Thai food @ Corner Cafe, Perth CBD, Western Australia

During our trip to Perth, we stayed a couple of night at Perth CBD's Criterion Hotel which was one of the oldest hotel establishment in the city. Since we did not have a car and had to rely on public transportation, we chose to stay exactly at downtown. After a day trip to Fremantle, we were quite exhausted by the time we got back to the hotel. After resting for a bit, we headed out for a late night dinner. Nothing much in downtown as it was a weekday, so we decided to have Asian food at Corner Cafe which was just a few shops away from our hotel. What is nice is that they open till late and also offer outdoor seating. We sat outside as the weather was not too chilly and road was quite peaceful. 

Outdoor seating late night:)

We had Thai seafood tom yum, Pad Thai and Thai fried rice. We were hungry by then and was so sure we could finish everything ( just normal amount for two right ??). Food was served pretty quick since they were hardly any patrons by then. First up was the tom yum soup. It was quite a disappointment as the soup was not pipping hot and…it had bamboo shoots ( something I despise soo much because it over-dominates the taste of the food @__@). However, seafood was generous and fresh so no complains on that :)

Thai Curry

Our main meal was the Pad Thai and fried rice. I had the Pad Thai and it was pretty good with generous portion of seafood. Loved it so much but the portion was soo huge ( for Malaysian standard, yeah, its pretty huge) and since it was already late, my tummy just didn't want to accept more than half of the plate. Panda had the fried rice which smelled so good when it was served. The portion was huge as well and with generous amount of seafood. We had a bit of both and we thought they were pretty tasty; if only we had asked them to make it more spice. We ended up having to packed the unfinished meal and brought them back to our rooms. 

Pad Thai - Fried glass noodle

Thai seafood fried rice

Overall, food was acceptable; not the best Thai meal I have but considering the combination of late night, outdoor seating, Perth CBD and price, I thought it was pretty good. The place is really convenient for those who are staying at CBD especially at Criterion.

Address : 546 Hay St Perth, WA 6000

Seafood & Beer @ Fremantle, Western Australia

Fremantle is a port city located at Western Australia. It is about 30 minutes drive from Perth. During our trip to WA, we took a half day tour with Australian Pinnacle Tours which covered Kings Park Botanical Gardens, Perth City, Cottesloe Beach and Fremantle. Totally worth it especially if you don't have a means of transport. The last stop was Fremantle, so we did not follow the tour group back to Perth city. Instead, we spent some time exploring this quiant little port city and then took a train ride back to Perth. We were there on a weekday, so the place was peaceful and quiet with not many tourists around.

Self-shots with tripod before lunch ! Love the serenity of the place:)

So, since it is a port city, expect lots of seafood restaurants. A couple of famous ones include Kailis and Cisserellos. We decided on Kailis' since the positive reviews on this place outweighed the latter. You've gotta be a seafood lover to come to this place! They have a wide variety of seafood on their menu. Since we had only a light breakfast earlier, we decided to have the seafood platter which came with fish fillets, shrimp, squid, chilli mussels, fries and salad. You can choose between deep-fried, grill or seafood bbq version. Since it was a weekday, we did not meet with any crowds or long queues as opposed to what some reviewers have mentioned.

Fish N Chips at Kailis'

Waterfront Fremantle : Impressive and with a perfect spring weather !

We'll see whether they are the best….

Seafood Platter 

Chilli mussels

Super huge scallops ! Satisfaction guaranteed !

Overall, we really enjoyed the seafood platter ! Seafood were fresh, crispy and not greasy. Portion was huge and definitely enough for 2 ( tam-chiak, big-eaters like us ;P ) or 3 people. Only downside was that we had to pay for the extra sauces like thai chilli sauce ( the only version of chilli sauce they have! ) Kailis' may not be THE ULTIMATE fish and chip place in Australia but they do lived up to their name as being the best in town !

Address : Fishing Boat Harbour, 46 Mews Road, PO Box 800, Fremantle 6959, Western Australia

Website : Kailis Fremantle Seafood Cafe

After a satisfying lunch, we hung around the harbour front, enjoying the breeze, seagulls and the sunny-not-too-hot weather ! We were walking at some small alley between buildings when we smelled something aromatic and malt-y. We couldn't help ourselves (even though we were not a fan of beer) but to enter this brewery due to the smell and the heat ( since we were busy snapping photos for quite some time!). Fascinating place that produces their own beer and also serves pub food.

Light ale

Sweaty sweaty…cooling down with a cold beer!

Address : 40 Mews Rd Fremantle, WA 6160
Website : Litte Creatures Brewery Brew House

Ciao Italia @ Perth, Australia

This post is longg overdue but just thought that I had to share with you guys this awesome pizza place in Perth, Australia. If you have followed my earlier posts, Panda and I spent the first few days of our holidays at Western Australia by exploring Margaret River, south of Perth before headed back to Perth for a few days. So, Ciao Italia is an Italian restaurant located at South Perth. If you are planning to walk ( which we did !), you will need to catch a ferry at Barracks Street Jetty at downtown to cross Swan River to reach South Perth. It was a smooth ride and we enjoyed the sceneries very much:)

Barrack Street Jetty,  Riverside Drive : Ferry to South Perth 

South Perth : View of Perth CBD and Swan River

Once reaching the opposite side, walk along the park, but just to let you know that Ciao Italia is located about 3km away (burn some calories before chowing down a pizza !). Take this moment to enjoy the sceneries,  people and the houses along the river…a really awesome feeling :))

Nice park along Swan River (South Perth)

This restaurant has good reviews; hence the crowd gets pretty huge so make sure you get there early. Tips : To 'cut' queue, one can just order a take-away rather than lining up like crazy to get into the restaurant. When I was there, I took a peek around and the place is really not-that-big and noisy…yes…not your romantic Italian dining! So, we ordered garlic bread, a pizza and tiramisu as a take-away. 

This what was awaited us when we finally reached @__@

Cut the queue and just order a take-away !

Once we received our take-away, we headed back to the park. It was already getting dark but that made it even more romantic ! We sat at a bench along the park, eating our dinner peacefully and enjoying the night view of Perth CBD. Just blogging this made me think of the wonderful time we had !

Garlic bread ($5.50) : Super delicious ! 

Siciliana ($27.50) : Tomatoes, mozarella and ricotta cheese, italian sausage, bacon, olives and mushrooms

Ok, this doesnt do justice to the tiramisu but at this condition it was already fabulous ! Lols 

Garlic bread and pizza were superb. It was not too greasy and I felt that the ingredients used were fresh! It was too bad that we were too full to enjoy the tiramisu and ended up bringing it back to our hotel. Since we walked back to our hotel at downtown ( yeapp…that was almost a 6km walk @__@), it melted by the time we got back. It did taste good though with a tinge of liquor ( can't remember what was it though). Pizza doesn't come cheap ( especially if you think of it in Malaysian ringgit!) but then again, prices were more or less there when it comes to food here so, stop converting !! lols….This restaurant has lots more variety in their menu and reviews on them are really good as well. 

Address : 273 Mill Point Rd South Perth, WA 6151

Website : Ciao Italia

5D4N Western Australia (Part 3)

It was an early start as well on Day 3 ( early as in 8 am, :O). Today's itinerary included a drive (about 42km) down south to Augusta, a town on the south-west coast of Western Australia. Cape Leeuwin is located at the tip (or the farthest point) of the south-west corner of Australia. The main attraction here would be the Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse. It was a fairly easy drive and we reached our destination within 40 minutes. 

The point where the Southern Ocean meets the Indian Ocean

And thats Antartica ( thousands of miles away )

Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse : Set up a tripod and clicked away !

A picturesque view of the lighthouse

On our drive back to Margaret River, we decided to use a different route, the Caves Road where we drove through the Boranup Forest. The road winds its way through the majestic Karri Trees, the third tallest tree in the world. The view by the roadside was just breathtaking. Along the way, we pit-stopped at Hamelin Bay; with its clear blue-turqoise water, one may actually be able to see a sting-ray or two.

Hamelin Bay beach ! Loved this photo ! 

Panda posing for the Karri trees !

Look at how small the car was vs the Karri Trees !

We checked out of Riverview Tourist Park, and started our journey back to Perth. We stopped at Busselton , 45 minutes tops to Margaret River. A must see would be the Busselton Jetty. Hop on the Jetty train to the Underwater Observatory for a fee! Do visit their website for the train schedule. We were slightly out of luck as we happened to miss the train and to wait for the next train would mean arriving late to Perth to return or rental car :( We compensated this with Simmo's Ice Cream though :)) (happy face again)

Busselton Jetty on a beautiful sunny day

Simmo's Ice Cream for the sweet-tooths

You might be interested with :
5D4N Western Australia (Part 1)
5D4N Western Australia (Part 2)

5D4N Western Australia (Part 4) - Coming soon!

5D4N Western Australia (Part 2)

Whale-watching at Dunsborough

All the while when we were in Margaret River, the weather was cloudy and slightly chilly since it was still late spring. Day 2 started with a 45 minutes drive to Dunsborough for whale watching with Naturaliste Charters ! We paid $80/person and the experience was totally worth it ! Advice : DO remember to bring a light jacket ( it was sooo cold at sea, silly me for not bringing one!) and travel pills (sea gets rough). We did not managed to get photos of the whales as it happened so fast and we were busy looking out for it instead !

Onboard 'Cetacean Explorer'. 

Looking-out for whales....

Brunch : Evviva

After a couple of hours, we drove to Dunsborough town for brunch ! Found a little cafe Evviva which served a variety of all-day breakfast items! Food was good and fresh ! Breakfast items were quite a 'thing' over here apparently. 

Bacon on toast

Big breakfast

Attractions :

After our morning adventure, we drove back to Margaret River and explore the many wineries and attractions at the area! If you are a wine fanatic, you could probably stay here a couple of days and explore the beautiful estates. We only managed to visit a few but since we are not much of a wine drinker, we were fine with it. Bare in mind that the estates (with vineyards, yes) are mostly in secluded spots; so it is advisable to rent a car with a GPS. Thank to Tomtom ( our gps) our drives were so smooth.

Cape Lavender : From jams, soaps, salts, etc...all lavender-ish~

The Margaret River Chocolate Co. : A MUST if you are here ! A variety of chocolate bars, chocolate coated delights, hand made truffles, novelty chocolates, chocolate sauces and much more.

Oils, sauces, novelties....

Blinded by the variety of chocolate bars, truffles and everything chocolate !

Superb superb ! Honeycomb chocolate was awesome-ly good!

A satisfactory face :O

Look at the back shelves of chocolates !

Bettenay's Margaret River Nougat Company 

A random photo that came out so beautiful!

We saw sheeps and decided to stop our car and use the tripod ! Randomness ~ 

Knotting Hill Estate ( free wine tasting!) and bought a bottle of splendid dessert wine

Marvellous view of the grape vineyard

Dinner : Settlers Tavern

After a long day, we drove back to our cabin, took a shower and rest for a little bit before heading to Settlers Tavern for dinner. A local pub with nice ambience and good pub food. Definitely worth the visit !

Chicken Burger Royale ($18): House-crumbed free range chicken breast, tomato, red onion, lettuce, beetroot with chip guacamole and aioli

Fish & Chips ($19) : Lager battered WA spanish mackerel, chips, housemade tartare sauce

Nice pub at the heart of Margaret River

You might be interested with :
5D4N Western Australia (Part 1)
5D4N Western Australia (Part 3)