Bites: Crust @ Victoria Park

Crust Pizza has been from my memory about a 2 year old franchise in Victoria Park.  Its that sort of thing which the little darling says she want to try and we kept mentioning it but never actually did go and try it.  Fortunately, one can make amends and recently, I received an invitation from Crust Mount Lawley’s Michelle to go and give their latest offering a shot.  To celebrate the summer season, Crust Pizza has decided to reinvent the classic Margherita and to finish the meal on a healthy note, a caramelized fennel salad.

 

Crust @ Victoria Park!

 

The Heirloom Tomato Upper Crust Pizza @ $19 is one of Crust Pizza’s new offering.

For this price you get delicious flavors which for me highlighted the intensity of the tomatoes.  The tomatoes under the pizza oven has developed to the extent where it start caramelizing creating that plump juiciness which just oozes when bitten into.  I could barely fault with the tomatoes being the main element except for its content!  It was perfectly ripe, juicy and just perfect in so many ways.  While that for me was an extreme highlight for such a pizza, I on other hand do question the existence of the buffalo mozzarella which as my photo shows look no more than dollops of mayonnaise.  It barely had any effect.  For $19 it soon becomes a question of value as such old school Margherita was executed so close to perfection but its content did not suffice.  For me, I could have passed on the buffalo Mozzarella but definitely double up those tomatoes.

 

The next pizza which the Peking Duck Pizza @ $24 came recommended by close friends and the store owner Michelle herself.

This pizza unlike the vegetarian Heirloom Tomato one was covered by a generous amount of shredded duck meal and bok choy.  Its flavors felt close to a typical Peking Duck but could have been better with if those fresh pungent spring onions.  The flavors were really good all in all.  For me the only thing that my fussy side faulted with is the crust of this.  Not quite used to such rough and crispy edges for my Peking Duck dish.  But hey, this is a pizza is it not? Overall, this was a pretty solid performer.  It had quality and consistency albeit my dining companion found the sweetness a little too intense for her liking.

 

And the refreshener to lift the mood off the gueey cheese was the Caramelised Fennel Salad

If this dish is all about the caramelized fennel, then this is already a winning recipe.  But because the fennel is part of the dish and not a dish of its own, it has to gel with the rest of the lot which includes crumbled ricotta, proscuitto, fresh greens and roasted hazelnut.  For me, it was pretty good if not for the lack dressing which made this too dry.  Just felt as if there is not enough moisture as all we were given was a small packet to pour on top. Over as a salad it was not bad but definitely could have been better.

 

Now that I have eaten as much as I could, I was stuffed and jaw was partly aching from my attempt of trying to down both pizzas which failed miserably.   I cannot thank Michelle enough for this special invitation as I am now able to tick Crust of my list of to places try for 2012.  What Crust has offered me today is a very unique combination of pizzas which buck the trend of what is considered typical.  But with  a price that is not in any way cheap, Crust face a whole lot of contention including Italian staples like Ciao Italia or Il Padrino and even Australian Champs Little Caesars and  Olympic pizza champion Delizioso.   Nevertheless, I believe the Pizzas such as the Peking Duck are there to stay as fans will always look forward to the outstanding flavors the Crust has an offer and while a well composed Pizza Margherita is likely to sell, the few tomatoes are a hard buy for its price.  It either has to be a fair bit cheaper or a whole lot more tomatoes :)!

 

WenY

Bites: Mrs. S @ Maylands

The significant changes in Maylands has seen its café strip become more attractive. Many indie boutiques  are budding in the area along with some of the bests brunch places in town.  Of the lot, Mrs. S has been the talk of the town for a long time now.  Coming here twice in last few weeks, I can easily tell why.  The food has been great and its menu is not sterile of ideas.  It has changed from my last visit but still keep favorites like the Granny J’s corn bread and the big breakfast on.  But with toast and poached eggs so consistently done over here, it distinguishes itself well with its service.

Coming in late for brunch means we almost did not make it in time for their breakfast menu.  Worried that we might miss out, the waiter made for us a makeshift table consisting of milk crates and magazine but promptly asked us to sit inside when a sit was available.  Service win? Yes it was although it was the little darling that spotted the table first haha.

 

I previously came here and my sister ordered the passion fruit curd cake.  A very lovely cake with a fruity curd in there. This time around, we ordered the lemon curd cake for $4.50 which was no lesser a cake.  It still packed the same fruitiness I had before, this time around with a more citrusy touch.  What kept me puzzled is their clotted cream.  It was hard like half churned butter @@!  It tasted fine nonetheless! Just a little hard to smear on the cake.  Darling who was meant to have a taste ended up having most of it as I knew this was her sort of thing and ordered it more for her then myself :)!

 

The Fishman decided to have Granny J’s Corn Bread with the lot.Granny Junes thick cornbread, bacon, poach eggs and real maple syrup!  The bread is not your typical some bread as it felt a little crumbly to a certain extent and came filled with corn kernels.  But the real beauty lies in its sponginess.  It seems like the bread has absorbed a whole lot of the maple syrup poured onto the bread.  The bacon and syrup on pancakes combination have been a tradition for certain people for a long time now and this for me was absolutely splendid.  Having said that, I only had a mouth of this!  Maybe I would get this the next time around :)!

 

Darling’s poached eggs on toast with bacon and herbed mushrooms with a side of relish $20.50.  This was only a dollar cheaper compared to the big breakfast, but for the little darling, why waste when you know you cannot finish it.  Her words are absolutely true.  Her toast and poached eggs were well cooked but her bacon I thought, could be a little crispier.  Mushroom looked perfectly cooked and as a whole it was cooked well. What surprised me was the fact that she had not used her relish.  In a dish like that, relish is an immensely beautiful condiment to help bring all element on the plate together.  The relish at Mrs. S is tangy and really is good.  This I know because I happily finished whatever darling left on the plate haha.

 

My dish was full on vegetarian like what I had before at Mrs. S and there is absolute no regrets.The beautiful mess of falafel, tatziki, pickled cabbage, rocket, brioche and fried eggs on flat bread toast for $19.60 is not what one would consider cheap.  But considering that the trouble in preparing all the elements required more than just a pan and oil, this was well worth its price.  The brioche was perfectly salted and the sourness of the pickled cabbage was just spot on.  I loved the eggs as it did not feel rubbery and it all went well together.  What I felt could have improved was the finesse of the falafel.  The herbs in there felt a little too subtle.  I wanted more, I wanted the fragrant and aroma of the spices.  The cucumber yoghurt was OK but for me it just lacks the freshness being sat upon all the things which were served hot.  Perhaps next time a served in a shot glass for the diner to pour it where deemed suitable?  This definitely could have been better.  For most parts of the dish, Mrs. S has got it right but because the falafel for me was an important part, this was definitely an average dish.

 

Full like a pig when we were finished. I was satisfied having nibbled at everyone’s dish but for me, my breakfast could definitely have been better.  The cake for me was an absolute pleaser with a delicious curd in the centre.  Darling’s breakfast was good but to me, felt a little too common. It not for the relish, it was really just a decent dish.  Next time around, I would definitely come back for Granny June’s corn bread with the lot.  For me, other than the curd cake, that was the highlight of my trip this time.  Do not get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with Mrs. S, it serves up some pretty kickass breakfast but for me, I am just a little fussy!

 

WenY

Bites: The Precinct @ Victoria Park

The Precinct is one of the more exciting restaurants that have placed itself in the bustling café strip of Victoria Park.  With so many new comers to the business, the Precinct is one of the few that have received fairly good reviews for its  environment and  ambience.  Stepping in, the graffiti scribbled wall in an industrial setting definitely gave the place a feel which I can only describe as  “roomy with a sense of activity”. 

The group sitting area with the colorful and inspiring graffiti.  Is that Queen Elizabeth?  Definitely not my grandmothers for sure hehe.

 

For starters the group of us decided to share a Whitebait with Beer Aioli and Chicken Wings with Nam Jim sauce:This is my first time having Whitebaits and it was a little more than what I expected.  It was not crispy through as I thought it would be.  It still has a meaty texture in the center with a stronger than expected fishiness.  More importantly was how well this would have went with drinks instead of the water we had.  This was unexpectedly salty.  Perhaps Whitebaits are beer foods!

 

The saving grace for our appetizer was the Chicken Wings with Nam Jim sauce.  I enjoyed the sauce a whole lot as it was a smartly played concoction of sweet, sour and saltiness. But at the end, the chicken especially the wing felt a little dry for my liking.The chicken were not cooked to a level which it was meant to be.  It felt slightly drier than expected but the sauce gave it the much needed moisture and flavors. 

 

As for our mains we all called what we thought was nice and decided to share it out:The fishman ordered steak frites with slow cooked egg in medium.  A picture tells a thousand word and what does it tell you about the beef?  At best, the steak was a medium – well-done.   The relish gave a refreshing fix to the Potato Gaufrettes which some has described as no more than store bought chips.  But it was not that bad.  Additionally, fishman complained that the slow cooked egg was overdone as the center was not runny as we had hoped.

 

Good friend and fellow blogger Glenn ordered the ‘Lancashire hot pot’, lamb, potato, pickled cabbage.   When it arrived, it looked like a reinterpretation of its original form.  We had expected a homely casserole style dish with root vegetables but this was totally irregular.  Perfectly arrange slices of lamb topped with pickled cabbage led the pack.  First bite in and I though it was ok as the lamb was soft but tender enough it was not.  All the benefits of a hot pot seems rather redundant in this dish.  It needed more tenderness or some sort of moisture.  Perhaps a hotpot sauce spooned over the beautiful arrangement was all it needed?  At least that was what we thought.

 

For me, I played it safe following the recommendation of another blogger who had eaten there awhile ago.  The half roasted chicken, Jerusalem artichokes, jus.  Unlike conventional roast, the chicken had a slightly crispy skin and a really tender inside.  A tender inside which was so very lacking in all its other dish.  The sauce until now remains a mystery.  Glenn reckons a marmite mix but I had absolutely no idea.  Definitely no ordinary jus or reduction here.   My tender chicken pieces were accompanied by a very nice side of what seemed like pureed chestnuts and an assortment of root vegetables.  This was by far the highlight of the night.

 

The girls decided to share a whole fish stuffed with fish herbs and lemon.  After the little darling and I had some pretty damn good meals at Nine Fine Food and Fuku in the past fortnight, she was absolutely devastated to be served something like that.  For starters, the fish has not been cleaned properly leaving a horrible odor in the stomach.  To make matter worse, the fish still had scales on its belly and the tail section.  To top it all, the dry fish and quinoa absolutely did not make things any better.  In an attempt to get it fixed, I asked for some sauce where none came out until we decided to settle with some beer aioli, for which we were charged an extra $2.  I really am surprised that a fish dish can come out so unpredictably.  This is clearly a warning sign for anyone who think a serve of fish in a place like this is a good idea.

 

To finish off our meal, the little darling had to have her dessert after a disappointing main.Between the 5 of us, we shared two desserts.  The first was a bread and butter pudding.  This to me felt like a very catchy way to serve a bread pudding.  But to serve a whole chunk is asking for trouble.  The moisture was not well spread making it hard to eat.  For me, it would have been heaps better if it was arranged in alternating layers of custard and bread making it a very moist experience.  Sigh.. at least the sauce was rather fragrant.

 

We also called a banofee pie which might seems a little deceptive as we expected a classic English banana and toffee pie.  At Precinct, they have reinterpreted the dish with a crumbly layer ontop of a sweetened banana paste followed by a dark chocolate bottom.  On my first spoonful, I was thrown of by its extreme sweetness which immediately shut my senses such that the bread pudding had absolutely no taste anymore.  But going back for seconds, it was not the chocolate but rather an overly sweet banana layer that was horrible.   In fact, the chocolate felt pretty good.  It was a dark chocolate bottom that felt somewhat like Koko Black’s Belgian Chocolate Mousse.  Nonetheless, a simple English Pie with banana and toffee would have really made the day.

 

At the end we left slightly disappointed, probably more them than me considering out of the 4 mains we ordered, only mine had a above average quality in it.  The starters were mediocre and the desserts were out of touch.  A saving grace was that the waitress that served us was really friendly.  But her power only goes so far as to serve and in the kitchen, that is where all that quality should have been.  Urbanspoon reviews does not seem to be heading in favor of the restaurant as well because customers who have revisited the place since it had opened felt a declining quality too.  Did its popularity got the best of it or was it just a busy Friday?  Perhaps one or none but either ways, it will take a lot of convincing before we return.

 

WenY