Homegrown: Perth, WA

Follow a local food-lover’s guide to eating in Australia’s sunniest capital. Find handmade noodles, fresh city-grown produce and a buzzing hawkers’ market that comes alive as the sun sinks into the sea.

Source: Frances Andrijich

Take it from a food-loving local; the summers are wonderful in this city. Days are long, nights are balmy and, as the sun dips on Friday evenings, the Twilight Hawkers Market bursts into life. Thrumming with lively music, the air is hot with smoke and buzzing with excited eaters. One look at the street food stalls and it’s obvious that, post mining boom, Perth has finally grown into an exciting place to eat and play. In the midst of rejuvenation on a scale not seen since the gold rush of the late 1800s, it’s a city of optimism with an endless appetite, judging by the crowds at weekly markets. If you find yourself in Perth, take these tips to savour it all as the locals do and hunt down authentic eats across the city.

The Twilight Hawkers Market is the place to start. From Argentinian ribs slathered with chimichurri to fresh Polish doughnuts, there are stalls representing cuisines the world over. One snack worth queuing up for is Marcelita’s Empanadas. Balls of masa (dough) are squashed flat then filled with traditional slow-cooked beef or pork. “Beef and potato empanadas are traditional Colombian fillings made with shredded beef skirt and mixed with hogao, a cooked salsa,” says Matt O’Donohue, who runs the stall with wife, Marcela. With a piping-hot crust and rich fillings, they’re especially good dunked in ají pique (chilli salsa).

At the Bangkok Jump Street stall, Wanwipar ‘Dao’ Thanasothorn works the wok and her dishes are whisked away as fast as she can cook them. “We want to give people a moment of eating true Bangkok street food without going there on a plane,” says business partner Jane Wangpaichitr. Dao’s spicy pork crackling salad is sprinkled with toasted rice, chilli and a special house dressing and is crunchy, herbal and incredibly addictive. Eyes closed, I could almost imagine myself on a sweltering street in Bangkok.

If you’re en route for a second dinner, make a beeline to the eastern half of the CBD. On Pier Street is hole-in-the-wall Took Be Gi, a local secret for home-style Korean food. Owner Yumi Park serves banchan, a variety of side dishes, including the popular house kimchi, with every meal. But it’s the dolsot bibimbap that’s the default order for many customers. Rice is tossed in a hot stone bowl, melding with gochujang (hot pepper paste) and namul (seasoned vegetables), making a comforting, albeit spicy, meal for one.

Be sure to earmark the location for another night because around the corner from Took Be Gi you’ll find a queue of diners-to-be staring at an odd sight: Noodle Forum’s chef, Erich Wong, straddling a bamboo pole and bouncing up and down on a huge wad of dough.

He is repetitively and gently kneading the dough to produce silky noodles with bite. Born into a Kuala Lumpur noodle-making family, Erich started learning the technique at the age of 11. It’s a rare art, as manager Ian Chin explains, “There are only a handful of people in the world who are still making noodles this way. Erich’s 40 years of making noodles is a treasure. This is truly as authentic as it gets.” Ian, who finds the experience of making the noodles painful, says “there is a kung-fu to it, but the result is like eating bread fresh from the oven.” Dunked in hot water, then dressed with lashings of sauce and a crispy wonton cracker, the noodles are incredibly smooth and supple and are even better with sweet, caramelised chunks of barbecue pork.

Head along the Midland railway line and you’ll reach Perth City Farm, a working permaculture farm open to the public. It is here chef and local food advocate Kiren Mainwaring can be found picking produce for his restaurant Co-Op Dining, located less than a kilometre away. “I get excited about produce, especially something growing right now,” says Kiren, who works his nightly degustation menu around the produce that local farmers bring in. With produce like rabbit and wild wattleseed being gathered or grown just kilometres from the restaurant, there’s an emphasis on preserving local food. “Wild produce is unadulterated, pure and seasonal. I enjoy preserving the best of a season for longer,” says Kiren. Even the Caerphilly cheese – a nod to Kiren’s Welsh homeland – is made in-house, and served as a foam with dehydrated leek or as a rarebit crumble.

If your trip hasn’t taken you over the Horseshoe Bridge as yet, then make a north crossing to the aptly named Northbridge. The area has waxed and waned with the fortunes of Greek, Italian, Chinese and Vietnamese immigrants, each leaving their mark in the form of butchers, cafes and temples. In this gritty suburb, Kakulas Brothers has remained in the same location for 85 years. “They imported olives, chickpeas and lentils and that’s how it started,” says owner Evan Kakulas of his dad and uncles – the original Kakulas Brothers – who migrated from Greece in the 1920s. A treasure trove of hot sauces, chocolate and sweets, it’s the perfect place to fill a suitcase with tasty souvenirs.

Shopping is hard work, so the next stop is Hong Kong BBQ on Francis Street where a window of glistening roast ducks beckon. Every morning the Chan family sets to work cleaning Peking ducks that have been ordered a day in advance. “Our own special ‘duck gravy’ – different herbs and spices – go inside the duck and they’re sewn up then roasted in the oven until juicy and crispy,” says owner Siu Fong Chan, who makes the Peking duck pancakes by hand. Only the translucent, crisp skin – “Hong Kong-style” as Siu Fong puts it – is wrapped in the pancake, and with a smear of hoisin sauce, it melts in the mouth.

For a glimpse into the suburb’s Italian past, look no further than The Re Store. Famous for its retro shopfront and continental rolls, it’s become synonymous with coffee. With the purchase of a small coffee roaster in 1936, founders John and Maria Re were extracting espresso at a time when coffee was still considered exotic. To this day the Re family continue the coffee tradition on-site as the Northbridge Coffee Roasters. The intense aroma of freshly roasted coffee is irresistible and even though it is primarily wholesale, customers can still wander in and grab a flat white on the warehouse floor.

Up the road is a sugar fix that no sweet tooth should miss. The unsuspecting corner bakery, Corica Pastries, is famous for their apple strudels. Sandwiched between layers of ethereally light, sugar-glazed pastry are clouds of cream, custard and not-too-sweet stewed apples. The strudels are so good they are often seen leaving Perth as cabin luggage. However, I’ll let you in on a local secret: call ahead to order the popular blueberry version of the strudel before they disappear.

Perth is changing faster than ever. With the Fremantle rail line soon to be sunk to link Northbridge and the CBD, plus a new quay and stadium being built, a vibrant, diverse city is emerging with a food scene to match. Add sunshine, friendly people (admittedly, I’m biased) and our laid-back lifestyle and this city is on its way to a golden age.

So come visit and do like the industry that fuels the city – dig in.

 

The hitlist

Stay

Terrace Hotel

Perched at the west end of ‘the terrace’, this heritage listed building is back to its full glory with 15 luxury suites. 237 St Georges Tce, Perth, [phone].

 

Eat

Twilight Hawkers Market

The world’s street foods in one place, under the stars. Every Friday evening from mid-October until the end of March, Forrest Pl, Perth.

Took Be Gi

Local Koreans come here for their fix of kimchijeon (kimchi pancake). 542 Hay St, Perth, [phone]

Noodle Forum

Watch head chef Erich Wong roll noodle dough with a bamboo pole. Shop 16 & 17, Equus Retail Arcade, 580 Hay St, Perth, [phone].

Hong Kong BBQGrab a combination roast plate and don’t forget to splash on the housemade chilli oil. 76 Francis St, Northbridge, [phone]

Corica Pastries

The best strudels in town. Pick up one for you and one for home. 106 Aberdeen St, Northbridge, [phone].

Co-Op Dining

Wonderful degustation dinners featuring local produce, in-house pickles, cured meats and cheeses. 2/11 Regal Pl, East Perth, [phone].

 

Visit

Perth City Farm

An oasis of permaculture open to the public and a market every Saturday. 1 City Farm Pl, East Perth, [phone].

Kakulas Brothers

A favourite for continental goods, grains and spices. 183 William St, Northbridge, [phone].

The Re Store

The place to find that perfect pasta machine. Make like a local and grab a continental roll for lunch. 72 Lake St, Northbridge, [phone].

The Northbridge Coffee Roasters

Sip on an espresso and wander through the European Foods warehouse. 99 Aberdeen St, Northbridge, [phone].

 

 

Do

Two Feet & A Heartbeat

Try the Eat/Drink/Walk Perth tour, a walking tour that combines history and culture with Perth’s small bar scene. 1800 459 388.

State Theatre Centre

Catch a show at the Heath Ledger Theatre. 174-176 William St, Perth, [phone].

 

 

Photography Frances Andrijich.

 

As seen in Feast magazine, October 2014, Issue 36.