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

Advertisement

Read Full Post »

Shish Mahal Restaurant

FOUND in the quiet and serene surrounds of South Perth, the Shish Mahal restaurant offers authentic Indian cuisine.  

Its fusion of traditional cooking and contemporary dishes makes the venue an ideal choice for any occasion.

Those who prefer dining without the spice can consult  spice indicators on the menu.

The entrée menu comprises a range of traditional dishes including Fish Amritsari, delectable boneless fish pieces dipped in chickpea batter.

Vegetarians will enjoy the  vegetarian options including Paneer Makhanti, which consists of succulent cubes of homemade cottage cheese coupled with Makhani sauce.

Meat lovers will be tantalised by the Lamb Madras – a tender lamb dish with a hot and sour sauce, teamed with curry leaves, mustard seeds and coconut milk.

The rich flavours of India are reflected in the Shish Mahal’s Chicken Korma dish, which features tender pieces of chicken in a succulent almond and cashew sauce.

Desserts are also a feature on the menu, with its Gulab Jamun dish, a selection of sweet dumplings with ice-cream.

Address: Shop 8, Meadowvale Shopping Centre, 298 Mill Point Rd, South Perth

Phone: 9367 3809

Open: daily for dinner

Liquor: BYO

Source  :  www.inmycommunity.com.au

Read Full Post »

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

Read Full Post »

A Coffee in the Park – Playgrounds in Perth, Western Australia

This site is a guide to finding coffee in Perth’s playgrounds and parks, created by a Perth family.

We are a family of two children who love playgrounds, and two parents who love coffee. We made this website to tell other parents of places we have found in Perth where you have coffee in the park while the kids play on the playground. 

New changes – over the Easter weekend we changed the menus – the list of parks is getting bigger and we have divided it up into a Perth Playgrounds South and Perth Playgrounds North menu.  We are also compiling a list of great parks without coffee – due to the huge number of suggestions we have received from parents across Perth. 

What counts as a coffee in the park?                                                                                      

To count as an official ‘coffee in the park’ a park need to have two essential criteria – a playground and a nearby source of takeaway espresso coffee. The two must be no more than a short walk from each other. These free public parks are listed in the two Perth Playgrounds menus. 

We also know of many other great playgrounds that unfortunately don’t have a built-in source of caffeine, so while they don’t qualify as a coffee in the park, we have created a new category for the site called Great Parks – No Coffee and will soon list them here. 

Under the Other Cool Places menu we have included places to play that are ‘pay for entry’ or which are fun places to play, without actually being formal playgrounds.

www.acoffeeinthepark.com

Read Full Post »