So yes… It’s a church. What can I say, there really are a lot of churches in Adelaide. Not all of them are particularly photograph worthy, but as a concession to church lovers the world over, here are my first and last church photos. I know I’ve been slack about updating the site with all the news and happenings in South Australia, but if you’re been around for any length of time you’d realise it was completely inevitable… The fact that I had a couple of thousand photos to sift through alone should be a good enough indication as to why my procrastination has been so pronounced.

So after a relatively short flight from Perth on that stunningly cheap (in every way) airline Virgin Blue, we arrived in Adelaide. The basic plan was to spend some time with my friends Paul and Kara (who were getting married), and Sharon’s friends Serena and Chris, as well as fit in as much good wine and good food as was humanly possible.

After being picked up at the airport by Paul and Kara, and bewildering them with my need to bring my entire knife set with me (because you just never know when a spontaneous dinner party is going to break out). We had a quick lunch and wandered around the streets of suburbia. I have no idea where we were as I was still almost completely disoriented, but my initial reaction was that it seemed like a big country town. Which is not a bad thing if you like country towns of course :)

              

Later that evening, after unwinding and becoming acquainted with Kara’s miniature schnauzer Ebby (who had an unnatural fascination with my feet), we decided to try out the first place on my list of recommendations, Good Life Organic Pizza. This one came from Kam and Louise of Fiori fame, who had many good things to say about reasonably priced tasty pizza, and an excellent list of wines.

I’m happy to say they weren’t mistaken. We ordered the roast organic vegetable pizza, the Angaston spicy salami pizza,
(with organic kalamata olives, organic red onion, fresh baby bocconcini and basil), and the Free-range roasted duck
with shitake mushroom and spring onion ginger jam ! Oh boy… they were all so very good. My personal fav was most likely the duck pizza, however the roast vege one did a great job of making me forget about my carnivorous tendencies for a while.

We also ordered a bottle of Geoff Hardy’s K1 Cabernet/Tempranillo, starting a trend that would continue throughout the week of consuming vast quantities of great wine (in moderation of course - one after another :) ).

The service was casual and the staff did a good job of sounding genuine in their concern for all things organic, which was also nice. It was also nice to be having dinner with my good friend Paul, one of the nicest guys I know, and one of the few people on this world that I know can eat more than I do. I happily left him the last piece of pizza as we slowly eased our way into holiday mode, ready for the rest of the week.

What can I say about Suraj ? Ever since being introduced to it by my good friends Ben and Jen, it’s been a regular place for dinners of both the rowdy and refined version, a point of reference to every other Indian restaurant I’ve been to, and a wonderful example of food that is honest and simple and good.

Suraj is run by Roger, and his wife Susan (get it… Su-Raj). It’s also convenient that Suraj means “Sun”. He’s been in business for close to 15 years in the same spot, and I’m willing to bet that the menu hasn’t changed a hell of a lot in all that time either.

Suraj is not so much a restaurant but an institution of traditional Indian cooking, often dwarfed by it’s elaborate and decadent neighbours in the ever trendy Highgate strip. But while places like Jacksons, Veritas, Must, and Soto try to ooze style and charm, and fancy looking Indian chain restaurants start up across the road promising glitz and glamour… Suraj is unchanging in it’s quaint approach to no frills dining.

So after yet another great night of dining there with a group of friends and curry lovers. I thought it best to put something online about this place, as it is sorely under represented in the high stakes (steaks?) world that is the Perth restaurant scene (which may or may not be an oxymoron) .

                

Of course I can see why it would be easy to overlook Suraj. The decor is drab (and that’s being polite), the florescent lights normally flickering overhead are more reminiscent of a hospital waiting room than a restaurant… and when there is more than 2 people in the place it’s almost impossible to hear anything over the resounding din caused by a complete lack of sound insulation.

But really… does any of that matter ? (Feel free to skip that question if your favourite restaurant is the Witches Cauldron, because you clearly enjoy spending stupid amounts of money on bad food, for the sake of supposed reputation).

Click here for large menu

Roger makes regular pilgrimages back to India to refill his spice coffers with the right quality of stock to use in his exacting recipes. Garam Masala is all ground by hand and even though I reckon I’m a dab hand at making the odd curry at home, Roger said it’d take me at least 3 years working full time to be able to reproduce any of his… which I will reluctantly concede may be true.

The menu is simple and consists of a number of curry dishes that for once actually taste different to each other. I can do no more than to point you to the blackboard above which is in essence all he does, aside from the occasional goat curry that manages to slip its way onto the menu depending on what his Halal butcher has in stock.

Highlights for me personally are the chickpea curry, the masala dhal, the beef vindaloo, and the magnificently airy pooris (or puri, i’m not really sure which, but i’ll go with what’s on the menu). The great thing though, is I can turn up to the place whenever I want, regardless of how late it is, and know that if people have already ordered I will love everything that comes out.

Suraj is not the kind of place to go if you’re in a hurry. Something I had to get used to the first time I went. But given the nature of the food, and the atmosphere of the place, I’m not sure you can rush things without losing some of the magic. Certainly the look on Rogers face when a large group of people all come in at once is a little troubling… but when the food arrives all is well and right in the world.

On a sad note however. It seems that this little slice of Highgate history may not be too long for this world. The owners of the building are planning to take the shop back over within the next few months, and according to Roger, turn it into one big restaurant / bar combined with the shop next door. I asked if he’d be moving elsewhere and it doesn’t sound like he has the energy to start from scratch all over again. So the days of simple Indian pleasure Suraj style may be numbered.

If you haven’t been yet, then do yourself a favour. Get a couple of good bottles of wine, a few close friends, and swing by Suraj for a taste of food the way it should be made… from the heart.

Suraj Indian Cuisine
513 Beaufort St
Highgate, WA 6003
(08) 9328 2858
Get directions

Ok, well this is probably a lot longer coming than it should have been, and a testament to the fact that I’ve been off gallivanting around the countryside far too much, because I haven’t been back to Ria in quite a while now.

For the unacquainted (or out of towners), Ria is a wonderful restaurant in Leederville, that serves up an array of Malaysian dishes, in a trendy and informal setting. Nothing too indepth about the food this time, other than my stance on what is “authentic” is as firm as ever (i.e: If the food tastes good, I couldn’t care less how authentic it is).

I was lucky enough to be joined on this latest expedition by Grendel, Mrs Grendel, and 2 x junior Grendels, as well as Kam, Justin + Irene (trusting lender of expensive cameras), the ever lovely Sharon, and potato growing, bike riding, Irish/Kiwi valkyrie Lorraine.

           

So after finally making it into the place (that doesn’t take bookings) with 10 people, I had to struggle not to pry the vegemite sandwiches from the hands of a junior Grendel with discerning tastes. Then ordered essentially everything that looked good on the menu (most of it).

Prices of the dishes vary, but the majority of the curry dishes are around $18 - $20, a few other dishes cost more of less, depending on what’s in them.

Stand outs… definitely Mum’s Lo Ak, a caramelised duck covered in a rich sticky sauce, and the Nonya Achard Fish; a deep fried fillet smothered in sesame seeds and dressed with a chilli viniagrette.

Wine was a Pinot Blanc by Hugo & Fils of Alsace, well chosen by Kam.

Dessert (for me at least), was a delicious sago in coconut milk, with a dark sugar syrup hiding underneath.

All up, another outstanding Ria experience, and a great night shared with old and new friends. If you’ve been waiting to try this place out, now is definitely the time.

Ria Authentic Malaysian
Unit 1
160 Oxford St
Leederville 6007 WA
Phone: (08) 9328 2998

What do you do when you’ve had too much coffee ? Drink tea of course ! But what does a bona fide coffee snob do when he has to turn his palate to the other drink ? Well either seek out the finest possible Japanese green tea he can… or more recently… dive straight into the world of fantastic Chinese tea.

Dragon Tea House is a new venture that’s opened recently on William St in Northbridge (up the top end where the real stuff is). I was first put onto them by the ever vigilant Alex, who has an uncanny knack for finding quality places to explore.

So a couple of weeks ago, after a hearty dose of Dim Sum (funnily after drinking too much tea), Ben, Jen, Sharon, myself, and the sadly now departed (to Montreal via Melbourne) Isabelle, walked off a little of the post lunch bloat with a brisk stroll up to Dragon Tea House to check out their wares.

What we found there was a little treasure trove of exquisite Chinese teas of the highest quality, and an enthusiastic host in Jun, who walked us through some of her favourite drops.

Jun and partner Sandy run the business with Sandy hand picking the teas (not physically, but you get what I mean) from China and bringing it in twice a year from very high quality sources. They bring this back for local tea lovers who want to try the wonderful teas they’ve heard about, but can’t manage the commute to the highlands of Zhejiang every week (which is possibly quite a few of us).

There’s a range of green, white, black, and flower teas that are remarkably different and unique (well to my palate at least), each with their own interesting characteristics. Dragon Tea House is primarily a retail outlet for the teas, although they do let you sit down and order a pot of your very own, to sip in contemplative appreciation. Although if you’re lucky, and things are quiet, you might just be able to convince them to run through a tea tasting session.

Of course… I had to taste them all. So after convincing Jun that we weren’t the fly by night charlatan drink and runners we probably looked like, we were treated to a good two hours worth of tea, food, and information…

                  

We started with Lady Lan, a smooth oolong tea with ginseng, added to remove the normally bitter aftertaste associated with oolong. We moved on through Dragon Well green tea, a slightly astringent green tea with a buttery smooth texture that’s prevalent in great green teas. Then on to White Silver Needle Tea, which is from the same species but white tea consists of young leaves (new-growth buds) still covered in a fine white hair, that has undergone no oxidation or fermentation (unlike black or oolong teas). It has a style very different to green tea in that the typical grassy flavours are replaced by a lighter, slightly sweet finish.

Jun showed us a little of her developing Kung Fu Tea skills (I know, I thought it sounded too cool to be true too, but it’s actually the proper name for the Chinese art of the tea ceremony). These included making sure the water is at the exact right temperature, priming the the leaves with a cleansing rinse before drinking, and making sure that the delicious last drops of each pour are distributed evenly into each cup. The best part being that it doesn’t matter if you spill some :)

After that it was on to a blooming flower tea. These blooming teas are a relatively new concept (I think) and typically consist of tea leaves bound tightly together with the addition of herbs and flowers such as Osmanthus and Chrysanthemum. The beauty of these teas is that in the right vessel they slowly “bloom” in hot water. Opening to reveal an array of colours and flavours that intermingle to create a completely unique experience. The one we tried was called Lily Bloom, and it contained lily, osmanthus, and white silver needle tea.

We took a break somewhere at this point for refreshments, which took the form of little Chinese sweets, and some roasted pumpkin seeds. Just the thing to hit the spot after a solid hour and a half of tea tasting.

With our palates refreshed (and bladders emptied), it was then on to the final tea, which was a Pu-erh. Described by Jun as the ’short black’ of the tea world. It was something I had to try for myself. Pu-erh differs from most other teas…whilst it may be confused as a black tea because of it’s dark colour, it’s actually caused by a secondary oxidization and fermentation process after it’s picked, which gives it a particularly strong and distinct flavour. Not quite what I’d call an alternative to my morning espresso… but definitely enough of a kick to make the tea doubters sit up and take notice.

So after depriving Jun of her lunch, and bombarding her with more questions and photos than I’m sure she wanted, we came away with a good bundle of teas, teapots, and associated paraphernalia. Enough to keep our nerves calmed and palates cleansed, at least until the next time we stop by, which I imagine won’t be too far away.

***edit with a few corrected details.

Dragon Tea House
3/369 William Street (next to William shopping centre)
Northbridge
Phone: (08) 9228 3305
www.dragonteahouse.com

Want something to try some food that’s a little different ? Want it to come from Africa ?(but not involve quantities of meat larger than your head ). Want it to be run by food and coffee loving people eager to please ? Well it looks like African Mesob may be just the place you’ve been looking for.

African Mesob is run by Simon & Julie Teshome. Simon is Ethiopian, and after meeting Julie in Ethiopia and moving back to Perth to live, they decided that there was a definite need for a restaurant that could express the love they both had for traditional Ethiopian food (and coffee!). Not finding anything that suited their needs… they took the bull by the horns and opened their own.

African Mesob is a unique restaurant. From the time you walk to the sound of African drumming you know that this is going to be a little out of the ordinary to the standard Perth restaurant.

A mesob is a tabletop on which Ethiopian food is traditionally served. It’s a style of eating whereby you are served a big basket of food and you use your hands to tear up a special bread called Injera (a slightly sour kind of bubbly dough bread made from sorghum flour) and wrap the different food in it. At the risk of being pithy, it’s almost like African tapas… you get given a variety of dishes in small servings on top of the Injera and you use the bread and your fingers to scoop it all up. It’s a great way to eat, the waiter washes the hands of everyone before the meal and couples are encouraged to feed each other.

Sharon and I went along on a Friday evening a few weeks back, on a complete whim, just hoping to find something different to the usual pizza/pasta/stir fry quick and easy meals that are so easy to resort to on a Friday night when noone can be bothered cooking. We were pleasantly surprised by what we found.

We both thought the idea of the hand washing and feeding each other was a great idea… that was until I started stuffing pieces of food into Sharon mouth faster than she could eat it, at which point the novelty wore off and she decided she could quite easily feed herself. I personally love eating with my hands… something many cultures do without a care in the world, and a great counterpoint to the alarming rise of germophobes out there who won’t touch anything that hasn’t been sterilised first. I think it’s a great way to get in touch with what you’re eating, and adds an extra sensation of tactile sensation when you’re picking up all the different pieces and combining them together. Plus it’s almost expected that you’ll make a mess… which is right up my alley :)

We ordered a beef mesob… which came in the basket with the Injera and an assortment of meaty stew dishes (wat) that I’m told come from a range of African countries. African Mesob aims to be a kind of focal point for African culture and cuisine in Perth. They have staff from many different parts of Africa, all adding their own flavour to the unique dishes of their homelands, and trying to raise the reputation of places that are so often lumped together with little regard to the cultural diversity of complexity of each one.

Most importantly however, the food was beautiful. Maybe I was biased by the simple but enticing style of eating, or the ridiculously cheap house wine ($3.50 a glass), but It was all delicious. The soul of Ethiopian cooking is Berbere, a rich spice mixture abounding with chilli that fuels many of the stews and adds depth and complexity to the dishes. When eaten with the Injera it was a wonderful combination that was both interesting and fulfilling.

[a better photo of a mesob taken by Greencolander

So, having had our fill of a great meal, our hands washed again, and on our way out to pay. What did I spy behind the counter but a coffee roaster. As any self respecting coffee geek with be happy to tell you, Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee.

Stories tell how a goat herd named Kaldi noticed that his goats would become frisky after eating the leaves and berries of a certain bush. He decided to try some himself and so discovered the exhilarating effects of coffee. Kaldi then took the berries to a monastery where the monks, believing them to be the work of the devil, threw them into the fire. This released the aroma of the coffee and the berries were hastily rescued from the flames and the monks learned how to make coffee.

Skip forward a thousand years or so, and coffee is one of the worlds most traded commodities, but still has strong roots in Ethiopia, being used in many cultural and religious events and having a special significance to many Ethiopians.

So the idea of having a coffee roaster in an Ethiopian Restaurant, and roasting a variety of African coffees fresh each week, is not such a strange concept. Simon holds his love of coffee quite dearly, and it was a natural step for him to want to bring his love for Ethiopian coffee to the people of Perth. They are also hoping to bring in the traditional preparation methods… which is serving it in a little earthenware pot in small cups… heated over an open fire… but the logistics of doing it in a restaurant may prove difficult. Still I think it’s a great initiative, and the smell of fresh roasted coffee wafting through the restaurant is another lovely thing to have.

So, in my typical fashion of not being able to think of suitably succinct way to end these rambling review/experiences, all I can say it go and try this place out. If you’re anything like me you’ll love it. If you’re not…then why are you reading this blog ?? ;)

African Mesob
100 Lake Street, Northbridge. (Cnr Lake & Newcastle Street)
Open for Lunch 12 to 2pm and Dinner from 6pm til late. Closed Mondays.

Phone: 9228 1544
http://africanmesob.com.au/
Full Licenced

Friday evening in the city (Perth that is)… a group of news friends and acquaintances gather to catch up, drink wine, talk coffee, and listen to some great Jazz (with accompanying impromptu tap dancing) and ease their way into the weekend with some quality dining. The scene is set for one of the best restaurant experiences I’ve had in a long time.

The venue for the rest of the evening was Nine Fine Food, a modern Japanese restaurant on the fringes of Northbridge that is doing some excellent food at the moment. They are tucked away in a relatively nondescript area of Northbridge on Bulwer St, not particularly close to the rest of the Northbridge scene, but equally far away from North Perth or Highgate, and certainly not somewhere I’d expect to find a restaurant of this quality.

So Sharon and I, and our dining companions, laden with bottles of wine, whetted appetites, and great expectations, made the short trip down from Hotel Northbridge to Nine.

On arrival we were greeted cheerily by the waiter who remembered our dining companions from the last time they came. It’s nice that even in a place where they must get a lot of new people coming through all the time, they can still add a personal touch by remembering names and faces.
The waiter then seated himself casually at the head of our table and proceeded to take the order.

The menu all looked interesting. The modern Japanese theme is worked through almost every dish, each having it’s own unique take on traditional style Japanese ingredients, in beautifully presented combinations and what could be called a European style setting.

We started off with a couple of tasting plates that were mostly little morsels of deep fried goodness. Tempura fish, spring rolls, karaage chicken, with 3 different dipping sauces, a wasabi cream, a chilli soy, and another mayonnaise… Now with a taste of things to come and rapidly moving our way through the first bottle of wine, it was time for mains.

As is generally the case when you get a group of food lovers around a table, there was much tooing and froing of ideas and opinions on what we should try, who should get what, and how best we could suitably get to try a bit of everything on the menu. That was until we saw the specials board, of which almost everything sounded more intricate and alluring than the last. With great difficulty I finally settled on one of the cooked specials… basically a tasting plate (mental note: remember names of dishes next time) consisting of scallops, duck, prawns, octopus, mussels wrapped in chilli seaweed and fried tempura style. Sharon had the spider crab and tuna, Marhsall and Linda had the sashimi salad, Daniel had a sashimi tasting, Alex I think had a steak dish (?) and Cathy… crushing all my hopes of thoroughly enjoying my meal… ordered the Wagyu rump.

Now all of the dishes I sampled were fantastic, beautiful clean flavours that effortlessly combined the best of Japanese and European cooking, with wonderful presentation. But the waygu was something else entirely. Cooked medium rare the way any steak should be, it literally melted in my mouth as I savoured the morsel Cathy was nice enough to let me try. Combined with an excellent choice of wine in a Glaetzner Shiraz, it was heaven in a mouthful… and made it that much harder to go back to my own plate… however lovely it was.

We finished off the evening (and a few more bottles of wine) with dessert, choosing the Azuki bean and chocolate pudding with ice cream. Another taste sensation and a perfect way to round off a great meal.

Perhaps it was the wine talking, perhaps the fact that the company was so enthusiastic, but I can’t remember enjoying a restaurant experience as much in a long time. I can now easily see why Nine Fine Food won “Best Asian Restaurant” at the 2007 Restaurant and Catering Industry Association Awards. An accomplishment only detracted from by the the fact that the term “Asian” is relatively vague, and to my mind means about as much as “meat” when you’re reading through a menu wondering what to order. Though I suppose that’s more of an indication of the lack of variety in the Perth scene when it comes to “Asian” restaurants that are pushing the envelope in terms of taste, quality, and presentation.

Still, credit where it’s due… this place is a welcome addition to trendy dining in Perth, and deserving of it’s status.

Fully satisfied, and a little merry, we stayed long past the time when everyone else had left… getting an impromptu piano recital from one of the staff, while the rest of them cleared up. Not even a hint of stern “will you just bloody well leave already” look was seen, which is a credit to their commitment to their customers.

Definitely a place to go back to soon.

Nine Fine Food
227-229 Bulwer St (corner of Bulwer and Lake St)
Northbridge
Phone: (08) 9227 9999
BYO

I am officially the king of the lazy posts. I keep on meaning to write more, but I always end up writing less. So please consider this offering as a token of my appreciation that people continue to come to my site in search of content, most often to find nothing.

It was recently made aware of a new establishment in Leederville called Sayers Food, by the ever thoughtful Jen of the W.A Barista Academy. Sayers Food has been open for about 4 weeks now, and is located next to Cinnamon Club in Carr Place, Leederville, in the premises that used to be occupied by the most excellent Eminem Modern Turkish (before they got too cool for Leederville and moved to Nedlands).

The fit out of the shop maintains the cool vibe hat Eminem created during it’s brief tenure in Leederville, with a relaxed yet classy atmosphere created with a bench along one side filled with cushions, dark wood grains on the tables, and beautiful textures running through the tableware and wallpapers. But really, who cares about layout (aside from interior decorators), it’s all about the food isn’t it ??

So I strolled in on a lazy afternoon when everyone thought I was somewhere else. I was due to have a meeting in Subiaco later on in the afternoon, and so I justified my brief sojourn into Leederville as a mere pit stop on the path to productivity that is my working life, plus it was already well past midday and I hadn’t had lunch… it was basically a matter of survival… yeh, lets go with that.

Without much of a chance to look at a menu I opted for whatever looks tasty in the display window. This time round that was a smoked salmon brouillade, which was slightly confusing because I was under the impression that a brouillade was some form of scrambled something or other. So it possibly should have been called a smoked salmon and spinach brouillade being as there was a creamy spinach type mixture wrapped around the salmon. Actually, maybe it was called that… I have a habit of misreading menus and ending up confusing myself with over analysis. The dish itself was great, fresh and light but still filling, with great textures coming through the salmon, spinach, and cream cheese (I think) filling. A lovely little salad of wilted cucumber strands in a light vinaigrette accompanied my “brouillade” just nicely.

The coffee they are using at Sayers Food is 5 Senses, and they’re using a La Marzocco Linea. I asked how they made their coffees and they explained that the shots were pulled quite short. Happy that I wasn’t going to be getting half a cup full of bitter espresso, I ordered a flat white which was great… lovely flavours coming through what is clearly a nice blend, however probably a bit too foamy for my liking. Still, vastly superior to what they are serving in Oxford 130 around the corner as far as I am concerned.

Problem is though, it’s not just me who’s concerned, it’s everyone. Oxford 130 seems to have a strangle hold on the coffee loving community of Perth. It is a much loved hangout and beacon to the trendy masses that flock to Leederville for their fill of trucker caps, aviator glasses, and quirky original t-shirts. So whilst the coffee at Sayers is pretty good, it won’t be knocking 130’s off as the cafe of choice anytime soon. It doesn’t have that same shabby vibe that 130s does… its trendy, but a little too trendy for those types who don’t feel comfortable sitting on anything other than a milk crate, drinking long mac’s and discussing how to make the world a better place.

Still, that’s besides the point. Sayers Food is it’s own cafe. According to the guys at Five Senses, Mark Sayer (owner and namesake of Sayer Food, along with his wife Steph), has 25 years experience as a chef, and prides himself on creating great food with local fresh produce. This really shines through as the food I had was fresh and fantastic, and there is always room in this city for someone with a passion for their food, and a commitment to quality.

Hopefully Sayers Food continues to bring people in and raise the bar for quality food and coffee in Leederville.

Sayers Food
Shop 1/ 224 Carr Place, Leederville
p: 9227 0429

Take one serious coffee lover with an idea about how things should be and a growing dissatisfaction at not finding it in his own backyard, and Mooba is what you get.

It’s the latest addition to the growing number of quality cafes in Perth that I think are doing things right, by taking an approach of continual learning and improvement to make sure their coffee is consistently good.

Mooba is situated right in the heart of Wembley, on the corner of Cambridge St and Jersey St, right next to the bank, and down the road from the Wembley Hotel, it’s basically built into the alcove of a small block of shops.

Mark (the owner) of Mooba wanted to bring the concept of the coffee bar to this area by creating a relaxed space where people could sit and chat and drink great coffee. Sadly, planning officials didn’t think too kindly of this idea, because apparently you can’t have something with no walls that needs a roof. So the bar was morphed into what I’d called a coffee kiosk. A little room housing the coffee equipment, fridges, and a display cabinet, but otherwise stripped to the bare essentials.

The first time Sharon and I dropped in to check the place out after getting the low down from the effervescent Ben of the WA Barista Academy, we were surprised to hear a barista in an indepth conversation on coffee roasting with some customers. Sounds like my kind of place I thought, and soon found out that the aforementioned roasters were none other than Matt n Bec, a couple of discerning local coffee geeks and home roasters who know their way around a cup. Happy to be in good company, we sampled a few ourselves.

The Mooba blend is roasted by 5 Senses, it’s got a nice body, and a chocolately aftertaste, not the same kind of acidity or floral highlights as some other blends, but it’s very easy to drink and pleasing in a short black as well as in milk. The bulk of the work being done by a solid PNG base, with some Brazilian and something else I forget filling it out nicely.

On my next visit to Mooba, a week or so later, I was also able to sample it as a double ristretto and as a flat white. Both worked well for me, but I probably should have drunk the flat white before the ristretto, because after that intensity of coffee, a flat white just tastes like milk.

I have to say though, the thing I liked the best about Mooba were the staff. They are all so enthusiastic and eager to please, it’s like the Brady Bunch opened a cafe (no offence guys :) ). That attitude definitely bodes well for the future, with Mark taking a proactive approach to training (all staff have completed advanced level training courses at WABA), and giving the barista a little piece of ownership that they can sink their teeth into. Expect good things to be heard about these guys in the near future.

Oh, and try the Bircher muesli and yoghurt with fresh berries, it’s like a whole meal in a cup. Great for people wanting a healthy start to the day, and those who are frequently so lazy that they need to combine all their meals into one… ala me.

Tucked away in a small corner of Subiaco is one of the most charming shops I’ve come across in a very long time. Regular readers of this blog will be well aware that coffee is my beverage of choice most mornings, but even more diligent readers will also have picked up that my household often looks for inspiration from the land of the rising sun due to Sharon spending a couple of years there on exchange.

Spending a Sunday afternoon lazily gallivanting around the city we happened to be strolling down Hay St towards Subiaco when we happened to stumble (I do a lot of stumbling) into Green Tea House, the delightful tea shop owned by the exceedingly friendly Mr Wasaki.

What followed was probably an hour and a half’s worth of tasting tea, talking about tea, talking about coffee, talking about Japan, talking about food, talking about Japanese food in Japan, talking about Japanese food in Australia, talking about Chinese tea compared to Japanese tea, smelling tea in an incense burner, and eventually, actually buying some tea. As you might have guessed, Mr Wasaki likes to talk. He is a well schooled individual who has been living in Australia for the better part of 15 years now, having moved over here with his wife and family quite some time ago, but only recently having followed his heart by starting his own business importing and selling the tea he so dearly loves.

That tea in question is of course Japanese green tea. High grade, hand picked, vacuum packed, and air shipped for maximum freshness, Mr Wasaki leaves little to chance. His tea’s range from the everyday Sencha, to the superior Gyokuro, and having gotten to try just about all of them, I can say they are all quite good. I was also glad to have finally found somewhere that sells Matcha (the ground tea powder made from Gyokuro, used in traditional Japanese tea ceremonies, and a damn good ice cream flavouring :) ).

Not just sticking with tea, he also sells Noren (traditional Japanese curtains used to hang in homes or shops as a welcome banner), as well as a number of special Japanese foods and sweets that no doubt have the ex-pats coming back on a regular basis.

He also sells a whole range of tea cups and bowls, which go along with his tips for preparing the tea properly, i.e: NEVER pour boiling water over tea leaves. You will bring the bitter flavours out, rather, pour the water from the kettle into another bowl first, and then wait a few minutes til the water is roughly 80C before pouring it into the tea leaves.

The tea itself is great. I can’t say I am in any way a tea fanatic, jasmine, oolong, and russian caravan is about as exotic as I’ve been, but the flavours of the high end Japanese teas were outstanding. Clean and crisp, yet with an almost buttery finish to many of them, most markedly pronounced in the Gyokuro, we could not help but buy a pack of our own and go home to continue the experiment. I also picked myself up a can of matcha, and have been sprinkled it into everything I think is sprinklable.

My only concern is that Mr Wasaki is a little too friendly for his own good. He almost talked me out of buying the Matcha because he said he could get me something more suitable for cooking with, and then he almost forgot to charge me when I went to pay. His enthusiasm and love for his products shows through more than anything however, and it’s this coupled with his quiet unassuming nature that make Green Tea House a welcome respite from so many shops who just want to take your money and get you out the door. If ever you find yourself in the area, do yourself a favour and drop in to sample some excellent Japanese tea in a very relaxing atmosphere.

Green Tea House
Shop 17, 375 Hay St
Subiaco
Tel: (08) 9388 7245
http://greenteahouse.com.au/

So I said I was going to spill the beans (ha… ha) on Fiori coffee, the latest addition to the gourmet coffee scene in our fair city (Perth that is), so here it is.

Kamran and Louise Nowduschani are the team behind Fiori, having moved over from Sydney a year or so ago after selling their previous roasting venture, they have quickly propelled themselves up to being one of Perth’s best local roasters in terms of quality and consistency, as far as I’m concerned at least.

Kamran is from the old school of coffee roasting, meaning he’s not comfortable letting the machinery do all the work for him. His roasting methods are a work of timing, temperature, and that elusive element that is a feel for the personality of each roast. As much as you’d like to think that roasting is a process of exact measures and maintaining absolute consistency, it’s also a case that no two roasts are exactly the same, not even two roasts of the same bean, so being able to understand how each roast is progressing and coax it towards the desired result is a great skill to have.

Fiori currently have one main blend of coffee, it’s put together with a number of different beans that all serve a different purpose. There are beans used for body, others for acidity, other for floral highlights or spicy qualities, but all coming together to create a blend that is interesting and punchy as an espresso, but still cuts through in milk nicely. It’s also Kamran’s skill as a blender and cupper that ensure this flavour profile remains consistent from year to year, regardless of availability of the beans.

The coffee is of course, all arabica, not a robusta in sight, although simply saying arabica doesn’t mean much. There are plenty of places using
cheap and average arabica beans that would most correctly be identified as “commodity” coffee. These are beans that are bought from the large markets in Brazil and other countries, and are basically bags of coffee sourced from all over the place and graded pretty low. These are the kind of beans you’ll find most often in major brand label coffee that fill supermarket shelves around the country. Fiori (and any quality roaster for that matter) where possible use estate grown, single origin beans. What this means is that each bag of coffee that arrives at the roastery comes either directly from the estate or through a distributor with a specific bean inside. So instead of the bag saying “Brazilian”, it will say something like PNG Bunum Wo Peaberry, indicating the country, region, and screening of the bean.

If that all sounded like drivel, then don’t get too caught up in it, just get the point that quality comes from knowing your beans and being able to use that knowledge to manipulate the flavour profile of your blend to highlight the best qualities of your beans. Something that you soon realise is a big deal to Kamran after speaking to him for more than a minute. He is meticulous when it comes to tasting and everytime I’ve dropped in to see him he’s been buzzing from drinking so much espresso, definitely a good sign for anyone seriously concerned with producing great coffee.

So after a rapid introduction to Perth last year, I’m looking forward to more good things from Fiori this year, Kamran has recently upgraded his funky French Samiac to a much larger Deidrich, which gives him the capacity to roast a lot more coffee to supply what I envision will be a lot of new cafes in the near future.

Fiori are currently supplying a number of cafes around the city, namely Tiger Tiger in the CBD, Boucla in Subiaco, The Blue Duck in Cottesloe, and a bunch of others I have yet to try but will no doubt get around to soon. Stop by one of those places sometime soon and give it a try, or buy some beans yourself if you’re more of a DIY kinda person.

So whilst we in the Perth coffee scene are far from being spoilt for choice, the future is definitely looking brighter with people like Kamran and Louise coming into the market, who actually care about their product and are open and honest in their approach to raising standards. Which is something I really respect.

Fiori Coffee
9 Douglas St, West Perth
T: (08) 9328 4988
www.fioricoffee.com