Little Bao, Central, Hong Kong (Alissa and Don Eat Asia)

Although a long time favourite order at Dim Sum restaurants and as a snack throughout Asia, the humble steamed bun or Bao has reached even greater heights of ubiquity in the post-Momofuku culinary world. The Momofuku Pork Bun must be one of the most heavily copied and replicated dishes of modern times, with entire restaurants and menus almost obsessively based around variations on the steamed bun theme, such as Wonderbao in Melbourne. Given its almost viral spread and continuing influence over a decade since the opening of Noodle Bar, it begs the question - have we reached Peak Bao? Not yet, if Little Bao in Hong Kong is anything to go by.

Momofuku Seiobo (Bar Menu), Pyrmont, New South Wales (Alissa and Don eat Australia)

When creating the shortlist of places to check out during our trip to Sydney, Momofuku Seiobo was one of the places that I knew was non-negotiable. As long time fan of David Chang (I even cooked a dinner of Momofuku Ko dishes late last year), a visit to a Momofuku restaurant has been on my restaurant bucket list for many years, and I was not going to let the opportunity to cross one off the list pass me by. The only problem? We had already reserved degustation dinners at LuMi, Cafe Paci and Sepia months in advance, and with other banquet/chef's choice menus at Ms. G's and Nomad also planned, Seiobo's reservation window of 20 days before the requested date came a bit too late to an already crowded and expensive party, and I didn't want to cut any of those other meals out of our plans either. Thankfully, Seiobo had a perfect compromise; their small 5 seat bar offers a limited bar menu for walk-ins, and features that most famous of Momofuku dishes - the Pork Bun. With the promise of Pork Buns and other dishes in the more casual Momofuku style of Noodle Bar and Ssam, Alissa and I set off early for dinner in Pyrmont to avoid any potential queues for the bar.

Mary's, Highgate, Western Australia (Alissa and Don Eat Australia)

While Degustations and Noodle Shops are clearly food genres for which we have high levels of enthusiasm, Alissa and I rarely go out for breakfast. Being more a fan of the kinds of food available at lunch and dinner and somewhat bored of the conventions that define breakfast foods, I'm usually a bit utilitarian in my approach to breaking the fast to save more room for the lunch foods I really want to eat. Plus, with long weekend queues at the places that do serve interesting breakfasts, I'm more likely to end up grabbing an early Banh Mi or heading out nice and early for Dim Sum just as they open than stand around for an hour at all the breakfast hot spots.

For this reason, breakfast at Mary St Bakery has long eluded me. Alissa has been and raved about how good the food was, and blogger friends continually spruiked its greatness in conversation. So when I received an invite to attend a blogger's dinner at Mary St Bakery's nighttime alter-ego Mary's, I jumped at the chance - even when it turned out it was a night Alissa was unable to make it to.

Steak and Food Concepts 2, Bull Creek, Western Australia (Alissa and Don Eat Australia)

As much as I sometimes have a craving for cheap and greasy combination plate/food court Chinese, the sight of Sweet and Sour Pork is always a signifier that the food is most probably not going to be very authentic. It's not that I'm being fussy - I'll still eat it as I sometimes crave its trashiness - but I'm always aware of the fact that this is Asian food bastardised for Western tastes. Sweet and Sour Pork is an easy target for derision since it seems more loved by people of European descent than Asian, however what is not as often acknowledged in the criticism of Westernised Asian food is the lack of authenticity in Easternised European cooking. In my early years growing up in a first generation Australian household, my parents often cooked European food the way they learnt to make it in Singapore because they just didn't know any better at the time. They wouldn't cook like this anymore of course (my Mum is a devoted disciple of Jamie Oliver), so its been a long time since I last tried anything like the home cooked 'European' food of my early childhood. That was until Alissa and I visited the oddly named Steak and Food Concepts 2.

Darlings Supper Club, Northbridge, Western Australia (Alissa and Don Eat Australia)

A few months ago, Alissa and I tried the original menu of Darling Supper Club, a new Asian Fusion themed restaurant and sake bar in Northbridge from the Andy Freeman and Sam Astbury-led creative team behind the incredible Varnish on King, as well as the recently opened Flour Factory. A surprising appearance in the Good Food Guide notwithstanding, the early reviews for Darlings were mixed to say the least, and we sadly had to agree that while the drinks list was characteristically commendable, the food was clumsy in its execution with a seemingly poor understanding about what makes good Asian Fusion food work. This was a real shame as what made Varnish on King's food so impressive was how it over delivered for a place that is ostensibly a whiskey bar, whereas Darlings paradoxically under delivered in spite of being more food focused.

That was in early September. A little over a week ago in mid-November, we received an email inviting us to a bloggers' Sunday lunch at Darlings to try their new menu. Realising that things were not working, Darlings had gone through some major changes; we would learn this included the firing of 5 chefs in three months(!) and the hiring of a trio of new talent in the form of Joel Robert as the new head chef,  an Iron Chef Thailand alum nicknamed 'The Chopper' and Youngwoo from South Korea bringing his sashimi skills and knowledge to the Darlings kitchen. Seeing how seriously the creative team wanted this place to work, Alissa and I immediately said yes. Coincidentally, the event's date - Sunday 23rd of November - marked our first wedding anniversary, providing a lovely opportunity for a celebratory Sunday lunch.

Darlings Supper Club, Northbridge, Western Australia (Alissa and Don Eat Australia)

Edit: This is a review of the earlier, not particularly great original menu served at Darlings. For the more recent and vastly improved menu, check out the more recent review here. 

Alissa and I are massive fans of Varnish on King. Ostensibly a whiskey and wine bar, the quality of the food that they serve is as impressive as their drinks list, with their Beef Short Ribs and Sweet Potato dishes being some of the most memorable and satisfying dishes we've eaten in the last year. So when we heard that Varnish's owner Andy Freeman had just opened an Asian Fusion venue in the form of Darlings Supper Club, we quickly added it to our list of places to check out. With a Truffle Degustation at 1907 and the final service of Dear Friends taking priority due to their limited nature, our planned dinner at Darlings fell by the wayside. Additionally, with early reviews a bit mixed, we decided to give them a bit of time to settle in before we finally popped in for an impromptu dinner in early September.

Nine Fine Food, Highgate, Western Australia (Alissa and Don Eat Australia)

Alissa had had a stressful week. Having worked in theatre for the last few years, Alissa returned to her studies at the beginning of 2014 to become a secondary teacher. The week preceding had been her first exam week since high school (contemporary performance didn't have exams), so on the evening of her last exam I arranged a little light at the end of the tunnel in the form of a reservation at Nine Fine Food. Being massive fans of Japanese food, Nine had been on our list of places to check out for a long time. Located at the corner of Bulwer and Lake Sts in Highgate and serving impressive food for a decade, its easy to forget about an established gem like Nine with all the 'buzzy' new Japanese restaurant openings in the last few years (Nobu, Sushia and Marumo to name a few), however with its consistently strong ratings in the Good Food Guide the restaurant and chef Muneki Song have certainly earned their stripes amongst Perth's best.

MIX, Perth, Western Australia (Alissa and Don Eat Australia)

I'm nothing if not an avid fan of Anthony Bourdain. I watch his food and travel documentaries religiously, and when in Hong Kong enjoyed being a fanboy as I ate the Michelin-starred dim sum of Tim Ho Wan and the incredible roast goose of Yat Lok - two eateries that featured in Hong Kong episodes of either No Reservations or the Layover. When writing about the inaugural Food Truck Rumble in April, I mentioned Roy Choi whose Korean/Mexican fusion food has made him and his food truck business Kogi stars of LA's culinary scene. With Perth becoming increasingly hip to global trends, I assumed the Korean/Mexican trend would eventually find its way here; little did I realise at the time of writing that it had already arrived just a few months before, and that it was called MIX. After being hipped to its existence by some friends, it didn't take long for Alissa and I to find our way down for a Friday night dinner.

Pepper & Salt, Denmark, Western Australia (Alissa and Don Eat Australia)

In January last year, Alissa and I had the pleasure of dining at Pepper & Salt - arguably not just the best restaurant in Denmark, but in the entire Great Southern region as a whole. Owned and operated by chef Silas Masih and his wife Angela, and at that time located at Rockcliffe Winery, the interesting spice-driven fusion food had Alissa and I raving to both our parents. When my parents went down to Denmark later in the year they were similarly impressed with Silas' creativity, and he had spoken to my parents about their plans for a potential expansion. We were thus elated to pick up a copy of the Good Food Guide and discover that Pepper & Salt had made the move to the massive upper deck of Forest Hill's cellar door. Having been the head chef at the cellar door before striking out on his own, it's a fitting homecoming, as well as a reactivation of what was an underutilised space. Heading down for the Anzac Day weekend, a return visit to Pepper & Salt was something I pretty much insisted on.

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.

Pleased To Meet You, Northbridge, Western Australia (Alissa and Don Eat Australia)

Alissa and I have very fond memories of Harvest in North Fremantle. We started dating just before I went away on an eating holiday to Hong Kong, India and Singapore, and upon my return our third date was a lovely dinner at Harvest. When we got married in November last year, our plan had been to book a table at Harvest on our return from our honeymoon, however owner Clinton Nolan had sadly closed this wonderful restaurant a few months earlier to focus on his casual eateries. We've visited Nolan's other establishments, really liking the vibe and extensive selection of alcohol on offer at Who's Your Mumma while both being a bit underwhelmed by the packed like sardines crowd clamouring for the good-but-not-that-good food at La Cholita. So when my quest for the best ramen in Perth revealed Nolan had recently opened Pleased To Meet You - a new ramen-serving,  Asian-inspired joint on Roe St - it quickly moved up the priority queue as a place check out.

The most striking feature of the restaurant's front facade is how utterly non-descript it is. Following a recent, somewhat pretentious trend of including only the most scant information about a place, Pleased To Meet You's main signage simply boasts its address, with a small liquor licensing sign above the door giving the only indication of its name. When the New York Times made seemingly dubious claims of Perth being more of a 'hipster heaven' than Williamsburg, this is the kind of hipster bair practice that gives the writer's assertions some credence; you really have to be in the know to know this place even exists.

The Gaya, Applecross, Western Australia (Alissa and Don Eat Australia)

Starting The Ministry of Gluttony, I knew that there are bloggers who get VIP invites to openings and complimentary meals, but I thought any chance that I would enjoy such a perk would only come after years of writing - if it even came at all. So when I received an email from Leo of The Gaya in Applecross inviting me as a 'power blogger' to come in for a complimentary meal and give my honest feedback, I was surprised and flattered to be asked. Given that I was not obligated to give a glowing review if the meal didn't warrant it, I accepted the invite and made plans with Alissa for a Thursday night dinner.

The Gaya is a Modern Korean restaurant located on Kearns Crescent in Applecross, just south of the Riseley St and Canning Hwy intersection and very close to local favourites Pacific Rim Mix Plate and the similarly named Gala Restaurant. Having seen the Koreatown episode of Anthony Bourdain's Parts Unknown, I was aware of Modern Korean's increasingly popularity in the US. However with even the stereotypical Korean Barbecue joint being somewhat alien to most Australians (Alissa included), this is a restaurant operating in largely untested and uncharted Perth waters.

Arriving via their left side entrance, we were invited to sit wherever we liked, and we chose a well lit table towards the right - all the better to take blog photos from!

The restaurant's interior features a fairly standard Modern Asian design aesthetic - bamboo highlights, screens, lantern shade lighting, and calligraphy works on the walls. Stylish but not overly fussy or stuffy.

As we perused their menu, a selection of biscuits were brought out as an Amuse Bouche. These were nice enough (we particularly liked the peanut cookie), but seemed more like the kind of sweet small bite you'd serve at the end of a meal as Petit Fours. A bit of an odd start, but given that we were pretty hungry it at least keep our stomachs happy as we waited for our meal proper.

For drinks we decided to go with their Yuzu Tea. Yuzu is a wonderful ingredient, and it was really nice presented here in drink form - sweet, almost floral and with a tangy, agreeable acidity.

The Gaya offer a set menu of your choice of starter, main and a selection of desserts for a reasonable $45. Though the meal was complimentary, this is how Alissa and I would have ordered had we come here as paying customers and would be the best way for us to get a sense of what The Gaya were about. For my starter I decided to go with the Fish Jijimi - a kind of traditional Korean fish pancake served with soy mayo. This was really delicious - the thinly cut fish fillets were tender and juicy, and with the pancake element were like a very fine battered fish. The pancake batter was not overly thick, leading Alissa to positively exclaim 'I'm not sure where the fish begins and the pancake begins!' when she tasted it. A relatively straightforward dish, but one that was executed commendably.

Alissa went with the Beef Cream Roll, which consisted of thinly sliced beef wrapped around asparagus, cream cheese, enoki mushroom, capsicum and cucumber in a soy-based, teriyaki-like sauce. I've had cheese in Korean food before, but to me this dish more closely echoed the cream cheese filled fresh spring rolls I've had at Japanese restaurant Ha-Lu in Mt Hawthorn combined with the thinly sliced beef we ate at Iggy's in Singapore. The cream cheese, vegetables and beef were a wonderful combination that made this another winning entree, even if the beef was not quite as tender as the incredible melt-in-your-mouth texture of Iggy's dish (though in the higher price bracket of Iggy's, this is to be expected).

While waiting for our mains,  beautifully plated surprise trays of small bites were brought out for us to enjoy. This included spicy daikon radish, a kimchi cabbage ball, small fish cakes and some spicy tuna. These were all fine and well made; about what I would expect for each of them in terms of taste and flavour and a nice complimentary selection for us to nibble on as we waited for our mains.

We didn't have to wait very long, and my main of 36 Pork was easily the dish of the night. The pork belly slices were cooked sous-vide for 36 hours and seasoned perfectly, the result having an amazing melt-in-your-mouth unctuousness. This was up there with some of the best cooked pork belly I've eaten, and made a great argument for why sous-vide is much more than 'just playing with science'. The remaining components were also excellent, with the sweet potato mash so smooth it must have been forced through a sieve and the combination of the very European pork side of apples with the Korean chive salad and spicy soybean paste sauce worked better than I had expected. This was a superb dish, and one that was masterfully executed.

Alissa's choice of mains was the Gaya Combo consisting of pan fried mackerel served with slices of omelette-style eggs, tempura zucchini, macaroni salad and kimchi served with rice and soup. Mackerel is not one of the easiest fish to cook as it can often result in a dry, brittle fish that is not great eating if overdone. This was not the case with the Gaya's mackerel, which was well seasoned and cooked perfectly. The sides were very tasty too, with Alissa and I both really enjoying the tempura zucchini and the sweet, creamy soup. It may not have been quite as exciting or as exceptional as the 36 Pork, but it maintained the consistent standard of cooking we had experienced so far.

From there it was time for dessert, and being an ice cream fanatic I had to go with the Green Tea Ice Cream. Made in house by the chef, this ice cream tasted a lot like a good quality vanilla ice cream with the kick of macha added. When making ice cream, it always critical to get a smooth texture with minimal ice crystal formation, and Gaya's definitely passed the test. The serving size was reasonable, however given the presentation and complexity of Alissa's dessert, it could possibly have been presented with another component to be a more well-rounded dish.

The Red Misu seems to be the Gaya's signature dessert; their version of a tiramisu served in a flower pot -complete with fake garden and rocks. The presentation of this dish was excellent with the illusion being believable right down to the detail on the chocolate stones.

Of course presentation is one thing; its no good having a beautiful dessert that is not very tasty. Thankfully, this was a delicious dessert - a nice, balanced tiramisu that was not overly alcoholic or overly rich as some can be. Most inspired as well was the inclusion of red bean, which brought an unusual texture and additional interest to the dish. I usually would choose ice cream over what is basically a cake (not my favourite), but I'd pick this over the ice cream as the better of the two desserts.

The Verdict: Excellent
Alissa and I left Gaya feeling very satisfied with our meal, and felt that $45 was quite reasonable for the serving size and the quality. The 36 Pork alone would bring us back as paying customers as it was a dish more expensive and established restaurants would be proud to serve. Chef Leo is definitely talented, and Alissa and I felt his cheffy, fusiony twists on Korean food were very tasteful and inspired. If given the opportunity I feel he and the restaurant have the potential to become even greater. The challenge for the Gaya is that Korean food is not one of the more well known and understood cuisines in Western Australia, and even though I've eaten Korean a number of times, its not the first thing I think about when going out for dinner. That they are doing something very different to Korean barbecue would additionally create a bit of a cognitive dissonance for those expecting a Korean restaurant to be one thing and finding it to be something else entirely. They've definitely got their work cut out for them, but with the quality of the food one can only hope word of mouth and the support of so many Perth bloggers leads to some major dividends for Leo and the Gaya. Recommended.

Typika, Claremont, Western Australia (Alissa and Don Eat Australia)

Perhaps its the memory of hellish morning drives to UWA in my university days, but Stirling Hwy has long been my least favourite road in Western Australia. That this narrow stretch of road is called a highway is a cruel joke, and with its unwinnable combination of buses pulling over in the left lane and cars turning right without turning lanes in the right, the constant stop-start lurch means there is no street in Perth with a higher chance of rear ending a BMW than Stirling Hwy. I don't have much patience for infuriating road conditions, and as such I seldom make a trip out to the Claremont area since the very worst of the traffic bottleneck occurs there.

Of course I'll make an exception for good food, and this was what found us in Claremont on a rare work free Saturday for Alissa. I'd heard about Typika during the last year, and the mention of duck steamed lotus buns was enough to convince me we had to try this place out. Typika serve lunch every day except Sundays, so since I have work during the week and Alissa usually works Saturdays this was going to be our only chance for a while to try their lunch menu.

Having arrived at 11:30am in case there was a crowd, we were able to be seated immediately upon arrival at one of the tables in the brighter front section of the cafe - my choice since it would be beneficial for photography.

That said, the place had sufficient tables available for us to have sat in the moodier space to the rear of the venue.

As with Bread in Common, interesting lighting concepts abound in this space, the most striking being the conical flask light bulbs hanging over the high chair share tables.

Since we were early for the midday start of the lunch menu, we started with a round of coffee and some snacks. Being artisan roasters, I expected quality and my usual order of topped up long macchiato/strong latte did not let me down as it was a well made coffee at a perfect temperature. Personally, I think I like the bean at Bread in Common better but as Alissa astutely pointed out, its more a matter of a personal preference than once being inherently better than the other. If you like a softer, mellower flavour this will probably be more to your liking.

Being summertime, Alissa went with the 'naked' iced coffee. This was a nice and refreshing iced coffee, its 'nakedness' denoting it was not one of those super sweet monstrosities that are more sugar than caffeine.

Alissa loves a good sweet potato chip, so we had to order a serve of their mixed Chips. The serve may have been small for $6, but it was absolute quality - easily the best fries I've had since the last time I cooked Heston's triple cooked chips. These tasted like they were at least twice cooked, and the difficult task of making sweet potato chips as crispy as regular potato was passed with flying colours. Excellent aioli too.

Our other snack order was a serve of their Onion Rings. I've had better, more flavoursome versions of this dish, but these were excellent nonetheless - far better than the familiar mass produced version found at Hungry Jack's and less oily that the greasy version often sold by fish and chips joints.

12 o'clock came around and it was time for our very pork-centric lunch. The first share plate to arrive was the Pulled Pork Quesadillas.  These maintained the high standards set by our snack orders, the pulled pork nicely seasoned and the Quesadilla pockets both crispy and yet still malleable.

The element that really raised it as a cut above was the grilled corn, capsicum and avocado salsa. This was top notch, its refreshing juiciness complementing and enhancing the flavours of the pork and cheese.

The current Typika menu did not have the duck lotus buns. Instead, it went full Momofuku and did their version of the famous David Chang Pork Belly Buns. Here the pork was made in a char siu style as a point of difference, served with (apparently) pickled cucumber and (apparently) chilli jam. If the cucumber was pickled I didn't quite taste it, though I was very happy to find the cucumber thinly sliced. The sauce on top did not taste like chilli jam to me - I could have sworn it was hoisin. Other that these seeming discrepancies between the menu and what was served, I was very satisfied with the results.

The pork belly had a lovely fattiness that bordered on bacony, and the salty-sweet flavour of the sauce combined with the freshness of the cucumber resulted in a dish that was very, very tasty. The buns may not have been as soft as those at Ippudo, but the flavours were bolder. Different, but neither was necessarily better than the other. Alissa was a little disappointed as she was expecting the version I make at home, which is basically banh mi in a steamed bun and thus includes coriander, carrot and mint but she admitted later it was probably a case of having expectations it would be something that it wasn't. Oh well - her being disappointed meant I got to eat two of the three buns so I was definitely happy!

The Verdict: Excellent
When I went up to pay, the woman at the counter looked at what we had ordered and said, 'you guys had a really good lunch'. And she was right - the food we had that day was of a consistent standard in share plate cafe food that was well thought out and executed. Considering our meal and drinks came to under $60, I was satisfied with the price too. I don't know how often I'd be heading out to Typika considering its location and the lunch menu being unavailable on Sundays, but it impressed me enough that I'd brave a drive down Stirling Hwy for a return visit. Recommended.

Iggy's, Orchard Rd, Singapore (Alissa and Don Eat Asia Day 22, Part 1)

I don't generally eat beef. I mean, if I accidentally order it or if I'm served it I will eat it but in general its not a regular part of my diet. I gave up eating beef about 3-4 years ago after reading about the environmental impact of cattle farming and not wanting to give up all meat decided that beef was an easy one for me to cut out. Perhaps its because it was never my favourite I seldom miss eating beef, especially since I've taken a strong liking to kangaroo as my bovine analogue of choice. For this trip I knew there were going to be times where beef would be on set menus or were integral parts of an authentic dish (as in Satay Perut), so I decided that I would partake in beef in those circumstances.

Why do I start with a long spiel about beef eating? Because if ever there was an argument that I should be eating beef, Iggy's definitely makes a strong case.

East Indies, Cochin, India (Alissa and Don Eat Asia Day 18, Part 1)

Black Berry Resort had majorly stuffed up. I had spoken to a guy who I feared was being too blasé when I made arrangements for our early morning departure, and my concerns were proven to be justified. Having a midday reservation in Cochin on the way to the airport, it was important for us to leave at 6:30am as per my request so we would get to Cochin with ample time to make the 12pm. So when we arrived at reception to find that no arrangements were made I was rather furious with the guy I'd spoken to the day before. We ended up waiting for an hour and 15 minutes before our taxi arrived. Get this - first car that was sent to pick us up apparently broken down on the way (I know, right?) and the hotel staff simply didn't think this this additional delay was useful information to share with us.

Anyway, the taxi that eventually arrived was driven by Das, our driver from the day before. We felt a lot better seeing him as he'd been an excellent driver yesterday. We set off on our journey to East Indies, a restaurant that had such great reviews we were making this special diversion out of our way to try it. Das was very skilled at maneuvering between the auto-rickshaws, tea trucks and buses as we descended the mountain, and then proved invaluable as we came closer to Cochin. On previous trips to Cochin I'd taken the very busy and congested main road into the city, however knowing we were late Das took the initiative to take us to the ferry which for a 20 rupee fee each way took our car across the water to the Fort Cochin area in very little time at all. After asking a few locals about the location of the restaurant, we arrived at the East Indies with 10 minutes to spare. Das just earned himself a good tip when we got to the airport.

East Indies is the elegant in-house restaurant of Eighth Bastion, a hotel centrally located in the old Fort Cochin area. The menu is Pan Asian Dutch, inspired by the colonial era of the Dutch East India Company with the restaurant's chairs all bearing the company's VOC insignia.

Apparently assisted by an anthropologist, chef Saiju Thomas researched the menus and cuisines of the VOC spice route and trade posts, and in a similar manner to reimaginings of British food at Dinner with Heston, East Indies presents classic dishes of an era in a manner that is thoroughly modern casual fine dining (though of course less molecular/modernist in preparation). As a Eurasian product of the colonial era, and with Alissa's Dutch heritage we were both looking forward to seeing what East Indies has in store for us.

The menu is a la carte, and we decided to go with the same three course starter-main-dessert format we'd enjoyed at Otto e Mezzo Bombana and Indigo. Being a massive fan of squid, I went with the Stuffed Calamari as my starter. When the plate arrived my eyes were treated to the prettiest plating we've seen in India. Better than Indigo's to be honest. And the taste was incredible. The squid was perfectly cooked in a spicy red pepper oil marinade. The filling was what was most interesting as it tasted a lot like otak-otak, a dish popular in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. I've never tried anything quite liked it. This was a very interesting and impressive starter.

Alissa went with the most Dutch of the starters – the Open Faced Cheese Tart made from cashew cheese, oven roasted tomato, spinach and with a basil vinaigrette. This was again an example of the best plating we've seen in India, with the vinaigrette framing the tart beautifully on the plate. The taste was excellent – we weren't sure whether the cashew cheese was pure vegan or included milk, but we agreed its tart, creamy flavour was delicious. As Alissa said later, 'cheese, tomato, pastry... what's not to like?' I read that this was based on a classic comfort food of the Dutch explorers, and one present day Dutch explorer was very satisfied. We were already ready to call this meal exceptional – so long as the remaining courses could maintain this high standard.

Although it was very much an Alissa dish, I chose the Herb Crusted Pork Chop with lime pudding, apple chutney, wasabi mash, roasted brussel sprouts and long beans. Needless to say, the plating was again of the high standard we'd come to expect. The last pork chop I ate was in a pub in Melbourne, which was a dry, overcooked and disappointing affair. This on the other hand was perfectly cooked, with the meat nice and juicy. The meat had obviously been brined as it was evenly salted and flavoursome all the way through. For some the meat might have been a little too much on the salty side, but I was quite happy with the salt level, especially since the nice sweet and tart flavour of the lime pudding and apple meant it was well balanced on the fork. The mash was very smooth with just a hint of wasabi for interest and I very much enjoyed the petite brussel sprouts. A hearty, very Dutch main elevated to a fine dining experience.

Alissa went with the Pan Grilled Chicken with lemongrass and moong bean ragout, poached carrot, skillet potato and turmeric foam. This was even better plating than my main, with the carrots and the moong bean ragout each lovingly plated as square and round 'towers' respectively. The chicken was again skillfully cooked, having also been brined for even seasoning. The moong beans had a lovely creaminess that worked well with the lemongrass, and the poached carrots were nice and sweet. Alissa nodded her head in approval – a very satisfied customer.

We had a short pause between our mains and dessert, and when they arrived we were again to be wowed by East Indies. My main - the Frozen Honey Parfait with roasted grapes, pineapple, granola, and white chocolate whiskey sauce – was exactly the kind of flavours I really enjoy. I love honey ice cream, and this was very good honey ice cream – creamy, with a lovely honey flavour, and when it comes to a delicious crunch there can be nothing better than a good granola. Mixing the honey ice cream with the roasted grapes, pineapple, granola and the chocolate whiskey sauce tasted like an amazing frozen breakfast. So good.

The Crème Brulee French Toast with banana and oven roasted salted white chocolate sauce was as much Alissa on a plate as my dessert was me. To begin the French Toast had a nice fluffy texture with a crispy outside, and the caramelized bananas were very tasty. The dish was however made all the better due to the caramelized quality of the salted white chocolate sauce. Alissa loves anything that is salty sweet, and then to have the white chocolate roasted? A revelation. As with my dessert, this could easily served as a remarkably delicious breakfast.

After we finished our meal, the chef Saiju Thomas came out to speak with us. He seemed genuinely surprised that we had found his restaurant and had made the reservation so far in advance. We expressed how we felt that the food we'd eaten for lunch was amongst the best we'd had on our trip – beating the 3 Michelin Starred Otto e Mezzo Bombana in our esteem, and that we'd come to Cochin just to eat at the restaurant. Alissa took a photo of Saiju and I, we paid the bill and we departed for our trip to the airport very satisfied and a bit blown away.

The Verdict: Exceptional
When we came up with our scale for judging how good a place should be rated, we said that Exceptional had to mean that the food was good enough that you would overcome any deterrents to eat there, in particular having to travel distances just for a meal. We made the gamble of travelling to Cochin just to eat at East Indies, and it did not let us down. We enjoyed this meal more than we enjoyed our dinner at Indigo and at a considerably cheaper price than the famous Mumbai restaurant. Perhaps it was because of the strong and cogent Dutch East India Complany theme of East Indies but it felt like a very unique menu that would be much harder to find anywhere else, while the fusion food of Indigo was similar to what I could find in Australia in equal or better quality. If you're in Kerala at any time, even if you're just coming through Cochin Airport just to go to the backwaters or to Munnar, please consider making a detour to East Indies in Eighth Bastion for a meal you won't regret.

As Alissa so eloquently put it; 'my only regret was that I couldn't order more.' Enough said.

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.