I work nearby East Cafe, and have had my lunch there a few times. It is a pretty new fusion cafe, offering Vietnamese food for lunch menu and Western food for breakfast. East opens from 6:30 am to 4 pm on weekdays, and I was told that they would extend it to 4.30 pm. 

Although it has a concept of fusion cafe, East has a variety of affordable Vietnamese dishes which are very authentic. When I am overloaded with work, lunch will usually be a take away and my favourite is their Vietnamese pork Banh Mi ($6.50). Banh Mi is a Vietnamese baguette filled with various meat fillings and typically served with Cilantro, sliced Chilli and mayonnaise. A selection of fillings include Vietnamese pork, roast pork, BBQ pork, grilled chicken, grilled steak, meat balls, vegetarian salad. I always ask for a fresh-made Banh Mi, but if you are in a rush, there is a prepared ones in the fridge as well. $6.50 is definitely a good bargain for lunch around this area.

Decided to try their other dish, I popped in to the store again yesterday and ordered Grilled Pork and Salad spring rolls ($6). There are 4 medium-sized rolls with grilled pork, vermicelli and slices of cucumbers and other vegetables. It also comes with a Hoisin peanut dipping sauce.

 

The spring rolls tasted fresh, and I found it to be just the right size for lunch. The dipping is creamy, and slightly sweet, and a must-have with the rolls. 

East also serves a $3 Vietnamese coffee which I am yet to try. Compared to its western counterparts, Vietnamese coffee is a bit stronger and mixed with condensed milk. $3 for a cup of coffee is perhaps the cheapest one I have found so far.

East serves a good quality of food and is very well-priced as well. It is definitely a good addition, and I hope to see more of this sort of cafe around this area.

East | Cafe & Vietnamese Bistro

4/447 Hay St
Perth, WA 6000  

08 9325 4558 

http://www.eastbistro.com.au/ 

The Gaya Applecross

After looking at the droolworthy Red Misu photos at The Gaya Applecross, I know I just have to pay a visit to this restaurant. Usually, I am rather hesitant to go to a fusion restaurant but looking at the menu online, there are some interesting combinations that I could not find elsewhere in Perth.

Arriving at the restaurant on a Sunday evening, we were surprised to find out that the restaurant was rather empty. Initially, we thought that not making a booking was a bad idea and that we might have to spend some time waiting for a table, but I guess the rainy weather might explain why. 

The restaurant has kind of a modern feel to it. We saw a poster on the door saying that they are currently offering a 10% off. At the moment, they also offered an entree + a main + desserts (Green Tea Ice Cream/Red Misu) for $45. Taking into account the 10% deal, a complete 3 course meal would only cost us $41 which is a really good deal. While looking at the menu and trying to decide on what to order, we were offered complementary appetizers, which were rice cakes and baked cheese (I could not remember the exact name but it tasted like cheese to me).

The Gaya claimed not to use any MSG on the dishes, and some dishes on the menu sound very healthy, such as Seafood Stew (prawn, scallop, squid, fish, capsicum, zucchini, sticky rice. I decided to order Beef Cream Roll (beef, asparagus, inoki, capsicum, cucumber, cream cheese) for my starter, Salmon and Vegetables with coconut rice for my main and of course Red Misu for my desserts.

Beef Cream Roll ($14) is a very unique dish in a Korean restaurant. I found that the roll was perfectly sized, the beef was tender and it goes really well with the creaminess from the cream cheese. The portion was pretty generous too.

Salmon and Vegetables with Coconut Rice ($30) was the highlight of the meal for me. The salmon was simply delish; the fillet was particularly moist and flavourful, the skin was crispy and it literally melts in my mouth. The vegetables was nicely seasoned and the coconut rice was simply a hit. 

Coming to the dish that I have been raving about is Red Misu ($8). Intrigued with what this dish is all about, I was told that this is a Tiramisu alike with red beans. It was topped up with crushed biscuits and stone-like chocolates.  I think this dish would be perfect if the amount of red beans is balanced with that of crushed biscuits and the cream. The biscuits is not overly sweet and I enjoyed every mouthful of it.

The Gaya has encouraged me to experiment with more variety of food and I am now more open to try other fusion restaurants. $41 for a three course meal is absolutely an awesome deal and I would definitely come back to try the famous 36-hour sous vide cooked pork belly.

The Gaya Applecross 

Applecross Arcade
Shop 3 and 4, 3 Kearns Crescent Ardroww, WA 6153

08 9364 8887

www.the-gaya.com

PinchMe Sample

I signed up on PinchMe a while ago, and have received a few samples from them. PinchMe is a website which allows you to try leading consumer products before purchasing them. There is no subscription fee involved or any other fees, it is totally free of charge (even no delivery fee) and there is no string attached. Once you have tried the sample, you could give feedback on the product and as more feedback is given, more points are collected and we could even be rewarded.

I recently requested for Uncle Tobys Oat Crisp samples, which was delivered to my door via Australia Post roughly a week after it was requested. It was two packs of 40g Uncle Tobys Oat Crisp Hazelnut and Almond.

The cereal was good, and Hazelnut was my favourite. The best thing is that the feedback for this sample was a few multiple choice questions and one short answer question, which means I did not have to spend 5 minutes or more on this.

If you love trying new product or are just interested in getting some freebies, PinchMe is definitely the place to go:  http://pinchme.com.au/

Product Review: Mayver's Super Natural Crunchy Peanut Butter

As a true bargain hunter, I check OzBargain a few times a day and I keep track of all the products that are on sale in Woolworths and Coles. Their catalogues are usually published online on Monday afternoons for deals of the following week (starts from Wednesday to Tuesday the following week). Checking it on Mondays would help me to decide if I should purchase the item on that day or if I should wait till Wednesday in case the items go on sale. That might sound rather troublesome, but when an item goes on sale, this can help me save up to half of the item price. 

Anyway, thanks to OzBargain who has made me aware of Woolworths' half priced offer for any Mayvers spread. Mayvers claimed to produce a range of spreads with no added oil, sugar or hardened fats. Peanut butter contains healthy fats and can make a nutritious snack. However, we need to be selective as some products may contain added sugar, salt and additives to it. When I learned that Mayver's was committed to deliver products that are free from unhealthy additives, I am very excited to give it a try.

With this offer, it comes down to the following:

Super Natural Crunchy Peanut Butter (pure Australian peanuts and a little sea salt): $5.36 to $2.49

Super Natural Smooth Peanut Butter (pure Australian peanuts and a little sea salt):
$5.36 to $2.49

Dark Chocolate Super Spread (Just chia, sesame, almond, cashews, peanuts, hazelnuts brazil nuts and natural dark chocolate): $8.59 --> $3.99

Original Super Spread (Just chia, sesame, almond, cashews, peanuts, hazelnuts and brazil nuts): $8.59 --> $3.99

There are many big chunks of peanuts and I really enjoy it. Compared to Kraft Peanut Butter spread, Mayver's consistency is more watery and less creamy. I also found it rather difficult to have it spread evenly on a toast. As expected, it is also neither sweet nor salty, which helped me to notice how sweet and salty Kraft's Whipped is. It may be better to pair it with banana considering the sweetness of a banana compared to bread. If you find Kraft Peanut Butter to be too sweet to your likings, you might actually enjoy Mayver's. I guess I would need to adjust my taste buds, and learn to enjoy the original flavour instead.

Ingredients in the two items:

Mayver's Crunchy Peanut Butter: pure Australian peanuts and a little sea salt (259mg/100g)

pure Australian peanuts and a little sea salt (259mg/100g) - See more at: http://www.mayvers.com.au/mayvers-pure-state-super-natural-crunchy-peanut-butter/#sthash.KIx5W9vK.dpuf

Kraft Crunchy Peanut Butter: Peanuts (85%), sugar, soybean oil (antioxidant 330), maltodextrin (from corn), emulsifier (471), salt, molasses

Usual price in Woolworths for the two items:

Mayver's Crunchy Peanut Butter: $5.46 for 375g

Kraft Crunchy Peanut Butter: $8.59 for 780g

If you would like to learn more about Mayver's, check out: http://www.mayvers.com.au/

Typika is one of the most hyped brunch restaurants in Urbanspoon. It was also one of the few restaurants which open on Easter Monday. Without further thought, we decided to visit Typika again. 

We arrived around 11am, and were glad to find that the queue was not particularly long. There were 4 of us and we managed to get a table with 5 minutes waiting time. There are a few tables in front of the counter that allow customers to enjoy a cup of coffee while waiting for a table. I found this to be an exciting idea especially when the line gets rather long.

I have been here once during lunch time, but compared to the brunch menu, lunch is generally more expensive. After browsing through every item on the menu, I knew that I have been wanting to try the famous Spiced Beef Benedict with Harissa Hollandaise, and a cup of skinny Cappucino. It is interesting that the waiter could tell we would ask for skinny, or maybe girls would generally request for skinny.. Well, I need to save up my calories intake for the notoriously high calories Hollandaise sauce. My friend was craving for fried egg and decided to order Bacon and Egg Sarnie. 

Spiced Beef Benedict ($20): Two soft poached eggs nestled on a bed of spiced and slow cooked beef on toast (ciabatta, *cape seed or *gluten-free). Served with harissa hollandaise.

Bacon and Egg Sarnie ($17.5): Two rashers of grilled bacon, a fried egg, and Maffra clothbound cheddar, served with bushy mayo and rocket between two slices of toasted ciabatta bread.

 

Beef benedict could be served in ciabatta, cape seed or gluten free bread, but if there is no special request, it would be served on a ciabatta bread. The bread was generously sized, and the egg was beautifully poached. The beef was slow cooked and turned out to be very tender, but it is lacking the 'spiced' that I was expected, thanks to the Hollandaise sauce which covered the lack of flavour in the beef.  

Typika is a definitely worth trying, if you would like to visit on the weekend, going earlier might be a good idea to avoid the long waiting time around lunch time.

Typika Artisan Roasters 

Address: 331 Stirling Highway Claremont, WA 6010   

08 9284 6088  

http://typika.com.au/