When I was younger I always thought that going out for coffee with someone was such a trendy thing to do...it always seemed like something only adults did and the thought of it made me want to grow up faster! I loved and still love everything about cafes, which I guess explains why I have been working in one for such a long time. I love the smells, the sounds, the relaxed feeling you have sipping on tea and also having the best conversations with great friends (and him), without the worry of being told to hurry and finish up. It's all just so....nice =)

Anyhoo! One cold cold night, we decided to pay a visit to a special type of cafe, San Churros (although I think it's best to call it a chocolateria) in Fremantle. We've been to this place, numerous times and I always order the same drink and usually eat the same thing...I completely indulge at this place! Here's our usual order coming up...

 Spanish Hot Chocolate:

This is the thickest hot chocolate that I have ever had in my life! The Spanish hot chocolate is very rich, very very rich and when you add the marshmallows that they give you, the drink is an explosion of sugary goodness. There's been a lot of mixed reviews about this drink where some people think it's the best thing in the world and others seem to think it's too much. For me? I'd have to be in the mood for this one, I love the taste, but I can never finish the whole mug. Give it a go..."sweeten thy soul".

Churros:

This is the churros for 2, with dark and milk chocolate for churro dipping. The churros come warm and are crispy on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside and when you dip it into the super rich chocolate, it makes you go, woah because it is amazing (and very, very sweet). I always feel really guilty after eating these because they are so very sinful that I can barely eat 3 of them! But yum, such a treat =)

There we go folks, our cosy warm snack on a very cold winter's evening. Make sure you don't eat a big meal before coming here though, the treats are sure to fill you up fast! Don't forget the water....you will need it!

 luvluvchocolate!

WHAT TIME IS IT?

It's BREAKFAST time!!!

Yes indeed! It was breakfast together for us one beautiful Sunday morning in Vic Park. I had been scouting for a good breakfast place to try with my beloved for quite a while now and finally came across Crumpet from a few other food blogs, which raved on and on about it, so naturally I had to try it too! This little, but very busy cafe is renowned for...can you guess? Their homemade CRUMPETS, now I was never a huge crumpet fan, before this place...I always thought that those ones you get from the supermarkets were rubbery tasting and were just disgusting, so I was really expecting something worthwile with this place, but we'll get into the whole crumpet thing in a second. The Crumpet cafe is also popular for their cooked breakfasts, my favourite! Have a look at what went into our bellies that morning...

Homemade Crumpets with butter and honey:

Look at them! They're pretty different from the supermarket ones huh? These are what crumpets are supposed to look like! They're served warm and toasted, so make sure you eat at least one first because you will want to bite into that fluffiness and be able to grin for the rest of the morning! I thought that these crumpets were a bit like scones, but with less of the flour taste and more of the taste of pancakes? They tasted good, very good! You must try these and they come with either honey or vegemite if you're not a sweet person (though I'm sure you are ).

Eggs Benedict with Smoked Salmon:

This was my very first time trying this dish. I always thought that I was not a fan of any egg, except for scrambled eggs. I etched this belief in my head for so long, until I decided to make myself try something different (I call it getting more food mature ), such as eggs benedict. With this particular version you get, two poached eggs topped with hollandaise sauce, put on top of layers of smoked salmon, spinach and finally based with an English muffin. I poked into one of the eggs and out oozed runny, yolk...usually I'd stay away from it, but I tried it and it was so good with the sauce! It was amazingly good and even better with a bit of muffin, spinach and salmon...it was just like I had died and gone to heaven at that moment! All you egg haters out there...you will be turned into a lover after this! (They use free range eggs too...wow!)

Omelette with Bacon:

More eggs! This was V's omelette, which encased spinach, mushrooms and brie and the sauce that you see on top is sweet balsamic. As you can also see in the picture, it is a little watery at the bottom, but that is very expected due to the water content from the spinach and mushroom so don't be put off by it! The taste of this particular omelette was really, really good! Everything was cooked just right and the addition of brie cheese was the best thing ever..it really gave the omelette a sophisticated flavour as did the balsamic. V loved this and so did I! You must try it!!

We also tried their coffee, which wasn't too bad at all, full of flavour and just enough heat to drink! Not bad Crumpet! As I said before, this little cafe get really busy on the weekends, but the best thing about this place is that their breakfast is served all day so you can enjoy the food for breakfast, brunch or lunch and the turnover is quite fast too so you are more than likely to get a seat!

A truly wonderful breakfast cafe that you should all pop into!! To find out more, visit their facebook page!

  http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Crumpet/342778570241 

Now that's eggstastically, eggsciting!

I read about this new Vietnamese restaurant on a random blog one day that got me really intrigued. The reviewer kept on saying that it was comparable to Tra Vinh, which is our favourite Viet place to eat, so naturally I was very curious about whether or not this claim was true. The claim was that the menu, prices, serving sizes, available sauces and free teas were very similar and maybe even better?  Now before I go on you need to know something about me...I am a very stubborn individual that doesn't like change or to be beaten (that was hard to admit) so after reading about the review I actually didn't want to believe that this place could really beat Tra Vinh so I did some research...I read more reviews and it seemed like this new contender was actually getting some pretty positive comments! At this point I was getting pretty excited (tasty pho here I come!!) so I brought up the topic to V, who seemed pretty enthusiastic about the whole idea and before we knew it, we were seated in the restaurant!

The first thing I noticed about the place? It was brighter and looked a lot cleaner than our dear friend Tra Vinh and I also could not stop looking at the two sparkly chandeliers that hung above everyone...they were so PRETTY! They were almost just as pretty as what the restaurant's menu had to offer. Phong Vinh had all our favourite dishes plus much more that it was slightly overwhelming, but I already knew what I wanted and so did he! This is what we ordered for the night...

Pork and Prawn fresh Springrolls:

When these springrolls were brought to us the first thing that I noticed was that they were different, as in one was longer and skinnier than the other  (I really think I was being over critical at the time). I chose the more plump looking one and took a bite and I didn't get that feeling of bliss that I usually get when I eat the ones from TV. These ones were average and lacked the crunch and needed more noodles and mint. The sauce however, was great and had a nice kick to it...it saved the dish I think!

Combination Pho:

Pho is such an attractive dish to me and this definitely was appealing to the eye. We were given plenty of sprouts, red cabbage and most importantly, mint! After mixing the noodles a little bit I got the wonderful whiff of the beef, which made me want to drool so I wasted no time and I took my first sip of the soup and it was...heavenly . The broth was really flavoursome and it didn't really need any addtional sauces, although I still mixed in a bit of hoisin sauce (habit!). Just for those who don't know what is in this dish, it consists of thin flat rice noodles, raw beef pieces (it cooks in the soup), beef balls, tendons and onion. In comparison to TV the taste of the soup was different, but equally as tasty? PV didn't have any tripe, but had more tendon and the soup also had more of a beef smell, if you don't mind it. Highly recommended for pho lovers! yomyom!

Spicy Beef and Pork Soup with Thick Rice Noodles (top left corner):

V's favourite dish to order at TV! It's vietnamese name is "Bun Bo Hue" and contains beef and pork slices, vietnamese pork sausage (polony) and a piece of pork hock with a thicker rice noodle (not the same as the noodles found in pho, but similar to the noodle found in assam laksa) in a spicy broth. I had a sip of the soup and it was indeed spicy, alot spicier than TV's and he didn't have to add any chilli to the soup, which he usually does. V found this version a lot "yummier" than TV, but the only difference and I suppose the only downside, was that PV's version had less meats than TV. All in all though a definite thumbs up from V for sure!

Avocado and Durian Shake:

As well as an extensive menu of food there was a big list of beverages included. This drink was one of them and when we saw it we were gobsmacked, like woah! Durian AND avocado? To us the sound of it was perfect as we always order durian and avocado shake, but we had never ordered it combined! Curiosity took over us and we decided to try it and all I can say is that it was a bit bland, even though it contained the ever overpowering durian! There was no sweetness to it (maybe they forgot to add sugar to it?), but the taste of it did get better the more we drank it. Durian with avocado may sound strange, but it actually goes pretty well together but I think I would probably order something else next time!

So overall, a pretty good meal with different but familiar flavours that I oh-so-love about Vietnamese cuisine and as V always tells me, "no two (pho) stores will ever taste the same as every store has their own version", so what do you think? is he right? (I refuse to believe him and want to prove him wrong haha!)

Now for the final verdict between our favourite Tra Vinh and newcomer Phong Vinh...the winner is...

....it's a DRAW they're both equally as good!  wahaha..that's all folks!