Swimmingly Good Fun at Aloha Poke - Perth

On a fine Wednesday night, 18th of April to be exact, Aloha Poke had its grand opening night! They were very generous in having inviting a bunch of bloggers to the event and Mr. T and I were humbled to have been invited too!

On the night there was live music, plenty of drinks and of course, lots of food! Below are the photos of the pretty display of food they had on the night.

Below were the samples of poke bowls we received on the night. The one I had had tuna and pineapple chunks on top of the greens and rice. The tuna was definitely the hero of the dish, it was fresh and the sauce coating it was light, but tasty. I love the warm rice against all the fresh ingredients, it was satisfying.

The bowl Mr. T received had the spicy salmon, pineapples and edamame. The spicy salmon was also fresh and the spiciness was enough to give you a kick but not burn your mouth. I also liked that the sauce coating the salmon was creamy, it was a bit more indulgent than the salmon. I also liked the edamame on this, it made the dish even more filling.

On the night of the opening, the guests received goody bags which included vouchers for free poke bowls on our next visit! Mr. T enjoyed what he sampled so much on the night he went back there within the next few days. He ordered the large spicy salmon poke bowl, the same one he tried on the night. As you can see, the portion is generous and even Mr. T was full after this filling meal!

So glad that there's another Poke restaurant in Perth! It's a trend that I enjoy and hope it's here to stay! If you enjoy a good Poke bowl yourself, then I highly suggest trying Aloha Poke!

Restaurant information

Aloha Poke

St Martins Centre

Shop 4A, 50 St Georges Terrace

Perth

Ph: 9225 7273

Website: alohapoke.com.sg

First Cooking Class Experience - Mt. Pleasant

As the title suggests, I will be writing about my first ever cooking class experience. Last year for my birthday I received a very generous gift, two entries to a cooking class by Matters of Taste. It took me a very long time to decide which class I want to go to. In the end, I chose Tastes of Tokyo. Obviously a class about Japanese food. Mr. T and I chose this class in the hopes that we can take away the recipes and incorporate it into our weeknight dinners.

So, below are the dishes we cooked on the night.

Top of the dish: Teppanyaki vegetables, Sauce: Ponzu sauce, Bottom of the dish: Miso Salmon

So the first course we had the above plate, an assortment of vegetables cooked on cast iron grill with ponzu sauce and the salmon miso. I love vegetables but not great with ideas on how to cook them, so this gave me a new way of serving vegetables at home (I know how basic of me). The miso salmon didn't look great, nothing like the black cod miso at fancy Japanese restaurants, but it tasted great. They did pre-marinade this for us before the class, but the cooking time of the salmon itself was a matter of minutes. I know what I'm having for dinner every night next week... miso salmon!

Top bowl: Pickled cucumber, Bottom bowl: Edamame, Right: Sushi rice

Left: Ramen bowl, Right: Karaage chicken with Sriracha Lime Mayo

Ramen Bowl

For mains we had the ramen bowl and the karaage chicken. I had the task of deep frying the chicken and if noone was watching I would've ate all the chicken before it got to the serving plate! It smelled so delicious and it tasted great too. I always thought karaage chicken was complicated to make, but the cooking class showed me otherwise!

The ramen bowl was, unfortunately, not my favourite dish of the night. I thought it was a bit bland. I don't think I'll recreate this dish at home, I'll just visit one of the many ramen restaurants available in Perth now!

White Chocolate and Matcha Mousse Mille Feuille

For desserts we made the white chocolate and matcha mousse mille feuille. It probably doesn't look great, but it tasted great. The mousse was nice and light and perfect with the light crunch of the puff pastry. It also wasn't too sweet and because I like the slight bitter matcha taste, I would definitely add more matcha powder when I make it next time.

So, those were the dishes we cooked and enjoyed on the night. I won't be posting the recipes as they're obviously the property of the cooking school. But, if you were thinking of date night ideas or even something to do with a group of friends then I would highly recommend attending a cooking class!

Cooking school information:

Matters of Taste Cooking School

The Precinct

G03/ 19 Ogilvie Road

Mount Pleasant

Ph: 9319 1097

Web: mattersoftaste.com.au

Ooh Lu Lu - Subiaco

Well, well, well, today I decided to review my dinner at Lulu La Delizia. This is simply to show people that I do eat food other than Asian food. I'm cultured like that. So this place was suggested by Miss A. We haven't seen each other in three months! We're those friends who don't need to meet or talk everyday, but when we do it's like the past three months didn't happen! Also, she's humble socialite, so of course she suggested the coolest place in Subiaco right now for our dinner.

Lulu La Delizia is the cutest little Italian restaurant located off Rokeby road. Walking into the restaurant feels like walking into another world, it's dark, but lively and all the staff speaks with an accent, so we felt like tourists!

Nonna's Meatball

To decide what to order, we were watching what other people ordered, to the point where the lady on table next to us thought we were spying on her and her family. So of course we tried to play it cool. Don't worry lady, we were stalking what your son was eating, not your son. 

To start with we ordered the meatballs. The meatballs is served on a bed of polenta and covered with parmesan cheese. The meatballs was really tender, you barely need the fork to cut into it and it tasted amazing. The polenta has similar texture to congee, and made the dish very filling. The flavours were a mixture of sweet and cheesy which worked well together.

Tagliatelle Della Delizia

For the mains I ordered the tagliatelle della delizia. On the menu it sounded delicious. It did taste great, but it tastes exactly the same as the meatballs. So I felt like I was eating one dish, which was a little disappointing. I even think the meat from this dish was crumbled meatball. So I wouldn't recommend ordering the meatball and the tagliatelle together!

Smoked Spaghetti 'Ai Funghi'

Miss. A ordered the smoked spaghetti. It smelled great and it tasted great too! The sauce was light and tasty and there was plenty of mushrooms and the smokiness was apparent. The dish looked so simple, but was very satisfying!

Tiramisu

To close off our meal we decided on the tiramisu. It looks very rustic, looks like something my nonna would've whipped up with her eyes closed, if I had a nonna. The tiramisu tasted nice, the alcohol was a little too strong for us, but the cream mixture tasted great. I didn't end up finishing it, I was worried I would get pulled over for drink driving!

In the end, it was a great night catching up with Miss A. All our gossiping was enhanced with the great food we had!

Also today is Miss A's birthday!!! Happy Birthday Miss A, thank you for your friendship and for always trying to broaden my culinary horizon! xoxoxo

Ratings: /10
Food: 8
Value: 8
Atmosphere: 9
Service: 9
Overall: 8.5/10

Restaurant information

Lulu La Delizia

Shop 5, 97 Rokeby Road

Subiaco

Ph: 9381 2466

Slurppudo - Perth

Yay for a new ramen restaurant in Perth. This one has a big reputation, kinda like Taylor Swift, so it comes with high expectations. To my surprise, this time it was Mr. T who suggested we check this place out. Usually I'm the one that have to drag him by the hand to leave the house! So I quickly walked out of the house before he could change his mind. When we arrived, we were seated within a minute and dove into the menu straight away.

Akamaru shinaji

For the ramen I ordere the akamaru shinaji that comes with the flavoured egg. I chose this one simply because it comes with umami-dama, apparently it's a special blend of miso paste, and I love miso in anything. Well, the flavour lived up to its expectations, it was delicious! The broth is very rich, to the point of creamy, and I didn't feel like it needed anything else, it was just right the way it is! I also liked how they cook the noodles perfectly. Many ramen restaurants now allows you to choose the toughness of the noodles and I like my noodles on the hard side, but most of the time I couldn't tell that it was hard, but here i was done perfectly!

Karaka-Men 

Mr. T ordered the Karaka-Men, also with the flavoured egg. The karaka-men is their spicy ramen so I thought I wouldn't like it, but when I tried his broth, I actually thought it was better than mine and it wasn't spicy at all! This is definitely what I would order next time! If the spiciness is not enough for you, they do have chilli oil available at every table! Also the egg was perfectly cooked, but you could hardly taste the flavour as the richness of the broth overpowered it.

Nutella Choc Pot

For dessert we decided to share the nutella choc pot. It sounded a little boring, but in reality it was anything but! This dessert ticked all the boxes, sweet, smooth, sour and crunchy. The nutella mousse was thick, creamy and smooth. Yuzu grapes added some zing and the matcha crumble was the highlight. Everything in one spoonful was perfect!

So, yes we highly enjoyed our dinner at Ippudo, we were impressed by the food, the atmosphere and the service! It is definitely one of the priciest ramen restaurants in Perth, but well worth the extra cost!

Ratings: /10

Food: 9

Value: 7

Atmosphere: 9

Service: 9

Overall: 8.5/10

Restaurant information

Ippudo

556 Wellington Street

Perth

Ph: 9324 2757

When Only No. 1 Will Do - Victoria Park

Hi everyone! Just want to wish everyone Happy Eater, I mean Easter! Hope everyone is having a great extra long weekend. If you don't get a long weekend, I feel you. I, myself, had to work on Saturday and it was HECTIC. But, now time to let the good times roll... until tomorrow.

So today I'm writing about a place that is totally unassuming, I wouldn't blame you if you've walked past it and thought it wasn't even a restaurant. The place I'm talking about is Perth No. 1 Chicken Curry Bread. The name is a mouthful, but just wait until you get a mouthful of their food.

Mr. T and I have visited this place numerous times and Mr. T's favourite dish of theirs is their Mamak mee goreng. This mamak mee goreng is delicious! It's perfectly saucy and perfectly charred so it has an amazing smoky aroma. The sauce is the perfect spiciness, although you can request to your taste. They're also generous with their topping! Some mamak noodles tend to be too tomatoey or too spicy, but this one is just right. It smells amazing and tastes amazing too.

My favourite dish at this restaurant is the Moonlight Fried Kwey Teow. So I didn't try this dish until our third visit here, I usually stuck with their Mamak Mee Goreng. That's because mum and Mr. T always turn me off eating raw eggs. But, one day I was feeling rebellious and you know what, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do. So I ordered it and fell in love. Again, this dish has a smokey aroma and tastes amazing! The egg gives it a creamy texture and the topping includes chunks of tasty braised pork belly! Now I have to warn you, you don't always get the pork belly, when you do, you know it's your lucky day! 

As the name of the restaurant is Perth No. 1 Chicken Curry Bread, of course we had to try the chicken curry bread too! When it was served it was a bit of a visual marvel. This dish is humongous and it makes you wonder what's brewing inside all this bread. Now, to be honest, I wouldn't rate this dish too highly, sorry for the anti-climax. The curry was too watery and it tasted just okay. The chicken was cut in a haphazard way, it makes it difficult to completely clean the bone. The bread was also a bit tough.

So, yes we didn't love the curry bread and never ordered it again. We have also tried a few of their main dishes and were not wowed, but we really enjoy their noodle dishes and have stuck exclusively to those every time we visit!

If you do go try the food here, let us know if you like it!

Ratings: /10
Food: 8
Value: 9
Atmosphere: 6
Service: 7
Overall: 7.5/10

Restaurant information

Perth No. 1 Chicken Curry Bread

Shop 4/ 393 Albany Highway

Victoria Park

Ph: 9472 0042