WTF Foodie Moment 6: Tough guys

--> I am having my lunch break.

-->  A bunch of tough-looking long-bearded guys arrive. They look tough. They look like a new wave of breaded bikies with a sprinkle of poshness.
 
--> They order.
 
--> They go outside.
 
(I am sure they are going to order something tough, something macho or at least manly, a long macch, a black coffee without sugar, something acid and caustic, meaty.)

--> Their order arrives... A green coloured organic juice.
 
WTF!

(WHERE? Babooshka Cafe, Northbridge)

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Regent Cakes (Northbridge, Perth WA)

 Shop 10, 45 Francis Street
Northbridge, WA 6003 Phone: 08 9227 8081
Facebook
Hours
  Mon-Fri: 9:30am-6:00pm
  Sat-Sun: 10:00am-5:30pm
  Wed: Closed


 

You have certainly passed many times by it and not noticed. It is by the Northbridge Post Office in Francis Street, tiny-winy place.

I am a fan of Regent Cakes because of the fluffiness of their sponges, the soft creaminess of their creams and mousses, their level of sweetness (not too sweet, right for me) and the ever-changing cakes slices. I hate iced cakes or icing in general, so I am happy to go to bakeries where I am the icing on the cake :)

I am not into their buns, but I have gone endless times to Regent Cakes for my lunch break to get my sweet fix, and they have always delivered in taste, freshness and variety. They have always new additions or variations on the same cake, which always makes me happy.

Sizing is perfect for me, something you can easily eat with your coffee or as a complement to your light lunch, and they are never heavy on your stomach.
 

They are not sophisticated upper end cakes, but simple, fresh tasty ones prepared on the spot every day. They also prepare tarts and big cakes on order.

Prices for the slices are ridiculously good, 3.80 bucks for a slice of cake is just fantastic, or perhaps dangerous for your curves. 

I have always had a terrific experience with the staff. They are super-friendly and so very lovely every time I visit.

I would like them to provide customers with plastic spoons, at least on request, as some cakes are a way tricky to eat without it, and my nose gets clowned by the cake's cream :)

MIND
Their day off is Wednesdays!

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Lot 20 Bar (Northbridge, Perth WA, Australia)

200-206, William Street
Cultural Centre
Northbridge
Perth WA 6000
Website
Hours
    Mon-Sat 10am-12am
    Sun 10am-10pm

  

Lot 20 is all-in one café and bar located in the heart of the Cultural Centre. The place has a wonderful layout with many different micro-spaces created in their alfresco yard and indoors: cosy spots, hide-in spots, alone spots, eating-with-your-pal spots, girly spots, macho spots, couples spots. Spottified! 

The place is woody, retro-industrial, very colourful and with plenty of funny and quirky elements of decoration and artwork. The painting with the jugglers freaks me out every time, I swear. The toilets are great with all those black tiny tiles and the chromed piping ending in those bottles of white creamy soap, really cool.

The atmosphere is also very cool, not only because of the design, but because of the various clientele that visits the place, all ages, all dressing styles, all kinds of humans, that are seasoned and stirred up by a mix of retro music.  

Opening times are awesome - food, coffee and drinks available in the city centre any time of the day from 10am to 10pm. Beat that! And the prices are OK taking into account that this is Perth city centre.

One of the things I like the most about the place is that they add new dishes very often, so if you happen to go often, you will always find something new to try. I love that. It keeps me going to places.

FOOD

Lot Twenty has a mix cart of post-modern pub food, with plenty of vegetarian dishes, and they use local fresh produce, which is always a guarantee of freshness and flavour. They have a great concept about the dishes they offer, but the food has been yummy sometimes, OK others, and absolutely blah others. 

The top in my chart have been the Son in Law Eggs with chilly caramel dressing and coriander, so beautiful looking, so smooth in your mouth, sweetish and with a wonderful mix of flavours, colours and textures. The home-made terrine was great, fresh, soft, smooth and very delicate, perfect with the dollop of mustard sauce. 

The asparagus on potato foam with yuzu and kaffir lime "magic dust" were wonderful, very simply prepared and beautifully presented. I also loved the beetroot salad, a mix of fruit and veggie salad infused in the beetroot juice, which was delicious; mine had apple, orange, compressed melon, beetroot and another veggie that I could not recognise. The warm vegetables salad was very simple, but very healthy looking and tasty, the veggies cooked to perfection, not too hard not too soft.
 
I liked their home-made onion rings and the fish and chips with the accompanying slightly spicy sauce dip - home-style unpretentious pub (oily) food and very filling. 

I had high expectations regarding the slightly smoked pork belly, but I had a ploff sort of moment. The produce was top notch, and the flavour of each separate item as well, but the mix was not complementary. The cardamom and apple gel was lovely in flavour, and nicely plated, but it was not enough quantity or texture to envelop with its flavour and moisture the very dry crunchy pork belly. The chestnut flakes were also lovely, but another dry element to add to another dry element, dry to the square, which prevented the pork belly from gliding down my esophagus toboggan style. 

The spiced cauliflower has been the main disappointment (absolutely ploff!). I love cauliflower, it is one of those vegetables that is easy to cook and morph into amazing things. However, the cauliflower was way too hard, the chunks too big, the dollops of herbed [sic] yoghurt sauce too thick to be easily spreadable and give moisture and flavour to the dish as a whole, while the wonderful pomegranate and nuts sprinkle were lost trying to seduce a frigid cauliflower. No chemistry, baby.  

I did not like the olives. Why anybody would choose mediocre olives over wonderful ones escapes me, like a butterfly passing by. Perhaps they should like olives first to choose good ones!!  

DESSERTS

Regarding the sweets, the Pear Friand was great! Very small (cute actually) but wonderful regarding flavour, moisture, texture and level of sugar. In contrast, the chocolate pudding sorta thing was a  "does he love me-does he love me not" sort of dish. A 3-dollar dessert really puts me in the mood of anything good, so I did enjoy it. On the other hand, what I got was, basically, jellied condensed sweetened milk zombified by a bit of Milo. You could think, genius! I agree! But I prepare similar things at home in summer and takes no culinary skills to do so; I was just expecting something beyond my poor-dessert-making skills, that happens when your expectations are expectant. And... why not calling it Condensed Milk Pudding so my imagination does not fly mid way to crash hard against concrete reality too soon? Anticlimactic!

DRINKS AND COFFEE

I love their wine and drinks chart, and the prices of the international wines are terrific for Perth standards. I absolutely loved the Lopez de Haro red wine, smooth like a nice kiss. 

Their coffee is well prepared and creamy, but the beans they use produce one of those "weakienikis" that we find throughout Perth. Perfect for you if you like smooth weak coffees. Otherwise, my easy-solution kinda solution is ordering a topped-up long macchiato instead of your usual flat white. I did so and I was happy with the strength an flavour of my coffee. Oh Wittgenstein you know how wording works on the tongues of people. 

SERVICE

Most of the staff are really welcoming, helpful, very friendly, and very cute! The problem is the organisation of the service at times. It was chaotic, confused and inattentive during my first visit, a bit of a disaster and got me annoyed. Fortunately, first impressions are delusive and I always give a second opportunity. Glad I did because the service has dramatically changed in my following visits, and these guys have been pampering my regal butt since then. Kiss Kiss. 

The main problem with the service is not the people, is that the dishes take quite a while to come out at times, no matter the difficulty in the preparation or how empty the local is. Almost half an hour for a dish of simple eggs is unacceptable. I wondered if they were helping the chicken to lay the eggs directly cooked onto the plate. Bang Bang. 

However, I mentioned the issue to one of the waiters, and my eggs were on my table presto!, and my second dish came 5 minutes after ordering it! The Sound of Music.  

That is willingness to please! Kudos to all them for the effort. The more I go, the more attentive they are to my needs, and that is always a great sign, and what turns customers into regulars. 

***

I will go back, I like the place, there are many things I want to try, like their visually enthralling burger and Dutch chips, fish and chips, and all the new dishes they are incorporating into the menu. They have so many different veggie and meaty things that is impossible not to like at least a few of them. Having said that, their food can easily improved, and needs to improve, it takes a willingness to work the textures and flavours of some of the more avant-garde dishes a bit better to do so. Nothing really wow. But you don't want to be wowed that often; otherwise your wows would be less genuine. 

EMERGENCY!

Coffee takeaway cup size is minuscule ridicule. Fix it! You need at least a large cup to make any coffeeholic happy!

NOTES OF INTEREST

* Free Wi-fi for those who just communicate with their antennae.
* No PayWave. Wave your fingers athletically to introduce your PIN, instead

FLEETING THOUGHTS

>> I hope they have big umbrellas for the patio area once summer comes, because the place is already hot, and you don't want to seat al fresco to get hot.<<
>> How many steps or kilometres do the waiters do going upstairs/downstairs the kitchen the whole day? Good workout!<<

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Is Donburi (Northbridge, Perth WA)

Shop 10, 189 William St
Northbridge Western Australia 6003
(08) 9328 2621
Hours:
    Mon, Wed-Sun 11:30 am - 4 pm
    Mon, Wed-Sun 5 pm - 9:30 pm


  
Is Donburi is small funky Japanese restaurant that happens to be a fast food outlet too. In the very heart of the city, always busy and with a constant flow of patrons for both take-away and dinning in, Is Donburi is a place where to have a good Japanese meal at very good prices and in decent quantities.They don't offer sophisticated Japanese, but a good selection of entrees, rolls, salads, soups and bento trays and bowls. Sushi, Sashimi, Donburi, Bento, Udon. You name it, they have it. Despite not being the latest big thing, they do extremely well everything - rolling the rolls, presentation, and tastiness of the dishes. Better than others that have the name and charge you double for similar things.

My favourite entrees are the gyoza, the prawn parcels and the octopus balls (takayaki), which are delicious and make a light meal on their own. You can try them all, with others, in the tempura tray.

My favourite roll is the grilled salmon's. It does look beautiful, and it is extremely flavoursome. It has a great mix of flavours, colours and textures: pink and green on top (grilled salmon and herbs) and pieces of avocado, mango and beetroot inside; it is served in a lovely long boat-like tray - destination my belly!

The deluxe bento are really great, filling, varied, and very well priced, and I have liked everything I have tried. They have enough food for a man with a big stomach.


I love the freshness and mix of colours and ingredients of their take-away rolls, which are really filling, crispy, fresh and beautiful to look at, and the best take-away rolls  I've tried in the city!

Service is friendly and decently paced indoors, and very fast for take-away. I go there regularly, and the norm is fast friendly service. The staff are very accommodating regarding anything. The space is limited, but, at least at lunch time, people go, eat and leave fast, so I have never found problems finding a table for one or two people at peak hours. The staff clean the place fast and serve you almost immediately.

They attract people from all ages, mostly youngsters and young professionals, although you can also find families, tradies and old grandpas depending on the time of the day you visit.

 

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
- I don't like that the cheaper bento are served in a bowl. The quantity and quality of the food is the same, but all the ingredients are squeezed together, all the flavours and sauces mixed before entering my mouth, and that rests flavour and makes eating less enjoyable. Moreover, it is very difficult to eat everything without creating a bit of mess on the table.
- They could easily improve the quality of their Miso Soup, which is a bit watery and lacking in flavour. I would rather pay 1$ and have a good one than nothing and have a bad one. Perhaps it is just me.
- They don't have a website or a Facebook account.

BONUS
+ Green tea and miso soup are complimentary with any main meal.
+ They do doggy bags!
+ They close on Tuesdays not on Mondays, when most restaurants close in Northbridge.
+ They are open in the evenings.
+ Paywave available.
+ Different queues for take-away and dining in. 

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Tea for Tú (Northbridge, Perth WA)

218A William St (Rear)
Perth Western Australia 6000
(08) 9227 7628
Hours:
   7:00-17:00
Website



Tea for Tú looks like one those places photographed in "Frankie".  In the very heart of Northbridge, but hidden from any noise and human agglomeration, below Mechanics Institute, at the back of Tú Boutique, Tea for Tú in an example of how a business can thrive doing simple things right. The alfresco area uses vintage and second hand items to create a cute quirky place in which all the elements blend harmoniously. The indoor area is functional and  modern, with two mini wall tables, and the coffee and food preparation and conservation areas; the most remarkable thing about this area if the absolutely gorgeous custom-made shelves. Their old vintage crockery is beautiful. 

Tea for Tú is not only a beautiful micro-café and tea parlour, it is a business that does well what any café should be doing: 
1 - They have a very good coffee, which is well prepared, creamy, strong but not bitter. They use Crema beans. To me, strong coffee is the perfect companion to sweets. The price for the in-house coffee is cheaper than in other cafés in the area (3.40$). They have a 3-dollar takeaway between 7-9am.
2 - They have a good selection of brewing teas.
3 - They have a good selection of savoury and sweet temptations. Their Danish pastries, croissants, mini-cakes and tartlets are simply delicious. They have a nice colourful selection of macaroons, cupcakes, slices, and savoury mini-sandwiches.
4 - They have an excellent service. The baristas attending to the place are good looking, very cool and genuinely friendly.
5 - They have a small but nice selection of magazines and newspapers.  

The main downsides of the place are: 
- The seating areas are: very small upstairs, and minuscule downstairs.
- They do not or cannot prepare hot food in the premises.
- The coffee is strong, but there are noticeable differences regarding strength and preparation depending on the barista.  
- Their take-away coffee is more expensive than in other cafés after 9am.
- Their alfresco area can be quite hot in hot days.  
- It is a pity that the flowers that used to decorate each table have been replaced by pots of herbs. Why not flower pots? A bit of the charm of the place has gone with that. 

This is one of my favourite cafés in the Cultural Centre, because it is cute, it is quiet, it is friendly, and you can escape anything and anybody. Even if the place is full, the number of people around is very limited, so you aren't going to get stressed about the noise level. Most importantly, you can have a nice conversation with your company of selection.  

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Esther's Cake Shop (Northbridge, Perth WA)

Shop 4, 364 William St
Northbridge WA 6003
(08) 9228 8783
Hours:
    Mon-Sun 8:00 - 20:00



If you like Asian cakes, buns and pastries on the go, Esther's bakery is a must stop on William St. You will notice the place if you walk along the street because of the lovely smell coming from the shop a few metres before you get there.

The shop itself it is very small, no specially charming, and mostly self-service. Nothing remarkable but for the lovely  sweet and savoury buns, cakes, cake slices, seasonal Chinese sweets, and some traditional European-style cakes and pastries they sell. As in many Asian cake shops, the sweets are mildly sweet, while the savoury stuff is a bit sweet. 

Most times, the pastries and buns are warm, just out of the oven. My fav things there are the mango crepes (with fresh mango and whipped cream, forget counting calories), the custard puffs, their sweet-savoury "odd" pizza slices (not for everybody as it is an odd mix of sweet and savory) and some of the cake slices.

THUMBS UP
Good prices.
Friendly service
Warm fresh stuff.
They open long hours, every day of the week.

THUMBS DOWN
No Efptos.
A place mostly for takeaways.
Some of the shop attendants have a limited English.
If you are not used to Asian bakeries, some of the stuff might taste odd. 

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Flipside Burger Bar (Northbridge, Perth WA)

222 William St
Northbridge Western Australia 6000
9228 8822
Website
Hours:
    Tue-Sun 11:30am til late.

THE PLACE - Centrally located in William St, just steps away from the Culture Centre, Flipside Northbridge has a small, simple and  luminous shop, with three seating areas: a few communal/group tables, a long decked table facing the wall and a three-seat table facing the street. I love this one, which is perfect for people watching if you are on your own, On the other hand, who is watching whom? You are being watched, too!  I love their bulb lamps and the background music they have! On a more practical level, you can see the guys cooking the burgers, so nothing is hidden and everything looks clean and properly managed. 

If the place is full, it can be noisy even loud, especially when there are  boisterous men - the "Me-Tarzan-eating-Burger" species. Other days, though, the place is very quiet at lunch, and more enjoyable if you are with your partner or eating alone. If you want a quite place and having a romantic affair with your burger, take it away. 

THE FOOD - I am sure that you, like me, have a sensual relationship with your burgers. To me, for them to be fully enjoyable, they have to be nicely sized (yes, size does matter), tender, juicy, tasty, easy to bite and masticate, and manageable with my hands without the thing falling apart or stuff flipping out after the first touch. If this is so, you can do what any burger lover does when facing a good burger - look at it in love  and eat it with an expression of unbeatable happiness. You are with me, right? Well, I had just that experience the first day I visited Flipside Northbridge, and, to the date, remains my best experience at Flipside.

This is not a place for fussy eaters, so you get a burger on a plate without any adornment - simple god big burgers. You can adorn them with a bucket of chips :O. They have gluten free rolls, though (paid as an extra).

Their Garden Party Veggie burger is light but flavoursome, very fresh ingredients, and with a delicious fluffy bun and chickpea patty, and I did not feel heavy despite its size. The best one I have eaten at Flipside regarding preparation, textures and assemblage.

Their hot beef burger is my favourite in flavour, despite its simplicity, because the chilly sauce/jam they use is really full of flavour, but not overwhelming in hotness. A hottie!

The classic burger is simple but nice, and not heavy on your stomach, but, for whatever reason the meat patty was a bit on the small size and the cheese unnoticeable...The mini-flip is decently sized for a snack and perfect for a light lunch if you add some chips.

Their chips are thick and crunchy. Simple but nice.

Your burger can take a while to be prepared, even if they are not full. On the other hand, this is a guarantee that the food is being prepared in the way it should be and not rushed out.

THE SERVICE 
The staff taking your orders and the waitress are really friendly and smiley, and eager to please.


ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
- They use iceberg lettuce in many of their burgers, which is very crunchy but not tasteless, so I would replace it with a more flavoursome variety of lettuce.  

- I would provide customers with a small knife -Just Burgers's style- to half their burger if they want.

 

THE DOWNS
- The cooking and assembling staff changes from day to day at lunch (I guess also for dinner), and you will soon notice that the burgers are some days better assembled and prepared than others, and  the patty can be on the small side (as in the photo). 

-  Their chicken burgers are, like in other Perth burgers bars, a fillet, not a burger. Me like burger chick, no fillet chick.

- The long walled table facing the wall is not very inviting. Nobody wants to eat looking at a beautifully empty white wall. 

***

Flipside Northbridge is becoming increasingly popular due to its killer location, the friendliness of the staff, and because, really, who does not like a burger? Still, the burgers are simpler and less tasty than at Grill'd, to which the place reminisces the most in burger philosophy. Their burgers are good-sized, good-prized, very fresh, juicy, easy to eat and move with your hands, and some of them really nice. To be honest, these are the sort of burgers that anybody could prepare at home, which is kind of  cool if you are out and feel like eating decently-prepared food. 

Location 9
Layout 6
Ambience 6
Food 6.7
Drinks 6
Service 7

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