Perth - Sala Thai and Madmonk

Met up with friends a while back for dinner at Sala Thai in Fremantle. This is only my second time at Sala Thai and I think they serve really good and authentic Thai food.

Reservation is strongly recommended as they are often fully booked.

The interior of the restaurant is very spacious and it gives you an alfresco dining experience although it is indoors.

1) Gang Ped - Red Duck Curry with cherry tomatos and lyches - $27.00

2) Pad Thai - Thin Flat Rice Noodles with Beansprouts, Eggs, Chives, Peanuts and Prawns - $17.80

3) Pla Thod Sum Rods - Deep Fried Whole Fish Topped with Sweet & Spicy Tamarind Chilli Sauce- Market Price

4) Neua Yang Nam Tok - Grilled Marinated Beef served with Spicy Hot Sauce - $21

The duck curry was rich in flavours, really thick curry that went very well with the rice. I love the grilled beef although it is a really simple dish, the taste of the 'grill' was infused into the beef, and the sweet and tangy sauce brought out the flavours, it is one of my favourite dish! The Pad Thai was DIVINE with generous seafood ingredients. The last dish was the fried fish, which the staff offered to debone for us. We could taste the freshness of the fish as it was not overcooked. I think it was deep fried to perfection and the spicy hot sauce which covered the fish was heavenly.

We all enjoyed our dinner. It's obvious that Sala Thai used fresh and good quality ingredients to prepare their dishes which made every dish exquisite. One of the best Thai restaurants I've been to.

website: http://www.salathai.com.au/

Rating: 4.5/5

Location: 22 Norfolk St, Fremantle

Tel: 9335 7749

Went to Madmonk after dinner for a quick drink and some dessert.

(taken from the website) mild - lower alchol

3.5%, the mad monk mild is a light golden

lager with a fresh saaz hop aroma. crisp and

clean on the palate, the mild recently won

best reduced alcohol at the Perth Royal

Beer Show.

The beer was light and refreshing. Perfect for a cool summer night, there was a hint of sweetness in the aftertaste, i really liked their beers! They serve breakfast and dinner too.

Website: http://www.madmonk.com.au/

Location: 33 South Terrace, Fremantle, Western Australia

+08 9336 3100

Perth - EnEx 100 Food Court

I have written about EnEx 100 Food Court before but I think that it is one of the best place for food in the city. It is never crowded (unlike most places in the city), it is clean, new, modern and the food is affordable.

First dish from Maya Masala which sells affordable indian food at a fraction of the price of most indian restaurants in perth.

Garlic Naan - $3.50

Selection of 2 curry and rice - approx $10

The staff asked us whether we want to wait 5 minutes for their fresh garlic naan, of course we agreed to wait for hot naan fresh out of the oven!

Rating: 4/5

I went to Hi Thai to try their Pad Thai.

Approx $11.50

The pad thai looks really delicious, they were also very generous with their seafood and other ingredients. However, it was a bit too bland for me. I think this dish will be much better if there was slightly more salt/soy sauce added.

Rating: 3/5

Although the pad thai was disappointing, I still enjoy being away from the crowd and having a quick meal in the spacious food court. It is also a good place for a break from shopping.

For the previous enex food court post click here

Perth- Roxby Bar & Grill

I decided to go the Roxby Bar and Grill for a try as I often drive past it and it is always crowded. Crowded restaurants are a sign that the food must be good right?

Tucked along a corner of South Street (O'Connor) Roxby is a fairly big restaurant. It has a spacious alfresco area and the interior is really big! It serves Thai food and western food as well. It has a bar and a big dining hall. There is also a large projector showing sports at the background, good to keep your boyfriend entertained and pretend he's listening to you when u are talking.

I was a bit early for dinner, but when I ordered my food, all the tables were full.

You get to choose the type of curry or sauce you want, then choose what kind of meat you want it to go with. The staff was very friendly and service was really quick. They also had a range of Western Food (like fish and chips etc) 

For appetizers:

Golden Bag - $9.50

There were so cute and they were freshly fried. It has a meat and vegetable filling and they tasted good.

Tom Kha Gau - $8.50

I think it is overpriced for a small bowl of soup but this is the standard price for Thai food in australia. The portion might be small but this coconutmilk-based soup came packed with seafood and vegetables. It was tasty and rich in flavour.

Steam Rice - $3 per serve!

I did not like the fact that I had to pay $3 for star-shaped rice.

For Mains:

Cashew nut with Chicken - $21

The chicken and vegetables made a very good combination with the yummy sauce.

What is this swan-shaped thingie? They are so creative in their presentation :)

Hor Mok Talay ( Seafood with Green Curry Sauce ) - $24.00

The green curry sauce was really thick. The serving of the seafood was generous and we had lots of prawns, scallops, squid and fish. I found the sauce a bit too thick but it was still a pleasant dish.

Overall the food was average and not as "authentic" as other Thai restaurants. However, the lively and casual atmosphere of the restaurant made dining here a fun experience. Next time I might try their 'grilled' western food instead as the Thai food was not that spectacular. The Thai food here was also too pricey for my liking.

The big signboard contains all the relevant information of the restaurant.

Rating 3.5/5

Location: 398 South Street, O'Connor WA 6165

Perth - Enex 100 Food Court

Enex 100 is Perth city's newest addition. It is a small upscaled mall with mostly designers brands and a BIG Woolies. Above the shops, there is a spacious and funky food court that has a lot of nice stalls. My tummy was growling from all the window shopping so I went there for have a quick lunch.

Bangkok Uncovered!

Continuation of the Bangkok adventure.

Went Maboonkrong area for some shopping and mani pedi session. Of course everything there was much more expensive compared to the Pratunam area because once again, its targeted at the tourists. But anyhow, we had awesome mani pedi (200Baht + 100Baht) with pretty good service. Remember to tip everyone who does your nails! Important and only a small tip like 20Baht per person is sufficient.

Lunch was Shabu-Shabu at MBK. Its on the same level at the food court and really cheap! Could do better with the flavoring of the food but still an enjoyable meal!

Headed for desserts after lunch at the MBK foodcourt. In my opinion, Platinum Shopping Centre's foodcourt still wins handsdown even though the one at MBK is bigger. The quality of the desserts were not good. We actually had a tapioca block that tasted bad and had to throw the whole piece away. The red ruby was fine though.

redruby is a popular thai dessert which looks like mock pomegranate seeds but is actually pea sized water chestnut bits coated in red jelly and served with coconut milk and ice. really yummy!

How to aid digestion of a full meal? Take a walk around the supermarket to scout for any interesting or cheap snacks etc that can be stocked up or bringing back home! Pineapple Basil drink sounds....quite questionable. We bought quite a few fresh fruits and snacks!

Since we ate so much for lunch, we decided to 'detox' by going to Chinatown for the famed Kaya Butter toast bread. I have never tasted such awesome Kaya in my life, plus look at the generous heap of kaya dumped onto the bread! The bread has been spread with butter and toasted over charcoal before the Kaya is placed on top and cut into bite sizes. It was fantastic and worth every bit of the 15Baht we paid for one slice. Go early to avoid disappointment. This stall is a complete sell-out by 10pm every night and it only starts operations at about 6pm. Location is opposite the Bank of Ayudya.

We also tried the Butter Condensed Milk toast but it didn't taste as awesome as the Kaya toast so we ordered the latter again. We had 3 Kaya toasts in total!

Chinatown here is a long stretch of shops, restaurants and make shift food stalls. A pretty interesting sight. We had bird's nest for 20baht and iced ovaltine for 15baht. The hot drinks cost more than the cold drinks cos they put so much ice into the drink, only 1/3 of the cup is actually non-ice. The durians are so huge! I think 3 people can share one durian and be full from it.

After that we wanted to go out for another night of shopping at the locals market, Sepanput. Unfortunately, it started pouring and since it was only a short distance away from Chinatown, we took a cab there to wait for the rain to stop (36baht taxi fare). But the rain did not stop so we took shelter at a random roadside stall and warmed ourselves up over a steaming bowl of tom yum soup. it was good, and it only cost 70baht though the locals will have it cheaper.)

Street corn is delicious! Steamed and juicy, no salt/butter is needed. Eat it while shopping for a healthy, cheap snack at 10baht!

My random tidbits buys for eating and to bring home. Chinatown has a few quirky things that I use to eat while growing up, such as fried ikan bilis, peanut candy, cuttlefish sheet, pork floss rolls etc, and I had to buy them home!

The Thai fishcake is a must try also! eat it with the thai sweet chili and prepared fresh on the spot is so good! 20baht only. I'd say, we had a field day scouting for different local food along the street to try!

Thai massage before heading back to the hotel. The one next to our hotel cost us 200baht, while the one at platinum cost us 350baht. really ticklish but good.

Packed red ruby back to eat cos we were so full from lunch but wanted to have our last taste of it before we pack up and leave for the airport. They packed it for us separating the rubies, coconut milk, ice and included the bowl! so thoughtful!

The insane Bangkok traffic. The hotel staff advised us leaving the hotel 3 hours before the flight and it sure was a useful tip because we were caught in the peak hour traffic and unfortunately i really needed the toilet. Sure was an experience, especially with the taxi driver going at 140km/hr on the highway and I didn't dare to move myself in order to belt up.

Had dinner at the airport. The prices there were quite high for the local standards but still affordable. I had green curry rice, where the rice was served star-shaped, for 250baht. I liked it. It was really tasty.

Thus concludes the Bangkok adventure. It was a good break away from work/studies and we had a great time on an affordable budget. Would recommend anyone who is looking for a great time shopping, eating, relaxing and on a budget!

Naked Bangkok Part II

Next morning was rise and shine for every shopping fanatic favourite place, Chatuchak Market! Had breakfast there - Mango Sticky Rice (50baht), fried chicken noodles and fried rice (40 baht). All of which were prepared upon order. Fresh!

Snacks while walking around the market included juicy sweet pineapples from the pushcart, home-made coconut icecream which was creamy and smooth and had bits of jelly inside and kaya custard bread.

Time for lunch! We had beef slices with beef ball kway teow. The beef balls were huge! About the size of my fist. I love the kwayteow, it is so smooth and silky and goes well with the soup. The beefballs were not bad though the beef slices had abit too much fats. All in all, still a pretty satisfying meal.

After an entire day's of shopping, it was time to change and head out for dinner and drinks, but not before having our complimentary welcome drinks on the top floor, the observation deck on the 85th storey. Although it was only fruit punch, it was worth it for the view was good. The relaxing lounge was abit of a disappointment though, because it was quite small and there's nothing to do there except to sit, chill and see the view. Maybe they should learn from Singapore's New Asia Bar at the top floor of Westin Hotel and have a dance floor or play some nice music instead of Westlife.

However, if you don't stay at Baiyoke Sky Hotel but want to experience the view from the tallest tower in Thailand, you can pay 200 baht to go up to the observation deck for a drink and the view.

Headed to Suan Lum Night Market for dinner and some sight seeing. Dinner was at the Suan Lum Beer and Dinner Garden, where everything is situated under a huge black tent, with a stage and live performance and rows of beer and zichar stalls. We ordered pineapple fried rice, green curry, tom yam seafood and fried kangkong. Not bad except portions were abit small for 3 people. Along with Asahi beer (which was cheap), we watched live performances by the locals singing Lady Gaga, Westlife, Backstreet Boys etc.

After an hour of fruitless shopping (because everything at Suan Lum is overpriced. Just a night market tourist attraction), we headed to RCA, where the locals go to party, destress and chill. The last time I was in Bangkok, I was at the club Route 66 which had cheap drinks, good music and a really posh setting (the toilet had a string quartet playing). This time we chose the club called Flix and as we were tired, we didn't join the party crowd inside, but just sat outside on the cushy seats while chillaxing over our drinks. I had the Singapore Sling which was quite sour. Ordered a bowl of mid-wings to share, which is chicken wings cut into half though it looks like frog legs. It was really tasty!

Bangkok Part III to be continued soon!

Bangkok Stripped! - Part I

Sawadika!

Missfattyfoodie headed to Bangkok with two friends for some relaxing, shopping and eating session over the weekend! How to maximise the value of an airticket, especially when it was a last minute booking and the price is quite ridiculous for a Singapore-Bangkok jetstar flight? Book the earliest flight out and end up having less than 3 hours of sleep (in my friend's case. 50min of sleep).

Having been to Bangkok quite a few times, I felt very at home upon boarding the taxi en route to our hotel, Baiyoke Sky Tower Hotel, seeing the familiar landmarks. Unfortunately the Thais probably didn't welcomed me as much as I thought they did because our cab broke down in the middle of the highway for half an hour due to an overheated engine (you could see smoke rising from the front bumper) and we were subjected to points and stares for the whole duration until the Thai AA come along.

Anyway, our hotel was awesome. The tallest tower in Thailand with a fantastic view of the buildings and traffic.

I wonder who did the english signages for them...

Oh yeah, cheap and good thai food can be found just at the food court, in this case, Platinum Shopping Centre's food court on Level 6. Everything is so cheap (by Singapore standards). i got my tomyam seafood + glass noodles at 80 baht ($3.50) and it's way better than thai express's.

yummy. looks at the selection and serving of the food! the fried oyster dish, although it was just oysters and egg (no starch) was really good. I only ate the egg, cos I don't eat oysters, but my friends said that the oysters were really juicy and fresh! The pad thai was nice with the smooth silky flat noodles and peanut sauce.

Moving along, was the desserts! I think it should be a requisite that every meal be followed by desserts. They had a wide spread of freshly made thai desserts, both hot and cold. We ordered a red ruby and a portion of tapioca for sharing. The red rubies there were gigantic! 2.5xs the size of the Singaporean rubies. Plus the tapioca was very tender and chewy, goes really well with the coconut milk.

Food we had during our tea time, shopping break. I had the pork/meat ball noodles soup which only cost 40baht and tasted really good, despite looking like a simple and plain dish.

Dinner time! Thais are famed for their cheap and good seafood. Unfortunately, we had to listen to a smooth english talking taxi driver who brought us to this seafood place, Somboondee Restaurant, which charged us prices even more expensive than Jumbo Seafood Restaurant (famed Singapore seafood restaurant) and it wasn't in a nice restaurant setting and the portions were not big. The only saving grace was probably the food tasted good.  We had barberqued butter squid, chili crab, stir fry mixed vegetables and phad thai. The total came up to about 3,300 baht (about SGD $120). How incredibly ridiculous. There was a caucasian couple who was paying up as we were leaving and we heard them complaining that with the amount that was charged to them, they could have bought a round trip air ticket from Bangkok to Phuket!

Lesson learnt: Do not listen to taxi drivers seafood recommendations, because they will get a commission out of the prices you paid for the overcharged seafood, or settle the price with the restaurant before they kill and cook the seafood for you.

Alright! Bangkok Part II coming up! Stay tune for it!

Perth - Han's Cafe

Went to Westfield Carousel shopping mall for dinner and movie.

I always go to Hans Cafe when I am there as it is a safe bet and the food is not bad.

I chose to sit at the counter so I dont have to talk to any waiter/tress, I can just touch the screen to order. lol

Lets Start the experience!

Ordered the fried spring roll for entree. It was just plain vegetable spring rolls so there was nothing special about it.


Pad Thai - Approx $9.90

The quality of the Pad Thai in Carousel is quite inconsistent, sometimes it tastes really good sometimes it doesn't. This time it was alright.


Hans Cafe is all around Perth and it is a very convenient and reasonably priced place to dine in. Personally, I don't find their food authentic, but their food is still good. Good place to go if you just want a quick meal.

Rating: 2.75/5

After the quick dinner, we went to watch the Inglorious Basterds in La Premiere.

Tarantino is a real genius although I can't stand the very graphic and gruelsome scenes that are part of his style, but all i had to do was to cover my face and peep through my fingers for half the movie. The film was so powerful I still can't stop thinking about it till now! I want to watch it again and I would say it's a classic. I think if you like Godfather, you will like this.

and.... most importantly i think Daniel Bruhl is sooooooo hot! and he speaks so many languages fluently...

definitely buying the dvd once it is out!