November 2011

Dinner at ToTo Vietnamese – Victoria Park

by Sab on November 29, 2011

The restaurant was pleasantly quiet around 6:30pm on a Saturday evening. After we placed our order, the food came astonishingly fast. We ordered sizzling beef and lemon chicken with steamed rice to share between two people. I usually order Pho and/or rice paper rolls at a Vietnamese restaurant, but unfortunately I had already had a brothy soup for lunch that day and couldn’t bear the thought of more soup.

The sizzling beef was tender and served on a hot plate, slathered in tasty sauce and came with water chestnuts, baby corn, onion and celery (forming the vegetable component of the meal). The lemon chicken had a crispy coating with a thin-consistency sweet sauce that was not too overpowering.

I ordered the lychee drink with crushed ice but was not as impressed with it as the syrup was not easy to drink and was likely diluted canned lychee syrup. However, there was a whole host of colourful drinks to choose from on the menu, I would be keen to try something else next time.

Just a short post today, busy with other things unfortunately. I keep finding great resources online but I do not have time to try them :( There’s a cosplay photoshoot in the works…

To To Vietnamese on Urbanspoon

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Morning tea at Koko Black – Claremont

by Sab on November 21, 2011

Koko Black sent me a voucher to try out the Spring Spoil for Two, so I invited Suz along for some free food. I tried to make sure that the free element did not influence the opinions expressed here. I’ve already reviewed Koko Black recently, so I’ll save the general comments and cut to the food.

The spring spoil at Koko Black seemed to have a tropical fruit theme: “Coconut and lime cake, passionfruit jelly, chocolate mousse, mango sorbet and two chocolates — passionfruit and caramelised coconut”. We ordered the spring spoil “to share” which is the spring spoil with two hot or iced chocolates. We opted for iced chocolates.

The iced chocolates were generously sized, had a sweet flavour and creamy fullness to them. We had chocolate icecream in the drink due to a temporary midweek shortage of flavours, the girl serving us offered the choice of vanilla icecream if we wanted to wait 15 minutes. However, since she had already poured the drinks with chocolate icecream in them, we were accepted them as is.

Unfortunately after I had ingested a third of the drink, I was starting to feel that it was excessively creamy, however I dislike highly creamy things in general. There is definitely something unusual about Koko Black chocolate that also comes through in the iced chocolates and all other Koko Black chocolate products I have tasted – they do not taste strongly of chocolate, which is somewhat puzzling.

Onto the spring spoil itself! The mango sorbet had impact; strong tart, sweet and fruity flavour, providing a powerful counterbalance to the creamy hot chocolate and chocolate mousse. The chocolate mousse was smooth (the same as the winter spoil) and I enjoyed the crushed salted caramel, I would love to eat the salted caramel as a standalone snack.

The passionfruit jelly looked like a large jube lolly with its sugar-encrusted appearance, however its texture revealed that it was definitely a jelly. It yielded satisfyingly to my teeth, slid easily into my mouth and emanated a strong, tart, passionfruit flavour before it melted away. I loved this, the jelly was my favourite part of the spring spoil.

The two chocolates were passionfruit and caramelised coconut. They were forgettable, however I did recall that I enjoyed them more than the winter spoil chocolates. Lastly, I’ll mention the coconut and lime cake, which was moist and floury rather than light and fluffy. There was not a lot of flavour to it and I feel it did not flow well with the rest of the plate.

The service was quite good; we had sporadic water refills and one staff member in particular was especially welcoming. After our meal, we sat around chatting and received a taster of chocolate orange sandpipers which both Suz and I enjoyed. I’m not sure if receiving free samples is usual for Koko Black, but for general shoppers, there are free samples available behind the counter – you just need to be brave enough to ask for them ;)

Overall, Koko black’s chocolate continues to mystify me in terms of (lack of) flavour, however the fruit flavours on offer in the spring spoil were very tart and intense, which I enjoyed.

Koko Black on Urbanspoon

See also: Afternoon tea at Koko Black – Claremont

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Breakfast at Greenhouse – Perth City

by Sab on November 19, 2011

Every corner of Greenhouse matched with their sustainable concept; from the untreated, sturdy wooden chairs to the recycled brown glass bottle my orange juice was served in. This also gave the place a real sense of indie trendiness, although the crowd on that weekday morning seemed to be full of business people, which made sense because Greenhouse’s location was so close to all the offices on St Georges Tce.

The service was great, when we arrived at 9am the staff were very attentive and friendly and they came a few times during the meal to refill our water glasses. When it came to ordering, I asked the waitress what was good on the menu. She proceeded to genuinely recommend almost everything on the menu, which was little help but somewhat reassuring, so I ordered the toasted oat muesli, berries and yoghurt. I usually never order muesli at restaurants because it is such a simple dish, but my stomach was ready for some light healthy food after a couple weeks of eating out.

Muesli is never a very exciting dish, but taking that into consideration, this was the best muesli I’ve ever had. The yoghurt is fluffed which was very novel and gave it a light, almost frothy texture. The strawberries were nice and the blueberries were exceptional; large, round, firm and fresh. Muesli mix itself was great, with the toasting and high ratio of seed to oat, it had a great crunchy texture.

Alina’s wild mushroom, slow cooked eggs, grilled polenta looked like a tiny ecosystem on a plate. She found it intriguing at first, especially the gelatinous texture of the slow cooked eggs. She said that it tasted good, but felt that there was a lack of crunch to counterbalance the soft textures in the dish, which eventually became displeasing. The polenta cakes were crunchy on the outside but were soft on the inside.

Wild mushroom, slow cooked eggs, grilled polenta

Alina and I both would have liked to have chosen other things from the menu, but the staff were friendly and the ambience was great with natural finishes to the interiors. I would be curious to go again – the crab congee looked really good and I was on the verge of ordering it!

Check it out: http://www.greenhouseperth.com/

Greenhouse on Urbanspoon

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New gear – Canon 600D

by Sab on November 18, 2011

I’ve had the Canon 600D for almost 2 weeks now and I’m finally getting used to the different clunking sounds it makes. It may seem like an odd choice for someone who already owns a Canon 400D, because it’s not a huge upgrade. I usually buy gear that I know I’ll keep for a long time but with this camera, it is more of a transitional body until I have more disposable income.

The 600D does have several features I wanted that the 400D lacks. To mention a few; the vari-angle viewfinder will come in very handy for me for high and low angled shots as well as finally having live view, which will help reduce eye damage when I shoot subjects that are backlit by the sun. The new sensor should offer some advantages as well, however these are all fairly insignificant features compared to the possibilities of video.

I would not have bothered upgrading my body if it wasn’t for the video capability, otherwise I’d be paying a lot of money for very little new functionality. I have not done much work with video or video editing, so it will be fun to figure that out, especially with my prime lenses. I’ve heard Magic Lantern is useful and provides additional cinematographic functionality, want to play around with that soon.

Just a random note: I found really cheap SD memory cards at PLE (which sells computer gear), but I do not know exactly what the difference is between branded memory cards like Sandisk / Lexar and off-brand memory cards like Silicon Power (the ones PLE sells). There does not seem to be much information on the internet comparing these two brands. If anyone has any ideas on what the differences are, I would love to hear them! These Silicon Power cards are significantly cheaper, but I suspect that comes at some sort of cost in terms of functionality…

By the way, if the back screen looks a bit strange in the photos above it’s because I’ve stuck a screen protector on!

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Lunch at Cantina 663 – Mt Lawley

by Sab on November 17, 2011

I wasn’t quite ready to post this, but then around midnight last night I was in a tired state and accidentally published my draft version that only had brief notes in it with the photos, so if you see a weird description on the urbanspoon page, that’s why!

I’d been curious about Cantina 663 for ages and finally got to visit on Monday at lunchtime this week. I loved the interiors at Cantina, it felt familiar and comfortable with lots of brown tones and wooden surfaces. I arrived there just after opening at 12pm to find the place slowly filling but still fairly spacious and chose a seat near the window.

To start off with, we both ordered the apple juice which was amazing. It was freshly made, had an interesting cloudiness to it at the bottom and the addition of a crisp piece of apple was fantastic, which I ate at the end of my meal – as dessert.

For lunch, I ordered salad, grilled skirt steak, date, avocado, crispy fried onion and yoghurt which was very generously portioned. The combination of ingredients seemed a little odd to me but I thought I’d give it a chance. The steak was my favourite part of the meal, the texture was deliciously tender.

The fried onion was great at first, very crunchy, however there was a lot of it and it was very strong in comparison with some of the other flavours in the dish. I wasn’t too sure about the dates into the dish, but these comments are just my personal preference, the guy waiting on our table mentioned whilst I was ordering that the grilled skirt steak had been a very popular dish lately.

Aimee ordered the bruschetta, roast cauliflower, almonds and buffalo mozzarella. She said she enjoyed it but had some trouble finishing the cauliflower.

The best thing about my lunch experience was the service; it was unexpectedly fantastic, I don’t think I’ve had service like this at a restaurant ever before. We had a bright, cheerful guy named Danny waiting on our table (I hope I remembered that right). He came by very frequently to check we had enough water, refill our glasses and provide a little friendly chit chat.

After lunch, I was faced with a decision to order dessert. I was sorely tempted to order the “vanilla olive oil parfait; strawberry, pistachio” but unfortunately was too full. I would probably go back and try other things on the menu, the offerings are very unique and I like that they try to use local and organic produce as much as possible. Looking at the breakfast menu, I would be curious to try this place out for breakfast sometime.

Check it out: http://www.cantina663.com/

Cantina 663 on Urbanspoon

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I have always wanted to make my own faux magazine style pages, so after shopping with Suz yesterday, I photoshopped together some items I’d found to make a little joke spread ;)

Faux magazine spread by sabatomic

Writing fake magazine copy brings me so much amusement :D That’s a real quote by the way! Click on the image to view it larger.

Credits: Dress and shoes from Forever New, garland from Sportsgirl, rose stock courtesy of Free Nature Pictures.

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Guilty pleasure – Chicken Rice

by Sab on November 16, 2011

Favourite asian takeaway of the moment: Boneless chicken rice from Hawker’s Food at Broadway Fair, Nedlands. There was a choice between leg or breast meat. The tender chicken came drowned in sauce, topped with fresh coriander and slices of cucumber, hidden beneath the meat.

It came with a generously packed circular container of chicken rice which I emptied into the chicken container to soak up all the deliciously salty sauce. There’s also chilli usually, however I do not like to add chilli to my food so there’s none depicted here.

Chicken Rice II

Everything about this meal was delicious except the chicken skins, which are easy to remove. I’ve eaten this dish many times and it has never given me any weird gastrointestinal symptoms afterwards which is more than I can say about a lot of other asian takeaway places!

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Wedding Photographers in Perth

by Sab on November 15, 2011

I’ve put together a little post featuring my some of my favourite wedding photographers in Perth. The style I tend to like in wedding photos is artistic, candid and documentary-like; where people look relaxed and happy. All the photographers I’ve featured here have this kind of feel to their work. I feel that more naturalistic shots better convey the atmosphere and genuine emotions on a wedding day. So to begin, in no particular order…

Jen Reagan / Anna Rose Studio

Jen Reagan’s photography reflects her passion and enjoyment for her job as a wedding photographer , which she describes as “the best job in the world”. Her style is very natural, fresh and emotive. Her subjects are often laughing and smiling in her photos which is really lovely.

Favourite work to check out from Anna Rose Studio:

Blog: http://www.annarosestudio.com/blog/
Old blog: http://www.filmandwhimsy.com/
Website: http://www.annarosestudio.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/annarosephotography

Christine Lim

I love Christine’s work, she has a great eye for cute, whimsical / vintage styling and is good at capturing people in the context of their surroundings. I’ve included two pictures below but make sure you check out the links below to see her other work, she has a very versatile style that isn’t conveyed well through just one photo.

Photographer: Christine Lim

Photographer: Christine Lim

A handful of favourite posts from her blog:

Blog: http://www.christine-lim.com/blog/
Old Blog: http://www.christine-limphotography.blogspot.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/alleysun
Website: http://www.christine-lim.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Christine-Lim-Photography/300276455537

Ryan David Ahern

Ryan’s photography is a perfect balance between natural and vintage styles and he has a great artistic eye for selecting out detail in his images. His photographs have a light and airy feel to them which lends a magical quality to his work.

I had real trouble picking favourites for this post as many of his photos are stunning but are showcased better as a part of a set, so definitely open up the links below to see more.

Check out these sets of images from Ryan David Ahern:

Blog: http://ahern.com.au/blog/
Website: http://www.ahern.com.au/
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fireflyrealm/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/-Photography-Design-of-Ryan-David-Ahern-/156847698180
Check out the notes section of his facebook – it is easy to miss and full of photos from shoots!

Samm Blake

Samm Blake is actually based in Melbourne, but she travels throughout Australia for her work. A couple of people from my high school were photographed by her in Perth this year, so I thought it would still be acceptable to include her in this post of Perth wedding photographers!

I am a long time admirer of Samm Blake’s work because everything looks like a still from a movie. Through her camera, a seemingly mundane moment in time becomes a piece of fine art.

Her subjects always look natural and relaxed. The people in her photos never look nervous of self conscious; they appear very relaxed which takes skill as a photographer.

I am at a loss for words to describe it any further; have a look for yourself at these posts on her breaktaking blog:

Blog: http://www.sammblakeblog.com/
Website: http://www.sammblake.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sammblakephotographer
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sammblake

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I’d love to find more inspiring photographers, so leave me a comment or email me links to other talented in photographers in Perth or who have worked in Perth! :)

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Baking Day II

by Sab on November 15, 2011

Some shots from our baking day last week, unfortunately I had to leave just before the rainbow-layered cake was constructed so I’ve just uploaded the photos I took while I was there. Disappointed that I didn’t get to practice my icing but there will be other opportunities :) Since exams finished I have been taking so many photos that I have quite a backlog to get through, so expect more updates to come. For now, enjoy the baking photos:

For lunch, we had turkish bread, celery / carrot sticks and dip. Nothing too sugary, that side was sorted with all the taste testing and bowl-licking that was going on.

Link to our last baking day: http://sabatomic.com/2011/09/baking-day/

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Breakfast at Milk and Honey – Northbridge

by Sab on November 13, 2011

I like Milk and Honey because it’s fairly relaxed, not too busy and there’s something really fresh about the food. I’d been to Milk and Honey for brunch with Lee and really liked it. James street is not the most scenic place to be on a Sunday morning, especially facing the dodgy stores opposite but that did not bother me. There’s lots of parking available and the streets are blissfully empty, a ghost town compared with 8 hours prior.

Tom and I ordered fresh juices, which we both liked. You can choose 3 fruits from a list that they have out the front of the store.

For breakfast, Tom ordered the “Healthy Breakfast” with a side of bacon which probably made it less healthy ;)

I ordered the pancakes which came with bananas, strawberries, strawberry compote, maple syrup and double cream. It was SO good. The texture of the pancakes were ideal for me – some pancakes are more floury and others are more towards crepes (feel free to enlighten me on the terminology). These ones weren’t floury at all, which I really liked!

I loved the generous amount of fresh fruit that I got with the pancakes! It made me feel like I could have been eating a healthy meal :D

I suspected that  Tom enjoyed his meal too, here’s a shot of the decimated plate:

I actually really wanted pancakes this morning, and as we were trying to choose a place to eat, I wasn’t sure where to go. I am not a big fan of Pancakes Carillon / Northbridge and there weren’t others close by, it was a bit of luck that we randomly decided to go to Milk and Honey and there was a pancake option I really liked available!

Anyone have recommendations on places to go for Pancakes in Perth?

Milk and Honey on Urbanspoon

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