Bites: The Crispiest Pork Stir Fry @ Bangkok on William, Northbridge.

Bangkok on William was a place that I visited before actually going to Bangkok again last week.  But does Thai food 5,000 kilometres from its home have to taste all that bad?  Surprise surprise, it was actually not bad at all.  Bangkok on William was good with courteous service.  One that you would expect when visiting the land of smiles.  That night, my hungry family of 4 ordered a meal enough to feed 6.  

The serious highlights that day were the strong set of appetisers and amazing dish of vegetable.  Spongy, and tasty spiced up fish cake was perfection while the fresh Som Yam (Papaya salad) was impossible to dislike with its tangy sauce giving the mouth a refreshing feel.  Then comes the Tom Yam Goong that just amazes with its rich prawns flavours and generous amount of the crustacean.

Som Tam (Papaya Salad)

Thai Fish Cake

Larb (Meat Salad)

When the rice came,  we enjoyed a few other dishes like the Panang Curry, Basil Stir-Fry Chicken and the most amazing Crispy Pork Roast with Kai Lan.

The Basil Stir Fry here was so much better than the Basil stir-fry dishes my friends and I had in Thailand.  Bangkok on William ensured the meat stayed juicy while spiking the dish with generous amount of basil, fish sauce and chilli! Just the way I like it!

Then comes the most amazing crispy Pork Roast with Kai Lan.  As vegan as this sounds, this dish was more a carnivore with generous amounts of pork roast.  From that amazing stir fry sauce to the crunchy pork, this was spot on when served with steamed rice.

With my food palate now toned to the level of quality that Bangkok provides, I expected myself to feel slightly concerned at writing about a Thai restaurant in Perth  But this post was easy as.  That night the 6 dishes (not all pictured above) were a mix of the good, the bad and the ugly.  The favourites that night were the Som Tum, Tom Yam Goong, Basil Stir-Fry and Crispy Pork with Kai Lan.  The larb was slightly to salty while the Panang Curry was too bland!  Definitely needed balance there.  One thing I noticed was that just because I was in Bangkok, it does not guarantee that I was getting the best food as proven by the Basil Stir-Fry and Thai Fish Cake.  If you are looking for a well-priced Thai place with great food, I would most definitely recommend Bangkok on William.    That night the bill came to $130.

WenY

Bites: Crispy Bacon @ Floyd's, Subiaco.

Having an interesting Sunday brunch is a surefire method to killing off the oncoming Monday blues.  But when you are ordering stacks of deep fried guilt at 10am for brunch, it is likely that even the Sunday is going to be a long day.  I hit Floyd’s, a gourmet family-run cafe in Subiaco for brunch a couple weeks back and the menu is pretty damn intense.

That morning I ordered the Panko Crumbed Eggs served with charred asparagus, fried potato hash and crispy bacon (as the prosciutto was not available)

The dish itself was technical marvel considering how there are still cafes in town that struggling to even poach eggs right. Floyd’s move to deep-fry poached eggs was a dangerous one. But when executed right and the yolk flows, it was a sight to behold.  I was impressed by that aspect but the combination of fried bacon, hollandaise and crumbed eggs felt too heavy.  Very heavy.  Almost like a 3 piece KFC dinner box in the morning ha ha.  But hey, I knew it before I ordered it.  Guess I got a bit ambitious there!

My dining companion on the other hand decided to go for something a little healthier and settled for the Seared Avocado and Bacon stack.

Think smashed avocado but something more worth the buck and less worthy of an insult.  The bacon at Floyd’s is crispy by default but her preference was for a softer more meaty bacon. Other than that, she thought her choice for brunch was fine.

Over all the morning at Floyd’s was decent.  Not great but decent.  Food wise, they have a few daredevils on there but other than that the creativity on the plate did not really excite me as much as I thought it would.  After brunch that day I felt really heavy from my fried foods overkill!  Definitely something to be vary off the next time I pick my brunch dish!

Bites: Glorious Italian! @ Lulu la Delizia, Subiaco.

Life is too short to be wasted. When you’re working 10 hour days, 21 days at a time I tend to have a natural need to consume, as you guess it food.  This time around, Italian food.  While I am no Italian food expert, I know that it spans beyond pizza, pasta and salad!  I am finally at Lulu la Delizia and I was super pumped.  This cafe is super small making it cosy, and very Melbourne-esque (sorry Perth!).  The service from the door to the table was warm and welcoming making it an enjoyable entrance.

The menu at Lulu la Delizia has a group of “staples” paired with seasonal and daily specials.  The appetisers here are out of this world starting with a strong statement from the salty, crispy Parmesan paired with the earthy grounded shrooms.

Complementary Parmesan crisp with ground mushroom

Then comes the fruit King Fish Crudo which surprised me with the ripeness of the dish yet refreshing with the acidity of the lemon juice.

King Fish Crudo with Stone Fruit

Speaking of ripeness, what pairs better than caramelised slowly grilled figs with a Parmesan that is nutty in fragrance but absolutely robust with flavour in each bite. Super good!

Grilled Fig & Parmesan

Sister’s favourite the marrow was luscious and rich with an nice meaty flavour.  What was even better is that is spreader like butter on the toast that was soaked with the herby beef ragu.  Droolworthy!

Bone Marrow with Ragu

Pork sausage pasta, saffron, peas (Left), Ricotta gnocchi, blue swimmer, tomatoes (Mid), Lagoon clam pasta (Right).

Three pastas from Lulu la Delizia were superb.  Whether its the warmth of the saffron or the briny seafood explosion in the clam pasta, the pastas were top notch.  Was it faultless?  Perhaps not 100%. What went wrong you might ask?  Don’t get me wrong I loved the Gnocchi’s sauce but I felt like the pasta itself should be softer, fluffier and more delicate. Might just be me though!

The meal at Lulu la Delizia was really enjoyable.  The cafe got a little noisy as Lulu la Delizia got busier and prices are not cheapest.  But Lulu la Delizia pairs good service, with quality handmade pasta and tasty appetisers for an amazing Italian night.  Will I come back here again? Definitely so.

WenY