Can you believe that I also have not posted about Supernormal?? I remember really, really wanting to go here, and braved the queues for it. Then, my first experience was ordinary. But on this revisit (because my friend wanted to try it), I really liked it! I figure what I ordered must have been more to my taste, which has a huge impact when the cuisine type is Asian since Iâm so picky about it.
Category: Restaurant
Embla – 11 Dec 2017
Embla and Bar Liberty were both restaurants that I really wanted to go to (though I guess theyâre more wine bars, but thatâs a minor technicality since they serve up delicious grub), and about equal on my piority list. In the end, I made my decision via the restaurantsâ proximity to my location at a set time. As a result, Embla it was, since Bar Liberty appears to be out in Fitzroy.
It was a win/win to make a short notice decision because theyâre walk-in only (my favourite type of restauant), and it was a Monday, which meant it was guaranteed to be less busy. We were seated at the kitchen counter, so away we ordered!
Continue reading Embla – 11 Dec 2017
Cumulus Inc – 08 Dec 2017
My visit to Cumulus Inc this year was short and sweet, and luckily, I’ve posted about this place before for reference, because there’s one dish that made such an impact the first time I visited, that I keep coming back. This time’s no different – the fish here is fantastic. This will mainly be just a quick post of food that I ate this time since my opinion on this place hasn’t changed.
Tipo 00 – 07 Dec 2017
My first impression of Tipo 00? Rather strange. They have a great and far-reaching reputation as an amazing Italian restaurant that everyone loves, so it went to the top of my list very quickly. However, I wasnât able to get a table last year. I tried a walk-in on a Friday night for 2 people (lol, so you can already guess what happened) and was told the wait exceeded two hours, so they didnât put us on the waiting list. They were slightly abrupt about it in my eyes, and thatâs why I found it odd that time. Probably not really that abrupt, but rather, just plain speaking.
Fast forward and I attempted to call to make a booking for one person on a Thursday night this year, and they told me that I should be able to walk-in for it rather than place a reservation for me. Iâve not been declined a 1 person reservation before, though, Iâve also never done it over the phone (though I was about to shortly for Minamishima), so I found that odd. Maybe they were afraid of holding a single spot since 2+ diners were far more common? Perhaps also they didnât want a potential no show? I figure that they preferred the âsecurityâ of a 2+ person booking, which is why they recommended the walk-in, which makes total sense to me since I’ve read about the awfulness of no-shows.
Anyway, so finally the time came for me to see if I could get a table here. I actually forgot that they werenât located on Flinders Lane; I had just had some coffee at Brother Baba Budan during closing time, and then wasted 30 minutes before attempting to find the restaurant. It turns out theyâre right next door to the cafe! So I walked all the way back, and made my enquiry at 6pm. Already the place was full, and for me to get a table for one, would be a one hour wait. Sure, I was happy to wait. I just couldnât believe they filled up so quickly! No other city seems to have a full house by 6pm. So, I put down my name and number, then took a walk. At 6:30, I got my call. Yay, a table was available! So I teleported back and finally got my seat.
Lulu La Delizia – 21 Sep 2017
It feels like it’s been a long while since I’ve eaten at a restaurant in Perth. I keep saving my money for interstate/international restaurants, mainly because nothing here really compares, but that’s probably bias at work too. I still love Sydney the best. Of course, if I’m offered, I’m not going to pass up an opportunity to visit a restaurant that’s been raved about by chefs and critics alike.
I don’t do Italian food because it’s done so poorly and your average non food person thinks it’s just all pizza and pasta, really heavy, tomatoey things. I always look for something more, like a fish soup, white pizza, or really light looking dishes, but they’re hard to come by. Rosetta was really good, but not a standout – the best thing there was the olive oil for dipping bread in. There’s so much mediocre stuff out there and I’m not game enough to learn the world of Italian food. But given the rave reviews and a great opportunity, I decided to give Lulu La Delizia a go.
A bit of background, there’s a restaurant in Perth called Lalla Rookh that caught my attention when I first came to Perth. The second Italian restaurant I was recommended was a place for Galileo. I never went to either. But, I’d heard that the head chef of Lalla Rookh quit to open a new restaurant, and lo and behold, I saw it pop up during some of my walks. I’ve always been curious about it, and then the reviews started coming in, saying it was the best pasta, not just in Perth, but was holding its own against level of praise of places like Tipo 00 (which I still need to go to!).
Waku Ghin – 28 Mar 2017
Finally. Just under 6 years after my first fine dining experience at Tetsuyaâs, I finally made it to Waku Ghin. Technically that makes it the restaurant Iâve had on my wishlist for the longest! I almost didnât go ahead with the booking though. I knew that it was potentially expensive, but I didnât expect it to be Noma level expensive! At 450SGD plus tax and service charges, it would be my second most expensive meal to date. But, I had to go, because it closes my Tetsuya loop.
First of all, the booking process was essentially the same as that of Tetsuyaâs. I emailed them, they emailed me back, I filled in my credit card details, they secured me a table. Now it was just a matter of waiting.
Then on the 28th of March, it was finally time to trek to Marina Bay Sands and check out the amazing complex. It turns out even with instructions, Iâm bad at navigating indoors. It took me a few goes to finally get to the elevator that went up to the restaurant floor. Then, I was somewhat baffled because Waku Ghinâs door wasnât open so I didnât see that there was a door! I walked all the way around and back before realising there was a handle and that all I had to do was push.
I was lead into a small room that seated about 5-6 people, in front of a shiny, super clean hot plate which looked a lot like we were going to experience a teppanyaki style dinner.
Kensington Street Social – 06 Feb 2016
It seems that I’ve missed posting about Kensington Street Social somehow. So putting it in since I have a reference to this visit in my post about Cirrus. This post was written back in 2016, so the details should reflect my thoughts quite accurately.
First was Commune Social. Then, City Social. And the tidbit of gossip I got from there was that there was going to be a Jason Atherton establishment in Australia. And here it is, Kensington Street Social.
Cirrus – 17 Mar 2017
There are two seafood restaurants that are quite noteworthy at the moment for me â Cirrus, and Saint Peter. For me, Iâd read more about Cirrus, but Saint Peter seemed to be the more interesting restaurant even though I didnât know much about the history of the chef. In my Sydney visit, I wanted to go to Saint Peter more, but the location wasnât ideal for a dinner due to limited public transport options. In the end, I settled for a brunch visit to Saint Peter, and chose dinner at Cirrus.
Firedoor – 16 Mar 2017
Firedoor. The story with Firedoor is that when it opened, I added it to my list. Communal tables, cooking with fire, what more could you want? But then it never really made the top of the list for some reason. A year or so later, I got linked an article which claimed Firedoor has one of the worldâs best steaks and was expensive, and aged in its own kidney fat. That didnât really get my curiosity going enough to bump it up either. It wasnât until I was looking at the cost of booking Burnt Ends in Singapore that I realised, I donât need to fork out three times as much for an expensive restaurant there, when I could get the âsameâ thing here for much less! And thatâs how I finally went to Firedoor.
Saint Peter – 12 March 2017
I canât remember exactly when Saint Peter started popping up on my radar, but its signature dish, oysters with blue scampi caviar, really caught my attention. Then once I saw the fish offal, I knew I had to go. However, I didnât really arrange a dinner since I was more interested in their brunch since it was equally unusual, and I hoped that it would also be more accessible.
