Ramen Royalty at Keisuke - Perth

Every time you blink in Perth, another ramen restaurant opens. If that sounds like I was complaining, I'm not. I never say no to a good bowl of ramen and I've heard great things about Keisuke. The long queues outside their door every night is the proof. 

After arriving extra early, half an hour before opening, Miss A and I were third on the queue. Yes people arrived every earlier than half an hour before opening! So, we were seated almost immediately after opening and before long the whole restaurant was full. After quickly looking at the menu, I settled on wanting to try their original Tonkotsu ramen. We were torn between the original tonkotsu and the black tonkotsu, but when we found out "black" is from pepper not from black garlic, we quickly made our decision!

Oh, also, I ordered mine with extra strong flavour, rather the normal strength. Because of it, my broth was extra creamy and the flavour was very strong. It was delicious though! The chashu pork is unlike any other chashu pork I've had before, it was in massive slices and was very lean. Although we could've had the free hard boiled eggs, we still ordered the flavoured boiled egg and it was delicious. 

Overall, the newest ramen restaurant in Perth did not disappoint. I did find the broth a little bit too thick which made me full faster (probably a good thing!). I will definitely try the normal strength in the future.

Also, to celebrate their recent opening, Keisuke was offering free boiled eggs (all you can eat!) and also these delicious bean sprouts. I'm not sure if these bean sprouts will be a staple at the restaurant, but I certainly hope so because it was addictive. Good on its own and with the ramen. I nearly got full before the ramen even arrived because I kept snacking on it.

Ratings: /10
Food: 9
Value: 8
Atmosphere: 7
Service: 9
Overall: 8.2/10

Restaurant information

Ramen Keisuke Tonkotsu King

The Melbourne Hotel

33 Milligan Street

Perth

Ph: 9320 3333

When The Bite Turns Into Many Bites - Northbridge

One of the funnest food to share is Korean food. Always packed with flavour, but never healthy, just the way dinner with friends should be. My latest favourite Korean restaurant is The Bite. There's one particular dish there that has kept me coming back!

Creamy Cheese Chicken

The dish I was talking about was the creamy cheese chicken! So it's deep fried chicken, covered in a sweet creamy sauce, all on top of a bed of cheese! Yes, it's as good as it sounds. This dish is served on a pan on a portable stove, the waiter will turn on the stove and you wait until the cheese is melted, mix everything together, then feast! This dish is so addictive! The sauce is a bit too sweet for some people, but with the cheese I thought it was perfectly balanced. 

Army Stew

The Bite Pancake

Other dishes that I highly enjoy at The Bite includes the army stew and the Bite pancake. The army stew is packed with processed meat and instant noodle, the healthiest part of this dish was the thin slices of tofu. Again, unhealthy, but tasty and perfect for a cold night. The Bite pancake is another great dish to share. It's crispy on the outside, but the inside is still soft and fluffy. The dipping sauce made it even tastier.

Bulgogi Beef Stew

The healthiest dish we had was the bulgogi beef stew. As you can see, not all the beef was marinated with the bulgogi sauce, so I felt a bit duped. However, the beef that was marinated was tasty and there was plenty of beef to go around. The soup itself was a bit bland, it really brought out the taste of the mushrooms and vegetables. This dish is not packed with flavour but heartwarming.

Every dish I've tasted, although only a few compared to their whole menu, has been enjoyable. If you're looking for a relaxed and casual restaurant filled with delicious food, then look no further, the Bite is for you!

Ratings: /10
Food: 8
Value: 8
Atmosphere: 6
Service: 7
Overall: 7.2/10

Restaurant information

The Bite: Bar & Bistro

57 Aberdeen Street

Northbridge

Ph: 9228 1180

Long Awaited Meeting with James Parker - Northbridge

Yes, yes, yes, I can't stay away from good Japanese food. This time, I finally tried James Parker. This restaurant doesn't need any introductions and I've been a fool for not dining here earlier! I visited this place with my good friend Miss D and as we were dining on a weeknight, we were lucky enough to reserve a tablet last minute. They nicely warned us we can only have the table for two hours. So I laughed and said, if you can get the food out quickly we'll be done in half an hour.

3 Fish Sashimi ($34)

JP's Duck ($22)

The first two dishes we devoured were the sashimi and JP's duck. The sashimi was so fresh it tasted like the ocean (or whatever body of water they came from). They were perfectly delicious on their own and I usually love soy sauce on everything, but for this occasion, the fish was the lone hero. The sashimi was a great opener for the duck, we went from subtle tastes to punches of flavour. The dark sauce was delicious and the duck perfectly cooked. I think if the skin was crispy this dish would've been even better, but it was pretty darn good just as it was.

Aburi Wagyu Roll ($25)

Mushroom Tempura ($26)

Then came the aburi wagyu roll and mushroom tempura. Both these dishes were very enjoyable. I loved the smokiness on the wagyu beef and the sushi rice was delicious, the perfect texture. The mushroom was crispy and juicy. The enoki tempura was my favourite as it was the most crispy, it was like eating a slightly healthier version of French fries. The tempura sauce was also very tasty and complemented the mushrooms well.

Kamogawa ($15)

For desserts, we shared the kamogawa. This dish came with a cheesecake and lemon sorbet. The cheesecake was very creamy. Disappointingly, the bottom of the cheesecake was not a cookie crust, but a light sponge cake, so it was missing a bit of crunch. In saying that it tasted amazing, light but indulgent. If you don't like creamy desserts then the sorbet is the component for you. It cleared out palates right up and left a refreshing taste in our mouths.

So glad I finally got to try James Parker and thanks to Miss D, who have been here before, we chose all the delicious dishes and had a very satisfying dinner!

Ratings: /10

Food: 9

Value: 8

Atmosphere: 9

Service: 8

Overall: 8.5/10

Restaurant information:

James Parker

Shop 2, 182 James Street

Northbridge

Ph: 9328 2525