Ootong and Lincoln, South Fremantle

 Website: http://ootongandlincoln.com.au/

Ootong and Lincoln is located in the niche area of South Fremantle which we were keen to explore due to all the social media buzz. They describe themselves as a quirky rustic eatery and they specialise in home cooked breakfast and lunch.

Lychee Slushy ($8.50) & Green Smoothie ($9.50)

The lychee slushy was a lovely addition to our meal, as it was super light and refreshing. It contained an interesting combination of lychee, watermelon and a hint of mint. However we feel that $8.50 is a little pricey for what it is. 

The green smoothie on the other hand, was divine. It was packed full of healthy ingredients which included spinach, banana, kiwi, apple, lemon and chia seeds. We loved that the fruity flavour really came through even though it contained spinach and overall the drink wasn't too filling. 

Prawn Zucchini and Rocket Fettuccine ($20)

Warning if you are on a date...do not order this! The overall dish was pleasant but it was overpowered with garlic. However, we loved the fresh crunchy texture of the zucchini and the generous serving of the good quality fresh Australian prawns. We rate this dish 7/10.

Tempura Soft Shell Crab ($23)

Firstly, we loved the marinated flavour of the tempura, it was sweet and tangy which suited the Asian vibe of the dish nicely. However, the tempura was too soggy for our liking and the crab inside had a strange mushy texture that we haven't come across before. We also feel that the sweet potato chips that accompanied the crab didn't add anything special to the dish, we would much prefer a fresh sweet potato salad perhaps. We rate this dish 5/10.

Overall Review

Ootong and Lincoln have a great atmosphere with their quirky decor and the staff are friendly and efficient. We think that their concept is great but execution of the meals could be improved upon. In addition, it was a little pricey for what we received but thats what you expect in the location. Overall we believe that they deserve a 6.5/10.

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Rabbit in the Moon, Fremantle

Website: https://www.facebook.com/rabbitinthemooncafe/

Some of the most aesthetic foodie photos circulating on Instagram are taken at Rabbit in the Moon, so of course we had to see whether the food is actually as good as it looks! In celebration of my final exam, I decided to come here with my lovely friend Sophie. (Megan was still in Europe at this point, we're just super behind in posting!) 

We don't usually venture into North Fremantle but we must say the area is stunning, since it's kinda secluded from the main area in Fremantle, it's really peaceful and calm. A perfect way to finish off the University year, stress free.

Iced Green Tea ($4.50)

As a fellow asian, I love my green tea very much. However this drink was quite a disappointment, it was very light and there was barely any taste of green tea. May as well had just plain water. I wish I tried out their smoothies/milkshakes!

Avocado and Roast Tomato Stack ($16.50)

The presentation of this dish is gorgeous but unfortunately it didn't as good as it looks. It was really average for an avocado stack. There was not enough avocado slices and the pieces of tomato were too big to evenly distribute the flavour. Although the feta and balsamic dressing was a nice touch, we would've liked some extra 'omph' to the dish. We've seen places be more creative with their avocado stacks, so we rate it 6/10. 

Thai Chicken Quinoa Salad ($18)

Although this dish didn't look as pretty as the last one, we like it a lot more! It was delicious, fresh and light! The texture of the chicken was nice and not too dry, the quinoa had a light fluffiness to it. The Thai style dressing was a perfect addition, it was full of sweet and tangy flavours. Plus it was nice to finally eat something healthy after the horribly unhealthy exam period. We give this dish a rating of 8/10.

Overall Review

Yes the food did look amazing, however the better looking dish didn't taste as good. The staff were all super friendly and the service was quick. Since we were in the mood for savoury dishes we didn't try out the sweet ones. They also seem quite popular online, so we must go back and see! Overall we rate Rabbit in the Moon 7/10. 

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Voyage Kitchen, Sorrento

Website: http://www.voyagesorrento.com.au/welcome

Voyage Kitchen is a local favourite for the residents of Sorrento, located conveniently right next to the beach. Their philosophy is to provide fresh homestyle food, whilst creating a friendly and relaxed atmosphere for the local community. 

Chai Latte ($4.60)

We both love chai lattes and thought we'd order one each prior to brunch. However, we were left very underwhelmed as it was overly sweet due the heavy handed use of syrup. We didn't try any of their other coffees which we're sure would be alright but we wouldn't order the chai again.

Dip Trio ($12)

We must say that $12 for the dip trio is pretty good value, you get loads of pita bread and a nice large serving of dips. Our favourites were the hummus and the pumpkin with tahina dip, the texture was so smooth and creamy, the flavours complimented very well with the walnuts and honey. The smoky red pepper and tomato dip was very average and tasted similar to salsa. We rate this dish 8.5/10.

Grilled Barramundi with Mixed Grain Salad and Roast Vegetables (Specials Menu)

This was by far our favourite dish that we tried at Voyage. The fish was cooked perfectly and we loved the crispy skin on top. The grain salad also really stood out to us because of it's delicious curry flavour and the texture from the variety of grain and cauliflower. We rate this dish 9.5/10.

Lamb Ragu Pappardelle ($28)

After tasting the beautiful Barramundi, this dish didn't quite live up to our expectations. Firstly, the lamb ragu had such a lovely flavour and the créme fraiche added some cool and creamy tones to the dish. Unfortunately, the pasta let the dish down as it was a little clumpy and stuck together, we would prefer a thinner type of pasta. We give this dish a rating of 7/10. 

Overall Review

We can say that Voyage Kitchen uphold their philosophy of serving fresh homestyle food as we left feeling mostly satisfied and comforted. The service was efficient and excellent, can't really fault them. Despite minor let downs, we were very happy with the quality of the food and the price is justified  due to the beautiful location. Overall we rate Voyage Kitchen 8/10.

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Arc of Iris, Margaret River

Website: http://www.arcofiris.com.au/

While exploring Margaret River we came across Arc of Iris, a popular little restaurant in the heart of the town. Arc of Iris supports local produce by sourcing all their free range meat, cheese, bread, olive oil and wine in the Margaret River region. Upon entering we were seated by a lovely attentive waiter.

Kilpatrick Oysters ($3.50 each)

Since we were in the already luxurious Margaret River we had to try some of their local oysters and we decided to have the Kilpatrick oysters. The sauce was beautiful and tasty and the spice was wonderfully balanced with the chunks of bacon which added some extra texture and saltiness. The only flaw was that the sauce over powered the flavour of the oysters and we prefer fresh uncooked oysters. We rate the oysters 6.5/10.

The Beef ($40)

We liked this dish however, it didn't blow us away. The beef was cooked very nicely so it was tender and juicy. It was accompanied by a light and tangy sauce which gave it some extra zing. For those who don't like to venture too far out of their comfort zone this would be a nice option but we feel like it needed a little more creativity. We rate this dish 7/10.

The Pork ($36)

We ordered the Finest Linley Valley free range pork belly which had been slow roasted for 7.5 hours. Since the pork was roasted it had a different texture to what we were used to, it was slightly chewier and a little dry. The skin was not as crispy as we'd like but paired with the red cabbage and apple sauce it was palatable. We rate this dish 5.5/10.

The Duck ($39)

The duck was our favourite dish out of the lot we tried. It was sourced locally in Wagin and was free range. We liked that it was a generous serving size giving us half a duck, which was a twist on the traditional asian roast duck. We enjoyed the sauce as it added some sweetness which was eventually cut through with some spicy flavours. We rate this dish 9/10.

Overall Review

Overall we thought the food was very high quality however, it was very expensive for what we had. We would like to mention that the staff were friendly and attentive, providing excellent service. If you're in Margaret River any time soon we recommend you try out their duck. We rate Arc of Iris 7/10.

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Timber Café, Harrisdale

Website: http://www.timbercafe.com.au/

Timber Café is a new hip café in the Southern River/Canning Vale area, it is located right next to Carey College, not where you would normally expect to find a café but they've decked out the area very nicely. Their menu is quite simplistic and contains all your favourite breakfast/brunch dishes, we were keen to try it out as we haven't found too many great local cafés in our area. 

This blog post, followed by the next two were done a while ago when Megan was in Europe. I've finally had the time to write them all up! I had a few girl friends accompany me for these posts and I took the opportunity to catch up with the lovely Sophie for this one.

Chai Tea Latte ($4.30)

Sophie and I are Chai addicts, however we've both become very fussy and Chai can only be done right one way; using Prana Chai Masala blend (our fave!). It's never the same when cafés use powdered or syrup Chai. When we saw Prana Chai displayed on their shelves, we knew it would be safe to order one, and of course we weren't disappointed. It was a pot of smooth lovely cinnamon-ey goodness!

Pan Fried Mushrooms ($17.50)

We recommend this dish as a nice light vegetarian breakfast option. It contains 5 different types of mushrooms, all buttered to perfection with a nice hint of spice to it. The poached egg was a nice addition to the dish, giving it substance and texture. Out of the two dishes that we tried, this one was our favourite and we rate this dish 8/10.

Ham Scram Sarni ($16)

We usually like to go for the more adventurous options, with the way it was described on the menu, we didn't know it was served as a burger. The ham and scrambled eggs were nice but nothing special. We found this dish quite average and we wish we had tried something else on the menu. We give this dish a rating of 6/10.

Overall Review

I think it's great that more cute cafés are opening up South of the River, so we don't always have to venture into the city or North of the River to get some good coffee and food. We found the menu quite average and a little boring, however the staff were lovely and the service was great. Keep in mind that we visited a while ago when Timber Café had first opened, they've updated their menu and may have improved since then. I would definitely like to go back and try the new things on their menu. Overall we rate our visit 7/10. 

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Q & A with The Hummus Club

Website: http://thehummusclub.com/

The Hummus Club is a well-known small business that started as a market stall, established by Kaitlin and Ziad. They have a huge passion for food and their goal is to showcase Middle Eastern food to the people of Perth. With all the well-deserved success that they’ve received, I’m so excited that they’ll be opening the first Hummus Eatery in Perth as a pop-up store in Trinity Arcade on the 14th October.

I had the pleasure of meeting Kaitlin and Ziad for an interview to ask them about their new Hummus Eatery and their journey as a growing small business in Perth.

  1. From your website it says that your inspiration to start The Hummus Club was to share Middle Eastern Food with others and also because you grew up eating it. What are some of your favorite Middle Eastern dishes from your childhood?

Our mission from the very beginning was to expose more people to the food that we love and revolutionise the way people saw and experienced Mid eastern cuisine. Whenever we would talk about the food we loved, most of our friends had no idea what we were even talking about as they had never tried the food before. 

We wanted to take our fave foods to the streets of Perth so more people could eat and get to experience good quality mid eastern cuisine. Bringing modern mid eastern cuisine to the foodies of Perth in an inviting atmosphere, accessible to everyone- that’s our goal.

Ziad spent much of his childhood in Lebanon and living and breathing the culture- including its amazing food. When Ziad moved to Australia- Ziad’s parents opened a little Lebanese eatery in Vic Park.

Our favourite dishes? There’s so many, but if we had to narrow it down to three, Ziad’s faves are hummus, falafel and kofta. Kaitlin’s faves are kibbe, baba ghanoush and falafel.

 2.  Will these dishes be featured in the pop-up shop? Also what is likely to be on the menu for the pop-up shop?

The Hummus Eatery is all about celebrating hummus and how, in the Middle East, it can be eaten as a meal rather than just a side dish or dip. Hummus is a part of every meal time (from breakfast to dinner and in between) and it is in fact a very filling and substantial meal in itself.

The Hummus Eatery will showcase our freshly made traditional style hummus with modern mid eastern inspired toppings. All of our hummus plates will be served with fresh bread. We will also have a small selection of other ‘Mid eastern faves’ such as kibbe, mid eastern salad and our popular falafel sandwich aka the FLT. We will also have our pomegranate lemonade and a rotating selection of mid eastern sweets.

    

 3. After tasting your Club Mix and FLT at your market stall, I could definitely tell the food was made with very fresh ingredients. How to do you maintain the high quality of food? 


We always wanted to produce high quality, delicious and well presented food- it’s part of our company’s values. So when it came to choosing ingredients for our products we did a lot of research on sourcing the best tasting and freshest ingredients. We use locally grown produce where we can and that includes our locally sourced fruit and veggies, chickpeas and meats. We cook fresh falafel every day and our hummus is produced every two to three days as we don’t put any preservatives in it.

 4. I love how you went from being a small market stall, and have received so much success due to your passion for food. What have been your best experiences while growing your business in the Perth foodie scene? 


We have been very fortunate to have so many loyal and supportive hummus lovers here in Perth. We have lots of customers that have been around from the very beginning and come to our stalls every week. 

When you launch a business you never quite know how many people you will actually get to feed or how many people will actually like your food! We are passionate about food and we love to see other people enjoying the food as much as we do and this is definitely one of the best experiences that we have had whilst growing The Hummus Club. 

Other great experiences have been meeting all the other food vendors, many of whom have become great friends. Also, just being a part of the awesome events and food scene here in Perth.

Perth has an amazing food scene and it is just getting bigger and better and to be a part of it and getting the chance to showcase Mid Eastern cuisine, is something we are really proud of and something we enjoy every single day. It is a lot of work, but it is all worthwhile when you see people enjoying and getting excited about your food.

 5. I’m sure the pop-up store will be a success! Will there be a possibility of opening a permanent restaurant in the near future? 


For sure. Watch this space!

  6. Where would you recommend travelling to (in the Middle East) for great food? 


Lebanon, Morocco, Jordan, Turkey are all great starting points. You’ll find a lot of similar dishes in all these regions all with slightly different versions depending on the country you are in. The food scene and street food scene in Beirut has really taken off recently and there are so many awesome events that happen each week. We can’t wait to go back there soon and get some more inspiration.

I encourage you all to try out the food when their pop-up store opens. Trust me, you won’t be disappointed! Seeing as my parents were once small business owners, I love supporting other small businesses and watching them grow. A special thanks goes to Kaitlin and Ziad, they’re such lovely people and I wish them all the best with their Hummus journey! #HummusRevolution

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