Bites: Classic Thai Dining with a Modern Touch @ Itsara, Nedlands.

We finally got our ex-colleague Win out to eat with us.  This time, at Itsara in Nedlands.   The bloke who previously dined with me at Nahm Thai reunites for a whole new level of Thai dining!  His reluctance to join us  is understandable as he was not keen on being a victim of high spec Thai dining.  At Itsara, diners a choice of indoor sitting or outdoor sitting in the garden.  Typically, I would not like to sit outdoors in summer because it is stinking hot!  Fortunately, both choices of sitting are air-conditioned!  That evening we were given the option of the group dining menu or the ala carte. We opted for the set menu as it guarantees the complete Itsara experience for the table.  

After ordering some drinks to start, a host of appetisers made their appearance.  The betel leaf wrap and chive dumpling on a spoon.

While the dumpling was pretty decent, I enjoyed the Betel Leaf Wrap better.  Filled with prawns, roasted desiccated coconut, and Thai spices, it was super refreshing.  

The next dish I believe is called the Fleeing Fish.  Catchy as is, the flavours of this dish send me on another roller coaster ride.  On first bite you get the saltiness of the fried fish.  As you chew, the freshness of the mangoes and acidity of the lemon juice all of which mellowed nicely with the sweet sauce made for a perfect appetiser! 

Crispy fish of the day with fresh mango, lemon grass, kaffir lime, ginger, lime zest and cashew nuts tossed with complex homemade sweet and tangy chilli dressing.

Initial impressions of the duck were very positive with its tender flesh and perfectly cooked outer bit means the fat was perfectly rendered. This gave each bite a hint of smokiness.  Then you have the “full-flavoured” pineapple dressing which was nice, though I would question the full-flavoured portion of it ha ha.  Another dish that despite being a meat dish was extremely refreshing!

Pretty Duck; Char-grilled marinated duck with fresh green mango, shallot, cashew nut and homemade full-flavoured pineapple sweet chilli dressing.

Believe it or not, we were already feeling pretty full at this stage and the mains were not even out!  But as the kind host started bring rice out, we knew it was time for the mains. 

Green Curry w/ Chargrilled Chicken.

Itsara Island; Bite sized pieces of barramundi drizzled with caramelised tamarind lime and fish sauce on a bed of crispy Thai herbs

Besides the 2 mains above, we also had a delicious prawn dish and the Itsara Mignion Curry which tasted similar to a Massaman. Each dish were worthy of praise without doubt.  The Mignion Curry was a pairing between tender beef and a rich curry sauce while the chicken was perfectly grilled on the outside with a fragrant green curry paste.  Also, who does not like crispy fish with a tangy dipping sauce?!  The best part of it all?  Fresh plump prawns cooked spot on, and the sauce was super good.  Heaps of chilli and garlic! Not quite sure what sauce was used but I could not stop putting spoonfuls of it on my rice.  Very nicely done.

Feeling very full, we decided to skip dessert and go to Koko Black for dessert.  So how did my friends and I feel about Itsara that night?   While the upscale Thai food at Itsara was every bit enjoyable, I have to question the vibe I get.  My friend who’s part Thai thought the food’s sugar level was a notch too high while the rest thought Nahm Thai ranked better.  Did it?  I really wondered because I felt Itsara had better balance on the tasting plate by alternating the curries, and the palm sugary sauced dishes. Presentation the food at Nahm Thai made a much better statement though!   Unfortunately its closed now!  Putting comparisons aside, there is a good reason why eating Thai food always has a special place in my earth.  The service of is a notch above the rest.  Then comes its flavours, I do not think there is any cuisine in this world better at balancing its flavours than Thai food.  It is the pinnacle of multi-flavoured balancing!!

WenY

Bites: French Dining at Chez Pierre, Nedlands

One week goes and another week comes! With this being the last week of my absolute freedom, it is only sensible that I do what I enjoy best! Eat and Blog my heart out :)!  In this post, I have a place that is slightly romantic and well-suited to special occasions.  Last week, I was lucky enough to celebrate my sister’s birthday with her at Chez Pierre in Nedlands, an established French Fine Dining.  While its ala carte menu tips the scale similar to Rockpool, and Balthazar, Chez Pierre has created a weekly menu called the Taste of France, a 3 course set menu for $58.50.  Complete with bread, amuse bouche and palate cleanser, the menu visits a province in France each week and put some of Perth’s freshest ingredients to the test.  This week was Lorient.

Chez Pierre’s crusty bread was one of the best in town with my sister commenting that it was better than the one she had in Print Hall the night before. The constant chomping of the bread around the table was a constant reminder that my sister was probably right.  Soft on the inside, along with its crusty outside made it a joy to eat.  Now, if only the butter was up to scratch! Hmmm!  As for the amuse bouche, we had a roasted tomato gazpacho, a refreshing start to the meal that she liked too!

First to hit the table was a dish inspired by the Lorient region.  Seared Tiger Prawns, quinoa, summer vegetables and a beurre blanc sauce.The dish got mixed reviews around the table with my sister and fishman feeling that the prawns were a tad overcooked leading it to being tough .  But I was less judgmental and suspected that the toughness in the prawn’s flesh were more of a size factor but the cooking was undeniably mildly-flawed too. After all, the prawns were huge ass!  I like the textures of the quinoa which reminded me of how flexible this ancient grain was!  Beurre blanc sauce very light and creamy but I wished for a bit more flavor in there.  Speaking of quinoa, I totally am missing the awesome one served at Sepia last May!

After finishing the appetizers, our palate cleanser came.  It was your typical sorbet drizzled with sweet wine.  The end product felt somewhat like a Limoncello sorbet topped with Ribena haha.  It was nice to eat but as a palate cleanser I am not sure whether the strong overbearing sweetness helped.

Then comes my personal favorite for the night, the Amelia Park Rump of Lamb.   Its cooking style was minimalistic and brought the best out of the lamb.  It was cooked spot on with some parts just melting in your mouth.  XL who does not normally eat the gamey meat was amazed by the quality of the rump and eventually polished her plate clean.  The fricassee which the rump rested on was sautéed to perfection with all of its elements cooked just nice with the lamb jus.  Yummy!

Last but not least was the dessert, a slice of Pistachio & Strawberry Frangipani Tart with Crème Anglaise & Vanilla Bean Ice-Cream.While I am not the biggest dessert fan, I have a few criteria for a good one which includes having a dessert that is no ridiculously sweet.   In this instance the tart did not taste sweet and the accompanying Crème Anglaise was silky smooth.  However, I was not the biggest fan of the tart mainly because there was a lingering almond meal taste.  Something I really dislike.  Saying that, this is a matter of personal preference.  Jim had absolutely no problems and polished it clean along with XL and YH.   It had to be pretty decadent for them to like it!

I have a few places where one can dine and impress without blowing a hole in the wallet and this definitely gets onto that list.  Kanta, Bonsai, Nine Fine Food, Cantina 663 and Old Crow are a few names on that list too.  Without drinks they all cost below $60 (or $30) for a very yummy meal that portrays sufficient technique and flavor to make one’s evening memorable.  Chez Pierre in Nedlands along with its Flavors of France promotion is definitely a great way to taste a slice of France without being left to feel poor after.  Over all it was pretty good.  Memorable?  Maybe in between?  Oh and I almost forgot, the service was good too!

WenY

Bites: Heather’s Hutch Cafe @ Nedlands

Taxation is a done deal, so is Investment Analysis and Financial Accounting Theory & Practice.  Exam season has not been kind to me.  It has been raining every single freaking morning!!  Cold.. hungry.. *emo*!  But that is ok, I found a nice place to seek shelter from the cruel winter!  After taxation on Tuesday, darling and I were literally starving!  Not to mention it a typical cold winter afternoon with chilly winds with puddle of water everywhere!!  Hungry as we were, we wanted to eat something proper!  After much thought we decided to eat nearby and it immediately came to my mind that there is a nearby cafe neatly tucked amongst the apartments on Broadway!  Decided to try my luck because I remember them being closed on some days!  Lucky as we were, Heather’s was actually open!!

 

Heather’s  Hutch and its interior!  Felt slightly vintage! 

 

We order the mushroom soup ($9) and a lasagne ($16) to share!!  I have to say, both of it turned out nicely.  But god the serving is just too big!  Both of us did not manage to finish even half of the lasagne I think.  No doubt it was yummy, but the serving was crazy huge.  I think something like twice the thickness and twice the size of the one sold in uni!!!  For the size, and quality (of course!), the price is justified!  But then again, it is really too filling for one person!  Next time if I came alone, I would like to have the soup again!  So yummy!!

 

Ok mates, over and out! Today I woke up at 6am, reached uni about 7am and started nerding! So goddamn sleepy now! Off to bed!! Oink oink!

 

WenY

Bites: Greco’s @ Broadway.

It seems so short yet it has already been an eventful 8 months of the year.  Not sure how much I have achieved yet there seems to be a certain satisfaction just being where I am at the moment.  Hoho, last week I made merry of a certain day with the little darling Ms XL.  Haha my sister say I’m too lame to suggest the celebration of a month-nniversary but why not right?  We should have more reasons to celebrate while we can right? ahah.  For the night, we decided to go to Greco’s just down Broadway.  It has been a place that I’ve been wanting to go to ever since I found out they made Crème Brule.  We had a late dinner because lunch pretty late, so when we reached at a quarter to nine, the environment was just perfect for a quiet date.   No busy crowd, noisy cheers or whatsoever.  Just a relaxed environment amidst the Mediterranean setup.

 

Xl was had problem deciding what she would have liked to order for her main when she saw the dessert menu.  She almost thought of having 2 desserts for her main and perhaps 1 more for her dessert.  Dessert person down to the core!!!  Later on, we finally decided to perhaps got for 2 mains and share a dessert which in the end turned out to be 2 =.=”.

The Piri Piri chicken was one of the specialties suggested and it was delicious.  Not quite like the one served at Spaghi’s @ South Perth but this one had its own distinctive flavour which was very yummy!  Best of all, for the lazy people that hates deboning a chicken, Greco’s served their Piri piri boneless for all.

 

Darling ordered the lamb shank which was nice on the outside but the meat was not tender to the bone!. Terrazza  @ Applecross for the win :D!  The sauce on the other hand was delish and the mash was no different.  Eventually, to the dislike of my other half, she ended up with my Piri piri chicken while I had hers. 

 

With the mains now residing in my overloaded tummy, darling eyes were set on the dessert menu.  Unable to decide what she would have liked, cheekily she pointed at the one I wanted =.=”!!!!!  But that’s alright because Crème Brule is awesome!

Mmmmm a thin layer of burnt caramel served with a side of passionfruit sorbet and fresh strawberries and top by a thin layer of pastry. Yummyyy!!!  Soft and smooth yet still able to retain its form when scooped!  Delicious, aromatic. Oh my GAWD. Love this dessert.  Will learn to make it when I get an oven!!

 

The end of the night was coupled with two faces that were happy for certain things happened that very one day a couple of months back.  Greco’s @ Broadway just seemed like the correct way to have it celebrated :D!  Good atmosphere when quiet, friendly staff and a delicious spread of delights individually finished by the yours truly, chef Jorge Lopez.

 

Now time to move along and keep the priorities at bay ticked off, one by one.

 

WenY