25 Oct - Home Food - Birthday Dinner

So Sunday night was my birthday celebration dinner with my immediate family. Normally Mum does all the cooking and puts on a spread, but I thought this year, I'd do most of the things. For chow this time included:

Roast chicken. This chook was brined, then the skin was coated in chilli, lemongrass and chicken seasoning. It was OK, but I didn't have a lot of it.

Siew Yuk. Like before, this was seasoned with hoisin and five spice. I tried to crackle the skin with a blow torch but it was epic fail. While the skin puffed, it wasn't crispy! Ended up using a frypan to at least make it a little crispy, but it didn't have that crunchy, crispy texture that normally comes with roast pork.

Char siu pork. I cheated and used a jar (Lee Kum Kee). The jar says to marinate for 2 hours, I kept it in the fridge for 3 days. I used pork neck (also known as pork scotch fillet, or pork collar butt), and it was delicious! Was a little sweet, I may have to make my own marinade to make it slightly more savoury. But there was enough fat to make it tender and melt in the mouth good.

The token vegie dish. This included bok choy, onion, garlic and shiitake mushroom. Deboned drumsticks were marinaded in rice wine, dark and light soy sauce.

Mum's chicken curry. Made from boneless thighs, wings and drumsticks, along with potatoes and carrots. Note the oil slick from all the chicken skin. Mmmmmmm...

Birthday cake. Vanilla custard torte from Krusty Kob. One of my favourite cakes! I'm a sucker for vanilla and custard.....

24 Oct - Olivers on James Street, Northbridge

Birthday celebrations this year were at Olivers on James Street, which is located on James Street surprisingly. The place looked quite small and cosy, however the music and the hard floors made it quite noisy and hard to have a conversation. Half way through the meal, I was also quite warm for some reason, but I wasn't the only one.

For entree, I had the 'Wild Mushroom Risotto'. I was initially disappointed by the size, but afterwards, I was quite content. I'm not too sure how many wild mushrooms were in the risotto, but it was quite rich and delicious.

For mains, I went for the Black Angus special, which was essentially a Surf and Turf with Black Angus steak and garlic prawns. I asked the steak to be rare, and boy was it rare! Mmmmmm. The prawns were a little on the small side, but were still nice.



Whilst I enjoyed my food, the service took a little long, to get both food and drinks. The noise in this place also was a little downer for me. I probably would go back here but not probably in a big group.

After dinner and a short walk later, I had a durian icecream cone at the Il Gelato on James Street. I had this last time I had dinner in Northbridge and quite liked it. This time round however, it wasn't that nice. The durian flavour was there, but it was icy, and I mean icy. I had big ice chunks throughout my cone.

23 Oct - KFC, Beechboro

Wow, we got our order correct and the service wasn't that crap! It was my birthday last Friday, and I decided to grab some junk food and have a night in, and attempt to make a dent in the loads of TV that's queued up. So CB and I ordered a Dinner for Two and a large Popcorn Chicken. The Popcorn Chicken wasn't that large, so maybe they stuffed up that side of the order haha. Or maybe it was just a rip off.

18 Oct - Jaws Kaiten Sushi, Perth City

There is now a tradition of Jaws and duty free shopping in the city 1 month before departure of an overseas trip. This time round however, it was 3 weeks due to a busy October. To be honest, my 4 plates were a dismal effort, but for some reason, I wasn't very hungry! It was either the GJ's coffee beforehand, or the exorbitant prices Jaws now charge for their food! Whilst I do enjoy the food, I must admit that I'm a tightarse at heart.

15 Oct - La Bruschetta Ristorante Pizzeria, Tuart Hill

On Thursday night, I had dinner with CB's family for CB's Mum's birthday. Feeling in the mood for pizza, I went for the Supreme pizza and shared some chips with CB. My pizza choice was not the most authentic, but the combination of ingredients sounded the best: tomato, mozzarella cheese, ham, mushrooms, olives, grilled capsicum, onion & pepperoni. It was OK, but honestly, comparing to $6.95 Dominos slop, I probably would go the slop for taste. The chips were served piping hot and definitely tasted gooooood after waiting for quite awhile for our food.

10 Oct - Banca Cafe, Tuart Hill

Last night we headed to Banca Cafe to celebrate Arnee-ah's birthday. After perusing the menu, I opted for the Smoked Salmon Pizetta for entrees and the Lamb Shanks for mains.

The Tasmanian Smoked Salmon Pizzetta with potato, sea salt, capers, red onion, rocket and mascarpone was a good choice. I could've done without the marscarpone though. I was so hungry, this didn't last long.

The Braised Lamb Shanks with tomato, garlic, rosemary, olives, greens beans & creamed whipped potato was also a good choice for me. Melt in the mouth lamb teamed with creamy mash and the braising liquor. These bones were clean by the time I was finished with them. The olives weren't that sharp which I liked as I'm not a huge fan of olives.

Whilst I thought my food was great, others didn't seem to think their choices were so spectacular. The service was a bit hit and miss too, especially when we wanted drinks. Afterwards, when we didn't want drinks anymore, they kept coming! Doh!

2 Oct - Home Food - Steak Sandwich

Dinner tonight was a steak sandwich and chips. Scotch fillet steak bashed thin, onion, rocket, tomato and cheese in between multigrain bread and barbecue sauce.