  The overall taste is pretty damn close to a quality tomato soup.  It was salty, sweet and hmm pretty yums actually. 

 

Unfortunately though, the only thing that was less than satisfactory is the consistency of the soup. A typical tomato soup for me has to be thick but this felt nowhere near thick. Also, you do not get much tomato bites pieces. Nonetheless, you do get small pieces of herbs and onions which were pretty decent. I guess it is hard to complain when you are dealing with instant food.

Over all, I am thankful to be included by Nuffnang for their product talk!  While this soup did not have all the qualities of a homemade one, this one was pretty damn good for one of a packet.  There was the ripeness of the tomato, saltiness was not overboard and this all made it fairly good.

 

WenY

Bites: Rasa Nyonya @ Victoria Park

My typical Saturday bite is a good fix of Nasi Lemak and a whole lot of other goodies.  Unfortunately, that only happens in Malaysia.  Nonetheless, if you are craving for a little goodie with a twist of exciting yet authentic flavours, perhaps Rasa Nyonya might be your pick.  The term “Nyonya” to my knowledge originates from the term “Baba & Nyonya” which is a Malaccan term for a certain mixed race of Peranakan Chinese.  Typically, Nyonya food often revolves about a concoction of sweetness, spiciness, saltiness with a hint of sourness. For me, that was what we had tonight.

Random decor!

 

For this table of four, we ordered dishes which were highly recommended by our Asian peers. 

Ikan Assam Gulai Pedas, was one of the dishes we ordered that night.  The slices of fish cooked in a broth rich in spices and flavour went with rice.  While the fish was not overcooked, the fillet slices were not the best fish to use for this considering how much the texture has deviated from what I am typical accustomed to back home.  The sauce which sweet, and sour with a hint of spiciness! Definitely yums for me!  However though,an unpleasant sensation was inevitable as the sauce was gritty due to the herbs and spices that was blended for this dish. 

 

Special Egg Tofu was another dish we had today.  This was one was pretty special albeit a little on the sweet side.  The dish to me consisted of two main components, an egg component which acts as a binder and the other, diced fried bean curd.  The omelette held the tofu together before being topped with fresh garnish with a mix of sweet chilli sauce and sweet dark soy.  This is pretty unique and I’m pretty sure the sweet tooths Nee and Fishman enjoyed it a whole lot!

 

The last dish was my favourite for the night.  This is a classic butter prawn with egg floss rather than an oatmeal coating.  Generous servings of egg floss made the ordinary prawns absolutely lip smacking!  Present also is the fragrance of the curry leaves which added another taste to the prawns.  Back home this is an absolute favourite in my family.  The thought of having steamed rice with the prawns covered in fragrant and crisp egg floss is almost impossible to resist!

 

Overall our meal was pretty decent.  Coming here tonight, it is clear that Rasa Nyonya has more to offer other than the Nasi Lemak that I have been having here for the past years.  While this might seem a little premature considering the 3 dishes were the few out of the many more served, their chef recommendations seem rather good too!  When I come back next time, it’ll definitely be to try the salted egg dishes as well as the kankung belacan!  Other than the food, Rasa Nyonya also serves up some of the Malaysian classic drinks such teh tarik, milo dinasaur and what not.  So would this restaurant be a yay or nay? Definitely a yay this trip!

 

WenY