Bonsai

Restaurant: Bonsai
Cuisine: Japanese
Address: 30-36 Roe Street, Northbridge
Total: $103/3p
Rating: 4/5

I don't have any photos of this dining experience. I've tried to look for some on the net but haven't found any as yet due to the fact that this restaurant doesn't have a website. It's more of a tapas style restaurant I think. But that's fantastic because entrees are always the tastiest meals and it's always more fun to share many small dishes than to be stuck with just one large one. We did order one main, a teriyaki steak which was so delicious. It was a little fatty for my liking and I found myself having to cut out some chunks of fat, but other than that it was very nice.


Service: 4/5

The service was good and the food was very fast. The restaurant has two parts to it. I've only been in the main area and always thought the second was just for functions or just as a cafe part. But they were quite full when we came on a Wednesday night (the few times I've been before it was relatively quiet), and we didn't have a booking but they let us sit in the "cafe" area. I thought that since we weren't in the main restaurant area we would be forgotten about and the service would be slow but I was wrong.

I do think the owner is a little strange which is why I have given them a 4/5, and the waitresses were a little in-your-face for my liking, but some people like that. They were all friendly though.

Food: 4/5

We ordered:
Crunchy Unagi Salad (eel salad)
2 x Chilli Crab Claws
Takoyaki (octopus balls)
Some Tuna + Avocado dish (it had a strange name that I can't remember)
Tempura Prawn Sushi
Teriyaki Steak which came with one serve of steamed rice

Dessert
Crepes
Green Tea Mousse Cake (I think that's what it was called)

I actually really liked the food, but was a little disappointed by the desserts. I chose the crepe dessert (crepes layered with cream) because I had it once before and it was absolutely heavenly! My friend told me that their pastry chef had left and the desserts weren't as nice anymore, so I had to try it out to see, and sadly she was right. The crepes were too thick and the cream wasn't sweet enough or the right texture. My friends liked it though, probably because they didn't know how it tasted before! The green tea cake was too powdery.

The mains / tapas dishes were delicious though! You had the option of making your salad "crunchy" by adding fried wonton skins to it, which we did. Such a good decision! Sushi - tasty as always. Presentation was also very nice so I was pretty happy, even though the desserts weren't that tastiest, hence 4/5. I might stick to just dishes next time I come.

Mash Brewery

Restaurant: Mash Brewery
Cuisine: Brasserie / Pub Food
Address: 10250 West Swan Road, Henley Brook
Webpage: http://www.mashbrewing.com.au
Rating: 1/5

Continuing on from our work function, we had booked a large section of Mash Brewery for our lunch. They had organised a laser corps and lunch deal with the menu shown below (Click on the picture for full size).

We had to order a week in advance and got to choose out of a steak burger, pasta or fish and chips. Most people chose the steak burger as it does sound the most impressive! I had trouble deciding and chose each one at one stage but ended up with the steak burger. So our lunch was to begin at 2pm after either Supa Golf or Laser Corps gaming. We got to Mash Brewery at around 1:30pm and weren't served lunch until 2:45pm and we were absolutely starving!

Service: 0/5

The waiters were slow and not very friendly. We had about 10 or so tables for our group and by the time we got there, about 4 of them were filled. After about 20 minutes, my friend and I decided that we were hungry, especially after seeing another table receive a bowl of chips. So we asked a waitress for a bowl of chips and she didn't want to serve us because she was unsure of how the bill was split. We later asked another waitress who took our order and walked away without a smile. It may seem picky to expect waiters and waitresses to smile, but it makes such a big difference! And it's not very hard either! So I was very unimpressed by the unfriendly servers. And I've worked in hospitality for years and I always find the ability to smile and be friendly.

Now back to our chips. About half an hour later, we saw a waitress bring out two bowls of chips and bring them to the table next to us. And that was the end of the chips. So by the end, there were 3 bowls of chips served to two tables out of 10. And neither of those tables was the one who ordered them. I was very unimpressed! This makes the service score an automatic zero to me.

But it didn't deserve a high rating anyways. The waiters were walking around in circles yelling out foods to find out which belonged to whom. The were over 20 servings of burgers sitting in the kitchen which they could have served but they didn't, and served the fish and chips instead. And one waitress spilled a pint of beer over one of the boys, breaking the glass in the process. Luckily she dropped it on one of the younger guys who didn't seem to mind too much.

They also had poor RSA and patience, with many of the waiters simply dumping beers on the table claiming that "someone" on this table had ordered it. Very unimpressed!


Food: 1.5/5

Like I said before, I ordered the steak burger, shown above. I've never been a big fan of steak burgers because they're generally quite difficult to eat - imagine eating a slab of steak without a knife and fork! That's what eating a steak burger is like. But this was the only option and I was drawn in by the caramelised onions. I suppose the caramelised onions were nice? But there weren't very many of them. There was also a big chunk of fat on my steak which I had to cut off because it was slightly sickening. There also wasn't enough sauce on the burger! (But again, I'm a sauce freak so maybe others would say it was okay.) It was served with a TINY side of chips, which were okay. They tasted like chips that had been twice fried so that was nice. I've had better though. And I expected more chips than what we were given. I was also expecting a bigger, more gourmet burger and a side of salad. I don't think that's expecting too much for a $22 burger.

My friend ordered the pasta which was fairly nice because it wasn't too creamy. It looked like an olive oil pasta, but unfortunately it was not. There was an overpowering bacon taste to it which I didn't like. We both wished we chose the fish and chips which LOOKED tastier, sadly we cannot confirm whether it was or not.


I will never come back here. There are so many tasty restaurants in Swan Valley so if I'm ever to revisit the region, I'd try somewhere different. Luckily I didn't have to pay for this meal, or I would have been very unimpressed. We were waiting out for dessert afterwards (as the meal was not as filling as we had expected it to be), but we got nothing.

Swan Valley Oasis

Restaurant: Oasis Restaurant
Address: 10250 West Swan Road, Henley Brook

I actually only came here for morning tea so I don't think there was much point in me trying to write a review for it, but I took a photo of the scones we had so I figured I may as well write a short post.

We came for a work event. We were headed to Swan Valley for Supa Golf or Laser Corps. It was one of the wettest and coldest days but luckily Oasis had those gas heaters burning nice and warm this morning. They had a table of cups with tea and coffee ready for self service. Several minutes later they brought out plates of scones. And I do love scones! They had pumpkin scones and a scone with small bits of bacon in it. This one was a little too odd for my liking. There were side dishes of strawberry jam and cream for us to apply to our liking. The cream was not as fluffy as I normally like but it was still okay. And I suppose it's a plus that they didn't use instant whipped cream, and you could tell that it was actually freshly whipped.

I'm a huge scone fan so wherever there are scones, I'm there! I find that I'm rarely disappointed if they provide generous amounts of jam and cream.

Choux Cafe

Restaurant: Choux Cafe
Cuisine: French Cafe
Address: 93 Shenton Road, Swanbourne
Webpage: http://www.chouxcafe.com.au

We went here on Saturday afternoon after having breakfast at The Dancing Goat. They were so close! We only came by here to grab a few macarons. They are $2.70 each or $2.00 each if you buy more than 5. I was tempted to try every flavour, but decided to settle on 8 - Chocolate (dark), Hazelnut, Strawberry, Pistachio, Lemon, Coffee, Caramel and Milk Chocolate. They also had lavender, raspberry, vanilla and lime among others (I can't really remember them all!)

I think this is all a personal preference thing. I found the flavours they offered much nicer than the macarons at Beaufort St Merchant which was the only other place that I've tried macarons in Perth (not including San Churros in Leederville which offers chocolate macarons). They were nice and chewy but I got one that was a tad crunchy so I assume it has been overcooked? I found that there was a bit too much cream, and it tasted very buttery and slightly sickening. The caramel one was very sweet so unless you have a super sweet tooth I'd avoid this one. My friend loved the lemon, and I loved the strawberry.

The next day (Sunday night) I had dinner with a few friends and one friend brought a hazelnut cake she bought from Choux Cafe and it was absolute heaven! There were a whole lot of layers with mousse, sponge and some crispy nutty layer. It was simply delicious! I'm not sure what else to say about it but it was super tasty. It was a cake for 6 and my friend said it was $36. It looked like it could serve at least 8! It reminded me of the Grand Marnier cake from Francois in Leederville, which was also heavenly! I think I paid around $50 for a cake for 10, but I'm not 100% sure as it was about a year ago. But these two cakes are my favourite cakes by far!

The Dancing Goat

Restaurant: The Dancing Goat

Cuisine: Breakfast / Cafe
Address: 3/142 Railway Street, Cottesloe
Total: $27.50/2p
Rating: 4/5

On late Saturday morning we headed to The Dancing Goat. Finally, I had the chance to try this place that I had heard rave reviews about. Their menu was relatively limited for my liking. They offered bagels, toasts, baguettes and burritos as well as a couple of salads. I was deciding between a chicken salad with spinach, avocado and pinenuts (I have an obsession with anything containing avocado and pinenuts) but decided to go for a smoked salmon, cream cheese and avocado bagel ($11.00) instead. I also love bagels, and they’re hard to find in Perth. My friend ordered a bacon and cheese bagel ($8.50). I was tempted to order a banana bread ($3.50) as well but was convinced not to. We also ordered a skinny cappuccino and a pot of English Breakfast.

Smoked salmon bagel with avocado, cream cheese and capers

Bacon and egg bagel

Ambience – 5/5

I loved the atmosphere here! It was a tiny place which seated about 15 or so people indoors with a small balcony for another 4-6 people (there were two tables outside). My friend said that it reminded him of the Melbourne cafes. It was small, warm and cosy and it just makes you smile being in this place, I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s the wooden interior and the homely feel to the place – that’s what I think anyways.


Food – 3.5/5

The milk for the English Breakfast was served in a tiny glass milk bottle it was so cute!! So I liked this place straight away! Haha.

The coffee was average. I wouldn’t say it was terrible but I’ve definitely had better. There wasn’t enough froth for it to be considered a cappuccino and the milk wasn’t textured that nicely. The coffee itself (i.e. the bean) was pretty tasty though with a slight sweetness. I liked the English Breakfast, I thought it had a nice taste, but I’m not really a tea connoisseur so can’t really give too much feedback on that one.

My friend loved his bacon and egg bagel. I’m not the biggest fan of bacon, but it did look awfully tasty! Especially the egg, which was cooked to perfection with the yolk still slightly runny. My bagel was okay. I prefer the smoked salmon bagel at Lemon Espresso in Claremont, but I still enjoyed it. They were very generous with the salmon and avocado (both of which I love) so I can’t really complain.


Service – 4/5

I asked for no capers in my bagel, but they forgot and put a few in anyways. I wasn’t too fussed because it’s not that hard to remove them manually. Also, when the waitress came to clean our plates she noticed the capers I had picked out and apologized for the kitchen as she was the one who took our order. It’s nice that she remembered and apologised. I’m not sure what else you can expect in the service department for this kind of breakfast spot. I expect prompt service and friendly staff, which I got here. I think breakfast places are where you want to be left alone with your coffee and newspaper, and even though they were short on tables the staff never hassled customers to leave even if they were taking up one table per person (which could easily sit 3 or 4) just to drink a coffee.


I’d like to come back and try their banana bread and that chicken salad! Even though I wouldn’t say the food was amazing, I like the feel of this place way too much not to come back.

Freo Markets and Maraschino Tea & Espresso Bar

This Sunday my friends and I headed to the Fremantle Markets to try some crepes which many claim to be the most delicious in Perth. So of course, we had to go. I forgot what the crepe place was called, but it was pretty well priced around the $10 mark. I chose a banana and strawberry crepe with cinnamon sugar ($7.50). My friends chose cheese ones with condiments including spinach, sundried tomatoes, mushrooms and chilli beans, not altogether though. It was quite nice, but I wouldn't go so far as to say it's the best crepes in Perth. Like everything, it depends on what you look for in crepes. I quite like the crepes at Icey Ice which I'm sure everyone else thinks are pretty average. I just like them because they're crunchy. I also like the crepes from Crepe Cafe and Pancakes at Carillon, which is pretty much all the p;aces that I've ever tried crepes... Yeah, I'm not a crepe expert. But the cheesy ones were awfully oily.

After walking around we came across some giant donuts. Cholesterol Free, Saturated Fat Free... and other healthy things. But when you see the owner pull the giant ball out from the deep frier, dripping in oil, you can't help but question its healthiness. Nevertheless, we tried the dark chocolate one. It was actually very nice! Especially since it was so fresh. It was nice and crunchy on the outside and doughy on the inside. It was rolled in a cinnamon sugar (I think) and I think they were just a bit too generous with the sugar. With every bite I took, my lips were entirely coated in sugar in a rather disgusting way. So towards the end I found myself wiping the sugar off the donut before eating it. I'd still go back though. I'd really like to try the blackberry jam one because it looked amazingly pretty! $4 each.

We also got the twisty fried potato which was tasty towards the centre of the stick because there was more flavour there. It was kind of a mix between a chip and a crisp... At first it was a little odd, but got better. $4 each.

This made us super thirsty, so we went around to find somewhere to grab a drink. We walked by Fremantle Bakehouse and I desperately want to try it now! They have a giant scone! I love scones! Back on track now, I remember driving by a cafe on Collie St that I hadn't tried before so we went for a wander and came by Maraschino Tea & Espresso Bar. It was already 3pm so their kitchen had closed. We all just ordered a pot of tea instead. We had to wait at least 10 minutes for the tea. My friend who got impatient went up to ask them about it and they said it was coming. We thought that maybe they were just letting the tea brew for us, but the waiter came out with our tea and a timer asking us to wait for an extra 6 minutes (the timer was set for 7 minutes). How long does it take to pour some hot water into a pot! So this was rather unimpressive. I can't say I dislike the place though, because I didn't actually try anything. The service on this particular day however was definitely not something to be desired.

I don't think I'd go try those crepes again but I would go for those donuts!!

I also have to try Greenhouse on St. Georges Terrace. I had no idea it was open til so late!

Little Stove

Yesterday we decided to cafe it up. My first choice was The Dancing Goat which I had heard good things about and had the cutest name! But it was already 2pm, and I just found out that they closed at 12:30pm on Saturdays which was slightly disappointing. And so, after surfing the net I came across Little Stove which also had a very cute name. Reviews said it was a hidden gem with an amazing setting so I figured I would check it out since it was open til 5pm.

Restaurant: Little Stove
Cuisine: Cafe
Address: 103 Harris Street, Bicton
Total: $29/2p
Rating: 2.5/5

Skinny Cappucino

Chips and Aioli

Chicken salad

We ordered a warm chicken salad with oranges and pinenuts, chips with aioli and a coffee. The coffee was pretty average to be honest. It wasn't the worst I've had (UWA Village Cafe or Oxford 130). But it was far from the best. The chips were somewhat crunchy, but had a weird taste to them which I think was due to the oil they were fried in. My friend liked them though. The aioli also had one gigantic chunk of garlic in it which scared us at first because we thought it was a chunk of chip left over from a previous user of the sauce (i.e. we initially thought they reused the sauce, which would have been disgusting!!! - But luckily we were wrong). The salad was bland and the orange was a weird addition which did not work on this occasion. I've had a blood orange salad at Van's Sidewalk Cafe which was pretty tasty. The chicken was okay to eat but lacked flavour as well, but I'm a chicken lover so it was okay to me. The main reason why I chose the salad was because of the pinenuts which made the salad somewhat enjoyable for me because I absolutely love pinenuts!

The food wasn't awful but definitely wasn't fantastic. I liked the look of the cafe with lots of wood and a fireplace but it wasn't in the most convenient location and the food was too average for me to go out of my way to return.