Cora Korean Charcoal BBQ

When: Friday March 15th 2013

So we've been to this wonderful hidden gem a few times before but this is our first time reviewing it! We needed a place to go out for a low key get together for an occasion and we thought of this place to be good for a last minute decision without a reservation.

The place can get a little packed every now and then and especially on the weekends. This time around, we got lucky and proceeded to fill ourselves with all you can eat meat!

The process is simple really. There are 3 self-serve sections. One section contained what can be classed as entrees (tempura fish, chicken wings, fried rice, fried cabbage and egg cakes and glass noodles). There is an entire second section of salads which included tasty spicy Kimchi! Last section was stocked full of sumptuous looking marinated raw meats (chicken, ribs, steaks, tongue, mussels, prawns, octopi, squid, kidney etc!)

After being seated, the staff prepare the centre grill with fired coals for the do-it-yourself BBQ. In the meantime, we are asked to help ourselves to the entree buffet. Once the fire was ready, it was time to get our grill on!

All the meats were nicely marinated and full of flavour even if a tad on the sweet side. We have heard that the Soju is worth trying. We didn't try it this time around.

Word of advice, do be careful with how much raw meats you pile on your plate. The restaurant has a policy of charging $5 per 100g of left-over raw meat. This is clearly displayed on every table and ensure that you eat all the meats you pick.

Pricing differs on the weekend to the weekdays and at $38 per person for all you can eat BBQ-it-yourself meat, some may find it gimmicky. We have always had fun though and believe it's a decent price for the experience. Definitely worth a try!

Address: 7/48 Hulme Ct, Myaree
Phone: (08) 9317 6000
Opening Hours: Tue-Sun, 5.30pm-late

Araluen's Fremantle Chilli Festival 2013

When: Sunday March 10th 2013

This year we had heard about the annual Araluen's Fremantle Chilli Festival and decided that being the loyal, local Freo folk that we are; we would head down!

The festival usually runs for 2 days over a weekend with around 80 stalls. We decided to go on the Sunday but with Freo being Freo, it was still packed! There was a distinctive buzz to the place and you could forgive the throngs of people around Freo markets and the cappucino strip for not even knowing about the festival, which was held on the Fremantle Esplanade lawn.

There is an entry fee for adults at $15 per head and children are admitted for free. Important to note here right at the start that this event is totally CASH ONLY. There are no withdrawal facilities once you get in, so bring plenty of cash depending on how much you need to spend. We cover the costs of the foods we tried below, but you should budget for an average of around $8-10 per dish.

Initially, we thought that the admission fee was unnecessary considering the festival is a stall style event. Later on though, we realised that this was because there was alcohol sold at the event too with a few brewery stalls (eg: Matso's, Bush Shack Brewery), a cocktail stall with yum rum cocktails (Mojitos)! (The Kimberley Rum Company: http://www.canefire.net/), as well as some wine stalls which touted chilli wine! We wanted to try some but at $5 for a glass or alternatively at $5 for sampler tastings of their range, we considered it probably not value for money. People's opinions may differ and that's fair enough but we would consider ourselves decent wine buffs and the "chilli" wine on offer was really just normal grape pressed wine with a "chilli" infusion, hence we passed. 

There were also plenty of other varieties of stalls selling desserts, chilli sauces, pickles, condiments and even chilli plants but the real reason we went there was for....

THE FOOD!

Yes indeedy! There were a gluttonous array of awesome cuisines on offer, and here's some of what we tried!:

Jumplings:

These were marketed as "Japanese Dumplings", hence "Jumplings". 

We tried the Chicken dumplings with coriander and ponzu and they were yummy! Serves come with 5 pieces per serve and are priced at $8 per serve for the duck and chicken options with the prawn option priced at $10 per serve. The jumplings were so yummy, that they were all gone within roughly 2 mins, no joke! If you're a fan of dim sum/yum cha, you will like these jumplings with a Japanese spiced twist.

 Jumplings - www.jumplings.com.au

Paella (Chorizo Fideua):

Next up, we had some Paella Fideua which had chorizo in it priced at $10 per serve. Admittedly, we are used to a different sort of paella and Paella "Fideua" was a new one for us. The dish we tried had a noodle/pasta style carb in it and a quick google search came up with the Wikipedia entry for Fideua (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fideua). This basically confirmed that a Paella Fideua is a paella with noodles instead of rice. We hypothesised that this variation was much the same as Kothu's different variants in Sri Lanka.

Anyway, we're really glad we tried something new and it was tasty with a pesto style sauce poured on top if requested. Important to note too is that we adore the massive Paella pans! Photos below:

KQ Spanish Food: www.kamalsquarter.com.au

Choripan:

The next food we tried was Argentinian! At the El Asador stall, we tried the $8 Choripan which could be described as being similar to a chorizo bratwurst, consisting of an Argentinian style chorizo in amongst hot dog bread, drizzled with chimichurri (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chimichurri). The sauce wasn't spicy and not meant to be and the chorizo itself was pretty authentic with full chunks of fatty meaty goodness contained within. The company running the stall has an online shop where they sell condiments, chimichurri and cured meats.

El Asador: www.elasador.com.au 

Chicken Gumbo:

It was then time for some Ragin' Cajun Lousiana Food! On offer were Seafood Jambalaya, Chicken Gumbo and Cajun Chilli. We chose the Chicken Gumbo and think we should have chosen the Seafood Jambalaya instead. The chicken wasn't bad, it just tasted a bit average. 

The company itself seems to be based straight out of America and make their own sauces and the like. 

Ragin Cajun Foods: www.ragincajunfoods.com

Verdict:

Araluen's Fremantle Chilli Festival seemed to be a great day out, even though there really seemed to be a lack of ready to eat foods which were actually remotely spicy. Nonetheless, it seemed to be well organised and in the middle of the grounds, there was a staged area where there were dancers performing for people to chill out and watch with their friends and family. All in all, a good day out and worth the trip. We will definitely go back next year!

For a list of this year's stalls which were on offer, please visit: http://www.araluenbotanicpark.com.au/araluen-fremantle-chilli-festival/stallholders/ 

To round off this blogpost, I've just added some random photos below to add to the atmosphere. We hope you enjoyed reading it!

Paella Pans!

Cajun Fries

Chilli Mussels

The atmosphere!

Curry Club Indian Restaurant

When: Friday Mar 8th 2013, 6.30pm

We've lived 2 mins away from The Curry Club for 3 years and have passed it on the way home all the time. Finally tried it yesterday and can say that it was definitely worth the wait! Attentive, friendly and; most importantly, accommodating staff. The food is not greasy nor over creamy and is the closest we have found to authentic sub-continent food which has a "home-cooked" feel. (We both come from sub-continental backgrounds).

We had the Non-Veg banquet each, which on the menu states that it comes with 4 entrees and 4 mains. Because we were only two people, they adjusted the banquet menu for us and even let us replace one of the pre-listed dishes. Super accommodating! The banquet also comes with as much Naan and Rice you could eat! We couldn't eat any more than the two serves of Naan they brought out (Garlic Naan & Plain Naan) and the one medium serve of rice, but the free option for more was yet another pleasant surprise.

For the starters, we had a quite nice chaat (Palak Patta Chaat), which is a traditional Indian roadside snack food. The best way to describe chaat is to say that it is a chaotic mixture of papad (fried crisp bread), onions, chickpeas, coriander, yoghurt, tamarind and a whole lot of other stuff (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaat). Having had many chaats in our lives, I would say that it was tasty however, there was possibly a tad too much yoghurt. This could be how it is meant to be but personally, we felt it was a bit much. Presentation was brilliant though. The second starter was Lamb Seekh Kebab. Nicely spiced but not too hot. Decent meat quality.

For the mains, we had Paneer Lababdar (our requested replacement) and this was tasty and not overly creamy. Quality of paneer was also good and not chewy, rather soft. Our other main was the Lamb Do Pyaza, which was VERY nice. They had melted capsicum and braised eggplant throughout the sauce which really added to the delicately spiced dish. Lamb was tender and again, meat quality was good. Condiments were Garlic and Plain Naans which were medium sized and good eating. Rice on the other hand was a bit dry but with a curry, one wouldn't notice.

Price-wise, it was best we have seen comparative to other Indian restaurants in Perth. The prices are lower but does not detract from the quality of food. Value for money!

One thing worth mentioning is that the service was excellent. Friendly from start to finish and extremely accommodating. Very nice people and good conversations were had. The exterior can be off-putting for some people and it needs some revamping.

After years of trying average Indian places in Perth, looks like we've finally found our regular and local Indian restaurant. They do takeaways too and the prices overall are definitely comparatively cheaper than the other exorbitant Indian restaurant prices around Perth. Don't be influenced by the look and feel of the exterior (which needs work), the food and service which await you inside is worth it.

Address: 5/275 South St, Hilton
Opening Hours: Mon-Sat, 5pm-late. Sun, Lunch-Late
Curry Club Indian Restaurant - http://www.curryclub.com.au/ 

Sri Lanka

When: Jan 17th-28th 2013

Hello everyone! This is our first blog post ever on our first blog site ever and so forgive us if this is sub-par! We went on a two week trip to Sri Lanka this year and thought we would share our experiences with you. As we have family in Sri Lanka, this specific blog post will be more of a just for fun one, with photos etc. Normally, we aim to review our trips away in terms of sights, value for money, hotels etc. and also some local eateries & pubs. For now though, we give you Sri Lanka:

Background

Sri Lanka is a South Asian island nation which lies south-east of India. Most people don't know where Sri Lanka is and even more people think it's a part of India. This isn't really much of a problem. I suppose this keeps it a hidden gem and if you get the chance to travel there before tourism flourishes there, you should. This is because Sri Lanka has only recently come out of a bitter 25 year civil war between the country's majority Sinhalese government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). 

We won't get into politics here, just the facts which we know. One fact we know is that Sri Lanka is a beautiful country with a distinctly island feel. Sri Lanka's island population hovers somewhere around a comfortable 21 million and there are certainly parts of Sri Lanka that are calm and peaceful like Dambulla, Sigiriya, Nuwara Eliya and many more (see below for further detail on these places). The island has a very long history dating back 3000 years and this history has left behind a visible legacy of monuments and temples dedicated to monarchs and emperors as well as vast ruins sacked by the invaders over time. 

The food is very rich and diverse in Sri Lanka and SPICY as hell! A common misconception is that Sri Lankan food is basically the same as Indian food. Whilst both cuisines share the same spice palate, Lankan cuisine has a unique taste and style. The climate is mostly quite hot and humid (except monsoon season of course), however one can often get respite from the natural island breeze along the coastal areas. 

The people in Sri Lanka are a very, very diverse bunch. The island's majority population is of Sinhalese descent (at roughly 75%), followed by the next largest minority group, Sri Lankan Tamils (at roughly 11%). The rest of the nation is made up of an eclectic mix of ethnically and linguistically diverse minorities: Malays (descended from Malay army sepoys brought over by the British during the East India Company days), Moors (descended from Arab traders who stayed back), Burghers (descended from the Portuguese & Dutch colonisers) and even the Kapiri, who are an African people brought over as workers/slaves by the Arab traders! The predominant religion in the country is Buddhism with Catholicism, Hinduism & Islam very prevalent also. 

This mix of people combined with the 92% literacy rate in Sri Lanka (education is free even at certain universities), lead to a pleasant experience for the Western traveller. Most people will speak English even in the villages which is a pleasant if not impressive surprise. The people are very friendly and laid back and quite receptive to foreigners. 

Okay enough waffle, onto the specifics........ a little later on! (soon we promise)