Perth… and the food we ate – Part 1

Being wired the way I am (I think it has something to do with being Asian), trips are mentally broken down into two categories: This is where we went + This is what we ate (can any Asians testify to this? No? Maybe it’s just me then).  So let’s take a trip down memory lane and do just that!

Earlier this year, My parents and I skipped Melb-town for a week to enjoy a much-needed break post-Christmas/family camp/summer subject/internship… my dad asked me if I wanted to go to NZ or Perth (we haven’t been to either place) and I chose Perth :D.

When I’ve told other people of the choice I made, they all looked at me oddly…(I got this reaction from a Perth local too) Seriously? You chose Perth over NZ- another country?!  In retrospect, the better choice may have been to visit NZ before they had their earthquakes but, well… there was a purpose behind my decision :P.  More on that later.

We had booked ourselves into an apartment in Swan Valley, The Vines which is basically in the heart of Perth’s wine country….and, as we have now learnt, it is VERY far from the city! Haha, never gonna make that mistake again!

Anyway, after we checked in we headed back out to the city to find a place for dinner (about a 40 min drive?)…

And where do we find ourselves? In Chinatown of course!  We must have looked a bit out-of-place because it was just a tad too early for dinner and most places were still just setting up… We wandered around for a bit until finally settling for Billy Lee’s (purely because it was near the parking spot that took us nearly 10 mins to find!).

After a less than inspiring lunch on the flight over, we were all really looking forward to digging in… However, the service was soooo slow and we were left to drink Chinese tea for quite some time (but I give them the benefit of the doubt since we were their first customers and they probably had not got the kitchen fired up yet).  Once the ball got rolling it was fine though.

First up was an entrée of San Chow Bow.  At our old family favourite suppertime restaurant, Kam Bo back in Melbourne (and possibly elsewhere), the filling is usually already placed in the lettuce leaf bowl but I guess having it separated ensures that it stays fresh and doesn’t get soggy too soon.  I personally really thought it was a winner, with the perfect balance of saltiness and other assorted Asian flavours that I’m familiar with, but can’t quite remember :P.

We then had three different mains with the staple of any Asian dinner, beloved white rice.  Again, my memory isn’t the greatest so I’ll leave you to have a guess of the names of these dishes haha (this is more just an excuse to put up some food porn):

Have to say that this one went down well for our table of three... (seaweed seafood hot pot?)

Was a bit too spicy for me...

Stuffed Shallow Fried Tofu with dipping sauce?

‘Twas a very satisfying first meal in Perth (perhaps due to how hungry we were but still).  We explored the area a bit, did some grocery shopping before wandering past a place that I just had to pop into!

The week before jetsetting off to WA, I was interning at an amazing organisation that acts as a referral service for those who have exhausted all avenues to get legal representation (I’m not sure if I should mention their name for workplace privacy reasons…). Basically, if their cases meet the means and merits criteria, their case is sent to be reviewed by a lawyer in one of the law firms supporting the program, and then if the lawyer is willing to take it on, they do it all pro-bono i.e. for free (and these law firms are some of the largest ones in Melbourne)!  Love working there and seeing how the law can practically really make a difference to in a person’s life… however, I digress.  What I wanted to get to was that at the summer internship, there was another intern who was originally from Perth and she gave me a list of places that I should go try, and one of them was this ice-cream place:

She was adamant that if there was anywhere I should I go, I had to stop by here!  So of course, I had to go in to see what all the fuss was about…When I went in, I finally remembered she had been talking about how Gelare has half price on Waffles on Tuesdays but alas, it was not Tuesday when we arrived… So, given the fact that there is always room for dessert (my theory is that there is a separate hidden compartment in our tummies for dessert), I chose a generous scope of Pistachio Nut Premium Ice-Cream:

You could definitely taste the Pistachio and there were bits of it in the ice-cream too which was delicious… *mmmmm*

Just had a look at their website and apparently, they have two in Victoria now (Forest Hill Chase and Westfield Doncaster) so check them out!

Billy Lee’s Chinese Restaurant is located at: 15/66 Roe Street, Northbridge WA 6003 (08) 9328 4003.  Open Daily 6pm-11pm.

*Disclaimer*

I feel l need to explain that this post was written over a few days during lunch breaks and so I did NOT write this on my last study day before exams! I don’t know why I feel like I need to justify my blogging tendencies (and to whom?) but I have.  May not be posting until after exams so I’ll see you on the other side!

♥ Ames