Cafe – Page 3 – Abstract Gourmet

Worlds best fruit mince pies

Are made by my mum. Anne-Marie of The Corrigin Mallee Tree Cafe & Gallery. The recipe is a secret, but if you want to taste perfection, look no further than a little cafe on the main street of Corrigin, in the heart of the West Australian Wheatbelt.

Corrigin is about 230 kms from Perth, out the Brookton Hwy and a worthy spot for anyone looking for a nice relaxing slice of West Australian country air.

West Australian readers should do themselves a favour and take a trip through the wheatbelt soon. Beyond Corrigin there is that 8th wonder of the world Wave Rock, the 9th wonder, Wagin’s giant ram, and 10th -> 17th wonders of lesser known rock formations and ant hills.

Anne-Marie has a reputation in the town, the district, and the greater West Australian baking landscape as an expert of the fruitmince pie, and has been perfecting her craft for many years now, to the point where she has lines of customers waiting for wares as soon as they come out of the oven. Get one while they’re still hot !

Tiger, Tiger

Tiger, Tiger is the kind of place that people who hang around the kitchen at parties will like. That’s according to Clare Wayne, the owner of this funky little inner city coffee oasis, who I think may have a point.

Clare is slowly carving out a little slice of the CBD for her very own, and crafting it into the kind of place where people can feel comfortable hanging out, and perhaps find a bit of solace in this hectic (wait am I talking about Perth) city. Complete with plush booths, eclectic furniture (sourced individually), a burgeoning herb garden, and some damn fine coffee.

Clare was the manager at Oxford 130 for a long time, so running a cafe is like second nature to her. Never short of an opinion, she’s quick to make sure cocky lad-about-town (ha!) coffee geeks like me know exactly what kind of effort goes into running one too… and it’s that passion (horrible but inevitable word) and drive that sets her apart from your run of the mill “how many people can we get through the doors today” cafes that abound in our fair city.

Tiger, Tiger (I really should ask if Clare is a William Blake fan) is located in Murray Mews. If you’re not familiar with a mews… it’s kind of a cross between a lane and an alleyway, the most important part being that it is hidden or secluded. I’m not sure how that affects business, but it creates a wonderful secret garden type vibe when you happen across Tiger, Tiger for the first time. It’s tucked away in a corner in between Hay and Murray Streets, turning past clothing store El Dorado (I’m sure all you fashionistas) know that one), and 100m or so back from the Belgian Beer Cafe (scene of my glass stealing infamy in the days before you had to give them your shoe).

The coffee they are using is Fiori (more on them later), and it’s really starting to hit it’s strides. On a cruisey Thursday morning last week I popped in and sampled a fine short macchiato that had excellent body, as well as just the right amount of sweetness from the milk to keep my taste buds happy. Clare, and roving barista Jackson are pumping out some great shots, and are producing what would be the peak expression of the Fiori blend at this point in time.

Aside from the coffee (and a superb hot chocolate with dessicated coconut in it), they also have a little kitchen, and make fresh meals daily and have a commitment to using organic produce.

The crowd is just as eclectic as the furniture. From coffee nerds like me, to every flavour of trendy (and not so) business types, to the rest of the hipsters who have somehow found themselves no longer in Leederville. They all add to the vibe of the place, creating a sophisticated but grungy atmosphere that would not be out of place in a quiet Melbourne lane way.

So next time you’re wandering through the “west end”, take the time to peer down a few of the little alleys and you may just come across a hidden gem or two.

Tiger, Tiger
Shop 4, Murray Mews
329 Murray St, Perth
t: 9322 8055
f: 9322 8077
http://tigertigercoffeebar.com/

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Hard Copy

Just a little note to West Australian readers that might be interested. One of the photos I took of latte art at Epic Espresso was used in the West Australian newspaper’s “Fresh” section on Thursday the 9th November as part of a short piece on the new cafe. I’m not sure why I get a buzz out of having my work in print, it’s not like I don’t have countless outlets for creative expression, but it’s still kinda cool. It was uncredited, but I’m hoping to rectify that when I get more experienced in this whole photography game. It was also cropped a bit in the paper, so for the record, the full photo is here. It wasn’t my favourite shot, but it’s still nice to see it get a slightly wider audience. Any cafe owners looking to get some quality shots done can feel free to shoot me an email before my ego (too late) and prices go through the roof… ha :)

Velvet Espresso

The latest in the line of sexy new cafes run by people who know their stuff has hit the CBD. Velvet Espresso on King St is now open for business and pouring a fine brew indeed. I dropped by for lunch with Ben (W.A Barista Academy honcho and pin up boy for the Perth coffee scene) this week to check out the place and see how it all stacked up.

Justin Kenny, owner and barista of Velvet has a good track record in the Perth cafe scene. He owned Fix Espresso back in the days when it was actually making good coffee, and gained a reputation as a man who knows his stuff, quiety going about his work and impressing with the results.

Velvet Espresso is an excellent addition to the King St set. It’s relaxed but stylish, with lush dark wood tones on the tables and a Florence Broadhurst print on the walls. It looks the part, but what is more important… it tastes the part.
The King St area is currently dominated by cafes that earnt their reputations a long time ago (King St Cafe), and who now have fallen away into what I term espresso mediocrity (Cino to Go, Etro). They might look fancy, but the quality in the cup is a long way from ideal. Velvet changes all that.

Justin is using a great locally roasted ‘5 Senses’ blend. It’s full bodied and robust, with a bit of edge to it, and a slightly spicey aftertaste. It’s what I’d call a great drinking coffee, and it works well in a short cup as well as in milk. The shots are pulled quite short to get the best elements of the flavour, without the lingering bitterness that so often destroys a shot of espresso. What’s more important though, is that it’s all a work in progress for Justin. He’s still refining his blend to get the exact flavour and style of espresso that he wants. A concept that I’m sure is completely alien to the majority of cafe owners in this city, who are happy with whatever Vittoria or Segafredo or “Insert Generic Italian Sounding Crap Coffee Brand Here” gives them.

They’re also serving some very tasty sandwiches and rolls, and Justin’s mum’s friands (that she bakes fresh each morning) are bordering on levels of tastiness to rival some of *my* mum’s baking (well, close anyway :) ).

If you work in the CBD, go and check out Velvet Espresso. It won’t disappoint.

Velvet Espresso
5/172 St George’s Tce (Enter on King St)
Perth

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Latte Art Pro Style

WPvideo 1.10

Download!

I dropped into Epic again yesterday and learnt an important lesson. If you hang around long enough talking to the barista’s you get handed all sorts of great coffee to try :)

I happened to come in while Megan (W.A Latte Art Champion this year) was going through the motions of making and perfecting every drink on the menu… just for practice (!) My latte art skills are quite obviously lacking compared to this… but perhaps one day I’ll be able to pull a few of them out. The coffee again was great.

Epic Espresso

Last Friday I headed down with great anticipation to see the latest addition to Perth’s burgeoning gourmet coffee scene, Epic Espresso. Epic is the vision of former “Core Espresso” owner, and all round coffee obsessive Corey Diamond.

The place looks nice. Sexy fit-out with wood tones and funky furniture throughout, and some crazy machinery sitting on the bar. To start with is the 2 x 3 group Synesso Cyncra’s… the top of the line in commercial espresso at the moment, and a small feat of engineering brilliance. I had the pleasure of playing around on one of them recently at the Perth Food & Wine Festival, and they are sweet. Next on the list is the sizable stack of Mazzer grinders. There are three Mazzer Roburs (two of them running off three-phase power, and another from regular power), and a Mazzer Mini (on the first day) for Decaf, that has since been replaced by a Mazzer Super Jolly. All that gear alone would cost more than I’d like to think… let alone the heavy duty ceramic cups, stylish new tea infusers, and an array of milk steaming jugs that could equip a small army (of milk steaming soldiers).

Needless to say, Corey is not one for doing things halfheartedly. Epic is his vision for raising the standard of coffee in Perth, and from what I’ve seen it’s done that already.

Stepping into the shop on opening day I was greeted by the lovely baristi, and asked what to order. I thought i’d better start with a flat white and work my way on from there. All of epics coffees come with a double shot as standard, they have a policy of sending all their flat whites out with latte art on top, so mine was presented with a lovely rosetta. Aside from looking great though… it tasted phenomenal. The espresso cut through the milk nicely and although I’m pretty bad at describing flavours it had a definitely chocolaty after taste… If you’re one of those 2 sugars in your coffee by default people… it may be a good place to start getting out of that habit.

Next I tried a double ristretto shot of the Capricorn Estate Singe Origin. Epic dedicated one of its grinders solely to single origin espresso (which is funnily enough, coffee beans that are sourced entirely from one place, and not blended). This week/month (?) It’s an Australian grown coffee, and a good one at that. A lot of single origins don’t stand up on their own as espressos, and there is much debate about whether they should be used for espresso at all… but I think it’s great to have the ability to try and taste different coffees, and to help educate people into not thinking of coffee as just a bitter black liquid you have to pour sugar into for your morning caffeine hit. It’s by tasting single origins that you get to see the vast array of flavours that are possible.

So next on to the hot chocolate. This is made with molten Belgian chocolate which is ladelled into a small steaming jug. Then milk is added and it’s steamed together to a nice thick consistency. Then poured out and extra molten chocolate poured over the top. No need for tacky marshmallows or the like…this is luxury in a cup… without the sickly sweet tasty that most hot chocolates suffer from… sure to be a hit.

Finally, when I thought i was finished, and had a nice little buzz going from all the coffee (4 shots so far), Corey suggests I try the piccolo latte… which he thinks works really nicely with the espresso blend they’re using (another 5 Senses blend).
He was right… deep rich espresso and steamed milk… A great way to get the flavour of the coffee and the sweetness of the milk in one package.

All in all, 6 shots of coffee, and the happy satisfaction of knowing there is somewhere I can count on to get great coffee when my Silvia (Rancilio) decides to give me hassles. Looking forward to heading back soon and keeping them honest… but I expect lots of good things to come.

Epic Espresso
Outtram St (turn left off Hay St, just down from Miss Mauds)
West Perth

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Italy Home Made

At a recent Perth blogger meetup I ran into Kay, who raved in a nonchalant but cooly excited way about Italy Home Made, a little pasta bar on Charles St in North Perth.

I know the place pretty well, although in its former incantation… Poppies. Poppies is a cute little cafe tucked into a small group of shops, along Charles St in North Perth, a few streets before you get to Scarborough Beach Rd. We used to duck in there for late breakfasts and early lunches on the way back from the city on a Sunday afternoon or morning, and always managed to find a decent coffee and tasty meal.

Well Poppies is still there, but they have now extended the shop out to twice the size, and turned one half of the place into “Italy Home Made”. Basically a DIY pasta bar whose main angle is that all the pasta is made fresh on the premises daily.

So one afternoon last week I happened to be driving by and thought… I must just try this new place that Kay was raving about. Never one to turn down a good recommendation (until the day someone recommended Fasta Pasta to me that is), I decided to head in and check it out again.

So basically you choose the size of the pasta you want. Small, Medium, Large, Jumbo

The you choose the type of pasta you want. Fusili, Linguini, Fettucini, Spaghetti, etc

Then you choose what you want to have on it. I chose Atlantic, which was a creamy sauce mixed with smoked salmon and capers.

Then the dude goes away and collects all the bits he needs, drops the pasta into some water and puts the sauce and toppings into a pan, and then combines it together. Toasts some little bread rolls for you and puts some grated parmesan into a little cup.

It was pretty quiet when I went in, and I had my meal (which was a large, and there was a lot in there) in around 10 minutes, which is pretty good for food of that quality. The pasta was nice, the sauces complimented well, and the fillings were very tasty.

I’d still like to know who decided that smoked salmon and capers were the perfect combination for each other though. I’m imagining some big conference where all the foods get together and have some kind of speed dating face off to work out who should is right for one another… Salt and Pepper clearly hit it off, Olive oil and balsamic vinegar were drawn together by their differences, and poor little Anchovy sat alone in the corner, in a pile of his own salty tears.

But I digress…

Italy Home Made is a great cafe with top food that will serve you well for a quick lunch, easy dinner (they are open in the evenings til quite late and are BYO wine with no corkage), or “I can’t be stuffed cooking but don’t want some crappy fried chicken type meal” takeaway solution. Check em out.

Italy Home Made
Shop 1 & 2, 299 Charles St
North Perth
(08) 9328 6350

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