Rebirth of Oceanus restaurant

WITH a new manager running a very tight ship, and a new chef in the kitchen armed with a new menu, Oceanus on the Beach in City Beach has undergone something of a renaissance in recent months.

Since moving to Perth from his native Scotland, chef John Martin has run kitchens at the likes of the old Campo De’fiori in Applecross and the Royal Perth Golf Club as well as his own Wembley restaurant, ultimately selling the business to spend more time with his growing family.

Martin said the first thing he did was change the Oceanus’ menu to something more in tune with the beachside restaurant’s oceanic surrounds.

“The last chef went sort of 90 per cent meat on the menu, and I thought, we’re surrounded by water here, so I went back to about 80 per cent seafood, 20 per cent meat,” he said.

“There’s nothing on the menu that I’m not proud of.” Martin – who was originally trained in French cooking – said simplicity was an important part of his culinary ethos.

 “I go for the good taste and the flavour and I tell the staff in the kitchen to keep it simple ,” he said.

 “You get a lot of chefs that put too many flavours in; complex flavours, and you end up with this mish-mash on your plate.

” Another recent addition to Oceanus is manager Paul Fox, brought in by owner Tom Galopoulos. Fox said he arrived at the restaurant shortly after Martin.

“All I’ve done is just streamline the staff to make sure the service is at a level where it should be, that all the staff are fully professional and really compatible with the industry,” he said.

“I’m teaching my staff the three things I find lacking most in the industry – complex flavours, and you end up with this mish-mash on your plate and, to let people know that the menus are suggestions.

“If you like the sound of the fish of the day, but you don’t want the mashed potatoes with it, we will ask what would you like with it?

“Products in the fridge are there to be used and the chef is there to cook the food that you want to eat.”

Oceanus is also introducing some dinner shows later in the year, with pub-rock legends Mental as Anything dropping in as part of their 30th anniversary tour, as well as a show by Richard Clapton.

Source  :  www.inmycommunity.com.au

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Indian Palace Restaurant

THE smell of simmering curry grows stronger with the ascent off the street up to the warmth of the Indian Palace Restaurant in Bull Creek.

Guests will discover with delight that the rich, spiced aroma matches the taste of the food as they choose between vegetable samosas, tikka chicken and shish kebabs for entree.

For mains, one of their house specialties is the butter chicken, which arrives garnished with light almond flakes and sultanas.                                                     

The Bengali fish curry has a strong tamarind flavour and chunks of fresh tomato, and may go well with the rich Indian cheese and spinach dish – the palak paneer. To accompany, there are naans with different fillings such cheese or garlic, and different fruit chutneys and pickles.

With its inviting atmosphere and sensible prices, it is easy to see why Indian Palace is so popular with local families.

The great value extends even further on Friday and Saturday nights with the buffet, which includes such favourites as butter chicken, vegetable korma, Kashmiri dahl and lamb rogan josh. At $29.50 for adults and $14.50 for children, the buffet is the perfect opportunity to taste a range of the special dishes on offer at Indian Palace.

There is also an extensive takeaway menu.

Catering and functions are available upon request, call 9332 2126, or visit Shop 9, 110 Parry Avenue, Bull Creek

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Cheers to you, brew

Western Australia continues to produce the best beers in the country, with the state’s beer drinkers’ sophisticated palettes allowing brewers to continue to test tasty award-winning concoctions.

Margaret River’s Colonial Brewing Co. last night won the Cryer Malt Perth Royal Beer Show best commercial beer prize for their Colonial Kolsch.

Colonial was the toast of the awards hosted by beer-loving dancer Paul Mercurio, also winning the Barrett Burston trophy for best ale draught and the Premier’s Trophy for best WA beer in the show.

Chief judge Brendan Varis, head brewer at Feral Brewing Company, said Colonial’s Kolsch “is a world-class example of a top-class beer”.

“The Kolsch beer is a difficult one to make because they are really light in flavour so any faults at all will show through really quickly. This was a technically perfect beer.”

He said the standard of beer being produced by WA brewers was moving forward.

He said the standard of beer being produced by WA brewers was moving forward.

“It’s also great to see iconic WA brands like Red Back picking up awards.

”WA beer drinkers should be grateful and happy to have beers of this quality available to them locally. It’s great to know we have this kind of beer in our own backyard.”

The Cryer Malt Perth Royal Beer Show attracted 300 entries from 65 brewers.

Tops for taste:

Henley Brook’s Mash Brewing best stout draught and best lager draught

Myaree’s Billabong Brewing best stout.

Matilda Bay Brewing Company won best wheat beer draught.

Mr Varis, whose Feral Brewing Company recently took out a slab of top prizes at the Australian International Beer Awards, said WA brewers were more likely to produce extreme beers than brewers from around the country.

The sophisticated tastes of the WA beer-loving public allowed brewers to test different beer styles. Beers featuring hibiscus and black wattle seed provided new flavours for beer.

The sophisticated tastes of the WA beer-loving public allowed brewers to test different beer styles. Beers featuring hibiscus and black wattle seed provided new flavours for beer.

“There were some interesting experimental beers entered this year,” Mr Varis said.

“They represent an opportunity for brewers to explore further over the next few years and their commercial potential could be most interesting.”

Gryphon Brewing Services won the amateur brewer prize, as well as the trophy for best amateur brewer and best ale.

“The exciting thing about this competition was that the best of the amateur beers were very comparable with the best of the commercial beers,” Mr Varis said.

“Those beers came from the people who are serious about making beer and they are doing a very good job of it.”

Source  :  www.watoday.com.au

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Bulla recalls ‘plastic’ ice cream in WA

Bulla ice cream is being pulled from WA supermarket shelves after plastic pieces were found in some tubs.        

In what it dubs a “precautionary measure”, Regal Cream Products has recalled 2L tubs of its Bulla Creamy Classics – Cookies & Cream flavour with a best before date of October 10, 2010.

No other dates or products are affected by the recall.

Anyone with the specified ice cream should not eat it, but return it to the place of purchase for a full refund.

Retailers with affected ice cream can call Regal Cream Products on 1800 001 332.

Source  :  www.watoday.com.au

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