Perth Is OK! Staff Picks: Our Favourite Dishes
With a lot of spicy chat in our office about what makes a dish good, we’ve had to knuckle down and put our money where our mouth is: what is the dish that’s so good it keeps us awake at night?
Ebony Lane, Social Media Manager
A visit to Long Chim will turn up the heat no matter what you order… But it’s their Sour Orange Curry of Fish with flowering choy sum tomatoes and a side of steamed Jasmin rice that’s a serious winner for me. This dish takes you straight to the streets of Bangkok, packed with perfectly balanced sweet, sour and spice.
State Buildings, corner of St Georges Terrace and Barrack Street, Perth
Blake Kelleway, Creative Director/Founder
You should never judge a book by its cover, nor should you write off a restaurant because of its name. For what Chopsticks lacks in creative branding and quite honestly service, they more than make up for with tasty authentic Vietnamese cuisine.
Located in the chill part of Northbridge, Chopsticks is one of the very few places around Perth I’ve found who have the Northern Vietnamese speciality Bun Cha on their menu. And they well and truly knock it out of the park. Best served with a cold side of Bia Hanoi.
168 Newcastle Street, Perth
Troy Mutton, Editor-in-Chief
My absolute favourite dish around Perth is a burger that doesn’t come from a burger joint, but a Mexican one. The El Grotto La Burger Royale is, in my humble opinion, the best burger in Perth. Their whole menu does a lot of things right food-wise, but for whatever reason the combination of chuck and brisket beef, cheese and pickled jalapeño just hits the spot. It’s not a massive burger (also a plus), but it’s juicy as infierno and a few cheeky cheesy fries (+ one or two spicy margs) on the side really sends it home.
Shop 5/148 The Esplanade, Scarborough
Casey Edmonds, Account Director
Hear me out… A meat pie!
Let me paint you a picture… Warm creamy free-range chicken, topped with a dollop of cranberry sauce and blessed with melted camembert cheese. Wrapped in fluffy, buttery yet crispy pastry like a gift from the bakery gods… Mount Barker Country Bakery. No sauce is needed, and honestly, a good pie shouldn’t need sauce anyway in my opinion! I also follow this up with a jam and cream donut, duh!
It’s worth the drive.
18 Mondurup Street, Mount Barker
Laura Heys, Account Manager
They say you don’t make friends with salad.. Well I BEG to differ, particularly when referring to Petition’s broccoli and grain salad. I first sampled this delicious and nutritious dish several years ago, and when I tell you I’ve had it on repeat since then, please believe me.
The toasted seeds and grain combined with the delicate sheep’s feta and broccoli make the perfect balance of flavours with a combination of textures that make you wish the plate was bottomless. Perfect as a vego main or as a shared plate, I could quite seriously eat it every day and if they ever take it off the menu… let’s just hope it stays.
State Buildings, corner of St Georges Terrace and Barrack Street, Perth
Sally Hall, Cultural Editor
I’m lucky enough to have a job that means I get to eat a lot of pretty delicious food… Some of it pretty fancy, too. And while I’ve got to give props to a few standouts along the way (the crab toast at Le Rebelle, a beef short rib I had at Casa a little while back, a plate of octopus I had at Madalena’s years ago, the memory of which still makes my mouth water), when it comes down to it, is there anything better than the charcoal chicken from Little Lebanon? Succulently moist, slathered in garlicky marinade (turbo-charged with an extra blob of toum), imbued with that smokey, charcoal-y flavour, wrapped in pita that has soaked up all the delicious juices? There’s no better excuse for some nuclear garlic breath than this.
200 Main Street, Osborne Park
Luke Whelan, Business Development/Founder
A CBD trip
Succulent and delicious
The Tiny’s Chicken
A Haiku By Luke Whelan
QV1 Plaza, Milligan St, Perth
–
Header image: Chopsticks