A booming economy in the west means higher prices, and that includes restaurant meals. Costs have gone up alarmingly but you can still find quality food with a good dollop of value thrown in. A number of Asian eating houses have recently opened in and around Perth city and these are the places to go for value.
When one of Perth's top chefs suggests I try Nahm Thai in Bulwer St for some fine food, I hotfoot it around there to see what the fuss is about. New on the scene, this small 45-seater is modern Thai, and owner Kevin Pham heads up the kitchen while his wife Mai spends time between the stoves and front of house, which is decorated in a contemporary style with banquette along one wall, carved wooden screens and two massive lampshades. I try Galloping Horses, a great palate-teaser of minced pork, duck and shrimp with garlic and sticky sweet palm sugar served on fresh, pony-size pineapple and mandarin pieces - flawless. Grilled cuttlefish with thin cucumber slices is next and is served with a sensational nahm jim lime dressing, and then some crunchy deep-fried quail rest on sauteed shiitake mushrooms with fiery chopped chilli and palm sugar. Finally, roast duck pieces and lychee are mixed with crunchy shallots and chilli and dressed with a knockout coconut and lime sauce.
Although not exactly budget dining at about $50 for two courses, the produce is of the highest quality and the hot, salty, sweet and sour flavours are superbly balanced. Expect delays from the kitchen, however, as this is not simple food to prepare. Have plenty of conversation up your sleeve and an extra bottle or two of wine (it is BYO) on hand; you may need it. On my way to settle my account I bump into an old friend, a well-known foodie, who says, "This is the best Thai food I've eaten" - and she is married to a Thai national. 223 Bulwer St, Perth; phone (08) 9328 7500. Bookings advisable.
Cori Anna is a 55-seat Korean restaurant, and a few weeks after its opening my wife and I wander in to a spotlessly clean ‘Seoul meets Art Deco' look. It's a family affair; petite Mia engages the diners while her mum, Seon, works the stoves - there are no table barbecues here. We start with beef man du, or spicy hot, steamed, handmade dumplings, and then seafood zi zim, a stunning, piping-hot pancake full of fresh, crunchy prawn and octopus pieces. Next arrives a main course jap chae, which is a dish of sweet potato noodles with sliced fish and beef cake, and finally, pork bo kum, pan-fried, thinly sliced pork served in chilli sauce with veg. The mains arrive with small separate dishes of water chestnut tofu, dried squid and kumchi (spicy pickled veg). The use of chilli and other hot spices is liberal throughout but well within our burn-up level. All this costs a little over $20 a head. Now that is value. 347 William St, Northbridge; phone (08) 9227 7299.
In one way I hate discovering a little gem and then writing about it, because the shine can diminish with more people beating a path to it. Lord Street Cafe has been open less than a year and caters mainly for the breakfast/lunch students at the large Central TAFE complex opposite. It also opens three evenings a week, Thursday to Saturday, and then serves some exciting, freshly prepared curries. Proprietor Anne Pollo is Malaysian with an Indian father, and the food she cooks has strong leanings to that part of the globe.
I drop by one Thursday night and, influenced by her Malaysian upbringing, start with beef satays, well-marinated and moist and served with a delightful, not-too-hot, crunchy peanut sauce, and then try the vegetarian curry puffs, which are crunchy and brim-full of spicy veg. Next, a beef rendang is simply the best I've had. The beef cubes are juicy and not dry or shredded as they often are and the sweetish, sticky sauce lovingly coats the beef. Saffron rice and a small plate of home-made paratha bread help mop up the sauce - absolutely brilliant.
Surrounded by houses, the cafe is one of those typical shopfronts of the early 1900s, there is a part-open kitchen to the rear and the decor is simple, the furniture rudimentary. Who cares, when the food is this good and the going price is around $18 a head for a couple of courses? If you are into spicy food, give the cafe a whirl and do us both a favour: don't tell anyone else about it. And make a booking; it's tiny. 400 Lord St, Mt Lawley; phone (08) 9328 7779.