Tag Archives: cocktails

Passionfruit & Lychee Caprioska

Posted in Drinks by

A tangy and slightly sweet cocktail I first had at a Gold Class cinema. It was so delicious that I decided to make it at home.

For about 2-3 people all you need are:

shots of vodka
2 limes, squeezed
3-5 tablespoons passionfruit pulp (I used passionfruit in a jar because it’s easier that way)
1 large can lychees in syrup, drained and syrup set aside
a handful of ice cubes

Using a cocktail shaker, put in your desired shots of vodka, lime juice, lychee syrup and ice cubes and shake away. The 2 limes should give you about 2 oz and the lychee syrup from the can should give you about 10 oz. This is more tangy than sweet so you can adjust the sweetness/sourness by adding in less lime juice or adding more syrup.

Then, in cocktail glasses or any other glasses, add in about 1-2 tablespoons passionfruit pulp and about 3-4 lychees that have been teared into chunks. Pour in the shaken juice into the glasses. Then hang a lychee on the rim of the glass and serve.

This has got to be one of the most refreshing drinks ever. Enjoy!

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1907 @ CBD

Posted in Modern Australian, Perth by

1907, situated along Queen Street, is an almost perfect fine dining experience. The restaurant is located in a somewhat dodgy aisle making it hardly recognisable from the outside with no visible restaurant door. The entrance door looked like a door to a house with a “push” (or was it a “pull”?) sign. We walked in greeted by a french waitress who showed us to our table. I did not even notice that HUGE wooden horse at the door food review sites have been talking about because I was anxious to sit down and order my food as I haven’t eaten for more than 6 hours.

The restaurant was unusually hot and stuffy when we went in. I was about to complain to the waitress to turn the damn aircon on but, thankfully, the place started to become cooler. After we placed our orders we were given a complimentary bread basket. It was a very generous size with 3 bread rolls and 4 slices of bread from a loaf. Dips consisting of olive oil, dukka, salt and a slab of butter were also provided.

1907: complimentary bread basket

1907: for the bread

Finishing almost the whole basket of bread was a terrible idea. It obviously fills you up really quickly so my friend and I decided against eating another piece of bread even though they were very tasty, not the kind you get from, say, Bakers Delight. By this time, the complimentary amuse bouche was served. Today’s dish was “Roast Pumpkin Soup” served in what looked like a flat-bottomed test tube or a long shot glass. Being the FOB that we are, my friend and I looked at each other thinking how we are supposed to eat it. There was no spoon and the fork was too big to fit into the ‘test tube’. So we just drank from it. It was very very delicious with a nutty flavour. Why can’t my homemade roast pumpkin soup taste like this? I wanted more of this – a big bowl of this. My friend made it into a dip for the bread too which was surprisingly good!

1907: complimentary amuse bouche - roast pumpkin

And so we chatted away. It did not take long for the entrees to be served. Mine was a “Seared Yellowfin Tuna with Cucumber and Fresh Coconut Salad and  Watermelon”. I have not tried a half cooked half raw tuna before and this was a very good first experience. It was very fresh and the salad, with a spicy and tangy taste to it, complemented the fish really well. Now I know why that watermelon was there. It was to cool down my palette after eating that spicy salad. My friend had the “Ginger Glazed Berkshire Pork Belly with Prawn Salad”. The dish was presented very beautifully! Great for photos indeed. And the taste did not disappoint either. Pork was tender and the salad fresh and tasty. The only complaint was that the pork skin was very tough. It was hard to cut it with a knife let alone chew and swallow it. If the skin were crispier it would have made this dish even better.

1907: seared yellowfin tuna

1907: ginger glazed Berkshire pork belly

For the mains, we both ordered the “Coq au vin, sous-vide Spatchcock with Mushrooms, Mashed Potatoes and Brioche”. We were craving for mashed potatoes so this was the obvious choice. To start off, the mash was very very smooth and creamy. The brioche was buttery and great for polishing off the sauce from the plate. And the spatchcock? It was delicious. Perfectly cooked and the mushroom sauce went really well with it. If there is any thing wrong with it it would be that it was a tad too salty. But otherwise this was a perfect dish.

1907: 'coq au vin' sous-vide spatchcock

I was already becoming very sleepy from being really full that I left half of my brioche untouched. But I just simply could not pass up dessert. The dessert menu had a “65% Dark Chocolate Marquise with lemon cheesecake ice cream” and anything that has ‘dark chocolate’ in it I have got to try. It’s something like chocolate mousse and the lemon cheesecake tasted like a yogurt-y ice cream. The sourness of the ice cream offsets the sweetness of my marquise. I still found the marquise a little too sweet for a dark chocolate concoction but otherwise good. My friend opted for a “healthier” treat, “Caramelised Orange with saffron ice cream and rose fairy floss”. The saffron ice cream was very exotic. Something different but something that I don’t think I would eat on a normal day.

1907: dark chocolate marquise

1907: caramelised orange with saffron ice cream and rose fairy floss

We paid our bill and walked out the door and that was when I saw that giant wooden horse. Why there is a horse in this restaurant is something I do not comprehend. Perhaps it’s something to fill in the void in the reception area? The place looked like a remodelled living room which made it cozy. Well at the least the table we were at felt cozy. The service was very friendly, too, from the minute we walked in to the minute we walked out. The waitress asked if we enjoyed our meals and wished us a good night when we left. She even offered to take a photo for us without us having to ask ask her – that is someone who is alert, I would say.  Some of the bad reviews I have read freaked me out at first because I really do not want to pay big money just to be disappointed. But I’m glad my friend and I took the chance and now this is one of my favourite fine dining restaurants. I would most definitely come back.

My rating: 9/10

www.1907.com.au

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Pink Zulu @ Cottesloe

Posted in African, Perth by

As I was checking out the deals in www.scoopon.com.au I came across this restaurant called “Pink Zulu”, which specialises in African cuisine. After this online encounter, I haven’t really given any further thought about this African restaurant since I have never tried African food before and it did not tickle my fancy.

A few weeks later I came face to face with Pink Zulu by accident. My auntie and I were looking for somewhere to have dinner and have narrowed down our choices to a Chinese restaurant in the city, a fish and chips shack in Fremantle and a cafe in Cottesloe. As we got out of the car in Cottesloe we decided to walk around Napoleon Street first just to see which restaurants were open. Then lo and behold — Pink Zulu was right behind me and that online encounter with this restaurant came flashing back in my mind. I convinced my auntie to give it a try and we were both very happy that we did.

The restaurant looks posh with its pink and black theme and decorations that give you that safari ambiance. I felt very under-dressed in my tank top and shorts and I was almost certain that they wouldnt let us in. But the waitress was very kind to let us know that my “highly inappropriate” outfit was ok; no worries, she said and we took a seat outside as all the tables inside were reserved.

Since we were unfamiliar with African cuisine, we asked the waitress what the best sellers were and she was patient enough to have taken us through the menu. After careful deliberation, we finally settled for 2 entrees to share and a main each plus a dessert to finish. For entrees we had “Zambezi”, which are crumbed crocodile and prawn croquets served in a skewer with pineapples and cucumbers. If you have never tried crocodile meat before I can say now that there is nothing to be afraid of it. There is hardly any crocodile smell and it tasted just like prawns. This dish is best eaten as a whole, as in have a piece of the croquet, pineapple and cucumber per bite. The best thing about this dish was the presentation. I am sucker for elegantly presented food. The other entree we had was the “Moroccan Ras el Hanout” which is loosely similar to pizzas topped with lamb and rockets on an African bread base with molasses and yogurt spread. This came in a rectangular shape cut into 6 pieces. I am not a very big fan of lamb because of its strong smell but this “pizza” was very delicious indeed. The lamb was cooked perfectly and the smell was tolerable. There were also bits of pomegranate, that gives you a sweet surprise when bitten into and pine nuts for that nutty flavour. For mains, my auntie went for the “Snapper Sahara”. The snapper is pan roasted sitting on a bed of potato and shallot bake then topped with olives, lemon and saffron oil. The fish was cooked to perfection and the potato bake is a very good complement to it. I had the  ”Beef Potjie”, which is ground beef with apricots, apple and almond topped with an egg topping. This is served in a little pot, which is very much like a witch’s cauldron, with a side of cous cous and heavily spiced sliced eggplant. The beef has a sweet flavour and the egg complements it perfectly with its smoothness. This in itself is enough to make you full but I would advise eating the beef with cous cous though to mellow out the sweetness and spices of the beef.

Pink Zulu: zambezi

Pink Zulu: Moroccan Ras el hanout

Pink Zulu: Snapper Sahara

Pink Zulu: Beef Potjie

Halfway throughout our meal the owner, Doulene, originally from Zimbabwe, came to have a chat with us. She was very friendly — told us a little bit about herself and the restaurant and explained to us what was in our dishes. I learnt from her that the restaurant was only 7 months old and business was doing very well. Can’t say I’m surprised since the whole place was fully booked.

When time came for dessert my auntie and I decided to just share one because we were way too full. We chose to have the “Pink Surprise”, a chocolate fondant with molten white chocolate infused with raspberry served with a scoop of African spiced ice cream. I completely forgot that this was a fondant when it came out that I excitedly took a bite and burnt my tongue. Other than that very hot experience, the rest of this dessert experience was divine. The fondant was VERY rich and it goes perfectly well with the molten white chocolate poured over it. The ice cream on the side was topped slivered almonds and chopped rose petals, which gave it a very sweet and fragrant flavour.

Pink Zulu: Pink Surprise

Overall, “Pink Zulu” gave me a very good first impression of African cuisine. Average prices for entrees are $16-$20 and all dishes come in 4 pieces as advised by our waitress for the night. “Pizzas” are about $20, mains come in $25-$30 and desserts are $16 on average. This restaurant is fully licensed but since we were driving we had settled for mocktails. I dont even know what the mocktails we had were called. We just told the waitress that my auntie wanted something with strawberries and I wanted something with passionfruit and the bartender just whipped up 2 drinks that were very very very good. Very flavourful and refreshing. We each had a sip of the other person’s drink and ended swapping drinks because I found the strawberry mocktail better while my auntie found my original passionfruit mocktail better.

Pink Zulu: mocktails

Needless to say, given the great food, great ambience, knowledgeable and friendly staff, and great first impression, I would definitely consider celebrating my next special occasion at “Pink Zulu”.

My rating: 8/10

www.pinkzulu.com.au

Pink Zulu on Urbanspoon