Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Must Wine Bar - Margaret River

After a 3 hour drive down the Margaret River, Must Wine Bar was our very first stop for a late dinner. The staff were all very accommodating considering it was 9pm when we came in! There were loads of people ordering late as well so we didn't feel too out of place!


We ordered the charcuterie plate, and the french stick with olive tapenade to start with, and while the boys ordered beers, the girls shared a bottle of local shiraz.




Please excuse the horrible photos! All I had was my phone camera...


Anyway the charcuterie plate was really nice, there was a pickled pork and parsley terrine, pork rillette with cornichons, olive tapenade and pate en croute with chutney. All were delicious! I don't even like pate and I could eat theirs... The standout for me was the rillette, it was creamy and tasty, and tasted delicious with the cornichons. The terrine was nice, plenty of fresh parsley and was great on crusty bread.


For mains I ordered duck with spinach, black pig bacon, apple and an apple vinegar sauce, and S ordered the burger which came highly recommended from TFP and Juji Chews




The duck was tasty, and it fell off the bone it was so tender. The sauce wasn't as sharp as I would have liked but was still good, esp with the potatoes that were hidden under the duck! The bacon was salty and crispy, which went really nicely with the spinach which was plain, but delicious!


S loved his burger! I had a bite and was a bit jealous. It was delicious. The standout flavour was the char on the patty, it was just so nice! It didn't fall apart and the fillings were juicy and moreish. Food envy.




We figured that since we're all away on holiday, we should push the boat out, splurge a bit, indulge! So we went for dessert. I chose the cinnamon creme brulee with green apple sorbet, S got the triple choc brownie with raspberry swirl ice cream... The desserts in my opinion were the best thing we had. Everyone tried my green apple sorbet and decided that it was totally amazing. It was so appley and fresh, but without being sharp.. It was creamy, but still maintained a refreshing flavour... It blew us all away, but then to have some paired with the cinnamon creme brulee, was like dessert crack. It was amazing! There is the obvious pleasure in cracking the caramel surface, followed by the creamy cinnamon custard... yuuuuum! Mix the 2 together and it was like the best apple pie EVER!




Everyone died a little bit when they tried some of the brownie. It was moist, chocolatey, rich... all the things you need a brownie to be. Theres not much to be said about it to be honest. It was just delicious.




I'd go back to Must, its expensive but its one of the better eating establishments in Margaret River. My usual dining options when I head down that way is to stock up on nibbles, cheese and small goods and drink my wine at home, but I might head to Must for dinner again!


Must Margaret River on Urbanspoon

Eat Drink Perth 2012

I am pretty excited about the prospect of a months worth of foodie events in Perth, and that is exactly what Eat Drink Perth will be providing for us, the hungry public throughout the month of March! Most things look great to me, and I haven't seen one event that I haven't wanted to go to myself, or at least recommend to someone else!


The events kick off today, the 1st March, with the Margaret River Chocolate Company and Providore opening their Perth city store, at 317 Murray St. Providore is always a must stop for me when I go to Margs, I love their organic kitchen garden and the free tasters that they offer, on many of their products. I recently came home with some dukkuh, and my roadtrip partner Carolanne came home with a basket load of goodies! 


They have some great free guides available for download, such as the Coffee Appreciation Trail, which gives you an insight into 13 of Perths best cafes, including a map so you can navigate your way around and find them all, and a chance to win 6 months worth of coffee, if you vote for your fave cafe! They also have a Small Bar Guide, which, like the coffee guide, gives you info on 13 of the best small bars in Perth, and a map to stumble your way round with! It includes places such as The Bird, 1907 Cocktail bar, The Brown Fox, Ezra Pound and many more! Those will def get printed out and used one weekend!


High tea anyone!? There are a bunch going on, the Mad Hatters High Tea at Northbridge Piazza for $29 (less for children) where you can also get unlimited iced tea for $10, or at the Hyatt Regency for $45 with continuous coffee, tea and sparkling wine! The George High Tea is $36 (you get an upgrade to the Prestige package when you mention EDP!), and C Restaurant is holding a high tea for $30 as well! Fancy something Parisian? The Pan Pacific Hotel are holding a Parisian inspired high tea for $55 with 3 tiered stands and macarons! Last but not least, the Maj, in their Edwardian splendour are also getting in on the action - you get a glass of house sparkling on entry, and the tables are shared - $45. Check the website for dates as some of them are on more than once!


Fancy some market/stalls action? The City Food Fair on Murray St, Twilight Hawker Markets at the GPO, the very kid friendly Food-a-rama at the Northbridge Piazza (they have chefs on stilts and a cupcake decorating station!), William St Festival (One of the events of the program in my opinion! Live music, stalls, food, drink the lot!), Yum Cha in the Park (Dragon Palace, Golden Century and Xin Tian Di taking their yum cha carts onto the streets of Northbridge! Ill be going to this one! Theres lion dancing!), The Butchers Picnic at Northbridge Piazza (A carnivores delight! Ill be taking the bf!), and the Coles Gluten Free Food and Healthy Living Expo at the Convention Centre for $15. The Claisebrook Carnivale and Duck Derby for Telethon is another kid friendly event with face painting, animals, arts and crafts, live entertainment and more - if I had kids, Id take them here! The International Student Festival sounds pretty interesting too!


I haven't even mentioned the degustations/dinner events yet... There are loads... Where do I even begin!? Origins Restaurant have a 5 course meal for $120pp, showcasing WA's best produce, and the Cheeky Sparrow will host 4 differently themed 3 course meals, Spanish, Australian, Italian and French - canape style! All $30 and a bit of a bargain I think, Im really keen to head to one of these! If you fancy blue cheese and dessert wines head to Frasers at Kings Park for a night of 6 cheeses and matched wine for $55! For the gluttonous amongst us, the What the Pho - Pho eating challenge is back! $25 for a massive steaming bowl of Pho, if you finish it you get a $50 voucher and a shirt! Dinner with Maggie Beer probably sounds alright too! For $150 at the Parmelia Hilton, you get to celebrate the launch of her new book with a 3 course dinner. Head to Metro Bar and Bistro on the full moon for a 3 course dinner (plus wine!) for $70 or head to the long table lunch at the Brewery - $120pp, 5 courses matched with beer and wine at the Old Brewery. Amphoras Bar in West Perth have a 5 course tapas dego with matched wines and sherry for $55! There is a 6 course Raw and Living dinner party at CNR Cafe for $65 (menu is on the webpage!), or head in to make your own 4 course meal in their kitchen after hours($135)! One of the highlights is sure to be the Restaurant Amuse Dessert Degustation ($95pp)! There's the unique Earth Hour Dinner, which is a 3 course meal using organic produce and cooked using energy saving methods, all to be eaten by candle light! The Quarter are offering a 6 course dego with matched wines for $130pp!


Coffee lovers are well catered for too, and you'll be brewing like a boss once you're done! Origins are offering a pin the origin on the bean comp, where you'll get free training on how the distinctive flavours in coffee from unique locations - then you guess where they're from! Play with the Rolls Royce of coffee machines at European Foods, then check out the WA Coffee Championship weekend!Learn about different brewing methods at the Warehouse Brew Bar, or head into Cafe 54 for coffee tasting ($10). To learn the basics of brewing coffee then you can't miss the Barista Basics Course at Howard St Coffee - normally $120 this course is just $90 when you mention EDP!


Dinner and a show? Head to Friends Restaurant for dinner and a show with Austen Tayshus for $135 or pop into Rigby's who are holding 2 events! The first being Twisted Vaudevilles Dinner Cabaret, which gets you a 3 course dinner and a show for $50, or pop in for their wine conversation club hosted by Piano Gully Wines. Feeling musical, then head to Friends again for Mick Thomas from Weddings, Parties, Anything who'll be singing away while you enjoy a 3 course meal.


The City Farm Food Film Festival sounds so interesting, for $15 you can see films about food that inform and inspire! There are a bunch of movies being played at Northbridge Piazza, including Guilty Pleasures Film Season, and Wednesday Night Date Night which includes 30min short love films followed by feature length films from 8:30. 


Last but not least, the tours! Get a small bar tour of the the CBD, a 2 hour blitz of Chinatown, or the more lengthy Northbridge Chinatown tour or check out the iconic Kakulas Bros!


aaaaand breathe. There is SO MUCH going on... and this is just EDP! Have a look at this post from the lovely Eat Meets West for even more awesome events happening around Perth!


What are you going to check out!?

Low Fat Chocolate and Raspberry Muffins

I have a cold. I need nourishment! I've had an up and down day, I've felt pretty crappy, and have stayed in my PJs - its 4:30pm. I need chocolate, antioxidants, something baked. I have some great chocolate, and cocoa nibs, and I'm going to use them!

I went on a trip down to Margaret River recently and paid Gabriels Chocolates a visit. They were the very first single origin bean to bar chocolate maker in WA, and a visit to their factory in Yallingup is worth it!


When you walk in the first thing you notice is the smell - it's awesome! You can try their chocolates, read the tasting notes on the back of the packet, see the cocoa beans and nibble on the crushed cocoa nibs. 




The woman working there has told us cocoa nibs has 300 times the amount of antioxidants than blueberries! That is crazy good for you! I grabbed a bag straight away! A quick google confirms the cocoa nibs status as a superfood - its all over the place. They taste very slightly chocolately, nutty with a hint of bitterness. 


I also grabbed a 3 pack of their dark chocolates, all 72% - their highest was 85%! I can imagine that being amazing in a sauce over game meats or a steak in winter!



Steve and I had cracked open the blue one to eat a few bits, and so today while my body was having a battle with the flu, I decided that there was nothing else for it than something baked with chocolate. Something easy, something that required only what I had in the cupboard. Muffins.

I looked for a bunch of recipes, and eventually David from Food Blarg sent me a really basic Stephanie Alexander recipe which I pimped out with inspiration from Kirbie's Cravings and her post on the best chocolate muffins! They turned out really well, considering I forgot to put the oil in. That's what made them fat free! They're pretty grown up muffins, they're not that sweet because of the dark chocolate, paired with the cocoa nibs - and I only added about 1/4 cup of sugar. So they're actually pretty good for you! If you used spelt flour or something similar it would be even better!

I decided to use the Rio Caribe, from Venezuela - 72% chocolate, with flavours of coffee, almonds, red fruits and pure cocoa.



The hot chocolate mix I used was a spanish one I got from Kakulas Sisters in Fremantle. Its in a beautiful tin and tastes amazing! Its got  a bit of sugar and vanilla in it too.





Ingredients
Makes 6 large, or 12 mini muffins

1 cup of SR flour
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup milk
1 egg

1/2 tsp salt
40g of high quality chocolate (I used 72%), chopped
2 heaped tsp of good quality hot chocolate mix 
5 or 6 frozen raspberries
oats for garnish
cocoa nibs for garnish


NOTE: I would also add vanilla (I didn't have any), and for a yummy twist, omit the raspberry and add some instant coffee and cinnamon - finish it off with a coffee glaze for a spiced mocha muffin!

Method
1) Preheat oven to about 180C, grease your muffin tin. 
2) Mix all dry ingredients into your mixer.
3) In a seperate bowl mix all the wet ingredients together, then add to the dry ingredients and mix until combined.
4) Add the chopped chocolate, and crumble in the frozen raspberries.
5) Pour the (very runny!) mix into the muffin tins, pretty close to the top, and sprinkle the top with a tsp of cocoa nibs and oats.


6) Bake the muffins for about 30-40mins, or until a skewer comes out clean.
7) Leave them to cool in the tin until they're manageable and then allow to cool on a tray.


Eat with guilt free pleasure!



Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Oven baked wraps with spicy mince



It was pancake Tuesday the other day, and everyone else was making pancakes. I've never been sold on them really, always a bit stodgy, bit full on, bit sickly... I don't love the texture of sugar so pairing it with lemon juice has never been my thing. But given that it was Shrove Tuesday, I thought I'd jump on the bandwagon... somewhat. I was planning on making some savoury crepes, but by the time I got home, I really couldn't be arsed with a crepe batter, and the dishes that went with it! I decided to make some spicy mince and wrap them up in tortillas (my crepe alternative!) and cover them in a rich tomato sauce and bake them, enchilada style!


I'll give you the recipe, but when I make spicy mince or chilli con carne I never measure anything, so this will be a guess-timation as to the quantities! I also use flavoured oils in my cooking, out of pure laziness mostly. The Cobram Estate flavoured oils we buy are great, and so full of flavour. It just means that I can skip a step here and there! Obviously, if you'd rather, use whatever oil you have in the house, and garlic.


Oven baked wraps with spicy mince


Mince
500g beef mince
1 onion, chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp celery seeds
1 tsp smoked paprika
Chillies to taste, chopped
Garlic oil


Tomato sauce
2 cans tomatoes
1/2 capsicum
Garlic oil
Ground cumin
Tabasco sauce


Tortilla wraps
Cheese, grated


Method
1) Add oil into the pan with the onions, chillies, cumin, and celery seeds and paprika, and stir, make sure it doesn't stick. Cook till the onions are softened.


2) Add the beef and cook until it's browned, then transfer to another bowl and set aside.


3) Add the oil, canned tomatoes, capsicum, ground cumin (to taste, I added about a tsp), and as much tabasco as you like! Give it a good stir and cook it down a bit so its not so watery.


4) While you're waiting, oil a baking tray lightly, wrap the mince up in the tortillas and tuck them in snugly! 




5) Pour the tomato sauce over the wraps, get it into the cracks and spaces, and grate some cheese over the top.


6) Put it in a hot oven until the cheese and sauce are bubbling and golden.




I served it with a chunky garden salad, dressed with a generous squeeze of lime and seasoned with S&P.




We both really enjoyed it, more so the next day! These 4 tortillas were quite big and so one each is enough, we had leftovers for dinner the next day, otherwise, this would serve 4. The tomato sauce was quite rich, it had a great tang which went really well with the mince, which had great savoury, smokey flavour. There was no sauce on the bottom so they were nice and crisp, which was a nice contrast to the softer texture on top with the sauce and cheese, which we both thought was comparable to pasta, just a little chewier. Don't worry about sogginess! If you've reduced the tomato sauce down enough you shouldn't need to cook it too long in the oven...




This is so easy to whip up, uses everyday ingredients that you're likely to have already. Its a real crowd pleaser, as its so easy to scale up, or down and its simple to put together.


*Note - sorry about the average photos, it was the night before that my SLR memory card had a fit and died, so these are just camera pics!*

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Louis Baxters - Subiaco

I've wanted to go to Louis Baxters for ages - heard good things about their coffee and food, so figured it was time to get there! I went with a friend of mine Rose, (of The Medicine fame) just in time for breakfast before the menu switched to lunch!


We scored a table by the wall, but Rose got the comfy seat and I got the cement block. I find these chairs uncomfortable, and the seat height to table height ratio is off, so it's difficult to sit and relax there, as I'm sat on a concrete block thing. Is this a tactic to get people in and out faster? I don't know, but next time I go I want the couch! It's a small place, with a huge mural on the wall which you'll either love or hate, I suspect. I quite like it, but can imagine people hating it!




There's no table service, so you have to go up and order your food - my friend went up and ordered for me. I wanted the baked eggs with chorizo and fetta, but they didn't have any of it... So I chose the bacon and egg breakfast tart, and they didn't have that either. So I ended up with (not very happily), quinoa porridge, with soy milk, honey almonds and seasonal fresh fruit (peaches), and my friend ordered the 60 minute poached egg. 


The coffee came out quickly and it was great. I'd go back there again for coffee when we do our market shop on sundays, cept they're not open then... Both of us commented that the coffee was great, and I've talk around the twitter coffee lovers scene that they're fans of it too. 




My porridge arrived and it looked pretty good - I poured the soy milk over it, expecting it to taste crappy cos I don't normally like soy milk, but I found that it didn't taste like the soy milk I remembered, which was good! As far as breakfasts go, this was fine. I enjoyed it, but I would have much preferred the other options I wanted previously. To be honest, there isn't a great deal to say about a meal of fruit and porridge. This was all it was, and I did enjoy it but it didn't blow me away. I could have done it at home really... I've had porridge at other places which has had stewed fruits and a moreish syrup or some kind of sauce but this didn't really have anything extra like that. It wasn't a meal that would put me off going there, however I wouldn't bother ordering it again. It was presented nicely though, with the wooden board and the bottle of milk.





I had some food envy when I saw what Rose had though, it looked much nicer. She did say though, that she didn't think she could taste the difference between a normal poached egg and one poached for 60 minutes. She had some yummy looking grilled asparagus on New Norcia bread, with peas, parmesan and truffle oil, and it smelled awesome. I wanted to swap. She enjoyed her meal though, said it was quite delicious!



Rose went up and paid for her half of the bill before I did... When I went up about 5mins later (in a fairly empty cafe by this stage) and asked to settle the rest of the bill, the woman who served me, quite snarkily said "what bill??". Uuum... *looks around* theres no one else here, and the place is so small how could you not see where I had been sitting? Ok whatever. I paid up and didn't really get much of a warm response. She wasn't UNfriendly but she wasn't really brimming with joy either...


While I didn't have an amazing experience at Louis Baxters, I would go back. I didn't get to order what I really would have liked to eat, so it's not really fair to judge too harshly... I'd like to try their lunch menu too. Hopefully next time we go there, they'll have the food I want to eat, and they'll be open!


Louis Baxters on Urbanspoon

Friday, February 10, 2012

West End Deli - Leederville

I woke up this morning, and thought about breakfast. We had no bread, no coffee, I didn't want cornflakes. I snuggled up to S, and told him so. The kitchen was also a mess, and I had no intention of cleaning it, since I do most of the cooking (the rule is whoever doesn't cook has to do the dishes). So I suggested breakfast out, somewhere new that we've never been to before. We'd tried to go to West End Deli a couple of weeks ago but it looked like they were doing some kind of refurb, so we went somewhere else. This time though it was fine, busy but we were able to get a table straight away. I loved the vibe of the place, gritty chic is probably the best way I can describe it. Grey walls painted haphazardly, old frames hung around the place, and chandeliers made of old chairs, held together by the electrical cords of the lights hanging from the ceiling. Really cool. 




Our drink orders were taken straight away - S wanted a mug of coffee, but they don't do them. However our friendly waitress offered a large takeaway cup instead, which was fine. They came out after about 10 minutes, and mine looked great. It tasted good too, a hint of bitterness, not too milky, it was nice. I ordered a take away coffee once we'd finished as well, and I rarely do that!




We'd had time to have a look around, I liked the look of the tables and the general decor of the place. They have silver buckets for cutlery etc, which I've seen around and we have some now too (got them from Ikea, cheap as chips!), as they're great for entertaining! They gave us a saucer of salt as well, which looked perfect for eggs!




We had a while to peruse the menu, and I wasn't sure what to get as there were a few things that looked great! I ended up choosing poached eggs on toast, with black bean cassoulet and a mushroom and herb terrine on the side. I tossed up whether to get the bacon as well, but at $8 each I figured it would be too much for one person to eat! S got the steak and mushroom pie with spicy relish and salad.


It took about 10-15 minutes for it all to come out, and it looked really yummy. I couldn't wait to tuck into my little spread, and upon seeing it all was glad I didn't get the bacon!




I ate my eggs and toast first, leaving a slab of toast for the other sides. The eggs were cooked really differently, one was ever so slightly overdone and the other was underdone, which was a bit strange. I really hate it when the white is gloopy and slimy and I had some of that with one of my eggs which wasn't great. However the toast was thick and tasty, and the salt made the eggs delicious!




The mushroom and herb terrine had a blue cheese butter on top which, though I don't like blue cheese, was actually quite nice. The mushroom flavour was very rich and though it was a small serving, you don't need alot of it! It comes served hot, and tasted quite fab on the thick buttered toast, which I then used to mop up the rest of the egg on the plate. 





The standout for me though was the black bean cassoulet. That came with a big dollop of sour cream on top, and when stirred through gave the dish a light creaminess that went really well with the other flavours. I couldn't quite put my finger on what it was in the beans that made it taste so good, but it was delicious. The spices weren't overpowering, and the beans were soft but had retained their bite. I dunked my toast in it and once that was gone, just spooned it onto my plate. I would order this again in a heart beat!




The pie that S had was great. The pastry was light and flaky, and you could taste the butter! The filling was so tasty and the beef fell apart on your fork. The spicy salsa on the side wasn't spicy according to S, but he loved it anyway because it tasted so good. The salad was just mixed leaves with a simple dressing, but they had used peppery leaves and a sweet dressing to counter the richness of the pie which was fab. S said that he felt really full after the pie because of how buttery it was, and that after a while it was a bit heavy - but he had no complaints about the flavour!


Our meal, with 3 coffees came to $53, not the cheapest brunch but it was great quality, so I had no probs paying that price. The staff were all very friendly and approachable, we received great service the whole time we were there, and that's quite rare in Perth really, as there are plenty of places who have to work on their customer service.


I almost left without seeing the baked goods table! They had fabulous looking baguettes for sale, as well as rolls, cakes,  brownies and tarts. They all looked fab, and if I hadn't been so full it would have been even more difficult to walk away without getting something!





I will absolutely be back to West End Deli - fab service, good coffee, delicious food in funky surrounds. Sayers used to be our go to place, but I think now its going to be a coin toss as to which place we go to, as this was just as good, without the wait for a table!


West End Deli on Urbanspoon

La Cholita - Northbridge

A week or so ago I won 4 tickets to see Super Night Shot at Studio Underground at the State Theater of WA as part of the Perth International Arts Festival, which was pretty awesome - free night out! The tickets were worth $50 each so I was pretty stoked to have won them! I asked Carolanne (of Carolannes Kitchen) and Mr T to come out with us, and we decided that we'd better go and have something to eat first. It started at 8:30 and after all, one mustn't go into the theater without filling ones belly with all manner of delicious things! We decided that since we were in Northbridge, we'd have to try the much hyped La Cholita.




I'd read that you need to get there early to get a table, as if you wait for later on in the night its going to be a 2 hour wait! There's no way Id ever wait that long for a table anywhere, so S went there after work at about 5ish to score us a place in the waiting area. You can order drinks, corn chips with dip, entrees and tostadas in the waiting area, to tide you over until you get into the eating area. We ordered Pico de Gallo, a sangria ($6) and a Dos Equis beer while we waited for our dining companions to arrive.




S didn't like the Dos Equis at all, it had no flavour - it was like drinking beer flavoured water! Wont be bothering with that beer anymore! The Pico de Gallo was nice - chopped tomatoes, onions, coriander, with a hint of chilli and a generous squeeze of lime. The corn chips were slightly denser than I'd like but still tasty. I would have liked to have tried to guacamole but S doesn't really like it much so I left that one!


When we were ready (they won't seat you in the eating area until your whole party has arrived), we were seated at a cool bench by the bar, and our drinks orders taken. I liked the sangria enough to get 500ml of it, which was $15 - pretty good value! I found it to be very fruity and easy to drink, there wasn't as much of a red wine taste as Im used to - but on a hot, humid day, it was icy cold and went down a treat!





S and I ended up ordering the wood fired Black Angus beef with chimmichurri, a pulled pork and pineapple taco, a beef cheek taco, mexican rice and tortillas. Carolanne and Mr T got the street corn, guacamole,  Mole Negro chicken, wood fired pork hock, and refried beans. When you order they bring out 4 sauces for you to use with your meals, which was a nice touch! There was salsa verde, chilli, fresh limes and I think yoghurt and mayo.




I managed to snag one of their pieces of corn and it was delicious! I loved it. Blackened on the outside, with a creamy dressing and some spices that none of us could put our fingers on! They were great, Id love to try and recreate these at home!




Our beef came out first, probably 10mins before anyone else got anything. It wasn't great that we had to wait for our sides to come out, and the beef had started to go a bit cold by that stage - we ate some when it was hot anyway though of course! It was delicious, tender, charred on the outside and the chimmichurri was great. Gave it the extra boost of flavour that a well cooked steak pairs so well with. It was a lot chunkier than any chimmichurri I've had before but I still enjoyed it.





We eventually got our sides and tacos, and the others got theirs too. The pork hock looked so awesome, meltingly tender and falling off the bone. I had a little piece and it was yummy - but we all agreed that the huge layer of fat over it would have been put to far  better use had they made crackling out of it... waste of pork fat!! We also tried their mole negro chicken, and while the others really liked it and said it was their fave, S and I didn't like the sauce. It was really nutty, and I just didn't really enjoy that flavour paired with the chicken so much.






Our tacos were nice, they're really small and really only good for one person (tho S and I shared ours!). The pork and pineapple was nice but I would have liked to have gotten way more flavour from the pineapple - I couldn't taste it nearly as much as I wanted to. The pork was nice, juicy with a good flavour. The beef cheek was S's fave, though I found it a little dry. We used the sauces they gave us but I thought they gave us so little of each one that I was paranoid about using too much of it. I enjoyed them but they didn't blow my mind really.




Our rice was alright, quite dry but had alot of flavour. It was really warmly spiced with something like cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg or something similar. It was a very small serve though and would feed 2 ppl max, the bowl would have been the size of my palm and maybe an inch n a bit deep - so not a huge serve! But you didn't need much of it anyway... Our tortillas were nice, and come 3 to a serving. Home made, slightly thicker than what you might be used to from supermarkets, but tasty.




The boys then ordered a tequila (one of their 67 varieties!), which comes with a shot of sangrita, a non alcoholic tomato based chaser which cuts all the harshness out of the spirit. The boys were pretty blown away by how it erased the burn and left them with a totally clean palate! Their tequilas range from $8 - $120 so theres something there for you!


Mr T also ordered the mango, lime and chilli tart, which I snaffled a bite from. The base was light and flakey, and the lime topping was sweet and sharp, with a tiny sprinkle of chilli on top. There was some fresh mango sliced up on the side as well which Mr T said worked really well with the tart.


We spent $240 between 4 of us, including drinks, so its not the cheapest night out. The atmosphere is great there, though a little loud, not the place for a first date perhaps! Its decorated with all kinds of kitschy knick knacks, and the glass panels in the floor are pretty cool too! The staff were all very friendly though sometimes they took a while to get to your table, you pretty much have to flag one down if you want something.


I'd go back, but I wouldn't race back. Partially because you have to get there so early to get a table, partially because while the food was nice, it didn't blow me away. 


La Cholita on Urbanspoon