marvin lowe photography

      Pho Xua Vietnamese Restaurant sounded slightly exotic yet promising. This little restaurant is located at the end of busy Rokeby Rd in Subiaco. It is easily and ofeten overlooked by shoppers who only stroll by the boutiques down the middle of Rokeby Rd.

Now, almost everyone who recommends a vietnamese place in perth city would think of Viet Hoa in Northbridge (Chinatown). Personally, I feel the standard there is inconsistent. But that would be another post altogether. So, probably due to Pho Xua’s location in ’yuppified’ Subiaco, and a way to distinguish themselves from other Vietnamese places like Saigon and Viet Hoa, Pho Xua claims to be a fine dining restaurant.

 

 

         Its ambience is soothing, a place that both couples and families and enjoy a nice meal. The ‘classic’ feel of the place, with both french-vietnamese influence on the decor and soft lighting contributes to its subtle elegance. It was Gweex’s and my 1st time at the place and did not know what to expect, and I dare say that our expectations were rather high. The menu was simple, and contained mainly stir-frys, and steamboat-like dishes, but there were no dinner sets. Honestly, the specials for the day seemed most interesting, with the tantalising scallops done mongolian-style. The scallops were expensive though, and we had already decided on other dishes, so we (I actually) sadly gave it a miss.

The wait staff were friendly and accomodating. However, they did not know the menu well, and it irritated me to no end that the waiter who took our orders had to refer to our menu and he copied the order word for word! AND he stood like 10cm away from my face while taking my order, and had me repeating myself a few times (his command of English was kinda poor), while moving closer and closer to me! Gweex just sat across me with a stifled smile (arm-chio, you know), while I inched as far backwards as I could go.

 
         Well, this was everything thai fishcakes should be. Yes, the vietnamese fishcakes tasted exactly like THAI fishcakes. I understand that the cuisine would be closely influenced by each other, but there was no distinction here at all. Not that I minded; the subtly spiced fishcakes had a resilient bite, with the hint of lemongrass and red curry paste apparent but not overwhelming. They were pretty yummy.

 

 

        The stuffed chicken wings were alright, but nothing spectacular. The wings were probably stuffed with marinated pork meatballs and tang hoon. The stuffed chicken wings at Viet Hoa were better I reckon.

 

 

         This was one of the specials of the day. It sounded so good on the menu, and was rather disappointing in fact. The crabmeat and seafood springrolls, wrapped with popiah and not springroll skin, tasted rather regular. The crabmeat was sparse, and we could not taste the other seafood. By this time, we were also getting bored with the standard, bottled sweet-chili sauce. Gweex was commenting that they should have made their own sauces, and different ones to accompany the various appetizers. By this time, our tastebuds were rather tired of the repetitive and overly-sweet sauce.

 

        The red duck curry was creamy and not too spicy. Gweex thought the same dish next door, at Sawadee Thai Restaurant was slightly better, but I thought it was nicer here. The luscious sauce came with rambutans and a generous serving of roasted duck slices. This is a must-try!

 

 

         This was the disappointment of the day. Firstly, it was labelled “Shaking Beef” in the menu, which we presumed to be Shaken Beef. Secondly, the pieces were not thoroughly cooked, some was tender, others were tough and chewy. Gweex was already not a beef-fan, so I had to eat most of this. The seasoning was lucklustre and unimaginative; just black-pepper and salt i think, and the pasta was Bland. A difficult dish to swallow.

 

 

        Finally, the fish-of the day. I can’t remember what fish this was but it was delightful. It was extremely fresh (you must understand that there’s a dearth of fresh fish here that can be easily purchased), and is coated with a savory and delicious lemongrass marinade, then flour and flashed fried i suppose, to create the crispy-on-the-outside, and white firm flesh that flaked beautifully on the inside.

 I was disappointed with the absence of the classic Vietnamese coffee. Although the dishes seemed to be rather hit-and-miss, I wouldn’t call it ‘fine dining cuisine’ though.

361 Rokeby Road
Subiaco 6008, Perth
Western Australia
Tel No: 9382 2082

Being inspired by the traditional crispy peking duck dish, and Isshin’s chicken wraps, I decided to create my own roast chicken wraps. I didn’t managed to achieve the crispy-ness desired, but having tweaked it several times, I have settled on letting it be moist, ‘drenching’ the shredded chicken pieces in the marinade and its own jus.

Roast Chicken & Chicken Wraps
Ingredients: (makes about 8 big wraps or 26 mini-wraps) 

1          medium-sized chicken (or 3 chicken thighs)
3          garlic cloves, minced
1tb       olive oil
1/4cup  light soy sauce
3tb       dark soy sauce
1tb       sesame oil
3tb       honey
1tb       chinese shao xing wine
1tb       ginger juice
2tb       five spice powder
16        2-inch pieces of spring onions
8          large pieces of spring roll skin
            hoi sin sauce

1. Saute the minced garlic in olive oil.
2. Marinade chicken with garlic, soy suace, sesame oil, honey, wine, 
   ginger juice and five-spice powder, overnight (or for at least
   2 hours). If there is too little marinade, add 1/2 to 2 tablespoons
   of each of these seasonings.
3. Pierce the chicken in multiple places with a fork to allow more
   thorough cooking of the chicken. Roast the chicken the next day,
   at 150 degree celsius.
4. Cool and shred the chicken.
5. Smear each piece of spring roll skin with hoi sin sauce, place
    2 pieces of spring onion, the shredded chicken meat and the
    marinade juices, on each spring roll skin.
6. Wrap the ingredients up tightly, and serve.
7. Alternatively, heat the wraps up in the microwave for about
   1min, to heat and soften the (uncooked) spring roll skins.

        Yesterday, Cheryl graciously treated Gweex and myself to lunch as it would be one of the last times she could stay over at our place before we graduate. All of us have been rather intrigued by this cafe for some time. So, to satisfy our curiousity, we indulged and had a rather filling lunch.

        Being greedy (as usual), we ordered 4 items for the 3 of us to share. We weren’t sure of the portions, but as we soon found out, all came as mains accompanied by a cold salad of arugula, cous cous, raisins, red onions slices and capsicum strips. All 4 dishes were A$13.90 each, except for the crabmeat and noodle cakes (A$14.90).

       I didn’t have high expectations of the place, thinking it was another over-hyped “designer-cafe”. And I heard that the standard had slipped a little over the years. However, 3 of the 4 dishes were pretty decent. The fried dukkah chicken pieces were coated with indian spices, were relatively tasty, and subtly spiced. However, they were extremely tough and difficult to chew. I suspect this is due to the ‘pre-cooking’ of the food and leaving them in the transparent counter shelves, re-heating them only when customers order them. This marred the presentation of the dishes slightly, as most appeared a little too brown, but none were burnt, thankfully. So, I was not that impressed with this dish overall.

Dukkah-spiced Chicken

       The arancini, or the risotto ball (in our case it was pear-shaped), was the clear disappointment of the 4. It was a tomato-based risotto, with a mozzarella center. It was only so-so, and while decent, was hardly outstanding in any way. This was the only dish left unfinished.

Arancini with a mozzarella center

      The crabmeat and noodle cake was surprisingly good. It was well complemented by the “sticky-soy and ginger infusion” (sort of a kecap manis and ginger dip). It was tasty, with a nice balance between the soft crabmeat and the springy tenacity of the vermicelli. This was a clear favourite amongst us.

Crabmeat and Noodle Cakes

      Finally, the spinach and ricotta cannelloni (similar to a lasagne i think), was the dish that surprised me. Usually, I’m more inclined towards olive-oil or cream-based pastas, as I find tomato-based sauces too ‘jer-lah’ for me. However, the creamy ricotta was so inviting in this baked dish, that I probably ate half of it. The dish was not innovative, but I think it surpassed my expectations, probably having used a lighter tomato base (from whole peeled tomatoes, without too much tomato paste?).

Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni

      Overall, the place was not as bad as I thought. It could definitely do better with warm, ‘just-cooked’ food, but I think the concept behind the cafe is to cater to functions and take-away picnic food, so the ‘pre-cooking’ thing does make sense. I might go back again, but only for a few select dishes.

151a Rokeby Road,
Subiaco, Perth
+61 08 63802000

Well, for my birthday this year, my family decided to head down to Sage last sunday. It comes with strong recommendations from fellow local food bloggers. The menu we had for the night was almost identical to the Singapore Food Blogger’s gathering. Sage is located at Roberson Quay which is really devoloping into a fine dining hub. The restaurant itself is small and cosy. The service was warm and prompt.

Orange Jelly with Salmon Tartare

This was the amuse Bouche that came complimentary from the kitchen. The orange jelly was tangy and it went well with the Salmon Tartare. The Salmon Tartare was fresh and had some sort of a cream dressing to go along with it. It kind of reminded me of the spicy salmon sushi at sakae though.lol. But nonetheless, it was a good start to the evening.

Fricassee of Burgundy Escargot with lentil du puy and field mushrooms, poached egg and Italian parsley foam

The Fricassee of Burgundy Escargot came with lentil du puy and field mushrooms, poached egg and Italian parsley foam. This dish came as a pleasant surprise. The yolk of the egg was rich and accented the flavours of the mushroom and Escargot. I loved the way the egg was done. It wasn’t over cooked and was nice and fluffy. The parsely foam was gently fragant and the lentil was subtle in taste.

Chestnut mousseline with Oxtail consomme and Truffe oil

The oxtail consomme was easily the best dish of the night. It was simply amazing. I had my doubts about having an oxtail consomme, but this one really surprised me. You can clearly see 3 distinct layer, first layer being the broth, second layer is the chestnut mousseline while the base consist of chunky ox tail meat. The oxtail broth itself is rich in flavours while the chestnut mousseline was smooth, creamy and sweet. It gave the soup a whole new dimension. By the time you reach the oxtail meat, your mouth is already bursting with flavours. The oxtail meat, evidently cooked for a long period of time, is soft and tender. This dish really outdid all expectations.

Baked fillet of Sea Bass, topped with Tiger prawn mousse, braised fennel and a lemon basil emulsion

The Sea bass was baked, topped with Tiger prawn mousse, braised fennel and a lemon basil emulsion. The sea bass was decently fresh but I felt the the Tiger prawn Mousse, together with the lemon basil emulsion, overpowered the Sea Bass. They didn’t exactly compliment the fish as well, it was quite a conflict of flavours here. This dish was perhaps a little forgettable.

US corn fed beef Short ribs braised in red wine topped with slices of foie gras and bone marrow, glazed root vegetables and a mousseline of butternut pumpkin.

Ahh…the short ribs.=) Apparently, this is a house specialty and rightly it should be. The ribs were very nicely done, they were soft and tender. You don’t really need a knife to cut the meat, it will gently fall off for you.hahaha. The Foie gras was tooooo small!! I wished it was bigger…But, still it did serve its purpose in complementing the dish. It was like a dry sauce that’s on the meat.

Fromage Blanc Panna Cotta topped with candied strawberries, Champagne jelly and a strawberry Sorbet

The Fromage Blanc panna cotta topped with candied strawberries, Champagne jelly and a strawberry Sorbet was alright. I am more of a chocolate fan but this wasn’t too bad. The sorbet was refreshing and not too sour with the candied strawberries equalizing the taste here. The panna cotta itself was really thick and rich with taste of the fromage blanc. It was a nice way to end the evening though. Special Thanks to my parents, esp my dad, for making this meal possible.=)

Sage is indeed a really interesting place, I believe it has potential to really grow. This was a good first experience but it leaves me wondering whether will my second visit will be still as good. There is a lot of novelty and hype now in my first visit. I hope they will continue to surprise me with their innovative and creative dishes still. We will get mich’s input the next time round. Thumbs up for Sage.

Jazzfoodie: Sigh.. I wish I was there!!!

Happy diners

VinnytheMarv: We decided to skip one of the night rallies to spend some time with Gwenda (my sis), who was graciously hosting us at her pad. We stayed home that night and Mich cooked a simple meal for the 3 of us.

Jazzfoodie: Dinner was quite late, but thanks Gwenda for your help with prepping the ingredients!

Minty Pea Soup

V: First up was the Minty Pea soup. I love this soup even though i hate peas.=p I like the way it’s so smooth and i don’t really get to taste the peas itself. The mint probably took away most of that nasty pea taste and that made it really easy on the tastebuds too. The peas were blended into smithereens making it a really smooth yet creamy soup to drink. The mushrooms in it made it even better.

J: This was an aforementioned dish, done countless times, because it’s easy and quick (adapted from a Jamie Oliver recipe which was more complicated and probably tastier). My version was rather simplified.
1. Dice a medium-sized onion and chop finely a bunch of mint leaves. Saute these in 2 tablespoons of butter.
2. Stir in 500g of frozen (Bird’s Eye brand) Mint Baby Peas.
3. Pour in 1L of chicken stock and bring to boil.
4. After cooling the soup, blend it all together.
5. Add in sliced white button mushrooms and 1 cup of thickened cream. Bring to the boil again, then it’s ready to serve.

Prawn Risotto

V: Next up was the Prawn with Mushroom Risotto. The Risotto was made using prawn stock. This made the risotto very rich in flavour. We did not have much prawns with us, but the additional frozen prawns bought later (and thus, more shells) helped to make a creamier and richer risotto. It was a lovely dish with a delightful taste.

J: The prawn stock was made by 1. frying the prawn heads and shells in oil, 2. adding the chicken stock to the pan with the shells, 3. bringing to boil and subsequently simmering for at least 15mins, finally, 4. strain the stock.

Chinese Roast Chicken

V: Then we had a roast chicken that was marinated with herbs. I love roast meats of all kinds. This roast chicken was well roasted and managed to take in the essence of the marinade. I took the leg as usual and devoured it with glee. muahaha. We didn’t finish the whole chicken but kept some for lunch the next day. We used the remaining chicken to make a wrap. This really remind me of peking duck, partly because of the wrap and the hoi sin sauce that we used.

J: Basically, the marinade consisted of minced garlic, sliced coriander, soy sauce and a little honey. The mariande was rubbed over the chicken and inside the chicken; the chicken was also stuffedwith a few pieces of spring onion, and was roasted at about 160 degree celsius.