Love Freo

Went to Wild Poppy on Wray Avenue for breakfast this morning.

As you can see there’s lots going on with the decor: textures, salvage, colour, Ikea, vintage and a bit of granny-chic (lace, patchwork and crochet) thrown in for good measure.

Me and The Brunette had the Veggie Breakfast and the Chorizo Omlette respectively. The former was cooked perfectly the latter came with mushrooms, spinach, scrambled egg, tomato and French bread toast. Both were tasty and did the job (breakfast stops at 11.30am).

I spotted a router on the counter-top and asked one of the staff if they had WiFi. She said they did but her boss had the password and he/she had stepped out for a while, she also said that it tends to be a bit patchy.

Wild Poppy,
2 Wray Avenue,
Fremantle,
WA 6162.

Phone: 9430 8555
Open for breakfast and lunch.

Front Section

Seating Area

Lounge Area

I’m posting this for two reasons:

1. It’s an inspired use of a knackered looking fuse box.
2. It’s advertising a Staff Creative exhibition at The Sandcastle Organic Restaurant South Terrace. Work is by the staff and crew, might be interesting, might not.

Blackboard Fuse Box

I’m kicking myself that I haven’t been to this wonderful little eatery sooner: I was put off once by their specials board declaring some dish with peanuts, and peanuts have me running for the hills (a severe nut allergy rather than a legume phobia), and I didn’t make it back to  give them a second chance, more fool me.

I love curries, I love south-east Asian curries in particular and now I have finally been to this place I have a whole menu to explore. I was too busy chatting with Michelle – the Love Freo blog-reader who insisted I try this place out – to do anything useful, like write down what my dish was called, or make a note of their opening hours. But I did get this superbly average picture with the Love Freo phone-cam which doesn’t really come close to doing the food justice.

My lamb curry was delicious, rich in flavour, with good quality non-fatty lamb, and cost about 10 bucks, which for Freo is an absolute bargain. The blonde likes a good laksa too, so I’d say we’ll be fairly regular at this gaff.

Delicious food at Cafe 55. The fly on the papadum (not the Cafe's fault) was just an added bonus.

Thanks to Michelle for suggesting this place. People please feel free to suggest any other glaring omissions from the Love Freo food hall. Next week: Hungry Jack’s!

Café 55
55 High Street
Fremantle
WA 6160
(08) 9336 2604‎

Open from sometime in the morning until about 3pm (I think).

A hungry couple roaming the streets of Fremantle landed on Thailand Island on Sunday around 5pm. A friendly Thai lady, wearing a beautiful Asian dress, welcomed them with a big smile and the question “Dine in or take away?” Even though it was more a small shop than a restaurant, the atmosphere was very homely with nice music, candles on the tables and some beautiful Asian scent in the air, so the couple decided to dine in.

The man ordered the ‘Jungle Curry’, which was hot (he had been warned by the lovely Thai lady), but also full of beautiful flavours. The woman went for a healthy option – fried vegetables with Tofu and steamed rice. The vegetables were fresh and crisp and the dish had a beautiful sesame flavour. Both agreed, they’d love to strand on this island again.

Thailand Island

Jungle Curry

Stir-fried vegies with tofu

Thailand Island
14 William Street
Fremantle WA 6160‎
Phone/Fax (08) 9335 8003

Monday–Sunday
11am–10pm
BYO

Some nights I just like to stay home, some nights I want to party, some nights I need a cocktail and some nights I feel like going to ‘the good old humble pub’. The good old humble pub – that’s the one with the fireplace, where I can go anytime, where I don’t have to dress up, where I can have a quiet chat with my man or other nights meet some interesting characters at the bar and laugh all night. My ‘local’ means no stress, but good times – winding down after a working week. My local is Moondyne Joe’s. Not the sportsbar, but the front bar (they call it the Governor’s Bar). From my house it’s less than 10 minutes walking distance – an important criteria for the ‘local’. They also have good food, nice staff and – on the weekends – excellent live music. The (unfortunately very few) other guests and I have been pleasantly surprised by the quality of the performing bands and one could just wish more people came there to enjoy.

'Avalon' at Moondyne Joe's Governor's Bar

Moondyne Joe’s
73 Wray Avenue (Cnr Hampton Road)
Fremantle
Phone 9430 5513

Cocktail is one of my favourite words. Because I’m a child at heart really.

Anyway, while I’ve been drinking overpriced imported beer elsewhere in Fremantle, Emily Tchan checked out the cocktails at the new lounge above Maya Indian Restaurant on Market Street.  She had this to say about it:

It is a very small, simply decorated candlelit bar. We were surprised to find out that the prices are extremely reasonable, compared to some of the inflated prices of Fremantle. The cocktails are fantastic, the (only) waiter is great (think there may have been a few return visitors for him). They also have bottled beer and a good wine list. I recommend trying the Goa Sunrise (not the full name, a mature sex on the beach) with fresh pineapple, truly to die for. Very exciting for Freo.

Thanks for sending that to us Emily. Exciting indeed, hopefully this will be start the start of the Fremantle cocktail revolution. BTW, their food is great too.

Maya,
75-77 Market St,
Fremantle,
WA 6160.

Phone: (08) 9335 2796‎

Cocktail lounge open Thursday to Sunday from 6pm.

Maya Indian Restaurant

Being a bit of a bread nerd I buy my bread only from selected bakers, which are

- The bread stall on the Sunday Farmer’s Market on Montreal Street
- Abhi’s Bakery on South Terrace

Beside having such great products, it seems as Abhi’s Bakery doesn’t seem to care too much about their online appearance. How else could one explain that instead of a descriptive text there’s ‘Lorem Ipsum’ placeholder copy on their website. Come on guys, there must be more to say about your products!

This takeaway cafe is my guilty pleasure. Tucked away behind a tree at the south end of South Terrace, this place used to be the imaginatively named ‘Lunch Bar Cafe’. It is now Resi’s Takeaway and offers the best takeaway kebab in Fremantle (you can also dine in, but you probably won’t). The specific kebab I’m writing about is their marinated lamb and beef kebab, which comes piled with garlic, but also a tonne of parsley, so it all balances out nicely and tastes great. They also cook up the previously rotisseried meat on the hot plate, so instead of that slightly sloppy drippping kebab meat you usually get, this is actually a little bit crispy. Nice touch, just how I like it.

As an extra bonus they’ve taken to offering some additional home made treats, also a nice touch. And their menu, for fast food, is decent.

Home made things at Resi's

Recommended Kebab

Resi’s Takeaway, 386 South Terrace, South Fremantle, 9430 8388.
Open 10am – 9pm Mon – Fri and 11.30am – 9pm Sat – Sun

Just a quick note… Maya Indian Restaurant has recently secured a bar licence.

Love Freo welcomes this joyful news as we live in hope of finding great cocktails in this fine City of Fremantle. We have a special occasion coming up soon so we may pop in there to celebrate.

Maya Indian Restaurant

Maya Indian Restaurant,

75-77 Market Street,
Fremantle,
WA 6160.

Phone: (08) 93352796

Well you know.

Noodle Thursday @ North Freo Fresh

Noodle 6159,
North Freo Fresh,
98ish Stirling Highway,
North Fremantle.

Phone: 9341 7400