Bites: Amazing Confectionaries @ Bites by D, Mount Hawthorn.

While a delightful high tea would have been an afternoon too dainty for me, some amazing looking cakes and some friends would make a good afternoon tea.  In this occasion my ex-colleagues and  I decided to visit Bites by D, a boutique bakery stocked with premium looking confectionaries.  Scanning the counter, the attention to detail on the cakes were sensation.  Everything looked so perfect!

From Left to Right: the Fresh Berry Tart, Summer Delight and Chocolate Salted Caramel Tart

The products from Bite by D were superb.  Glorious to see but even better to taste.  The Summer Delight for example looks deceivingly similar to the famous Watermelon cake from Blackstar Pastry in Sydney but is nothing like that at all.  In fact, I reckon the Summer Delight packs a better, more refreshing flavour that is not only more fruity in taste but more interesting in texture.  I really enjoyed the mix of berry favoured jelly and the tart lemony scent in the luscious cream at the top!  The berry tart was OK but my second favourite on the plate was the Salted Caramel Tart!

From Left to Right: the Opera Cake and Winter Delight

On this other plate, we ordered another two different pastries and I reckon we got a tie this round. The Winter Delight was very similar in approach to the Summer Delight with the addition of the chocolate which brought a sense of nuttiness and warmth to the plate.  The Opera cake on the other hand, is full on indulgence without an overbearing sweetness.  Lots of melting moment as I savoured each bite.  Quite a rare moment considering how I keep telling people that I am not a sweet tooth!

Bites by D is definitely a new favourite of mine.  While the likes of Chu Bakery, La Belle Sweets and Choux Cafe were really good, I felt that l enjoyed the cakes at Bites by D more. In saying that though, whenever Bites by D is hosting a high tea the environment is quite full on with no noise containment whatsoever.  So if you are a group of 4 sitting near the group of 20 people having high tea, you might feel a little outnumbered and rightfully so.  Even then, where pastries matters Bites by D came tops!

WenY

Bites: Matcha Croissants @ La Belle Sweets, Victoria Park

Most pastries aren’t really my kind of thing but Matcha is. When I heard that a new patisserie in town was serving Matcha filled croissant, I was super keen.  Best of all its not too far from where I live.  La Belle Sweets in Lathlain recently opened their door to the public and the social media has covered them pretty well.  From catchy Pokemon cakes to delicious looking pastries, La Belle Sweets has it all.  

Sitting places are extremely limited which made it feel like a takeaway place.  Fortunately, we got a spot and that was nice!  Between the us, we got coffee and some pastries to share. 

The pastry chef’s skills is unquestionable with the layers of the croissants defined so very clearly.  Buttery, flakey and super fresh.  Everything one the table was pretty decent!  However, I felt like there could be more Matcha cream in the croissant as it was not much!  I guess sometimes there is an expectation in life that when you open something like that and the Matcha just bowls you over haha.  This was probably just nice.  La Belle Sweets’ Matcha cream itself is sensational.  Strong flavoured, not to sweet with that strong kick of grassy Matcha note.  Just what I wanted!

My morning at La Belle Sweets was rather short but it was time well spent.   The pastries we had that morning were several of the many that La Belle Sweets pump out of the oven.  My over all experience was unquestionably positive. In saying that note that I am not a sweets person.  So if you are a sweet tooth you might be in quite some trouble!

WenY

Bites: A Malaysian Kopitiam Experience @ Lepak Kopitiam, Bateman

Lepak Kopitiam, is a Malaysian hawker that’s been operating in Bateman for the last year or so.  Heard off many times but never been, I was definitely keen to find out what this little suburban eatery had to offer.  Even better, the whole family was here this time so we ordered a pretty comprehensive spread!

For drinks, an all time favourite Teh C.

Served in a classic Kopitiam cup, the froth on top is just right and the taste yummy.  The flavour of the tea is slightly mild but no complains.  If you are wondering, the “C” in Teh C comes from the use of Carnation Evaporated Milk used in making the beverage!

Belacan Wings

Chicken wings are a guaranteed crowd pleaser.  The ones at Lepak Kopitiam, came looking super crispy with a delicious shrimp fragrance.   By itself, the wings felt a little too salty from the briny fragrance of the Belacan or Shrimp Paste, but if you dunk the wings into the accompanying Sweet Chilli, it actually was pretty good!

Nasi Lemak

Nasi Lemak makes another appearance on my blog again and I just cannot get enough of this Malaysian staple.  Fragrant coconut rice, paired with chicken curry, fiery sambal, crunchy anchovies, cucumber and a hard-boiled egg. Its essentially life in a plate.  You get something that has texture, taste, smell and is visually pleasing.  How did the one at Lepak Kopitiam, fare?  I reckon it everything was pretty good!  The rice though was a tad too wet.  But once, I had let is rest and release some of its steam, it was just right!  Sambal was really tasty too with heaps of anchovies in mine!  Would not mind having some Nasi Lemak from Lepak Kopitiam, now!

Singapore Fried Bee Hoon

Described as the “real Singapore” fried bee hoon made my heart chuckle as there seems to be an expectation in Australia that the Singaporean fried bee hoon is fried with curry powder!  This one came without and it was pretty decent.  Loaded with eggs, Chinese sausages, fish cakes and bean sprouts, this was pretty good!

Malaysian Curry Laksa

Dad ordered the Malaysian Curry Laksa. While I did not try any of it, dad said that it was not too their liking.  From the picture the soup looked pretty “lemak” or rich thanks to addition of coconut milk.  But dad preferred the topping of Yong Tau Foo rather than the BBQ Pork. So he will be sticking to his usual order the next time!

Char Kuey Teow

Another Malaysian favourite that’s often mentioned but rarely perfected.  Few criteria come together to make a good Char Kuey Teow.  The wok fried flavours, consistency of the noodles, and seasoning.  At Lepak Kopitiam, the noodles were of the right texture but I like my Kuey Teow a bit more fried where you get little clumps of Kuey Teow sticking with the eggs so that in each bite you get that Umami bomb.  While that was a matter of preference, it was the wok-fried flavours that were underwhelming and the lacked of balance in the seasoning that made it OK only. 

Lepak Kopitiam serves pretty decent hawker fare and was a nice spot especially if you leave nearby! It is safe to say that there is almost no restaurant that has satisfied me 100%.  Several places comes close to hitting the excellent 95% mark while most is a case of the good, the bad and the ugly.  Lepak Kopitiam was indifferent from this aspect except for the bit where it was really affordable by Australian standards.  My Nasi Lemak from Lepak Kopitiam was $10.  By comparisons, a Nasi Lemak is easily $14 outside!  What I liked that afternoon were the Belacan wings, Nasi Lemak and the Singapore Fried Noodles.  The OKs were the Curry Laksa. My dislikes were the Char Kuey Teow and another Claypot Yee Mee that was not pictured above!  Would I come back?  For the Nasi Lemak and chicken wings? Definitely yes!