Ess Bar & Kitchen

A Restaurant to Dine for and More!

It's been years since I've dined at an upscale restaurant in Perth. As a long-time restaurant reviewer in the States, imagine my elation when I met my colleague at Ess Bar & Kitchen for a bite to eat.

We dined on ten tasting dishes and our opening flavour was simply titled a Tasmanian Salmon Cracker. It was actually a delicious medium-rare fillet with nori and wasabi enveloped in the textural crunch of a crispy spring roll. It was set upon a sweet corn mash with a subtle corn flavour. Quite a portion for a simple cracker and being a heat freak I would have enjoyed a wasabi reduction of sauce rather than the balsamic reduction. But oh, that salmon was cooked perfectly!

Another winner for both of us was the mini open lamb burger with a spicy Moroccan BBQ sauce. The unique part was the sunny, bright pumpkin coleslaw, a creative tasty alternative to the classic coleslaw of cabbage. As a Californian I've only enjoyed pumpkin pie before and this was an inspiring variation for the use of pumpkin.

For a vegetarian choice the forest mushroom filo again atop a mash was actually quite rich and substantial. Not a bad thing with the musky forest floor heady aromas and flavours encased in flaky filo. The parsnip with truffle oil was so subtle in the potato mash. Ah, the subjectivity of food and flavours. I think parsnips add a snappy zing to a mash.

A real party in our mouth (and my colleague's favourite) was the Indian Butter Chicken Wings with Dhal and Naan. Only the yoghurt condiment was just a little bland for my liking and could have benefited by adding some chopped mint and cucumber for a more balanced finish.

A real palate refresher was the signature salad of fiery rocket, cute and cooling watermelon balls and velvet smooth fetta bathed in fruity raspberry vinaigrette. This enlivened the taste buds for two more dishes, a lamb mixed grill and good fun kid food, chicken San Choi Bow.

Dessert was a showstopper with an entire gingerbread style house filled with Kahlua chocolate mousse, Belgian chocolate mud cake, double choc ice cream, candy lane and hand made chocolate trucks filled with treats for kids (old and young).

Manager Darryl Anglesey shared some of the history of the Ess Bar & Kitchen throughout the meal and Chef Shane Raven entertained us at the end with culinary stories.

I can't close out this article without mentioning the good service of A Restaurant to Dine for and More. She was so genuinely friendly and accommodating. Why, it made the whole experience a delight to dine for!

I look forward to my next visit to the Ess Bar & Kitchen. I've got to try the Crayfish Caesar. Can't wait.

By Susan Wilder

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