Noodle Forum, Perth, Western Australia (Alissa and Don Eat Australia)

Though I'm glad I don't have to face the stress of peak hour traffic, there are times I wish I worked in the Perth CBD. With Alissa usually working on Saturdays and many restaurants closed on Sundays, many of the more casual eateries on our Perth CBD wishlist are a real challenge to get to. For this reason, Alissa having a Saturday off from work was an opportunity we just had to make the most of, and we went straight to the top of our list with a long awaited lunch at Noodle Forum.

Formosa Vegetarian Eating House, Kardinya, Western Australia (Alissa and Don Eat Australia)

At the start of June, Alissa and I had the idea that we'd spend the month visiting as many of the vegetarian restaurants in Perth as we could fit in. One thing I'd noticed was that other than places like The Raw Kitchen which have crossed over into the collective consciousness, there is a great dearth of vegetarian restaurant coverage by mainstream food bloggers in Perth, with vegan lifestyle blogs largely being your only hope of finding interesting vegetarian places. I'm definitely not a vegetarian, but as an omnivore in the true sense of the word (ie not a carnivore who is a reluctant vegetable eater) I do feel its important that such restaurants get some coverage by non-vegetarians.

Vegie Bar, Fitzroy, Victoria (Alissa and Don Eat Australia)

Vegie Bar needs very little in the way of an introduction. A fixture of Fitzroy's vibrant restaurant scene, Vegie Bar has been cooking contemporary vegetarian food for over 20 years, and still draws crowds 7 nights a week (or at least every weeknight I've walked past). When my friends Jake and Tegan moved to Melbourne it was one of the first places they were taken to, and when I came over to Melbourne to see Prince in 2012 they passed on the knowledge for one of the most memorable meals of the trip. Alissa had also enjoyed a meal at Vegie Bar before we had met, so when planning our 2014 Melbourne trip it was one of the first restaurants locked in.

La Panella Bakery, Preston, Victoria (Alissa and Don Eat Australia)

Local knowledge cannot be underestimated in the hunt for good food. Sure, picking up a copy of the Good Food Guide might help you find interesting places that even the average local may know nothing about, but there is a certain depth of knowledge that comes with actually living in a city; I know that my ability to find interesting middle-of-nowhere suburban gems in Perth is greatly enhanced by the fact I live there, and I have to resign myself to the fact that discoveries like a ex-Vue de Monde chef cooking at a Melbourne bowls club are the kind of surprise finds that a tourist is unlikely to just stumble upon.

When making arrangements to stay with our friends Jake and Tegan in the suburb of Preston, Jake informed me of a nearby bakery that we had to try. Prior to him becoming a vegan, I used to jokingly tease Jake's preference for burgers and junk food as being 'the rearguard of the culinary arts', in contrast to the avant-garde of Molecular Gastronomy. Its a term that has stuck - in spite of the Dude Food trend suggesting that he was perhaps just really ahead of the pack.
"It's a bit rearguard, but their vegan pies are very convincing... or at least we find them to be," Jake informed me over the phone.
Interested to see what local knowledge can uncover, I added La Panella to our schedule of places to visit. Located on Preston's High St, the tired and dated appearance of the bakery's facade comes complete with missing letters in the 'Hot [Br]ead' signage that adorns the wall. This place is vegan? Where's the green paint job that signifies healthiness and sustainability? Where's the hipster-pleasing industrial chic with the Edison-style light bulbs? It looks a lot like any old school no-frills run of the mill independent bakery, which makes the fact its food is largely vegan all the more remarkable.

Kitchen Inn, Kardinya, Western Australia (Alissa and Don Eat Australia)

Outside of blogging, I'm a keen collector of vinyl records, in particular focusing on Soul and all its subgenres both old and new. One of the great pleasures of record collecting is when you dig up a record by someone who didn't blow up the way a Stevie Wonder or a Marvin Gaye did, but nevertheless put out work that, while obscure to the mainstream, is consistently excellent (see Sam Dees or Lou Courtney for example). In exploring Perth's restaurants I find a similar satisfaction; as fun as it is visiting a new, on-trend eatery in a blue chip prime location, its the discovery of hidden gems surprisingly buried in suburbia that are probably the most rewarding.

My parents had been raving about Kitchen Inn for almost a year now, but for whatever reason it was only after an aborted visit for a dirt cheap meal at G'Fun Cafe on South Street that eventually brought us to this unassuming restaurant buried in a small row of shops in suburban Kardinya. Literally under 10 minutes from home its a wonder we never got here sooner, but I guess unless driving through suburbia is your thing you'd never know it even existed. However seeing Kitchen Inn's subheading of 'Your Handmade Noodle Shop' (my italics)  I was really excited. I'm a massive wanton noodles fanatic, and though ramen has quickly overtaken it as my noodle dish of choice, it remains a strong, nostalgic favourite that conjures up memories of my childhood.

Francoforte Spaghetti Bar, Northbridge, Western Australia (Alissa and Don Eat Australia)

Alissa and I hardly ever go out for Italian food. Not because we don't like it - on the contrary - but it was one of the first cuisines I learnt to cook and understand, and with Jamie's Italy, the exceptionally good The Art of Pasta and a plethora of other cookbooks at home to scour for ideas, we tend to eat Italian at home instead. Combine that with the fact it's generally seen as acceptable to charge $20-30 for a bowl of pasta and yet under $10 can get you a bowl of ramen, dining out for Italian ends up being saved for an 'event' meal rather than casually popping in somewhere the way Alissa and I do for Japanese and Vietnamese food. So when I heard there was a fairly new pasta joint in the (recently) hip arcade at 189 William St with prices in the under $20 price bracket, we had to try it out.

Hidden away down Arcade 189, the restaurant may not be the easiest to find if you don't know what you're looking for, so the chalkboard easel standing near the arcade entrance was a comforting sign that we were heading the right way.

In a move that must surely warm the hearts of Perth hipsters hoping to be ahead of the curve, the restaurant's signage is notable for the glaring omission of its own name, instead featuring an image of a fork next to three squiggly lines. In spite of this 'in the know' right of passage, the glyphs' representation of a fork and pasta was clear enough a signifier that this was indeed the place we were looking for - Francoforte Spaghetti Bar.

The interior featured a very contemporary bare bones design - wood panelling on the right wall, an exposed, intentionally crappy industrial feature wall on the left, a long communal table, a few smaller tables and bar seating by the window.

We were here for Alissa's birthday weekend as a catch up with her brother Ben (centre) and his partner Kelsey (left). With Alissa's parents having moved away from Perth, it was particularly good to see Ben and Kelsey and spend some time with her immediate family still in Perth. After perusing the menu, we decided to go with a plate of the Antipasto for Two to share between the four of us, and a large bowl of pasta each.

The Antipasto for Two was a fairly standard combination of cheese, bread, italian sausage, olives and capsicum, some fresh vegetables and a few slices of rockmelon. These kind of plates are fairly simple assembly jobs, so its really down to the quality of the produce on hand to impress. Everything was good but not exactly surprising, with the exception of the olives and the rockmelon. The olives presented here had a softer flavour than the usually super-salty variety most of us are used to, and as such was definitely above average. The slices of rockmelon were very sweet and refreshing, combining well with many of the other components on the plate. If going with the smaller bowl size of pasta, it would probably be advisable to go with a plate of this antipasto to share between two rather than the between four we attempted, but was probably right considering the size of the large bowl.

Ben and I ordered the same dish - the decidedly hipsterish Kale Pesto consisting of kale and lemon, pine nuts, almonds, pecorino cheese and cacciatore sausage,  with some added chilli as a side order. I've had all kinds of pestos over the years and it always exciting to try a new take on something I've repeatedly proclaimed as being the king of pasta sauces. The use of kale here instead of the more orthodox choice of basil was inspired, making a convincing case that this healthy vegetable is so much more than the ever predictable kale chip suggests. When I've eaten them as chips I've found this vegetable can be bit on the bitter side, yet in this context and cut by the lemon, it tasted very nice indeed. The slices of cacciatore sausage on top were unnecessary but a welcome bonus to what was ultimately the dish of the night.

In spite of these positives, the execution was not without its faults. There was a glaringly obvious issue with the dish as it tasted as if there was little to no salt added, or someone forgot the 'season to taste' step before serving the dishes to us. This was an easy enough fix as there was a salt shaker on the table, but generally speaking I'd expect a dish to come to the table with no reason to reach for the shakers. Also, Ben and I both thought that a few whole pine nuts on top would have been a nice garnish.

Alissa was tossing up between the Guanciale Carbonara (cured pigs cheek!) and the Cartdriver's Pasta. She eventually decided to go with the latter, a combination of porcini and portabello funghi, tuna and tomato. Alissa commented on how decent the serving sizes were, and thought their was a good balance of tuna, mushrooms and sauce, and that the spring onion was a welcome touch. As with the Kale Pesto, Alissa thought this dish needed more salt and possibly more garlic too - an assessment I would concur with. After adding some salt and chilli the dish markedly improved, becoming punchier and more robust in flavour though she ultimately admitted to have serious dish envy looking at the Kale Pesto.

Though not a vegan, Kelsey decided to go with the (Wish You Were) Vegan as she thought the limitation might result in a more interesting option. A combination of spinach, mushroom, cannellini beans and fresh tomatoes, Kelsey had originally not asked for extra chilli, however her initial impression of the dish was that it was a little on the bland side, needed more garlic and that she really had to dig to find the mushrooms. Kelsey half-jokingly suggested adding parmesan would probably have made it even better, though of course de-veganising it.  After adding salt and chilli to bolster the flavours, she felt it was really nice and in particular thought the cannellini beans were delicious. Having tried a forkful myself, I felt it was quite similar to Alissa's order and that the beans filled the role of a meat analogue admirably.

The Verdict: Very Good
I read someone on Urbanspoon refer to Francoforte as 'the best pasta in Perth', which I think is either unfairly hyperbolic or naive, and undermines the value of what these guys are about. We have much better pasta restaurants in Perth, but those restaurants are pitched at a much higher price point and thus fill a different niche. I think what Francoforte are offering is really commendable - a no frills, rustico pasta specialist offering very good pasta for a reasonable price in a central location. There certainly was a hole in the market and they have filled it commendably. They have some work to do in terms of getting their seasoning right, but overall Francoforte Spaghetti Bar was a satisfying meal. We'll definitely be back; I've gotta know what their Guanciale Carbonara tastes like...

Co-op Dining (Vegetarian Experimental Menu), East Perth, Western Australia (Alissa and Don Eat Australia)

In Heston at Home, Heston Blumenthal says 'meat is one of the most exciting ingredients to cook, because it's a real technical challenge, but when you get it right the results can be sublime'. As a cook, I strongly agree; there is something really satisfying about cooking chicken breast that isn't dry, or a sous vide salmon that is perfect medium rare from top to bottom. I enjoy a meal with good protein content and the challenge of cooking it right, however I'd contend an even greater challenge is to make a vegetarian multi-course meal that is so good that an omnivore won't miss the fact that the protein content is either absent or limited to non-meat sources.

Of course having a preference for pesto (its the king of pasta sauces) and cooking from Ottolenghi's cookbooks has meant I've had many wonderful vegetarian meals. But a vegetarian degustation? That's something else. And it's not just my perception - when you look at a list of 'best vegetarian restaurants in Perth' or 'best vegan-friendly restaurants', there is a distinct lack of fine dining degustation options that immediately pop up alongside the stereotypical hippie cafes, and if they do they charge the same as their omnivore degustations that features waygu and expensive seafood items. There is often a misconception that all vegetarians and vegans mustn't like food due to their dietary restrictions, but that's simply not true - I have many friends who have made moral decisions against meat eating who are undeniably passionate foodies. Surely fine dining restaurants can do better than the token mushroom risotto and, unless its heavy on the truffles or other particularly expensive ingredients, offer a vegetarian degustation for a lower price?

Kiren and Kelli Mainwaring's Co-op Dining is not strictly a vegetarian restaurant, however due to their strong seasonal/regional farm-to-table and foraging ethos the restaurant's dishes feature a plethora of quality locally sourced vegetables, and their regular 5 or 10 course degustations feature inventive vegetarian courses. There is good news for those who have a strictly vegetarian diet - every Tuesday Co-op Dining offer an experimental 5-course vegetarian degustation menu using 'Tuesday's fresh from the farm produce' for a very reasonable $69, cheaper than the usual $95 asking price for the degustation with meat. They are also happy to tailor your meal to you dietary requirements should you require gluten free or vegan.

Keeping with the sustainable theme, Alissa and I decided to use public transport and our bikes to get to the restaurant's location in the fine dining mecca that is East Perth. We were greeted by our very friendly waiter and sommelier, Eric and David respectively, and ushered to our very comfortable booth table in the corner. The unstuffy and comfortable atmosphere was very welcoming, complete with a very modern soundtrack of hip-hop, reggae and soul playing in the background.

We were struck by David's sheer passion for wine, and after discovering we were Pinot drinkers suggested a lovely Monomeith Estate Pinot Noir by Lucy Margaux Vineywards to accompany our meal. This was a lovely wine, with all the wonderful cherry and raspberry notes I expect in a good example of this varietal.

The obligatory bread was brought out, with a choice between a white roll and the seed bread Alissa and I decided to go with. The bread was a good seeded multigrain but nothing overly special.

What elevated the bread to a memorable dish was the mushroom butter. On the table it looked like mustard, and it was only after we'd already spread it on that Eric explained what it was. Mixed with what I'm guessing is porcini powder, this butter had a wonderful unexpected umami kick. Co-op were off to a good start.

The first course was a fairly simple dish of watermelon topped with a ginger granita. This dish was all clean, fresh summer flavours; the sweetness of the watermelon and the contrast of ginger zing in the refreshingly cold form of a granita worked to cleanse or palates and cool us down after the uncomfortable heat of a hot Perth day. It made me almost wish I had gone for the wine pairing, as a nice dry riesling or similar would have been a great accompaniment.

I'm not a fan of celery, so when our next dish was brought out I was a bit worried that I hadn't mentioned this to the staff. This second course was a salad of shredded fennel & celery, radish, avocado puree, tomato powder and ingredient I recognised and have long wanted to try - samphire. One taste of the salad, and all my fears of hating this course were quickly allayed. Just as I like cucumber only when finely sliced, the overpowering flavour of celery was tempered by the fine slicing and being mixed with the equally powerful (though more agreeable) flavour of fennel. With a nice tangy dressing, this was a gorgeous, crisp salad. Dipping it into the avocado puree added a lovely creaminess, and the savouriness of the tomato powder only added more interest to the dish. Radishes were again nice and crisp, but the star of the dish was the samphire. Having never eaten it before, Alissa and I didn't know what to expect however we found its pleasing saltiness and intensity of flavour to be very delicious. I saved mine for the last mouthful to end on a high. I could have easily eaten more of these.

Noting that we were enjoying the wine, David admitted that it would be nicer in a varietal specific glass. When I said we had some Riedel pinot glasses back home, David said we should bring them with us next time! Though not perfect, he found us another wider glass and decanted the Pinot for us to try, and it did indeed taste different - more open and with a stronger bouquet.

The next dish of grilled corn, capsicum and broccoli florets came served in the kind of asymmetrical white bowls I'ma sucker for.

As a bit of tableside theatre, a sweet corn puree/soup was poured over the dish in front of us by the chef.

Owing largely to the corn, this course was wonderfully sweet. Grilled corn and capsicum may seem like a fairly simple dish, but prepared here so expertly and with such quality ingredients it was exquisite. The slight char flavour and the bursting juiciness of the corn had Alissa and I both saying 'mmmm'.

Just one look at the next dish as it arrived at our table, and we knew the egg was sous vide. Eric confirmed that it was indeed sous vide egg cooked for an hour, served with fried shallots & kale, balls of scooped potato, cauliflower, courgettes, straw mushrooms, pumpkin puree, mushroom powder and the surprising incorporation of native sandalwood nuts. This was even more delicious than the previous course, with the cauliflower, courgettes and potato being cooked to a level where they were softer than raw by not soggy and overcooked - just perfect. The fried shallots and kale were addictively good and provided a lot of the flavour, as did the sweetness of the pumpkin puree. Even if the egg were not included, the nuts did the neat trick I've seen in many an Ottolenghi salad of providing protein content and beefing up the dish. This was our first time eating sandalwood nuts, and they tasted similar to hazelnuts but with a subtle sandalwood aroma about them. Very interesting. And of course the sous vide egg was perfectly cooked, with the combination of  runny yolk and mushroom powder acting like an additional sauce. Alissa really liked this course, and was very tempted to lick the plate clean (for etiquette's sake, she settled on scraping the plate instead).

Alissa's favourite course of the evening was the dessert course of honey and vanilla ice cream, figs, nectarines poached with kaffir lime, pistachio crumble, and powdery clumps of fennel prepared in a manner I couldn't quite discern. This was truly top notch, easily up there with some of the best fine dining dessert courses we've had. The components all complemented each other; the ice cream had a wonderfully smooth texture and relatively neutral flavour, the poached nectarines imparted a sweet tartness made all the better by the addition of kaffir lime, the fresh figs a summery sweetness, the pistachio crumble textural interest and the fennel an aniseed kick. Just the kind of summery, fresh dessert I was hoping for. 

This was the end of the five courses, however we were offered an additional cheese course if we wanted. Knowing that they make their own cheese, we decided to partake in this extra course. David suggested a Margaret River Gewürztraminer to go with the cheese. We went with a glass each however I forgot to take down its name. This was partially due to David's enthusiasm, as he brought out a complimentary tasting of Irvine MV Meslier Brut to try.

The cheese was guernsey rolled in paprika, served with sweet onions and olive. It has a similar crumbly-soft texture to goat's cheese. Neither of us has been served a cheese course in this fashion, as it's generally served as a share plate. Earlier in the evening I'd asked Alissa if this was the best vegetarian meal she'd had, and after a bit of thought said, 'no, the best would probably have been something with some cheese'.
As we were eating this course I said, 'so, you got your cheese. Best vegetarian meal?'
Alissa nodded as she ate another mouthful of the cheese. Yes, definitely.

To finish our meal, a palate cleanser of kombucha with sparkling water was served. Neither of us have had kombucha before, and we found it to be very refreshing.

The Verdict: Exceptional
Co-op Dining definitely met the challenge of vegetarian fine dining, and left both of us very impressed with the high quality of the local produce and the skill of the chef. This was the best vegetarian meal either of us have had, and this Tuesday special would be an excellent choice for vegetarians and vegans looking for a special meal at a good price. Regardless of the vegetarian qualifier, this was an exceptional meal. Service was very friendly and attentive, with David giving us some excellent suggestions for a return visit such as asking for the wine to be decanted ahead of time and bringing our own glassware if we so wished. Alissa and I are by no means small eaters, so I'm not sure what some of the negative reviewers on Urbanspoon were expecting as we left feeling satisfied with the quality and quantity of food we had eaten. Co-op left us very impressed, and we will definitely be back for their full 10 course degustation in the near future.

Millets of Mewar, Udaipur, India (Alissa and Don Eat Asia Day 14, Part 1)

By the time I'm a week into India, the constant diet of curry starts to take its toll. Sure, there are a plethora of vegetarian options in India, but these are only marginally healthier with their liberal use of dairy products and ghee. The lack of fresh vegetables due to fear of food poisoning makes you seriously start to miss the simple pleasure of a crunchy raw vegetable or a healthy salad, and when you can find a place with reputable cleanliness its almost a godsend.

Located on the same west side of the lake as Ambrai but preceding the annoying alley of touting, Millets of Mewar proclaims itself as a 'Healthy Indian Fusion Restaurant' and is one of the few places outside of Jain restaurants that serve vegan food (most vegetarian restaurants in India are usually lacto-vegetarian). Serving a clientele of often dreadlocked, largely American hippie stereotypes, I was initially disappointed to see the first floor lacking in tables with only lizard lounge mattresses on the floor. While I don't mind sitting like this for a cup of coffee, I don't particularly like eating without a table. Thankfully, an upper floor with table and chair dining was offered to us.

The menu was filled with interesting and delicious sounding vegetarian dishes, including pizzas with the option of vegan cheese. Not being vegans this didn't particularly matter either way for us, however for those who don't touch dairy its worth noting. Alissa decided to go with the Mushroom Mixed Vegetarian Pizza, I went with the Indian Taco and excited by the idea of greens we decided to share a Spinach and Beetroot Salad, along with a Banana Date Shake with coconut milk and vegan raw date coconut ladoo balls.

The service here was terribly slow. It took them quite a while before they even came to take our order, and then once taken it seemed like an inordinately long wait before our dishes were brought out. At that point they also stated that the Spinach and Beetroot Salad was not available, so we went with Sprouted Bean Salad with Peanut and Tamarind instead as it also sounded very nice. 

My Indian Taco was pretty cool – two shells placed together filled with a moong bean paste, a coleslaw-like salad with mayo and a very nice salsa that tasted like it had hints of Indianised spice additions to the usual Mexican original. This was tasty and fresh. It was lovely chewing crunchy raw vegetables after so long!

Alissa Vegetarian Pizza was good too, seeming to use the same salsa sauce from my taco as a base. Though of course cooked, it was again still nice to have a vegetarian meal – especially combined with the comforting nature of decent pizza. I've definitely had better pizza back home in Perth, but it hit the spot on that day.

I should mention too that the Banana Date Shake was very tasty. Not exactly super healthy, but coconut milk worked very well with the banana and date flavours – better than milk would have.

After finishing our meals, we wait for a while of our salad. It never came. It seems like there must have been some mix up and our order for the Sprouted Salad never reached the kitchen. We were having a fairly chill day, but after all this wait we decided we didn't want the salad that much, and collected our ladoo balls, paid the bill and left. 

The ladoo balls were nice sweet desserts  – very much like raw vegan desserts I've had back home, but so much better because of the signature Indian dessert spice – cardamon. Cardamon is one of my favourite spices, and it definitely elevated the dish in my esteem. As far as being called a ladoo ball though – it tasted nothing like a 'real ladoo'. I quite dislike when a dish is 'veganised' but bears little resemblance in taste to the real thing. Nothing to do with it being vegan per se, but I feel this does the vegan version a disservice insofar as in my mind I'm expecting one flavour and getting something that does not at all match with the image in my head. So as a new, different dessert these ladoo balls were very good in their own right, however if you're expecting a raw vegan version that actually is close in taste to a traditional ladoo this is not the ladoo you're looking for.

The Verdict: Good

When you've been on a non-stop curry eating binge its nice to have a change. Millets of Mewar definitely was what we were looking for at the time, though in the great scheme of things its not necessarily the best vegetarian restaurant I've eaten at. But a far as a safe place to eat raw veges in Udaipur goes Millets of Mewar is a good option.